Got some time off since my sister is coming home for a holiday. Figured I'd post this chapter on my Birthday.
Cherish your time with your family people.
With that said, what fresh Hell Touma has gotten himself into this time?
Chapter 15: July 24th
Lifeline
Since its foundation, Academy City has garnered a reputation not only as a breeding ground for Espers, but also as the place where scientific breakthroughs long though impossible are not only made possible, but allowed to flourish unhindered by the petty moralities of 'modern society'.
Indeed, the City's status as an independent City State, unshackled from the laws and regulations that would normally hinder those in the scientific field, acted as a siren song to draw some of the most brilliant and dangerous minds of their time out of the woodwork to seek sanctuary within its walls.
Be it advanced cybernetics, pharmaceuticals, gene therapy or simply surgical technique, Academy City would provide you with the tools and resources necessary to push your craft to the next level, no matter how many bodies you had to step over to do so.
Indeed, the fact of the matter was, beneath the glistening, futuristic setting of a scientific utopia that the Academy City Board of Directors like to present to the public, the fact of the matter was that most of the city's most profitable discoveries had come at the cost of countless lives, some of them unwilling.
But then, that was the price of progress, wasn't it? You couldn't make an omelette without cracking a few eggs, just like how you couldn't make a nuclear warhead without splitting a few atoms, and if there was ever a group of scientists that truly embodied this mindset, it was the [Kihara Clan].
Originally a gathering of seven individuals, while it is uncertain when, precisely, they managed to worm their way into Academy City, it didn't take long for them to quickly rise through the ranks as some of the most prominent experts in their chosen fields.
Unfortunately, such prodigious growth did not come without cost, and despite their self-proclaimed 'best intentions', it didn't take long for them to fall into the depths of madness and villainy, fully cognizant of their actions but unable, or unwilling, to stop themselves in their pursuit of knowledge.
In time, either out of a sense of camaraderie or self-preservation, these like-minded individuals began to gravitate towards one another, pooling their resources until, no more than a century ago, the Kihara Clan, a family dedicated to the pursuit of science whatever the cause, was born.
Since that time, the Kihara grew to become one of the largest Scientific bodies within Academy City, though due to the nature of their research, their names were typically associated with the Academy's Dark Side, to the point it wasn't all that uncommon for Anti-Skill to be left cleaning up their messes.
Indeed, given how morally bankrupt most of the clan tended to be in the pursuit of their goals, it would be safe to say that the Kihara Clan were the unopposed Kingpins of the Academy City Underworld, their power and authority matched only by the Director himself, who seemed in no immediate hurry to reprimand them.
The reason for this lack of oversight was simple, for despite their abhorrent methods and lack of any ethical practices, most of Academy City's most famous breakthroughs could be traced back to a member of the Kihara in some capacity.
And even if the Director did decide to turn on them, it wasn't as if they held any true loyalty to Academy City. Indeed, the only reason they continued to reside within the City was due to its status as the [Bastion of Science]. Should that bastion fall, then they would simply move on to greener pastures.
For you see, at the end of the day, regardless of what the world might think of them, the fact remained that so long as humanity continued to rely on science, the Kihara Clan were untouchable, to the point it would take the complete destruction of all human civilization and culture to defeat them.
And we had just handed Harumi-sensei's students over to one of those monsters on a silver platter.
"Can't you go any faster?!" Touma demanded, the desperate Kamijou holding onto Itsuki for dear life as the pair of them launched through the silent air of Academy City, the world around them frozen as they leapt from rooftop to rooftop.
"You wanna walk?!" Itsuki snapped back, the blonde glaring ahead as he guided them down for a landing, [The World] crouching down to lessen the impact just as Time resumed around them once more "Did you get through them yet?"
"Still dialling." Touma fired back, the desperate Kamijou gritting his teeth as he glared at his phone, hoping desperately that someone at the Judgement office would pick up before Itsuki got his second-wind, thus forcing him to wait until time resumed once more to try again.
Needless to say, the two hadn't stuck around long once they learned the Director's true name, Itsuki actually forgoing the elevator in favour of simply using [The World] to hurl one of the fancy sofas out a nearby window before taking to the rooftops in order to cover as much ground as possible.
Of course, neither of them harboured any delusions of being able to spot Therestina's convoy from on high. For one thing, she already had a head start, and knowing her she would've had the children moved to a facility as close to Academy City's outer limits, and as far away from M.A.R HQ, as possible.
