Hello internet, welcome to A Certain Strange Addition! The fanfiction that shamelessly rehashes the original story with minor changes in character relations and origins. And apparently also steals the intros of popular Youtube channels.
Anyway, I'm back with another chapter, and this one really starts to shake things up. We've got new revelations, some more detective drama, and a couple of upgrades to certain character movesets. As for what those things are exactly, you'll need to read the chapter for that. I was a bit on the fence for some of these changes, but its my fanfiction so I'll do what I want!
But before we do that, let's do a little Q&A!
X the Reaper: Glad you're liking to story so far. It's always nice to see a new reader. I'm sure you won't be disappointed with what comes next.
ArmoredCoreNineBall: I wouldn't go so far as to make Touma a literal Cu Chullain, but it's certainly an interesting thought. I figured it would be nice to have a bit of interaction between Touma and Therestina. Afterall, anyone's whose read the novels knows how dangerous he can be to a certain family. Don't worry about Touma's speech. That's in this chapter. I was actually working on it when you posted your review. Can't promise it will be too good since I was never one for public speaking myself.
Bluejack222: Well, at least you appreciate the effort.
mohamadstar94: Oh, I'm sure it will be one heck of a ride when I get to it.
MrQuestionMark: Thank you so much. I'll do what I can to meet you expectations for this story.
fencer29: Well, most people don't snap other people's necks for being late. Is that so? Huh, guess my research was a bit off. I'll fix it when I get the chance.
Kim454: I love me some references. So, Accelerator, maybe if I can catch up and figure out the time line. Railgun Daihasei, definite yes. The finale of the Poltergeist Arc will have to wait until it's released.
Guest (1): Glad you liked the chapter.
RPGPersona: Yup, that's exactly what I was trying to convey with that little interaction. True, and that would be why Touma would never consider the possibility that a crush was part of the reason for the intense worry. I actually dive a bit deeper into Uiharu's issue in this chapter, albeit it's a smaller part of the whole chapter.
School (Guest): No, Shizuri will not be reunited with her parents. She made the disconnect for reasons that will be explained later. Much later.
Well, that's it for Q&A. Now for the disclaimer so I don't get in trouble!
Disclaimer: All characters and plotlines of the "A Certain" franchise are credited to Kazuma Kamachi.
Chapter 23: Connections
"You're a Child Error?" Uiharu asked her roommate in intrigue.
"Yes, that's how Banrii and I met," Haruee answered, "We were in the same Child Error Facility. I was really shy around other people, so I didn't make friends easily. But for some reason it wasn't as hard to be friends with Banrii. Whenever she spoke to me, it was always through using our Telepathy. But then she was transferred to another facility, and that was it. But lately, I've been hearing Banrii's voice again, just like when we were young."
The bedridden girl clutched her locket tighter, her voice growing shaky.
"She's asking for help, telling me she's in a lot of pain," Haruee continued, "But I… I don't know why. And I have no idea where she is now. I want to help her, but there's nothing I can do."
Tears formed in her eyes, barely on the verge of dropping.
"I wish… I wish I knew where she was."
The girls could only watch quietly as Haruee began to cry. None of them knew what to say in a situation like this. However, it was not the same with Touma. Instead, he averted his eyes from the crying girl and let out a soft, humorless chuckle. Although it was barely audible, the chuckle was enough for Touma to earn the attention of everyone else in the room.
"You okay, Kamijou?" Haruee asked in confusion.
"I'm fine," Touma said, giving Haruee a sad smile, "I just found if ironic how the two of us are in the same boat."
"What do you mean?" Haruee asked again.
"Kamijou came to Academy City with his older sister when they were very young," Mikoto explained, "Because of their ages, they lived in a Child Error Facility until they could live by themselves. However, his sister was transferred to another facility and disappeared, leaving Kamijou without any knowledge of her current whereabouts. We promised to help he locate her after we found out."
"Of course, your situation is by far much better," Touma added, "You have a Telepathic link to Edasuki and her photo. I can't even remember by own sister's face after all these years, let alone a photo."
"That's right!" Uiharu cut in, "I'm sure you'll find your friend. If not, I'll find her for you. I'm a Judgement Officer, it's the least I can do."
"You can?" Haruee asked.
"Of course," Saten added, "Despite her appearance, Uiharu's actually an excellent Judgement Officers."
"'Despite my appearance'?" Uiharu questioned in indignation.
"Oops, sorry," Saten giggled, "My bad."
"Anyway," Uiharu sighed, "Just leave it to me, okay?"
"Thank you so much," Haruee replied gratefully.
