Kuroko Shirai sipped her peach juice as she sat on top of a skyscraper nearest to the Main Park. It was 15:30, with some clouds floating around in the sky, and she heard the sounds of children joyfully playing around in the park. Some playing tag, others gathered around the fountain and tried to avoid the spouts on the floor, and some were together with their parents, climbing up and playing with their dads and moms.
Kuroko warmly smiled, looking on the park and seeing the joyful activities those kids had.
While a part of her slightly sunk in gloom due to her own experiences within Judgement she replaced that sadness with a brightened determination, to serve and protect all the people living inside Academy City.
A vow to protect those in need, those lacking in power, in strength. It was her duty to the people, and to Academy City.
"Miss Shirai there's an alert for Judgement nearby, right around 2 alleys away from your location." Her earphone sparked into life as her partner, the Goalkeeper Kazari Uiharu told her of a crime in progress.
"Roger that Uiharu, I'm on my way," she said on the phone, before removing the straw from the juice carton and drinking up the remaining juice.
"Finally, some action." She quipped as she made the necessary calculations in her mind to prepare a 'travel leap'. Before she teleported she took a glance at the kids in the park.
With a slight smile she disappeared without a trace.
Kuroko propelled through the air as she 'leaped' though the air continously, frequently re-adjusting her calculations and coordinations within space to prevent severe accidents throughout her flight.
And throughout her flight as she got there she continuously scanned the alleys for any crimes committed.
Her gut had told her the trouble was nearby.
With her bag in hand, she sprinted as fast as possible before things got worse. And thanks to her stamina it took her around 8 seconds to get there.
Preparing her calculations for battle she stopped in front of the alley, and announced herself, holding up her armband.
"This is Judgement! We've heard calls of distress from this area, surrender peacefully or-" she started to say before stopping herself.
There was no need for Judgement this time, it seems.
-
"Ever heard the saying "Crime doesn't pay"? Cuz' if you hadn't then you're bigger idiots than I thought. The hell you thinking, going around messing up someone's business when I'm here swinging and saving." Spider-Man quipped to 4 thugs, all tied up in his webbing.
It had been a few weeks since Oyafune and Komoe scolded him for his lack of assignments. The fall from the building might've opened his bag and flew the papers away. But he tried to make sure the bag was closed and clipped down tight.
Welp, even with his powers it seems some things never change.
Cramming last night to complete said homework was torture. Especially without coffee.
He learned the hard way that coffee had... very interesting effects on his body, to say the least. Of course in a previous biology lesson it's said that coffee is to spiders what beer is to people.
If only he realised it... Perhaps the Ramen Incident would've never happened.
"Owww," Spidey muttered to himself rubbing his side.
"Something wrong? Are you okay?"
'Hmmm?' He turned around to see the person he saved still here. They had short light brown shoulder-length hair, a small side ponytail adorned on her right. She wore a girl's middle school sailor uniform, and had made a concerned face towards him.
"You're not hurt anywhere are you? I mean that big man did hit you pretty bad earlier, is it still hurting?" She asked worriedly.
"Oh, don't worry about this, I can handle myself. You should focus on yourself much more, what are you doing here in the alleys?"
"I was trying to familiarise myself to the District, the doctor said it would help me adjust to the world much faster than having to use a map. I went down to this alley because I thought this could be a shortcut to the school I went to." She explained bashfully. Her eyes dropped to the ground, refusing to look at Spidey's wide eyes.
It really stung the red boy's heart, considering he saved her but he tried to let it go. Although one phrase took his interest.
'Doctor said it would help me adjust to the world faster'
He only got this info from TV, but usually people who've been hospitalized for severe ailments and injuries have a tendency to lose their experience in dealing with the world.
"Oh! Was I not supposed to talk about that? Please, you must forget anything that I had said before!"
He was definitely curious with this girl. He opened his mouth to start a conversation with her when his senses picked up.
He felt spacetime ripping apart as something travelled beyond the normal 3 dimensions. Almost as if...
"A teleporter," he said aloud, confusing the girl. "Did you cal Judgement?"
"N-No, I don't have my phone with me. What's going on?"
"Uh well, I thinkIgottagonowbuhbye!" He hurriedly said as he leaped away from the alley. And not a second later someone appeared out of thin air.
