The land of Tokiwadai was small, but it was a proud country full of culture. Today, the country was celebrating two very special occasions - national day, as well as their beloved Princess Misaka Mikoto's birthday. Elaborate decorations were put up all around the nation, lacing the streets in its national colours of aqua blue and gold. From early morning, people were bustling about in the streets, enjoying festivities and various national delicacies. Huge hologram screens were set up in anticipation of the princess's public speech that was due to happen later that day.
In a certain street nearby the Tokiwadai Palace, two figures walked swiftly together. One of them looked less than happy to be there as she hurried to keep up with the other.
"Princess Mikotoooo~ You're walking too fast!"
"Hurry it up! I'll just leave you behind if you keep walking like a slug."
"Nnnnghhh… This is bad… We shouldn't be out here-"
"Maika," the brown-haired girl sighed at her companion. "It's only for a little while. They won't notice me missing; we'll sneak right back in before the party starts."
"You're not even wearing proper clothes fit for a princess!" Maika reprimanded. "I'll get sacked as your maid if your mother finds out."
"That'll never happen, stop worrying." Mikoto waved her maid's complaints aside with confidence. "Wearing normal civilian clothes is the whole point! Besides, I like them. This shirt and the shorts are super comfortable to move around in. All the ribbons and frills on the dresses can get a bit annoying."
"You're too much of a tomboy. Even if you look just like Queen Misuzu, you're actually nothing like her at all."
Mikoto's eyes narrowed haughtily at the younger girl. "Is that a problem?"
"N-no, princess." Maika squeaked.
Mikoto grinned and turned her gaze back ahead. Her eyes lit up when she noted a queue of people lined up nearby. This was what she had come down here for.
"Noooo, not this again," Maika pressed a hand against her forehead in dismay.
Ignoring her maid's protests, Mikoto proceeded to approach the queue. When she joined the back of the line, her face fell as she tried to peer over the people in front of her. The queue was longer than she expected.
"Holy shit," Mikoto swore under her breath. Maika gasped and clapped both hands over her ears with a wince. "Was this game always this popular?"
"Well, it is the number one rated game of the nation," Maika sniffed. "Although I can't understand what is so appealing about shooting weird lights and bobs at people, even if they do look monstrous."
"They're supposed to represent espers, Maika," Mikoto rolled her eyes. "You shoot at them because they're evil. Besides, it's a fun game. You should try it with me today."
"Oh… no, no, no…" Maika shook her head. "Last time you tried to involve me in one of your mischiefs, my wage got cut by a quarter for an entire month!"
"You're no fun, Maika," Mikoto grumbled. Then she grinned widely. "Watch me snag the high score and grab the grand prize."
Maika's head tilted for a moment but then drooped as if a sudden terrible thought had occurred to her.
"I see now why you want to do this," she groaned. "You're the one who declared that the grand prize for the highest score be a giant Gekota furniture set, right?"
"Sh-Shut up!" Mikoto's cheeks grew red. "It's not that! I- I just want to play the game!"
In truth, Maika had hit the nail on the head. As the princess, she apparently had an elegant image to uphold and ordering a bunch of green frog-character furnitures was not keeping to this. Even Mikoto knew that. However, if she won them as a prize, she had an excuse to keep them for sentimental value.
"You're such a child…" Maika moped. "Collecting kiddy products and using such unlady-like language. What would Queen Misuzu say?!"
"Honestly, she wouldn't care," Mikoto mumbled under her breath. "You should hear her swearwords when she's drunk."
"Hmm?" Her maid looked at her cluelessly.
Mikoto sighed. "Never mind."
She turned back to the queue, wondering if there was any way she could fast-track her way to the front. She adjusted her hat which hid her long brown hair inside. Of course, she could always declare her status as the Princess of Tokiwadai and show off her royal ring. She was certain that people would make way and she'd be able to play the game right away. However, she didn't want to risk the freedom she had right now of pretending to be a normal civilian. This kind of liberty where she could do whatever she wanted was a rare opportunity.
