Part 1
Returning to the Tokiwadai dormitory after losing sight of Kamijou Touma, Mikoto felt frustrated beyond belief.
He escaped into the city crowd where she was most assuredly prevented from using her powers to attack him, no matter how much confidence she had in being able to control her abilities. What's more, the Sister that had been accompanying him managed to disappear as well, probably knowing where to find him.
Mikoto tried to call Touma's cell phone strangely enough, but he hadn't yet answered nor did she manage to leave a message, getting only a "this number is unavailable" instead.
It may have seemed that he wasn't as stupid as she hoped.
"The nerve of that guy!" she huffed.
While Tokiwadai comprised of a single middle school, the girls who attended had the choice of living in one of two dorms. One of those dorms was within the School Garden, where each of the elite schools was and men were prohibited to go into, and another in the general Academy City area in District 7.
Walking through the front door of the entryway, she was too focused on her thoughts to notice the uniformed girls' glances at her open soliloquy. "What is he thinking, letting that Sister of mine hang so close to him?"
Thinking back to the short-haired brunette called a Sister, a clone based off of her DNA map, Mikoto clenched her fists while barely keeping control of the electricity that ached to be let loose on an unfortunate vending machine.
Misaka 10032, now apparently known as Misaka Jun as a result of Mikoto's haphazard attempt to keep her roommate Shirai Kuroko unawares of the Sisters a few weeks ago, had the gall to start attending his high school and even live near him, wherever that was.
"How does she even know where he lives, anyway?"
The other brunette also looked quite charming in the dark navy blue and white trimmed girl's high school uniform. Mature even, despite her small build, as the uniform was well fitted and the hem of the skirt was slightly longer than Tokiwadai's winter uniform skirt.
Since they were more or less indistinguishable from each other, save for the military-grade goggles or specifically 10032's necklace, Mikoto wondered if she would also look the same wearing that uniform…
"Oh, Mikoto!" someone's voice called her out of her thoughts.
Looking to where the voice came from, Mikoto saw two girls approaching her; a smiling bespectacled blonde walking quite closely with a girl with long black hair.
"How've you been?" the blonde, who was actually the Student Body President, Hitomi Aika, asked sincerely.
"I'm good, Ms. Aika, and you?"
"I'm very good, thank you for asking, Ms. Misaka."
This sort of exchange, which was practically a scripted dialogue for all Tokiwadai students to use whenever seeing each other whether they were familiar with each other or not, was refreshingly sincere.
It would have felt even friendlier if it wasn't for the dour-faced Asanuma standing next to Hitomi. Very close in fact, and every so often she would look around then return a cautious glance at her as though Mikoto was about to steal away the President at any moment.
It was hard for Mikoto to miss, as subtle as it was, to see Hitomi's hand gently holding and caressing Asanuma's hand in a tender way. It was harder still to hide the slight blush Mikoto felt coming on when she saw the more open display of affection between the two girls than she last remembered.
The blonde girl cheerfully announced the news to her, "You've been invited to the Tokiwadai Board's Formal Ball."
"Eh?" Mikoto's attention was directed again toward the President's face.
It wasn't too surprising that as an important figure as the third Level 5; as one of Tokiwadai's two ESPers and considered the "Ace" of the school, it would surely be an annual objective for the administrators and teachers to have her attend the Formal.
The only thing was there was nothing more boring in her opinion than going to those stuffy formal engagements that many of the rich found so appealing. In fact she had been invited to attend a number of times already, though usually arriving in her mail.
This would be the first time that it was hand delivered, and by the Student Council President, no less.
"Alright, now open your hands."
Mikoto, unable to hold back a smile, did as was requested.
The student body president handed her not one but four invitations.
"I know that you don't really have a choice, so I thought it would be better if you could go with your friends too."
"Thanks." Mikoto felt a swell in her chest at the thought, which easily deflated from Asanuma's stare.
There was a sudden vibration and a soft croaking sound that came from Mikoto's skirt pocket. Embarrassed, she quickly reached for her cell phone—a green Gekota-shaped device—and pressed her thumb to silence it when she felt unnerved for a moment. While it wasn't rare to feel that way whenever she spotted Kuroko's name on the message I.D., it felt different.
Maybe it was the anxiety stemming from not being able to fight with Touma…no…there was no way Touma even deserved to be pondered about.
Instead it was a sort of ominous feeling like when one noticed a group of delinquents surrounding someone who you just hoped dearly that the poor victim wasn't someone you knew.
Giving into her intuition, Mikoto flipped open her cell phone and read what Kuroko had sent.
Staying silent for the short moment that she read the text, Mikoto felt a cold bead of sweat run down her nape and left the student council president and Asanuma without a word.
Mikoto rushed back to her dorm room with a worried look.
Spotting the girl sitting comfortably in her bed, the still panting brunette made a small dash for a closer inspection, not even bothered to close the door behind her.
"What happened? Where are you hurt? Are you ok? Did Kuroko attack you?" Mikoto asked without pause, just as the twin-tailed roommate of Academy City's third Level 5 arrived as well.
As a strictly enforced rule, students of Tokiwadai Middle School were prohibited from using their powers in the dorm.
As she and her roommate were already in the proverbial "dog house" with the Dorm Mistress because of the incident that left a large hole in the side of their room and a hospitalized Kuroko, it would be more trouble than it was worth for Kuroko to really tire herself even more teleporting back to the room when she already pushed herself to clear out her "photo studio" just before taking care of Misaka Kate.
