The Similar-Faced Children Have Gathered To Prove Their Worth

- Sibling Rivalry -

Part 1

"And so, the formula for this equation can be found at page 264 of your textbo-" The old man known as Tobioka Jin was interrupted by the ringing of the bell. For most of these students, it had become a symbol of both dread and anticipation at the same time but this would be the last instance that Tobioka would hear those bells. After fifty years of teaching at A Certain High school, he was finally retiring and now, his last act would be to introduce his successor to the class.

"Now listen, everyone. As all of you know, this will be the last time I'd be teaching you. In my place is someone who I am confident would be a better teacher to you than I am. She had just graduated and yet she is already an expert when it comes to anything related to science." Tobioka said almost like a proud father would as he introduced his replacement teacher. Realizing that his replacement still hadn't entered the room, he beckoned her to come inside.

The door slid open, revealing a petite pink-haired girl that could easily be mistaken as an elementary schooler. She timidly made her way in front of the dumbfounded before introducing herself.

"H-Hello, everyone! My name is Tsukoyomi Komoe and I will be your Science teacher as well as Homeroom adviser. I hope we can get along and I'll be in your care from now on. " She said meekly before bowing timidly in front of the students.

With a collective "Eeeehhhhh?", the entire class erupted into chaos. Most of the girls rushed towards Komoe Tsukoyomi while majority of the guys eyed her with admiration. Only two students managed to maintain their composure.

"Tobioka-sensei, you can't be serious, right? There's no way this loli would be able to teach us physics!" Ouryoushi Shin tried to be the voice of reason among his classmates but in actuality, he might just be the most excited about this abrupt change.

"Shin, your nose is bleeding..." Akaze Airou muttered, prompting Shin to quickly wipe away the blood dripping from his nose.

And make that one student

Komoe, however, heard every word that came out of Shin's mouth and was instantly driven on the verge of tears.

" I... I know that I may look pretty unreliable... but please give me a chance to prove myself to you... Ouryoushi Shin-kun!" And then the tears started flowing from the loli teacher's eyes.

"Oi, Shin. Do you always have to be a dick? Shame on you for making Komoe-sensei cry!" one of Airou and Shin's female classmates, Hasegawa Kikyou exclaimed.

She along with the entire Female Populace of Class 2-D began staring daggers at the blond ESPer but the jeers and sneers of his classmates went through one ear and out the other. At that moment, only one thing played repeatedly in his head... the sound of Komoe Tsukoyomi saying his name... And then, something inside him snaps.

With the intensity of several bulls on a stampede, Ouryoushi Shin rushed towards Komoe Tsukoyomi and also began to partake in hugging her, much to everyone else's surprise except Airou as evidenced by another incredulous "Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhh?!" from them. The poor girl was overwhelmed by everything that was happening that she passed out on the spot.

Tobioka laughed happily seeing the warm welcome of his students to his prodigy. He then turned to Airou since he noticed that he was the only one in class that didn't gave a reaction to the sudden announcement.

"Akaze-kun. What do you think of this sudden development?" He asked, hoping to get a response from the black-haired Judgment member.

"Well, I guess we'd have to chain Shin to the wall every time Komoe-sensei is here. That damn lolicon can't control his libido." Was Airou's disinterested reply.

"No, not that sonny. I was referring about your input regarding Komoe-chan." He said enthusiastically.

"I have no qualms with Komoe-san being our teacher. I do not care about her height nor her appearance so long as she could perform the duties of a teacher and homeroom adviser properly and efficiently." Airou replied nonchalantly while he looked at the fleeting clouds outside. They were moving unnaturally fast, a telltale sign of an oncoming storm.

"I see. Still as serious as ever, huh? Well that's not a bad thing but you need to loosen up every once in a while, my boy. Stress is like pressure building inside a volcano. It would often than not lead to an eruption. The greater the pressure, the more violent the eruption... I don't want you to destroy yourself thinking about whatever is bothering you." Tobioka said worryingly.

"Don't worry, Sensei. I've held out this long... I'm sure I can handle this." Airou said reassuringly before leaving the classroom.

Since he had a little more time to kill before his shift starts, Airou decided to head to the supermarket first to re-stock on supplies. He had been living for a few years with the eccentric, frog-faced doctor whom he had become a foster father to him until recently. He thought that he had been leeching off too much from the old man since the latter had been paying for his school fees aside from providing him a place to call home. So one day, he talked to the old man about his plan to be self-reliant and the frog-faced doctor reluctantly agreed to his proposal provided that he would still pay for Airou's school expenses.

After successfully graduating from Judgment Boot Camp and getting himself a part-time job, Airou moved to the boy's dormitory of his school and had been living there for a year now.

"Hmm... I never expected this bargain sale on beans and this promo on eggs. Must be my lucky day today." He muttered with a satisfied grin on his face however, his luck instantly vanished when his phone began ominously ringing in his pocket. It was his "work" cell, not that he had a personal cell but he had given his number only to his co-workers at Judgment .

Upon answering the phone, the familiar voice of Yukiharu Kazuki could be heard from the speaker.

"Umm... Akaze-kun, I'm sorry for calling all of a sudden but could you come here as soon as possible? We have a little bit of an emergency here. Your little sister somehow went here and is looking for you. She wouldn't stop crying so I called you immediately" Yukiharu said with urgency in her voice.

A little sister? That's wrong. All his life, Akaze Airou never had anyone to call a blood relative. All of the people whom he had come to call as family were nothing more than complete strangers to him when he first met them. Then again, he hadn't told anyone except the frog-faced doctor about his circumstances so he couldn't blame Yukiharu nor Sachi for believing an impostor. He'll just have to settle everything when he gets there.

"Alright, I'm actually on my way there right now. Tell my... "little sister" that onii-san is coming." Airou said with his trademark nonchalant voice before hanging up on Yukiharu.

"I could understand if it's a parental impostor but a sibling? This is rare. Furthermore, she knew who I am and where I'm stationed before she could even meet me. Whoever this girl is, she's done her homework." Airou muttered as he pondered on the motive of the impostor. "Well, what ever this is, this should be interesting."

With that, he continued heading towards the 177th Branch Office of Judgment.

Part 2

Upon his arrival, a black haired little girl immediately came charging towards Airou and started sobbing on his garments. Closer inspection did prove that she looked exactly like him when he was a kid except that he had brown hair back then, not black.

"Whoa, there "lil' sis". What's wrong? Come on now, Onii-san's here so dry those tears of yours" Airou said in the calmest voice he could muster.

"Onii-chan! Onii-chan! C... Can we talk alone?" The little girl said nervously as she eyed the two girls in the room.

Fortunately, they were quick to catch-on and immediately left the office. After making sure they were already gone, Airou's calm and gentle facade quickly changed to a serious one.

"Last time I checked, I didn't have a little sister. Who are you? How do you know who I am?" He demanded in a calm yet stern tone.

"Oh that's right... Recon is Airoid Serial Number 9969. Recon is the RElay COmmand Network of the Magnetic Web that links Recon to the rest of the 9968 Airoids. But you can call Recon, Recon for short, Onii-chan. " The girl who introduced herself as Recon introduced herself anxiously before continuing. "As for how Recon knows Onii-chan, it's because the bad scientist has been watching you." She said in a weak voice.

"Bad scientist... it can't be... Takasura?" Airou asked as he gave Recon an incredulous look. She merely nods in response. Apparently, she harbors the same disgust towards the doctor.

" The evil scientist made Recon and the other Airoids in an attempt to replicate your power. When he failed, he..." As she was explaining, Airou noticed her legs began shaking before losing all the strength in them. She would have fallen face first on the floor had Airou not reacted quick enough to catch her.

When his skin came in contact with hers, he detected lots of mechanical parts working inside the girl but that wasn't his main cause of concern. He also noticed that she was feverishly hot and was having difficulty in breathing as well.

"Oi! Pull yourself together! What's wrong?" He asked frantically.

"The bad scientist... implanted a virus in Recon. The virus spread inside Recon and it... infected the others. Their free will was taken from them and now only obey the bad scientist. Recon managed to resist the virus but Recon can no longer control the others and the virus is now hurting Recon. Recon... will die soon... Recon... is afraid, Onii-chan. Recon... doesn't want to die yet." Right after saying that, Recon's body began convulsing violently before she lost consciousness.

"Goddamit Takasura... is there no end to your madness?" Airou cursed as he picked up Recon's petite body and held her in his arms.

Without a moment's notice Airou rushed out of the building and sprinted with all his might towards the nearest hospital. Several passers-by gave him an odd look as he bounded towards the hospital but he paid no mind to them. Right now, his attention was solely directed to saving Recon's life.

After a couple of minutes, he finally saw the lights of the hospital. Giving it his final ounce of stamina, he rushed towards the emergency room where he was greeted by none other than the frog-faced doctor.

"Oi, Old Man. You gotta help this kid. I don't know what's wrong with her but there's something strange about her. " Airou said urgently.

"Well take her to the examination room then and I'll take a look at her." Was the old doctor's reply.

Airou obliged and hurriedly took Recon to the examination room. A few nurses were startled by his sudden arrival but they quickly reacted and relieved Airou of Recon. The frog-faced doctor arrived shortly and the other nurses tried to usher him out but Heaven Canceler stopped them.

"Let him stay. I have a feeling we'll be needing his help to save this child. On the other hand, may I ask all of you to leave for a while. I need to concentrate though I'll just call for you when I need assistance."

The nurses responded obediently and allowed Airou to stay and left themselves. Though they did make him wear some sanitary equipment.

"Alright, Airou. Can you tell me what happened? You could have called an ambulance or the like to transport her here if this were a conventional incident. Judging by the panicked look on your face when you got here, that wasn't the case." the man known as Heaven Canceler asked as he began examining Recon.

