Chapter 12: The Factions
"Well, that should take care of that."
"Huh" I barely registered Yomikawa-sensei's voice as I stared somberly out of the windows. All I could think about was ways to get back down to the underground bunker.
We were on the tenth floor of the Anti-skill building, and I could see for miles around. All the little cars below were inching by slowly, and their honking echoed up the side so even I could hear them up here.
Yomikawa sensei was tidying up all the paperwork I had to do. Apparently, they needed a written testimony in addition to my recorded interview. Then, Yomikawa-sensei took me down to one of the labs, where they took my picture, my fingerprints, and even cheek swabs for DNA analysis. Yomikawa said that all of this was to allow the crime lab to rule me out as a suspect. They also wanted a blood sample but I refused.
No one was going to poke holes in me without my permission!
After that, we had to wait for the results to come in. By that time, the sun was already setting and casting the world in a golden hue. Leaving the windows, I sighed and collapsed onto the office chair. I was just about to relax when there was at a knock on the door.
Yomikawa-sensei looked up and said, "Come in!"
Two anti-skills members, both normal looking men, walked in. Both wore a navy-blue baseball cap and a colored vest over their uniform. Both also had coils of wires coming out of their ears and sunglasses that hid their eyes. Once the door was closed, they stood at attention.
"At ease gentlemen," Yomikawa-sensei said, "Alright, Otohime-chan, these fine men will escort you to the lobby. I think your ride is waiting for you there."
The walk to the elevators were uneventful. I was in front while the two officers came up behind me. When the elevators came, I went straight to the glass panels while the two guys stood facing the door. The elevator had a magnificent view. I could see the entrance below, where black unmarked cars occasionally pulled up to let out some official in suit and tie.
Somewhere in the middle of our decent, the elevator stopped. Curious, I turned around and saw a girl with purple hair giggling and running into the elevator. Before anyone could react, she pressed all the buttons below us. The two guards glared at her as the door closed, but the girl just ran up to me and gave me a bone-crushing hug.
"Hi there! I'm Naru, it's nice to meet you!"
I smiled awkwardly, "Likewise, I'm Otohime."
The door opened again, and two more girls walked in. One had a large brown cap, a belt full of bottles and trinkets, and black fingerless gloves. The other girl had short brown hair and a white face mask with two crossed hands painted in the front. Both greeted Naru like old pals, who then introduced them to me.
"Mina! I want you to meet Otohime-chan!"
They nodded politely at me, but never bothered to give me their names. Instead, they shook my hands and stood on either side of me. I glanced at them nervously, but the guards paid them no attention.
We were three floors above the lobby when the door opened again. A third girl with long black hair came sprinting into the elevator. Before the adults could react, she launched himself towards us and tackled us to the floor. Blinding pain lanced through my head as I hit the floor, and I was barely aware of what was going on around me.
Two small vials were suddenly rising into the air. They smashed together, and the resulting cloud hovered overhead, enveloping both guards in noxious fumes. Within seconds, they had collapsed to the ground, and their skins were bright pink.
I stared dumbfounded at them. Then, the girls were now standing over them, and the masked girl stared coldly back at me. I felt small and afraid.
"I am the leader of this little group," she said, "My liaison wishes to have a word with you."
I stared into her eyes and could only see cold and darkness. I wondered if she was one of the girls Oni-chan was looking for. I looked past her and saw Naru laughing hysterically while the black-haired girl tea-bagged the bodies.
The masked girl followed my gaze and shrugged.
"Don't worry," She said, "They're just unconscious. Trust me when I say that if it were up to us, we would do far worse to them."
Even though these girls were no older than me, the way she said that so easily and the way they were treating the bodies…they terrified me.
She snapped her fingers, and the others pulled the two anti-skill members out to the hallway. Then, the masked girl opened the elevator's maintenance panel and pulled out some sort of tablet device. As soon as she connected the device to the elevator, all the lights flickered off and then back on again.
"Take us to beauty senpai," She said, and the device chimed.