"This is Judgement! We've heard calls of distress from this area, surrender peacefully or-"
The Teleporter started to say but she stopped herself. She saw that the thugs were already dealt with, wrapped in a white rope.
"Again, he is so elusive. One second early and I coulda..." she muttered to herself when she heard shuffling behind her. She quickly teleported away, her nails in hand as she prepared to fight-
Wait a minute, this person doesn't look like they belonged in a SkillOut gang. Their feminine face, sailor fuku and petite figure saw to that. And she looked shocked at the scene.
"Y-You must be J-Judgement. Wow, i-it's an honor to meet you Ms. Judgement." The girl said as she bowed respectfully.
Shirai noticed that she looked to be around the same age as her partner Uiharu, her young face and figure almost a dead ringer to the flowerbed-wearing girl.
"Are you hurt anywhere? Your head hurting a lot?" She said to the girl, a commanding tone to her voice.
The girl stood up, only to wince slightly. Shirai looked down and noticed a slight trickle of blood coming down from her left leg.
"Please sit down maam, I will take care of that."
"N-No need, I-I can handle it."
"I insist, please."
After a brief argumentative look the girl sat down in a nearby crate, without a word.
Shirai picked into her pockets, and removed from her right pocket a miniature first aid kit for minor to moderate injuries. All Judgement officers are required to carry one at all times to reduce the chances of infection from wounds as well as for community service (treating small wounds for young children playing in the park).
"Man you should've seen the guy who saved me. He was like, "HYAAH!" and "POW-OWWWW!!" The girl told her story about what happened, unprompted, before she yelped in pain from the antiseptic.
"Maybe later, after I'm done here. Then you can tell me about this guy. How's that sound?"
"Okay then." The girl was full of childlike energy, Shirai noticed, despite her looking around Uiharu and Saten's age.
Shirai noted it for another time as she finished her first aid. Wrapping a tissue filled with antiseptic and taping it on her knee.
"Okay then, you wanted to tell me about the guy helped you out? Let's start with how you got yourself in this situation?"
"Well, I was trying to familiarize myself with the alleys of this street, to where I could get to my dorm faster. But I went into a dead end and met these very mean people. I ran away from them, so that they wouldn't hurt me, but I tripped over there," she pointed to a spot on the ground, "and when I fell on the ground they were on top of me. I was so scared. Scared of what they might do to me.
But then, he jumped in. And saved me."
"Who? Who saved you?"
"The Red Man. He saved me."
"And where did he say he was going?"
"He said that he was gonna leave to get some alcohol for my wound. But you're here and put a bandage on my wound. It might be a little weird to talk to him about this."
"Perhaps. I'll take you to your dormitory instead. It'll be a lot faster."
"Oh no no no, I really shouldn't take much of your-"
"Don't worry about it." And with that the two girls warped out of normal space as they travelled through the 11th dimensions.
Through the middle school student's directions Shirai escorted the young girl to her dorm within seconds thanks to her Teleport power.
"Thanks for helping me get home, although I am pretty sorry for-"
"Miss, I'm from Judgement. It's what I do. Have a good day." With a wave Shirai teleported away.
Shirai landed on top of a high-rise building as she shouted, "MISSED HIM AGAIN!? WHY IS HE SO DAMNED SLIPPERY!?"
-
Taking a munch out of his yakisoba bread, with the bottom of his mask up Kamijou sat on the side of a high-rise building overseeing 7th Street of District 7, the most usual spot for criminal activity at night.
He should know, for the many times he had tangled with the worst this street had to offer.
Labyrinth-esque alleys stretched across parts of buildings. Small and narrow, large and open, some leading to dead ends, some to open areas filled with waste, discarded things, rotting cars, sometimes all of the above.
The perfect hideout for ne'er-do-wells. And considering the fact that Judgement never bothered to monitor this part of District 7 it made Kamijou's job cleaning up this joint so much easier.
Granted, it has only been a week since he started but he thought it was a work in progress.
He looked around to see students walking around in the streets, occupied by their daily lives and worries, most of them avoiding the alleyways. Though he did see some going in; hopefully they would stay clear of hotspots.
Placing himself in a spot where most people wouldn't notice he took another bite of his snack as he waited for a crime to be committed.
And he very much hated that.
"This is boring. Is this what Judgement goes through every day, waiting for trouble to happen?
Good thing I ain't part of that group."
No offense towards Judgement, but he didn't like to be actively involved in these matters involving crime and all.