In short, the only way they would have any hope in hell of finding Kiyama's students was to have someone hack M.A.R's servers and find out where the hell they were being transported, unfortunately, it was impossible to contact said individual while Time was Frozen, hence the need for routine stops.
"C'mon, C'mon-!" Touma pleaded, the desperate Kamijou actually praying to whichever Deity that would listen that his bad luck didn't strike now of all times, not with so many innocent lives in the balance "Pick up the damn phone already-!"
Judgement office...
"Here you go Sempai." Saten offered, the Level-0 beaming as she set a fresh, steaming cup of tea next to Konori Mii, the bespectacled Judgment Senior pausing in her work to return the younger girl's smile.
"You seem to be in a good mood." She noted, sitting back in her chair as she pulled off her headphones, eager to take advantage of this lull in the daily grind "Something good happen, Saten-san?"
"Something like that." Saten confessed cryptically, "Though to be honest can you really blame me for being chipper? Not only did we resolve the Level-Upper case, we also averted a Poltergeist Incident!"
"Technically it was M.A.R who prevented the Poltergeist Incident." Kuroko pointed out from behind her mountain of paperwork "Though I suppose you did assist us with the Level-Upper case."
"That's probably the closest Shirai-san will ever come to saying 'Thank You Saten-san'." Uiharu sighed, giggling unrepentantly in the face of Kuroko's glare while Misaka beamed at them from the side-lines.
"Eh, I'll take it." Saten grinned, the spunky level-0 leaning back against the wall with an exhausted sigh "Still, as exciting as it all was, I'm glad we can go back to our ordinary lives again."
"Tell me about it." Konori agreed, the elder teen leaning back in her chair with a relieved smile "With everything that's happened we've all been a little out of sorts. It'll be nice for things to go back to normal, wouldn't you agree, Shirai-san?"
"I don't think I've been behaving any differently than usual…" Shirai opined, accepting a cup of tea from Saten even as Mikoto rolled her eyes in exasperation, only to blink as the phone on Konori's desk rang.
"Always whenever I'm about to relax…" the bespectacled Senior sighed, pulling her headphones back on as she set her tea to the side "Hello, you've reached your local Judgement Office." She greeted, automatically switching to her professional tone "Judgment Officer Konori Mii speaking, how can I be of assistance?"
'She's really good at this.' Mikoto marveled, honestly impressed at how fluidly the older girl was able to switch from her usual persona to her Judgement one on the fly. Sure, she'd seen Kuroko on the job, but to be brutally honest the only difference between her friend then and in private was the lack of perversion.
"I'm sorry Kamijou-san," Konori cut in, drawing the group's attention to the older girl, who was now scowling sternly as she spoke "but due to the recent Graviton Bomber incident, I can't divulge the location of Judgement Agents…"
"Wait, did you say Kamijou?" Mikoto called out, the Electromancer rising sharply from her chair, a sense of trepidation shooting up and down her spine like static electricity "As in Kamijou Touma?"
"At the very least it's someone claiming to be him." Konori revealed, placing a hand over the speaker so as to muffle their conversation "He's looking for Uiharu, but due to the Graviton Bomber incident I can't just give out information that could endanger Judgement Personnel."
"That idiot wouldn't lay a hand on Uiharu if his life depended on it." Mikoto countered with a mocking scoff, heedless of the wary scowl Kuroko sent her way for defending the Unfortunate Kamijou "Besides, he wouldn't be calling us unless it was something he couldn't handle himself."
"That's…certainly true." Konori conceded, having been forced to review the teen's files due to his involvement with the Level-Upper case. Say what you like about Kamijou Touma, while he was undoubtedly a trouble magnet, at the very least he did his best not to inconvenience the authorities.
With that in mind she flicked a switch on her phone, gesturing for Uiharu to come closer "You're on loudspeaker Kamijou-san." The Flower Girl spoke up, her tone calm and reassuring, if a little uncertain, wondering why on earth he'd be looking for her of all people "what seems to be the emergency?"
"Director Therestina is Kihara Gensei's granddaughter." Touma declared, Mikoto's eyes widening even as Kuroko spat out her tea, Saten dropping her tray in shock while Uiharu clasped her hands over her mouth in horror "Itsuki and I just found out when we tried to visit the kids at M.A.R HQ."
