Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Toaru Kagaku no Railgun/Toaru Majutsu no Index
The Trinity of Tokiwadai
Chapter Twenty Five: Gossip Get-Together
Beta:
"Argh!" Mikoto groaned as she woke up.
Why do I feel like I went ten rounds with Accelerator? The Level 5 thought to herself as she groggily pushed herself up into a seating position and rubbed her temples. Her head was killing her.
"Wait! The shinobi!" The electromaster gasped as the night's events came rushing back to her.
"We dealt with them." Namikaze said seriously as she walked over. "How are you feeling? Heaven Canceller said you only had a very minor concussion and that you'd be okay after some rest, but you hit that wall pretty hard."
"That ass had a powerful kick." Mikoto admitted with a grimace.
"Yeah. They're annoying bugs. Don't worry though. I cleaned up the mess."
"Good morning, Onee-sama." Kuroko said sleepily as she woke up, apparently having been disturbed by their conversation. "You're up early."
"It's eight in the morning." Saten-chan noted as she teleported in, carrying a bag full of various breads from one of Uiharu's favorite bakeries. The food smelled lovely, not that Mikoto's perverted roommate appreciated it.
"Eh? Well, I must have been too drawn into my dream." Kuroko blushed and held her cheeks. "Truly it was marvelous, hehehe."
"Really? That's nice." Mikoto said flatly. She had a good idea what she had 'dreamt' about.
"Breakfast~!" Uiharu said dreamily as she literally crawled over to Saten-chan and the plethora of goodies she had bought them.
"Hm, I am pretty hungry." Namikaze said as she skipped on over.
"I don't think I have enough for you." Saten-chan pointed out. "Supplement with those speciality energy bars of yours."
"I can just nibble on four or five things."
"Glutton." Mikoto pointed out. "If you did that there wouldn't be enough for the rest of us."
"I'm a growing girl!" The blonde pouted as she reached into the bag and snatched several pastries.
"Am I interrupting something?" Heaven Canceller said with an amused smile as he walked up to the group.
"Just distributing breakfast." Saten-chan said as she handed the bag of bread over to Uiharu. "You have news?"
"Help yourself." The Usagi chirped after practically inhaling three of the pastries she'd taken earlier.
How? Mikoto thought as she shook her head in astonishment. But now's not the time to worry about the black hole that the Usagi has for a stomach.
"I already ate, but thank you. I have some good news for you all. Febrie-chan has regained consciousness."
The girls all smiled at that. Uiharu going as far as to literally cheer.
"Uiharu, why don't you go let her have some breakfast. It's gotta beat hospital food, no offense sensei." Saten-chan suggested.
"None taken." The legendary physician said with a good natured smile. "I'm fully aware of how boring the food from my kitchens can get."
"Are you sure Saten-san?" Uiharu asked uncertainty. "Surely Febrie-chan would like to see you first thing."
"I have questions."
Uiharu frowned but nodded.
She shouldn't go alone. Just in case there's another group of crazies hanging around waiting to attack. Mikoto reasoned.
"Kuroko, go with her."
The teleporter blinked in confusion but seemed to quickly catch on and nodded in agreement.
The group watched the two Judgement agents walk off in silence. It was only when they were safely out of earshot that Heaven Canceller chose to address the Trinity.
"Her condition has improved all on her own. I'm ashamed to admit this but due to her being scientifically manmade, I cannot do much for her." He rubbed his chin, looking somewhat disgruntled.
"So Febrie's not technically human?" Saten-chan noted with a frown.
"Not enough to fit within the narrow scope of my abilities unfortunately." The man admitted with a pained look.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Sensei's medical skill is a special power, like an Esper's ability." Namikaze explained. "He can heal practically any sickness or injury, even if it is terminal. Even distort God's rules, but it has limits on what it can work on."
"I can only work on humans."
"Is this some kind of magic?" Mikoto asked with distaste as she recalled her recent unpleasant run in with the Chinese magicians.
"Who knows?" The doctor deflected with a teasing smirk.
"Sensei, do you know who might have created Febrie?" Saten-chan asked with an anxious frown as she steered the conversation back on track.
"Yeah, any help would be greatly appreciated." Mikoto agreed earnestly.
The frog faced doctor looked at the Number 5 searchingly for a moment, before addressing her seriously.
"Are you sure you want to know that, young lady? They are all linked to the Dark Side. I'd have thought after your latest brush with that side of the City, you'd be leery of dealing with them."
Mikoto swallowed dryly, but with a resolute look, she nodded. "I can handle it."
"Very well. You'd need to filter through all the likely fronts that they would be using to funnel funds into their project. And then-"
"You do remember who you are talking to, right Sensei?" Namikaze asked cockily.
With a wry smile on his face, Heaven Canceller nodded. "Indeed. I'll mail you the list within the day."
"Thank you!"
After their meeting with the doctor, the Trinity went to join their friends and Febrie. Though as they walked, Mikoto broke away to meet up with one of her clones loitering nearby.
"Onee-sama, I'm jealous that you spent the night just to watch over Febrie-chan's condition. Misaka pouts as she wishes to be spoiled by Onee-sama as well."
"I'm not spoiling her." Mikoto rubbed her eyes. "I'm just making sure she's alright."
"Misaka huffs and looks to the side, acting tsundere like Onee-sama."
"I'm not a tsundere!" The [Railgun] snapped at her clone.
"Anyway, Misaka says as she ignores Onee-sama's futile denial. There is something important that Misaka must inform Onee-sama, Misaka says seriously."
"What is it?"
"Through observation, Febrie-chan's thought patterns are similar to the Sisters. Misaka hypothesizes that she is ninety seven point six percent sure that Febrie-Chan has gained knowledge through Testament much as we have, Misaka confidently declares. Her sister Janie-chan likely has as well, Misaka adds with less certainty."
"What? How did you figure that out? Wait, sister!?"
"I was Febrie-chan's last line of defense last night, Misaka explains, we had a short conversation and she mentioned Janie-chan. We also noticed the similarities between us, for example we both like Gekota, Misaka smirks blaming the childish attraction on inheriting it from Onee-sama."
"Hey!"
"All joking aside, Misaka says getting serious again, it seems she was programmed by Nunotaba-san as well."
