"A Spatial Rescue"

August 24, 2020

As the silent girl opposite to him reached into the guitar case she had brought into the room with her, Touma's heart sank to the bottom of his gullet. A gleam of a lens shine caused him to turn his concentration to the back of his eyelids for mere moments. He opened them to a clicking noise and a view of the child standing above him holding a rifle.

One apparently has their entire life 'flash' in their memories when faced with imminent death. It would be safe to assume that the situation he found himself in warranted the description of "life threatening" - yet none of the symptoms came with the disease. He didn't experience anything like a lightning fast black and white film filling in his entire life within a few seconds. He experienced nothing but the rotten taste in his throat and the sweat beads making contact with his brow.

It wasn't a good feeling.

The child pointed the highly technical rifle from across the tea table at Touma. An assumption of distance could be made, but it would just be better to assume that the only away he would avoid a bullet is if he could see into the future. Alas, he was only a CHILD ERROR with no powers. Death seemed almost certain.

Her dead eyes and frozen expression hadn't changed from when she pulled the weapon from the guitar case. Touma tried to get a good look of the object that would decommission him permanently but was temporarily blinded by the laser pointer that was directed into one of his eyes. He would live his last moments cursing a vague image of a gun.

Within seconds of opening his eyes again after being blinded by the laser, he squinted to see her prolonged expression change ever slightly. She was hesitating. Her fingers moved near the trigger, most likely only readjusting her grip on the deadly object that could end his life in an instant. He continued to look in her general direction with fear in his eyes until the space between them seemed to become visually distorted. As this was occurring, Touma could hear the audible 'Bang, bang, bang' of the automatic weapon firing but couldn't see it. He reflexively closed his eyes and tilted his head to the right as the terrifying noises began.

The 'banging' noises would soon be followed by a metallic 'twang' after the first two or three shots. Touma opened his eyes to see a Tokiwadain uniform splattered with blood on its left side, equivalent to the hip on the person standing before him. Guarding the uniform was one of the cleaning robots that littered the City's streets. It didn't sound its siren upon being damaged, so it must have been broken before it found its way into his room.

But how did it get there?

As the bullets stopped for moments and the click of a magazine detaching was audible, Touma looked up past the dripping wound of the uniform to see the pink, straggly hair of the JUDGEMENT member he met earlier – It was Miss Shirai.

Paying no attention to Touma and apparently her newly acquired wound, she used the time between the reloading to move from behind the cleaning robot and to attack the assailant with an array of judo manoeuvres. Initially dislodging the weapon and knocking her from the stance she had taken that supported the recoil of the weapon, Miss Shirai then proceeded to grab the opponent in an arm lock. The blank expression of Mikoto's sister changed to surprise for an instant. Following the momentary show of emotion by the cold killer the two combatants silhouettes began to blur. Touma blinked and they had disappeared. She had teleported both of them away from his room, though had not gone too far as screams could be heard outside of his dorm the instant they left. The boy collapsed when he realized his life was no longer in danger.

"I can't do anything… I'm only a Child Error… I can't shoot a gun, I can't Teleport and I can't do anything… I'll probably just get in the way if I follow her, especially with my bad luck." Touma mumbled to himself, wallowing in self-pity. He looked up to see the guitar case the girl had brought into his room. "I can't fight psychics … But I can fight for the truth!"

The small child-like Teleporter had moved the fight into the main street that Touma's dorm was on. As they reappeared, the girl with the goggles found herself looking into the sky between a pedestrian zone and sidewalk, until a foot found its way into disrupting said view. She cried in pain at the curb stomp to which was delivered, sending her head colliding into the concrete. It hurt, but it was not strong enough to kill her. A bloody nose, fractured skull and a few broken teeth were the only results of the move. Miss Shirai stepped back from the bleeding mess that was the girl on the sidewalk and pulled at the armband pinned to her left sleeve.

"I'm from JUDGEMENT. You're under arrest for intent to murder and possession of a deadly weapon. ANTI-SKILL will be here shortly. I suggest you desist resistance." announced Miss Shirai with all the intimidation her small frame could muster. She lost most of her refined way of speaking but still managed to remain elegant despite obviously being infuriated.