"I'm not sure myself but she told me something like she's some kind of Relay Command Network of sorts connecting her to others like her and that she was infected by some kind of virus. When I touched her, I felt some mechanical parts functioning inside her but I can say she's mostly human. " Airou explained.

"I see... then she's probably a cyborg. I can try giving her a CAT scan but I trust your words better than any machine. If she is indeed a cyborg and a virus has infected her system then you're participation is required to save her. It seems to me that this virus is crippling her structural integrity and if that fails, she will cease to function. You're the only one who could save her at this point. " the frog-faced doctor explained.

Airou merely nodded and gazed at Recon's unconscious body. Her face was showing clear signs of pain. Whatever this virus is, it's putting this young girl through so much suffering. Seeing another victim of that deranged man he once called father only gave him more motivation to help Recon.

Airou held Recon's hand firmly before closing his eyes. He imagined a link forming between the two of them. When he opened his eyes, he was no longer in the examination room. Instead, he found himself in some sort of corridor that seemed vaguely familiar to him. Yes... it was coming back to him now. This was one of the corridors of the underground research facility.

"How ironic. I failed to escape this facility once without getting shot in the damn eye and passing of as dead but now I willingly returned here." Airou muttered under his breath. "I know entering the subject is the best method to purge the virus but this is just one kick in the nuts. Well whatever. The sooner I can kill that thing, the sooner I can get out of here."

It turns out, that he didn't have to take long searching for that monster after all. Since he was quite familiar with the layout of the facility, he instinctively went to the most dreadful part of it... the experimentation chamber. Sure enough, a silver humanoid figure with several appendages protruding from its back had attached itself to what seemed like Recon's body as if it were some kind of gigantic tick. More than half of Recon's body had already turned the same color as the parasitic manifestation of the virus and he was willing to bet nothing good will happen if her entire manifestation would be completely turned into the color of silverware.

"Oi, bastard. Preying on a defenseless kid like that? Are you some kind of pedophile or something?" Yoru said in a mocking tone to provoke the monster.

In response, the manifestation of the virus turned its head towards Airou and revealed that it didn't have any facial features. Despite this, it managed to let out a a hiss before charging towards him with inhuman speed.

It extended one of its appendages towards Airou with incredible speed and force but the #3 Level 5 esper merely did a side-step to avoid it. He then retrieved a small cylinder from his coat pocket and threw the contents towards the humanoid. What came out were iron fillings that spread all around the humanoid. However, instead of falling to the ground they floated in midair. Without wasting another second, he stretched his hand towards the humanoids direction and sent a wave electricity towards it. Due to the iron fillings scattered all around his opponent, the simple wave of electricity's power was increased tenfold and it consequently created an electric field. The shock field effectively cut off the virus' movements altogether but Airou wasn't going to take any chances. He began attracting everything metal in the chamber and molded them in the form of numerous metal poles several feet in length. As he was doing so, he observed that the virus' appendages were also influenced by his magnetic abilities.

It was actually a pretty common trait of most viruses' representations to have metallic compositions which symbolizes their aspect of being electronically made but he had encountered other embodiment of viruses in the past that are composed of other substances. These ones are typically the most troublesome kind as he cannot easily influence them. He had mistaken this particular embodiment to be the troublesome kind, which it should have been due to its highly corrosive effect to technology but if it was metallic in nature, it was nothing more than a glass cannon to him.

Lifting the metallic poles in the air, he willed them to fly straight towards the virus and impale it. Afterwards, he calmly walked towards it, seized one of its appendages with his right arm and sent a highly destructive burst of electricity through it. Within seconds, the head of the humanoid virus made a popping sound as it exploded into shrapnel while the body turned into a bubbly goo of molten metal.

"Well, it should be destroyed by now since its core got fried. Though if it was this easy, then this was just an elaborate trap..."

Airou approached the partially molten head of the virus' embodiment and examined it. Upon closer inspection, he noticed a small button cell device that he determined to have been broadcasting its location. With it destroyed, the receiver of the signals it broadcast should have been alerted.

"Tch... that bastard... first Amane and Shiro... now this kid. His madness just won't end until I put a stop to it... Just wait for me, you two... I swear to god that I will save you some day." He muttered to himself before approaching the sleeping figure of Recon.

"Oi, kid. Wake up. The mean, scary monster is gone now. I beat it up." Airou said in the gentlest voice he could muster as he shook the young girl's sleeping body. Dread was slowly filling Airou as moments pass without any signs of Recon's conscious waking up.

"Wake up, dammit!"

"Onii-chan, it's a weekend so let Recon sleep in!" She grumbled in her sleep.

Airou felt his chest lighten a little after hearing the little girl's complaint.

"Damn it kid. I just met you today and you're already giving me a headache."

The third-ranked level 5 esper closed his eyes and he found himself back at the hospital upon opening them once more.

"That ability of yours sure came in handy. When you brought her here, I wasn't sure she can be saved by my medical knowledge. Truth be told, she was on the verge of death... It turns out that you were right about that virus inflicting this much pain to her. Why the moment I had assumed that you purged the virus, her vitals almost instantly improved. Though, I have to say that she needs to stay a day or two here for observation. " The frog-faced doctor said with apparent relief in his tone.

"That damn bastard is up to his old tricks again. According to what the brat said, he's planning to "retrieve" me soon."

"And what are you going to do from here on, Airou? Are you planning on confronting him once again?"

"I have to, old man. I promised Amane and Shiro that I will save them someday. The very reason I joined Judgment is to bring Takasura to justice. Besides... I can't keep running forever. Every second I hesitate, more and more people are going to get hurt... seeing this kid suffer because of me made me realize that."

"I'm not your father so I can't tell you whether you should confront him or not. However, I am a doctor. If you ever get injured, just make sure that you come back here alive. As long as you don't bring yourself to me in a body bag, I can fix you." Heaven Canceller said.

"No, pops. You've been more of a father to me these past few years than anyone. I owe you a debt that I am certain I won't be able to pay in my lifetime. All I can do is to not let the life you gave me go to waste." Airou replied with much conviction.

Part 3

Ouryoushi Shin was en route to the 177th branch of Judgment when he witnessed an unbelievable sight. His partner robbed an esteemed jewelry store right in front of him. As he made his escape, Shin locked eyes with Akaze Airou and confirmed that the culprit looked exactly like his partner. There was one distinct difference that he noticed though. Instead of the usual dead fish eyes that had become a trademark feature of the Rank 3, Level 5 Judgment operative, this Airou's eyes were completely devoid of life. This disturbed Shin just as much as it baffled him and the culprit took advantage of this momentary distraction in order to make his escape.

By the time Shin snapped out of his dumbfounded state, the criminal that looked exactly like Akaze Airou had already fled the scene.

Out of sheer anger and disbelief, Ouryoushi Shin marched the rest of the way to the Branch Office. The trek managed to cool off his head a bit but upon seeing the culprit, his partner, Akaze Airou, casually talking to his two female co-workers right after what he'd done, his temper quickly flared up. He thrust his right arm towards Airou which sent him flying towards the wall, much to Sakaki and Yukiharu's astonishment.

"Oi! Shin. What did you do that for?" Sachi protested in an infuriated voice as Yukiharu tried in vain to pry Airou off the wall.

"That bastard over there has been deceiving us this entire time. I caught him in the act stealing from a high-end jewelry store on the way here!"

"Ouryoushi-san, that's impossible. Akaze-san arrived here about half an hour ago after taking his little sister to the hospital!" Yukiharu cried.

"Yeah. He's been with us ever since. Besides, it's impossible that he'd get involve with any criminal activity. He's been catching the bad guys with you left and right ever since he became your partner for Pete's sake."

"Precisely. Stop this baseless allegations and let me down this instant, Ouryoushi Shin!" Airou shouted as he struggled to breath while an invisible force held him against the wall making it difficult for him to breathe.

"If you guys don't believe me, then check the feed from the store's CCTV system. Until proven innocent of the crime, the suspect must be detained." Shin said to both the female Judgment members without ever leaving Airou out of his sight.

Sensing that there is no other way to persuade Shin to cease his actions, the two girls hurriedly shuffled to their respective desks and pressed a few commands to their computers to display the Jewelry Store's camera security feed. They stared at the video recording dumbfoundedly as they watched someone that looks exactly like Akaze Airou burst out of the Jewelry store with a bag filled with precious gems.

"No way... Akaze-san would never do this." Yukiharu muttered in disbelief.

"Yeah. This has to be someone else. According to this video recording, the incident took place at 6:34 in the evening but during that time, Akaze-kun was already here since 6:00 pm. That doesn't add up at all. " Sachi said still convinced of her co-worker's innocence.

"Then how do you explain him stealing all those jewels? I know you two both admire him but covering up for him won't do you anything good." Shin chided.

"Covering up for him? Are you accusing us of obstruction of justice?" The outraged voice of Sakaki Sachi could be heard loudly even from outside the office frightening Yukiharu and taking Shin aback quite a bit. Yukiharu Kazuki had witnessed misunderstandings between Ouryoushi Shin ever since she first stepped foot in this office. Most of the time, these were the result of petty reasons such as Shin stealing Sachi's snacks or Sachi getting pissed off whenever Shin steals credit from Akaze Airou's accomplishments. But this was something far different from any quarrel the two of them had before.

"Stop it both of you! Please. I don't want to see any of you fight like this. Ouryoushi-san, you've presented your evidence and even we have to accept its credibility but won't you let us prove our side? There are several cameras installed inside this building. Please review them and decide for yourself if our accounts are false or not!" Yukiharu Kazuki cried in a frail voice. Tears were already starting to form on the corners of the young Judgment member's eyes which prompted both Shin and Sachi to settle down momentarily.