In the midst of such a heartfelt moment between friends, Touma couldn't help but notice Mikoto stare at the picture in the locket. In turn, Mikoto took notice of Touma's observations of her and nodded silently to the door. Clearly, she had some sort of hunch regarding the Poltergeist case. The two students quickly excused themselves, asking for Kuroko and Therestina to talk with them in the hall.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" Therestina asked.
"Are you familiar with the Level Upper Case?" Mikoto replied.
"The Level Upper? You mean?"
"Yes, Harumi Kiyama was responsible, and I saw into her past," Mikoto explained, "Haruee's friend Edasuki was in the flashback."
"An induced burst experiment to analysis the law of runaway abilities," Therestina said to herself, recalling the case, "It's hard to believe such an experiment would be conducted."
"I know. From what I can tell, the experiment was headed by an old researcher named Kihara," Mikoto continued.
"Kihara?" the head of MAR inquired, "Do you mean Gensei Kihara?"
"Never heard of him," Touma replied.
"He's a scientist. A famous one in so respects," Therestina clarified, "Though mad scientist would be more accurate. I know some of his work. He's not above human experimentation. His current whereabouts are unknown, however. If he actually carried out such an experiment, then it's possible that the children he used are the source of the recent Poltergeisting."
"What do you mean, exactly?" Kuroko asked.
"That all those children have become runaway Espers," the woman replied matter-of-factly.
"How could that happen?" Touma asked with a gasp, "Kiyama was certain the children have been comatose since the experiment to this day. That's way she started the Level Upper fiasco, to make a supercomputer comparable to Tree Diagram so she could figure out how to walk them up."
"What if their abilities are out of control while they're unconscious," Therestina suggested.
"Do you think the interference was not intentional, but rather the accidental result of their unconscious state?" Kuroko asked.
"It certainly is possible," Therestina mused, "Do you three happen to know where the children are now?"
"No, sorry," Touma regrettably replied, "Anti-Skill has been searching for them ever since, but they haven't found anything nor anyone."
"Then I guess finding these kids are our top priority," Therestina replied as she pulled out her tube of candy, "Now, lucky color of the day is pink."
"I think you'll be disappointed," Touma quipped, "Luck is nonexistent when I'm around."
"I'd beg to differ," Therestina said as she dropped a candy into her hand.
Just as she predicted, the candy was pink, a good omen according to Therestina.
Following their visit to the MAR Research Laboratory, the group took the train back to their dorms. The cart they were riding in was completely empty, save for them. The girls sat on the bench on one side of the train while Touma sat across from them. Like a proper gentleman, he wanted to give the girls some space. Unfortunately, Uiharu seemed to want an extra surplus of space, keeping her distance from the rest of the group. Clearly, she was still a bit miffed about them investigating Haruee. Sad to say, but her mood did not improve as the train ride continued.
As the train ran the tracks, Touma, Mikoto, and Kuroko informed the rest of the group about the new hypothesis regarding the child test subjects involved in Gensei Kihara's experiments. If they wanted to make any progress, they needed to find the children. Naturally, the best way to locate the missing children was to search the net, and the best person to do that was Uiharu.
"Right? You'll look?" Saten asked her friend.
"Of course I'm going to look," Uiharu replied in a near growl, "But I don't like this."
"And why is that?" Touma asked skeptically.
"We've cleared Haruee," Uiharu said, "and now you turn around and start suspecting her friend."
The statement practically froze the air solid. The tension between Uiharu and the rest of the group was so thick you could cut through it like butter. If she wasn't mad at her fellow Judgement Officers before, she certainly was now.
"That's it," Saten snapped, "You're being un-"
"Enough," Touma cut the girl off with a near whisper.
"Kamijou," Saten asked in confusion, "did you say somethi-"
"I said 'Enough of this crap'!" Touma yelled, slamming his fist against the wall of the train.
The girls all jumped a bit at his reaction. It wasn't often that they say Touma snap like he did.
"Do you think we wanted Haruee to be the culprit?" Touma yelled, standing up, "Sorry if you think we crossed a line, but we really didn't have a choice! We had no leads on the case and were practically walking around blind! Investigating a friend is the last thing any of us wanted! Even then, were hoping to find evidence that she was innocent! Unfortunately for us, what little evidence we did have at the time made her the only suspect we had!
"And another thing! When we said we needed to investigate the children involved in the induced burst experiment, we never said anything about them being culprits, just leads! If anything, they're probably just as much victims of this whole case as everyone who got caught in the Poltergeistings! Hell, if the hypothesis is correct, then they're comatose Runaway Espers, literally incapable of doing anything supernatural on their own free will! We're not saying they're the masterminds, we're saying they're being used as the tools!
