Chapter 19: A Certain Assembly of Espers and Mages

Previously…

"You have ten minutes," Yomikawa-sensei said, "Get whatever you need, and then come back here. The place where Tsuchimikado disappeared to is pretty far from here, so we have to leave as soon as possible. If you aren't back in time, then we will leave you behind. Understood?"

"Hai!" Everyone chimed in unison.

Oni-chan led the way upstairs to the main office. Konori-senpai wasn't there when we entered, and the room was dark except for the windows. Quickly, Oni-chan switched on the lights, and the everyone split up to prepare.

I followed Oni-chan to his desk, whereupon he opened the top drawer and pulled out a little talisman. It was a badge, shaped like the crest that Judgement uses. A ring of green jade was mounted on a silver-plated shield, and a clasp was soldered to the back.

"Here you go, Otohime," He said pinning the badge to my chest. "This badge designates you as a temporary Judgement member. With this on, you have limited authority to work on Judgement-assigned cases."

"Arigato," I said.

Looking up, I saw Misaka-san and Saten san pinning on similar badges. They looked at me and smiled.

"I know, this is just some stupid formality," Misaka-san said, "We get involved in Judgement-related incidences all the time, but we get told off time and time again by the adults. With this on, we can get rid of all the stupid confrontations."

"It was a stroke of genius," Saten-san said, "How many times have we been pushed away from Judgement work because we were civilians? Your Oni-chan created this Irregulars division so we could have some recognition with authorities."

"It's not like you ever cared for those bureaucratic processes anyway," Uiharu-san said smirking, "Only a handful of Judgement branches recognize those badges. Most of the higher bureaucrats don't even know the division exists."

"Which is why we're called the Irregulars, desu-sho?" Saten-san winked, "Sometimes, some crimes go slipping through the cracks, and, it's up to us to pick up the slack. There's no case big or small that we can't handle."

"Speaking of which, I wonder if Kuroko needs some help." Misaka said. Swiftly, she left the room to search for the Teleporter.

I walked over to Uiharu-san, who was sitting at her desk and typing away on her computer. Her laptop was connected to the larger device and sat to one side.

"What are you working on?" I asked.

Uiharu shrugged, "I'm just gathering information, like blueprints and floor plans. We're going to a performance arts school in district 9, and we need to be prepared. I'm gathering all the information we can get.

"In that case," Oni-chan said, "We will need someone who keenly knows the building's interior."

"I've already taken care of that," Uiharu-san said, tapping on her earpiece, "I've contacted the dean and the building manager to meet us in the underground parking lot."

"Su-goi!" Saten-san cheered, "Leaved it to Uiharu! That's the Gatekeeper we know and love!"

"Gatekeeper?" Uiharu-san sweat dropped, "Why would you call me that?"

"Eh?" Saten-san smirked, "But it suits you so well! Just like that cute pink lacy number you have on today!"

Uiharu-san tilted her head in confusion, "Pink lacy number? I don't underst-KYAAAAAH!"

Realization hit her like a locomotive, and she screamed. "Saten-san! How could you! How did you even know about that! When did you see it!"

"Hee hee!" Saten grinned as she rubbed her nose. "I got a nice peek when we were going to the hospital. Honestly, you're being pretty risqué today!"

"Can we not talk about that right now!" Uiharu shrieked, "Especially in front of Kamijou-senpai! Oh! This is so embarrassing!"

Saten-san just laughed, while the rest of us blushed and avoided eye contact.

Thankfully, Shirai-san and Misaka-san took this time to suddenly appear before us. They were carrying a green duffle bag between them, and Misaka-san held onto a metal suitcase, while Shirai-san had a school-issued book bag slung over her shoulders.

Shirai-san took one look at the flustered Uiharu-san and the gleeful Saten-san and sighed. "Saten-san, you're as incorrigible as ever. I see that you're up to your usual tricks. Why don't you make yourself more useful?"

Saying this, she handed the duffle bag off to Saten-san, who doubled over as soon as the full weight fell into her hands. "Ugh!" Saten-san groaned, struggling with the sudden weight. "It would be my pleasure!"

Ignoring the sarcasm, Shirai-san nodded with approval. She opened the book bag and pulled out two long belts, each studded with metal spikes. She clipped each band to her thighs like garter belts. Then, she pulled out a third belt and draped it across her shoulders like a sash.

Finally, she pulled out a small pouch, rattling with coins, and a green armband, similar to the one she was wearing.

"Here! Onee-sama!" She exclaimed, tossing the little pouch to Misaka-san.

"Arigato!" Misaka said, pocketing the little coin-purse. She glanced at me and smirked. "That's right, you've never seen my railgun, have you?"

"Huh?"

"Don't worry," she winked, "I'm sure you will get plenty of opportunities."

At that moment, Yomikawa-sensei's voice could be heard hollering from downstairs. "You have ten seconds!" she shouted, "Get down here this instant!"

"You heard her," Oni-chan said, taking the armband from Shirai-san, "We have to go!"