"Kuroko! Why did you leave her alone?" Mikoto quickly exclaimed when she heard the other girl close the door.
Blinking, she slouched realizing what she had just said.
"You didn't respond when I called or texted you, Onee-sama, so I went looking for you."
'She called me?' Mikoto glanced at the call log and saw at least four registries of Kuroko calling within a span of five minutes at least half an hour ago.
'That must have been just after I chased…'
"Luckily I passed by the President and Asanuma downstairs who told me you suddenly rushed off when they were talking to you."
"Oh…" Mikoto thought back to how rude it must have seen to suddenly do that to Hitomi and Asanuma. She would have to find them again and apologize. Sending a text or just calling wouldn't be enough for something like that.
After hearing as believable an edited version of events as Kuroko could offer, Mikoto tiredly took a seat at the foot of her bed.
"Onee-sama…?"
Letting out a sigh, Mikoto brushed her hand through her hair.
The fact that Misaka Kate had fainted inexplicably and she received the invitation couldn't be a coincidence. Considering how Mikoto managed to destroy part of the dormitory and had only received a reprimand from the Dorm Mistress was a bit too lenient to be honest.
Mikoto thought over the reason why this was so.
It was one thing for an underclassman like Kuroko to manage to share a room with an upperclassman, not to mention Tokiwadai's Railgun, (considering of course, Kuroko's more or less "underhanded" way of managing to push out Mikoto's previous roommate) it was another thing entirely to allow three students share a room, even when two of them were "siblings" like Mikoto and "Kate" was.
Very questionable in fact, since Tokiwadai was the very same kind of institution that was able to reject royalty from attending. It should have been an obvious sign when the Dorm Mistress or even the Chairman apparently had no say in their special rooming situation.
So getting an invitation while they had previously been sent to her mom all the other times meant that Misaka Kate was brought to Mikoto to be a weak point.
But then again, using the Sister as a bargaining chip in order to get Mikoto to attend the Formal was just that kind of thing she should have expected from Academy City.
She was tricked into volunteering her DNA map to Academy City, after all.
Her cell phone digitally croaked and alerted her to a received message. In the confusion that stemmed from reading Kuroko's text Mikoto had apparently forgotten to silence her phone.
[Is Kate alrite?]
The words of Saten Ruiko's text were processed by Mikoto's jumbled mind who was still trying to unscramble her mind.
[Yea…just fine. Thnks 4 askn.]
Mikoto responded and closed her Gekota cell phone.
"Onee-sama, there is no need for such worry,' Misaka tries to say with assurance while feeling embarrassment from the attention."
"Well what do you expect a sister to do, huh? I can't believe you're trying to tell me not to worry." Half mindedly scratching her chin, Mikoto glanced away with a blush in response to the other girl's own reddening. "You're saying I'm not responsible?"
"Of course not, Onee-sama." Kuroko stated as though it were a universally known fact.
While Kuroko could be maddeningly insane in her provocations and unwanted advances, Mikoto found that the twin-tailed girl had from time to time great moments of sincerity. If it weren't for those rare occurrences there would've been no way Mikoto would tolerate the crazed teleporter, the Student Body President be damned.
"So…you're feeling better, right?"
"Yes, much better.' Misaka says while feeling embarrassed by the level of concern placed on her by Onee-sama."
Watching the two brunettes attempt to out-embarrass the other, Kuroko swooned and took a step forward to jump into the fray when she noticed something white in the corner of her eye. Casting a glance toward Mikoto's skirt, she spotted a small envelope poking out from the skirt pocket that was embossed with gold and looked formally stylized.
The twin-tailed girl smirked as she let curiosity take control of her hand and she snagged the fancy document out of her roommate's skirt pocket.
Mikoto meanwhile was entirely consumed with talking with her Sister when she heard the ruffling of paper behind her.
Immediately spinning around, Mikoto gaped with wide eyes as the smaller girl had the Formal invitation in her hands.
"H-hey, don't just grab that Kuro-"
"Onee-sama…" Kuroko began while looking as she revealed the several tickets that had accompanied Mikoto's invitation.
"What is it…Kuroko…?" Mikoto's eyes widened as Kuroko began to inspect the tickets in her hand. With slow steps, Mikoto tried her best in her effort to grab the tickets, since simply frying Kuroko and the tickets along with her was out of the question.
There happened to be a Current Detector installed into the ceiling next to the smoke alarm since the last time Mikoto had decided to dispatch the teleporting pervert of a roommate. Random bursts of electrical current would be hard to come by in a Tokiwadai dorm, which meant that Mikoto's powers would obviously be the sole source of such a phenomenon.
"So…are you going…?"
Mikoto thought about what the potential effects of her not going were this time.
Should she try to discuss this with her?
No.
That was a nonstarter.
The last thing Mikoto wanted was to let Kuroko know who exactly her "sister" was, the girl who had a fainting spell and was currently sitting quietly in her bed.
There was no way Mikoto would let her know about the Sisters or the Level 6 project.
"…probably…" quietly surmised to the surprising approval of Kuroko.
"Onee-sama!" the twin-tailed girl beamed. "I'm so happy that you've begun to have an interest in activities benefitting a lady!"