"Eh? That dead eyed girl?"
"Misaka nods." The clone said staring at her progenitor unblinkingly.
"Alright then, I guess I'll have Saten-chan look her up. She probably has some information we can use."
"When you do find her, Onee-sama, could you tell Nunotaba-san that the Misaka Network would like to thank her for introducing us to the taste of milk tea, Misaka asks earnestly."
"I'll uh, keep that in mind. Milk tea? Really?" Mikoto knitted her brow.
"It's wonderful, Misaka says while wistfully thinking of having some."
"A-Alright."
Febrie had been discharged late in the afternoon and the girls had left the hospital with her in tow as they headed over to Ruiko-chan's place. While the little girl had her afternoon nap, the older girls decided to spend some time relaxing a little by having some fun. And what better way to do that while also building bonds (Or shattering them) than some Dungeons and Dragons.
An endeavour helped along by the fact that Kiyama-sensei was a bit of a fanatic for the game when she was younger and had a whole closet filled with modules and dice.
Naru herself was interested and offered to run a game to pass the time. With Febrie-chan huddled nearby taking a small nap, the older girls settled down to play a game.
"Saten-san, stop minmaxing like that! You're spoiling the game by playing like that." Shirai-chan demanded, standing up to glare down at the aforementioned Level 5 across the table.
"But it's efficient." [Multi Skill] replied defensively.
Naru couldn't help it, she broke out into giggles at the scene playing out in front of her.
"It isn't against the rules, Shirai-chan~!"
"It still makes things less fun."
"It's not that bad." Uiharu-chan hedged.
"Of course you'd side with Saten-san." Shirai-chan dismissed angrily. "Your opinion is hardly unbiased."
"Cut it out, Shirai-chan." Naru said at last, as things started to get out of hand. "I'm the DM here and I say it's fine, so live with it."
Shirai-chan huffed in frustration and looked away as she scanned her spell sheet.
"How about we take a break." Ruiko-chan suggested in a transparent bid to change the topic. They had been playing for roughly an hour and it seemed like a good idea.
Thankfully, the others all agreed and the Number 3 went off to get everyone some tea and snacks with Uiharu-chan going with her to help.
While the two black haired girls were away, Naru turned to the uncharacteristically quiet Electromaster. "Yo Sempai, why so quiet?"
"Sorry about that, I was just distracted."
"Thinking about whatever you ran off to do while we were working through all the paperwork to get Febrie-chan discharged?"
"Yeah," Sempai agreed.
"What was that exactly?" Shirai-chan asked, curious and concerned.
"Something Therestina said?" Ruiko-chan asked as she and Uiharu returned laden down with delectable goodies.
"Therestina?" Naru asked with a raised brow, while Shirai-chan and Uiharu-chan just looked confused.
"That souped up Powered Suit that attacked Febrie the other day? It was designed by the Kihara Family." Ruiko-chan explained. "As a Kihara, Therestina had intel we need."
"And you didn't want to lose your temper and kill her before you got it out of her." Naru deduced. "So you sent Sempai instead."
Ruiko-chan nodded as she laid out the snacks she'd brought while Uiharu-chan poured everyone cups of tea.
"Yes and the next time we have to deal with someone on the Dark Side, I'm totally not going." The [Railgun] hissed. "I very nearly killed that witch myself, especially when she started taunting me about how Academy City is just one big experiment and everyone inside are lab animals."
Shirai-chan and Uiharu-chan had shocked looks at that.
Naru and her fellow Dark Sider actually exchanged a knowing look with one another.
Clearing her throat, Ruiko-chan asked cautiously. "Your hatred for the Dark Side is a little overblown. You haven't exactly been exposed to it much-"
A hard glare from their Sempai stopped the Number 3 from saying anything more.
"I've had more than enough, besides you're one to talk after what its done to you."
"...Point made."
A thick cloud of tension settled over the room, making the other girls look uncomfortable.
Deciding to defuse the situation, Naru spoke up.
"I'll go next time, okay?"
"Yeah, sure."
"So what did you learn from the old hag, Onee-sama?" Shirai-chan asked into the easing tension of the room.
The chestnut haired girl took a breath, no doubt to calm herself.
"From what she said, there's this group Threstina refused to name that wanted to make themselves known by creating entities called 'Chemicaloids'. I'm assuming that's the proper label for what Febrie is called."
"Chemicaloids?" Uhari-chan frowned at the name.
"Yeah. From what she suggested, they probably want to show them off in some upcoming event. Probably the Research Exhibition Assembly just to prove they've done it."
"Alright, I get that, but why attack us to get her back?" Naru asked. "That makes them pretty sketchy. Heck, even more so."
"They might have just been aiming to eliminate the evidence." Ruiko-chan noted, her voice brimming with anger.
"Because why not?" Naru rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair. Crossing her arms, she said. "So what's our game plan now?"
"I'll check with the other Judgement branches if they've heard anything and check with Anti-Skill whether they've finally decided to actually do something." Shirai-chan offered.
"I'll keep trawling the databases." Uiharu-chan added.
"Maybe Heaven Canceller knows more." Naru mused. "I'll go check with him."
"I might have a lead too," Mikoto-sempai said looking skittish.
"A lead?"
"Yeah, I heard something from a friend in the hospital."
"Ah," Ruiko-chan noted with a nod. "Something 10032 said?"
10032? Oh! One of the Sisters. Hope she isn't a weird one.
"Who?" Shirai-san asked, clearly confused.
"Err. A friend. It's a nickname."
"How odd." Shirai-chan said, though she seemed willing to let it go.
Lucky. If she decided to dig into it, there's no way that she won't figure things out eventually. She's too determined when on a case for her own good at times.
"So Saten-san, what are you gonna do?"
Ruiko-chan just shrugged at her best friend. "Keeping Febrie safe. After the repeated attacks, I won't risk leaving her alone."
"Mwa?" Febrie asked as she woke up at the mention of her name. She rubbed her eyes and asked. "Nee-chans are loud."
"Aw, sorry Febrie-chan. How about some milk and cookies?" Naru offered.
"Yay!"
Ruiko-chan frowned at the older blonde. "You'll spoil her dinner."
"Don't worry. She's a growing girl!" The Number 2 dismissed.