"What about the children?" Mikoto demanded, the Railgun lunging towards Konori's desk as Uiharu staggered back as if struck, only Saten grabbing her friend from behind preventing her from falling to her knees "Are the kids alright?"
"No Clue." Itsuki's gruff voice cut in, Misaka shivering a she could practically taste the underlying anger in the blonde's tone over the speaker "By the time we got there the bitch had already had them moved to another facility."
"You gotta be kidding me…" Saten exclaimed, looking up from comforting Uiharu to gape at the rest of the girls in disbelief "Please tell me he's kidding and we didn't just hand those kids over to another monster?"
"I'm afraid he's telling the truth." Konori countered, her expression grim as she brought up the Director of M.A.R's profile on the Academy City Database "Therestina Kihara Lifeline, Grand-Daughter of Kihara Gensei." She frowned "According to this she was also his research assistant for his Thesis on Crystalized Esper Essence...as well as his first test subject."
"You're kidding-!" Kuroko exclaimed, the pig-tailed teleporter doing just that, appearing at her bespectacled senior's side to glance over her shoulder, only to frown as she read the data "No way…how can that be?"
"Wait, hold on a second…" Saten exclaimed, her features pale "So you're telling me that despite being used for his experiments, she still helped him with his research? The same research that put the kids into comas in the first place?"
"She's a Kihara." Itsuki spat over the phone, the blonde's disgust at the use of the name palpable "Trust me kid, if even half the things Doc Frog's told me about them are true, there are serial killers out there who you'd be honestly safer running into in a dark alley."
"Once we learned the kids weren't at M.A.R HQ we didn't see the point in sticking around." Touma continued grimly "We were kind of hoping that Uiharu could hack the database to find out where they went."
"She's already working on it." Saten assured them, drawing the group's attention back to the Flower Girl, who was hunched over her laptop, her eyes, red with unshod tears, glaring determinedly at the screen even as her finger blurred over the keyboard "Where are you guys?"
"On a roof overlooking the main roads in and out of the city." Itsuki supplied, earning a few surprised looks from the girls "Figured we could spot any of their vehicles if they tried moving the brats, but if Uiharu can track 'em down we can have Shirai drop us off in no time."
"What am I, a taxi service?" Kuroko grumbled, glaring at Saten, who couldn't help but chuckle at the image before turning back to the phone. "Regardless, thank you for informing us, Kamijou-san, however as a member of Judgement, I must ask you to leave this to the proper authorities."
"Yeah, no, not happening." Itsuki drawled, his words carrying an undertone of anger despite his mocking tone "Putting aside this idiot's hero complex, we're only in this mess in the first place because we trusted the 'proper authorities' to do their jobs."
"Believe me, I completely understand where you're coming from." Kuroko confessed, honestly outraged that someone would go this far "However, as Judgement Agents, we cannot have civilians taking the law into their own hands..." she turned to glare over her shoulder "And goes double for you, Onee...sama?"
She blinked, staring at the spot where the Electromancer had been standing not two minutes ago, only to shiver as a sudden chill washed over her, the bottom dropping out of her stomach at the sight of a nearby open window.
"Oh No..."
M.A.R Hidden facility...
As both a member of the prestigious Kihara family and the Granddaughter of Kihara Gensei, Therestina Kihara Lifeline's upbringing had been far from what most would consider 'normal'. Then again, you'd be hard-pressed to find a Kihara who hadn't experimented or been experimented on by a clan member.
Not that she truly cared about such things. Her Grandfather was a certified genius, and she was proud to have played a role in his thesis, however minor, as it would simply be yet another advancement to be credited to their family name.
Indeed, you could argue that Academy City itself was the culmination of the Kihara Clan's constant efforts to push the boundaries of scientific advancement to new levels. Hell, it wouldn't be too far off to consider the city itself an ongoing social experiment.
Of course, like most of the Kihara, Therestina honestly didn't give a rat's ass about other people, save for whenever it was necessary to rub elbows with them in order to get what they needed for their research, whether it be test subjects or contraband materials.
Sadly, not everyone shared the Kihara Clan's vision for Academy City. Indeed, there were those who would brand them as 'amoral monsters' or 'psychopaths' without taking into consideration the very creature comforts they enjoyed had likely been devised, or at least improved upon, by a Kihara.