"Geez, it's really not that big a deal…"
"But it is quite a deal, Onee-sama!" Kuroko tut-tutted and glanced at the ticket again. "Not only is it a formal gala, but it is also tonight! I am also certain that you don't have any such clothes to wear to it!"
"How do you know that?"
"I'll have to call Saten and Uiharu…" Taking out her stylishly small cell phone, Kuroko pulled out a transparent screen from the device and scrolled through the list of contacts to find the other girls' entries.
"Eh? Why do you have to call Saten and Uiharu?" Mikoto asked with a blink.
"Are you saying you're against seeing your friends?"
"What? No…it's just that…well…"
"Not only can you get a wider set of opinions than if you just went with me (considering your childish sense of fashion) but it will also make it harder for you to run away with extra sets of eyes. Besides, there's nothing more exciting for friends to do than to shop with a purpose in mind."
"I don't like how you snuck in that comment about me running away in there…"
"Forgetting that, Onee-sama, in order to make things more time efficient…" Revealing a sterner look, Kuroko drew closer to Mikoto. "I'll take your measurements ahead of time!"
"Geh! Get your hands away from there, stupid!" Smacking at the smaller girl's attempt to reach under her skirt, Mikoto jumped backwards a step so Kuroko couldn't get another glance at her shorts.
"Maa, Onee-sama, I can't believe you're embarrassed from just that unless…unless…"
Dramatic piano music played in Kuroko's mind.
"…unless under those shorts you're not wearing pan-"
"YOU STUPID GIRL!"
From where she sat, Misaka Kate tilted her head and watched in fascination as she watched Mikoto wrestle and contort Kuroko who moaned and writhed in ecstatic pain.
Part 2
"Are you really sure that you want to come along? Why don't you rest a bit more?"
"Misaka is definitely ok! Please let Misaka come along with you!' M-Misaka Kate begs to experience a 'shopping trip' with Onee-sama."
The smallish Sister, showing her eagerness, hopped in an almost childlike manner as though to protest Mikoto's cautiousness as if she were a parent being unfair to Misaka Kate.
The three girls, dressed in the Tokiwadai Middle School uniform, garnered some looks as they continued walking toward their destination. It was a strict policy of the school for students to wear an approved uniform at all times even outside of class.
In particular, the twin short-haired brunettes had attracted a handsome number of other male students who had been leaving their respective cram schools or activities on their way home.
Kuroko most definitely disapproved.
"It's about time you slowpokes showed up!" the cheery long haired Saten Ruiko smirked at the approaching trio of Tokiwadai students.
"Saten, Mikoto was really worried about her sister, you know?"
"'Course, 'course, it was just a joke, Uiharu! Haha!" Saten rubbed the back of her head in response to the flower-headed girl's chastisement. "But still, a last minute shopping trip for a Tokiwadai ball? Why didn't you say earlier, Mikoto?"
The sorts of romantic notions of ladies and nobles dancing swam through Uiharu's head when Saten first received an update text from Mikoto about an hour earlier.
Though the others wouldn't know it, but Uiharu had shrieked with excitement and bothered Saten while waiting to start this shopping event.
Saten looked between the two girls, who despite their immediate physical similarities, looked like completely different people because of the attitude they presented. While Mikoto was the cool, strong-type, the other girl was more demure and girl-like, almost Uiharu-like in a way.
"Uwah, you really do look alike, huh?" Saten exclaimed this nonetheless.
It was to Mikoto's surprise that Saten and Uiharu already knew as much about Misaka Kate as they did.
Of course, it all made much more sense when Kuroko revealed that she had been texting them updates about the revealed "secret Misaka sister" for the last few days.
"Hey there Kate, it's nice to finally meet you! I'm Saten Ruiko." Introducing herself, Saten offered her hand to which Misaka Kate reciprocated.
Following Saten's lead, Uiharu—a girl with flowers in her hair—extended her hand, though with some hesitation from being too forward to the third Tokiwadai student she had ever met.
"Hi and I'm-"
"-and this here's Uiha…RUU!"
"Eh?" Uiharu paused, suddenly feeling a breeze around her thighs.
"Oh, yellow with white polka dots today!"
"S-s-s-SATEN!" The flower-topped girl immediately grasped at the floating hem of her skirt and tugged it down, while never retracting her other hand, which was outstretched to greet Misaka Kate's the whole time.
"Wow, a one-handed grab? That's some pretty advanced stuff there, Uiharu!"
"D-don't laugh! You're embarrassing me in front of Misaka's sister!"
"Shall we get going, then?" Kuroko mumbled, somewhat bored of the other girls' usual antics as they paled in comparison to seeing Mikoto in new clothes (or possibly none at all)
Part 3
Looking around the racks of the dresses available in Seventh Mist, Saten spotted a bright red dress and eagerly looked over it. Taking it off the hanger, she peered through the inside to look at its tag to read the size and price and maybe even the washing directions for good measure.
She did so, only to learn that she couldn't find any sort of tag.
'Wow, this is a pretty fancy brand, then, huh?'
Holding it up in front of her, Saten figured to give it a try since a fancy dinner party would require a fancy dress. It was the same sort of mindset that Saten had when she thought of very expensive restaurants don't even print the prices for their meals in the menus, as though needing to know it was enough of a red flag that you might not be able to afford it.
"Hey Mikoto, what do ya think of this?"
The red dress that Saten lifted for the others to see swayed slightly before hanging loosely once again.