"Okay. Fine. Just don't cry, okay? I'd be a disgrace among seniors everywhere if I made one of my juniors cry." Shin said in an annoyed voice before taking his position on his own desk. He pressed commands similar to what Sachi and Yukiharu previously entered but this time, he accessed the office's camera feed. His eyes widened in shock upon seeing that Akaze Airou had not left the office upon arriving at 6 in the evening.

Questions started to race inside Shin's mind. The office video confirms Sachi and Yukiharu's accounts are true but it still doesn't rule out Airou as the suspect since the jewelry store camera clearly captures his facial features even though the area was dimly lit.

With no answers in mind, he decided to vent his questions as well as his anger to the alleged thief himself.

"What is the meaning of this? How come you be at two places at the same time? From what we know, your ability revolves on the manipulation of electricity and machinery. Answer me!" Shin bellowed in anger.

Before tempers could flare up again, Sachi detected something strange in the feed of the suspect in the Jewelry Store incident. Upon zooming the camera to its highest setting and enhancing the image, she noted that the suspect may have the same face as Akaze Airou but their hair color was entirely different. If Airou had jet black hair, the suspect's hair was of a dark brown shade.

"Shin, wait. You need to take a look at this. The guy you saw wasn't Akaze-kun, it was an impostor. Just look at the difference of their hair color!" Sachi said urgently to get the blonde Level 5's attention. She manages to do so as he quickly inspects Sachi's claims and his expression relaxes only just a little. However it was sufficient enough to convince him to let go of Airou.

"Thank you very much." Airou muttered as he stood up and dusted himself off.

"You're not out of the woods yet, bub. If you know anything about your "evil twin" then spill the beans. Otherwise, you're facing an obstruction of justice charge." Shin may have been convinced that it wasn't his partner who robbed the store but he still believed that Airou knows something about the suspect.

Part 4

The facts were already laid down on the table yet his fellow colleagues seem to be unable to make sense of them. He had tried to hide his past from these people but it seems the skeleton let itself out of the closet.

"Heh... I guess I really can't keep anything from your meddling noises, huh?" Airou said after an exasperated sigh.

"What'd you say, punk?!" Shin protested but Sachi and Yukiharu held him back before he could land a hit on Airou's face.

"What do you mean, Akaze-san. Do you know who that person was?"

"Yeah, Akaze-kun. Who was that impostor?"

Both Sachi and Yukiharu had quizzical looks on their faces as they eagerly awaited their colleague's response.

"That person over there... you could say that's technically me. What I meant was, that guy is a clone and my DNA was used to make him. That girl that came over here awhile ago was not my sister. I was the product of the love between two Skill-Out members that belonged to rival factions. When the respective leaders of both factions discovered their love for each other, they murdered my parents and left me for dead. I was saved by two other orphans like me when they found me scavenging from the pantry of an orphanage. They gave me food and clean water that I never would have thought I'd get to taste ever since my parents were murdered. They told me their names. Isokawa Amane and Misuzu Shiro. Then they offered me a place in the orphanage they belonged to. I quickly accepted their offer with no hesitation in mind. I didn't care where I wound up at during those times.

All I cared about was staying alive. As long as there was food as good as the ones they had unselfishly given me, I would follow them to the ends of the earth.

I was welcomed like a celebrity or a returning hero would when we reached the orphanage. The smiles of the staff and that woman as if their very souls had received a small piece of salvation when they saw me, I would not forget about that.

Soon enough, Amane, Shiro and I became the best of friends. Sure there were a lot of other Child Errors we befriended but the bond between us transcended mere companionship. We treated each other like siblings would... I was certain that everything would be alright especially when a widowed doctor offered to adopt all three of us. Boy, was I naive. Takasura Katsugi adopting us marked the end of our forlorn days of bliss without so much as a care in the world. "

As Airou progressed in narrating his past, his expression gradually turned into one of remorse and self-derision. All the while, his colleagues listened to his tale intently

"For the first few months, Takasura treated us like a father would. He cared for us, provided us with our basic needs, share a laugh with us from time to time and gave us the love we once had when we had our families. But that soon changed for the worse. Amane and Shiro found out his true motives. They tried to convince me that the only reason he adopted us was to make us his guinea pigs and forcefully turn us into Level 5 Espers. I was still blinded by the illusion of his love for us so naturally I did not heed their warnings. My foolishness caused a lot of suffering for all of us.

The experiments started. I didn't know how many times he'd injected us with god knows what, toyed with our bodies, and pushed us to the brink of death all for the sake of his research. Until one day, the dawn of the final experiment, I lost the two most important people in my life.

Takasura was so adamant with the idea of turning us into Level 5's. Through months of inhumane experiments, he had come up of a theoretical way to boost our Levels enabling us to become Level 5 Espers. After the experiment began, we experienced pain so great that I could say all of us wished to die during those moments. We managed to achieve Level 5 for a few moments before all of us succumbed to the effects of being overloaded. Amane entered a coma, Shiro's mental state quickly deteriorated while my ability reverted back to Level 1. Takasura must have given up any hope for me since he shot my right eye at point blank range and had his intern dispose of my corpse. Had that Frog-Faced Doctor not found my unconscious body at a dark alleyway, I would have really died. Any other doctor would have given up on me after just seeing a glimpse of my body back then. But that man was an anomaly among doctors. As long as a patient was brought to him still alive, he could guarantee that they'll live and come out of any life-threatening situation just fine..."

The black haired esper paused for a few moments to see his comrades' individual reactions. Sachi and Yukiharu had pained expressions on their faces while Shin's face was distorted with visible signs of anger while he clenched his fists.

"Since I no longer had a family to return to, that doctor known as Heaven Canceller presented me with two options. Either he'll send me to another orphanage or he'd adopt me instead. I owed my life to him so I naturally chose the latter. Besides, I've had enough of orphanages at the time. The Frog-Faced Doctor looked pleased with my response. He hurriedly got the paperwork sorted for my adoption. Afterwards, I started living with him. He treated me as if I were a son he always wanted but never had... of only he were the one who came to that orphanage that fateful day instead of Takasura... All this shit wouldn't have happened... The three of us would have been leading fairly normal lives. But I guess life's just not that simple, huh?" Airou said in an exasperated tone.

"Then the reason you joined Judgment was-"

Airou did not even allow Sachi to finish her sentence. He already knew what she was thinking and did not hesitate to confirm her assumptions.

"You're right. I didn't join this organization just because I have a strong sense of Justice nor did I sign up for it because I wanted to be a hero. The only reason I enlisted for the Student-based voluntary police force known as Judgment is to acquire any lead at all on Takasura Katsugi's whereabouts."

The atmosphere in the decent-sized office became a lot more gloomy after hearingbthe black haired esper's response. Who'd blame them when they realized that the person they have treated like family had only been using them this whole time. They felt more than just dumbfounded... they felt betrayed.

"No way."

"Please don't say, that."

"Tch... you're the worst."

The remarks of Sachi, Yukiharu and Shin would have pierced the heart of any other person in his place but it was different for Airou. At the very beginning, he was already prepared to be hated by these very people.

"I'm not fit to be a hero. I'm not someone who'll recklessly place their life on the line for strangers. If ever I'm going to save someone, it's because I have already decided that it wouldn't be detrimental to my own safety or interest. But neither I am a villain. I won't leave someone to die when I have the means to save a life so long that it doesn't threaten my own life as well. I'm just someone acting on his own interest. "

"Tell me, were you going to hack into one of the city's database once you've gained our trust?" Shin asked in a grudging tone as he gritted his teeth.

"Of course. If I do not find any leads at all using the conventional approach then I was already prepared to use my ability to hack into the "Bank" but I didn't expect that little girl containing all the information I need to appear all of a sudden. Now I don't have to take such drastic measures any more. However, in order to rescue Amane and Shiro, I'm also willing to make an enemy of this entire goddamn city. I will use any means necessary to return the favor to the two people that had initially saved my life or at least die trying."

At some point, it had already started raining. It was no ordinary rain as huge, thick clouds had formed. Sparks of lightning cut through the sky and the booming of thunder only added to the melancholic atmosphere that had permeated the decent-sized office.

"To begin with, by transforming us into the various monsters we are now, we were already robbed of any possibility to lead a normal life. The damage had already been done to all three of us..."

An exasperated sigh escaped his lips as he started towards the exit.

"I'm going to do things that will most likely place the citizens of this city in peril. You are free to stop me if you want but be aware that I will crush anything that stands in my way. If destroying the very value of this city will help me achieve my goals, then I will not hesitate to do so." Airou explained.

Just before he was about to leave, someone placed their hand on his shoulders in an attempt to stop him. He briskly turned around only to come face to face with a fist headed towards him. He reeled back a bit and smiled thinly as blue sparks enveloped his body. However, upon hearing #4's response, that smile turned into awe.

"You, motherfucking idiot! Do you think we would just stand idly by after hearing all that shit you told us. I'm entitled to kick your ass just for deceiving us but after hearing your reason, I'm going to reschedule that session to a later date." Shin said in a clearly ticked off voice.

"Yeah... you may have just recently been stationed here but that doesn't change the fact that you are a valued co-worker and a good friend. Even without you asking us, we'll clearly lend you our help, Akaze-kun."

Sachi was beaming at him as she practically dragged an already enrage Ouryoushi Shin away from #3.

"Yeah. We may not seem to be of much help but we're members of Judgment. Besides, that's what friends do for each other, right? And you absolutely cannot refuse our help since we're volunteering."

The timid Yukiharu Kazuki that Airou had known seemed to have vanished and was replaced by one filled with uncharacteristic conviction.

"Heh... you stubborn bastards. I was trying to protect you from my darkness but..."

After seeing the determination in everyone's faces, a spark had been ignited inside Airou.