Sure, he wouldn't run away when someone else is in danger, he would willingly risk his life for others if it means they can have another chance to smile and laugh, and live their normal lives in peace.
But he couldn't really see himself joining Judgement and enforcing that peace.
He didn't feel any sort of commitment to that sort of life. He'd rather goof off and hang out with his classmates over doing anything that took up most of his time.
But then again, "The fact that I'm swinging around helping people kinda contradicts that train of thought, doesn't it?"
Touma Kamijou was a man of contradictions; no one could really sense whether a certain aspect of him truly reflects his personality as a whole.
If one where to truly give any insight on Kamijou's true nature they would have had 160 cans of coffee by their side by the time they completed their assessment.
Once again Touma Kamijou was a man of contradictions.
Instincts blaring within his gut, Kamijou went alert immediately as he looked up.
"MISSED HIM AGAIN!? WHY IS HE SO DAMNED SLIPPERY!?"
A familiar voice cried out into the air as Kamijou jumped off the side of the building.
-
Ranting a bit about close calls and red men Shirai plopped onto the roof of the building she stood on, slowly breathing in and out to calm her nerves.
"Oh boy what a crappy day. Just when he was at reach, then he just slipped through. If I was a lot earlier back then I could've got him once and for all."
Kuroko sat on the edge of the building's roof, taking out of her pocket a snack bar.
Granola bar, some fruits and nuts.
Opening the wrapper she took a bite of the bar, ruminating on today's events.
It seemed that Mr. Red Guy's activities are mostly focused here on District 7, that's for sure; if it weren't, reports from the other branches could've cluttered their desks.
His activities have caused a slight decrease in the amount of deliquency around the general 'hotspots' of the district, namely Central Park, vending machines, and alleyways. Numerous attempts to scan the webbings in the lab have only resulted in limited information about it.
Mostly, with the fact that it isn't created through an esper ability. And it doesn't correspond with other esper powers within the Databank, not even within the ranks of Level 4 or 5; the closest they could think of how it was created was through the ability of Dark Matter, the #2 Level 5, however the lack of AIM Remnant, the leftover AIM energy of his creations, plus his own reclusiveness, meant that their suspicions were unfounded.
What is known, is that the structural composition of the web, is very similar to the ones common house spiders make. How someone can create such complex and scientifically accurate substance remains to be explained, as to their methods with usage of such extraordinary abilities.
The webbing could revolutionize the construction industry; spider-silk, strong and powerful enough to carry large beams and materials up to tall places; and so much more.
Her thoughts snapped out of existence when her phone rang. Placing it in her ear and pressing the answer button she was greeted by her partner Uiharu's voice.
"What is it this time?"
"There are some reports of local vandals right around 13th Avenue, near the high school dormitories. Chief said you might wanna check it out."
"Roger that. Aaaaaahhhhh... All in a day's work."
-
It took a while, but she managed to take the paint off the wall after arresting the vandals. Level 0, it seemed they were for the lack of ability usage, they just ran away.
Kuroko stretched her back, relieving the tension.
Grabbing her bag, she was about to walk off when suddenly her phone rang.
"Uiharu, what's going on-"
"Kuroko it's an emergency! Come to the hospital quick!"
"W-Why what's wrong?"
"The Bomber, the staff said that he suddenly blacked out, and now they can't find a way to wake him up!"
Kuroko started to run.
"Did you ask them what hospital they took him to?"
"At the usual. Hurry Kuroko!"
"I'll be there. Where's Chief by the way?"
"Somewhere with her friends, why?"
"Call her after this, say it's an emergency."
"Roger." The call cut as Kuroko shuffled out of space and ended up in another boardwalk.
'Where is she?' She wondered to herself. 'Over there!'
She saw her. Her Onee-sama walking along the sidewalk, apparently in thought.
Wasting no time, she teleported right in front of her Onee-sama, startling the senior classmate.
"W-Wha- Kuroko!? Where did you come from!? W-Wait what's the hold-up-"
"Sissy there's no time, it's an emergency, come with me!" Grabbing her senpai's hand she teleported the both of them towards the hospital.
-
"How bad is it sir?"
"Well, he had a mighty nasty fall when he collapsed, hit his head on the floor and all. But it's all fine, no thanks to Doctor Miracle. But the young man has shown no signs of regaining consciousness."
