The trek back to the hotel she used as a staging point for her late-night excursions had been uneventful, much to Mikoto's relief. The woman at the front desk looked up when she entered, but didn't comment on her appearance. Mikoto was grateful for her silence, but she would still rather not be seen like this. It was at times like this that she really envied Kuroko's ability.
It wasn't that she was vain; Kuroko was always more concerned with her appearance than she was, but that didn't mean she liked looking like she'd spent the evening traipsing around the back alleys of the city. If she was seen looking like this back at Tokiwadai, then she'd have an entirely new set of issues to worry about.
The door to her room opened to blissful silence and the smell of clean linens. Mikoto allowed herself a few moments of indulgence, collapsing on the bed and hugging one of the pillows to her chest, enjoying the cool fabric and the floral smell of the detergent that had been used to clean it. Originally, she had intended on stopping in late the night before in order to change and sneak back into the dormitory, but now that it was after dawn there was no point in hurrying. Kuroko would be up by now, so unless she could convince the younger girl that she'd gotten in after she had gone to sleep and left before she woke up, there was little she would be able to do to convince her she hadn't been out all night.
Fortunately, she'd be able to put that conversation on hold long enough to think up a reasonable excuse. It was Saturday, which meant Kuroko would be off to the Judgment office for most of the day. She cracked an eye open, peering at the clock glowing on the nightstand. 6:38. Kuroko would probably be in the shower right now, but wouldn't be leaving the dorm for another hour. With her ability, it took her less than two minutes to get to the office, so she didn't leave until almost eight.
That gave Mikoto some time to kill. She didn't particularly want to get back while Kuroko was still around. The last time she had been out all night, Kuroko had been visibly distressed. Hopefully by being there when she returned she could alleviate some of her roommate's concern.
'Oh come on', another voice whispered. 'You know the real reason you don't want to go back right now. You just don't want to have to deal with the way she looks at you when you've made her worry.'
Mikoto quashed the voice, clutching the pillow more tightly to her chest. She embraced the pain in her arms in the hopes that it would distract her from the pang of guilt she felt at the thought. Maybe the voice was right, and she was just being selfish. But she couldn't deal with that, not right now. How would she explain to Kuroko that she'd passed out on the street after an evening of letting herself get electrocuted? How could she convince her doting roommate of the necessity of what she was doing without dragging her into the whole bloody mess? How could she explain to her the nightmare she had endured?
She'd come close, a couple months ago. Despite her behavior, Kuroko truly did care about her, she'd seen that much by now. She might have been a little clingy for her tastes, but when it came down to it, there was no one she would rather have by her side than Kuroko. And the girl could certainly hold her own. Telling her would have been an immense relief, and if anyone would have understood, it would have been Kuroko.
The sun peaked in the through the window, a bright beacon blinding her with its radiance. She flinched away from it, a small spark activating the electric blinds and bathing her in delicate shadows.
But then, could she really justify telling Kuroko? There was no question that the younger girl would want to help, but that was the problem. The last time Kuroko had gotten involved, she had nearly died. It was only good luck that had saved her; if she had been just a little slower in getting there, if that spiky-haired Idiot hadn't shown up when he did, then Kuroko would almost certainly have died. As it was, her injuries could be counted as lucky.
However capable Kuroko might be, she didn't need to get involved any further.
Mikoto allowed herself some time to doze, eager to escape the visions that plagued her thoughts. She drifted in and out of sleep, woken by strange and disturbing dreams that she couldn't quite recall.
When she finally woke fully, it was well into mid-morning. She sat, rubbing her eyes. It hadn't been her intention to sleep for long, but she supposed she had needed it. Her body still felt heavy, but she no longer felt the intense exhaustion that had plagued her the night before.
She stood and stretched, shielding her eyes from the light as she opened the blinds and looked out upon the bustling city. All traces of the early morning serenity had disappeared, the residents of the city awake and hurrying about their business. It was comforting, in a way, to know that from above everyone's problems looked the same. The small figures strolling about below her all had their own fears and concerns, their own ambitions. It made her feel a little less hopeless.
The dressing on her burns had come undone while she slept, exposing the sensitive skin to the air. Gingerly, she tested the burnt flesh with her fingers, wincing slightly at the sting. The burns were definitely better than they had been the night before, but still weren't fully healed.