Looking from the thin spaghetti straps to the bottom hem of the clothing it seemed just long enough to cover one down to mid thigh. It revealed the shoulders and was backless, and a slit at the bottom right side of the dress allowed for more movement as well as revealing much of the thigh.
"EEHH? Saten, no! That's inappropriate for a middle-schooler to wear!" Kazari squealed at such an adult dress with wide eyes and flushed cheeks.
"What are you talking about?" Saten laughed mischievously. Closing the distance between herself and the other girl, she smiled playfully and hung the red dress overtop Uiharu's uniform. "As a Tokiwadai student, she's obviously expected to act more adult-like, right? Oh, surprisingly hot, Uiharu~n!"
Shivering at the image of her reflection, Uiharu's face turned as red as the dress held in front of her. "Q-quit it, Saten!" she whined like a cat being mishandled.
"Come on, come on, don't be like that, Uiharu! You're such a hottie!" Saten sang out in enjoyment over the flower-topped girl's weak struggles.
"I'll have to agree with Uiharu, but for a different reason." Kuroko stated.
This caused a pause to the ruckus that attracted a stink eye from the nearby saleswoman in the next row of racks over.
Sheepishly apologizing, Saten returned the dress to the rack where she found it.
"While I would love to see Onee-sama in such a dress, it happens to be an inappropriate choice for the Tokiwadai's Board party. It's a place where Tokiwadai's Board of Directors appointees and other such administrators simply go on about how marvelous the school and its students are. And I wouldn't be too surprised if any back-room dealings were made during that time.
"Unfortunately," the girl sighed, resting her chin daintily in her hands and looking away wistfully, "it's a very conservative affair."
"Eh? What do you mean by that 'unfortunately', Kuroko?" Uiharu stepped forward, always attracted to learning about the happenings of an "ojou-sama".
Slowly approaching the rack Saten had found the dress, Kuroko picked up the hanger and brushed her hand against the red silk cloth.
"I'd rather Onee-sama wear something like this not for the party but my own personal sho-"
A running punch to the face sent Kuroko flying a few feet away before she could finish.
From the way Kuroko laid on the ground in an unconscious heap, it would probably be a while before she woke up.
Panting heavily, Mikoto returned the stink eye that the saleswoman sent the girls' way before replacing the dress onto the rack, hopefully never to be seen by her again.
"Er…let's go, Uiharu…" Saten pulled the other girl along as they followed the Misaka twins to the formal gowns of the dress section.
The girls continued their search for a dress for Mikoto to wear—sans Kuroko—cheerily picking up a dress every now and then to show to Mikoto before she politely declined it.
It wasn't until a few dozen dresses had been optioned before Uiharu smiled widely and grabbed the hanger of a gown from the rack right in front of her.
"Oooh, Misaka what about this one?"
Uiharu beamed brightly as she showed it off to the other three, displaying a confidence that her pick was a definitely in the running.
"I…don't know…" Mikoto barely tried to show her reluctance, trying to pick at every excuse simply not to go to the formal. It worked only as long as she didn't glance at her Sister who was also taken in by Uiharu's pick.
"Wow wow, you should totally put it on! I wanna see you wear it, Misaka!" Saten shared Uiharu's enthusiasm for the gown.
In all honesty Mikoto couldn't imagine wearing such a thing, though she had come close to it at a number of Tokiwadai's other formal student gatherings.
"So tell me what you think about it!" Uiharu brought the gown closer to Mikoto, as though she hadn't heard the brunette's hesitation.
"I don't really know…" Mikoto tried to politely refuse with a chuckle.
"Well don't worry! I have a great idea!" Saten suddenly yelled and rushed off back into the aisles and racks of clothes. In a quick moment the raven haired girl reappeared with a blue flower clip and a pair of blue high heeled shoes in her hand and grabbing Kate's wrist with her other hand, Saten dragged the goggle-wearing brunette and the hanger from Uiharu's hands and disappeared behind the dressing room curtain.
After only a few minutes, the girls reemerged.
The Sister, who previously was wearing the standard beige and white Tokiwadai uniform, now donned a blue splendor of a dress.
Like ribbons, the shoulder straps were two inches wide and thinned towards the top portion of the dress, which was partially wrinkled and folded over in the center like a small silk scarf. The middle portion was smooth and hugged Misaka Kate's body as though it were tailored for her, not looking too tight or too loose. The bottom portion was lightly pleated and ended just below the knees.
The goggles that the Sister had adorned were also taken off and the hair clip that she wore similarly to Mikoto on her right side had been replaced by a blue flower clip the same shade as the dress. The blue high heeled shoes gave her a few inches in height, which gave a more appealing look to the calves that were visible below the dress' cut.
Mikoto never imagined that the Sisters could be used in such a way.
"So…is it acceptable?' Misaka asks, unable to determine from simple observation from the mirror.'
Without being prompted to, Misaka Kate twirled slowly to show the whole dress to the other girls, which the several mirrors in the back gave the impression of an elegant dance to Mikoto and Uiharu in the audience of the fashion show.
"Uwaah, so pretty!" Uiharu marveled at how the short-haired brunette made the dress look better than it did on its hook, instead of it bringing out her beauty.