The seemingly defeated girl struggled to sit up, she wiped the blood oozing from her nose and spat out the broken teeth and a pint of blood. She began to raise both hands into the air as a sign of surrender, yet halfway up they detoured to her goggles and they proceeded to find their way lowered onto her eyes and began to glow. It happened in an instant.

The second the girl started to detour her arms from surrendering to lowering her goggles, Miss Shirai removed a belt of steal needles attached to her legs underneath her tan skirt. She waved her free hand over the needles and one by one they found themselves attached to the clothing of the girl while also being firmly rooted to concrete. She had pinned the criminal down, immobilizing her. The restrained criminal's hands generated electricity, but was unable direct it with her restricted hands. All that was mustered from her last ditch effort was the 'buzz' of life sparks and a distressed cry from the girl. The goggles continued to glow throughout her restricted fit of rage.

Miss Shirai sighed in relief in belief the battle was over. She immediately turned her attention to the wound received earlier. By now it had bled out a fair bit, she had been oblivious to her degrading condition due to the adrenaline and strenuous life-or-death activity she was previously preoccupied with. Her hands began to shake. She wasn't trying to teleport anything – her body just couldn't take much more. She moved her hand from the wound to a pocket in her skirt and remove a phone. The skirt and phone became smeared in blood from the hand handling them.

Dialling a number in the phone and waiting for it to connect, she held the wound she examined earlier whilst moving towards the dormitory's walls for support. The people around her stared on without intention to help – "why get involved in something as dangerous as this? Its only human nature, I suppose", the Teleporter thought to herself, rueing their cowardice. She fought on a day to day basis in JUDGEMENT to protect them, but they wouldn't even extend a finger to help her.

"Hello, 8th district JUDGEMENT branch, how ca-" the voice on the phone was cut off.

"Uiharu… listen… I need you to send ANTI-SKILL to my location - can you do that for me?" Miss Shirai responded as well as she could as her breathing deteriorated.

"Kuroko? What's wro-" she was cut off again by the now impatient child.

"Do it. No buts." The phone disconnected after this order was issued. She hadn't even waited for an "O.K!" from the operator, who seemed to be on fairly good terms with "Miss Shirai".

Satisfied with the job she had done, Kuroko sighed once again and stared into the sky the offender was looking into after she teleported both of them outside. She slowly closed her eyes with a smile on her face. She muttered "Mistress…" before becoming unresponsive.

While the battle outside had occurred, inside Touma was searching the guitar case that Mikoto's sister had brought into his room. Inside was an issue of armaments - magazines, loose rounds, an assortment of grenade types, plastic explosives and a lone combat knife. On every bit of deadly weaponry was the engraved number "3490". The same number was present on the guitar case as well.

What was her connection to this number?

After discovering this defining piece of information, he ran outside after grabbing the rifle from the ground and a new magazine from the case. Unconfidently, he attached the magazine and ran to the commotion to assumingly assist Kuroko. He arrived to find the Mikoto look-a-like pinned to the ground by steel needles and a hunched over Kuroko resting against the dorm building. In shock, he dropped the weapon that was left in his room. When it came in contact with the concrete, the magazine spewed into the pedestrian zone. The lone Teleporter became his main focus.

"Miss Shirai! Are you O.K? What happened!" were the generic cries coming from Touma. He titled her head back to see her drooling from the mouth. Frantically, Touma moved his hand to check her pulse. She was alive, but her pulse was slow.

"Someone call an ambulance!" he shouts viciously to a few people who had been watching the entire fiasco. Frightened by Touma's fierce reaction, they proceed by removing their phones and dialling emergency services.

Enraged he proceeded to the pinned teen, fist clenched. He stood above her making the best angry face he could. He took her goggles off her and threw them to the side. The second he touched the goggles, they lost their green, electric glow and the light faded away into impending darkness of the night. By now she had realized his appearance and greeted him smugly.

" "Yes?" questions MISAKA as she looks confused, yet entertained at the strange face you are making" she sarcastically inquired in monotone. This only made him even angrier.

"WHAT did YOU do! WHAT the hell is RADIO NOISE and WHO is "3490"! ANSWER ME!" He had grabbed her sweater and pulled it against the pins holding her down with a fist floating above her head as he asked his questions. She responds by spitting out more blood and returning his threats with a smile.