"You've been giving Kuroko and I the cold shoulder all day just because we connected some dots and followed them! For doing our jobs! It honestly just pisses me off! I'm so annoyed right now I could just punch you right now! I may be an amnesiac, but I don't need my memories to know that I have no issue with hitting a girl when she deserves it!"
"Whoa, calm down, Kamijou," Saten begged as she tried to get Touma to sit down.
Touma took a deep breath before taking his seat. Having calmed down, he made himself comfortable, crossing his arms and turning his head towards a window and away from Uiharu.
"The idea that Kuroko and I were wrong to investigate Haruee is just a lie you told yourself to avoid a situation you couldn't accept," Touma said, "You didn't want to admit that your new friend could have been some sort of criminal, to you deluded yourself into believing that there was no possibility for it to be true. It's honestly not surprising considering what happened to you during the Level Upper Case."
The girls all remembered that particular incident. After becoming so close to Dr. Kiyama, Uiharu found herself as the hostage of the very culprit she was trying to bring in. Anyone would have had a hard time trusting people after something like that, let alone dealing with another betrayal from someone they grew to trust so quickly.
"However," Touma continued, "That's nothing but an illusion. I've done all that I can to show you it, but it's up to you to shatter it. Me punching you in the face with Imagine Breaker isn't going to solve anything."
For the rest of the train ride, the group was completely quiet. After that episode, no one dared to speak up.
The next day, the Judgement 177 Branch Office was pulling all the stops. Uiharu was going through computer data at a breakneck pace trying to locate the missing children. The ten children that participated in the experiment-gone-wrong were repeatedly transferred individually to different facilities, so they never stayed at the same place for long. Eventually, they're trails disappeared, meaning to was going to take a lot of extra effort to find them. The rest of the office went about their usual business filling out general paperwork and searching for additional information that may be useful to their major case.
Despite the high amount of activity, the office itself was rather silent. Uiharu still refused to talk to Kuroko and Touma, and the same could be said for Touma regarding Uiharu. When the flower wearing Judgement Officer did speak to either of her coworkers, she kept her statements quick and concise and only ever spoke in response to something they said like an offer for coffee or a break. Uiharu was completely focused on her work, only really responding to Konori. Even then, she leads with the same cold front she did with Kuroko and Touma before switching to a much more friendly demeaner when she confirmed who she was talking to.
As for Touma, he just did his work and stayed out of Uiharu's hair. He had nothing he wanted to say the girl, having said everything he needed to the other day. It was up to Uiharu to figure out what he was saying. Unfortunately, her cold demeaner towards him and Kuroko was a clear indicator that her mood had not changed.
'She sure is being stubborn,' Touma thought to himself.
Soon enough, Touma was able to finish all the paperwork he needed to get done for the day. He decided it was about time for him to leave, not wanting to stick around with Uiharu still mad at him and Kuroko.
"I'm gonna head out on patrol," Touma called out to the office as he collected his things, "If you find anything interesting, email me the link."
"Don't worry. We'll keep you noted," Konori replied.
Touma took his leave from the office, planning to take his normal patrol route through District 7. He even considered heading to the Judgement Training Facility to get some more pike practice in.
As he turned the corner to go down the stairs, he saw Saten and Mikoto standing there, like they were considering coming to the office.
"Let me guess," Touma said, "You considered coming to visit, but hesitated when you remembered all the tension between Pigtails, Headband and I."
The stiff laugh he got from the girls was all he needed for an answer.
"Well, I'm about to head out for patrol. Care to join me?" Touma offered.
Having left the branch office, Touma, Mikoto and Saten wandered the streets of District 7 for Touma regular patrol. Along the way, the girls bought themselves some drinks to keep them occupied while the Judgement kept an eye out for anyone suspicious or in need of help. Naturally, Touma did not have a drink since he needed to stay alert and couldn't afford the extra luxury.
"Thanks for doing this," Saten said, "It's just really hard to be in the office right now."
"Why do you think I left on patrol in the first place?" Touma asked rhetorically.
"You do realize you're part of the problem too, right?" Mikoto inquired, "You were pretty harsh on Uiharu the other day."
"I kind of had to be," Touma admitted, "I may be an amnesiac of a few weeks, but experience has taught me that if you don't stand your ground, no one talks your lectures seriously."
'That, or you emotionally exploit the people ignoring you,' Touma thought to himself, remembering a particular incident with Komoe during one of his remedial classes.
