The man who hanged within the glass chamber watched the bubbles within his liquid prison of his own design flow by him, his long hair drifting within the medical life support fluids just as his long robes did.
"Hmmm…" The man who would be king of Academy City hummed to himself as he stared out into the orange-light-covered landscape of the chamber that made for his industrial throne room, holographic screens, hundreds of them, floating around in an enormous circular pattern around the several story tall cylinder that stood as the centerpiece of this room.
"I have not done a tarot reading for quite some time." He pondered aloud as he watched several different angles of the same video, his voice echoing through the chamber without his mouth moving. The second, third, and fourth ranked Espers of his city engaging in a skirmish within a shopping mall. An interesting turn of events. Not an unsurprising turn, but most certainly an interesting turn.
A panel opened in the floor far below him, and a deck of cards rose, levitating into the air. Magic was not something he often dabbled in these days- Science was something he intended to have eclipse such disgusting practices- but it had its uses for now. "The Major Arcana will suffice for now. I don't expect much, I have not had even half of them become active as of late..." He said with a touch of disappointment. He had not expected such lackluster ambition in his pawns and other chess pieces this past century… but alas.
As he pulled upon the deck, calling upon the cards that had any trace of will or presence, he found the usual results at first.
The first was unsurprising.
Death.
"Of course. Even in defeat, you have not lost your might and fervor, lost as you might be. Though I see that you are drifting toward Upright… perhaps your calling is not as far off as you suspect. Good."
He drew the next card.
Emperor. In reverse.
"As I expected. Firmly, in reverse. That is within my boundaries of parameters of the Spare Plan." He hummed, flicking the card to the side, floating next to the Death card, the two cards levitating in a orbiting formation.
He sighed a bit. Everything was going as it usually did, with little to no variation. Perhaps there was no point. Next should be…
He looked at the next card.
Judgement.
"...What?"
Judgement? Judgement? He had never drawn the Judgement card, at least not for the past 137 years. It had always been eclipsed by the Aeon card. His deck was unique that way- you would draw one or the other, not both. That did not mean necessarily Aeon was out of play… There was no reason to panic.
"But the card I expected to draw… This could mean an incredibly unpredictable set of variables. He needed to be careful. Perhaps the next card would help reveal more about the nature of the Judgement card and who or what it was connected to…
The Sun.
Lines of light glowing energy linked the sun card to both Judgement and Death. Connections of positivity and growth. That helped narrow it down a bit… In a roundabout way, Accelerator was linked to the card of Judgement via the card of Sun. Interesting. He needed to know more. The Sun had been a present element since the Level 6 Shift Project. That significantly narrowed down the possibility of what it might represent.
He drew the next card.
The Tower.
Ah yes, one of the oldest cards he had been dealing with. Perpetually in Upright and Reverse, changing and shifting, spinning in place, calamity and awakening, a fear of change and aversion of disaster. Yes, he knew that this Tower was a troublesome individual who caused him a great deal of problems, but was also one of his most important pieces. Sickly chains of violet energy weaved from it, latching on to every card around it, as it always did. Yes, the individual this card represented always had their hand in everything.
He let the card drift into the higher orbit of the other cards to keep an eye on it as he typically did. Next card.
Strength.
Yes, this was a card he'd seen. The violet energy lashed out at from the Tower, and as always, flailed ineffectively at it, unable to affect it in any meaningful way. As always. The anomaly. He'd do more with it if he could divert the lad into something of use, but he was simply to… simple and unpredictable. A pity. Next card.
The Empress.
Or the Queen, as she more often preferred.
Most interestingly, the violet strands of energy lashed out from the Tower seemed to tangle with starlight that leaped from The Empress, tangling together in a war of shadows. While this did often happen, this was the first time The Tower was actually doing more than toying with The Empress. She was actually causing The Tower to fight back and try, to struggle significantly. Perhaps the absolute power The Tower once held was somehow slipping? Unsurprisingly, a line of burning white light connected The Empress to Strength. A line of… understanding.
Next card.
Temperance.
