Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Toaru Kagaku no Railgun/Toaru Majutsu no Index
The Trinity of Tokiwadai
Chapter Eight: Wiedervereinigung von Gespenstern
Beta: ShadowofAxios
As was quickly becoming the norm, the chief of the 177th Judgement Branch Office, Konori Mii, was playing hostess to the Trinity of Tokiwadai, or at least that's what the trio of Level 5s were being called all over the net lately. Said trio were currently lounging on the sofas in the branch's small rest area as they waited for their friends and Mii's subordinates, Uiharu-chan and Kuroko-chan to finish their shift. Like they so often did, the girls were planning to hang out and had decided the branch was the perfect gathering point.
The senior Judgement agent knew she probably should have kicked up some kind of fuss at the girls' actions, even if it was just a token protest, since she was certain it was clearly stated in the rules that access to Judgement facilities by civilians was restricted. She honestly didn't feel up to it, though. Since if she was in their place, she'd probably be doing the same thing. Which was just as well since as Level 5s the girls wouldn't have listened to her anyway. So rather than wasting her effort trying to be a stickler for the rules, she instead chose to be a gracious host.
"Here you go girls." Mii said as she opened a can of biscuits and offered them to the Level 5s.
"Thanks Sempai." Namikaze-san replied in the chipper tone she favored.
"Thank you," Misaka-san offered in that naturally refined way that she fell into when she was relaxed and didn't feel the need to assert herself by being such a tomboy.
Saten-san just nodded in thanks and promptly picked out a selection of Uiharu-chan's favorites and moved over to her best friend's work station to share it with her.
Typical Saten-san. Mii noted with an amused shake of her head. Always putting Uiharu-chan first.
"Oi, Saten! Can you be less whipped?" Namikaze-san teased.
The aforementioned girl shook it off though, and just rolled her eyes at the blonde. Oddly, this seemed to please the Number 2 who promptly broke into a satisfied smile.
"Must you tease everyone?" The oldest of the Tokiwadai girls said reprovingly.
Namikaze-san just shrugged. The Electromaster seemed unsatisfied by that answer and bristled, letting loose a handful of sparks as she glared at her kohai.
Time to step in.
"So," Mii cut in with a loud voice that got everyone's attention. "That performance you three gave during the Midsummer Festival was amazing. How long did you have to practice for it?"
The blonde and her chestnut haired sempai ignored her question, but took it as the cue it was to knock it off and with a final glare both huffed before looking away. Saten-san however was polite enough to actually supply an answer.
"About twelve hours over the course of a week." The [AIM Sovereign] explained in the overly detailed way she oft used.
"And that's not including all the time that you three spent on the choreography." Kuroko-chan chimed in as she finished the last of her work and came into the rest area. "That had to have been another what? Six hours?"
"It was actually only four and-"
Saten's precise answer was cut off by Uiharu-chan elbowing her side.
"Well, I think every minute of that practice was worth it. You guys did a great job." The computer whiz said, adding her two cents.
"Agreed. Though it was billed as a performance by Tokiwadai's Level 5s wasn't it?" The students of said school nodded. "So where was the fourth Level 5, [Mental Out]?"
"Misaki-sempai refused to take part." Naru explained. "She hates sharing the limelight, so she skipped the whole Festival."
Misaka-san snorted at that. "That's just her standard bullshit excuse."
"Oh definitely." The blonde agreed. "Personally, I think she just wanted to get out of the cosplaying. She doesn't like it. No idea why though, it's great."
"It's not for everybody." Uiharu-chan offered.
"True. But I'd have thought that deviant would love it." Kuroko-chan cut in derisively.
Namikaze-san's eyes narrowed dangerously as she turned to face the teleporter. "Shirai-chan, are you implying my hobby is a deviant one?"
The Level 4 panicked at this and quickly shot looks around the room for help from the others. She was met with stony faces though, with even Misaka-san unwilling to help her roommate.
You dug this hole all on your own, Kuroko-chan. You'll need to find your own way out of it.
Fortunately for the tawny haired girl, she was saved from the grilling she deserved by a knock from the door and a male voice. "Excuse me."
That voice sounds familiar.
It appeared that she wasn't the only one who felt the same as Saten-san reacted to hearing it by nodding at the door and unlocking it with her powers. A moment later, the door was opened and Mii was greeted with the sight of a mass of messy red hair that she'd recognize anywhere.
"Yo, Mii." Wataru-sempai greeted with a cheeky grin as he strolled into the office like he owned the place.
"S-Sempai?!" Mii stammered in surprise. Wasn't he in jail?! "What are you doing here?"
She wasn't the only one surprised by the man's sudden appearance. Almost everyone startled at the sight of him too. All except Namikaze-san and Saten-san.
"I'm looking for the stoic lil lady-ah! Yo, Saten-chan. Glad I found ya."
Saten-chan just quirked an eyebrow. "Why didn't you just call me if you were looking for me?"
Smiling in awkward embarrassment, Wataru-sempai gingerly pulled out a ruined cellphone from his pocket and waved it in the air.
"That was made for extreme environments." Saten-chan pointed out in monotone, seemingly shocked by the development and thus defaulting to her basic mechanical mannerisms.
The man shrugged.
"Did you at least get the job done?" The Number 3 asked with a sigh, having recomposed herself.
"Of course!" Wataru-sempai assured her, before he caught sight of the packet of milk that Mii had on her desk. "Ah, Musashino."
Mii could guess what he was about to do and tried to protest but was too slow.
"Thanks! See ya gals." The red head former Skill-Out declared as he snagged the milk and walked out the door before Mii could even open her mouth.
"I'll wire you the payment later! And some money for a new phone!" Saten-chan called after him, earning a faint 'Okay' in reply.
Getting over her shock at seeing her Sempai free, Mii rounded on Saten-chan.
"Explain, now." The senior Judgement agent demanded sternly.
Saten-san merely pointed at Namikaze-san, "It was her idea."
Mii rounded on the little girl, hands on her hips.
"Hey, that Akai-Baka deserved better than getting locked up in jail. So I made a call and got him out and he'll stay out as long as I keep an eye on him."
"Then why is he working for Saten?" Misaka-san asked the freshman quizzically.
"Actually, he works for both of us." Saten-san explained. "He does the odd job for us here and there in exchange for his freedom."
"You two bypassed the law just to get an errand boy?" Kuroko-chan asked disapprovingly. Even Uiharu was looking at the two Level 5s involved unhappily.
"Not at all." Saten-san said placatingly. "The judge sentenced him to community service, we just happened to make arrangements for him to serve that sentence working for us."
And I bet the two of you somehow made sure that's exactly what the judge would sentence him to. Mii reasoned, though she knew better than to say it out loud.
"Anyways~! If you guys need him to do stuff for you, feel free to drop him a call." Namikaze-san paused and tapped her chin. "Well, after he gets a new phone."
That reminded Mii of another important question that she needed answered. Once more rounding on Saten-san, she sternly demanded answers. "What kind of job did you send him on that would wreck a phone that was designed for extreme environments?"
"I just had him deliver a data drive to a friend of mine."
Namikaze-san released a snort at that.
She's getting him to deliver her intel to clients! Mii fretted. What if he gets into more trouble? He can be a real moron when it comes to that.
"Don't worry, Konori-sempai, he's our man now. We take care of our own."
"Why does it sound like you two are starting a gang?" Misaka-san wisecracked.
Namikaze-san made a gang sign with her fingers. "Lolis for life."
"Stop that!" The Electromaster demanded as she smacked the blonde's head.