"Still, we need to find those children," Mikoto noted, "Not just for Haruee's sake, but for Uiharu as well."
"Speaking of which, why aren't you in the office doing research on that?" Saten asked.
"Even if we have a big case, we still need to keep the peace in Academy City," Touma explained, "That's where I come in. I'm no where near Pigtail or Headband's level when it comes to computers, so they leave patrol to me for the most part. Besides, I do most of my thinking in when under stress. Nothing like running around the city or physical training to build up that stress. Plus, they said they'll keep me posted for anything they find."
As if on cue, Touma's phone began to ring. Checking the caller ID, Touma expected to find the branch office or one of his coworkers' cellphones. Instead, he found a number that he only saw in passing, one of the hotline numbers for the MAR team. The surprises didn't stop when he answered and found Therestina on the other end of the line. Apparently, she had some troubling news she needed to talk to them about in person.
"Kiyama is out on bail?!" Mikoto asked in outrage.
The patrol group met up with Therestina at a local café in District 7. Naturally, with the news they had just received, the sweets they ordered from the establishment were a welcome way to ease the tension.
"Yes. I went to speak with her at the detention center about the child experiments, but she had been released," Therestina explained.
"After everything she's done, I can't believe they would let her see the light of day!" Mikoto said aggressively.
"I don't know the specifics about her bail agreement, but it's a done deal," Therestina added as she took a sip of her drink.
"If you ask me, I'd say a higher up had something to do with it," Touma hypothesized, "After all, the city authorized the experiment that put the children in comas in the first place. If Dr. Kiyama is as brilliant as we have been led to believe, then it wouldn't be a surprise that the city would let her out if they could get extra research out of her. If they would let children be put into comas, there's not telling how far the higher ups would be willing to go."
"A solid theory," the grown woman agreed, "But regardless, without her, finding those children will be much more difficult."
"There's something I don't get," Saten added, "Everything Kiyama did was for the sole purpose of rescuing those children. Why would she do all that just to turn around just to use them like this."
"it's not so surprising," Therestina offered, "She did exploit student's desires to increase their abilities for her own ends."
"I guess," Touma conceded, although he didn't sound very convinced, "Thank you for the information."
"It was my pleasure," Therestina replied.
"Well, it's been nice, but I need to get going," Touma said as he collected his things.
"Leaving already?" Mikoto asked.
"Yeah, I've got some training I need to take care of," Touma explained, leaving his share of the costs on the table, "I'll talk to you girls later."
The girls looked on as Touma exited the café, humming a simple tune to himself. However, his face was not that of someone minding their own business. Rather, he had the expression of a predator on the hunt.
Touma had spent the next couple of hours at the local Judgement training facility working on his crowd control pike. During that time, he used the stress he was putting himself under to consider everything they have learned about the case so far.
First, there was the missing children. There was a total to ten children. Based on Haruee, they would be about middle school age and have been asleep for several years. Due to the experiment led by Gensei Kihara, they have potentially been turned into runaway Espers, causing Poltergeistings at random in their sleep. Naturally, they were victims of the case. They never chose to cause such widespread destruction across Academy City. Following the experiment, they were transferred across multiple facilities before disappearing.
Next, there was the disappearance of Dr. Kiyama, the children's school teacher while they were part of the experiment. Several weeks ago, she started the Level Upper fiasco to create a supercomputer comparable to Tree Diagram after she was denied access to it. She did these things so she could run the simulations needed for her research to wake the now missing children up. As she was the one who was attempting to treat them, it would be natural to assume that she knew where they were. However, her sudden release means that they could not interrogate her for answers.
Next, there was Kiyama's release. The only logical way she could have been bailed out was if someone with a lot of influence was interested in her doing research for them. Coinciding with the recent Poltergeistings, it wouldn't be so farfetched to say she might have something to do with it. At least, that would be the case if it weren't for the fact that using the children would be the last the she would want. It just didn't fit her character.
Finally, there was the information Kuroko had sent Touma about halfway through his workout. According to Gensei Kihara himself, a possible cause of RSPK Syndrome was AIM Diffusion Field Resonance. If an Esper were to suffer from RSPK Syndrome, their AIM Diffusion Field would resonate with those of Espers with similar abilities. Those other Espers would then become Runaway Espers themselves, leading to a mass outbreak of RSPK Syndrome and Poltergeisting. With ten missing Runaway Espers, the number of students in Academy City they could affect would be enormous. If all ten children's powers activated at the same time, it could wipe Academy City off the map.