Normally such individuals could be safely ignored, or if needs be 'volunteered' for experimentation, the Academy's Board of Directors more than willing to bend over backwards to accommodate the Kihara in order to improve their bottom line.
However, there remained one constant thorn in their sides who, unfortunately, could not be easily removed. One Man who dared to not only openly defy the Kihara, but would go out of his way to impede their research regardless of the risk to himself.
Therestina had first encountered the man known only as [Heaven Canceler] during her time as her Grandfather's test subject. At the time she hadn't given the frog-faced man much thought, only really taking note when the man had the audacity to chastise her Grandfather for his methods.
To be clear, it wasn't the act itself that drew her attention. After all, it was only natural that lesser minds would be unable to comprehend Grandfather's genius. No, what gained her attention was that, rather than dismiss his accusations, her venerable Grandfather actually apologized to the man!
To be fair, it was a backhanded apology, more to do with the fact the results of the experiment were so lacklustre than had been anticipated than any actual remorse. No, what truly chaffed the young Therestina was how Gensei actually confessed to being embarrassed at having wasted the other man's time.
Needless to say, it did not take long after that for Therestina to learn precisely why Kihara Gensei, indeed, the entire Kihara Clan for that matter, regarded the Hospital Director with such respect. After all, he was the only man in the city who was truly [untouchable].
However, [untouchable] was not the same thing as [unbeatable]. For all his authority and influence, Heaven Canceller was first and foremost a Doctor, and his priorities would always defer to the safety of those under his care, even if it meant looking the other way from time to time.
Case in point, while he certainly had the authority to tell Therestina to back down, he did not have the authority to impede her in her duties provided they prioritized the safety of Academy City and its citizens.
Mind you, if he'd realized she was a member of the Kihara, he likely would've put up more of a fight. Thankfully, it seemed he hadn't bothered to memorize Gensei's entire family tree, or if he had, he hadn't bothered to remember his most hated enemy's granddaughter.
"Load them up." She commanded, looking on impassively as her subordinates loaded her future test subjects onto one of the M.A.R transport trucks "Carefully now. If so much as one of them is needlessly damaged, I'll have you take their place."
"Yes Ma'am." The driver proclaimed, starting up the vehicle and making to pull out of the facility, only to pull up short at the sight of a middle-school girl in a Tokiwadai uniform standing in the entryway, glaring at the Director with unnerving intensity "Ma'am…we have a problem."
"Ignore her." Therestina commanded, a cruel smile forming on her lips as she locked gazes with the incensed Level-5, the hydraulics in her custom M.A.R power armour hissing as she stepped forwards to confront her unwitting test-subject "Carry on as instructed. I'll deal with her."
Mikoto POV...
"Found you." Misaka Mikoto growled, glaring heatedly at the tall figure in purple power armour, having used her abilities to hack into M.A.R's communications network the moment she left the Judgement Office, not willing to wait for however long it took for Uiharu to get her shit together.
"I feel I should inform you that the children were in those trucks that just left." Therestina pointed out slyly, her smug grin never faltering in the face of the Electromancer's mounting anger "Are you okay with just letting them go? Shouldn't you be chasing after them?"
"I can catch up to them in no time." Mikoto assured her, more than confident in her ability to track down the trucks and rescue the kids once she was finished wiping the floor with this…monster she and her friends had unwittingly entrusted them to "I just needed to hash things out with you first."
"With me?" Therestina repeated, the Kihara struggling to restrain the mocking leer that was threatening to split her face in two, even as she subtly primed her ace in the hole "What on earth could you possibly want with little old me?"
"You're the granddaughter of Kihara Gensei," Mikoto growled, sparks of electricity arcing from her cowlick, her petite frame charged with enough energy to power a city block "You know better than anyone the hell that monster put them through…so just what the hell do you think you're doing?!"
At first Therestina didn't reply, the two merely staring one another down, only for the Kihara's smug mask to crack, Mikoto looking on in disbelief as the once composed Director of M.A.R began cackling like a hyena.
"Well now! You've certainly done your homework haven't you?" Therestina mock applauded, sneering at the stunned Level-5 as she righted herself "Unfortunately it seems you lack the mental faculties to comprehend that this isn't some Saturday morning cartoon show."
"What?" Mikoto demanded, her earlier unease brought on by the woman's apparent breakdown replaced with her usual anger as she processed her mocking words, sparks flying from her cowlick as her temper slowly intensified.