Despite her misgivings over the situation, Mii couldn't help but giggle at the antics of the Trinity.
It was late at night in an unused medical facility on the outskirts of District 7 and Kiyama Harumi was waiting impatiently for her potential partner to arrive.
The disgraced scientist had just been released on parole months earlier than she normally should have been, something that she had no doubt was the work of her daughter. However, instead of meeting up with her she'd instead discreetly snuck out of the prison and drove to this rendezvous.
The man she'd agreed to meet had contacted her while she was still in lockup and offered to help in her efforts to save her still comatose students. She'd been skeptical at first, for while his reputation as a medical doctor preceded him, his connections to the Superintendent left her leery of accepting his help. He was very persuasive though and she was frankly out of options, especially if she didn't want to involve Ruiko.
"Kaa-san." Said girl greeted with a angry scowl as she teleported next to the woman.
Speak of the devil.
"Ruiko." Kiyama greeted her adopted daughter warmly, ignoring the girl's obvious anger.
"Why did you avoid me? You even snuck out of the prison even though you knew I was waiting to greet you." Ruiko demanded, her arms crossed.
Despite the heated tone of voice, Kiyama heard the underlying hurt as clear as day. Wincing, she pulled the girl into a hug.
"I'm sorry, Ruiko. I didn't mean to upset you."
The esper returned the hug. "Just tell me why."
For a moment Kiyama considered lying or deflecting Ruiko's question. She discarded the idea almost immediately though, her daughter would know if she did. She would accept it, but that would just make it worse. The mother didn't want there to be lies in their relationship.
"I didn't want to involve you in what I have planned." The woman informed the girl as she stepped out of the hug.
"You have another plan to save the others?" Ruiko asked, with a disappointed frown on her face, clearly unhappy that the hug had ended so quickly.
She's being so expressive! The mother marveled. It looks like finding true friends really was good for her.
The former researcher let none of her surprise show though, she couldn't get distracted right now. Not when she was having a conversation as important as this. She was determined to not involve Ruiko in any dangerous activities ever again. Now all she needed to do was convince her daughter to agree to that.
Returning her focus to the conversation, Kiyama shook her head. "Not exactly, but I'm meeting with someone that might help me formulate one."
"Well, I have one."
"What?"
"A method to save the others." Ruiko confidently declared.
"How?" Kiyama asked, even as she put the pieces together. "The Level Upper. You finished the simulations before we shut it down, didn't you?"
Ruiko nodded. "And I won't tell you what the solution is unless you agree to let me help."
"Ruiko." Kiyama sighed.
The esper just shot her mother a determined look.
"By all means, let her help." A aged male voice said, as its owner walked towards the two females.
Turning, mother and daughter spotted the legendary physician Heaven Canceller approaching them.
"If Saten-san has a solution to our problems then we should make use of it."
"But Doctor, the risks!"
"I'm perfectly aware of the risks, Kaa-san. And I'm more than willing to accept them."
The old man nodded approvingly, but Kiyama felt her stomach twist in knots at hearing Ruiko say that. Her last attempt to free her comatose students had almost put Ruiko at risk of losing her mind. Who knows what this attempt would result in?
"It'll be okay." Ruiko forced a smile. "Have faith."
If only faith held a logical sense to it, then perhaps the scientist would be able to believe in it.
"Sorry I'm late." Naru said apologetically, as she opened the door to the 177th Judgement Branch Office, offering her default excuse to explain away her tardiness. "I got held up by some of my fans."
"I'm going to start tallying that excuse." Misaka-sempai snorted.
Naru suppressed her smirk as she prepared to start teasing her uptight sempai.
"Naru-san," Saten cut her off before she could begin, her voice pleading. "I called this meeting for an important reason, so could you save your teasing till after I'm done?"
She's nervous and worried. Terribly so. I wonder why? Kurama commented sounding intrigued. The fox always did love a good mystery.
Whatever she wants to talk about must really be important then. Naru concluded as she nodded at Saten.
"Now that Namikaze-san is here, can you finally tell us what's this all about?" Shirai-chan asked impatiently.
Misaka-sempai nodded and even Konori-sempai and Uiharu-chan seemed eager to hear what was going on.
Hmm… Her nerves just spiked again. If she was anyone else, she'd be a fidgeting mess.
Acting without thinking Naru plopped down onto the couch next to Saten. The emotionally stunted girl gave a grateful nod and looked to her other side where her best friend was seated and offering her a supportive smile. Seemingly taking strength from the silent encouragement, the Number 3 began explaining her reason for calling the gang together.
"Kaa-san was released last night."
Shirai-chan, by the book as always, managed a forced smile, though her disapproval for the woman's early release was clear. Uiharu-chan, Misaka-sempai and Konori-sempai in contrast all smiled at that, happy that their friend's mother was back home.
They probably would have done more but Saten continued talking before they could say or do anything. "And we've come up with a new procedure to save my siblings."
Everyone exchanged uneasy looks at this, they all remembered the Level Upper Incident. Well, everyone but Uiharu-chan who instead chose to round on Saten.
"Will this put you in danger again?" The usually timid girl demanded hotly.
"No." Uiharu-chan and Naru, to her own surprise, both released sighs of relief. "I won't be directly involved in the procedure at all."
"You're not just saying that to put us at ease, are you?" Shirai-chan asked skeptically.
Offering the teleporter a sincere smile, the AIM manipulator replied. "No, I'm not lying."
I can vouch for that. Kurama sounded surprised and Naru could understand where he was coming from. It wasn't common for Dark Siders to be this honest especially about their operations and whatever Saten and her mother were cooking up definitely fell on that side of the divide.
The pigtailed Jugement agent frowned, clearly not satisfied with that answer. It was however her roommate who chose to continue the interrogation.
"If you're being so honest, mind sharing what you have planned?"
"I wish I could." Saten said, with a sad shake of her head. "But our partner says it's best to keep a low profile."
"Then why are you telling us anything at all?" Konori-sempai asked sounding like she was just curious. Naru saw through the act though, this was the Judgement agent asking, not the concerned friend.
"It's a compromise. I refused to keep all of you in the dark. So we agreed that I could tell you all but that I would not provide any details, that way if anything does get leaked at least other parties won't know the specifics of what we have planned."
"Your partner's that paranoid?" Uiharu-chan asked sounded suspicious.
"Whoever it is isn't that bad actually." Naru cut in. "Keeping operations like this secret is pretty standard."
Everyone's eyes turned to look at Naru, and she would bet her whole stuffed animal collection on the fact that they were abruptly reminded that she too was a Dark Sider.
Sucker bet.
Uncharacteristically, Naru actually felt uncomfortable as the other girls looked at her with suspicious eyes.
"Naru is correct." Saten replied, thankfully redirecting the attention away from the blonde.
She did that on purpose.
No duh, Sherlock!
...Oh come on, at least say it the right way. By the Sage, it's like that time you censored me. In your mind!
Naru sent a small thankful look towards her fellow Dark Sider which was returned by a playful nudge of her leg even as the brunette continued talking.
"He just wants us to keep a low profile. He might have gotten us official backing this time but it's still strictly an off the books project."
"Who is he?" Uiharu-chan demanded, probably planning to hack into every mainframe she could get access to and learn every little bit of info about the guy's history she could get her hands on once she had the time.
"Heaven Canceller."
Naru sucked in a breath at that name. The legendary physician despite having no official position in the City's hierarchy held incredible influence. His dedication to treating anyone that came to him, made him probably the only truly neutral player in the City. That and his lingering reputation as one of the City's founders gave him a truly impressive level of clout.