" "MISAKA has done nothing, she has failed to kill you." Responds MISAKA, ignoring your other questions in order to see your hilarious face for a prolonged space of time."

"I am THIS close to punching your head in, bitch. NOW SPILL IT!" he roared and cussed. His unprecedented rage received a response of slow, clockwork-like monotonous laughter.

" "Ha. Ha. Ha. Touma Kamijou, you are fun. MISAKA is "3490" - it is MISAKA's serial number. As for RADIO NOISE…" MISAKA shockingly reveals and then pauses, heightening the suspense of such an emotionally defining occasion for you." she taunted, smiling. Touma only responded by clenching his fist harder and gritting his pearly whites to breaking point.

How could she enjoy being so close to death, when Touma froze up in an instant when faced with it?

" "Ask Big Sis for the details" laughs MISAKA, attempting to finish on a cliff-hanger." she finished. Sadistic laughter was all that she could muster for a few moments following. It wasn't like the monotonous one she previously – this was the laugh of a distressed individual who had accepted death. Her psychotic howling received the pity from all those who heard it.

As she continued to moan the ANTI-SKILL wagons sounded their arrival with sirens and drowned out her banshee-like cackling. Heavily armed troops proceeded to pile out from the back of the vehicles. A flurry of commands came from all directions for Touma. He responds by standing upright, stepping backwards and raising his hands in the air. He couldn't comprehend their orders, but he felt safe that if he did this he would not be seen as a threat. He noticed he wasn't the target of the ANTI-SKILLs attention when he moved away from her, they continued to rant with weapons drawn and pointed to the girl.

As the ANTI-SKILL troops move to detain the howling sister, Touma rediscovers the goggles he had thrown away and retrieves them. After ensuring they are well hidden from the ANTI-SKILL agents under his clothes, he moves over to the still unconscious Kuroko.

"Is she going to be ok?" he asks one of the ANTI-SKILL soldiers attending to her. He could hear murmuring coming from Kuroko which only increased his concern.

"I think so. She seems to be having quite the dream, though. I don't know quite what to make of it." the green haired woman with obscenely large glasses responds. He moves in closer to hear just what Kuroko might be saying.

"Oh, Mistress… It's ok… This lowly peon shall assist you in removing those unbearable undergarments…" is something along the lines of what can be heard. It was obviously a very "personal" dream she was having and it would be rude to eavesdrop upon.

"Maybe Miss Shirai is closer to Mikoto than I thought…" Touma remarked to himself, filling his head full of images that aren't particularly unpleasant and wouldn't be out of place in a best-selling gentlemen's magazine. As he removes his mind from the gutter the ambulance siren whirls and the paramedics rush to the unconsciously dreaming Kuroko. Questioning where they are taking her, he finds out she will be admitted to 8th district hospital.

If the two of them are really as close as Kuroko dreams, he will undoubtedly meet Mikoto there and can ask her about whatever "RADIO NOISE" is.

As he smiles and congratulates himself about his ingenious detective work, a similar ominous feeling to one where he allowed the numbered assassin into his apartment reappears. He feels it's presence from atop of a building overlooking the current area. He looks in its direction and views a glint shine from the rooftop.

"LOOK OUT!" He instinctively shouts to the crowd, pointing in the direction of where the glint had come from. Mass panic amongst the civilians occurs as they flee the scene and leave the ANTI-SKILL troops hiding behind the large bullet proof shields they carry. All of the ANTI-SKILL are well protected - bar the ones transporting the renegade sister to the wagon.

CRACK.

As Touma looked on to watch the unshielded guards in horror he sees what happens the moment it occurs – a bullet flying straight through one side of Kuroko's opponent's head and clean out the other. Death was instantaneous.

"SNIPER! Capture him! Dead or alive!" shouts the commander of the ANTI-SKILLs in the area. Her commanding voice and incredibly tall stature build her a menacing presence. The ANTI-SKILLs around her bar the petrified ones holding the dead girl in their hands respond with a hearty "SIR, YES SIR." and depart the scene. The commander loads the two troopers in her wagon gently before tossing child's corpse violently in the back of the 4WD before approaching Touma. She obviously wasn't too happy of how the last few moments played out.