"You heard me you little brat." Therestina scoffed "Did you honestly think I'd just up and answer your questions because you asked me? Sorry to burst your bubble, but I don't answer to anyone but myself." She leered mockingly at the now-sparking teen "So what now? You going to try and force me to talk?"
'This bitch-!' Mikoto snarled, electricity flaring from her entire body as she readied herself to unleash all of her pent up anger on the woman, only to recoil, her eyes widening in alarm as she was suddenly beset on all sides by a high-pitched noise that brought her to her knees.
"Like it?" Therestina mocked, the sound of the hydraulics in her suit forcing Mikoto to raise her head to see the woman towering over her "It's a little something I devised to neutralize High-level Espers. I was originally planning to field-test it by lending it to Skill-Out gangs, but I guess nothing beats a trial by fire!"
"Crap!" Mikoto yelped, narrowly managing to roll out of the path of Therestina's armoured fist as it came down, ploughing into the asphalt of the parking lot, leaving a sizable crater where the level-5's head used to be.
"See? You're already proving to be a valuable source of information." Therestina mockingly applauded as she righted herself "By my estimates at this intensity you shouldn't even be able to move, I guess that's a Level-5 for you."
"God damn bitch…!" Mikoto snarled, pushing herself back onto her feet "Don't screw with me…!" she managed to grit out through clenched teeth even as she struggled to gather enough of a charge to launch an attack at the Kihara "I'm not…one of your damned lab rats!"
So saying, she let loose with an uncoordinated burst of electricity, simply letting her power loose in all directions, only to gasp in disbelief as none of the bolts came anywhere near the unimpressed Kihara.
"Honestly…" Therestina sighed, looking for all the world like a teacher dealing with a rowdy student as she reaching down to draw her primary weapon from its holster, Mikoto's eyes widening as she found herself gazing down the barrel of a Grenade launcher "No need for Hysterics-!"
"Crap!" Mikoto yelped, the railgun thanking her lucky stars that the crazy bitch missed her first shot, even as the ensuing explosion sent her tumbling forwards, allowing her to roll to her feet just in time to dodge a second round and respond in kind…or at least try to.
'Damn it! I can't think straight!' she cursed, clenching her teeth as she struggled to carry out the necessary calculations to use her power despite the continuous screeching in her ears 'It's taking everything I have just to stand, let alone generate a charge!'
"Oh come on now, this is just pathetic." Therestina sighed in annoyance, her expression one of mocking condemnation as she brought her grenade launcher to bear on the Level-5 "Haven't you realized yet that none of your attacks are reaching me?"
As if to drive the point home, she proceeded to unleash another salvo of grenades at the girl, forcing Mikoto to dodge as best she could whilst the cackling of a madwoman echoed over the sounds of the explosions.
Therestina POV...
"That's right!" Therestina cackled, looking on with perverse glee as the formerly cocky Railgun was reduced to a panicked little girl desperate to stay alive in the face of her genius "Keep running my precious level 5! It won't do you any good!"
Admittedly, she had been annoyed that she'd missed her first shot, a slight error in calibration on her part, but only to be expected considering she hadn't had the chance to wear her personal suit of power armour in some time. Bureaucracy, truly one of the worst enemies of innovation.
However, as with many other scientists in the past, it seemed fortune favoured those who learned from their mistakes, as if she'd actually landed her first shot, she never would have got to experience the sheer joy in watching the cocky little brat scramble for her life.
Sadly, all good things must come to an end. After all, even with her genius at the helm there was only so much ammunition she could load into her weapon, or at least the current model, and the current design of her suit meant she wasn't carrying any extra ordinance.
Fortunately, it seemed that all the running around had finally taken its toll on Tokiwadai's Railgun, the exhausted Level-5 leaning against a pillar for support as she struggled to remain on her feet, a single defiant spark of electricity arcing from her cowlick as she glared at her from behind her bangs.
'Such heroic nonsense…' Therestina scoffed, casually holstering her spent weapon as she advanced on the defiant Level-5, taking her sweet time in order to savour the look of mounting fear in her eyes, right up until she reached out and grabbed her by the throat.
"You know, people like you and your friends are such fascinating specimens." She confessed, smiling cruelly as she watched the girl struggle to escape her grip "So enthralled by your naïve sense of justice, and yet it's all thanks to you that I was able to retrieve the test subjects."