How in the world does Saten do this? Naru pondered in amusement. Of all the big names in the City, there are only two which could objectively be called good people. One's Oyafune Monaka, her backer, and the other is Heaven Canceller. And she's managed to get both of them to help her? How?
"If he's in on it, we have nothing to worry about." Naru brushed off the others' concern. Her worries over the matter allayed with the doctor's inclusion in the project, she laid back in the sofa and relaxed.
"Not that I don't believe you Namikaze-san, but I'm still going to check out who he is." Uiharu-chan replied with determination practically pouring from her skin.
"Knock yourself out, you and Shirai-chan already met him though. He helped us with the whole Level Upper deal."
"Still gonna do a background check." The computer whiz insisted.
Saten gave a resigned sigh. "If it'll set your mind at ease then please do."
"You know what would really stop us from worrying?" Misaka-sempai asked leadingly. "Being there when the procedure is performed."
Saten startled at that. "What? But-"
"No buts." Konori-sempai of all people interrupted her. "If you want us to not call in the authorities or interfere then we'll need to be there to make sure that whatever you're doing won't be another Level Upper and endanger anyone. Yourself included."
"She's got you there, Saten-chan." Naru giggled at the predicament the Number 3 was in.
Defeated, the mighty [AIM Sovereign] gave a shallow chastised nod. "I'll make the arrangements."
The room began to shake as suddenly instruments flew off the tables or floated into the air as if they were in zero gravity. The effect only lasted a moment though, as the power to the systems were cut off by Heaven Canceller.
The room's occupants stared at the mess as all the previously levitating objects fell to earth. They were all too surprised by the development, no one had expected this.
"I-I don't understand." Ruiko stammered out after a moment of silence, a look of shock plastered on her face as she continued to look at the disaster area that was their lab. "This didn't come up in my simulations. There wasn't even a one percent chance of Recurrent Spontaneous PsychoKinesis Syndrome manifesting. This doesn't make sense."
Naru-san shook her head, even as she offered Ruiko's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "Simulations aren't perfect."
Ruiko understood that. But surely they couldn't be that wrong. If they were then were they even worth all the trouble they went through with Level Upper to run them in the first place? Would the solution they had suggested even be helpful at all? Much less actually work?
Kaa-san nodded in agreement. "It might not have worked, but we are clearly on the right track. Already the brainwave activity for everyone has increased an average of twenty percent. We just need to refine the process somehow."
"And the Recurrent Spontaneous PsychoKinesis Syndrome?" Misaka-sempai asked pointedly.
"The Poltergeist phenomenon is just an unexpected side effect, probably caused by some unknown variable." Heaven Canceller assured the girls. "It shouldn't be too difficult to overcome. We'll just need to identify what that variable is. Until we do however you'll need to keep this project secret. While we have official backing for it, it is still strictly off the books."
Naru-san looked at the doctor with a shake of her. "Of course it is."
Heaven Canceller gave her a rueful smile.
Uiharu-chan and Shirai-san shared a conflicted look with one another. Ruiko could understand. They were in a tough spot. It wasn't a problem keeping this a secret if it didn't affect any bystanders but if the Poltergeist phenomenon became more powerful...
"What do we do about this?" Misaka-Sempai asked, her eyes glancing at the previously floating equipment.
"Keep it contained while we work to identify the unknown variable Heaven Canceller mentioned and work around it through trial and error. After, of course, going over the data we gleamed from the phenomenon." Kaa-san stated as she stroked her chin in thought.
"And if it becomes powerful enough to cause panic throughout the City?" Naru-san asked. "Or if someone starts pointing fingers at Saten? RSPK is caused by AIM interference, and that's her forte."
Heaven Canceller winked at her. "Secrets are fun to keep."
"You would know, Doc."
The frog faced doctor merely chuckled at the young blonde's barb.
"You didn't answer me about Saten though?"
"No worries there, I'll just vouch that she's not the culprit."
"That'll work I guess." Naru said uncertainly.
"It will. I'm telling the truth after all." The physician said with a laugh.
The others didn't seem to enjoy the humor though, as they continued to trade uneasy looks.
For her part, Ruiko just stared at the ruined lab in shock. Why do I have a bad feeling about this?
Sensing her mood, Naru-san and Uiharu both came over. Her fellow Level 5 just stood next to her offering silent support, while her best friend pulled her into a light hug.
Despite the reassurances that both Kiyama-sensei and that shady Doctor called Heaven Canceler - and what kind of name was that!? - gave, the Poltergeist phenomenon kept getting more and more powerful. Within a few days it had grown to the point where it was affecting innocent people as whole School Districts came under its influence. Something which left everyone involved baffled as to how it was possible, since every time a procedure was carried out Saten-san was there to use her own powers to negate the Poltergeist effect.
Thankfully even with its growing area of effect, its strength was still mild at this point, and it hadn't caused anything beyond some light injuries. But with the strength of the phenomenon continuing to grow in strength each time Kiyama-sensei carried out an experiment, Kazari knew it was only a matter of time before someone was seriously hurt.
Which left her not knowing what to do. On one hand, she wanted to do everything she could to help Saten-san but on the other… On the other, she had a duty as a member of Judgement to do everything in her power to preserve the City's public order.
Not since the Level Upper Incident had she been this torn. But even then that had been resolved fairly quickly and without anyone really hurt to boot, but this? This looked liked it was going to be much more messy.
It was thus something of a relief that the case was transferred over to the authority of the Multi Active Rescue unit. Even if she found it a bit odd that the City's emergency response organization was taking over the investigation. Sure they technically did conduct investigations, particularly to determine the causes of emergencies that they had responded to, but this still seemed odd to her. In particular how they seemed to so easily buy into Heaven Canceller's assurance that Saten-san was not the culprit as was suggested by more than one participant at the briefing. She knew from Saten-san and Namikaze-san that the man supposedly had a great deal of influence, but even then this seemed too easy.
Which was why when the group had met up for lunch shortly after the briefing on the Poltergeist case and the City's response, she wasn't terribly surprised when Namikaze-san issued a stark warning.
"I'm just going to tell you all now, watch your backs with MAR." Namikaze-san said with a frighteningly serious look. "Don't talk to them, don't even go near them. And most of all, never trust that dirty skank who's in charge of it. I swear, the last time I was in a room with her I wanted to pop her head off. In seventeen different ways!"
Seeing the petite girl spitting such venom made Kazari wonder who this person was. Who was she that could set the blonde off like that?
Saten-san was in silent mode, most likely searching the net wirelessly to find out what had Namikaze-san so upset. Whatever she found caused her to gasp. "MAR is run by a Kihara?!"
"To be more accurate, Therestina is Gensei's twisted grandspawn." Namikaze-san spat.
Saten-san shot out of her seat at the diner that they were eating at and literally starting glowing with rage. "I'll kill her."
Kazari was taken aback by this, what had set Saten-san off like that? Sure, both she and Namikaze-san had warned them about these Kihara before, but surely they couldn't be that bad.
"You can't touch her!" Namikaze-san chided her fellow Level 5, jumping up to put a restraining hand on the taller girl's arm. "At least until she fucks up."
"You've mentioned these people before." Misaka-san noted, eying the situation warily, her hand conspicuously tucked into the skirt pocket where Kazari knew she kept her Railgun ammunition.
"Think the worst of the worst of Academy City. Now multiply that by a hundred and you've got the Kihara clan. A family of some of the greatest minds in the world but with the most twisted black hearts. Or no hearts in general. I personally think they've got a black hole in there."