'I'll have to replace these,' she thought with a sigh, tossing the used bandages into the waste bin. 'I should have planned ahead and stocked this room better, especially after last time.'
She'd have to request a first-aid kit before she left; she didn't want to have to wait until she got back to her dorm to replace the bandages. They would be hard enough to explain already; no sense making it worse by showing up looking like she'd slept in a dumpster.
Walking to the bathroom, Mikoto stripped out of her dirty clothes, turning on the shower. The cool water hit her arms, and she flinched, startled by the sudden pain. She jumped out from under the water, clutching her arms to her chest as the throbbing pain dissipated. After a moment, she stepped back under the shower, careful to keep the water from touching her arms. She sighed in satisfaction, letting the water ease the tension out of her muscles.
It was going to be a long weekend; she had been neglecting her homework, and needed to spend the rest of the day catching up, and then she and Kuroko were supposed to meet up with Saten-san and Uiharu-san the following day. She'd briefly considered begging off, but she had done that the last few times they had planned to go out together, and she didn't want them to think she was avoiding them.
Plus, she missed her friends. Sometimes, she found herself wishing they could all go back to the way things were, when they were a team and she didn't have to worry about her problems putting her friend's lives at risk.
But she couldn't allow herself to go back to how she was before. Her ignorance had cost the lives of ten thousand of her sisters, and she could endure anything if it meant they were safe. She just had to make sure no one else had to endure it too.
Saturdays were typically rather quiet around the dorms, something Mikoto was grateful for as she made her way back towards her room. Most of the students were out and about, either studying, hanging around campus, or out in Academy City meeting with friends or engaging in any number of other activities. Mikoto herself typically enjoyed using the weekends to get out of Tokiwadai for a while, and it was typically the best time to see Saten-san and Uiharu-san, although Uiharu-san often had Judgment duties to attend to.
Mikoto let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, noting that the dorm supervisor was not waiting at the entrance. It wasn't as though she was doing anything wrong (at the moment at least, her having stayed out all night was a definite violation of dorm policy), but the woman liked to ask questions, and if anyone was going to catch her in a lie, it would probably be her.
Fortunately, there was no sign of the severe woman, and the few students Mikoto did encounter didn't bother her any, other than to offer her their greetings, which Mikoto returned as warmly as she could.
Finally opening the door to her room, Mikoto let out a relieved sigh, closing the door behind her. It felt good to be home at last. The ordeal of the last day had left her drained, and she was looking forward to a day of relaxing while catching up on her homework.
"Onee-sama?"
Mikoto started, her roommate's voice catching her off guard. "K-Kuroko?" she stammered, quickly hiding her bandaged arms behind her back.
"Onee-sama!" Kuroko shouted, vanishing from her seat at her desk and reappearing to grab Mikoto in a hug. "You were gone so long I was beginning to worry! You mustn't do things like that, it's not good for you to be out gallivanting around the city at all hours of the night."
Hesitantly, Mikoto returned the embrace, trying not to wince when Kuroko's grip tightened around her, brushing a bruise that had yet to fully heal. "Sorry, Kuroko. I got distracted last night and wasn't paying attention to the time. I decided to stay at a hotel rather than risk getting caught by the dorm supervisor."
Kuroko pulled away, the relief clearly evident on her face. "You can't be so careless, Onee-sama. You should have called me if you knew you were going to be arriving after curfew. With my ability, sneaking you back into the dorms would be child's play."
"Y-yeah, sorry." For the first time, Mikoto noticed the dark circles under Kuroko's eyes, and she felt a pang of guilt. 'She must have been up late waiting for me,' she realized. "But what are you doing here? I thought you had Judgment work today."
"Uiharu and I are both off today," Kuroko said, giving Mikoto a curious glance. "I thought I told you that yesterday? Konori-senpai is working on going through some old paperwork that needs to get scanned and uploaded into the database, and patrols are being handled by Anti-Skill in our district today."
"Ah…" Mikoto had forgotten about that, but Kuroko had told her that she would be free of her usual Judgment duties. "Sorry, Kuroko, it must have slipped my mind." She kicked off her shoes, walking over to her dresser to pull out a clean set of clothes. Her uniform wasn't particularly dirty, but she had neglected to bring a spare with her to the hotel, and she always felt gross when she wore the same clothes two days in a row.