"No." Ruiko-chan said crossing her arms and staring down at both Naru and Febrie-chan.
"Rui-mama no fun~" Naru pouted and Febrie copied her.
"Rui-nee no fun~"
The other girls just giggled, but that didn't seem to faze Ruiko-chan who just continued to unwaveringly glare at the two blondes.
"Fine. We'll have cookies later Febrie-chan."
"Okay Naru-nee!"
"What is she? The child whisperer?" Mikoto-sempai deadpanned.
Ruiko-chan just shook her head. "Just go. Didn't you guys already decide where to go? So go!"
"Mama's time of the month~" Naru sang in a fit of giggles.
Febrie-chan cocked her head to the side. "Time of the month?"
That might have gone a little too far there. Kurama said fearfully as the Number 3 glared at them with a terrible intensity.
The next thing Naru knew, she was dropped on her butt outside Ruiko-chan's house.
"It was still funny!" The blonde said as she snatched her shoes out of the air as they materialized directly over her head.
Mikoto had taken the tip from her clone and had looked for Nunotaba Shinobu. However, the dead eyed girl had seemingly disappeared. All the labs which had previously listed her as being a member of their staff had struck her off their rolls and she'd even been expelled from Nagatenjouki Academy.
Even as she texted the rest of the group with news of what she'd discovered, Mikoto couldn't help but ponder what had led the scientist to suffer such a fate. Is this her punishment for interfering with the Level 6 Shift experiment?
A small chill ran up her spine at the thought. For all she knew, she could have been dead in a ditch somewhere.
No, that doesn't make sense. The Sister said Febrie was probably programmed by Nunotaba so she must still be around. Right?
Her phone buzzed with a reply, flipping it open she noted that it was from Saten-chan.
[If she's been so obviously scrubbed from the records then it can only mean that she's fallen out of favor with the City's higher ups. Considering her proven ability as a researcher, that's the only reason that this would be done to her.] - Saten
"Fallen out of favor? That's what she calls it." Mikoto frowned. Her phone buzzed again and this time it was from the Usagi.
[True. Real qn is what hapned aftr she was expelled?] - Namikaze
"So where does an expelled scientist go?" Mikoto texted back.
[Since she's basically disappeared from the records, it can only mean that she's went underground.] - Saten
"Hm, possible." Mikoto hummed as she texted back.
[Shinobu wld nvr willingly work on a project to hurt ppl. Espec lil girls. Not aftr Lvl6 Shift] - Mikoto
[Agreed.] - Saten
[Grt! More rescuees. So annoying.] - Namikaze
"Haha, that's true but we are the good guys." Mikoto shook her head. The Usagi could be so lazy at times.
[Stpd qn, Ruiko-chan, but y are you spelling everything proper like tat?] - Namikaze
[Using the proper spelling and grammar is polite. I'm setting a good example for Febrie.] - Saten
Mikoto couldn't help but snort at that. "Yeah, like that's the only reason. I betcha she's just pissed as hell and being all roboty because of that."
[Usagi, the frog-faced sensei say anything?] - Mikoto
[Still waiting 4 my appontment] - Namikaze
[Let me know if he tells us anything new.] - Saten
Mikoto nodded in agreement.
[Kk. Oh! He's waving me over. ttyl.] - Namikaze
Naru sat on a leather chair as Heaven's Canceller sorted through some documents. The sheets of papers all seemed to hold documentation on Febrie, her condition, and other possible issues she could face.
"I hate to admit this, Naru-kun, but I still haven't made any progress on the formula." He sighed tiredly. "It is far too complex for my abilities."
"Hey hey, don't beat yourself up over it. This is a whole new field for you. Febrie-chan isn't like the Sisters." The blonde told him, trying to reassure the doctor.
"I still don't like it. I'll have to spend a few weeks on the subject." He replied and rubbed his eyes. "The current supply the young lady has will last her roughly seventy two hours. Give or take an hour or two."
"Shit." Naru frowned and tightened her fists around her skirt. She reached down to the side of her and pulled out an object from her bag. "Maybe this will help."
"What is this?" The physician asked as he took over a case containing a filament-like substance inside.
"It's the only piece of evidence the higher ups didn't confiscate from our allies in Anti-Skill." The blonde informed him. "According to Ruiko-chan it was the catalyst for the Diffusion Ghost ability that was used to remotely pilot the machines that attacked Febrie-chan."
"Hmm," Heaven Canceller hummed consideringly as he examined the specimen. "I'd need to run some tests, but-"
"It's not Febrie-chan's."
"Then, if I was a betting man, I'd wager it was from a close relative. A sibling or maybe a clone."
The pigtailed girl rubbed her temples. "Alright, then that means we have three people to save. Man, what I wouldn't give for a simple search and destroy mission instead right now. Those are a lot easier than this."
The old doctor chuckled, "I think this work fits you better."
"Really?" She cocked her head to the side.
"Indeed." The man said with a pleasant smile. "You were always more suited to things like this than being the bloody assassin that Aleister used you as."
A smile came to Naru's face as she thought on that.
After the morning of information gathering, the girls rendezvoused at the 177th Branch Office. They were joined by Konori-Sempai, of course, but also Kongou-san who was acting as the representative of Wannai-san and Awatsuki-san who were too busy to attend in person.
"Saten-san, any luck?" Uiharu said as they sat down in the office's rest area to compare their findings.
The Level 5 looked up from where she was helping Febrie set up a playlist of videos on YouTube to address her best friend.
Hopefully that'll keep her occupied long enough for us to talk. Kuroko noted as Saten-san replied.
"Not much, I'm afraid." The information broker said with a frown. "There's plenty of things going on in the Dark Side as usual, but nothing that seems to pertain to Febrie."
"You sure about that?" Namikaze-san asked clearly unconvinced.
"Pretty sure. I had Wataru-san looking up my contacts. I had some hope we could dig up clues, but nothing as of yet."
"Nothing too dangerous I hope." Konori-Sempai asked, warning clear in her tone.
"No, he's just meeting up with other info brokers. Comparing notes basically."
"And none of it is relevant?" Kuroko chimed in. Surely between the City's various information peddlers, someone knew something useful.