"You're exaggerating." Shirai-san gasped, disbelievingly.
Kazari felt the same but considering Saten-san's still simmering anger - she was still glowing - she refrained from saying anything.
"I assure you that she isn't." The furious Level 5 said even as she retook her seat, though she didn't let go of whatever power she was using to glow.
"Saten-san?" Kazari asked worriedly as she took her best friend's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.
"Their patriarch created me." Saten-san spat in the most angry tone that Kazari had ever heard from her. "It was Gensei who sabotaged Kaa-san's experiment all those years ago. The one that gave me my accursed powers. It was him who then took me under his wing and put me through all the hell that followed. It was him that put my siblings into comas."
The glow around Saten-san spiked at that, but Namikaze-san just nudged her shoulder and gestured towards Kazari. In response, the taller girl took a calming breath and finally stopped glowing.
They're better friends than I'd ever imagined. Kazari noted, her heart warmed despite the darkly serious nature of the situation.
"And that experiment was just a casual project to them." The Number 2 shook her head. "They've got their hands in about a thousand different others. Every one of them as unethical as the last. Never be on the wrong end of them, you guys. It won't end pretty."
"And for you?" Misaka-san asked the girl with a frown.
The [Elemental Empress] just offered a toothy smile and said nothing more.
Misaka-san and Shirai-san exchanged looks. They didn't look fully convinced. Kazari didn't think she was either, but if both Namikaze-san and Saten-san felt so strongly about it, then she'd trust in their judgement.
"Who's the new girl?" The Usagi asked as she eyed Uiharu-san's new roommate. The girl had the same build as their resident computing genius; and short, dark hair, which she styled by tying a few strands together on the left side of her head.
"She's Haruue Erii, my new roommate." Uiharu-san introduced cheerfully. "Haruue-san, this is my friend, Namikaze Naru-san."
Gasping a little in surprise, the shy girl gave the blonde a bow. "Hello, please call me Haruue-san. It's nice to meet you, Namikaze-sama."
The Usagi just nodded and stalked off. Mikoto shook her head at her antics and followed after her, even as Uiharu-san apologized to the new girl on the brat's behalf.
As much as she wanted to admonish her kohai for her bad manners, she understood where she was coming from. Haruue-san must look like she had appeared out of nowhere to the blonde.
Haruue-san had recently transferred to Uiharu's school from the 19th School District to get away from the increasingly powerful Poltergeist phenomenon that was affecting it. Something that Mikoto reminded herself, again, that she needed to talk to Saten-san about. Mikoto had met her a few days earlier when at Uiharu's request, she, Kuroko and Saten-san went over to help them move the girl into her new dorm.
The Usagi had been invited too but had refused, citing an aversion to heavy lifting. Considering any and all heavy lifting would have been expected to have and in fact had been done with their powers, Mikoto thought the younger girl was just being lazy. This had been the day they'd learned MAR was taking over the Poltergeist investigation though, and Mikoto hadn't been too put off. The blonde had after all agreed to meet up with them for lunch and she'd thought the group would all head back to Uiharu's dorm to meet the girl afterwards. Of course, after how that turned out, it wasn't an option. Not with the blonde rushing off claiming to be off to investigate what MAR was really up to.
Fortunately, Haruue-san had seen a poster about a Fireworks Display Festival that the City was organizing. It was just the perfect timing to introduce her to the Usagi. Which was why each of the girls were currently dressed in pretty yukatas as they explored the many booths that had been set up along the riverbank in District 7 as part of the festival.
After about an hour of enjoying the festival's delights and games, the group had decided it was time to take a break and had retreated to the observation deck of a park that overlooked the river and the festival below. From there they could easily smell the scent of grilled food that wafted through the air and see the crowd of people pace back and forth below them.
"You know, you'd know who Haruue-san is if you had actually came with us yesterday." Mikoto chided her kohai, but did note she looked rather bothered by the new girl's presence.
Namikaze just huffed, playing with the fox plushy she'd won at a booth.
That didn't make sense, Namikaze didn't even know the girl. Wait, unless she was...The Electromaster couldn't fight the grin off her face.
"Is our little Usagi shy around the new girl?"
"Shy?!" The other Level 5s head whipped to face her, the festive bells she had tied into her pigtails for the occasion jingling as she did so. Her face was scrunched up in outrage. "Are you high?"
Mikoto sighed, putting her hands on her hips. "I know you have problems with new people, but I didn't think you'd turtle up like this around a new face in the group. Honestly, I'm surprised I didn't see this sooner."
"I will punch you, and you will not get back up."
Mikoto just patted her head. "There there."
Namikaze's face was so red it genuinely looked like a tomato. The shorter girl was so angry, that Mikoto swore that the blonde's eyes flashed red. But that was probably a trick of the light or something.
The Number 5 went behind the short girl and ushered her forward. "Come on, let's go introduce you again, Usagi. Properly this time. I'm sure Haruue-san is going to love you."
"Stop treating me like a kid!" The Chibi exclaimed in outrage.
"Stop acting like one."
"I will go prone."
"I'll just drag you and ruin your yukata."
"...I hate you."
"Love you too."
Ruiko was enjoying spending time with her friends at the festival, even Uiharu's new roommate Haruue-san. The festivities that had been set up had been entertaining, but mainly the Level 5 had appreciated the outing more for the camaraderie than anything else. Well, that and it offered a nice little escape from her unease over the efforts to free her siblings.
Considering the data she'd obtained from the simulations run during the Level Upper Incident, Ruiko had honestly hoped they'd have made better progress by now. Instead, they were held back by the unknown variable that was causing the Poltergeist phenomenon every time they tried to awaken her comatose brothers and sisters. They had tried dozens of different approaches but were no closer to either identifying the variable or working around it and awakening her peers safely.
"Haruue-san, are you enjoying yourself?" Uiharu asked her shy new roommate.
"Yes, it was fun." The other girl replied with a smile as she sat down on a bench as the seven girls took a breather from the main festival.
"I'm glad to hear that." Shirai-san chimed in, as she returned from a nearby vending machine laden down with an assortment of drinks for everyone.
Seemingly drawn by the arrival of something sweet, Naru-san teleported in from wherever she'd sulked off to earlier and snatched a can. Surprisingly, she didn't pop it open, instead tossing it towards Misaka-sempai as she walked up to join them while pawing another and sending it flying at Ruiko.
Both Level 5s easily caught the cans while shooting their blonde friend quirked brows which she promptly ignored, choosing instead to finally take her own drink and step away from the Level 4. Said tawny haired girl gave the shortest of the Trinity an annoyed look, "Couldn't you have waited a minute for me to put the drinks down?"
"Why wait?"
"Is she always like that?" Haruue-san asked sounding curious but wary. Ruiko could understand where she was coming from, the other girl was only a Level 2 and was now hanging around three Level 5s. It must have been intimidating. Ruiko remembered well how nervous she used to get around higher level espers when she'd been a Level 0, so she could imagine how nerve wracking it must be for the soft-spoken girl.
"Most of the time." Uiharu admitted with a resigned sigh.
"It's strange. I always thought Level 5s were more…" Haruue-san trailed off and shot Ruiko a look. Said Level 5 was a little put out by that, but she knew the other girl was justified in considering her odd. "Err… eccentric."
Deciding not to take offense, the long haired brunette turned to look over the rail and admire the festival below while taking sips from her can.
"Meh, we're all a little weird. Sempai most of all." Ruiko heard Naru-san comment, but didn't turn around.
"What was that, you Chibi?!"