She grimaced inwardly. If word got out, she would also never hear the end of it from her royal instructor - a tall, stern woman who could make her choke with one simple gaze from those razor sharp eyes behind her glasses. Just the thought of it made her gulp.
"Stop! Stop that woman!"
Mikoto was so lost in thought that she barely saw what was coming. Stars exploded in her vision as someone barged into her. The heavy weight of a person fell on top of her as she was knocked down. Her eyes opened wide as her assailant struggled to get up and start running away. It was a woman, one arm holding a large bundle tight against her chest. Mikoto grabbed her wrist quickly as the woman writhed.
"Let me go!"
Maika shrieked as the person kicked the princess in the legs. Mikoto grimaced but didn't let go. If there was one thing she was proud of and grateful towards her royal instructor for, it was the intensive physical training she had committed to since she was a child. Her father and King had emphasised that he wanted the Princess of Tokiwadai to grow up to be a strong lady who could defend herself when needed. Her fierce royal instructor had done her job well, and Mikoto was not one to submit to someone who would attack her out of the blue.
"You wish!" Tucking herself into a low crouch, Mikoto spun a leg out, kicking her assailant's feet from under her. The offender fell once more with a yelp, and Mikoto pounced on top of the woman's prone form, roughly pulling the hand she had caught behind her back.
"What do you think you're doing-?!"
"Freeze! Don't move!"
People suddenly surrounded them and Mikoto looked up. They were Anti-Skill, the police force of Tokiwadai. She breathed out a sigh of relief. They would take care of this.
"You're chasing this woman?" Mikoto asked them.
One of the Anti-Skill stepped forward, a gun in her hands.
"Yes, I commend you on capturing her- Wait, aren't you… Princess Mikoto?!"
A ripple of murmurs spread amongst the gathered crowd as the Anti-Skill quickly bowed down low in front of Mikoto. The princess suddenly realised that her hat had fallen off during her encounter with the rogue woman, revealing her long hair and full appearance. From the edge of her vision, she saw Maika quietly sink her face into her palms as she muttered, "This is a disaster! I'm going to be blamed for this!".
Mikoto scratched a cheek awkwardly as other people hurriedly followed suit in bowing before their princess.
"Uhh, yeah. It's me." She waved a free hand in front of her casually to diffuse the situation. "I was just… uh, out on a stroll when this woman bumped into me."
Right on cue, the woman renewed struggles from beneath her, yelling out obscenities. Anti-Skill quickly moved in.
"We'll take it from here, princess."
Mikoto nodded and stepped off the woman as the Anti-Skill took the assailant's wrist from her hand. The woman was sobbing, still clutching the bundle on the ground close to her chest with the other arm.
"So, what did she do?"
Crime existed in Tokiwadai, but the country was mostly peaceful. As far as Mikoto was aware, her nation was a happy country filled with content people.
The Anti-Skill woman who had spoken earlier glanced at her. "Apart from attacking you, she has also been safeguarding an esper."
Mikoto suddenly heard it. The tiny cries of a baby, its mouth muffled by blankets. As one of the Anti-Skill turned the woman around to handcuff her wrists together, another grabbed the bundle and Mikoto saw its face. A small baby, eyes scrunched up as tears leaked from their corners. Its mouth was wide agape and a loud, shrill wail pierced her eardrums. A strange halo of light burst from its temple for a second - a definite proof that it possessed an ability.
In school, she was taught espers were nothing more than monsters. They wielded powers of the demons as according to the religion everyone in Tokiwadai believed. Staring at the crying baby in distress, Mikoto momentarily wondered how such a helpless thing could be an evil demon spawn.
Pearls of blood weeped from a graze on the baby's head as it cried.
"Please, please! Not my child!" The woman sobbed. "She's done nothing wrong! She's just an innocent baby!"
Mikoto glanced down at the woman crying at her feet. Her heart throbbed in response at the sight, but she knew it was a lost cause. Espers were evil - the words were ingrained into her mind, and she understood that nothing could change this fact.