The doors shut immediately, and the elevator sped down past the lobby. As it sank beneath the ground, I thought for a mad moment that I was going to see Oni-chan again. However, the elevator stopped way sooner than I expected and opened to a different floor. The corridors were brightly lit and ridiculously opulent, and I couldn't help but remember the hall of mirrors in the Palace of Versailles.
The girl escorted me to a pair of heavy oak doors with a knob in the middle. It opened into a large ornate chamber, where a girl with long black hair and navy blue high school uniform sat with a slouch in a leather armchair. She was sipping tea out of a tiny cup, and eyed me as I walked in.
"Have a seat, Otohime-chan," she said, "You must be tired after running around all day."
She glanced at the masked girl, who immediately pulled out a stuffy chair for me. The girl sat behind a large ebony desk where a white laptop sat on a canvas writing pad. The room was full of stuffed animals, from giant stuffed bears sitting on the bookshelf behind the girl, to the millions of plushies littered all over her desktop.
Her hair was kept neat and tidy with a red hairband, and she wore the same school uniform as Konori-senpai and Fukiyose-senpai. Somehow, that kept me at ease.
"What is this place?" I asked, "Why have you brought me here?"
She smiled. "You must be tired after running around the city all day. Would you like a spot of tea?
She rang a bell, and the masked girl reappeared from behind the curtain, laden with a tray. She poured me a cup of tea and left some cream and sugar on the desk. She gave me a curt nod and left.
"Tell me," the high school girl said, "What is your relationship with Kamijou Touma?"
My hands felt clammy as I stirred some sugar into my tea. "Who wants to know?"
"A friend, one who cares about him very much," she said, "I was hoping that you could help me with an important manner."
I poured some cream into my tea. "Help you? On what?"
"Information of course. Nothing indiscrete, nothing you would feel…uncomfortable with." She glanced at me. "Just tell me what he's up to."
My hands could barely hold onto the little cup. One false move, and all the tea would spill onto the carpet. "I could be wrong, but I think that's none of your business."
"It could be." She said.
"Well then, why don't you ask him yourself? Since you're such a friend and all."
She laughed. "Cheeky," she smirked, "You should drink your tea before it gets cold."
"What if I don't want to drink your tea?"
The cup was rattling in my hands. She studied me carefully.
"You don't seem afraid."
"You don't seem that frightening."
She laughed again. The tea rattled even more in my hands, so I balanced it on the arm of my chair.
"You are brave for a little girl, I wonder if that's not the same as stupidity," she went, "But there's no need to worry. I wasn't going to poison, or anything like that. If I wanted you dead, you'd never even see me."
My stomach churned. I couldn't say anything. I couldn't even trust my own mouth.
She sighed. "Very well, I'll tell you a little about myself, if that will put you at ease."
She sipped a little from her cup. "My name is Kumokawa Seria. I am one of Kamijou Touma's old classmates. We have what you might call a difficult relationship."
I picked up my cup of tea and let the warmth waft into my face. I looked at her over the rim of my cup, I could tell that she was waiting for me to ask my questions.
"Why do you want to know who he hangs out with every day?"
Her eyes were suddenly clouded and hard to read. She looked down and swished the liquid in her little cup. "I worry about him. Constantly. Not a day goes by when he's not gone off on some new adventure. More than once, I have seen him back from his escapades a spent and broken man."
She drained the liquid in her hands and poured herself another cup. Her face was blue and sullen. She stirred in some sugar.
"Your connection with Kamijou Touma intrigued me. He's never mentioned a word about family outside of Academy City. In one moment, he was leaving school and going out on his own. In another moment, he's suddenly gone to pick you up at the train station. I thought for sure that he was bringing another powerful friend into this city."
"I'm just a cousin who barely understands what he is going through," I said, "I worry about him too. The last time I saw him was this summer, when he barely recognized me. I could tell that there was so much riding on his shoulders."
I drank deeply. This was some good tea.
"You mentioned that he has powerful friends?" I asked, "What did you mean by that?"
Kumokawa-san frowned at me. "Surely, you have noticed all those people around Kamijou-kun? Weren't you at all surprised by all the people you've met so far?"
I frowned. "Well, I know they all have powers, but isn't that what Academy city's all about? I thought everybody here had some sort of ability!"