"Not that I can tell. All the talk lately has been about how some group is buying up tons of parts for mobile weapons and Powered Suits. There's been no mention of Chemicaloids or anything that remotely fits the bill."
"We're running out of time." The blonde Level 5 stressed.
"So has anyone found anything useful?" Onee-sama noted asked with a hint of desperation.
"I-I've been running a search on the City's databases, using what little intel we have on this group." Uiharu stated as she typed speedily. "I probably won't find anything, b-but this is the best I can do."
The flower crown wearing girl looked down and Kuroko could understand her pain. She herself hadn't found much she could do to help and it gnawed at her.
"What database are you searching right now?" Namikaze-san asked. "You can't be searching the whole [Bank] right?"
"I'll explain this one." Kuroko stepped in. "We've been looking at things from the angle of the Research Exhibition Assembly since that's where the attacks took place."
"You think someone related to the event is involved?" Onee-sama hypothesized. "Why? There's gotta be more than just the attacks. Anyone could have set those up and the attacks taking place at the Assembly grounds might have just been a coincidence.
Kuroko nodded. "That's true if that was all we had to go on, but there was something particularly suspicious about the event this year. Namely that a number of high profile former participants, award winners no less, had refused to take part this year."
"A boycott?" Saten-san suggested, even as she stiffened and was probably plundering the City's databases to follow up on this new lead.
"Maybe, but if that's the case they haven't issued any demands or letters of protest."
"That's awfully suspicious." Namikaze agreed. "But linking it to Febrie's situation is a stretch."
"I know, but it's all we could come up with."
"Wait!" Kongou-san said suddenly as she pointed to the laptop Uiharu was using to show them the files on the suspiciously absent former Assembly participants. "Go back a couple files."
Uiharu obliged.
"Yes, that's him!"
"Eh?"
"The man that was on the phone! The one who talked about 'reclaiming' Febrie."
Uiharu opened the file, showing the picture of a bespectacled man. "His name is Aritomi Haruki, a former winner of the Assembly."
"Mayhaps this incident has something to do with Haruki and the others. It is rather suspicious that they aren't there and something like this happens?" Kuroko pondered aloud. "Along with Kongou-san's testimony of hearing to 'reclaim' Febrie… I think we finally have the lead we need."
"STUDY!" Saten-san suddenly hissed angrily.
"STUDY?" Namikaze-san blinked curiously. "Shutaura warned me about them."
"Saten-san, Namikaze-san, mind sharing?" Konori-Sempai asked, her arms crossed and fingers impatiently drumming along her forearms.
"I missed the obvious, that's what!" Saten-san groaned and palmed her face. "The Kiharas might have developed the Powered Suit that attacked Febrie but they never actually built it, instead the City contracted it out."
"To STUDY." Namikaze-san deduced.
"Who's this STUDY?" Onee-sama asked with a sigh. "You two still haven't explained that."
"The STUDY Corporation, a company that produces a wide variety of products ranging from drugs and other chemicals to Powered Suits." Uiharu chimed in as she pulled up the company's website for them to have a look.
"One whose board of directors is led by Aritomi and is made up almost entirely out of other Research Exhibition Assembly regulars who are skipping it this year." Saten-san said with a self-deprecating frown. "I can't believe I never noticed how suspicious they were until now."
The pigtailed blonde slumped in her seat and sighed. "Ruiko-chan, just talking about Kiharas makes you sloppy. Geez!"
"Can you blame her though?" Uiharu asked, standing up for her friend.
"No. Naru-san is right. I'm sorry I screwed up." The brunette looked towards her best friend. "Uiharu, anything else about them worth knowing?
"Hmm. This is interesting." Uiharu noted with a confused frown. "They seemed to have bought a old factory building in School District 17 for an exorbitant price."
The other girls sans Kongou-san all exchanged looks.
"It's a front."
"I can bet there's a secret lab there." Onee-sama suggested.
"No bet." Namikaze-san dismissed airily.
"Honestly, Misaka-san trying to win some pocket money using something so obvious? I expected better from you." Konori-Sempai said teasingly.
"I'm just messing around is all. I wasn't serious. Hehe." Onee-sama laughed awkwardly.
Onee-sama, your acting skills need work.
"Uh. Why are you guys so sure?"
"Kongou-chan, we've done this a lot of times." Namikaze-san winked. "We're professionals."
"It's a factory right?" Kuroko mused, as Uiharu nodded in agreement. "Any chance that it was used to produce Febrie or at least her lollipops?"
"There's a chance." Onee-sama suggested hopefully.
Saten-san and Namikaze-san exchanged a look.
"You guys know that it's a little too obvious, right?" Namikaze-san offered on behalf of the two Dark Siders.
"It's worth a shot to investigate anyways." Konori-Sempai encouraged.
"Alright, that's true." Saten-san said reluctantly.
"Yeah, no." Namikaze-san shook her head. "I've got better things to do than walk into an obvious trap."
Her blue eyes met Saten-san's for some reason and she simply got up to leave.
"Oh?" Febrie looked away from her videos and waved. "Naru-nee, bye-bye~!"
"See ya later Febrie-chan!"
"Why did she just leave like that?" Uiharu asked in concern. "She'd be very helpful."
"Nothing to worry about, Uiharu-san." Kongou-san said, a pondering look on her face. "Namikaze-san is probably up to something else. She wouldn't readily leave us in such a dire time. At least not without reason."
"Oh? Since when can you understand Namikaze-san?" Kuroko couldn't help but ask.
Kongou-san snapped open her fan and smiled proudly. "I am just that great at understanding people, oh-hoho!"
Kuroko felt sweat slide down her face.
Are we sure she should be here?
STUDY's factory in School District 17 was as nondescript as it could come. It was basically just a box like building that from looking in through the windows was filled with machinery.
That was not all that Ruiko and Misaka-Sempai could see through the dirty, often broken windows though. Peering through the openings they saw that the interior was filled with hundreds of Powered Suits engaged in a brawl with the Number 6, [Meltdowner] and her team.
"What's she doing here?"
"Irrelevant." Ruiko said dispassionately as she stalked towards the wall as she shaped her AIM field to emulate some telekinesis.
In one powerful demonstration of the copied ability she sent a large chunk of the wall flying into the interior of the factory crushing dozens of the Powered Suits in a single move. Any that remained were swiftly dispatched by various energy beams that she sent cutting through the building.