"Onee-sama! What happened to your arms?"
Kuroko was at her side in an instant, and Mikoto mentally cursed, pulling her arms out of Kuroko's grasp.
"Oh, this?" Mikoto asked, a tight smile on her face. "I just got a little careless, it's nothing, really. The bandages are mostly for show."
"Let me take a look, then! I learned first-aid while training for Judgment, so I'm sure I can help," Kuroko said, and Mikoto had to pull her arms back again as her roommate reached out for her.
"Really, there's nothing to worry about, Kuroko. You're overreacting." Mikoto's smile was strained, sweat forming on her brow as Kuroko shifted again, trying to get a look at her bandaged arms.
"Onee-sama, you must take care of yourself! I know you can be a bit reckless, but if you're going to get hurt in the process, then you can at least let me help," Kuroko said, her tone almost begging.
"Like I said, it's nothing." Mikoto grabbed a change of clothes before weaving past Kuroko and making a beeline for the bathroom and trying to ignore the pleading tone in Kuroko's voice.
"Wait, Onee-sama!" Kuroko called after her.
Mikoto slammed the bathroom door hard enough to rattle the window, her heart pounding. She was half afraid Kuroko would teleport into the bathroom with her, but after a minute passed with no pigtailed teleporter appearing in the room, she let out the breath she had been holding and tried to calm down.
She turned on the shower, hoping the sound of running water might keep Kuroko at bay while she gathered herself. She should have remembered that Kuroko wasn't working today. She had told her just yesterday, but after everything that had happened in the meantime, she had forgotten. At the very least, she should have worn a jacket or something to cover her bandages, though Kuroko probably would have poked fun at her for her choice of attire. That would have been preferable to the girl's concern though.
Mikoto examined her face in the mirror as the water ran, wincing at the haggard face that stared back. The skin around her eyes was tight, and she was paler than usual. The dark bags under her eyes that she had been sporting over the last few weeks had grown more noticeable as well. It was no wonder Kuroko was worried about her; if she'd seen one of her friends looking like this, she would have been concerned too.
There was a soft knock at the door, and Kuroko's voice filtered through. "Onee-sama, are you sure you're alright?"
"I'm fine, Kuroko," she said, trying to avoid snapping at her roommate. 'She's just worried about me,' she thought to herself, trying to fight back the irritation she felt bubbling up. It wasn't like she hadn't given Kuroko cause to be alarmed, after all.
She could feel Kuroko lingering behind the door for a moment longer before the younger girl departed and Mikoto shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. It hurt to push Kuroko away, but it was for the best.
Slowly, with unsteady hands, she removed the bandages. She hadn't done nearly as good a job of applying them as the Idiot had, though it was passable.
'Guess I shouldn't be surprised; he spends enough time in the hospital he could probably perform his own surgery at this point,' she thought as she tossed the used cloth into the trash. He probably had to change his own bandages all the time. That girl with the blue hair, Index, certainly didn't seem like the helpful type.
The wounds on her arms weren't nearly as bad as they had looked the night before. A few scabs had already started to form over the worst of the burns, leaving her skin looking mottled and spotty, but overall it was nothing she couldn't play off as an accident if she had to, and she intended to wear something with sleeves anyway until they healed, at least when she could get away with it.
It was a bit of a relief that they would be switching to the winter uniforms soon. It would be a lot easier to hide any such injuries that she incurred, though any wounds to her legs would still be a bit hard to explain.
"Ahh, when did I have to start worrying about these things anyway?"
It wasn't that she regretted her decision, but it was certainly making her life more difficult. She flexed her hand, watching as sparks danced between her fingers. She hated the experiments, and the secrets, and everything else that came with them, but it would all be worth it if she could get strong enough to protect her sisters.
If asked to describe Shirai Kuroko, 'confident' would certainly be high on the list of words used by most of the people that met her. Some might have called it arrogance, while her close friends and coworkers would be more likely to describe it as a self-assuredness born from hard work and skill. Very few people would think of her as one to excessively worry, even about a friend. Of course, those that knew her best would know she had a tendency to go a bit overboard when it came to her beloved 'Onee-sama'.