These were people that he had only recently interacted with. Yet they treated him as a friend. It was strange. He had anticipated that they would loathe him after finding out his true intentions but it looked more like the bond of their friendship had only gotten deeper.

"... don't come crying to me if you get hurt."

Part 5

Misaka Sakurako was at an underground shopping mall in District 7 with her best friend, Mirai Kuroko. They had just been dismissed after a very tedious day of end-of-term tests.

"Gahh! That chemistry exam totally pulled the carpet from under me. I don't think I'd be able to even barely pass it at this rate."

Contrary to what some people may think, the voice that uttered those words belonged to the Ice Empress of Tokiwadai.

"Honestly, Ojou-sama. I'm worried about your grades. Ever since your defeat courtesy of Akaze-san, you haven't been able to focus at all lately."

Mirai said in a halfhearted manner. It was more to tease the already flustered #6 than to express any worry for her friend.

Her woman's intuition had more or less informed her of what's really going on in her friend's noggin so she couldn't help teasing her.

"A-Auau... Don't get any funny ideas. I was just quite surprised to have been beaten that easily. It was a humbling experience and a pretty embarrassing one at that. Of course, I'd be distracted." She retorted.

"Ara... Is that really the cause of your worries, Ojou-sama? Isn't it because of a certain, black-haired Level 5 that worked for Judgment?"

"What are you implying, Kuroko? Get to the point already."

Sakurako tried to maintain her poker face but she already had a bad feeling about what's going to happen next.

"Don't feign ignorance, Ojou-sama. I'm also a woman, you know. And I know the recent cause of your troubles... You're in L-O-V-"

Before Kuroko could even finish what she was saying, she froze. It wasn't because she saw something astonishing or terrifying. She literally felt a chill run down her spine. Upon glancing nervously in Sakurako's direction, she saw that her best friend's face was twitching as she forced herself to smile.

"What were you saying, Kuroko? I didn't quite hear that."

"Kyaaaaaaa! Even if you punish me, Ojou-sama, that still doesn't change the fact that you like Akaze-san! Waaahh... Ahh... Achooo!"

After Kuroko said those words, the temperature seemed to have gone down drastically everywhere in the mall instead of just solely on Kuroko's back. This drastic change caused a bit of panic among the people in the mall but that unnatural cold disappeared shortly afterwards.

Thinking that it was just a malfunction in the mall's automated temperature regulating system, the shop goers dismissed the peculiar phenomenon. On the other hand, Kuroko found it peculiar that the cold had suddenly receded. In reality, Sakurako merely manipulated the temperature in the mall but knowing her, she normally wouldn't have been satisfied until she had turned the red haired level 5 into an ice sculpture.

"Tch... Normally I'd have turned you into a block of ice already but I realize now how immature that'd be. " Sakurako said nonchalantly.

Mirai Kuroko stared at the brown haired Ice Empress with her jaw agape. This went beyond the realm of unusual behavior for a person like Misaka Sakurako. Kuroko felt like her friend was replaced by someone else entirely... and that was even more terrifying than the prospect of getting turned into an ice sculpture every time she offended the #6.

"You... You're not my Ojou-sama! She would never think of things like that, much less, refrain from giving me punishment!" Kuroko exclaimed.

"Oh? Well, if you insist, then we can arrange for that now."

"Ahahaha... I think it's more advantageous for my health if you stay like this, Ojou-sama." She said in a tense voice as her body quivered in fear.

"Anyways, I suppose I should tell you now why I dragged you out here all of a sudden. The truth is... I want to give something to that guy... you know... as an apology for how I acted and as thanks for what he did." Sakurako stated in an uncharacteristically sheepish voice.

"Hora! You really are in lo- Mnngh! Nmhhhh! Ghhghgh!"

Without even getting to finish what she was going to say, Kuroko felt a sudden chill from her lips and in a matter of seconds, she realized they've been frozen shut.

"I... really am trying hard... to turn over a new leaf here, Kuroko... please don't get any weird ideas anymore." As Sakurako forced another smile, her brows started twitching,clearly unaccustomed to the act.

She soon released her hold on Kuroko's lips with a single dismissive flick of her hand. Then she started walking ahead of Kuroko who was still recuperating from her chilling experience.

"I... S-see... O-jjoou-sssama... B-but.. why d-did y-you ask me to c-come with you? C-couldn't you d-do that on your o-own?"

Kuroko tries to speak but her teeth kept chattering, clearly another side-effect of the cold.

" That's the problem... I don't exactly have any experience with these kinds of things and since we're attending Tokiwadai, it's rare for me to talk to guys in the same age group. Since you regularly get love letters from guys from different schools and get asked out on lots of dates I figured you'd have more knowledge in this field. "

"Ahaha... I see... It's only natural for you to think like that... Alright! I'll help you out. In exchange, I get to sleep next to you for a week, right?"

She said excitedly. However, upon seeing another unnatural smile from Sakurako, she made a sound much similar to a puppy whimpering after it saw something terrifying.

"Or I could do it out of my own goodwill in the spirit of friendship and camaraderie free of charge!" She said as tears poured down from her eyes while laughing nervously.

"Mm. I knew you'd say that. Anyways, do you have any suggestions on what to give him?"

"Hmm... I can't say. We've both met Akaze-san at the same time so I don't know much about him either. In situations like this, it's better to give him something that you like! If it's from the heart then I'm sure he'll appreciate anything you give him."

Kuroko patted the brown haired esper's back as if to encourage her even more. She had never seen Sakurako this worked up about anything ever since the two of them became roommates.

The Sakurako she had come to know was aloof, and detached from the world. A certain feeling of gloom and melancholy always seemed to exude from her as if she's carrying some problem that is too much for her to deal with on her own.

That being said, whatever that problem is, she had chosen not to rely on anyone, even her best friend for support even though it was killing her inside... There are a lot of words that could be used to describe her friend. Cool, calm, intelligent, eccentric, amazing, talented... these are all appropriate... However, Kuroko knew for a fact that Sakurako was never happy. That was why Kuroko felt relieved to see for the first time Sakurako's happiness.

"Kukuku... Anything I want, huh? Well, why didn't you tell me that sooner? I already know what to give him now!"

The excitement in the brown haired girl's face was evident as she practically dragged her red-haired companion with her. Kuroko couldn't help smiling herself upon seeing that her dear friend was enjoying herself but upon their arrival at the store Sakurako had in mind, the color instantly drained from Kuroko's face.

Part 6

"Ojou-sama... Even though I said anything is fine... you still should have taken the age group and gender preference into account!" Kuroko muttered while she exited the store limply with Sakurako.

The red haired girl had a defeated look on her face after having her advice taken too enthusiastically.

"What are are you saying, Kuroko? This is the ultra rare limited edition Gekota wristwatch! There are only a handful of these in the world so I had to fight tooth and nail just to get one of these priceless artifacts!" Sakurako said while smiling cockily. She pushed out her modest chest pridefully to further stress her accomplishment.

"Personally, I really want another one for myself but they're so hard to get and they won't sell more than one of these to a single customer. Well, I'll give this to him. Then he'll know how contrite I am for my behavior the other day! If what Yukiharu had told me was correct, he should be on duty now. Let's head to that Judgment branch and ask where he's patrolling right now."

The brown haired esper was just about to drag Kuroko with her once more when the latter noticed a familiar face come out of one of a hardware store.

"We may no longer need to head there. Look!" Kuroko pointed towards the direction of someone wearing a black coat and holding a suitcase in one hand heading towards the mall's exit. She then called out to him to prevent the Ice Empress from backing down from her objective.

"Oi! Akaze-sa-"

Kuroko's voice faltered upon sensing that something was horribly wrong. The figure turned towards them and smiled cruelly. His expression seemed to be similar to a carnivore who had unexpectedly stumbled into a couple of delicious prey.

The boy that looked exactly like Akaze Airou was only 15 meters in front of them and he slowly closed the gap between them. When the distance had been reduced to 10 meters, he tapped a scanner-like device of the suitcase. He retrieved various parts inside and assembled them expertly to form an ominous weapon in a matter of seconds.

"!"

He didn't even give so much as a warning when he pointed the barrel of a Kalishnikov rifle at them and opened fire. Kuroko couldn't react fast enough. She was frozen in place. She couldn't even ask herself just why on earth he'd do such a thing. The only thing in her mind right now is that she's gonna die.

Thump.

Thud.

Kwoosh!

The sound of bullets penetrating solid mass was heard followed by the panicked screams of civilians.

Kuroko half expected that she would have been turned into Swiss cheese if she had not died instantly but she was startled to realize that she was unscathed.

Upon looking in front of her, she saw a massive wall of ice had materialized between her and her assailant. Instead of hitting the redhead, the bullets have penetrated the thick wall of ice. This managed to decelerate the bullets' velocity enough to prevent it from getting through.

However, since the wall of ice blocked the way, they had no means of chasing after the gunman who seemed to have fled upon realizing his attack was ineffective.

Kuroko still couldn't believe what had transpired before her but she was even more worried about Sakurako at that moment. She swiftly turned to face her friend and only saw murder in the #6's eyes.

"Kuroko... let's go to that Judgment branch office. After filing a formal complaint... I'm gonna turn that bastard into an ice sculpture and shatter him with a sledgehammer.

Between the Lines 1

After making his escape, the boy who had the same face as Akaze Airou quickly retreated to a safe house to report what had occurred to his "Father".

"Hm... An esper that freely manipulates ice? So he has connections with that upstart couple's daughter? I see. You did good, Alpha. Now you've caused quite the predicament for my prodigal son. I won't be surprised if that arrogant pair's daughter wants to kill him now for what you've done."

At the other end of the line, it was evident that Takasura Katsugi could not contain the excitement in his voice. The actions of one of his "children" had yielded truly unexpected yet advantageous results. With this, he can already put the next phase of his plan into action.