"No need to thank me, it was all thanks to the material I had to work with, after all." Saten grinned at the minimum amount of work she had to put in to accentuate Misaka Kate's—and by extension, Mikoto's—natural beauty. "But I was totally surprised that you were skinnier than Mikoto!" Saten pinched her chin between her index finger and thumb in tactless wonder.
Mikoto blushed and fidgeted, feeling somewhat self conscious of her own body at the moment.
Remembering a traumatic experience when she was discovered to be of different measurements than the other Sisters, the other brunette shivered in trepidation.
"S-sorry' Misaka says while she readies herself for her punishment…"
"Punishment?" Saten found Kate's form of modesty strange as usual.
Predictably enough, Kuroko was supercharged (and conscious again) when she blinked into existence right beside the timid girl.
"LET ME BE THE ONE TO HANDLE GIVING THE PU-"
"DOWN, GIRL!"
Mikoto sent a punch into the teleporter's face, quickly dropping the girl to the floor in a mumbling heap for a second time that day.
After paying for and receiving the dress that had been gingerly put into a carrying bag that was the same length as it the girls made their way out of the department store.
Saten, as she often would, sighed out and lamented the types of things ladies-in-training like Tokiwadai students were privileged to do.
"I seriously wish I could go to a ball, too."
"Well we didn't get invitations, so we should be happy for Misaka and not let her feel guilty." Uiharu countered her schoolmate's remark.
"Yeah…I'm sorry about that, guys." Mikoto internally squirmed from seeing her friends' disappointment. She clutched her duffel bag where the three other invitations were stashed.
She and Kuroko quickly exchanged glances, though the other girl did not make any comment regarding the invitation tickets. Rather, the teleporter exchanged some conversation with Uiharu about Judgment work, while Saten tried to change the subject to something she knew a lot more about.
It seemed mean and it felt absolutely deceptive, but Mikoto definitely didn't want Saten and Uiharu to go, for their sakes.
To be looked at as accessories to Tokiwadai's Railgun rather than guests was enough to almost make Mikoto tear up her own invitation right then and there.
Of course, there were a number of reasons why the brunette couldn't use such a simple answer. The first thing was the special status the Sister had as her roommate.
Misaka Kate, who was dragged in between Saten and Uiharu to prevent Kuroko from taking a coveted spot, let out the smallest of amused smiles.
The five girls continued on to other parts of Academy City.
Part 4
The event started promptly at 6 pm.
The dining hall, which was lit up by several large crystal chandeliers equally spaced from one another, was about a few hundred square feet in size and easily contained the guests, tables, and chairs and allowed more than ample space for walking room.
All around Mikoto were adults, mostly of the older variety, stiffly greeting one another as a string quartet played a piece in the background.
It was everything she dreaded and more.
She picked up a drink from the tray of a waiter passing by, making sure to hold it daintily enough that it matched what the other women were doing to not stand out. While Mikoto preferred not to drink (considering she was also underage), she picked one up in order to prevent anyone from offering her a drink later on.
"Mikoto." Unabara Mitsuki approached her without a shred of hesitation. He held a glass of champagne in each hand and chuckled politely when he saw that Mikoto already had a glass in her hand.
Looking around, he quickly placed the extra glass onto a waiter's tray and walked toward Mikoto again.
"Oh, hi there…Unabara…" Mikoto greeted the boy with an extra effort not to seem unnerved by his appearance. While there was nothing particularly bad about Unabara Mitsuki—he was young, polite, smart, and even Mikoto could admit that he was sort of cute.
It was his personality that she had a problem with. His cheerfulness and naiveté just didn't go well with her.
"You're looking quite beautiful tonight. How've you been?"
Unabara Mitsuki, the grandson of the Chairman of Tokiwadai, wore a polite smile while he failed to hide the intense excitement he had for Mikoto's attendance.
Dressed in a straightforward blue suit and tie and white shirt, it made it quite awkward how well matching he was to Mikoto's dress, making it seem to others looking at them like they were a couple. To Mikoto, it seemed to her as though he followed and learned what color she was wearing.
This was especially disturbing since she had only picked this dress a few hours ago.
"Oh, you know…" Mitsuki began to tell a story about an interesting factoid he learned in school, with Mikoto nodding politely and repeating certain things he said to show she was paying attention.
In reality, Mikoto was more or less in her own thoughts. The last she saw him was when she pretended to be Touma's girlfriend in order to get Mitsuki to stop talking to her. Unfortunately from looking around the hall at that the sort of people who were in attendance it was obvious that he wouldn't be around for her to repeat the tactic, nor would she want to do such a thing with anyone else, really.
She blushed furiously when she remembered their trip to buy hot dogs, as well as what that spiky-haired idiot said that day.
'Geez! Why am I thinking of him of all people right now!'
Bowing her head slightly, Mikoto tried to hide her reddened cheeks and the heat that was probably emanating from her face by lowering her fringe, awkwardly trying to look casual by taking a sip of her drink in such a way.
"Do my eyes deceive me? Ms. Misaka, you're here too?"
A young girl approached the two, looking over Mikoto with feigned surprise.
Wearing a very familiar red dress, the girl revealed her face from behind the paper fan that she held with a simple yet flamboyant flick of her wrist. Her large forehead and almost as large ego was visible all the while.
"My, my, how suitably welcoming that you're here as well, Ms. Misaka!" Giving a twirl for unseen and nonexistent cameras, Kongou Mitsuko revealed the backless and bottom left slit-design of her dress that seemed awfully similar to one she saw from Seventh Mist.