As Touma continued to contemplate these new-found facts, he grew more frustrated. This was reflected in his training as he progressively stuck the dummy harder and harder. Eventually, his frustration reached its peak he hit the training dummy so hard that it flew across the room. He just couldn't take it anymore. They had found so much information, but it left them with more questions than answers. Not only that, the danger of the case itself was becoming much greater. If they didn't figure something out soon, they would have a lot more on their hands then just a few fake earthquakes.
"Well, that certainly was impressive," a familiar voice said from the entrance of the training room, breaking Touma from his thoughts.
Turning towards the sound, Touma found Yomikawa leaning against the door. She was dressed in her Anti-Skill vest and wore an impressed smirk on her face. It was clear from her body language that she saw his most recent display of his polearm skills.
"Hi, Miss Yomikawa," Touma greeted sheepishly, "Sorry about the training dummy. I'll put it back in a bit."
"Don't be. Your skills with that pike are something you should be proud of," the Anti-Skill Officer replied, "Besides, that's exactly the kind of stuff I was looking for from you."
"What do you mean?"
"Follow me," Yomikama said, nodding out the training room.
Touma followed his teacher out the Judgement training facility and through the winding halls of the disciplinary committee building in District 7. Eventually, the pair found themselves in the building's weapons development wing. As they walked through the halls, Touma could see into various labs throughout the wing. Each lab was working on something new to better improve the equipment that Judgement and Anti-Skill use to maintain the peace in Academy City. They were working on everything from new Security Robots, to enhanced Powered Suits, to stronger material for armor and riot shields.
Eventually, Yomikawa led Touma into one of the labs dedicated to crowd control equipment. In the lab were a small handful of Anti-Skill Weapons developers and a single desk. On that desk was a half meter long steel rod and a bracelet made of the same material.
"Miss Yomikawa, what's this all about?" Touma asked.
"This," the teacher replied, presenting the rod and bracelet to her student, "Allow me to introduce to you our latest innovation in crowd control technology. This is the first prototype of our new Omni Defense Device, or ODD for short."
"Well, the name certainly fits," Touma deadpanned, inspecting the contraption.
"Trust me, there's more to it then meets the eye," Yomikawa smirked, "Give me your left hand."
Playing along, Touma held out his left arm for the teacher to inspect. Wordlessly, Yomikawa attached the bracelet to his wrist and dropped the rod into his hand. She then told him to imagine that the rod was one of the crowd control pikes he constantly practiced with.
To Touma's surprise, the moment the thought formed in his head, the rod transformed immediately. The rod extended to four times its original length at a comfortable two meters long. One end of the rod then split apart into three sections before extending again, creating the familiar prongs of a crowd control pike. Naturally, Touma reacted the only way he knew how.
"Whoa."
"Impressive, right?" Yomikawa jabbed, "The bracelet reads your neuro signals and interacts with the ODD to act as the appropriate form. So far, we have a crowd control pike, a staff up to four meters long, a shock baton, and a shock pike listed as possible forms. The device can even home in on the bracelet at the user's command, allowing it to be used as an easily recovered projectile or easily equipped. Of course, this is only a prototype, so more features will be added in later versions."
Touma quickly thought of each form that Yomikawa listed. Sure enough, the ODD responded accordingly, taking the form of each weapon as they came to mind. He then tossed the device a short distance across the room before mentally beckoning it to him. Sure enough, the ODD's miniature thrusters ignited and propelled it into Touma's left hand.
"Nice," Touma complimented, "But, why show me it?"
"As a mentioned, it's a prototype and thus needs some testing," Yomikawa explained, "You've shown exceptional aptitude as both a Judgement Officer and a Level 0, so I figured you would be the best person to give it a field test."
"Surely there's a better choice," Touma insisted, "Like a higher level Esper?"
"Espers rely on their powers far too often," Yomikawa argued, "You on the other hand make do with what you're capable of without a power and create inventive ways to implement other people's powers. I'm certain there is no better for the job."
"So, what do you want me to do?" Touma asked, eyeing the new tool in his hand.
"Just keep doing what you're doing," Yomikawa encouraged, "Use this tool when you think it's best and report back it's effectiveness to us. Will you do this for us? It would be a real help."
Touma gave the tool in his hand one more look before giving his teacher a nod. Even though he handled himself decently enough in a fight through hand-to-hand combat, he couldn't help but feel like he paled in comparison to the likes of Kuroko with her Teleportation or Konori with Clairvoyance. Heck, he may have Judo training, but even that is more suited for quick one-on-one takedowns than dealing with mobs of Skill-Out. Plus, Imagine Breaker was only good against Espers and the occasional sorcerer. Not to mention how useless a fist is against a run-away Security Robot of Powered Suit.