"Alpha, have all your brothers on standby. Observe the results of the commotion you've caused. Be prepared to engage the original any time. I'd honestly prefer if you can bring back my prodigal son alive since he can be quite a useful tool when we finally start the main plan but if he proves to be too troublesome, do not hesitate to put a bullet into his noggin."

There was a cruel smile on the mad scientist's face as he gave that order. It just goes to show that he truly doesn't care anymore about the boy that had once been his foster child. "The Akaze Airoids are already an apt military force which can easily deal with Academy City's forces anyways. Though if we can neutralize their technology, the plan would proceed a lot more smoothly." Takasura mused enthusiastically.

"Do we kill him or not? Make up your mind already, pops. Based from your tone, you still want him alive. Alpha personally wants to kill him more than the others but if you orders us, we'll hold back.

The Airoid named Alpha clicked his tongue in annoyance at his "father's" indecisiveness which only made the gray-haired scientist laugh.

"You really have quite the trigger finger, Alpha. Well I'll leave that choice of the matter to you. It's true that completing the set would prove very advantageous for us but I don't want to handle a weapon that would likely blow up in my face. Don't hold back, now. Even though he's my prodigal son, he's still a Level 5 and one of my Fatal Errors. He's not somebody you can take on if you hold back. Well, good hunting."

Static could only be heard after Takasura cut off the transmission from his encrypted network.

On the other hand, the phone that Alpha used can easily be traced. It was cheap and therefore disposable. Hence, he dropped the plastic communications device on the floor and crushed it under his foot. He then used the Akaze Network to contact his brethren and inform of the change of plans.

Once that had been finished, he replaced the parts of the disassembled Kalashnikov rifle in the suitcase with those of an Academy City rifle, the CS1000R. Apparently, the CS meant Combat Science. It was an automatic rifle much akin to the SCAR but much more lightweight since it was made out of strong synthetic plastic. It can fire its standard lead bullets and bullets made of hardened synthetic plastic. In order to take down a monster such as their "older brother" they needed to prepare such measures.

("Ohh... based from Airoid 1342's report, Recon-chan really did go to him to ask for help. He had apparently destroyed the virus in her... So we can conclude that he had already formed an emotional attachment with her. Someone retrieve the brat. Alpha's going to do some reconnaissance work for a bit." )

Alpha ordered mentally before ending his own transmission.

He packed the state-of-the-art rifle into the suitcase together with dozens of magazines before leaving the safe house.

Part 7

Things have generally calmed down in the 177th Branch of Judgment. The reason was everyone was hard at work inspecting the numerous security footage captured by the countless CCTV cameras scattered all throughout Academy City looking for Akaze Airou's doppelganger.

As they were about to give up any hope of finding the culprit, Sakaki Sachi noticed something in the corner of her eye. She shifted her attention towards one of the security cameras placed at an underground shopping mall in District 7. She saw dozens of civilians running out of the mall which seemed highly suspicious. She pressed a few buttons to switch the video feed to another camera inside the mall. Her eyes widened in shock when she saw what happened. The incident occurred roughly 15 minutes ago based from the time displayed on the security footage. However, before she could inform anyone of her discovery, the front door of the office suddenly exploded and a torrent of cold air assaulted everyone in the room.

Everyone's heads instinctively turned towards the front door. However, upon seeing the face of someone they were very familiar with, they could only look at each other in confusion.

"Oi, Ace. If you're still mad about me stealing your first kiss the other day, you can take it out on me at the back. However, don't take it out on the door. Geezus. We're gonna have to pull the repair costs from our budget again dammit."

Airou sighed vehemently but he soon steeled himself once he detected the killing intent emanating from her. She was entirely different from when he fought her before.

"YOU!"

Without so much as a warning, Sakurako shot half a dozen icy spikes towards Airou.

In response, the black haired esper used his magnetism to quickly pull a steel office desk towards him to act as a shield. The makeshift barrier only proved to be slightly efficient as the frozen spikes impaled themselves on the metal shield, almost completely passing through it.

"What the hell?! Oi, Ace. What the hell was that just now? Are you really that upset with having your first kiss stolen?!"

Airou exclaimed but the brown haired girl merely ignored him as she prepared to fire another volley of icy spikes.

This was a bad situation for him. Unlike when dealing with a criminal, Airou did not want to deal any harm to the brown-haired girl. But from that earlier attack, he determined that the feeling wasn't mutual. Unlike last time, when Sakurako's only goal was to beat him, the #6's clear objective was to kill him.

"Shit..."

Sparks formed around Airou's body as he went into a battle stance. But before both parties could launch an attack, they were both thrown to the floor by an invisible force.

"Stop it both of you!" Ouryoushi Shin and Mirai Kuroko shouted at the same time as they kept the two espers at bay.

"What the hell are you doing Kuroko! That bastard tried to kill you earlier and now you're defending him?! Let me go! I'll kill him!"

Airou was stunned when he heard Sakurako's words. Stealing was one thing but attempting to kill Kuroko and Sakurako was another story. He needed to put a stop to this doppelganger's actions before more innocent people are harmed. He clenched his teeth as sparks raged around him while being pinned down by the increased force of gravity exerted on him by Shin's ability.

Meanwhile, Sakurako struggled in vain as the invisible force held her down but she stopped any resistance upon seeing the tears welling up in Kuroko's eyes.

"Kuroko..."

"You've got it all wrong, Ojou-sama... Didn't you notice earlier? That man that attacked us wasn't Akaze-san. He looked like him but that wasn't him. I could see it in his eyes when he attacked us." Kuroko cried.

"If you don't believe Mirai-san, then perhaps a couple of footages would convince you of Akaze-kun's innocence. Honestly... for this to happen twice in a single day... and she reacted exactly how Shin reacted a while ago."

"Well at least I didn't blow the fucking door to smithereens when I came charging here."

Shin scoffed as he gradually eased the pressure he exerted on Airou's body.

"Heh, I'm not actually a big fan of getting pinned down like this either." Airou said in a passive tone.

With everyone's prodding, they managed to make the brown haired Level 5 listen to their request. They presented her two different footages captured at the same time. One showed Sakurako and Kuroko getting attacked by Akaze Airou's doppelganger at the underground shopping mall in District 7 while the other video showed Akaze Airou inside the headquarters of Judgment when the incident occurred. It was the exact approach they used to quell Shin's anger and calm him down quite a bit earlier.

"Wha... but how..."

Sakurako said in disbelief as she watched the two videos simultaneously. However, to the observant eye, one could also see a twinge of relief in her face.

"Long story short... that is one of my 9968 evil clones. Based from what little my "little sister" told me and from the disturbances these clones have caused, their primary objective is to draw me out, confront me and recover me... The one behind all this madness is a person that I had once called as my foster father. He is currently holding two people who I consider to be family hostage. Apparently, after he realized I was alive, he wants to have the complete set now."

He stared at the screen with hatred in his eyes. Takasura Katsugi was a man that only cared about the end result. He did not care what effects his plans had on innocent lives as long as a favorable result is achieved.

As he was intently focusing on the way the clones were attacking, something caught his attention that made the world around him stand still.

"Sachi... the screens are displaying recordings as well as live feed, right?"

"Yeah. Why?"

He did not have time to answer that question. All he needed was the confirmation from Sachi.

With a single flick of his wrist, various pieces of metal attached themselves around his feet until they formed something reminiscent of a pair of boots. Metallic blue lights adorned the boots adding to its futuristic feel and it emitted a low hum.

After checking that the device was complete, he rushed out of the office at unimaginable speeds.

Stunned silence was commonly felt by everyone when they saw Akaze Airou rush out of the building as of his life depended on it. But upon looking at the specific live feed of the camera Airou was intently looking at a while ago, all of the #3's colleagues could only watch in horror as another tragedy was committed by those clones.

Part 5

The boots that Airou had hastily formed were truly one of a kind. It emitted short bursts of kinetic energy to propel its user great distances while also acting as a shock absorber. He was not as childish as he once had been but if his child self would name this piece of technology, he would have called it "Grass Hopper".

Using Grass Hopper, Akaza Airou reached the hospital Recon was confined in after only 5 minutes. But even with this futuristic technology at his disposal, but it was still not enough.

Even without entering the building, Airou could already tell that he arrived too late. The doors of the building showed indications that it had been forcefully blown away and small fires were currently being extinguished by the hospital's sprinkler system.

The frog-faced doctor known as Heaven Canceler was expecting his arrival at the destroyed entrance of the hospital.

"They took the girl. Not just one, but at least half a dozen of them arrived to take Recon-chan. They were armed with lightweight automatic rifles and I couldn't negotiate with them. They would have started firing at the other patients if I had not handed her over... I'm sorry."

The old doctor had a bitter look on his face as he narrated the events. He looked ashamed of what he had done but Airou couldn't blame him. Saving someone meant not saving someone else. The lives of the few took held less importance than the lives of the many.

"You've done quite enough, old man. Just tell me where they went. I'll handle the rest." Airou said in a reassuring voice.

"I don't know. They left in a hurry. I had to check the other patients' conditions so I don't know where exactly they went. "

"Shit..."

Airou felt his entire was falling apart. The delicate world he had established after he escaped that nightmare several years ago was crumbling before him.

Suddenly, his phone rang. He quickly fished the handheld device out of his pocket and placed the receiver on his ear.

"Akaze-san, this is Yukiharu. The clones are headed southeast of you. It looks like they're headed for District 23."

Yukiharu reported in an urgent manner. "They have Recon-chan. It looks like there are about close to a dozen of them and they're all carrying high-caliber automatic rifles. Please be careful."

"Alright. Thanks for the info Yukiharu. Please continue tracking their movements. Call me again when you notice something strange, no matter how trivial it is. "

Just as he had hit a dead end, a new path had been opened before him. He was now starting to appreciate sharing his past with his colleagues. He had just understood that he cannot hope facing his darkness without relying on anyone's help.