"You bitch-!" Misaka grit out, her hair sparking as she desperately tried to build up a charge, an impressive, if futile effort given how Capacity Down was still in effect, only to choke desperately as Therestina tightened her grip around her throat.
"As a reward for all your hard work, I'll let you in on a little secret." The Kihara preened, leaning in to peer into Misaka's eyes with an insane smile "The truth is, I needed access to those children in order to perfect the Crystalized Esper Essence."
"You…can't…" Misaka choked out, forgoing her powers altogether as she feebly lashed out at her tormentor with her feet, managing to land a few solid kicks to Therestina's suit, only to go limp as she slowly lost consciousness due to lack of air.
"Oh can't I?" Therestina scoffed, dropping the unconscious Level-5 like a bad habit as she turned on her heel, making a mental note to have one of her subordinates secure her for future study, as brat or no a Level-5 was a rare specimen indeed "And just who's going to stand in my-?"
…thuuUUUUUM!
'…way?' Therestina wondered, blinking in confusion as she found herself gazing up at what she slowly realised was the ceiling of the Garage, the very same Garage she had been standing outside of not mere moments earlier, and most alarmingly had no memory of entering at all.
After all, there was no reason for her to do so, not when she had more important matters to deal with, namely the securing of her test subjects. True, she may have deigned to do so to drop off the Railgun girl, but that was where the convenience of having subordinates came into play.
So no, Therestina had no reason to re-enter the garage after the trucks carrying her grand-father's materials left, so she could not imagine why she was currently gazing up at the roof through what she now realised was a curtain of dust. In fact, now that she thought about it, wasn't she technically looking down?
Indeed, as she slowly became more aware of her surroundings, it quickly became clear that yes, she was indeed looking down at the ceiling, implying she was currently upside down, which made absolutely no sense, for while her power armour was designed to be as mobile as possible, it wasn't capable of defying gravity.
'Note to self, investigate feasibility of an anti-gravity unit'. She mused, unable to resist the siren call of innovation even as she tried to figure out just what the hell was going on, as given the situational evidence, it would appear her suit had suffered some sort of catastrophic malfunction that had led to it crashing into the garage.
The first possibility was some sort of mechanical failure, something she would normally dismiss outright, considering how she personally oversaw the maintenance of her personal unit, but considering her previous opponent was a Level-5 Electromancer, it was possible she'd slipped something in at the last minute.
The second possibility was that she had been blindsided by a currently unknown third party, likely one of the Electromancer's comrades, though given her psych-evaluation of the girl this was even more unlikely, given the girls penchant for running into danger on her own.
There was also the fact she hadn't deactivated the [Capacity Down] until she was absolutely certain the Electromancer was out cold. Given the earlier lab estimations and her more recent field experience, it should take at least ten minutes for a high-level Esper to recover from such an assault, let alone launch a counter-attack.
'And out of all of her contacts, none of them possess anything strong enough to leave me in such a situation.' she noted, grimacing as her mind slowly began to register other things about her body, namely how most of it, her face in particular, was wracked with extreme agony 'Just what the hell is going on-?!'
"You know, I'm not normally one to comment on someone's intelligence." a cold voice opined, drawing the Kihara's attention to a figure striding towards her through a massive hole in the wall that was suspiciously just the right size for her suit "But for a so-called genius, I can't help but notice you forgot to give your power-armour a helmet."
"Who…?" she tried to demand, only to devolve into bloody coughs, her eyes widening as she several of her teeth were expelled from her mouth amidst a pool of blood, bile and what appeared to be half-digested candies "Who the hell…are you?"
"Me? Oh, no-one important." The interloper confessed, his features hidden in shadow, save for his chilling golden eyes which glared down into Therestina's own as he towered over her menacingly "I'm just the guy standing in your way."
Yeah for those of you expecting a huge conflict between Team Itsuki and M.A.R, sadly he doesn't work like that. If anything his involvement made the situation worse, as Mikoto went into the duel with Thesrestina without any knowledge of Capacity Down.
And yes, while Capacity Down is confirmed to be more effective against Higher Level Espers, Level 0s like Saten are show to either be immune to it or at least able to resist it. Since Itsuki is a stand user as opposed to an Esper, he technically counts as a Level-0 so the same applies to him.
The conclusion to Season 1 is right around the corner people. Let's hope it ends on a good note.