"Hah!" She scoffed, "Hardly!"
She sipped some more tea. "No, most of us in Academy city are like anyone else in the world. Boring, predictable, and without any real power to speak of. His friends are the exceptions, and the higher ups have taken notice a long time ago."
She put her little cup down, opened her laptop, and began typing. "Misaka Mikoto is one of only seven level 5 espers to emerge from the power curriculum program, and she is ranked no. 3 behind Accelerator and Dark Matter."
She turned the laptop around, and I could see the photographs on the screen. There was Misaka-san's picture, along with two others, a boy with brown hair and brown colored clothing, and an albino boy with white and grey striped shirt. I recognized the last picture.
"Hey! That's the boy from yesterday!" I cried, "I met him at that family restaurant! He is no.1?"
Kumokawa-san smirked. She pressed a button, and a window popped up to show me a video. I watched as tanks rolled up to a single kid in the middle. They fired, but when the dust cleared the boy was fine, while all the tanks were destroyed.
My jaws dropped. Kumokawa-san's smirk widened.
"You're starting to get it now, aren't you?"
She pressed a few buttons and another footage appeared.
A spiky-haired boy lying on the ground with a girl perched on top of his chest. Looking closer, I saw that it was showing Oni-chan and Sasha, and I noticed the others standing nearby, and poised to attack.
Kumokawa-san smiled. "Kamijou-kun is surrounded by people with immense power and therefore becomes powerful himself."
As she said that, I watched as Oni-chan raise a hand, as if to command those around him. At once they all obeyed, and lowered their weapons.
I chewed on my lips. "So what exactly do you want from me?"
"Like I said, I want information," she said, "I want you to be my war correspondent… My agent in the field… One who documents Kamijou-kun's day-to-activities."
"War Correspondence?" I asked, confused.
She shut the laptop and put it away. Then she drank some more tea.
"I know that you have met my cute kohai, Fukiyose Seiri. Right?" I nodded.
"Most people like Fukiyose blunder around this city and all they see are schools and students and books," She said, "But when you walk with Kamijou Touma, you see the battlefield."
Battlefield? Who was he fighting? I thought. I was going to ask, but then, there was a commotion outside. I jumped out of my seat in time to see the oak doors burst open. Naru and the black-haired girl came hurtling towards me and skidded on the floor before my feet. Both were heavily bruised and had burn marks all over their bodies.
Looking up, I saw the source of their injuries.
Kuroko-san and Misaka-san were standing in the doorway. Kuroko-san leaned against the frame while Misaka-san stood in the middle with an outstretched arm. An arch of lightning danced from her brow and a coin was pinched between her thumb and forefinger.
Betraying no emotion, Kumokawa-san stood with her tea and greeted them. "Ah, Misaka-san, Kuroko-san, I thought you would be here," She smiled, "You're a minute late, I'm afraid."
"You are Kumokawa-san Seria I are you not?" Kuroko-san said, "What is the meaning of this? Why have you kidnapped Otohime-chan, here?"
"Oh, it's nothing. I just wanted a private word with her. It wasn't a big deal." Kumokawa-san said. She came around the desk and grasped me on the shoulders. She beamed at me. "See? There's no harm done right?"
"You know, senpai, I've got a phone. There wasn't any need to kidnap my cousin like this." A strange clicking or tapping sound reached my ears. My eyes widened as Oni-chan limped into view. His right arm was now in a sling, and he was leaning on a crutch. Index was there, supporting him, but he looked unfazed by his injuries. Behind him came Stiyl Magnus, Kanzaki Kaori, and Sasha Kreutzec.
He glared at Kumokawa-san. "I mean, it was very clever of you to use the Scavengers like this. Who would have guessed that some kids would be a threat to Antiskill members," he said, "But you could have just phoned me you know…on my phone."
"Sorry," Kumokawa-san responded, "But I don't have your number."
Oni-chan scoffed. "Of course you do, you work with Tsugotoshi. There's no way he doesn't have a file on me, not especially after what happened after Agitate Halation."
Kumokawa-san grimaced. She glanced down at me, mumbling. "I wish you hadn't reminded me of that."