Now with this odd tool, he might just have the edge he needed to up his game.
"I'll do what I can to help," Touma confirmed.
"Good to know," Yomikawa smiled, "Now, you best get home. You may be a Judgement Officer, but you still need to get home by curfew."
"Right. Thanks for everything," Touma said as he walked towards the door of the lab.
However, the second he stepped out of the lab, a single truth dawned on him that he could not deny. He didn't know his way through the weapons development wing.
"Could you show me the way out?" Touma asked sheepishly, turning back towards his teacher.
It was dark out, and despite being told to head back to his dorm as soon as possible, Touma was still out on the streets. It wasn't like he intended to be late, but he got stopped by a couple of tourists asking for directions to their hotels and Skill-Out causing trouble. Besides, he had a detour he wanted to make first.
Looking at the article Kuroko sent him on his phone, Touma confirmed he was exactly where he wanted to be. He was currently standing in front of one of Gensei Kihara's old abandoned research labs. The entire building was taped off and the power was dead. If Touma wanted to find any more information on the children, this was by far his best bet.
Taking out his new ODD, Touma pointed the tool towards the ground and commanded it to extend to its max length. The pole extended at such a fast speed that it launched him over the wall. He landed on the other side with a thud, causing him a minor inconvenience upon impact. Thankfully, he kept his grip on the pole and was able to retract it immediately after landing.
"I got to work on my landing," Touma lamented, rubbing away the pain in his rear end.
The pain now dulled, Touma circled the building to look for an entrance. Eventually, he found a door, but it appeared to be electronically locked. With the power out, there would be no way for him to open the door. Not like he could do it even if the power was on. Hacking was Uiharu's forte, not his. Touma tried to think of some other way to get in, like using his ODD's shock baton mood to zap the electronic open.
Unfortunately, Touma's train of thought was lost when something fell right on top of him, knocking him to the ground. In addition, he also lost most of the feeling form the waist down.
"Rotten luck," Touma moaned in pain.
"What are you doing here, idiot?" a muffled, female voice asked.
Looking up, Touma saw that the person sitting on top of him was in fact a girl, albeit a rather flat one. She wore a white and pink flower print shirt, a frilly pink skirt with black leggings, and a familiar looking Gekota mask. Given how the girl addressed him and her choice of mask, it was clear who the person was.
"Hey there, Zapper," Touma mock greeted, "Nice of you to drop by."
"Answer the question," Mikoto grumbled.
"Clearly, the same reason as you, investigating Gensei Kihara's old laboratory. Now, could you please get off my back, literally."
Mikoto quickly jumped off of Touma, letting out an "eep" as she did. Touma then picked himself off the ground, rubbing his lower back to sooth the new pain he had developed.
"Thanks," Touma said in a flat tone, "You know, if you were going for discrete, you should have chosen darker colors and a different mask."
"How did you even get in here?" Mikoto asked, ignoring the critique on her disguise.
"New prototype Judgement weapon," Touma replied, twirling said device in its collapsed form before reattaching it to a belt clip on his lower back, "They gave it to me for field testing. Right now, I'm considering suggesting an electric lock bypass feature. Mind giving me a hand with that door."
Thanks to Mikoto's ability, the pair was able to easily get into the facility. As they searched, they made a bit of small talk regarding how the two of them ended up searching the same facility. According to Mikoto, she had to sneak out after Kuroko went to bed and said girl was tossing and talking in her sleep. She apparently was dreaming about Mikoto being rough and Touma being enormous. As much at Touma wanted to deny it, that sounded pretty in line for Kuroko.
After a bit of wandering, they were able to find the room where Kihara ran his experiment. Unfortunately, the room was stripped clean of all of its equipment. However, that was not to say that they didn't find anything.
Not long after finding the room, the two students noticed a flashlight shining from a viewing platform above the them. The light was accompanied by a woman's voice on the phone, a voice that Mikoto vividly remembered. There was someone else in the building, and Mikoto knew exactly who it was.
Mikoto took off running, barely paying Touma a thought. She rushed to the viewing platform with her companion following closely behind before reaching the door of her destination. With her classic roundhouse kick, Mikoto knocked the door wide open, revealing the person she suspected to be in the building.
"Oh, its you two again," the person in question noted.
"I knew it," Mikoto declared, "Harumi Kiyama."
"Can I help you with something?" Kiyama asked.
"Are you responsible for these latest events too?" Mikoto demanded.
"And what would you do if I was?"
Mikoto gritted her teeth and started to spark.