"Eh? Oi! Saten, isn't that a bit over the top? I thought we wanted stealth, stealth!"
"Irrelevant."
"Oh no, she's going all Terminator."
"What the heck, Number 3!?" Mugino Shizuri shouted angrily. "Were you trying to crush us?"
"Irrelevant. Move."
The two Level 5 electromasters exchanged a look.
"She's upset."
"I can see that. What has her so pissed off that she's butting into our business?"
"Err, lollipops?"
"Frenda Seivelun." Ruiko addressed the most competent member of ITEM. "Why is your team here?"
"Frenda, don't you-"
"STUDY tricked us into testing out their Powered Suits and to gather data on Mugino's ability." The Caucasian spouted out without any hesitation at all.
"Frenda!" The Number 6 growled angrily.
"Mugino, you know the scary ones make me spill my guts!" The beret wearing girl stated. "I cannot be blamed for this."
A quick look into ITEM's archives corroborated Frenda's story.
"Pathetic." Ruiko noted as she turned away from [Meltdowner].
"What did you call me!?" The modelesque Level 5 hissed as she glared at Ruiko. "And you peeked into my archives, right? Stay out!"
"Irrelevant." Ruiko said as the rubble she recently collapsed started to rise into the air.
"Mugino, maybe we shouldn't antagonize the girl who once slaughtered all of our subordinate organisations in a single afternoon?" Kinuhata Saiai grabbed hold of Mugino's arm to restrain her, trembling all the while.
The Number 6 audibly ground her teeth.
"Wait, what?" Sempai screeched, startled by the revelation.
"Attempted recruitment. Attempted to kidnap Kaa-san." Ruiko explained dismissively.
"...C-Can we focus on the issue at hand and talk about this later?" Sempai weakly asked.
"Better yet, Mugino, can we just leave?" Takitsubo Rikou begged from where she was hiding behind some equipment. "You can't feel [Army Slayer]'s AIM but it's raging like a hornet's nest right now. I really, really don't want to be here when she explodes."
The Number 6 looked at her thoroughly shaken team and with clear reluctance nodded.
"Yes, run with your tail in between your legs like you always do when faced with a stronger foe." Ruiko couldn't resist taunting the older Level 5. She still hadn't forgiven the other woman for trying to hurt her mother.
Already halfway out of the building, Mugino turned to glare at [Multi Skill]. "Make me."
"Alright, both of you cut it out!" Sempai shouted at the two of them. "We're in the middle of a battlefield and you're acting like brats!"
The venomous glare the Number 6 sent towards Sempai just made her quirk a brow. It seemed she was getting used to this now.
"Do you really want to fight the two of us?"
That seemed to sober [Meltdowner] up quickly, even if she continued to look angry.
"We're leaving. NOW!" Spinning on her heel, the older Level 5 strutted towards the exit. Firing her lasers at any surviving Powered Suit that got in her way.
The two members of the Trinity began their search of the factory for any clues that would help them find anything that would help Febrie. In particular, they were searching for the hidden lab that the facility undoubtedly had.
Well Mikoto was anyways, Saten-chan seemed to instead be having fun tearing through the factory's various computer systems while idly destroying the odd Powered Suit. Considering her devastating opening barrage, the electromaster suspected her friend had only left these few survivors so she could have something to play with while she worked. A thought strengthened by the way she seemed to absentmindedly twist their wreckage into sculptures worthy of an abstract modern art exhibit with telekinesis while glaring at the screen of the computer they'd found in the factory's control room.
At least she's getting all of her aggression out now. Mikoto lamented as she stuck behind her Kohai. I really don't want to see her do something like that to an actual human being.
She was drawn out of her morbid thoughts about her friend's anger management strategies when she felt a burst of unaccounted for electromagnetic output nearby.
"Oi, Saten-chan. Can you feel that?"
The [AIM Sovereign] nodded. "Feels like someone booted up a whole new section of the facility. Could you go check it out? I'm still sorting through the data here."
"You sure? I don't like leaving you without any backup."
The raven haired girl just smirked and the sculpture she'd been toying with suddenly rapidly reshaped itself into a souped up working Powered Suit. It looked like some kind of boxish squat machine twice the mass of the normal Powered Suits STUDY and City favoured.
"What ability is that?"
"I'm no expert but I've helped design my fair share of Powered Suits and STUDY isn't the only one who can use Diffusion Ghost."
Mikoto just stared at the construct her kohai had created with amazement.
"You're utterly broken, you know that?" The older girl said as she regained her bearings with an exasperated shake of her head.
"Yes." The long haired girl said neutrally.
She could at least be humble about it. Heck, even being proud would be better. This casual acceptance of it as fact? I just don't know what to say to that. The [Railgun] thought to herself with a sigh as she walked off.
"Be safe, Sempai." The Number 3 said with a careless wave goodbye without once looking away from the computer she was hacking into.
Mikoto didn't bother directly returning the wave instead directing her own towards one of the factory's nearby surveillance cameras, confident that her friend had by this point suborned all of them and would see her just fine.
She was so confident of this fact that she casually strolled through the place as she tracked down the source of the earlier electromagnetic disturbance. As usual, her kohai was right and its origin was the activation of a part of the facility that they hadn't explored with an entrance that had been hidden behind a now open door previously concealed as part of a wall.
"How did we miss this?" The second year middle schooler asked herself as she entered the newly revealed secret lab.
"I didn't." Saten-chan replied using that creepy audiokinetic power she'd taken to using lately. "I just wanted to be through and decided to process the data in the normal areas first. Besides, with [Meltdowner] having attacked the place ahead of us, there was a chance someone would come and try to delete data or retrieve something vital."
"So you pretended to be distracted to set a trap?"
"Pretty much. Didn't expect it to catch anyone though."
"Whatever's down here must be important then."
"Yes, secure it please. I'll be down in a minute. The material up here is surprisingly useful. There's plenty of stuff that look like they could be components for the drug in Febrie's lollipops."
"Gotcha. Leave things down here to me." Mikoto agreed with a nod, as she spotted a room up ahead that looked occupied.
Charging up some static just in case, she slowly crept to the edge of the door and peered in. The room appeared to be a console room of some kind and hunched over a terminal was a girl with an average looking build, unkempt hair and fish eyes.
