Here it is, the final chapter of the Poltergeist Arc. I'm starting to notice a trend here. Every time I reach the end of an arc, I write the second to last chapter and then finish the final chapter three days later. Guess I get so excited for the finale that I can't wait to post the next chapter.
Anyway, final Poltergeist Arc chapter. I think you're all going to like this one. Plenty of action, heart, comedy, and payoffs from previous chapters in this one. How accurate I am in that prediction is up to you guys I guess. For now, let's get the Q&A out of the way.
MrQuestionMark: Glad you liked the fight. A lot of Touma's fights in canon appeared to have him utilize creative tactic involving his surrounding and using his opponents' abilities against them, like how he used cement mix to render Etzali's magic useless or threw rocks at Accelerator to use his ability to launch him away from the dust explosion. I wanted to give Touma something that was lacking in power, but had plenty of versatility for creative tactics. Hopefully, I can keep up that style of fighting in this chapter.
teamxcution: Yeah, I'm excited for the Sister's Arc too. I already have a couple of plans set for how the arc unfolds, but I'll be sure to consider some of your ideas for it. Now I just need to watch the entirety of the Arc across both versions of the show so I have a clear idea of how events originally unfolded. Yeah, I'm gonna have my work cut out for me.
Kim454: I'll have to watch both arcs again, but I remember the two arcs running over the same period of time. I could be wrong, so I'll wait until I can get a proper time table put together before I make any promises on how the arcs will be handled. Man, I'm just asking for punishment now, aren't I? I have toyed around with the idea of Touma being present for the entirety of the Silent Party Arc, so it's not entirely out of the realm of possibility.
ahsoei: I think you'll find this chapter interesting, to say the least.
ArmoredCoreNineBall: Touma has always been creative with his tactics. ODD just helps to extenuate that point. Unfortunately, Therestina doesn't get to learn too much about Touma this time around, but she might get another chance during the Silent Party Arc. Let's just say everything happens a bit too fast for her to come to any conclusions on Touma. Let's be honest, Touma just pulled the battle-torn look really well.
RedSS: What is this? FanficSins? Also, the reference was Touma's line about his medical condition. It parallel's Tony's line, "Let's be honest, this is not the worst thing you've caught me doing" when Pepper found him trying to take off the Mark III after the Gulmira fight.
Generation Zero: Well, Touma's always had a sixth sense when it comes to danger. If he was a Nasuverse Servant, he'd probably have Mind's Eye (True) B at the minimum. Fight scenes were never my strong suit, but I'll try to keep it up in future chapters. Funny enough, I have toyed with the idea of giving Touma some sort of protection in the future to help keep him from getting too beat up when fighting. It wouldn't something extremely high tech, but it would be something unique at the very least. Yeah, knowledge of Amata will definately shake things up in the future.
mohamadstar94: Glad you liked the chapter.
GhostofTime: For the children!
Guest (1): You know the "A Certain" franchise. All throw away lines have some sort of truth behind them.
Bluejack222: Touma slightly more aggressive behavior should be expected. As a Judgement Officer, he has a personal obligation to keep the city safe, more so than he normally would. Couple that with a massive city wide threat and personal connections, and he's sure to be a bit more on edge and aggressive that he normally would be. Also, I think you're underselling Touma's fighting style a bit here. He has never been above fighting dirty and is known for unique battle tactics that make use of environmental tools and his opponents' abilities, like when he used cement mix to render Etzali's magic useless or used Accelerator's vector manipulation to launch himself away from the dust explosion. Also, you wanted me to give Touma a power glove? That is like the most counterproductive things I could have done! You wanted me to basically give to give Touma something to cover his hands, making it impractical for him to use Imagine Breaker, his only supernatural ability. ODD give Touma versatility for his unique tactics, expanding on his preexisting skill set.
Avid Reader 0007 (Guest): Glad you like the story. Things are definetly going to shake up during the Sisters Arc.
Q&A are out of the way, let's get to the disclaimer!
Disclaimer: All characters and plotlines of the "A Certain" franchise are credited to Kazuma Kamachi.
Chapter 25: Final Chase
Dr. Kiyama chased the two MAR trucks down Urban Expressway 5 at top speed. She disregarded every traffic law in Academy City and pushed her sports car to the limit for the sole purpose of catching those two trucks. If her hunch was right, her students were on board for another experiment from the think tank that was the Kihara Clan. That family had pushed her around for the last time. Kiyama was going to save those children no matter what. She swore it.
However, she was rather shocked when the walls of the trucks unfolded, revealing them to be filled with MAR Powered Suits, each one of them manned with a grenade launcher. One of the Powered Suit Operators knocked open the back door of one of the vans and aimed straight for the researcher-turned-teacher. Unfortunately for MAR, the trucks were tossed aside by a surge of electricity, clearing a path for the despite teacher.
"What was that?" Kiyama asked as she brought her car to a screeching hault.
She stepped out of her car and looked back to see Mikoto, Kuroko, and Uiharu all standing before the debris, no doubt having arrived via Kuroko's Teleportation.
"What are you doing? Why the hell did you choose now of all times to interfere?!" the doctor demanded, "Answer me!"