"I had attended a few of these formals because of my father's friendship with the Chairman of Tokiwadai before but don't remember you ever being here before. Is this your first time here?"
"Well, you see…uh…"
"No, I've tried inviting her a few times but I myself was surprised that she came tonight." Unabara Mitsuki stepped forward and smiled while he answered on Mikoto's behalf.
"Well, no, you see…uh…"
"Mikoto, there you are." Appearing next to the three was a girl wearing a simple green dress, and her long brown hair that was normally in a ponytail was tied into an elaborate looking bun.
"Ryoko? I didn't know you and Miko…uh…Ms. Misaka knew each other!" Mitsuki was the first to greet the girl.
"Yeah, you could say that we have a prior…history, wouldn't you say?" She exchanged glances with the other Tokiwadai student with a sheepish smirk. "Now please excuse me for cutting in, Mitsuki, but…you." She turned her attention to Mikoto. "My uncle would like you to meet someone."
The girl's name was Unabara Ryoko. Her uncle, who was also Mitsuki's grandfather, was the chairman of Tokiwadai Middle School.
Despite a temporary complication near the beginning of the school year, she and the former president Asanuma Reiko have been best friends since elementary school.
Mikoto and Ryoko's past meetings, while complicated as well, were generally amiable since the end of the student body president elections that Hitomi Aika won, as they normally would be between a third and a second year.
Barely hiding his dejection behind a polite smile, Mitsuki nodded his head acknowledging what his second cousin was there to do. "Of course, Ryoko. Anyways, see you around…Mikoto!"
"Ok." Mikoto smiled and nodded politely.
"While you're there, tell the Chairman that the scion of the Kongou family says hello."
"…er, right….will do." Mikoto said as she was escorted to another part of the room by Ryoko.
Making a slight glance backward, the long-haired upperclassman made sure to see if they were out of ear shot before turning forward and smirking. "She's quite an interesting person, that forehead girl."
"Huh? Yeah, I guess…" Mikoto blinked, surprised by how friendly Ryoko was being toward her.
A group of three or four adults were chatting excitedly when she was brought over. The oldest of the four turned immediately toward the girls when he noticed their arrival. "Thank you, Ryoko, why don't you go keep Mitsuki busy?" He said immediately.
"Of course, uncle. Have fun." Ryoko said with a hint of sympathy hidden in her tone toward the second year and seemed somewhat happier to leave to speak with someone closer to her age. Without waiting for her to leave, the older man turned a jovial expression toward Mikoto.
"Ms. Misaka, a pleasure to see you again. How are you finding your classes?"
"Likewise, Chairman Unabara. My classes are fine, thank you for asking." She curtsied politely.
"Galen!" the Chairman excitedly called the youngest-looking of the group's attention toward them. Successful in doing so, the Chairman gestured his hand toward the man.
"Ms. Misaka, let me introduce you to Galen Li-"
"Please, let me stop you right there…" the man interrupted his own introduction with a cordial laugh, "…don't be so formal about it, Chairman Unabara. Ms. Misaka." The young man laughed with slightly colored cheeks. "You see I still find it embarrassing to be addressed by my last name only, so please excuse me. You can call me Galen. It's also hard not to know about Tokiwadai's Ace, Misaka Mikoto."
"Well then, it is a pleasure to meet you…Galen." Mikoto curtsied in a ladylike manner. Seeing his outstretched hand, she shook his with a smile. "Congratulations on your appointment."
Although Academy City was overall controlled by a single Board of Directors, the various school districts that comprised the city were each run by a district Directors' Board responsible for the various individual schools within their district.
There technically wasn't a specific Board for Tokiwadai Middle School, but a group of appointed people who represented the school's interests.
Unlike each of the different school districts that had a Board of administrators who looked over all of the school within their district, the School Garden, which was a gated area of 5 elite schools, had its own administrative body, while being within District 7.
Unlike Board seats for each school district which were elected for from a list of approved candidates, all five elite schools solely appoint members of their Board, and rumor has it that not even each school Chairman actually has the final say on membership decisions.
Appointed seats then, were usually offered to people who benefited the school most.
"Ah well, while you two are getting acquainted, I'll get some drinks." The chairman stepped away for a moment and headed toward the tables before being sucked into a conversation with another group of adults.
Galen, who so eagerly wanted to be addressed by his first name, looked to be in his mid to late 20s.
The silvery black suit jacket and pants he wore was an expensive foreign brand, something not readily available in Academy City. His tie was a slightly darker shade, and the white dress shirt looked brighter because of the contrast
Mikoto figured that he had to be well off, since people affiliated with Tokiwadai generally were so.
He flashed his smile a second time.
"Thank you for your congratulations. Your father's name was…hmmmm….I believe Misaka Tabikake, correct?"
"Yes, that's correct." Mikoto couldn't help but feel surprised that he knew her father. While she knew that her father traveled a lot and probably met many people, Mikoto had yet to meet anyone of his contacts or the people he's helped.
"Ah, I definitely owe him a lot. You see, he helped me realize how I could contribute to the world's need some time ago. It's a pretty long story, so I'll spare you the boring details, haha."
"My dad would feel happy about hearing that." Mikoto continued her polite smile, tilting her head just slightly to add to its effect.
Giving a quick glance around, Galen arched an eyebrow before turning back to speak to Mikoto.