"Young man, how did you know that was going to happen? Do you know what happened here?" she questions, but the tone in which she says in conjunction with her physical presence makes it seem like she is interrogating him as a suspect.

"It just… I just had a bad feeling, I guess. She said she was part of RADIO NOISE before going insane. Does that mean anything to you?" He responds, mustering up the courage to respond to such an intimidating person.

"We've had reports from other districts about incidents such as these. Normally, however, it is the Psychic they find dead and the assailant missing. We almost had one of the culprits' under-raps until… Well you saw, I suppose?" he nodded to her question. She smiled and handed him a card. It seems some of her anger had dissolved now.

"It's my personal number. Call it if you feel those kind of feelings again or see one of those culprits again. Who knows who is listening on our official lines, so this is the safest way to catch one of them and protect you."

"Thanks… but shouldn't you be after that sniper as well… Miss …um..." he made a slight gesture as to receive the name of the person he was conversing with.

"Aiho Yomikawa. You could just read the card, you know? No, I'll be transporting the body to 8th district hospital. They should be able to find something out through an autopsy, I suppose." She responded, turning her attention to her vehicle and the two men inside hurrying her to leave. Touma smiled and waved the woman and men off. The crowd that had appeared earlier over the commotion had entirely disappeared now. The paramedics had taken Kuroko to the hospital, the ANTI-SKILL had gone on pursuit of the sniper and the civilian crowd had all but vanished at Touma's warning.

He was left to himself - to his thoughts of worthlessness once again.

'The whole reason Miss Shirai is in the hospital is because I was a coward… I couldn't fight something I know nothing about.' His melancholy monologue began as he took out the goggles he stole from "3490" out from underneath his shirt and stared into the broken L.E.D lights underneath the casing.

'A street fight? I'm more than game, I can handle myself… But against something that can kill me in moments…? I'm not sure my luck will hold me up on that…' he continued and spiralled into depression slowly before picking his mood up from those dark depths.

'But if I do that anymore, more people will get hurt. I'm a target of this insidious plan and I won't allow anymore to be hurt by it. I will fight – I will fight with my bare hands if it stops people around me getting hurt. If I don't know what I'm up against, I'll find out fighting!' He declared to no audience. His inner conflict seemingly resolved with a pact of self-righteousness and a new found determination.

The fight that occurred today was the wake-up call needed for Touma. He had been playing detective whilst people around him fought and almost died. Someone who he didn't even know protected him from death today and that someone even held him in contempt. If she could do that, then surely he could fight for himself and protect those around him.

After establishing a deep mental note of this newfound initiative, he recollected something "3490" had said earlier – he was a target for this mystery organisation. The girl knew where he lived, brought live munitions and almost killed him in the fading daylight. It would be bad if he stayed the night in the same place. Who knew if he'd make it through the night without a bullet being lodged in his cranium?

Touma reached for his phone and shifted through the contacts. He hurriedly arrived at "Motoharu" and paused for moments. Maybe, just maybe, he could give him somewhere to hide temporarily – Motoharu was his "bro" after all. Touma held his breathe and dialled the number. It rang for moments before an ear piercing greeting reached him

"Nahh! Kami! What is making you call so late! I was just'ta about ta' go to bed!" screamed the other end of the phone.

"Hello to you too, Motoharu. Listen, I'm in a bind at the moment and I need a place to stay…" he requested directly. Now was not a time to jump around the issue of the matter – death is all but a possibility if he stays in his room tonight.

"Oh, is that all? Yeah that's fine. Maika always has the spare room ready, on'account she goes to 'dat maid school" he responded, in a poor matter if speaking.

"Oh ok, I'll be over soon. Thanks man."

Hanging up the phone, Touma went inside his room to grab a spare set of clothes and to dump anything unneeded from his pockets. He began removing floating coins and the linen lining his pocket until he eventually reached the phone strap he stole and Aiho's card he had received earlier. Moments ticked by as he eyed both items intensively, pondering as to whether or not they would be necessary before concluding the affirmative and placing both of them into his pockets.

Prior to leaving, the goggles stolen from "3490" find their way into his fridge by Touma's doing. It was fairly spacious since he never ate much on a daily basis, nor had the money to. It would be the last place for an intruder to look too, unless they broke and entered on an empty stomach. Going through the motions of locking his room up and checking out with the nightshift dormitory administrators, he found himself on his way to the Tsuchimikado residence.