"Come on. Faster." The girl's worried voice murmured in the quiet room. "Please, please, I need it now. It can't happen again."
"Nunotaba-san?" Mikoto greeted in a whisper.
Not even looking her way, she nodded her head. "Hello, Misaka-san. You came just in time."
Walking closer, Mikoto peered over her shoulder. She could see several chemical formulas popping up on the monitor and a loading bar.
"What are you doing?"
"Downloading the formula and production procedure for the counteragent to save Febrie." The messy haired girl said. "I took the opportunity of Number 6's attack to sneak away from STUDY to come steal it."
Mikoto just smiled at the other girl's bravery and good hearted nature.
"I'm sorry for having troubled you and the rest of the Trinity with taking care of Febrie." The scientist said with a bow. "But I knew that if there's any group who could take care of her it would be you and your friends."
Shaking her head, Mikoto said. "It's no problem. Of course we'd have helped her."
"Heh, knights in shining armor." The dead eyed girl chuckled and pulled a data drive from the desktop. "Here. Febrie's supply is running low no doubt. Be sure to give them to Kiyama-sensei. With this she should be able to synthesize more of the counteragent in no time at all."
The older girl looked visibly relieved to have delivered the key to saving Febrie's life. The tension in her body relaxed and a tiny smile appeared on her usually dead face.
"This is great, Nunotaba-san! Come on, let's get out of here. I'm sure Febrie would love to see you again."
"I'm afraid that's not going to happen." A male voice said from the entrance to the room.
Turning to its source, both girls spotted a tall and slender bespectacled male wearing his black hair short. He wore round-framed glasses, and a lab coat over a uniform of sorts, which consisted of a buttoned-up collared shirt and pants, both blue-green in color.
Mikoto easily recognised him. This was Aritomi Haruki, the leader of STUDY and likely the chief mastermind of all of Febrie's woes.
"And look what cockroach scurried out of the woodwork." Mikoto frowned as lightning sparked from her fists. "I thought you were smart. I guess idiots do have courage."
"Idiot you say, Level 5?" The man asked tauntingly as he fished out a data drive from his pockets. "Who's the idiot here when I'm the one holding the real data you want. You two fools didn't even realize what you've recovered was nothing but a dummy."
Still you. Mikoto thought as her body charged with electricity.
"I wouldn't try it, [Railgun]." Artomi said as he gripped the data drive in his hand hard enough to crack its casing. "Or I might break this."
Damn it. The electromaster cursed under her breath. Saten-chan will kill me if I let him do that.
"Nunotaba, you traitor. You want the spare to live don't you?" The man said. "Then you have a choice to make."
Pulling an autoinjector out of his pockets he tossed it to Nunotaba-san.
"Inject the [Railgun] with that paralyzing agent. If you do, I will give you the true recipe to let it live."
"I-I…" The female scientist hesitated. Looking conflicted and spared Mikoto a pained expression.
"Do it." Mikoto said with little hesitation. "Remember, this is for Febrie. And I told you we we're going to help her. No matter what."
Nodding, Nunotaba-san picked up the injector and pressed it against Mikoto's arm. She let out a hiss as the contents flooded her body.
"You two are really a pair of idiots." The man said as he began to clench his fist holding the precious data drive.
Both girls could only look on in shocked horror at his betrayal of their bargain.
Thankfully though, they weren't the only ones in the facility.
Aritomi had barely applied any pressure on the fragile piece of electronics when with the painful sound of breaking bones, his fist was ripped open and the drive flew into the palm of a menacingly approaching Saten-chan.
The man screamed in agony at his ruined hand and gripped it with his still functioning one, but Saten-chan was not done yet.
"You tried to doom Febrie with those hands. You will pay for that."
With that ominous declaration she wretched his arms apart with her telekinesis. Eying the scientist's hands with murderous intent, Saten-chan began to glow with a rainbow coloured aura. A pair of tendrils broke off from the main mass and proceeded to stab right through the man's hands, instantly reducing them to a bloody mist.
Even more terrifying, the tentacles began moving down the man's arms disintegrating his body as they moved. Peeling his skin, tearing his flesh from his bone, and crashing even that into fine powder. All while the man's screams of agony rung in everyone's ears.
Nunotaba-san was too terrified to do anything, but the [Railgun] wasn't about to let her kohai do something stupid.
Struggling, Mikoto used her own powers to puppeteer her paralyzed body. Moving on wooden legs to the brunette, she wrapped her arms around her. As Aritomi finally collapsed, Mikoto said. "S-Stop. Saten. Stop now. Please. Killing him isn't right. If you do it then it'll make you no different from monstrous Dark Siders like him "
[Multi-Skill] however seemed dead to the world, utterly wrapped up it seemed in exacting her revenge on the man who had wronged the girl she'd adopted. Deciding something a little more extreme was in order, Mikoto built up a charge and shocked her friend.
The attack caused the chestnut haired girl to slide to the floor with a pained grunt as the electricity she'd been using to move her body was discharged into Saten-chan's body.
The electric shock drew her attention thankfully and Saten-chan looked down at her.
Slowly, her rainbow aura dimmed and the brunette calmed down.
"Thank you."
Mikoto would have given her a thumbs up, if her motor functions were working. Sadly, she'd have to settle for giviing her one later.
"He's bleeding out." Nunotaba-san said dispassionately. Turning around the two Tokiwadai students found her examining Aritomi and kicking him in the ribs.
With a casual wave of her left hand, Saten-chan sent a burst of flames that cauterized the piece of shit's wounds and gave him a whole new set of burns before quickly sputtering out.
"...Should have used salt." Nunotaba-san frowned as she kicked the blistered body once more.
"Dun dun dun, dun dun dun dun dun dun." Naru hummed to herself as she waited for the time to carry out her latest operation.
You've watched too many spy movies. The irritated fox in her soul commented, his voice dripping with annoyance.
And you didn't enjoy them? I know you laughed at them.
Because idiocy is a plague as are your tastes. Besides, whether I liked them or not doesn't matter. What does is your incessant humming. Would you please stop that!? You've been at it for an hour! The demon roared. It's driving me insane!
Really? Meh, I'm just bored.