"You okay?" Shirai-san asked as she came to stand next to Ruiko.
"Why do you ask?" Ruiko replied, even while Naru-san and their Sempai squabbled over the blonde's teasing in the background.
"Uiharu, is spending an awful lot of time with Haruue-san. I was just wondering if you were okay with that?"
Ruiko blinked in confusion at that. "Why wouldn't I be?"
The Judgement agent studied her for a long moment, clearly trying to decipher something. Whatever she concluded seemed to satisfy her, as after a moment she simply nodded.
"No reason."
Any chance of further conversation between the two of them was dashed when there was a sudden commotion behind them.
"You're hurt? Where are you? Tell me! I can help you." A visibly agitated Haruue-san was saying to thin air as she got up and walked towards the edge of the observation deck in a daze.
While the others all called out to their new friend in confusion, Ruiko tapped into a number of sensory powers in the hopes of figuring out what was going on.
A telepathic connection? But with whom? Ruiko mused as her powers detected the traces of what she recognized as a mind link. Wait! I recognize that mental imprint… Banri-chan!?
The [AIM Sovereign] gasped as she realized that somehow her new friend was connecting to Edasaki Banri, one of her comatose siblings. The girl was a telepath and early on Ruiko had thought that this would allow her to contact her. So she'd tried using her own acquired telepathy to establish some kind of connection with her sister, but she'd never succeeded. Whenever she tried, all she'd encountered was a series of fuzzy images and disjointed ramblings.
Her mind working at the incredible speeds common to all high level espers, Ruiko immediately saw this development as the potential breakthrough in her attempts to free her siblings that it was. Acting quickly, she teleported right next to a still disoriented Haruue-san and Uiharu who was trying to calm her down.
Unfortunately, this was the exact moment that things went south. Unexpectedly and seemingly without reason, Haruue-san's AIM diffusion field suddenly bloomed. It's radius and strength spiking tremendously, reaching those of a Level 4 in seconds.
How? Ruiko pondered for a brief moment, even as her eyes widened in shock as the telepath's vastly enhanced AIM field began interfering with the fields of others around the area. This will cause a Poltergeist... She's the unknown variable!
The AIM manipulator was so shocked by this realization that she didn't react quickly enough to preempt the Poltergeist. The phenomenon manifested with a sudden shift in the air and the ground beneath the girls shaking violently. Cracks formed and snaked along the floor of the observation area as everyone let out surprised shouts at the newly uneven ground even as it began sinking beneath them.
This finally pulled Ruiko out of her surprise and she promptly summoned her powers to suppress the AIM interference that Haruue's field had caused, even as she noted that said field had receded back to its normal proportions. They were still on unstable ground however as the Poltergeist had seemingly destabilized the hillside and had triggered a landslide that was sweeping the observation deck away.
Quickly grabbing hold of Uiharu and Haruue-san, Ruiko teleported the three of them away to safety.
As they rematerialized a short distance away on one of the paths that wound their way up the hill, Ruiko could feel Naru-san's AIM field flare up and spread beneath them. Abruptly, the crumbling hillside stilled for a instant before the landslide seemed to travel in reverse as the displaced earth rolled back up the hill.
Naru-san's control is as finely tuned as ever. Ruiko observed with a hint pride at her friend's prowess. If not for the wrecked observation deck, there wouldn't be any sign that anything had happened at all.
A creak caught Ruiko's attention and she looked up to see a lamppost next to them, clearly having been destabilized by the earlier landslide, snap off its base and fall towards them.
"Uiharu, Haruue-san!" The panicked Level 5 called out even as she called up a crimson barrier around all three of them. The lamppost struck the barrier and promptly disintegrated as her favored anti-materiel barrier dispersed the matter that made it up at the molecular level.
At the sight, both lower leveled espers gasped in awe. However, they were startled when the portions of the fallen lamppost that had not touched the barrier fell to the ground with a rumble.
"Are you three okay?" A woman's voice said from the speakers of a pink camouflage-patterned powered suit as it ran up to them. As it did, the canopy on the helmet opened up, revealing the face of a pretty woman with long auburn hair and glasses.
She began to say something, but everything was muddled to Ruiko's ears as her mind zeroed in on one all important fact. This woman was the leader of MAR...a filthy Kihara!
Threat. Priority One. Eliminate. A mechanical voice intoned in her mind, drowning out everything else. All that remained was sheer loathing for the pathetic excuse for a human being before her, as murderous intent more intense than she'd felt in ages filled every cell of her being. As if reflecting this, her body began to glow with a rainbow light that fluxed wildly.
"KIHARA!"
The war cry caused the woman to freeze in surprise. Tracing its origin, she turned to face Ruiko and paled. It seemed she knew enough about her family's history with the Number 3 to recognize the danger she was now in.
Good. That will make it more satisfying as I tear her limb from limb with my bare hands!
Ruiko moved to take a step forward, ready to do just that when she felt herself stopped short as a pair of arms encased in blue energy slipped under hers and locked her in a restraining hold.
"Oi, Saten, calm down!" Naru-san shouted in her ear as Ruiko winced in pain at the strength her friend's petite body had. She was not so easily thwarted though and the [Multi-Skill] began calling on her strength enhancing powers and struggled against the blonde's grip, all while the glow that surrounded her body grew brighter and brighter.
The Kihara backed up. "Thank you kindly, Ojou-chan. I thought for sure she would have-"
"Bitch, leave before I let Saten loose." The blonde warned in a sharp and unkind tone. "Because I would pay to see what she does to you."
"Let me go!" Ruiko snarled and struggled even more fiercely. At the same time, realizing that she wasn't getting free anytime soon, she tried a different tack. Calling up another set of powers, she conjured a green orb that crackled with energy in front of her. "Or don't. I'll just use [Meltdowner]'s ability to reduce her to her constituent atoms instead!"
Haruue-san let out a frightful squeak at this even as Uiharu shouted. "Saten-san! Stop!"
The Kihara turned and began to run. For a second, Ruiko swore she could see a smirk on her face.
Smirk all you want! Whatever you're so happy about won't matter. You're dying here today!
Reacting to the escalating turn of events, Naru-san's blue aura grew brighter and she pulled the Number 3 to the ground, increasing the force of her grip to painful levels in the process. Even with her face pressed to the ground, Ruiko still kept her eyes locked on the woman with a demonic glare.
Screaming a wordless cry of fury, she unleashed the terrible destructive power of the Number 6's signature Particle Waveform High-Speed Cannon.
Tragically, just as the stream of high-speed electrons was about to impact with the vile woman it swerved up into the sky instead as they were suddenly seized by a powerful electromagnetic field.
As the beam faded, Ruiko turned to the side and shot Misaka-sempai a terrifying glare before turning to Shirai-san to do the same. If not for the meddlesome teleporter bringing in the equally meddlesome [Railgun] she'd have killed the Kihara!
Before Ruiko could prepare another attack - a gravity based one this time - to throw at the still fleeing Kihara, she was slapped so hard that her face slammed into the ground.
Stunned, the Level 5 looked up to see an angry and teary eyed Uiharu glaring down at her.
"What are you doing you dummy!? Remember what you have to do! Kiyama-sensei and the rest still need you. How can you help them if you're locked up in the Reformatory?!"
The truth of those words struck Ruiko to her core and she froze.
By the time she regained her equilibrium, the woman was already gone.
"Oi, Saten, calm down." Mikoto told her kohai as they walked through the hospital to check up on Uiharu-san.