She gave me a little squeeze, and then pushed me away. "Run along now," she said, "Think about everything I've shown you. Help me and I'll be there for you."
I nodded and ran to Oni-chan. Immediately, I hugged him as hard as I could, and he smiled and returned the hug with his one good arm. Together we left the office with me still clinging to his side, and the doors closed behind us. Nevertheless, the tap-tap-tapping of his crutches reminded me of his predicament.
"What happened to you?" I said, letting go. "How did you get this injured?"
"Ha ha," He laughed nervously, "It's a long story."
Index scoffed. "You can say it was another one of his stupid heroics."
"I know right?" Misaka-san said. "He will never change."
Stiyl laughed "Maybe he likes getting hurt. Maybe he's a masochist."
"I am not!"
"Opening remark," Sasha said, "If he wants instruments of torture to satisfy himself, I am more than happy to provide."
"And I as well," Kaoris affirmed, "There's plenty of such techniques that Amakusa can provide."
Kuroko-san laughed, "Maybe he's waiting for someone to use it on him."
Everyone just laughed. Oni-chan hung his head.
"Fakuda!"
Side Story 1: The Caper
Part 2: flipping the coin
"As expected from our old master. Who could have imagined employing him to stop us!" Tsuchimikado laughed quietly as he lay in Shiage's arms. He was completely spent, and blood poured out of every orifice.
Shiage boggled at the boy's careless attitude. "How can you laugh in situation like this? In case you haven't noticed, we're completely surrounded!"
All around them, the sound of battle was raging as the two monsters fended off a horde of HsPs-15 Powered Suits. Two suits sprayed the air with lead shot, but Accelerator stood in the way, and the projectiles rebounded towards their source. He stomped the ground, and a shock wave rippled out from under him, hitting all the suits at the same time.
Behind him, Kinuhata charged towards another attacker, punching through the empty cab and crumpling its gun. She stole one glance at Shiage and smirked in a way that made him super uncomfortable.
"Takitsubo is going to—cho—love it when I tell her about how you—cho—let a boy lay on your lap."
Shiage cringed. "Oh, please don't do that! I'll never hear the end of it!"
The trouble started from the moment they set foot in the grey building. Shiage could tell that something was off. The lobby was full of students and teachers milling about, but no one greeted them or even acknowledged their existence.
"I know this magic," Tsuchimikado said, "Stiyl told me about it during the Misawa Cram school incident."
He tried to use the elevator, but the buttons wouldn't even budge. Not even when accelerator used his vector control would the button press.
Tsuchimikado growled. "It is as I feared. To think someone would employ that certain magician. Quite Admirable, really."
Something he said must have triggered an alarm, as suddenly, everyone was watching them. All at once, bright orbs of light emerged from their temples, and race towards them.
"Ya-bai! Get to the stairs! Hurry!"
The four raced through the fire escape door next to the elevators.
Somehow, they barely managed to reach the fourth floor. They had managed to evade the light orbs, and Tsuchimikado was able to disrupt the magic, but in doing so, he had severely injured himself and was drenched in blood. By the time they reached the fifth floor, he was a bloody mess and had collapsed to the ground.
That's when the powered suits appeared.
"Fakuda! As Kami-yan would say," Tsuchimikado gasped as he lay on Shiage's lap. "Aureolus Izzard is a craftly son of a bitch! Blending science and magic in a terrifying display of power. It's quite admirable, really."
His laughter ceased when blood spurted from his mouth. Quickly, he rolled off of Shiage's lap and coughed out red phlegm. Shiage cringed. "We need to get out of here! There's no way we're gonna reach the top in this condition."
"Hah! And to think that Kami-yan has faced worst odds than this," he said wiping the blood from his mouth. "Kuso! Now I really feel inadequate compared to him."
"Then what should we do?" Shiage blurted, "We can't stay here."
The magician-esper turned his head and laughed. "Don't worry," he held up his phone, "I've called in some reinforcements."
As he said this, two shadows appeared behind Shiage. When he turned around, he found two people a girl and a boy standing there.
Tsuchimikado smiled. "Let this GROUP reunion begin!"