"I'm sorry," she said to the woman. The woman's blue eyes were wild with sorrow, auburn hair spilling out from her messy bun as she turned to face Mikoto. "But you know as well as we all do. Espers are monsters, the spawns of demons. She may be innocent now, but one day, your daughter will grow up to be just like the rest of them - sadistic because of their powers and only desiring devastation and chaos around them. This is for the best, to protect all of us."
A hair-splitting screech erupted from the woman's throat. A wail of a mother in despair.
"You're the damned monster!" The woman shrieked at Mikoto as the Anti-Skill dragged her away. "You're the damned fucking demon for treating my Elina this way!"
"Shut up!" One of the Anti-Skill barked. "How dare you say that to the Princess!"
"Mark my words, Misaka Mikoto!" The woman took no heed of the officers trying to restrain her. "You'll regret this someday! You'll get what's coming to you! I hope you suffer a thousand- no, a million times over! I hope a billion demons swoop down to curse and torture you over and over-"
An Anti-Skill officer tasered her. The woman suddenly choked and slumped over, mid-speech.
"Crazy bitch," the man muttered. He turned to Mikoto, dipping his head low as the other Anti-Skill scuttled to move the woman into a van. "We apologise for the trouble, princess. I hope you take no offence at the scum's words."
"It's fine," Mikoto said coolly. She didn't want to admit that the woman's harsh words and open hostility towards her had hit a shaky nerve. Nobody had ever said such terrible words to her before. As a Princess, most people treated her with automatic warmth and respect. It had been unnerving to hear a stranger hurl such ill-willed curses targeted directly at her.
Mikoto shook her head mentally. She didn't want to be put down by such depressing thoughts. As she watched the baby being taken to a separate vehicle, she tried to distract herself by asking the officer a question that had been on her mind.
"What will happen to the baby?"
She suddenly realised she didn't know much about what happened to espers who were detected and captured by Anti-Skill. It wasn't something that was taught at school, or even discussed by anyone. Talking about espers so casually was usually frowned upon.
"She'll go to a correctional facility like any other esper," the officer said shortly.
"But… What exactly is a correctional facility? What happens there?"
The officer stared at her for a moment with a blank face before turning away with a simple bow. "It's a place where monsters belong, your highness. A royal princess like yourself shouldn't be concerned about such grim things."
With that cryptic answer, the Anti-Skill left the scene, leaving Mikoto with more questions that could not be voiced.
Maika approached her, looking just as worn out as she felt. "Are you okay, princess?"
"Yeah… I guess," Mikoto shrugged.
"That woman was really out of line!" Maika raged. "She deserves to rot in whatever cell she gets put into! I can't believe she said all that stuff, even- no, especially after knowing you're the royal princess!"
"Yeah…" Mikoto said half-heartedly. "Maybe…" She looked down at the ground. The woman's face twisted in rage swam into her vision as her words echoed in her ears. A crippling, icy fear struck her chest and she felt ill. Suddenly, she wished she'd never come out on this stupid outing.
"Princess?" Maika looked at her cautiously. "You look a bit pale."
"I-I'm fine!" Mikoto threw her a big grin. It was forced, but she hoped her maid would buy it. She stretched out her arms languidly, but quickly dropped them when she realised people were still staring. Many people at the back of the crowd were on their tiptoes to get a good glimpse of their princess. She suddenly felt self-conscious, wearing casual clothes. No doubt word of this incident would go floating back to Tokiwadai Palace in the near future, perhaps even with some odd spins to the tale here and there by imaginative citizens.
She was totally going to get roasted by her royal instructor.
"L-Let's go back. The queue's too long anyway," Mikoto whispered to Maika. "I can't be bothered to wait."
In all honesty, she wasn't in any mood to play a game.
Maika nodded, clearing approving her decision. "It's a good idea, princess. You need to get ready for the party anyway."
With hundreds of pairs of eyes watching them, the two quickly made their way back to Tokiwadai Palace.
Amongst all the eyes in the crowd hid a pair of strange starry ones, keenly observing Misaka Mikoto with a devious grin. A gloved hand flicked back a lock of golden hair as the other caressed a remote control.
"Hnn? She's already having fun before the main event. Maybe I'll go grab the front row seats before the show starts~"