The man in the cylinders head jerked to attention. That was a new card. It drifted toward The Tower, chains of violet energy wrapping around it, squeezing it painfully until blood poured from the card, crushing its potential. The card was in Reverse, and weak. It had lost any potential it might have had. The likelihood of it having any effect on coming events was slim to none. He calmed himself, shaking his head. The Tower was truly a cruel entity beyond reason. To create such potential only to crush it so completely.
Not that he was one to judge. Sometimes sacrifices must be made. Next card.
The Magician. In Reverse?!
He found alarm immediately. The card floated free of the deck, and like cruel lashes, The Tower sent forth vampiric spikes into The Magician. Completely unlike Temperance, it did not crush it, no, it siphoned, and then it force-fed it. Like some bizarre loop of a vampire that savored the blood of its victim before vomiting the blood back down the throat of the unfortunate, The Magician suffered and was changing, slowly, bit by bit. What did this mean? What could The Tower hope to accomplish in such a strange ritual?
What was happening? Too much was happening too fast. It was like someone had struck a domino. He needed to finish the reading and examine it in detail further.
He drew the next card. If he was correct, this should be the final card, and the deck should disperse back into magical energy once again.
The deck did not disperse.
The World.
He could hardly believe what he saw before him. And as if the world was out to mock him, as the World floated there, it slowly lost its focus, before vanishing. What… What could that possibly mean? No, he could not dwell on it right now. He needed further answers. The deck awaited him. He drew the next card.
The Hermit?
It was almost a strange relief. The card floated before him, before drifting toward the Empress, a line of red, blue, and green light connecting to it, before reaching out and connecting to Judgement, then to The Sun. Another line of light reached out, and seemed to fade away into empty space, touching nothing at all as it faded away. It was almost innocuous in its innocence.
He pulled the next card.
The Devil.
Interesting… The card floated free, moving toward The Magician. A line of relationship drew between them. A dark line of growing doom. A black fate. The card was Upright, for now, but it was starting to turn in Reverse, slowly, bit by bit. By the looks of it, as their fate grew blacker, their card grew further in Reverse. Which would happen first? He wondered why it mattered though… Why would this person be relevant? The journey to self-awareness…
His eyes moved to The Hermit, her lines of multicolored energy grasping like a hand toward The Devil, searching for her. Interesting.
He drew the next card. His eyebrows raised in alarm once more. Another card he had not seen in a long, long time. As the card floated from the deck, and the deck dispersed, lines drew from it to others, and his alarm grew more and more, and… this was it. This was the domino. No, not THE domino. One of them. It would be foolish to think that just one could cause this level of change. This was a cascade effect. Many had flipped their respective domino's across an enormous room filled with stacked assortments of delicately placed patterns of the tiles.
The Chariot, though in Reverse... It floated next to The Devil, a line of blue and pink and yellow connecting them. The Hermit's grasping hand reached more desperately for The Chariot and The Devil. Weakly, lines of connection drew from The Chariot toward The Hermit… and Judgement. Chariot too had a line reach into nothingness and disappear. Judgement, he noticed, also had such a line.
Chariot. The arrival of the "Victorious Hero". There had been many heroes across the ages. But his deck was different. He had attuned his deck to work for truly mighty beings. Beings such as Accelerator, Dark Matter, Railgun. Some of the cards, such as the Hermit, allowed much weaker entities to appear within his deck due to their nature. The Chariot did not. The Chariot demanded a being of truly monumental willpower to be recognized by his deck. Who could have possibly had such a revelation? No… No, The Devil. The Devil's journey to self-awareness and revelation… it is connected to the full maturity of The Chariot. As The Devil turned toward Reverse, toward its Release… The Chariot approached Upright. When that happened.. IF that happened… something extraordinary would occur. The Devil would need to outrun their black fate of the Magician and complete their journey, and The Chariot would need to not stray from The Devil… and no further interferences…
He quirked a further eyebrow. The Tower did not reach for The Devil or The Chariot. It was as if The Tower was… ignorant of them.