Academy City is very quiet at nights due to the tight curfews. If he was to be caught out here in the streets by an ANTI-SKILL, he'd probably get taken back to his house or locked up overnight. Gaol didn't sound too bad of a proposition at this point of time. However, Tsuchimikado's house was still the preferred alternative. This led him to the backstreets of Academy City, filled with the undesirable type of people.

On the outside, if you meet someone breaking curfew it would be safe to say that they're going to be bad news. Now, if you met someone breaking curfew in Academy City not much changes – except the arsenal of dangerous psychic powers and festering grudges. People go missing in these backstreets all the time due to the renegade psychics and SKILLOUT members. Yet this was something Touma was ready to face, he was to put his newfound determination to the test.

SKILLOUTs are generally associated with late teen early twenties that have become stuck with their Level and can't go any higher. Most people have a cap on how effective their psychic ability and it is these people who blindly accept that at a low Level that join these SKILLOUT gangs to search for somewhere to belong. They group up and overpower higher Level psychics for the pure enjoyment and satisfaction of beating the system. A number of troubled CHILD ERRORS also join their ranks.

However, people have been known to push through the limits given to an individual and obtain higher levels. The story schools over the city tell its students is if you work hard you can be a Level 5 one day like "No. 3". Because of this SKILLOUTs are often looked down on in society much in the same way a school or university dropout is on the outside.

"Level 5" is more or less an honorary title in Academy City. It means the scientists researching the Level Development Program have deemed your psychic strength to be one of extreme power. There is only 7 Level 5s in the City and they are ranked from 1 to 7 based on their power. However, none of this really appeals to a CHILD ERROR. All it does is remind them on what they are missing out on, so Touma didn't keep extensive tabs on the subject, such as names and ranks.

Pressing through the backstreets, he realised he was mostly being ignored by its unsightly inhabitants. He received little but a few surveillance glares by newer arrivals to the gangs. This continued for some time as he winded through the increasingly narrowing passageways, gripping the spare clothes he had taken with him. The turns became more frequent and even tighter until he collided with another going in the opposite direction to him. He felt himself get thrown to the ground by the collision and his clothes splattered in the passageway.

The person Touma had ran in to stood above, unfazed by the bodycheck. Rubbing the burning sensation on the back of his neck, he heard an announcement from the silence.

"Eh… What is this little piece of garbage here…" Crudely mumbled the boy he collided with. Touma inspected this incredibly rude person in front of him, to find out it was someone he had brushed into previously… under very poor and similar circumstances. The familiar face continued the analysis of his find. He wore the same clothes as he did yesterday and carried the same sullied face too. He perhaps was a creature of habit.

"A phone strap? The hell! What kind of pretty boy carries a phone strap, let alone a Frogg-o one!" mockingly chortled the figure. The increasingly annoying and memorable laugh resonated powerfully from him. Touma felt like they weren't even in the same plain of existence.

"Look bud, it's not mine. It belongs to a friend, now hand it back." Touma demanded. He stood his ground unlike his previous encounter with this charming fellow.

"Oh, it's not yours you say? Fat chance I believe that, shit-face! I'm gonna keep it now that you lied to me, you piece of garbage." He bellowed back, laughing once more. Touma began feeling agitated and clenched his first. Even though he had stolen it in the first place, he felt it was a necessary item in getting Mikoto to talk. Besides that, this was something he needed to prove to himself – he needed to stand up for himself before he could stand up for others.

Without any more words, Touma flew at the ghastly appearance opposing him. He launched his left fist to begin a "left-left-right" combo, which was greeted with a smug smile and a howling laugh by his opponent. Before he could connect his first jab, Touma felt his arm fly back towards him as he punched himself in the face. He didn't take any serious damage but force of the blow made him take a few paces backwards. It was like he had a reflective shield around him. "Just my luck…" was a barely audible remark in relation to the preceding action.

"Oh? You like hurting yourself, garbage? "Stop hitting yourself!" is what those little shits at school say, right! Come now, kidd-o! Speak up! TELL ME!" the bleached menace roared, intensifying his laughter to scarily high levels.