"Aren't you here with anyone?"
"No, my friends were busy with prior engagements. I apologize on their behalves."
It was a lie. Mikoto knew that they had actually wanted to be there tonight.
Of course again, she had decided to spare them the boring atmosphere of being at such a gathering.
A man in a black suit, most likely an SP, appeared through the crowd and whispered into Galen's ear.
"Oh, I see." He gave a slight nod. "Excuse me for a moment, Ms. Misaka." Galen smiled and followed after the man through the crowd.
Taking a seat to the table she was ushered to, Mikoto watched as the lights dimmed and a spotlight was directed onto a podium set up on the opposite of the room.
A balding man took the microphone—causing some feedback for a moment as he did so—and began with the opening remarks.
It was the usual sort thanking Tokiwadai and the current Board members as well as the several important guests that were in attendance, each followed by sporadic and polite applause.
"Now let's get to the main highlight for tonight's Formal, shall we? He is involved with the important responsibility of direct contact with outside of Academy City, involving the technologies and systems that we take for granted to slowly make the whole world a better place. He has an outrageously witty man, who has inherited his father's position and led the company as a whole toward great success over the past few years. Please welcome the CEO of Kihara International, Galen Lifeline!"
"Life…line…?"
Mikoto felt hot at hearing that name. Her palms warmed up and her teeth gritted at the thoughts and memories in her mind that were associated with that name.
Standing professionally behind the podium at the center of the dais, Galen took a cursory look around before speaking. "Thank you."
He began to speak, smiling all the while as he described his role and the company's accomplishments to the audience.
Mikoto all the while clenched her teeth.
The man's last name, "Lifeline", sparked a sudden explosion of feelings in Mikoto.
A woman named Therestina, who was the director of the Multi Active Rescue who had the same last name. Presenting herself as someone who wanted to help stop the phenomenon known as "Poltergeist", going so far as to save Uiharu and Haruue during a Poltergeist event, Therestina revealed that she was actually involved with an experiment that left several Child Errors in a permanent coma.
It turned out that the Poltergeists were a result of Kiyama Harumi, a former researcher's attempts to wake them up from their coma.
Therestina meanwhile, who first seemed like she wanted to protect the children from harm and said that there was a better way of saving them, had actually planned to use the children to continue that exact same experiment.
In other words she had tricked Mikoto, using her suspicions against Kiyama who was willing to hurt everyone else to save the kids, to continue that dark and evil experiment.
Mikoto knew too well already what it was like to be lied to, as the DNA she donated and thought to be used to help children was actually for the purpose of creating the Sisters.
Unable to focus on the speech itself, she turned to leave, trying to control her anger as the ballroom was populated with many guests unaffiliated with the whole Poltergeist affair.
Part 5
It was relatively dark while Mikoto continued without wanting to attract her leaving, before she found herself outside the ballroom on a balcony.
Mikoto sighed at this error and sighed.
She was too angry to beat herself up over making a silly mistake.
Instead, Mikoto thought again about that name, "Lifeline".
Therestina Lifeline was a woman who endangered not only those Child Errors, but her own friends when they tried to help stopping her.
She had even given Skill Out "Capacity Down", which in itself had caused harm to ESPers as well as herself.
"Ms. Misaka, there you are."
Looking ahead, Galen Lifeline was approaching her with a smile.
Mikoto decided to hold back and began walking away without responding to him.
"Hey, excuse me, are you alright Ms. M-" Sensing the tension but not knowing the reason why, the young man stretched out his hand to pull the younger girl from walking away.
Immediately, Mikoto glanced at him with narrowed eyes.
As though sensing her violent intent, he quickly gave up on grabbing her wrist. However, instead of continuing to walk away, she stood her ground and stared at Galen.
"So…" Mikoto was defensive, wary of the man before her. "You're related to Therestina?"
The smallest of crackles escaped her control.
There was no immediate response. His eyes searched over the face of this girl who had spoken out the woman's name as though unsure how to react. Finally, he nodded and sighed, like a teenager who had been caught trying to shoplift from a store.
"I'm her brother."
"Were you involved in creating the Crystallized ESPer Essence?"
"No." He responded immediately this time, without showing any signs of surprise or dismay at how Mikoto knew about the Crystallized ESPer Essence.
In any case it was already well known throughout Academy City that Therestina Lifeline had been arrested because of her involvement with the Poltergeist incident, but the existence of the Crystallized ESPer Essence wasn't made public.
Not even Judgment was allowed to reveal that information, as ordered by Anti-Skill as part of the debriefing of the whole affair.
"…"
"Though…" he started with a bit less hesitation toward the sparks that intermittently crackled around Mikoto. "I did invite you tonight specifically because of what happened between you and my sister."
"So you could get payback for her?" Her fringe sparked again.
"No."
His hands went closer to his sides, causing Mikoto to tense her muscles and ready herself for a sudden attack.
Then suddenly he bowed.
"…" Gulping, Mikoto stumbled back, not knowing how to respond to a CEO and Board of Education member bowing to her.
Mikoto felt a different sort of heat than anger in her body of the embarrassment obvious in her cheeks.
"Wh-what are you…?"
"I invited you here…to apologize for what my sister did." He said while still bent over. "While it does not, nor should I try to excuse her actions, I've known that she was not of right mind for a long time yet didn't do anything to prevent what had happened."