"Hai!" Uiharu-san stopped the download program and then disconnected her laptop from the main computer. She shoved the device into her book bag and hurried after us.

One-by-one, we filed out of the room, with Uiharu bringing up the rear. She turned off the lights behind her and then locked the doors.

By the time we got to the garage, Yomikawa-sensei had already started the engine. While the rest of us piled onto the van, Oni-chan helped Saten-san load the duffle bag into the rear hatch. Then, they too climbed on board, and Yomikawa pulled out of the garage.

An hour later, we were in district 9 and underneath Yotsuba's School for Performance Arts. I was helping with unloading the van when another vehicle arrived with Kamoe-sensei in the driver's seat. As soon as it stopped, Fukiyose-san jumped out of the car and tackled Oni-chan to the ground!

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Fukiyose-sama! I can't breathe! Please let go!" Oni-chan gasped as he struggled to stand up. Fukiyose Seiri had him in a chokehold and was pressing his head against her chest.

"When I said, 'let me come with you.' I didn't mean 'Leave me behind so you can go play with your Judgement friends!'" She growled, "Why did you leave me to those strange people? Why did you abandon me to those wolves?"

Oni-chan gasped, "I had to grab some equipment from the Judgement office! We all agreed to meet here anyway!"

"That's not good enough!" Fukiyose-san snapped, "Do you know how awkward it was to sit in a van with a bunch of humanities students, listening to them argue about various tenants of theology!? And what's with all the magic nonsense? Not only are you joining skill-out, but you're also joining some cult!? Neh!"

Oni-chan grimaced. "I told you! I'm no joining any of those things! Just because you don't understand what they're talking about doesn't mean they're talking nonsense! Also, I'm not joining skill-out, and I'm not joining any cult! There are things in this world you don't know about!"

"Ugh! Fine! If that's your attitude, then you leave me no choice!"

Clack! A silver bracelet appeared around Oni-chan's wrist, and it was connected by a chain to a similar bracelet around Fukiyose-san's wrist.

"Gah!" he cried, "Where did you get these handcuffs?

She smirked. "Heh, I knew these would come in handy! Luckily, I picked these up after that frog-face doctor left. Now, you will never get rid of me!

"Kuso! What did I do to deserve this?!"

"Touma!" Index was standing beside him, seething like a cat about to pounce on her prey, "I see that you're as incorrigible as ever!" She sneered, "Repent now or accept your divine fate!"

"Gah!" Oni-chan's eyes widened, and he twisted his head around. "Index-san! This isn't my fault!" He screamed, "I'm being forced to endure this suffering! Can't you see that I am in distress!?"

"Hah!" Index snapped, "Again with the excuses! Touma! It seems that I've been too lenient on you! Take this!"

Chomp! With a single bite, Index latched herself onto Oni-chan who screamed.

"OWW! FUKOU DAAAAAAA!"

The rest of us could only watch in disbelief as Index flailed about his head. He struggled to shake her loose, but the nun's jaws remained latched to his head.

I cringed. "He looks like he's in pain. Shouldn't we help him?"

"Hmph!" Misaka-san turned her nose up, "Why? Clearly, he's enjoying himself. I hope he smothers in those worthless lumps of meat!"

"Onee-sama, I never pegged you to be the jealous type," Shirai-san laughed.

Misaka-san blushed. "W-w-w-what!? I'm not jealous! It's just that…we have something important to do and he's just goofing off!"

I sweat-dropped. "I hardly call that goofing off!"

"Oh don't worry, Otohime-chan!" Saten-san winked, "This is just his usual way of saying hi to friends. You'll get used to it eventually."

"Truly," Kanzaki said, dropping the duffle bag next to Uiharu. She turned to glare at Oni-chan, "I wish he would find somewhere more secluded than this. He is as shameless as ever!"

"Arigato!" Uiharu-san beamed as she unzipped the duffle bag. She pulled out three sleeveless jackets. Each had a high collar and padded shoulders, and three slim pouches on either side of the zipper. She put one on herself, and the motioned for me to come over.

"Otohime-chan," she said, "Please put this on."

Uiharu-san helped me into the vest and zipped up the front. Unfortunately, it easily went down to my knees, and I found myself drowning in the padded collar.

"An-no," I said, "I don't think these can suit me."

"Just a second," Uiharu-san said, "Let me adjust it."

She turned me around and was fiddling with something on my back. Suddenly, there was some beeping sound, and the entire vest shrank around my body.

"Woah!" I cried.

"You like it?" Uiharu smiled, "These are woven with self-cinching micro-threads, capable of contouring to any body size."

She pulled an earpiece from the duffle bag and clipped it to my ear. "There!" she said, "these are preprogramed to Judgement's proprietary channel. With this, you can talk to anyone in our group."

"Nice!" I said, "Now I feel like James Bond with all of these gadgets."

"And I'm your new quartermaster!" Uiharu laughed. She turned to Misaka and gave her the suitcase. "Hai, Misaka-san! If you wouldn't mind."