His eyes fell onto the results of his readings. On The Tower, the violet lashes of connections had gone haywire. While its connections to the existing cards remained stable, thousands of chaotic lashes flayed at the air, striking at nothing, panicking. What did that mean?
Further… Strong bonds were linking the cards together. And the bonds were growing stronger. The world so underestimated the might that came from such bonds. New arrivals had come in droves… Treefall had created a new playing field he had not foreseen. The new cards and connections had taken time to crystallize, the new field not yet realized, but here it had arrived. Bonds reached out beyond the sight of his cards, into nothingness- even a card had vanished beyond the realm of his decks sight.
He had grown unforgivably lax. Too much had changed. It was time to take a more proactive approach to information gathering.
A smile grew across his face.
"Children truly are amazing." Said the oldest of arrogant men.
The sound in the sitting room of the young girls residence was of echoing keystrokes and sniffles mixed with strangled choked back sobs.
"Haru-chan…" The Queen spoke next to the girl who sat at her reserved sitting spot at the kotatsu, typing away with powerful keystrokes, her face marred with tears as she typed away rapidly. Mikoto limped into the room with Kuroko, grimacing as they saw Uiharu.
"Shit…" Mikoto cursed.
"Haru-chan, you need to stop and rest, you have been at this for hours, you haven't slept in two days, I know you haven't." Misaki said sternly, Uiharu shaking her head furiously as she stayed focused on the screen.
"N-no, I need to find Saten, it's been over a week and she hasn't called or anything! What if she's hurt, or hates me, or if we never see her again?! We almost found her a few days ago and that was a disaster!" Uiharu wiped her face, clearly distraught.
"Uiharu-san, I'm really sorry, but… she's right." Mikoto agreed with Misaki, as much as it pained her. And as much as it annoyed her that she was becoming a more active presence in this house. "Sorry." She said again, snapping her fingers as the laptop turned off.
Uiharu hands froze as she blinked in confusion at the computer, leaping up in a rage as she glared at Mikoto.
"Don't shout at me. You are destroying yourself like this. You know this isn't healthy." Mikoto said flatly, leaning into her crutch. Kuroko winced next to her. Mikoto was right, but the words were a little blunt. As tension in the room rose, Misaki rising from her seat, looking annoyed at Mikoto for her bluntness, it was all interrupted by a knock at the door.
Everyone turned toward the door, quickly migrating to it, hope starting to blossom in their chests. Mikoto swung the door open with her powers in eagerness, two people standing there looking surprised at the forcefulness in which the doors opened. Everyone in the room had to duck a crowbar as it flew through the entrance hall, caught in the electromagnetic field.
Frenda and Saten. Frenda was holding her hands out in front of her in such a way that said she was the one holding onto the crowbar.
"Uhh…" Frenda blinked. She then lightly kicked Saten's leg. Saten looked to Uiharu who was silently drowning in tears as she stared at Saten. Saten, unable to restrain herself, mirrored her expression and dove on her, the pair letting out loud cries of nearly incoherent cries as they fall onto their knees, crying and apologizing to each other in a manner that was in no way understandable by anyone.
Those observing decided to let them have their moment for now, though eventually, Kuroko spoke up.
"So… why is there a crowbar here?"
"Oh, well, see, I told Saten she could take as long as she needed before coming back and talking to you guys." Frenda said with a chipper and happy tone. "After a week, I discovered I was lying to her and myself." She said in a suddenly more deadpan tone. "So I went to the hardware store and bought a crowbar and threatened her with bodily harm to come see you guys."
"T-T-That i-is not w-what h-happened!" Saten sobbed out from the floor to a smirking Frenda, still clutching on to a sobbing Uiharu.
"Maybe, but you can't prove that, and my version is WAY funnier." Frenda smirked, looking up from Saten to the others present. She noticed that Mikoto was giving her a funny look.
"Hey, Frenda." Mikoto smiled to her. "Can I talk to you for a second?" She looked to Misaki and Kuroko. "Watch over these two until they can gather themselves, OK?"