Airou immediately hung up and placed the phone back in his pocket. With a crunching sound, he forcefully stomped the ground with Grass Hopper and headed for District 23.

Part 8

District 23 was a large flat area perfect for the use and development of experimental aircraft. As such, there were only a few buildings located in this flat piece of land since most of the land are being utilized as runways. That said, it was highly unlikely that Takasura Katsugi's research facility was located there.

"So that means..."

Airou's phone started ringing once again just as he was nearing his destination. He deftly retrieved the device from his pocket as he continued sprinting towards District 23 at insane speeds with the help of the Grass Hopper.

"A...aze... an... s...o... it's... t..p"

Yukiharu screamed at the other end of the line but something was causing her voice to become distorted.

"Dammit. They're jamming the signal? "

Airou bit back a curse and pressed on. He had no time to worry about trivial matters like his signal being jammed or Yukiharu's message. Whatever it may entail, he still had to rescue that little girl from the Darkness that bared its fangs after she had once escaped its clutches.

After a couple of minutes, he arrived at the outer perimeter of District 23.

The entire District was surrounded by an iron fence to keep out any intruders. It was several meters high and there was a sign that indicates that a deadly current was running through it.

Of course, he had no trouble getting through these defenses. He could just climb the fence since he need not worried of getting electrocuted or he could just rip apart the fence with his magnetism but he chose the path of least resistance. Instead of causing unnecessary destruction, he merely jumped twice the height of the fence and landed on the other side.

As soon as he crossed that border, however, a huge number of red dots appeared all over his body. So much so that it seemed a red spotlight was directed at him. The situation made him realize what Yukiharu was trying to warn him of earlier.

"So, it was a trap all along."

Akaze Airou clicked his tongue in annoyance upon only realizing that fact when all the signs were pointing to that one answer.

He had assumed that the area wa devoid of life when he first arrived. The entire surroundings were dyed in black and there were no functioning light sources nearby. However, the reality of it was, the entire area was filled with thousands of people wearing black that it gave the illusion that nobody was there.

Upon closer inspection of his clones, he confirmed their resemblance to him. They were so alike to him that it wasn't surprising Shin and Sakurako mistook one of them for him. But they were different. He felt it. These weren't ordinary clones. They were more like cyborgs since he detected pieces of micro machinery inside them like Recon.

Tension filled the area as more of his clones pointed their weapons at him. However, a few of them lowered their arms to make way for another clone. The instant he saw the clone the others were treating as their leader, Airou felt his blood boiling inside him. Compared to the other "Airoids", this one had unkempt brown hair and a wild look on his face. While the other Airoids were devoid of emotion, this one was wearing an arrogant smile. Most likely, this was the one who attack Misaka Sakurako and Mirai Kuroko at the underground shopping mall not too long ago.

"Ah. Finally. We get to meet the Original himself. I suppose taking 9969 as hostage had proven quite effective."

The leader of the Airoids stretched his arms out wide as if to welcome Airou. However, his voice was filled with nothing but contempt.

"Who the fuck are you and what did you fucking do to Recon?"

Sparks were dancing wildly across his body as if resonating with the anger he felt. However, the one who distinguished himself from the other clones as their leader only laughed wryly.

"Oh, that's right. Alpha hasn't introduced himself yet. Well, Alpha is you yet Alpha is not you at the same time. Alpha is one of the 9968 clones that were mass produced in am attempt to replicate you, Original. Alpha was the first of the Akaze Airoids. Hence, my was also the one that got closest to your output, Original."

The clone that introduced himself as Alpha said in a familiar voice as he casually rested the advanced automatic rifle he was carrying on his shoulder.

"But that still wasn't enough for "Father". He wanted a replacement for the Level 5 he lost so he kept making more Airoids. Eventually he gave up and converted our function into his personal military force. He needed a Relay Command Network at first in order to control us so he made the Omega, Recon."

As if on cue, a pair of Airoids arrived dragging the limp body of an unconscious black haired girl. He almost charged towards her had not been for the thousands of guns pointed at him.

"The Central Command Unit was very cooperative at first but she suddenly refused to cooperate one day. This forced "Father"to come up with other means to control us without damaging our system functions and structural integrity. Once he had done so, he no longer had any use for the Omega. When Recon realized that she had lost her purpose, the Omega came running to you for help. Alpha thinks that she will be rewarded greatly for locating you, original... after being punished severely that is."

Alpha performed a well-placed kick on the little girl's solar plexus which made her instinctively reel back and cry out in pain.

Airou clenched his teeth as he held back his own anger. The sparks dancing on his body before were now rapidly and violently flowing through him.

"What do you want?"

"Ah. Finally said the magic words, huh? Well what our objective is quite simple but that is entirely dependent on how you react. The real question is, what do you want, Original?"

"That is also very simple... All I want is to pry Amane, Shiro, Recon and all of you from the darkness that had swallowed everyone of us whole."

Unknown to the clones, he wasn't just idly watching helplessly as he conversed with Alpha. He was subtly manipulating the metal in the area and turning them into futuristic technology to counter against the overwhelming numbers of the enemy forces.

For a few moments, the area was filled with nothing but silence. It was then followed by the voice of someone laughing profusely.

"You actually believe you can save us? Did getting shot in the eye knock a few loose screws out of your head? But Original, if it weren't for your failure several years ago, Alpha, Recon or any of us Airoids would not exist. We would not be subjected to so much pain. If you had only become like those two, Recon-chan would not be suffering like she is now."

As if to further prove his point, he mercilessly delivered another kick to Recon's stomach. The impact was strong that the sound of the impact echoed around the area.

Recon also started coughing up blood while breathing heavily. Any kid her age would have started crying after being kicked that viciously but Airou could tell that she was holding back those tears.

It had not been long since her life was threatened by a malicious virus... but even so, she managed to escape Takasura Katsugi's firm grip and make contact with Airou.

Instead of immediately asking for help, she disseminated information about the mad scientist first.

And now that she was just recovering from an ailment that shook her very core, she was being subjected to so much torture that a girl her age should not be experiencing.

And yet she still didn't cry. Rather than she cannot, she refused to shed a single tear.

She didn't want to show any signs of weakness even in her battered state.

She didn't want to burden her "older brother" more than she already has.

Akaze Airou understood... that even in her own little way, no matter how feeble her attempts were, no matter how hopeless her struggles were, the girl that was created by the darkness was trying her very best to fight that very same darkness.

That was why he cannot falter. Wasn't that what he promised himself before? No matter how many enemies he face, no matter how ridiculously powerful they may be, he had vowed to redeem all the victims of the Darkness of Science.

"So here's what we're going to do. You're gonna come with us and we'll reunite the Prodigal Son with his father. And then "Father's" family will be complete again." Alpha mused.

"D... don't... you... s-ee... Al-pha? Th-at... man...doesn't care about Recon, Alpha, or any of us Airoids. The evil... man tried to... kill Onii-chan when he was my age... The evil man turned... Ama-nee and Shiro-nii... into monsters. We're all... nothing but... expendable... assets to him... ready to be thrown away... once we have served... our purpose... Even if you hand over... Onii-chan... the second you do... you and the others... would be thrown away because... Alpha... you're nothing more than a... liability."

Liability.

Upon hearing that word, Alpha's face that had once exhibited only arrogance and content became distorted and showed only loathing. He raised his hand and repeatedly struck the black haired girl several times. It was apparent that he was going to keep this up until she no longer had the strength to spew forth any more blasphemies... However, as he was about to bring his hand down on the little girl's battered body, someone held it in place.

"Leave her out of this..."

"!"

Krag.

Thud.

Before Alpha could reach for his Academy City-tier assault rifle, Akaze Airou slammed his right knee on Alpha's solar plexus. Normally, that attack would not he able to send a human body flying several feet away. If it was a strong opponent, it would only send them reeling momentarily. But with the help of the kinetic energy generated by Grass Hopper, Airou was able to generate that much force.

Again there was silence.

Airou expected the clones to retaliate immediately after his preemptive strike but surprisingly they did not react at all except for a few that checked on their leader's condition, including the clones that were restraining Recon.

("So it's true. Since they have been absolutely robbed of their free will, they cannot think for themselves. They need to get orders from Alpha in order to function.")

Airou used the short amount of time he had bought with that surprise attack to check on Recon's condition. Although she had sustained some nasty external injuries, Airou determined that there were no damages to her internally nor mentally.

Just as Airou was about to breathe a sigh of relief, he noticed Alpha stirring from the corner of his eye.

"Khh... What are you fools doing?! Shoot him!"

The clones complied to his order. However, not all of them fired at once. Initially, one would think that Airou was at a sheer disadvantage due to the sheer number of the enemy but that had proven to be a blessing in disguise. Due to how closely packed the enemy forces were, only a few of them were capable of firing their weapons and they only did so once they ensured that neither of them would get hit with their own bullets should Airou somehow deflect them.

"Geez... don't you understand..."

Before the bullets could hit their mark, Akaze Airou had already used his power of magnetism to attract several metal plates from several directions.

The metal plates resembled shields yet there were unknown patterns of light running through each one. It absorbed the energy and force of oncoming attacks and distributed them throughout its wide surface effectively stopping any attack from reaching Akaze Airou. Theoretically, these are sturdy enough to withstand the destructive force of a missile. He had made these as he was stalling for time when he was talking to Alpha.

Again, if his child self were to give this piece of futuristic technology a name, he would have named it Diamant Panzer.

Upon making contact with the metal plates, the bullets were pulverized leaving only fine specks of dust on the ground.

"You don't win a war with numbers alone..."