"Stop you, that's what!" Mikoto roared as she unleashed surge of electricity.
"Zapper, wait!" Touma yelled as he reached for Mikoto's shoulder.
Unfortunately, but the time he grabbed a hold of her with Imagine Breaker, it was too late. The electricity she did release was enough to jumpstart the building's electical systems, causing the entire facility to light up and the alarms to blare.
"Hey, what's going on?" Mikoto asked in confusion.
"You idiot! Don't go zapping things in a place like this!" Touma reprimanded, "I swear, your temper is going to get us killed one of these days!"
"How is this my fault?!" Mikoto asked defensively.
"Well that's that," Kiyama sighed, sounding more annoyed than worried.
After the incident with the security system, the pair of students were forced to accompany Kiyama in her car as she drove them away from the revived alarms. Mikoto sat in the passenger seat while Touma was stuck with the cramped back seat. During the ride, Mikoto tried to interrogate the rouge researcher, a scenario that she found regrettably familiar. Kiyama simply told the students to wait until they reached their destination, in which case she will answer all their questions.
"What is this place?" Mikoto asked upon reaching their destination.
"Seriously? You don't recognize it?" Touma inquired, apparently baffled by his friend's ignorance.
"Come on, lovebirds, this way," Kiyama ordered, making her way into the building.
Despite their strong reactions against such an accusation, especially from Mikoto, the students followed the former teacher into the building that Touma seemed to recognize. After making their way through the building, they found themselves in a room with a large, glass wall. On the other side of that wall was a set of ten hospital beds with ten children. With Kiyama's confirmation, there was no denying who those children were.
They were Kiyama's comatose students.
"I was right," Mikoto noted, clutching her fists "You are the one responsible for all of this."
"I am," Kiyama replied plainly.
Her temper boiling, Mikoto began to form small sparks around her bangs. However, her power was forced to stop when Touma grabbed her shoulder with his right hand. She turned back toward her companion to see him node to his right, directing her to the person in the room other than them and Kiyama. Following Touma's gesture, Mikoto turned to see a certain frog faced doctor standing nearby.
"Huh?" was Mikoto's only response.
"Nice to see you again, doc," Touma greeted his favorite doctor.
"Good to see you again too, Kamijou," the doctor replied, "Especially since you're not here as a patient this time."
"Wait, you knew he would be here?" Mikoto asked in confusion.
"Well, yeah, this is his hospital," Touma replied, "I only come here practically every other week."
"But, why are the children here?" Mikoto demanded, "Why is the doctor involved? What is even going on?"
"Well, as you deduced, Dr. Kiyama here is responsible. However, there is a rather long story behind it," Heaven Canceller explained, "It all started with Gensei Kihara.
To the student's horror, the frog faced doctor went into extreme detail regarding Kihara's experiment. As it turns out, the mad scientist intended to create an object known as an Ability Crystal by collecting neurological secretions of Runaway Espers. Those crystals had the potential increase the strength of a specially selected, giving researchers the chance to achieve the ultimate goal of Academy City. The chance to create a Level 6 Esper, a person that can achieve SYSTEM, the ability to hold the power of God while in a mortal form.
However, such a method was bound to create victims, something that Kihara didn't seem to recognize. He only saw his end goal. The means to achieve it did not matter. As far as he was concerned, his experiments didn't yield victims since there was no one to be victimized. It was as if he did not see any harm in his work. And as everyone in the room could clearly see, there were victims. The children were administered a version of the Ability Crystal, leaving them in the states they were in now.
"Unbelievable," Touma growled, clutching his fist, "All this, just create a Level 6. Just to create a theoretical being. That's why these children are like this?!"
As much as Mikoto wanted to say something, there was noting else that she could say that Touma had not already said. Instead, she found her self starring at her friend as he took all the information in. While Touma probably didn't care too much about it, if there was anything they learned form the Magic Side, it's that names have power. Here was Touma Kamijou, He Who Purifies God and Exorcises the Devil, He Who is Above God, hearing about how some kids became victims of an attempt to create someone who could match God. While Touma was humble to a fault, there was no denying that his tenacity and unique ability could easily make him a match for such a person. Had anyone known of Touma as something other than a Level 0, one might say they found something far superior to a Level 6. He was the boy that undermined God and His blessings just by existing.
"Which is why I'm doing what I can," the frog faced doctor explained, "I hope that my skills as a doctor will allow me to save them. Luckily, it didn't take too much time to get them all transferred into my care. My name carries a certain amount of weight in the town. However, I did need to a specialist about how to revive them."