Frenda raised an eyebrow, but shrugged a little. Railgun didn't remember her, so it was fine. She followed her toward a sideroom as the girl limped her way on her crutch to the more western styled sitting room and around the corner out of sight.
Frenda was a little curious what might be going through the Railguns mind, but it was probably just some questions over the past week. Girl was protective type. It was cool. As Frenda turned the corner and walked a few steps, she instantly realized her mistake. Mikoto turned so quickly, and her crutch raised so fast, it must have been the electromagnetism. The crutch warped like a snake as it wrapped around Frenda's neck, strangling her tightly enough that she could barely breathe.
Her eyes snapped open in panic as she collapsed onto her knees, pulling futilely at the metal crutch-snake, tears in her eyes. FUCK!
"W-wait-!" Frenda rasped out, looking up at the angry eyes of the Level 5.
"Running into Meltdowner at the mall and seeing the two of you together really jogged some memories. Including that savage beating you gave me, and the fact that you're a murderer." She scowled down at the girl, the crutch squeezing down on Frenda's throat, the instinctive fear of death flaring in Frenda's eyes.
"I will not let you hurt my friend." Mikoto hissed out. "Are you trying to hurt her to get to me? What sick game are you playing at, you murderer?" Mikoto growled, clenching her jaw.
Frenda had no idea what came over her in that moment with this next word that flew out of her mouth. In that moment, it was the dumbest word that she could have said in her mind.
"Hypocrite." She gasped out, drool trailing down her mouth through gasping breaths, tears mixing and pooling at the tight recess of the metal crutch.
Mikoto could only stare in shock at the response.
"Do you… not realize the situation-!?" Mikoto hissed in a loud whisper.
"Spoken like my boss." Frenda coughed out in a wheeze, her hands still grasping at the snake choking her out.
Mikoto felt like ice was poured into her veins.
"Using intimidation and threats to get what you want just because you're more powerful than everyone else… fucking demigod." She coughed out, wheezing for air, her eyes hazy. "You know more than… anyone… you're self-righteous. You've killed people too. The only difference between me and you is that I've killed people for a paycheck." Frenda paused before laughing, which sounded like a rattle with the crutch choking her.
"OH WAIT." She grinned. "You're a LEVEL FIVE." Her grin widened. "I forgot… Like every single Level Three and up… Academy City gives you a nice fat check every month for your contributions to the science of this city…" Frenda began to speak more clearly as the crutch loosened. "Face it, you stupid little girl. You may not participate in this city's seedy underbelly like I do…" She finally took a full deep breath as she forced the crutch off, grabbing onto a decorative dresser and pulling herself off the ground, panting and wiping her face off.
"But like every abilitied person in this city… You're complicit. The only innocent people are the weak without choice. You have power. You have staggering amounts of it, more than almost anyone else, not just in this city, but on this entire fucking planet. Countries FEAR you." Frenda found herself laughing at the sudden raw absurdity of the situation she found herself in. "Oh my fucking god, this is so fucking stupid…" She laughed, leaning into the dresser and covering her face. "This world is so fucking stupid…"
"Really girl… It's hard to intimidate me. Especially you. You love your friends too much to choke someone to death two rooms over. You wouldn't be able to look them in the eye." Frenda stood up a bit straighter, wiping her face off before looking at Mikoto once again.
"And to answer your original question… No, I won't hurt Ruiko." Frenda said, a bit angrily. "And I just came here so she could make up with her friends. She was upset and needed consoling after you guys got into a fight or whatever." She shrugged, rubbing her throat a bit. "Shit, that's gonna bruise." She muttered.
"Go talk or whatever. Just be nice to her." Frenda said, before storming off and out of the building.
Mikoto stood there stunned, unsure of what to say, her forearm crutch slowly resuming its original shape.
After Misaki and Kuroko managed to get the pair of crying friends off the floor and to the kotatsu for warmth and Maika making tea for everyone. Mikoto limped her way in after composing herself, the taste of her effort at righteous intimidation having turned to ash in her mouth.