Part 9

The first among the 9968 clones of Akaze Airou, Akaze Alpha realized the flaw of the formation of his troops. He barked orders to his "brothers" to break away from each other so more people could fire upon Airou and Recon.

"I should give you credit though. You didn't go after me with conventional weaponry, utilizing plastic instead. It seems you've planned this quite a bit. Indeed. Normally taking on these many enemies with limited resources would be impossible for me. But you made one crucial mistake. Unless you are absolutely certain that you have the absolute advantage and you can absolutely defeat your enemy, don't run your mouth too much. You should have shot me the moment I showed up."

Their actions were useless.

Their weapons were useless.

Their tactics were useless

Nothing was working in the plan that Alpha had fabricared and played back again and again in his head.

Everything was falling apart.

"Say, Alpha. You want to kill me, right?"

"!"

Amid the sound of gunfire, the Original, the person whose DNA they were based from, said those words nonchalantly. Yet it stabbed through Alpha sharper than any blade.

"I thought so. I'm guessing that old geezer told you to handle the situation as you see fit but seeing how much of a fateful little puppy you are, you wanted to please your master. If possible, you want to take me alive."

No emotion can be felt in his words. And Alpha hated it. It would have been fine if there was arrogance, contempt, pity, or spite. But none of those were present. He was talking like he was just stating a couple of facts.

"And yet your purpose was to kill me? It's painful, right? It's excruciating, right? Ignoring your programming, your very reason to exist just to please someone who is ready to throw you out once you've outlived your usefulness. I don't know if you're a martyr or just straight up fucking delusional... but if you and your brothers are looking... no... yearning for the love of a father, you will never get that from Takasura Katsugi... "

It continued.

He continued hearing that emotionless voice from someone who looked devoid of all emotion. He was different from when he was before. It seemed very unrealistic but Akaze Airou's personality had changed drastically.

"Take my word for it. The man whom I also once called "Father" nonchalantly shot off my right eye in an attempt to "cut his losses". He'll do the same. He'll throw you out like pieces of trash you are after your objective is complete. Takasura Katsugi is not someone who understands the value of relationships, emotions or ethics. He only sees the world in a matter of disadvantage and advantage, loss and gain, asset and liability, beneficial and detrimental."

That voice... that cold monotone voice devoid of life. This was not the Akaze Airou described in their "father's" accounts. This was not the original that was innocent, cheerful, optimistic and altruistic. He understood now. Akaze Airou had become a monster due to the darkness of science.

And yet he still didn't want to believe it. Even for a mere clone, he still clung to the hope that after all of this was over, Takasura Katsugi would give them the love of a father he and his "brothers" had been yearning for.

His core had been shaken but his resolve will not waver. He will finish what he had started. He will finish this once and for all.

With a single wave of his hand, he signaled the rest of his "brothers" to cease fire. Their efforts were admirable but they were still in vain. He knew that he had to end this himself.

"Enough! Original. I will deal with you myself."

"I see. But know this. I am neither hero nor villain. I am a selfish bastard. If you get in the way of what I want, then I will defeat you better than any hero would and destroy you worse than any villain could. And right now, I want to protect this girl from the darkness of this city."

Akaze Airou stepped out of the defensive ring formed by the Diamant Panzers but maintained the device to shield Recon. This left him extremely vulnerable to the plastic bullets of the CS1000R's but it seemed that Alpha really intended to fight him one-on-one.

"I'll kill you..."

"There you go. If you want to kick my ass, you better not hold back."

Part 10

And so the two Akaze's clashed.

Akaze Airou, the boy that had been a victim of the darkness of science.

And Akaze Alpha, the boy that was created by the darkness of science.

Original vs Clone

Genuine vs Fake

Level 5 vs Level 4

Electricity crackled as the two exchanged blows.

Airou used Grass Hopper to propel himself towards Alpha and deliver powerful kicks.

On the other hand, Alpha dodged Airou's attacks and delivered counter attacks. Should he be unable to dodge a strike normally, electricity sparked on whatever part of his body and he miraculously avoided a normally undodgeable strike.

("So he overrides his nervous system by sending electric signals in order to forcefully control his body's locomotion. I see. However, forcing his body to move beyond its physical limits must cause him a lot of pain. He can't keep this up forever.")

He isn't a level 5 yet he is holding his own against someone like Akaze Airou. That fact alone proved how formidable an opponent Alpha is compared to the other pieces of machinery inside Alpha were also helping in strengtening his attacks and boosting his speed. From the looks of it, there's a special field generated by these machines that prevent Airou from interfering with their functions.

To any bystander watching the bout, the two looked evenly matched. However, without so much as a warning, Alpha seemed to disappear. No... he moved so fast that not even an after image of him was formed.

"!"

("From behind?!")

Airou twisted his body sidewards to avoid the attack. However, he didn't quite make it in time.

As he backed away from Alpha, he felt a stinging sensation from his cheek. He touched the source of the pain with his hand and he felt a liquid, most likely blood, dripping from it.

He looked at Alpha and noticed that at some point, he had produced an extremely sharp plastic knife on his hand.

("He used the explosive force lightning to increase his speed drastically?!")

"What's the matter, original? Was that too much of a shock for you?"

"Heh? So you have sense of humor too, huh? Well then... "

As Airou stretched out his hand, he collected the iron sand sleeping on the ground. It took on the form of a combat knife

The two of them nodded at the other, once again acknowledging the strength of their opponent before they entered combat once more.

Compared to Airou's metal knife, it would seem that Alpha's plastic knife would prove useless but surprisingly he, was parrying the metal knife's attacks with great ease. What Alpha lacked in terms of ability, he was making up for in terms of combat prowess.

("Tch... I hate to admit it but if I continue relying solely on combat prowess, I'm not going to last long.")

At some point, their weapons interlocked when Alpha's synthetic knife was chipped by Airou's sword effectively sealing the distance between the two combatants. As Airou was struggling to remove his weapon from its entangled state, his opponent retrieved something from his pocket with his right hand.

"!"

Airou knew what it was. Alpha was planning this all along. And now he was aiming a plastic pistol at Airou.

Airou had only one choice. Stomping fiercely on the ground, he generated enough kinetic energy with Grass Hopper to propel him a couple of meters back. However, he felt something hit his torso.

Since he was unable to maintain his center of gravity, he crashed harshly on the ground and rolled a few times before stopping.

As if a sign of Akaze Airou's defeat, the Diamant Panzers guarding Recon immediately fell on the ground before disintegrating back to their source material.

"Onii-chan!

Recon immediately run to Airou's side to check on him and her eyes opened wide. She saw blood soaking Airou's shirt while Airou himself looked unconscious.

After seeing what happened, Alpha had a triumphant look on his face. He slowly approached Airou as if a hunter coming to collect his kill.

"Alpha-san, stop! You can't kill him. He's our original." Recon pleaded as tears formed in her eyes.

"Shut up, you rebellious obsolete brat. After I make sure that shot finally did him in, you're next."

He swung his arm at the black haired girl which sent her flying a few feet away from Airou. She groaned in pain but she still refused to shed her tears.

"You've been a worthy opponent, Akaze Original, however, in the end, you're still just the defect you once were. This is the end."

"You're right... for you."

"!"

Before Alpha could aim his pistol, a huge block of metal slammed into his right arm. The force of impact was so strong that the sound of bones breaking could be heard. But before Alpha could scream in pain, he felt someone's fist slamming on his face. He was thrown a few meters away by the impact.

"B... but how... I saw you getting hit by that bullet in the chest. It should have at least punctured one of your lungs."

Alpha said in disbelief.

"Heh... you honestly thought metals are the only thing I can manipulate with magnetism?"

"Wha- You... manipulated the bullet's trajectory with magnetism?! That bullet was made entirely out of plastic!"

"Oh I didn't do something as flashy as that. Sure, I mainly use my magnetism on metals but that's only because they're far easier to manipulate because of their magnetic properties making them ideal for usage during combat."

With Recon's help, Airou managed to stand up stably.

"However, if I encase an object with magnetic fields, I can also manipulate them so you can say it's a form of pseudo-psychokinesis. However, manipulating non-metal objects takes much more effort and concentration compared to manipulating metal ones. With such a limited time frame to act, all I could do was slow the bullet down to decrease its penetration power. "

And just like that, silence reigned once again in the the desolate runway of District 23.

Part 9

The iron sand that had once been part of the Diamant Panzer had encased themselves around Alpha's limbs sealing all of his movements.

"Give up, Alpha. You've already lost."

"Ahahahahahahahahahaha... I see... I understand now. From the beginning, we were never expected to be capable of beating you. "Father"... or shoould Alpha say, Dr. Takasura only sent us to confront you only to dispose of us. It was like sending lamb to be slaughtered. Even in the event that we managed to successfully recover both you and Recon, we would still be disposed off while you would receive the same fate as those two. "

He had known that from the beginning but he clung to the illusion that Takasura Katsugi would treat all of the Airoids as if they were his own sons if they faithfully obey him. Now he had led his brothers in the path to ruin.

"What are you talking about."

"Since Alpha has surrendered, Takasura has transmitted a virus similar to the one he used on Recon. It will forcefully override Alpha's thought process. Afterwards, he'll most likely order all of us to kill you and Recon before initiating a self-destruct sequence. Talk about killing two birds with one stone."

The cruelty of it all was just too ridiculous. If he had decided to rebel against Takasura, would they have a chance to live a normal life?

("Even if we did turn against our creator, we wouldn't even stand a chance against those two monsters.")

"What?!"