'If I don't know what I'm up against, I'll find out fighting!' Touma's previous declaration rang in his head. This was not a time to give up.

"I don't know what fancy powers you were blessed with, but if you're going to use them to push those weaker around, I'll just have to erase those illusions!"

"BLESSED! Don't make me laugh! You're as clueless as those scientists that gave me this – this power. The city is dark at the centre, scrub. There is a hole going straight to hell in the middle and I came out of their alive, so don't give me this hero shit. Count yourself lucky I haven't splattered that lovely grey matter of yours all over these walls, punk." Something in Touma's last comment stirred something within the ghast who claimed much the same thing Mikoto had about a dark part of the city. Following his speech he could feel the rumbles of the ground below. Something was coming from underneath him.

Touma took a leap backwards as part of the asphalt that created the pathway they were standing on rose into the air where he was standing before and crashed into one of the buildings above them. The ghostly figure seemingly commanded it with movements of his arm. Touma moved quickly to try another "1-1-2" combo on him before receiving a blast from an unknown source. Touma felt two collisions after blow – one the wall and the other the ground below it.

"I am sick of punks like you thinking they can take my title away. Only the strongest deserve to be No. 1 and who better to fill that role than me! Now, lets give you something to make you remember not to cross me again. I'm thinking you will be harmless after this…"

'No. 1? Does that mean he is the city's strongest psychic…? I'm in a lot of trouble if he is this ruthless!' Touma quickly concluded as he raised his face from the asphalt to see the figure latch onto his right arm. The figure picked the bruised combatant from the ground by the arm he took hold of previously.

"Well, we can't let you miss the blood fireworks, can we? Oh yeah! My expression might be a delight to remember, too! Just make sure you tell me what it looks like! Everything goes funny when I finish little shits like you off, so I don't quite know myself!" laughed the boy. He seemed to be enjoying the prospect of holding someone's life in his hands.

He smiled in anticipation for moments as Touma stared into his eyes, not backing down. Nothing happened after those moments of waiting. The powerful psychic's face turned to an impossibly large smirk. Disturbing laughter proceeded.

"Oh! This is interesting! VERY INTERESTING! What's your power garbage!" he laughed, throwing Touma down the passageway, rolling most of the way. Touma righted himself fairly quickly to face his stationary opponent.

"I… Don't have a power… I'm a Level 0 that's going to beat you, No. 1!" the spiky haired boy forcibly declared. Flames burned in his eyes. He was to beat this punk not for the selfish reason that SKILLOUTs beat random Psychics, but to destroy whatever illusions plagued this kid's mind of being a higher power than everyone else.

"Then come, shit-head! Give me your ultimate move! Show me the ultimate move of a worthless piece of rubbish!" was the taunt that came from the other end of the passageway. His laughing pierced the darkness.

Rushing back towards him, a hard, straight right with as much strength in it as humanly possible was flung in the direction towards the laughing monstrosity. Touma closed his eyes as the punch came closer to his target, fearing the reaction that might occur. The opponent only stood and awaited his attack, grinning psychotically at the incoming fist.

THUD

The noise echoed through the small passageway to the streets outside. The sight of the incredibly cocky individual sprawled unconscious in the narrow passageway was the first sight Touma received after opening his eyes. He was dumbstruck – Did he let Touma hit him? Did he forget to reflect Touma's attack? Whatever the answer was, a smile developed on his face – he beat the supposed No. 1 easily. He celebrated his first victory over an unknown force and took the first step in his decree to protect himself and others from the troubles he was to face in the future.

Without thinking he moved to pick-up the strap that had flown out of the giggly big mouth's hand after Touma knocked him unconscious. After retrieving it and safely storing it and gathering his clothes, Touma looked back to the unresponsive boy and then resolved to help him somehow – he might die if he left him here.

He grabbed one arm and threw it over the other, making sure his opponent's bleeding nose didn't run onto his clothes. Touma then dragged the pale kid's limp body out of the backstreets and on to the main road, finally resting him on a bus stop bench. Examining the battle wounds, he found nothing serious – only minor scratches from the distance he had been thrown around like a doll could be seen. He took his phone out of his pocket along with the card Aiho gave him earlier and dialled the number printed on it.