Still, the warm smile of Kuroko helped calm her as she entered the room. Mikoto moved next to her girlfriend, seating herself next to her and cuddling close to her, Kuroko looking mildly surprised at the sudden close affection as Mikoto rested her head on Kuroko's shoulder.
After some time had passed and the crying had slowed, Misaki was the first who spoke.
"OK. So, is there anything anyone wants to get out into the air?" She asked softly, playing with a loop of locks in her thick blonde hair, her casual demeanor always grating on Mikoto.
"Y-yeah!" Uiharu said instantly. "I-I'm sorry, Saten-san! I didn't mean what I said! I swear you are my friend, I didn't mean it!" Uiharu leaned over to hug Saten tightly, who returned the hug, and for a moment, it seemed like Misaki, who was glancing at her bag, was debating whether she wanted to stop further waterworks, but restrained herself.
"I know, I know, and I'm sorry I went through your things, I really am, I'm sorry I was prying!" Saten hugged her tightly. As she said this, Uiharu visibly tensed up. There was a pause as Uiharu bit her lip and her breathing grew a bit more uneven.
"I… I actually have a confession to make. You remember when I said I had been checking to see if you were going to your appointments?" She asked, to which Saten nodded.
"I… I have actually been keeping tabs on… on all of you." Uiharu said quietly, shame deep in her voice. There was a silence for the briefest of seconds, before Misaki cut in.
"I asked her to." The older girl said, though before Mikoto could explode, Uiharu interrupted.
"I would have done it anyway, don't try and take the blame!" She said quickly, Misaki, glancing away, huffing slightly.
"I… Everyone has been in so much pain! Ever since Treefall! I just… I didn't know what to do! Misaki helped us get somewhere safe! I asked her to help us!" Uiharu said, tears falling down her face, looking ashamed. "I just wanted us to be away from people who could use us or hurt us! People needed to help heal and recover, and Shirai-san didn't even have any arms, and… and... I just… I just…" Uiharu covered her face and began to sob incoherently as everyone stared, shock spread across their faces.
Misaki stood up from her seat, guiding Uiharu to rest her head in her lap as she sobbed, unable to bear looking at her friends.
"The house you have been living in is owned by me, not the city. I have done slight memory alterations to Saten-san, as well as numerous others that aren't important right now, to help alleviate some minor confusion and memory holes as to why she would have been placed here when she was only involved in minor ways to Treefall, as well as Haru-chan, for the same reason. Gunha has been watching over you as well, at my request." She explained, her fingertips lightly stroking Uiharu's scalp.
"The simple reality is, is that you are all hunted. Shirai-san, are you familiar with Indigo?" She looked to Kuroko who immediately tensed. "That venomous monster is still quite active and alive. He attempted to attack this building a short while ago, but Gunha intercepted him and beat him back. He attempted to attack the hospital you were both at as well, and Gunha helped there as well. He's got quite the Hero Complex." Misaki sighed a bit with a tinge of annoyance.
"However, the attack on the highway shows that he cannot be a permanent solution." Misaki frowned.
"Who… What is he?" Kuroko gasped out, her body tense, Mikoto taking her metal hand in her own. Misaki played with Uiharu's hair a bit before answering.
"I don't really know for certain." Misaki replied. Mikoto's eyes narrowed at that. Disbelief filled them. She still did not trust Misaki. Perhaps not as much as before, but she was still hiding something.
"All I will say is that he is involved with all manner of unethical and immoral practices of this city, and he most certainly does not like you. I will continue to look into the matter and, in the meantime… I recommend you all focus on recovering while I look into the matter further." She said, looking up from Uiharu to them.
They all blinked in surprise, all of them growing increasingly upset as the seconds ticked.
"W-what?!" Mikoto shouted, angry at the condescension. "Are you suggesting we sit here like good children while you work?!" Mikoto stood, Kuroko standing with her, looking just as angry.
"Yes." Misaki said flatly up at them. "That is exactly what I am saying." Misaki added. Saten stood next, scowling at her.