"Alpha suggests you run, Original. Keep Recon safe. All 9968 of us haven't done a good job of being an older brother. Perhaps, Original can do a better job..." He said in a pained voice. "Recon-chan, Alpha knows what we did to you was unforgivable... but even so, in behalf of all Airoids, Alpha would like to apologize for all the atrocities we have done. "

Takasura created them yet he only saw them as disposable tools. Yet Akaze Airou, whose DNA gave birth to them accepted Recon as family after only a day. He was happy for the Central Command Unit. That was why he cannot allow that happiness get crushed by the Darkness. He had already hurt that girl so much he felt that his soul would not even be permitted to enter hell.

That was why he... no... All 9968 of them had already decided.

They will not let that monster have his way.

They will protect that little girl's happiness.

That was why they must self-terminate before they could cause even more harm. He closed his eyes and embraced his end.

"The hell I'd just stand by and allow that to happen!"

Alpha's eyes shot open when he felt a pair of hands touching his forehead. One belonged to his "older brother" and one belonged to his "younger sister".

"I'll purge the virus. Recon, in the meantime try to regain control of the magnetic web."

"Roger, Onii-chan."

Alpha couldn't believe what he's witnessing. The two people he had unhesitantly tried to kill earlier were now trying to prevent him from being killed.

"Wha... what are you doing?"

"Saving your life. Now shut up. I can't concentrate. "

Akaze Airou replied in his usual nonchalant fashion before closing his eyes and concentrating once again. Recon had done the same but she was performing a different role.

Meanwhile, Alpha was battling with the pain surging in every nerve of his body. The pain had once been bearable but it had gone past the limit of an ordinary human's threshold.

("Shit... this is actually pretty excruciating... this was the same virus that almost killed Recon-chan... and for a little girl to experience this much pain... if Alpha ever makes it out of this alive, he'll make that bastard pay.")

Aside from Alpha's ragged breathing and the occasional sound of a jet taking of or landing, time seemed to have stood still in the entire area.

Finally, after 15 excruciating minutes, the pain that Alpha felt abruptly disappeared. His tense body went limp as relief washed over him. Yet he couldn't relax completely. Something was troubling him.

"Original... why did you save me..."

He and his brothers attempted to kill him, frame him up for various crimes, harm his friends and even hurt an innocent little girl. He didn't deserve salvation and yet he was saved by that man.

"I told you, right? I'm no hero. I'm a selfish bastard. And since I'm selfish, I want to save every person who had been a victim of science."

Akaze Airou looked annoyed repeating what he had already said earlier however, Alpha could see the resolve in the Original's eyes.

"Omega... Alpha has really hurt you a lot... you didn't have a reason to save me. Rather... it would have been normal to be glad of my passing."

"Yes it's true. You really hurt Recon a lot. But it's okay. Recon's not mad. Say, Alpha, do you know what Recon's dream is."

The girl whom he had inflicted so much pain into asked him cheerfully. Alpha was at such a loss of words that all he could do was shake his head.

"Recon wants to have a family, Alpha. The evil man is not our family. The members of a family takes care of one another and looks out for each other. Recon wants to have that kind of family. Well, Original is our Onii-chan but you and the others are also my brothers... so. .. umm... Can a I call you Alpha-nii."

Alpha felt his jaw drop as Recon came closer to him and embraced him tightly. He felt the tears that had already started forming in his eyes flowing down his face. Those tears were shed neither of sadness or joy. They were shed out of relief. The boy who had been created by darkness and soaked by it through his very core felt a small piece of salvation in that moment.

Epilogue

In the end, everything seemed to have worked out.

The guy who shared the same face as him was freed from Dr. Takasura Katsugi's darkness while his "brothers" regained their will.

As for the girl named Recon, she had taken a huge leap in realizing her wish.

"Hey, Original. Can you answer me one thing?"

Alpha suddenly asked in an inquisitive tone.

"You are already asking a question... Well that's beside the point. Sure, if it is something I can answer."

"You were holding back when we fought, right? Certainly, that isn't your full power. Alpha doubts the output you displayed is 15 percent of your total output."

"I did not want to hurt you as much as possible so I had to figure out a way to defeat you without causing too much damage to you. Had I went all out, you'd die in a matter of minutes. You're also a victim of the darkness. The same goes to your "brothers". Also, it felt wrong killing someone who shares the same face as mine. And besides, Recon asked me to take it easy on you. "

". . . Alpha understands."

"So what are you going to do now? You can't exactly go back Takasaura." Airou asked inquisitively.

"Well, Alpha has 9000+ mouths to feed so a lot of us need to land a job. Well, we'll figure it out one way or another. Don't worry about us... though Alpha still needs to get his arm checked."

"Um... Alpha-nii..."

Both Alpha and Airou turned to Recon with quizzical looks on their faces.

"Um... if it's alright with you, Recon would like to stay with Onii-chan for now."

"Huh? Aren't you supposed to ask permission to me first?"

Airou said with an incredulous look on his face but Recon seemed to pay him no mind.

"The decision does fall on me, Recon-chan. If you're gonna be happy staying with the Original then feel free to become a freeloader in his house. "

"Oi, shouldn't you be asking my thoughts about this sudden development?!"

"Nope. Recon knows that you can't say no to her, Onii-chan!" Recon exclaimed as she beamed at Airou. The black haired esper could do nothing but sigh exasperatedly at this turn of events.

Just as he was about to relax, an ominous chill enveloped the entire area literally. He felt the temperature drop to near freezing in the entire airfield since his breathing already produced white vapor.

"Wahh?! What's going on, Onii- chan?! There's something wrong happening to Alpha-nii!"

Afterwards, he noticed ice slowly envoloping Alpha's limbs. He only knew one person who had that kind of ability.

"Oi, Sakura-"

Just as he was turning around to berate Misaka Sakurako, the short haired brunette had thrust an icy blade the size of a boxcutter into his mouth effectively cutting of what he was going to say. Had she not held back, that weapon would have surely cut straight through the back of his mouth.

"Akaze-kun, was it? You still have not compensated for what you've done to me that time. I'm going to have you pay for that." Sakurako said in a cold voice.

Akaze Airou was completely stunned. It may have been due to his own fatigue or the sheer number of people in the are but still,he couldn't have missed such dangerous killing intent even at his exhausted state. This Misaka Sakurako was very different to the one he had fought not too long ago. He now realized that Tokiwadai's Ice Empress is also a very formidable opponent.

"I'm not asking for an apology nor for money. I would even refuse if you offered to be my slave for an entire week. What you have done is unforgivable. You have casually robbed me of very precious treasure I was planning to bestow only to someone whom I find worthy. As a result, you will have to compensate for your foolish mistake by..."

"?"

"By..."

"Oi, Hurry up and say what you want already. Alpha's literally gonna freeze his balls off at this rate!" Alpha shouted in a panicked voice.

"If I were you, I'd keep quiet. If I recall correctly, you unhesitatingly shot at me and my best friend with an automatic rifle recently. I'm still very... displeased about it."

Contrary to the way he acted when he committed those crimes, Airou saw Alpha yelp in terror as if he was a puppy and a gigantic rottweiler was growling at him.

"Now for my demand. As compensation for stealing a very precious aspect of my womanhood, I will have you take responsibility. Henceforth, you, Akaze Airou-kun will be my boyfriend."

The weight of her words alone indicated that it was not a suggestion nor a request. This specially didn't feel like a confession either. The way she said those words felt like it was an order.

"If you agree with my proposal nod two times. Any other act will be viewed as an act of aggression."

Nod. Nod.

Airou unhesitatingly nodded his head twice. He had no other choice in that situation. He was exhausted and wounded so he couldn't use his abilities even if he wanted to. Furthermore, even if he could use his abilities, he would never use them to harm Sakurako. Finally, had he not toyed with her during their fight, this predicament would not have occurred.

(Well, I haven't liked anyone ever since Amane Besides, she's kinda cute and I've never been in a relationship before... I guess these kinds of things can sometimes be good. Maybe in a way, that was her way of confessing... probably. )

The muscles of Sakurako's arm holding the ice blade relaxed and she slowly removed the weapon from Airou's mouth. It instantaneously turned back into water as she dropped it on the asphalt. The ice that enveloped Alpha's limbs melted immediately too.

"Good. You're free this weekend, right? Even if you aren't we're having our first date. You're going to plan it so make it count."

And just like that, the Number 6 Level 5 Frostbite casually walked away as if nothing had happened.

Or so it seems.

She stopped a few feet ahead of Airou, faced him once more and threw something at him. He caught it with one arm and saw what it was.

"A watch?"

"That's not just any watch. That's the ultra rare limited edition Gekota wristwatch as seen on Volume 6 of Gekotales. There are less than a handful made and I'm giving it to you. I hope you treasure it."

Sakurako stated before trudging off once more.

"Honestly, that girl..."

He looked at the seemingly ordinary watch curiously for a few seconds before his body remembered that he had been shot. He winced in pain as he applied pressure to his wound.

"Original, are you alright?" Alpha said with a worried expression on his face.

"Yeah... this isn't the first time I took a bullet and survived. Compared to that time, this is nothing." Airou said reassuringly.

Regardless of what the original had said, Alpha signalled two Airoids to fetch a vehicle nearby.

Meanwhile, Recon tugged at Airou's sleeve to get his attention.

"Hmm?"

"Congratulations!"

Recon shouted with all her might before hugging him vigorously. Even though he didn't have a clue what she was talking about, he smiled at her as he ruffled her silky long black hair.

(I may not be that type of guy that believes in a very ambiguous concept such as luck but if I was, I may be the unluckiest person in the city... then again, I have over 9000 younger brothers, a cute little sister and a girlfriend... of sorts. This situation may not be so bad after all...)

Instead of counting his misfortunes, he was counting his blessings. Those 9000+ younger brothers of his would prove instrumental to finding out more about Takasura Katsugi's plans. With Recon living with him, he would have a family of sorts. And with the Ice Empress as his girlfriend, his life would never have a dull moment. It may be wishful thinking but maybe his life is turning around for the better.