Then bring a GameBoy next time.
What century do we live in? Am I a peasant? I've got a Switch dammit.
I don't care! Just play that the next time you get bored on a stakeout.
"No can do. Mission time."
All of my hate.
"Love you too fuzzybutt."
Argh. Oh thank the Sage, the building's finally closing up for the night. The fox noted eagerly.
Focusing back on the STUDY Corporation Headquarters that she'd been staking out for the last hour or so, Naru found that her tenant was correct. It seemed the last of the staff who had been working overtime had finally clocked out for the day. Already she could see the building's security beginning to lock it down for the night.
Perfect. Now that the civilians are out of the way, it's time to get to work.
Finally.
While the other Level 5s in the Trinity were willing to walk right into a trap, Naru wasn't that foolish.
There was no way she would remain idle while STUDY was still in working order. She wasn't like Mugino who'd work only for profit.
Nope. Naru was going to do what she did best.
Make some noise.
Smirking in anticipation, she took a few steps back before breaking into a run. At the lip of the roof she had been spying from, with a little help from a smidge of chakra, she pulled off a Olympics worthy leap that had her landing on top of STUDY's headquarters.
Looking around to make sure she wasn't spotted, she snuck across the dimly lit roof to the staircase leading down into the building.
"It's locked." She scoffed as she eyed the scanner built into the door handle. "Like that's gonna stop me."
Enhancing her strength with her chakra, she turned the door handle hard enough to rip it out of the door.
"I hope this isn't the standard security around here or I'm going to complain to Aleister."
Uh… You do realize you've probably just tripped the silent alarm with that stunt?
"Oh, without question. I want them to know I'm here." Naru said as she used chakra to race into the building in a blur.
She headed unerringly towards the server room that was her target. She ran past a couple of guards along the way, probably headed up to check what had happened up on the roof, but she sped pass before they could so much as point their torchlights in her direction.
As she reached her destination, she found that a security bulkhead had dropped down to block the door.
"Aw, that's adorable. It's not even a ton."
If you kick it in, they'll know where you are and swarm you.
What part of that being the plan do you not get?
Just saying is all.
With a smirk, Naru pulled her leg back and with a chakra enhanced kick she blew a hole right through the thick reinforced security bulkhead and the door behind it that defended the server room.
"Hello beautiful. Mm, you are just going to pop." She said playfully as the security alarms begin ringing in the background.
Sauntering over to a terminal, she pulled up a data drive and plugged it in.
"Don't worry, I'll be gentle." The blonde said with a victorious smirk as the preloaded programs her research team had provided began doing their jobs and stripmined the servers of every byte of data they contained.
I still can't wrap my head around how something that can fit in your pocket can store all the data that normally needs a whole room to contain.
"Age of the geek. Plus Ruiko-chan's damn generous with the Dark Matter lately. The data storage manufacturers practically worship the ground she walks on."
"Halt!" "Stop right there!" "Hands in the air!"
Naru turned around, her hands in the air to face a squad of security guards armed with pistols leveled at her. "Oh no! I've been caught! You guys wouldn't hurt a cute widdle girl would you?"
The guards responded by firing a warning shot over her head.
"Stay where you are and don't even think about using any powers you might have." The guards' apparent leader ordered.
"...Wow. Chivalry is dead. Maybe you should be too?" Naru said, her blue eyes narrowed dangerously.
Let me handle this.
What? Why?
You almost drove me crazy earlier, you owe me.
Naru was tempted to argue, but decided it wasn't worth the effort. She didn't want to waste time with these paid by the hour rent-a-cops anyways. Besides, maybe letting Kurama stretch his legs a little would make him less of a nuisance for awhile.
"Meet my furry little friend."
I'm ignoring that.
Around her navel, bubbling red chakra seeped out.
"Fire!"
Multiple bullets bounced off the rapidly coalescing mass of demonic chakra in front of her body, leaving Naru perfectly unharmed.
"For thousands of years I have laid dormant! Who dares...Naru. Why?!" Kurama's usually deep voice squeaked in reflection of his current size which left him no bigger than an average fox. Though with his multiple tails fanned out behind his rump and his red eyes settled into a seething glare, there was nothing average about him at all.
"You know you have a size limit unless I have the okay."
"Whatever, I'm still gonna enjoy sucking the marrow from your bones foolish mortals!"
"No killing. Sempai won't like it."
"Oh come on! You're killing me here." The fox whined, even as it slammed its tails into the lead row of guards and sent them crashing into the fellows behind them.
"You mean you can't manage it?" Naru asked tuantingly as she crossed her arms.
"Fine. Fine. Take all the fun out of this." Kurama grumbled while conjuring a wall of white hot flames that melted the bullets the guards were firing at him and his mistress into harmless slag.
"Can I at least have my usual voice?"
"You're cuter like this though." Naru commented with a smirk.
"Hate." The chibified tailed beast shot back as he broke up his wall of flames and sent them hurtling towards the guards as a rain of fireballs that melted their guns and left the men with terrible but survivable burns.
Not that the men seemed to realize that as they either fled or collapsed to the ground crying out in agony.
"Pussies."
Naru snorted, covering her mouth with her hand. Just hearing him swear with that cute voice was hilarious.
Their moment of revelry was interrupted however by the arrival of what looked to be STUDY's big guns. A trio of Powered Suits that looked sleeker than the City's standard designs but which still seemed a little overly blocky. Most striking however was their head which had an oversized dome like design and a trio of sensors in a triangular configuration where their eyes should be. Each of them were carrying heavy weapons. One of them was toting a heavy machine gun, another a flamethrower and the last was sporting one of the City's newest creations, a laser gatling.
"I have been dying to sink my teeth into some chew toys." Kurama grinned viciously. "How about we soften you up."
Naru felt the temperature rise several dozen degrees.
So did the Powered Suits seeing as the tanks on the flamethrower guy's back began to rumble and hiss.
Realizing where things were heading the man wielding the flamethrower frantically tried to pull it off, unfortunately he wasn't having much luck. His buddies rushed to help him but before either of them could so much as grab hold of the pack with the tanks, the whole thing exploded.
"I love watching humans burst into flames. It's so...cathartic."
"Kurama? Are you a closet pyro?"
"Not admitting anything."