"I'm sick of people-" Saten began to raise her voice.
"Do you think throwing a tantrum is going to add to your argument?" Misaki asked, continuing before they could add further shouting.
"I have an expansive network of information gathering agents and a telepathic power that allows me to learn things and hide things better than anyone, as well as vast resources to do all of this. I can protect people with all of this. What can you all do?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Saten-san has the fortune of being almost entirely unknown to Indigo and his agents. He only knows her by proxy of Haru-chan. He likely ignores her for the most part because of his spiteful hatred of Shirai-san. If anything, his behavior shows that he is a grudge-bearing, hateful, spiteful man. The rest of you aren't so lucky. You need to be careful. You need to heal, and you need to figure out what you are going to do, and how you are going to proceed with your lives." Misaki said, her demeanor one of a high class lady talking down to lessers.
She stroked Uiharu's head, who the others realized had drifted off to sleep in her exhaustion of sobbing.
"Haru-chan has devoted her time, immense amounts of it, to protecting you all, and tracking your recoveries and your mental health. Solely to help you all. If only you all put as much energy in yourselves."
There was a moment of silence in the air, before it was broken by Mikoto.
"...I guess you really do love her, huh." Mikoto said softly. Even Mikoto, immature as she often was, could hear the projection in those last words from Misaki.
Misaki's eyes narrowed, and with a slight scoff and a flourish of her hair she replied.
"I hope to never hear you doubt it ever again."
Mikoto groaned as she collapsed onto her bed, burying her face into her pillow. She let out a loud grunt as she felt all 98 pounds of Kuroko drop on to her back suddenly.
"Mikoto~" She felt a nuzzle at her neck and couldn't help but chuckle a little.
"Hey Kuroko…" She groaned, burying her face again. "Please, come on, make yourself comfortable, thanks for knocking…" She said sarcastically. She felt Kuroko's weight lift as Kuroko got off of her, and heard some footsteps, and then the door open and close. Shit... Did she make her mad?
Then a knock at the door.
"...Really?"
"Mikotoooo. Can I come in?" Came the all too sweet reply.
"...Wow, Kuroko. That… That was pretty sassy. I'm actually kind of impressed." Mikoto said as she looked up at the door, which cracked open as Kuroko grinned toothily at her.
Kuroko leaped into the room and onto the bed, nuzzling up against her love with such intense affection. Mikoto wrapped her arms around her and grinned, her heart beating in her chest.
"I'm sorry, it's just… I can feel this arm. Heaven Canceller did so well on it...The hundreds of millions of microscopic sensors… I can feel every fold of cloth, every warm inch of skin I touch…" She sighs out, pressing her face against Mikoto. "Sorry, I know I'm sounding obsessive, it's just…"
Mikoto smiled and hugged her tighter. "No, it's fine. I can only imagine. And you've been practicing so much with it. I'm proud of you." She smiled, sighing as they moved close together and laid there. Silence stretched on. For the first time in awhile, a happy one, rather than one filled with tension.
"I remember what you told me, about what happened on the bridge. What Misaki did… and about what attacked you all. You were absolutely sure what attacked you was female?"
"100%. Trust me, their outfit did not leave almost anything to the imagination. Why?" Kuroko asked, looking up. Mikoto scowled a bit, nodding. She pushed her thoughts out across the Network, the Network answering back. As always, she had such a hard time deciphering it, but it was a feeling of thankfulness. A feeling of a promise of future action. As well as a feeling of… praise? Praise from a very high pitched voice that was both very motherly and extremely childish. Somehow, this voice, that periodically popped up, was always so, so very frustratingly annoying.
"It's just… the way you described their powers reminded me of something. If she was female though… it debunks it." Mikoto shook her head, leaning down and giving Kuroko a soft kiss.
Kuroko squeaked and made that cute little embarrassing trill she made whenever Mikoto took the initiative. Mikoto let it hang for a bit before pulling her lips back.