Misaka-san rolled her eyes. "Tak-er! I'm not some charging station, you know!"

Nevertheless, she set the suitcase on the ground and opened it. Inside, several electric batons hung from a charging frame, which led to two metal pads that lay on the bottom half of the suitcase. Placing her hands on each pad, Misaka-san sent jolts of electricity into the apparatus. In no time at all, each baton was glowing light blue.

Uiharu-san pulled out one of the electric batons and slipped it through two loops in the back of her jacket. Then, she pulled out a normal stun gun from underneath the charging pad and gave it to me. "Otohime-chan, this is for emergency purposes only. As long as you stick close to one of us, you shouldn't need it at all. Understood?"

"Hai!" I said.

Saten-san, who had taken the third jacket, was similarly arming herself with the electric batons. Then, she rummaged through the duffle bag and pulled out a batting helmet and an aluminum bat.

"There!" she said, putting the helmet on, "I'm ready!"

"Me too!" Misaka said, patting her skirt pockets. She was still wearing her school uniform.

"In that case," Shirai-san said, appearing suddenly, "Why don't we do some reconnaissance? With me watching your backs, we can easily escape back here."

"Sounds great!" Uiharu-san said, "Then, I'll stay here and guide you through the building."

"One moment please," Kanzaki-san said, "I would like to join your party, I wish to see for myself what awaits us in the upper levels."

"Me too," Takitsubo-san said, appearing before us, "I'm here to find Hamazura-kun. He's always gone into dangerous situations like these and saving me. I want to repay him for everything he's done."

"Are you sure?" Misaka-san asked, "We don't have any ability crystals to enhance your AIM stalker. I know you sometimes use them."

"It's alright," Takitsubo-san said, putting on the flak jacket. Then, she grabbed an electric baton and, like Uiharu-san and Saten-san, slipped it through the loops on her back, "I'm still a level 4. My abilities are strong enough without chemical stimulations."

"That's great!" Shirai-san said, "Kamijou-senpai, what do you think?"

"I don't mind," Oni-chan said, still trying to free himself from Index and Fukiyose, "Having Kanzaki-san around can help you deal with the Magic side as well, especially since Aureollus Izzard is involved in this matter. If you think it's best to scout ahead, then I trust your judgement. Meanwhile, I can organize some relief in case you need to be extracted."

"Sounds like a plan," Shirai-san smirked. "Alright then, if everyone's ready, then follow me!"

Fifteen minutes later, we were back above ground, and the sky was free of any clouds. On the outside, the music school looked like a normal office building. Yet, it was set apart by a large plaza filled with trees and shrubbery.

"So this is the place, right? GROUP Headquarters?" Saten-san asked.

"Yup! Isn't it beautiful?" Shirai-san threw her arms out wide like an MC.

I looked up at the grayish brown façade, barely able to contain my …uh…excitement? No that wasn't what I was thinking of. The plaza was white with a dusting of snow and was surrounded by leafless trees whose trunks had been painted white. Behind me, a ribbon of highway passed overhead, guiding cars to other locations in the city.

"Sorry for the wait," Misaka-san said, running up with Kanzaki-san and Takitsubo-san.

"Onee-sama! You sure took your time!" Shirai-san smirked, "It's so unlike you to be late."

"I said I was sorry," Misaka-san said, "I had to keep that idiot from being strangled to death! He was turning blue, and I couldn't just leave him there!"

"Oho?" Saten-san said, leaning in close. "Or could it be that you just didn't want other girls to be so close to him?"

"Gehl!" Misaka-san cringed, "No way! I just didn't want him to get smothered to death by that mass of womanhood!"

"Mass of womanhood?" Saten-san laughed, "Wow, you really are jealous!"

"Like I said! I am not!"

"Oh don't worry, Onee-sama!" Shirai-san piped up, "Even if you don't grow your own pair, I'll still love you forever! I shall rekindle my love for you!"

Saying this, she rushed towards Misaka-san for a kiss, only to be struck down by a well time blow to the head. The rest of us watched as Shirai-san bit the ground hard. Misaka-san stood with her fist clenched and her face beet red. "That is one thing I don't need!"

"My, aren't you all so lively today! To think I would need your knuckleheads' help!"

The sudden voiced put an end to the foolishness, in an instant, all the girls had turned to face whoever was speaking. Misaka was letting sparks fly out of her brow, while Kanzaki-san had loosened her blade from its scabbard.

From the gaps between Shirai-san and Saten-san, I could make out a girl sitting on the ground. She had brown hair tied in the back in two long ponytails. Even in this weather, she was scantily clad in a belted miniskirt, and a dark blue coat draped over her shoulders like a cape. The only thing keeping her modest were some bandages wrapped around her chest. Unfortunately for her, her jacket was slipping, and her arm was stuck in a tree.

She smiled awkwardly at us. "I'm sorry to bother you, but would you mind helping a girl out?"