"You're not denying it either." Naru replied even as she casually swatted a laser beam to the side with a chakra enshrouded hand. It seemed the other two guards in the Powered Suits had finally recovered enough from the explosion to get back into the fight.
"Don't label me!" Kurama growled even as his tails moved through the air like blurs as they swatted the stream of bullets the machine gunner was pouring their way out of the air.
Naru chuckled at his antics, but soon frowned at him.
"By the way, what happened to no killing?" The blonde asked while absentmindedly raising a shield of chakra to absorb the stream of laser beams coming at her.
"Uh? I got too enthusiastic?" The fox said defensively as he grew tired with swatting flies and sent a pair of his tails to literally rip the machine gun out of the guard's hands. That this also pulled them right off the man's body even though he was wearing a Powered Suit, didn't bother either the demon or it mistress.
Naru just sighed. "Let's hope Sempai never finds out about this then. She'll whine my ears off if she ever does."
"Stop babying her already. She's whiny as is."
"I guess it takes a tsundere to understand a tsundere."
"...Excuse you and your entire race?" Kurama asked as he tore off the leg from the last combat effective guard's Suit, he made sure to keep the man's leg attached to his body this time. Nevertheless, the force involved had pulled the limb right out of the hip socket and as the man collapsed onto his back, it hung limply from his body.
The hall was filled with the screams of the injured and dying, but Naru and Kurama both ignored it with the ease of practice.
"I think we did a good job." Naru noted as she pulled out the data drive from the terminal, its task completed.
"We? You mean me. Hmph!" Kurama huffed as he turned away from her.
"Come on you, back to your happy place." Naru said, her arms open wide as if waiting for a hug.
"All my hate." The fox hissed under his breath as he jumped into her arms, his form dissipating mid leap into raw chakra that flowed back into his host's body.
"Well that's over with. Time to head home." The blonde said as she began whistling a happy tune and heading back up to the roof. She could have headed down and walked out the main entrance, but that made the chance of running into more guards or maybe even Anti-Skill higher. She wasn't really in the mood for that, so going back up was the best option.
Naru was just exiting the stairwell onto the roof, when Misaka-Sempai jumped down in front of her.
"There you are." The electromaster hissed in annoyance. "Come on we need to go now, before the guards find us."
Kurama chuckled darkly in the depths of his seal.
"Uh, sure. Yes. Guards." Naru nodded as her Sempai grabbed onto her arm and the two leapt to a neighboring building. The blonde noting with a frown that the electromaster's powers seemed to allow her more range and maneuverability in her jumps than her chakra gave her.
"Why did you even pull a lone wolf stunt like this, anyways?" The chestnut haired girl asked accusingly. "Especially after all the stuff you told me about not doing things like this during the Level 6 Shift?"
"Who said anything about being a lone wolf?" Naru shot back. "Ruiko-chan planned this with me. I was the distraction, while she tore through their systems."
Showing off the data drive she'd filled up earlier, she continued.
"I even snagged some of the data from their off the grid servers."
Sempai blinked in confusion as they began leaping from building to building and making distance from STUDY's headquarters.
"When the hell did Saten-chan get the time to set this up? She was with me the whole afternoon attacking the lab in District 17!"
"She has like seven brains going at once in that head of hers. She's a super multitasker. I thought you knew this already?" Naru asked mockingly. "I mean it's how she manages to emulate multiple powers at a time?"
"I honestly forgot that's part of her powers."
"And this is why she rarely shows it off other than using it for multi abilities at once." Naru observed. "It makes people underestimate her."
"Yeah, so she's smart to do that." Mikoto-Sempai conceded. "But why not just tell me about this raid?"
"Would you have agreed with us breaking into someone's lab without any evidence of wrongdoing?"
Not to mention how much you would've crimped my style. Naru didn't add, knowing how much the older girl would disapprove if she ever learned about the bloodbath she'd left behind her. An observation that earned her another dark chuckle from Kurama.
"But I could have helped." Her Sempai sternly insisted. "And we caught their boss totally being a villain this afternoon anyways."
"And that's why you're here. Ruiko-chan subtly leaked the plan without spelling it out to you."
"Huh?"
"She told you that I'd be doing something rash at STUDY tonight didn't she?"
A look of understanding crossed her Sempai's face.
"I hate how you two play me sometimes…"
Done and done! Thanks to the team of Nameless as always.
Man, what a hell of a chapter. We see infiltration and total demolition from the Level 5s. Or at least Naru and Saten. And secret character Kurama. It was nice to let him out and play.
Nameless: So here we see Saten's weakness on the info gathering front. She can ferret out tons of info but isn't very good at drawing connections. Basically if you give her a target to research, she'll give you every damn thing on the subject that she can find. However, if you presented her seemingly disparate data points and expect her to draw the connections she's not exactly the best person to turn towards. Thank goodness she's friends with people like Shirai and Uiharu who are excellent at doing just that.
Yep, it takes a good group of friends to point out the obvious at times. I know that feeling.
Nameless: So this chapter (and a to a lesser extent the preceding one) really exposes how different Saten and Naru still are versus the rest of their friends, didn't it. While they're actively toning down their tendency towards murder, it's a work in progress. The brutal ways they dealt with their enemies at the tail end of this chapter just proves it. Will they ever finally become 'normal'? You guys will just have to wait and see.
Ah, carnage. I can just see them bathing in the blood of their enemies, until Mikoto ruins their fun/mayhem. Lousy sempai that she is XP.
Nameless: Ok, so just to help with your visualizations here's some links for the Powered Suits that appear in this chapter. The majority of the Powered Suits used by STUDY are the City's standard MPS-79 and HsPS-15 (Large Weapon) models, see the wiki for some screencaps of them (toarumajutsunoindex. wikia wiki/ Powered_Suit). The custom models that Naru fought in their headquarters were ones they specially designed for their security detail and are basically ATM-09-SA Scopedog IIs (www. Mahq mecha/ votoms/ atvotoms/ atm-09-sa. htm) from VOTOMs. Meanwhile, the kitbash Powered Suit built on the spot by Saten was the MSJ-06II-SP Tieren Taozi (gundam. Wikia wiki/ MSJ-06II-SP_Tieren_Taozi) from Gundam 00.
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