"Thanks… The Network says they're gonna get back to me. I'm gonna try and decipher what they're trying to say. It's so freaking hard sometimes. It's just… feelings and…" Mikoto sighed, shaking her head. "As for Misaki… She prioritized Uiharu above herself and nearly got herself killed trying to protect her. I don't trust her, I still don't trust her. But… I do think she loves Uiharu honestly." Mikoto said quietly, even if her words were painfully said and begrudging.
Kuroko nodded in agreement, pressing her face against Mikoto's neck, sighing. "And what Misaki said was right. Even if it hurts to say it. I've only had my arm for ten days. We need to focus on our recovery. I may be proceeding well on controlling my arm, but that is only because I focus on it so much. If I lose focus… I need to learn to make everything I do unconscious. Maybe once I do that… Maybe once I get both of my arms…" She trailed off. Mikoto knew what she meant. Maybe once she got both of them, maybe then her powers might begin to recover. They had no idea. That faint spark of hope was there.
"Hey Kuroko?"
"Yes?"
"...What do you… think of moving into the same room?" Mikoto asked softly. Her eyes immediately avoided Kuroko's gaze, as she could practically sense the wide-eyed shining gasping fantasies springing to life in those lusty orbs.
"A-Are you sincere?" She said in a husky tone that made something deep in Mikoto's stomach squirm. Maybe this had been imprudent.
She felt a hand squeezing somewhere very, very impolite.
This had been VERY IMPRUDENT.
"K-KUROKO!"
"S-Sorry! I just got excited!" Kuroko said, pulling her hand back from Mikoto's chest, trying her best to look innocent and failing.
"I just thought… sometimes we fall asleep in here so often anyway, and hang out in here, so… you know…" Mikoto blushed, showing her shyness at affection again. Kuroko beamed up at her, wiggling up and nuzzling her.
"If you're offering, you know I won't hesitate for a minute. If you're ready." Kuroko said, better controlling herself now. For all her feistiness and excitement and eagerness… when Kuroko composed herself, she was very good at respecting Mikoto's boundaries. Mikoto let the idea hang in the air for a moment, before smiling.
"Yeah… yeah, let's do it."
Kuroko couldn't contain herself a moment longer before smashing their lips together once more.
Misaki stroked Uiharu's hair as she slept in her bed, Misaki sitting on the edge of it as her lover slumbered. She looked down at her phone, reading the periodic updates she got from Nokelben. Her security consultant did good work. As he should… He had been the very same man that had counteracted Misaka Mikoto during his tenure as the security consultant for the Level 6 Shift Project.
Thankfully, her powers allowed her to numb the emotional distractions that might interfere with her work.
The incident from a week ago had been extremely notable. Dark Matter's body had not been found on site, and while it was possible he had been vaporized by Meltdowner and Railgun, it was extremely unlikely. His organization, SCHOOL, was still moving and operating in the shadows, and his field operative that had been moving around that day had also not been found on sight. More than likely, he was still playing his part.
That was the thing. She had just listed three Level 5's. Count herself and Gunha, that meant there were five of the seven present that day. That strange attacker that had managed to break Gunha's arm with whatever defensive power it had was clearly a dangerous adversary as well. Whatever reason it had to disappear, she suspected that it would return again. Her mental powers also had no effect on it, and had a power like Mikoto's, able to not only block her power, but cause her to accidentally use it on herself. Maybe some form of electromaster? It had ripped apart that car with no effort. It could have done that with magnetism, and redirected her remotes signals with electromagnetic fields.
And then there was Indigo… She was closing in on him. He could only hide his identity for so much longer. There were limits even to his power. He could not operate in this city and be a ghost at the same time. Further, his grudge match and need to prove himself superior to others kept forcing his encounters with Gunha. He may keep escaping, but his powers kept showing their diversity due to his changing tactics. His latest revelation of a power similar to Synchotron, the power to accelerate certain particles to cause them to detonate revealed much.
"You can't hide forever you monster… I will make you pay for trying to destroy my precious, Haru-chan…" She said coldly, the grip on her phone tightening slightly.
"I will bring your entire diseased temple of a mind down on your head."