Even they would have been surprised to see the normally composed girl sitting on her bed, struggling to fight back tears.
Something was wrong. She had tried very hard to ignore the voice that had been whispering to her for weeks, poisoning her thoughts and distracting her from her work. Intellectually, she knew there was very little that could threaten her Onee-sama. After all, she was the third most powerful esper in Academy City. She had personally witnessed her full power on more than one occasion, and each time it had left her breathless.
But despite her power, Kuroko knew her Onee-sama - Mikoto - was not invincible. She had seen her bleed, had seen her cry, and more than that had seen her laugh and smile, joking with their friends or blushing in embarrassment. More than her power or fearsome reputation, it was that part of her that she had fallen in love with, and it was that Mikoto that she could feel slipping through her fingers.
The last time that Onee-sama had stayed out all night, Kuroko had been worried sick, calling both Uiharu and Saten-san in her attempts to locate her wayward roommate. The relief she had felt upon her return had flooded through her body and made her feel weak. Despite all she knew her to be capable of, Kuroko had been terrified something had happened to her Onee-sama.
After that night though, the older girl had begun to grow distant. Something had been on her mind, something she wouldn't share with any of them. It had taken all of her willpower not to follow her, to try to figure out what was going on. Every night, she would leave with a smile that didn't reach her eyes, and Kuroko would be left wondering if she would be there when she woke up.
And now it was happening again.
"Onee-sama," Kuroko whispered, wiping the tears from her eyes, "why can't you tell me what's wrong?"
The sound of running water stopped, and Kuroko hastily stood from her bed and sat back down at her desk, rubbing at her eyes and trying to focus on some of the Judgment files she had been looking over when her roommate had returned. A brief moment later, the door opened and her Onee-sama stepped out, hair slightly damp and her clothes ruffled. Her arms were decorated with fresh bandages, and Kuroko felt her chest tighten at the sight.
There was a moment of silence between them, a silence that grew more oppressive with every second that passed.
"Ah," Mikoto started, raising her hand as if to reach out to Kuroko. Her face shifted between several expressions Kuroko couldn't read, her hand outstretched uselessly. Kuroko stared at her, her eyes wide and pleading. The silence stretched on and Mikoto let her hand fall, gesturing weakly to her school bag. "I… I'm going to head to the library. I have a lot of homework to catch up on, and I want to be free for tomorrow."
Kuroko deflated, turning back to stare blankly at the papers scattered across her desk. "Yes… of course. If you need any help, don't hesitate to ask, Onee-sama."
Kuroko could no longer see her face, but something in her roommate's voice changed. "Yeah… thanks."
A moment later, the door closed, bathing the room in silence, and Kuroko couldn't help but feel that something precious had been lost forever.
Doctor Tomoe Kamui was far from pleased, wearing an uncomfortably tight blue dress with her hair let down from its customary bun, and seated across from a man for whom she held nothing but contempt. She kept her gaze locked firmly on the menu in front her, doing her best to avoid making eye contact with her date. It would have been easy enough to ignore him, but she needed to make a good impression, and so she smiled, trying to appear as if she found his inane babble fascinating.
Normally, she preferred to stay in on Saturday evenings, ordering takeout and enjoying a movie or book. Her work took a lot out of her, and while it was certainly easier than the years she had spent in training, it was still nice to be able to relax when she got the chance. But relaxation had been the farthest thing from her mind since her conversation with the Director.
"I must say, I was a bit surprised you decided to take me up on my offer, Tomoe. You seemed rather adamant in your initial refusal."
Tomoe looked up from her menu, a wide smile plastered across her face. "Not at all, Corrin-san. I took some time to reconsider, and I admit that I was a little hasty in my response. I can get so wrapped up in my work that I forget that from time to time it's a good idea to get out of the labs."
Corrin chuckled at that, wearing the same disturbing smile Tomoe had seen him wear during the previous night's experiment, and she had to suppress a shudder. "There's no need to address me so formally, Tomoe. After all, we're not at work - no need to stand on formalities."
Tomoe's smile was becoming strained. "I don't know about that, you are my superior, after all. I wouldn't want to show you any disrespect by addressing you improperly."