Another Poltergeist incident had happened in the nature park in District 21. Uiharu-san and Haruue-san who had been at the park for an outing to make up for what happened at the Fireworks Festival, had been caught up in it along with dozens of civilians.
Of course [The Robot] -who was really failing to live up to that moniker at the moment- had responded to that as expected and was wracked with guilt and worry about what had happened to her best friend. In fact, she had been mumbling to herself in worry for Uiharu-san's condition ever since Mikoto had met up with her to head over to the hospital together.
It was only Mikoto, Saten, and Kuroko at the moment, since Naru was busy with one of her modeling shoots and was unable to come. Mikoto felt like scolding her for that, but it was short notice so she'd let the Usagi go this time. She'd after all promised to come as soon as possible.
"You'd think she would show a smidge of concern for all the other people who were injured." Kuroko noted under her breath to Mikoto.
"She's just worried for Uiharu-san. I'm just hoping Haruue-san is alright too."
Kuroko rolled her eyes. "Uiharu is perfectly fine. I talked to her over the phone already."
Mikoto cocked a brow. "And?"
"Well…"
"Uiharu!" Saten cried out as she opened the hospital room door. "Are you okay, what happened?"
The two roommates walked in after her to see Uiharu with a band-aid on her knee sitting in a chair by a bed containing a sleeping Haruue-san
"Saten-san, shh! Haruue-san is resting." Uiharu-san chided her in a whisper.
"But you're hurt!"
"Saten, she scuffed her knee. That's all." Mikoto openly pointed out to the girl.
"It could get infected!"
"Shh!" Uiharu-san hissed loudly to Saten, causing the long haired brunette to look like a scolded child.
Geez, someone should not have that level of control over a Level 5. It was kind of scary.
Kuroko shook her pigtailed head, "The likelihood of that happening Saten-san is very slim. The hospitals here in Academy City are the best in the world. So please stop acting so overtly paranoid."
"I'm not paranoid. Just-" Saten shifted uneasily on her feet.
"Just what?" Mikoto asked curiously.
"Guilty." The younger Level 5 admitted. "I knew this would happen-"
"What did you mean by that?" Kuroko demanded sharply, even as Uiharu-san gasped.
Mikoto shook her head, her hands on her hips. What was with her and idiot kohai?
Saten winced when the [Railgun] flicked her forehead. "Stop being so stupid. I'm pulling a Chibi here and telling you that it's not your fault. It's not like you know what's causing these Poltergeist effects in the City, do you?"
"Actually, I do."
"What!?" Everyone gasped in shock.
Fidgeting uneasily, Saten explained. "I found out last night at the Festival. It's Haruue-san."
All three girls were taken aback by this, but Uiharu-san reacted most strongly by literally jumping out of her seat to look at Saten in shock. "You're not serious, are you!? Please tell you're not."
"I'm afraid I am." Saten said with a sad sigh, even as she seemed to shrink into herself at the stricken look her best friend was shooting her. "Haruue-san has some kind of telepathic bond that I can't explain with my sister, Edasaki Banri. For some unknown reason it allows them to communicate even while Banri-chan is still in a coma, even though that should be impossible. I've tried."
"How does that cause the Poltergeist phenomenon?" Kuroko asked in full on detective mode.
Saten shrugged. "I don't know the specifics, but for some reason when the bond is active it causes Haruue-san's AIM field to temporarily grow to the proportions of a Level 4 and then interact in a destabilizing way with other nearby fields-"
"Thus causing the Poltergeist." Uiharu-san breathed in resignation as she sank back onto her chair.
"I'm sorry Uiharu, I should have told you last night. Then you wouldn't have been hurt again by my quest to save my siblings."
"You're still hang up on that?" Mikoto asked incredulously. "It's just a scraped knee!"
"Misaka-san is right, Saten-san." Uiharu-san said reassuringly as she reached over to give the clearly uneasy girl's hand a comforting squeeze. "More importantly, why didn't you tell us any of this last night?"
With the barest hints of a blush the Number 3 looked away. "I forgot."
"You forgot!?" Kuroko boggled.
"With the Kihara there I was distracted, okay?" Saten shot back defensively. "And after she left I was too preoccupied with figuring out the hows of the situation."
"That's why you rushed off last night?"
"Yes, Shirai-san." [Multi-Skill] said with a nod. "I went to speak with Kaa-san and Heaven Canceller in the hopes they could explain things. They can't, though they're investigating the matter."
"It probably has something to do with Haruue-san's history with Edasaki-san," Namikaze opined as she opened the door to the hospital room and walked in.
"What are you doing here?" Mikoto asked, surprised to see the blonde. "Don't you have a modelling shoot?"
"Yeah, but I asked to leave early. Told them one of my friends just ended up in the hospital and I wanted to visit. They were very understanding."
Saten suddenly gave an odd jerk and everyone turned to her and saw her face scrunched up in a look of shock. "They knew each other."
"Just found that out? I'm surprised." The Chibi commented as she eyed her classmate with concern. "You spent all of last night researching Lifeline didn't you?"
"Yes," Saten admitted sheepishly.
"Who's this Lifeline?" Mikoto asked, even if she had a good guess.
"Therestina Kihara Lifeline." Uiharu said, confirming Mikoto's suspicions. "She's the leader of MAR."
Seemingly ignoring Mikoto and Uiharu's aside, Saten continued her conversation with [The Rabbit]. "How did you find out about Haruue-san's past?"
"Hey, you maybe the best at it, but you aren't the only one who can dig up information if she wants to." The Number 2 shot back with a playful smirk.
"I still don't fully agree with you two that Lifeline-san is as bad as you say." Kuroko said uncertainly, earning herself glares from both her Level 5 yearmates.
Stepping in front of her roommate protectively, Mikoto offered her agreement. "I'm with Kuroko on this. I mean, of course we believe you that these Kiharas are bad news and we'd be careful with her. But we can't exactly just paint her with the same brush as the rest of her family."
"Onee-sama is right. We can't judge her for what other people did."
Saten looked ready to argue the point, but the Chibi grabbed her arm and shook her head. Taking a calming breath, the brunette heeded the advice and subsided. Mostly. She was still visibly upset and glaring at the two roommates though.
Any further conversation was interrupted when a knock came from the door. Kuroko walked over to it and opened the sliding door. "Yes, come in-"
She paused, along with the rest of the inhabitants of the room as they noticed the person on the other side.
There at the door, in a purple skirt suit was the woman in the powered suit on the night of the festival. She flashed them all a smile and glanced around. "What a small world. How nice to see you all again."
"Great, the Wicked Bitch of the West is here." The Chibi sighed. "And just the day I forget my holy water."
"Be careful not to burn yourself, my dear monster." The woman shot right back without skipping a beat. She gave a small bow even as Saten looked ready to pounce once again, heck she was faintly glowing again. "Hello, I'm Therestina Lifeline, leader of MAR."
"And grandspawn of Gensei. Yeah, we know. Speak fast, Saten-chan looks hungry." Namikaze said in a chipper fashion, her hand restraining Saten by her shoulder.
"Why E.T., of course I'm here for a reason." The woman replied as she opened her jacket to pull out a piece of paper which she proceeded to wave tauntingly in Saten's face. "As you can see, I have a warrant for one Haruue Erii-chan to be brought into MAR's custody due to possible links with the Poltergeist Incident."
"But that's-!"
"If you girls wish to interfere, we can always have you arrested~!" Therestia smiled mockingly at them.
"You think I'm scared of-" Saten marched up to the woman, looking ready to rip her throat out until Uiharu-san grasped her arm while Namikaze's now blue enshrouded hand tightened her grip on her shoulder.