"That's how you made bail," Mikoto deduced, turning to Kiyama.
"He did me a great favor," Kiyama confirmed, "I'll be forever grateful. Thankfully, thanks to my access to this facility, I have a rough idea of how to revive them."
"You can do that?" Touma asked, a spark of hope in his eyes.
"Unfortunately, there is another problem," Heaven Canceller added.
"It always has to be something," Touma growled.
"As they approach awakening, AIM Diffusion Field readings have abnormal values," Kiyama explained, "They're out of control. They've triggered cases of Multiple Simultaneous RSPK Syndrome."
"It seems Kihara's research hasn't stopped entirely," the medical expert in the room added, "It seems that a new version of the crystal is being used."
"He has turned these children into Runaway Espers," Kiyama continued, "If I try to wake them up, the Poltergiesting they cause will tear the city apart. I'm developing a program to bring their abilities under control, but I need the data on the First Sample, the original Ability Crystal formed from the first human test subject of the experiment, to complete the vaccine program. I went to the laboratory to look for that data, but I couldn't find it. I know it's out there somewhere. It's too important for them to just throw it away. I'll do whatever it takes to find it, I swear."
"And if you can't?" Touma proposed.
"Then I'll still wake them up," Kiyama replied, barely skipping a beat.
"Even knowing what kind of damage it will cause?" Mikoto asked in shock.
"What about Imagine Breaker?" Touma suggested, "I could use my right hand to negate their abilities as you wake them up one by one."
"I'm afraid that won't," Heaven Canceller cut in, "Your ability is impressive, Kamijou, but it's only a temporary solution. You can only suppress their abilities so long as you right hand is touching them. As soon as you let go, there is a high probability that they will return to their Runaway states and cause the Poltergeisting while conscious."
"So there's no way to walk them up safely without the First Sample," Mikoto concluded, "In that case, you can't walk them up! Not like this!"
"I will not allow them to remain like this forever!" Kiyama yelled.
"We understand," Mikoto replied, "But you can't…"
"She's right," a familiar voice said from the other side of the door, "Because I won't let you."
To everyone's surprise, Therestina and several MAR Powered Suits revealed themselves behind the door. Apparently, they had followed Kiyama after the alarm at the abandoned laboratory was set off. The head of the MAR Team had a warrant to collect the children under her team's custody and fully intended to take them regardless of what Kiyama might want. Therestina made a compelling case. If anyone had the resources to help the children, it was definitely the MAR Team.
Kiyama attempted to protest as the Powered Suits approached the children but was stopped by the most unlikely pair. Mikoto stood in front of her with her arms stretched out while Touma stood behind her with his ODD in crowd control pike mode blocking her path.
"What are you doing?" Kiyama asked the students.
"You said that if you didn't like what you were doing, we would have to stop you," Touma reminded her, "I can shift this into a shock baton with a thought, so I'd say stopping you will be easy."
"Let me go, I'm the only one that can save them!" Kiyama demanded.
"But you haven't, have you?!" Mikoto yelled, stopping the former teacher in her tracks, "First it was the Level Upper. Now it's these Poltergiest Attacks. And still, you haven't save a single one of them."
"I'm so close though," Kiyama begged, "I'm just one step away. I have to."
"You know Edasuki?" Mikoto asked, "She's asking for help, even now. We met this girl. Her name is Haruee. She's Edasuki's friend. She can hear her voice."
With that one truth, Kiyama was left completely stunned. After so many years of research, she was given proof that her students could be saved. She was give proof that they were still fighting to wake up.
Now assured that she would not resist, Touma collapsed his ODD and reattached it to his storage clip. With no more obstacles or objections, MAR took the unconscious children into their custody. Touma and Mikoto watched from the side as the children were carried out of their room and away to a new facility. With the children now in much better conditions, the Poltergeisting was sure to stop. However, Touma couldn't shake off the feeling that something wasn't right.
And that's one more chapter done!
Lots of stuff going on here. Touma' got a new toy so crowd combat against non-Espers and non-Sorcerers is sure to be more interesting. I'm thinking something along the lines of Rook Blanko of Ben 10 and Marvel's Thor, while still utilizing his Judo when the ODD is occupied. Maybe even combine with other's abilities.
I hope the speech was passable. I was never one for writing speeches myself, so I'm not entirely sure how well it went.
I'll be honest, when I first wrote in Touma's sister, I had forgotten about Haruee and Edasuki's situation. Regardless, that little detail lined up nicely, albeit unintentionally.
Hope you all liked the chapter. Leave a review if you like!
Don't trust anyone over thirty!