"Maybe it's because of whoever caught up roughed him up." Mikoto said.
"No it's not that. Rest assured, apart from some shock he recovered from his assault rather well. No brain damage. But we are still puzzled as to why he's collapsed without reason.
A couple others in the same state have been brought in over the past few days or so."
Kuroko and Mikoto went next to the doctor to look at his board, only to see a familiar name within the other patients.
Miho Jifuku, the girl who Saten befriended, who had been drawing large eyebrows on the faces of Tokiwadai students. Saten also been a victim of her prank thanks to a class case of mistaken identity.
Saten once said one time that her letters to Jifuku-san had stopped a couple weeks ago.
" "So that means..." "
"Something must've caused his current predicament. That is the only reason." One of the nurses opined.
"Well, this is way beyond our capabilities.
Which is why we brought a specialist from an outside department."
"Sorry I'm late. The director from Mizuho Medical Center called me up to handle this.
Harumi Kiyama, at your service."
The long-haired brunette lazily introduced herself to the group outside the bomber's room.
"You!" Mikoto exclaimed.
-
Saten unplugged her MP3 player from the laptop as she shut down the browser.
On her hand was the moment of truth.
She had been following this thing for quite some time now. And while a part of her was very nervous bright excitement overpowered that nervous feeling as she sat down on her desk, elation spreading across her cheeks.
It was, after all, a simple solution to her current plight.
The Level Upper.
Saten closed her eyes, brought her MP3 to her chest, feeling quite happy for this moment.
Uiharu. And the others.
They should about this.
-
Uiharu read the text as she waited for Saten-san to meet up.
After performing her cyber-check up on the security network of District 7 for any potential leaks, she was called by Saten, apparently having "a great surprise for Misaka and Shirai". Uiharu took her leave for the day, and with Konori's permission had left the office.
Her craving for ice cream really killed the whole waiting mood. She really needed to eat something sweet to replenish her tired body.
"Oh man, what is taking Saten-san so long?" Uiharu tiredly remarked.
"Hmmm... oh! Blue stripes day is it?"
Uiharu felt her heart thump out of embarassment.
After calming down Uiharu sighed in shame when she heard humming.
"Hmhmhm hmhm hmhmhm hm hm hm..." Uiharu noticed her friend humming happily.
"Mind telling me about the look of joy in your face?"
"Oh I found it! The rumored object of rumors!
A fantabulous discovery!"
"Ok, what is it then?"
"Gaze, and behold!"
"...a music player?"
"Not just any music player. It's what inside it that's special."
-
"Level Upper? What kind system is it? What form is it in?"
"We don't know anything about it."
"Hmm. And guessing by your mention of this you might think it's related to the students in comatose. Am I correct in that assumption?"
"That's basically it maam."
"So, why are you asking me about this?"
"I have reason to believe that whatever sort of ability augmentation is done through the Level Upper is achieved through a sort of mind interference system.
If we could bring in Level Upper to you you might be able to analyze the workings and mechanics of it in order to help the comatose students." Kuroko explained. Mikoto stayed silent.
Kiyama placed a finger under her chin, in thought.
"Well, I was brought in, and for something like this I will do whatever I can to help in your investigation.
Needless to say I am interested in this Level Upper, speaking from my expertise as a brain physiologist.
I am wondering though, as we are discussing but..."
Kiyama turned to the window to look at something. Kuroko and Mikoto however were already looking at said window.
"Do you know these two girls?"
Mikoto and Kuroko could only give out a slight chuckle, seeing their dear friend Saten leaning into the window, and a wide smile plastered on her face. Uiharu not too far behind.
-
Kamijou yawned.
It had been a couple hours since he left that girl with the Judgement teleporter, and now here he was, sitting on top of another 8-storey building, waiting for some action.
Some of the stuff he had dealt with weren't particularly serious.
For the first time since his first night, there hasn't been a crime to just swoop in and deal with.
It's all, so quiet.
Kamijou was rather paranoid when it came to those things, after all when it came to disaster no one was quite acquainted to it as Kamijou was.
He was, strangely hoping for something to go wrong.
Was that a bad thing to hope for? Probably.
But seriously, if it's just enough to make him not die of boredom, anything would be nice.
His instincts flared up suddenly, Kamijou jumped off the building and swung off to where trouble was.
He just hoped that he wasn't too late when he got there.
-
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