"Saten-san, no!"
"Let me go!"
The leader of MAR clapped her hands and shot Uiharu-san a look of mock gratitude. "Thank you Judgement-chan, such hard workers you are."
We have to do something, Haruue-san isn't guilty of anything besides circumstances! Mikoto inward sulked as her fists tightened, sparks dancing across her knuckles.
"On what grounds are you taking Haruue-san into custody?" Kuroko cut in firmly.
"On the grounds that as the only telepath that has consistently been in the vicinity of all the Poltergeist events. She's the prime suspect." The Kihara explained, straightening and gaining an almost professional demeanor though the mad glint in her eyes gave her away. She was enjoying this.
"A Level 2? Why not go talk to [Mental Out] for news on a telepath that might fit the bill better? Oh wait!" The Chibi grinned. "Didn't she already talk with you?"
"By having my driver go through a Dairy Queen, yes." The woman said with a disgusted sigh. "You Level 5s and your eccentricities."
"Not feeling that Ultimate Oreo Frappe? It's a fav."
Mikoto just looked at her tiny kohai. I knew she was a Smart Alec, but yesh. She and Big Boobs really are cut from the same cloth when it comes to annoying people.
"I wish someone could cut that tongue out, but it would just come back." Therestina-san muttered, before becoming stern. "But enough games. I came here to do a job, so get out of my way."
Saten still looked ready to attack but between Namikaze and Uiharu-san they managed to get her to stand aside while Therestina gestured to a group of her men to come in to take Haruue-san away. Mikoto and Kuroko both looked on like everyone else, helpless to do anything beyond following them as they carted their friend off.
The girls were standing at the hospital entrance looking as the MAR ambulance drove out of sight when a nearby trash bin suddenly collapsed in on itself.
"Damn it!" Saten cursed.
"Yeah, I know where you're coming from." Namikaze agreed worriedly. "A Kihara getting her way is never a good thing."
Mikoto was starting to agree with her.
Kuroko typed furiously as she pulled up Haruue-san's profile in [The Bank]. All the girl's files had been classified by MAR, so the girl's standard Judgement passcodes did nothing. Luckily, the girls had regrouped at Kiyama-sensei's lab and that frog faced doctor, Heaven Canceller, was around. Where her codes had failed, his had provided the necessary access with ease.
Not for the first time, Kuroko was unnerved with the level of influence that the man possessed. She didn't let that distract her from the task at hand however and she quickly read through the data and explained the findings to the others.
"From the information in [The Bank], it appears that when exposed to certain frequencies Haruue-san's ability can exceed her standard level."
That's rare. Kuroko noted in surprise. While not totally unheard of, such espers were very uncommon. In fact, as far as the Judgement agent knew, Haruue-san was the only telepath with such a quirk.
It seemed she wasn't the only one that found this surprising, as upon hearing her, Namikaze-san stopped munching on one of her special candy bars. "Well shit, that sound familiar to you?"
She was looking at the irate Number 3, who was seated next to Uiharu who in turn was keeping a restraining hand firmly on the other girl. [Multi-Skill] wouldn't do anyone any good if she gave into her anger. Hence, the flower wearing girl was doing her best to keep Saten-san from going on a rampage and most likely wiping MAR off Academy City's map.
"Level 6." Saten breathed out in horror.
The blonde pointed her candy bar at the brunette. "Bingo. We've gotta get her out of there fast or Haruue-san is going to be a guinea pig real soon."
"But Haruue-san is only a Level 2!" Uiharu argued.
"Yes, but with the use of Body Crystal and the right AIM Resonance, one which includes something that she has a deep link to-"
"Like Edasaki-san." [Maniforce] chimed in.
Saten nodded, and continued. "Then theoretically it's possible that her AIM field would expand sufficiently to transform her into a Level 6."
"Theoretically?"
"There is only a 0.000001% chance."
"More than enough for a Kihara. They'll just think their genius will allow them to make it 100%" Namikaze-san scoffed and glanced at Saten-san. "Speaking of which, how the hell did you miss that, stupid."
There was no kindness in her voice, just pure scolding which Saten-san responded to by flushing in embarrassment.
"...Like I said, I spent last night investigating Therestina rather than researching Haruue-san."
"Geez, you've seriously lost your edge, Saten-chan. Your anger is making you as blunt as a bat."
"Your friend is right, Ruiko." Kiyama-sensei commented idly as she came by with drinks.
"You're usually better than this." She added as she handed her daughter her cup. "Here, drink this hot chocolate. I made it just like you like it, it'll help you calm down."
"Thank you, Kaa-san." Saten-san replied with a smile, even as the woman nodded and headed back towards the area where her other children were resting.
"I'll leave the rest of this side of things to you, Ruiko." The woman said utterly confident in her daughter's ability to resolve things in their favor.
"Yes, Kaa-san."
Everyone was silent for a moment as they gave Saten a moment to sip her drink and calm down. When her posture relaxed a moment later, Uiharu spoke up.
"Honestly, Saten-san, Namikaze-san, who's to blame right now isn't the issue." The tech wiz chided gently. "What's important is to figure out how to get Haruue-san safely home and to free Saten-san's siblings."
Teleporting directly from school at the end of a day that had stretched into the late evening thanks to a session in the chemistry lab, Ruiko arrived at the latest lair where she and her mother were conducting their experiment to wake her siblings.
The Level 5 rubbed her eyes, where dark bags had formed due to her fatigue. She hadn't slept much in days. Instead choosing to spend her time calculating and recalculating every conceivable way that she could help her siblings. She was without Level Upper this time, and the process was painfully slow but she persevered anyway. At least this time they had somewhere to start from rather than shooting in the dark like they did last time. Having to do that was why they had created that dangerous network in the first place, sorting through the possible avenues of treatment and identifying plausible solutions was an epic undertaking.
For all the mental capacity that her cursed power gave her, even she didn't know how long it would take before her siblings could wake up safely. Despite her best efforts, her calculations were leading her nowhere.
Though that might be because try as she might, her most current worry had been Haruue-san. Who knew what the demon in human flesh was doing to her. MAR allowed no visitors. Worse yet, likely to counter her known penchant for hacking, wherever she was being held was some kind of secure area that even her infiltration of their surveillance systems had not given her access to. Outside of a few glimpses of her being wheeled into the MAR Base Research Laboratory, she'd not been able to spot her new friend since she was taken.
It looked like Ruiko would have to storm the castle to even find Haruue-san.
Her thoughts on the matter were put on hold as she noticed that the door to the lab had been forced open. Whoever did it hadn't even tried to be subtle, and if Ruiko hadn't been so distracted she'd have noticed it immediately upon arrival. The sliding doors made of reinforced glass were intact, but one whole pane had been forced off the track and was lying on the ground cracked.
More worrying was that there was no one there. Doing a quick scan with a few sensory powers, she quickly noted that not only were her siblings missing from their beds, which was immediately obvious from looking through the broken glass doors, but that her Kaa-san was not around either. Neither were Heaven Canceller or Wataru-san, both of whom should have been there at this hour.
She was about to panic when her phone rang. Without even looking at it, an application of Electromastery told her it was from Wataru-san. Hastily fishing it out, she accepted the call.
"Yo, Saten-ojou we need some help here!"
"Where are you!?" Saten demanded. "What's going on? I'm at the lab and-"
"We were attacked by MAR," Wataru-san replied even as the sound of a high caliber bullet striking a wall in the background resounded across the airwaves and sent a chill down Ruiko's spine. Acting quickly, she began tracking his position. It wasn't easy though not when he wasn't an esper.