Corrin shook his head in amusement as their waiter stopped at the table to deliver their drinks. Tomoe didn't make a habit of drinking, but she didn't want to discourage Corrin, though he didn't really seem the type to care about that. She made her order, opting to go with one of the more expensive items on the menu and feeling a little bit of childish satisfaction at the thought of taking a bite out of the disgusting man's wallet. He was paid well enough that he probably would think nothing of it, but it was the principle of the thing.
"If you insist, but I hope you'll change your mind eventually; I've never been too fond of formalities," Corrin said. He took a large swig of his drink, and Tomoe felt her lips curl as she watched some of it drip down his chin. Disgusting.
"I'm glad you decided to take me up on my offer though," he said, wiping his chin with a napkin. "I can certainly understand getting absorbed in your work, but it's not healthy to stay cooped up in that laboratory all the time, and it's always nice to have some company for an evening out."
"I know what you mean," Tomoe said, taking a sip from her glass. "I can't say my work is as demanding as yours though. I'm simply acting as Misaka-san's physician during these tests. I don't really have to do any more than treat her wounds and send her off home. You're the one doing most of the heavy lifting, so to speak. Not to mention all the data you have to sift through afterwards. I can't imagine how much time that must take."
Corrin drained his drink and motioned for the waiter. "I certainly can't say it's easy," he said. "I have to admit, when the Director first told me of this opportunity, I was a bit skeptical. Of the level fives, the Railgun has some of the most concrete data available in the Bank, so it's not like we'd be able to learn anything new using the conventional tests. That being said, I don't believe she's ever partnered with any other research group like this, so there's certainly room for some exploration. I also hadn't anticipated her willingness to participate in experiments that might be… hazardous to her health, so to speak.
"But what we've been seeing these last few sessions is finally starting to make all our effort worth it!" His face grew more animated as he spoke, and Tomoe sat up a little straighter. "I can't imagine what the Railgun was thinking when she came to us, but by now I'm convinced she doesn't understand just what that power of hers is capable of, given the right circumstances."
Now she was paying attention. Tomoe had quickly found, in her attempts to investigate what the Director was really planning for Misaka-san, that she could only get so far on her own. The man was nothing if not intelligent, and seemed to have guessed at her intentions the moment she departed from his office. Her security clearance had been reduced to level two, which just barely allowed her the information necessary to do her job. The only files she had access to now were her own records of Misaka-san's health.
She'd briefly considered demanding that he restore her access, but had managed to stop herself moments before storming back into the Director's office. That approach would have achieved nothing but her dismissal from the program. If he was suspicious enough of her to lock her out of the system in the first place, the last thing she needed to do was to give credence to his suspicions and admit to trying to access files she really didn't have any business looking at.
Tomoe wasn't stupid; she knew she was valuable. Her medical training was top notch, even in Academy City, and she had been a part of more than a few projects in the past that had produced desirable results. Despite her credentials though, she knew there was a difference between being valuable and being indispensable. The Director was likely to tolerate a certain amount of belligerence on her part simply because it would be hard to replace her, but that didn't mean he would ignore it if she proved to be a threat to the program.
Best case scenario, she was probably going to have to start looking for a new job soon.
"What do you mean?" she asked, trying to sound just mildly interested. "I thought the point of the tests was to find a way to increase Misaka-san's ability beyond what the standard development curriculum is capable of."
"Well of course that's what we told her," Corrin said with a small chuckle. "That's what she was requesting in the first place, after all, and we weren't just going to let this chance slip through our fingers. Unfortunately, the Director won't even tell me what it is that he's planning, but after last night, I think I might be able to guess."
Their food arrived as Tomoe pondered his words. She couldn't imagine what Corrin could have seen the night before that would lead him to believe that Misaka-san underestimated her own ability. Whatever it was, there was a good chance she'd be able to find it back in the lab's database. The Director had wasted no time in locking her out of the system, and he wouldn't have bothered to do that at all if they hadn't found something new that he didn't want her to see.
"I don't suppose you might be able to enlighten me?" Tomoe asked, putting on her sweetest smile. "You don't think the Director believes he'll be able to make Misaka-san reach level six, do you?"
Corrin snorted and set down his fork, wiping his mouth messily with his napkin. "Hardly. Level six might be possible, and I suppose there is some miniscule chance that the Railgun could reach it, but that's certainly not what the Director is banking on."