"Hello, Yomikawa speaking." Was the answer from the other end.

"Miss Yomikawa? It's the boy from earlier today, Touma. Look, I'm in a bit of trouble. I'm in the bus shelter on… 23rd Philosophy Road, 8th district. Do you think you can come?"

"Yes! Right away, young man!"

The ease of which she agreed to help him made him feel light headed for moments. A simple phone call earlier could have saved him this trip, but that would have taken away his first victory. Either way he decided to still go to Motoharu's house, a friend is still better company than a cop. He took a pen out of the kids pocket and wrote on one of the magazine inside the bus shelter – "Sorry, I knocked this guy out. Please help him." After leaving his message, Touma continued to Motoharu's house on the main street – he was at most two blocks away from his house.

Touma had arrived at the Tsuchimikado residence after his rough journey through the city with a spare set of clothes and the bare necessities in a modern world remaining, phone strap included. He was welcomed by Motoharu who held the door open for him and silently acknowledged his injuries. Touma brushed the unwarranted attention from them and entered the house.

Touma felt safe here – until he was confronted by a small voice.

"Y-You!" squeaked the little girl. She seemed somewhat familiar. She was oddly dressed in a maid's outfit. It must be Motoharu's little sister he spoke of earlier he concluded.

"Uh, Hello. Nice to meet you. I'm your brother's friend, Tou-" he was rudely cut off mid-sentence by the girl.

"Forgive me for speaking out of turn, but you are the man who stole from the shop I work at today! How dare you try to steal from my home as well!" she protested in the politest way possible. She spoke with respect even to someone she had clear disdain for.

That's who she is. She was the girl from the café earlier – the one he thought would easily lose her job for his actions. He thought to say "just my luck", but that would probably not help in this situation. He was about to apologize before Motoharu spoke first.

"Nahh, Kami, I see you've met Maika. She is a maid-in-training so please assist her in becoming a good maid while you are here." Motoharu smiled, ignoring the duo's previous conversation. Maika turned to Motoharu with pleading eyes saying "But-But!" to which he replied with a smile and a "He's a good guy" thumbs up. The Tsuchimikado's spoke conversations in body language it seems. Perhaps it is because their grasp of basic language skills is dimensions apart.

Touma thanked Motoharu's generosity and was waved off as Motoharu returned to his room hastily. He was obviously heavily involved with something before Touma's interruption. Maika proceeded to direct him to his sleeping quarters. Lucky she did – he would otherwise be lost in such a confusingly designed house. With sleeping preparations already completed, Touma took to the bed with the speed of an insomniac. Slowly, painfully, he shuffled his feet towards the bed as Maika looked on. It wasn't that he didn't want to sleep, he just felt uncomfortable sleeping in such a pristinely kept room in his dirtied state.

"Come now. I too want to go to bed. You can have a bath tomorrow, or do you want to cause me more trouble today?" she questioned from the door, sarcastically to which there was no response. These were the last words Touma heard before relaxing on the bed and adjusting the covers over his bruised limbs and allowing his consciousness to slip into a world unknown.

Motoharu was still awake in his room reading what one would assume to be homework he received from school the day earlier. The room was quiet and the dim, flickering light created an eerie atmosphere. This well-built atmosphere for study was soon interrupted by the piercingly bright light of Maika opening the door.

"He's asleep" She whispered under her breathe, as if trying to hide her words from someone who would be eavesdropping.

"Good. That boy has had a heck of a day from what I've been told."

"Bro?"

"Yeah, Maika?"

"Umm… Who, exactly told you?" she shyly asked, shifting her feet in an incredibly cute fashion. Motoharu responded with a "not again" facial expression.

"Maika, we've been through this – I do things to keep you safe. I communicate with dangerous people. These people have eyes and ears throughout the city. That's how I find out and I'll tell you no more." He responded seriously. His poor colloquial speech patterns had disappeared whilst chastising Maika. The girl nodded. Disappointed, she lowered her head.

"Goodnight, big bro." she whispered sadly.

Motoharu smiled and watched her close the door. As the door was closing and the piercing light faded, so did his smile. He turned his attention back to the paper. There had been no pencil impressions made on it and all that was written on the paper was a date and time.

"3:15 pm, August 25th"

"A Spatial Rescue"
END