"You could say that again…" Mikoto grimaced at remembering that woman.
"Heh…heheh…" Glancing at Galen, Mikoto found the man standing upright but with his hand covering his mouth in order to stifle a laugh.
"Geez…" she looked away with a blush, unsure of how to respond to such an unexpected reaction from him. The anger that had coursed through her seemed to have disappeared with that one utterance of hers, as though her aggression over the whole incident left along with it.
"…I haven't had the best of relations with my sister…much less Gensei."
"Gensei? As in Kihara Gensei, right? He's your grandfather, isn't he?"
As a matter of fact, Mikoto thought again, the company that Galen was the CEO for was "Kihara International".
If anything, Galen may not be implicitly involved with the Crystallized ESPer Essence it didn't mean that he himself was doing something just as evil.
"…? Well, from what happened, I shouldn't be surprised about how much you know about what they've done here in Academy City. I never liked that codger. It's actually kind of amazing that I wasn't disowned when I punched Gensei before…"
A small smile appeared on his face, as he apparently reveled in that act of rebellion.
"While Therestina and he continued their work, I was sent to America to work for one of the many overseas groups that dealt with transferring approved technology. "
As Academy City was ahead by 20-30 years in technology compared with the rest of the World, its technology was always under great demand by governments in order to get ahead of other countries.
Of course, such a market was controlled by not only the supply of approved technology but the available knowledge and infrastructure to properly handle any technology that could be approved for sale to other countries.
It was far from the sort of independent work that Therestina was able to do, as technology transfer was a highly regulated affair.
Thinking over everything that Galen had told her, Mikoto furrowed her eyebrows over what her conclusions were about her invitation to tonight.
"So…so I wasn't asked to come because there were three people in my dorm room?"
"Excuse me?" Galen couldn't hide his smirk at his question, as though he saw that Mikoto had some toilet paper stuck to the bottom of her shoe and she had yet to notice it herself.
"Uh, er…I thought…you knew because…about my Sister, Kate and what she…and…"
"What? No…" he chuckled in response. "…I happened to catch your name floating around in regards with some damage that was sustained to the dorm a few weeks ago. It was my responsibility as a Board member to see through with repairs for that incident, after all. Oh, and that was before my appointment was officially announced, since there's a sort of 'testing' period before one is formally admitted.
"It's not like members are simply appointed because we know someone, haha."
Mikoto, hearing this, could only turn a slight red not only about her wrong assumption about her unusual invitation but about who this Galen Lifeline was. Not to mention how she gained a bit of respect with how less nepotistic really was.
"Ah…haha…I see, I see…"
Trying to brush off how strange she most likely sounded, Mikoto combed back a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
"So, Ms. Misaka, back to the incident with my sister…will you ever forgive me?"
Mikoto looked at the man, unsure of what to make of his story.
His name, "Lifeline" and not to mention his connection to Kihara Gensei, was something that could easily be made to associate how Therestina acted during the Poltergeist incident in her mind. At the same time, it was quite unfair to do such a thing to Galen, who so far hasn't given any signs that he was the same as Therestina, since he was so forthcoming about the whole affair unlike most other adults.
Despite some potential reservations, there was simply no available proof to take Galen Lifeline as a villain in Mikoto's eyes.
"Yeah," she said earnestly with a smile. "I can forgi-"
Unable to finish her sentence, her eyes turned vacant, glossing over and she stood sluggishly, Mikoto stared blankly ahead.
Seeing this, Galen lowered his head and sighed. It had taken a bit longer than he wanted, but that was to be expected given the small sample he managed to get.
"Will you ever forgive me…for what I'm about to do…?"
Between the Lines 4
It hurt being prodded like a science fair project.
Their tools jabbed at me, and they flashed a light into my eyes every so often just to see my reaction.
How would they like it if they were called "Subject 0" all the time, huh?
It wouldn't matter anyway, though…if they knew I could answer their questions, they'd only subject me to worse things if they realized I wasn't as stupid as they thought.
If that one scientist realized he didn't have to talk to me in English all the time.
I can understand Japanese just fine, so don't think I can't understand you when you speak it whenever you use it to say things I shouldn't be hearing!
Tsk, what a dweeb!
As soon as they let me out of this lab for this stupid trip to Japan of theirs that they've been planning, I'm definitely going to escape.
This place called "Academy City" or whatever…I wonder what it's like?
As long as I can finally be free of being an experiment…I'll be fine…
Author's Notes:
Wow! Finally I managed to get this finished and uploaded! You wouldn't believe how long I've been working on this one chapter, haha! Finals were intense but happened to stoke my imagination again after a long bout of writer's block.
This is seriously the most I've written in a single chapter, about 20 pages worth that I feel were integral to have all together and not split up into separate chapters.
I want to thank Cun, the author of great works like "A Certain Destined Introduction" and its sequel, "ACDI: Duel" and "The Curious Gift Shop of Christmas Magic" for letting me borrow Hitomi Aika, Asanuma Reiko and Unabara Ryoko for this chapter.
Next up: We'll see what Touma does with an unconscious Sister
- All characters not otherwise stated as Original Characters belong to Kazama Kamachi and Kiyotaka Haimura as author and illustrator, respectively.
- Thanks to fellow To Aru Majutsu no Index writers and their works for inspiring me with drive to continue whenever I hit a wall.