Tomoe frowned, genuinely confused now. Level six was the ultimate goal, the unreached pinnacle of power that everyone in Academy City was striving for. If that wasn't their goal, then just what were they doing?
"Let some other fools waste their time on long shots like that. No, I have a feeling the Director is much more interested in the way the girl's power behaves, rather than in simply trying to increase it."
"How her power behaves?"
Corrin nodded, taking another swig from his glass. "I won't bore you with the science - "
Tomoe wanted to strangle him.
" - but suffice it to say that the Railgun's ability manifests itself in a very interesting way when she is forced to exert herself for long periods of time. Yesterday we put her in a situation where she was forced to maintain a constant stream of electrical current in order to avoid electrocution. Now, you might expect that her power output would decrease the longer we forced her to maintain it."
"But that's not what you found?"
"Not at all," Corrin's grin turned predatory, and Tomoe struggled to suppress a shiver. "After some of the earlier combat exercises I had my suspicions, the readings just didn't mesh with what we expected to see. We thought her power readings would peak early in the simulation and then decrease steadily from there, but in fact the opposite seemed to be true. Even as her body becomes physically fatigued, the power of her ability continues to climb."
Tomoe couldn't think of anything to say. It didn't sound possible, but if that was true, then did it mean that Misaka-san's ability could continue to grow without limit?
"That shouldn't be possible," she muttered, more to herself than to Corrin.
"That is the interesting part, isn't it?" Corrin asked, turning his attention back to his food with a ravenous glee. "Why might her ability behave in this way, when no other recorded Electromaster has shown a similar behavior? It's an intriguing puzzle."
"But if her power can grow like that, then why would you say she couldn't achieve level six?" Tomoe asked, trying to work through what he had said. She had a suspicion that she knew already, but…
"I would think that part is obvious," Corrin said, his mouth full of food. "If she's not aware of it, then she certainly isn't going to be able to control it. Her control is remarkable, but there are limits even to what she can handle, at least as she is now. If her power grows out of hand like that though, it will rapidly exceed the point at which she can keep it in check, and then what do you suppose might happen?"
Tomoe didn't answer, her mouth open in horror.
"Yes, well, I don't imagine it would be a pretty picture," Corrin said, frowning slightly at the look on her face. "But the implications of this find are incredible! I'm sure you can see just how important a discovery this is. If we can understand why her power behaves this way, then we could revolutionize the entire ability development curriculum! There would be no limit to what we could do!"
"Yes… of course you're right," Tomoe said, struggling to regain her composure. "I suppose I was just feeling a little bit of concern. I am her physician, after all."
Corrin made a dismissive gesture. "Try not to let yourself get too attached to the girl. Personally, I prefer to think of you as a mechanic. When something breaks, you fix it. It's as simple as that."
A/N: And so ends another chapter. This one really took some doing, especially since it felt like I got a bit heavy on the emotional side of things. I wanted to delve a little into how Kuroko and Mikoto are feeling though, and this seemed like a good way to do it. I am a little worried it's a bit over the top, but even if it is I'm still relatively pleased with how it turned out. I tried to balance that part with the scene at the end though, which was quite fun to write and explores a little bit of what's actually going on, which is always good.
It's sort of another chapter in line with the last one, though with less Touma. I will say that there are not going to be any actual pairings in this story, though they may be implied in one direction or another based on how I think the characters behave. Don't expect anything much in that regard though. Touma has largely served his role at this point, and any future appearances will be less as a major player in the plot and more as another character to use. I don't like it when he steals Mikoto's spotlight, so there will be none of that!
Hopefully this chapter helps clear up some of the things that were mentioned briefly in the last chapter, but I'm still trying to leave it vague enough that I can keep people interested. I'm having fun writing it though, and writing this chapter helped solidify a lot of what I want to have happen in the future.
Also, a big thank you to Cun, who helped me out a lot with this chapter. It's nice to have somebody that can tell you when a scene isn't working before it's submitted it to everyone's scrutiny, as opposed to after. So thanks!
And finally, I want to say a huge thank you to everyone that has been reading this and left reviews. The short reviews are encouraging, and the longer ones are helping me become a better writer, so I appreciate the time all of you have taken to read this. Thanks again, and please let me know what you think.