"Just managed to get reception on my phone. Some kinda portable jammer I think."
"Is Kaa-san-" Ruiko tried to ask as she triangulated his rough position using his cell reception and began narrowing down his exact location via the City's surveillance system.
What I'd give for access to UNDER_LINE right now!
"She's safe. So is the froggy doctor. I've got them." The former street thug reassured. "They got your sibs though. We need help- Oh shit! Left! Swerve left!"
The whistling sound of an RPG flying through the air echoed through the call followed by a ear splitting explosion.
"Damn it! They've-"
"I'm on my way!"
Ruiko had heard enough and with her destination established, she teleported away.
The Number 3 rematerialized in a crouch atop her mother's car heavily, denting the roof in the process.
"Should have gotten that Esper insurance." Kaa-san grunted as she held onto the wheel of the car tightly. "Ruiko, take care of them. Now!"
"My pleasure!" Ruiko replied, a vicious smile on her face as the prospect of finally getting a chance to deal with her enemies awakened the long suppressed bloodlust that characterised her [Army Slayer] persona.
Despite seeing her, the squad of MAR goons that had cornered her mother and allies in a cul de sac seemed unfazed. Perhaps they thought their powered suits and that APC would be enough to face her.
How foolish.
"It's the Level 5, start up CD!" The squad's probable leader ordered calmly.
Immediately, Ruiko felt the airwaves pulse with the power of Capacity Down as the APC's built in speakers blasted the infernal noise out into the still night air. The sound waves it created weighed on her brain like a ton of bricks and muted all other sounds around her. Despite the intense pain, the Level 5 refused to falter. Besides, she wasn't as limited as these fools seemed to think she was.
Without dropping her bloodthirsty smirk, she jumped down from the car roof and advanced on the MAR men. Their trump card's lack of effect seemed to stun them and they just stood there even as she walked ever closer.
"You know," the Level 5 commented airily. "You guys really should have done more research on me. Sure, your little toy might make it impossible to use my biological brain thanks to the stress it induces but I'm not reliant on that alone. Haven't been for a very long time."
"AIM body." One of the MAR troopers hissed in horror, as he pieced together the puzzle. "Shoot her! Shoot her now!"
His order seemed to drag the gunmen out of their shock and as one they unleashed a wall of lead at the young girl.
"Yup" Ruiko continued as if she was wasn't being shot at by a dozen men with high powered guns. Not that she needed to worry about that. She was after all completely safe thanks to her trusty anti-materiel barrier. "All I needed to do to get around your toy was to shift my consciousness and computations from my biological brain and into my AIM body instead. To me all your precious weapon does is give me an annoying headache."
Her revelation seemed to unnerve the men even more, or maybe it was the fact that she very clearly still had access to and perfect control over her powers. Whatever the case, they responded by firing an RPG at her. Not that it got through the growing layers of barriers that she was throwing up.
The loud noise of the explosion made the pain from Capacity Down spike though, irritating her and so with a wave of her hand she caused the ground to split open directly underneath the men. Predictably, they all fell and with another wave of her hand she had the fissure snap closed, thus crushing their legs.
Waving tauntingly at the screaming men, Ruiko bade them farewell. "Bye bye!"
As she finished speaking, the whole area around the MAR men and their vehicle was suddenly engulfed in a large black dome that promptly collapsed on itself. In its wake there was nothing left but a perfectly spherical hole in the ground.
"Ruiko, stop playing around and get in here." Kaa-san called out from the car.
The Level 5 teleported into the car, sitting right next to Heaven Canceller in the backseat.
"They have terrible timing." Kaa-san said in simmering rage.
"What do you mean?"
The woman was too worked up to answer and instead focused on driving them over the bridge of Dark Matter that Ruiko had created over the hole in the road her previous activities had made.
"What your mother means, Saten-san, is that we have finally managed to work out a way to safely awaken all the children." Heaven Canceller explained. At hearing this, a sense of unbridled joy surged through Ruiko and her heart leapt.
"Yeah, well before the Docs could try it out though those assholes showed up." Wataru-san added from the front seat as he banged his fist angrily against the dashboard. "I was just bringing them their dinner, and bam! Out of nowhere the wannabe tin soldiers stormed the place."
The remainder that her siblings had been taken quashed her joy and replaced it with boiling rage.
"Kaa-san." The [Army Slayer] said in a tight voice. "I'll rescue them, I swear. And when I do, we'll wake them up together."
She could see her Kaa-san's smile in the rearview.
"I have no doubt."
Done and done! Phew, another long chapter, now that feels like our usual speed. Thanks to Nameless and ShadowofAxios as always.
Surprised by the new chapter so soon? We're so glad to be working on this fic again, side project though it may be, that we decided to spoil you readers a bit. In addition to the filler chapter 7, we've decided to also release chapter 8. Which is fitting as it's the start of the new arc.
Nameless: First things first, let us address the title. Wiedervereinigung von Gespenstern is German for Reunion of Ghosts. It's a homage to the German origins of the word Poltergeist which is the name of the phenomenon so central to this arc. It also references the 'ghostly' telepathic reunion between Edasaki Banri and Haruue Erii, which is another homage to the word Poltergeist which is German for 'noisy ghost'. Hope you guys liked our attempt at wordplay. It's powered by Google only, so if any native/fluent German speakers spot any errors with it, please be understanding.
Personally, loving the Character Dev in this chapter. Naru's not good with new people in the group, Saten's fluxing emotions. She's a real girl!
Nameless: A crazy one though. Hope we pulled off a little taste of her [Army Slayer] persona off well. It'll make an appearance again in a later arc where it'll be more prominent, so consider this a teaser. You might notice the difference from what she showed Kuroko in Chapter 4. This was intentional. She was lying back then. But not to Kuroko, instead to herself. She was never the bystander in her own mind when she was the [Army Slayer] like she wants to pretend she was. She'd never admit it though. Again this will be explored again in more detail in a later arc.
And of course, Kiharas. Kiharas for days. Man that Therestina was always a twisted bitch to me. And now Naru can express my loathing of her. Feels good. Stupid psycho woman...you ruin my dreams of smart hot chicks you know. Makes me think they're all crazy deep down. Well, my phobias aside, it's going to be fun to write her in the next chapter.
Nameless: Ok so let's talk about Ruiko's method of waking her siblings up. It is fundamentally different from canon and does not in fact involve the use of Body Crystal at all. This change is incidental and born of the altered outcome of the Level Upper arc, but now serves to make MAR more clearly the bad guys. They want to use a dangerous substance/drug to create a Level 6, while Kiyama, Ruiko and co. are using mostly safe methods (the Poltergeists created by Haruue are unexpected and out of their control or ability to prevent considering their limited resources) to save the ten comatose kids.
Something we thought we needed to add to clear up some confusion. The ability Ruiko is emulating and the esper she's copying it formed is called [and the following is directly from the wiki with slight edits] Dark Matter (未元物質 Migen Busshitsu (Dāku Matā)?, lit. "Unknown Matter"). It is an esper ability which allows the creation and control of an unknown material. It should be noted that the term "Dark Matter" is not to be confused with the true "Dark Matter" which is among the components of the universe. In addition, 'unknown matter' here does not mean matter that has not been discovered by humans but matter that did not exist until it was created by users of this ability. The material created defies the Laws of Physics, allowing the user to produce 25,000 different types of energy and apparently shape produced substances in any form he desires.
And that's a wrap! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames please and peace off my peeps!