Her answer was delayed by the sudden arrival of Konori, Saten, and Touma on the Judgement Branch Chief's personal motorcycle.
"Dr. Kiyama, those trucks are only decoys!" Uiharu explained.
"The children are on another set of truck to a difference facility," Saten added.
"What? Then whe- Hey, what do you think you're doing?!" the baggy eyed teacher protested as Uiharu and Saten let themselves into her car.
"Just get in the car and follow Uiharu's directions," Touma ordered, activating his ODD, "We'll make sure nothing stops you from reaching your students."
Kiyama gave the students a confused looked, which was returned with a stern and determined look from Mikoto. Seeing as complying was her best option, Kiyama got into her car and drove down the expressway, leaving the four remaining students behind.
During the time that the students were getting Kiyama away, the remaining Powered Suit Operators recovered and prepared to attack. The students did the same, but where caught off guard by the sudden appearance of two helicopters armed with Gatling Guns.
"Helicopters, huh?" Kuroko mused nervously.
"Yeah, I can't fight those with a stick," Touma lamented.
However, the helicopters were quickly knocked out of the sky by an apparently self-propelling MAR truck.
"I recognize that ability all too well," Kuroko said with a hint of disgust.
"I think you can relax now, the cavalry is here," Kongou introduced herself, "Try not to be intimidated by my ability. Aero Hand will make swift work of our opponents."
"That was good timing!" Mikoto noted before being teleported on to Konori's bike.
"Go on, we can take care of this," Kuroko insisted as she pulled out a massive belt of her iconic pins from her bag, "You go catch up with Kiyama and the others, Sissy."
"Kuroko…" Mikoto whispered.
"Just go," Touma ordered, taking a spearman's stance, "We can't call ourselves Judgement Officers if we let a Level 5 do all the heavy lifting for us. Don't worry, we'll be fine."
"Alright then," Mikoto agreed, "But you two better catch up, or you'll answer to me!"
"You know I hate doing that more than anything else," Touma quipped.
"Who would dare assult me? I am Kuroko Shirai of Tokiwodai, partner of great Railgun!"
"Hold on, that phrase sounds suspiciously familiar," Kongou complained, but was quickly shut up when two Powered Suit Operators aimed their grenade launchers at her.
Acting quickly, Touma threw his ODD at the space between the Powered Suits. As soon as the weapon cleared the gap, Touma called it back and forced it to stay extended. The still extended weapon knocked the MAR agents on their backs as it made its way back to Touma's left hand.
"Go!" Touma yelled as he and Kuroko charged in while Konori and Mikoto drove off.
As the two Judgment Officers charged, another MAR agent fired their grenade launcher at them. Kuroko teleported away while Touma's battle-hardened sixth sense allowed him to bat the explosive back at its sender. The grenade detonated at the Powered Suit's feet, knocking it off balance and cloaking it in a smoke screen. The suit's operator looked around confused, desperately trying to get his baring. Unfortunately, he felt his knees buckle underneath him before he was hit in the back of the head with a blunt force, knocking him down. When the smoke cleared, Touma stood behind the fallen suit, his ODD right where the suit's head was a second ago.
'It may be power armor, but it's still armor,' Touma mused to himself, 'and everyone knows the joints are always the weak points in any armor.'
He didn't have time to celebrate for long. His sixth sense went off again, alerting him of another Powered Suit Operator aiming his grenade launcher at him. Touma rolled to the side, barely managing to dodge the explosion. Before the attacker could fire another shot, several pins teleported into the gun, jamming it and setting the grenade off prematurely.
"You okay?" Kuroko asked in concern, appearing next to Touma.
"I've been worse," Touma admitted as he picked himself up off the ground.
Two more suits approached the Judgement Officers, guns loaded. However, they were easily knocked aside when an third, Aero Hand propelled Powered Suit crashed into them.
"I do hope that is not the best you can do, Kamijou," Kongou mused as she approached her allies, "Not after that display earlier today."
"Don't worry, I'm good," Touma replied, taking a spearman's stance.
"I must say, I never expected we would work together," Kuroko admitted, solely focused on Kongou.
"We can use this opportunity to settle something. Whose ability is superior," Kongou boasted, confidence oozing from her voice.
"Focus up, ladies," Touma interrupted, stepping forward against the swarm of Powered Suits approaching them, "We've got a lot of rouge suits to take in."
As the MAR Powered Suits approached, the three students charged individually into the fray. Each of the students took on several Powered Suits, using their abilities, Esper and natural, to their fullest. Kongou ran across the expressway slapping air ejection points on every Powered Suit she could get her hands on. Those suits were sent flying at other suits, knocking out multiple opponents with single attacks. Kuroko teleported every few seconds, throwing the suits off balance as they tried to track her down. With the pilots confused, Kuroko teleported several pins into each of their weapons, jamming them and detonating their ammunition.
Touma ran through the horde of suits, using his various martial arts skills to disable them. He aimed for the joints in the legs, causing suits to collapse as they folded in on themselves. He struck his oppenents with both his ODD and his limbs, either using the weapon to deliver the blow or tossing it aside to distract and disorient his foes so he could strike. Touma made especially effective use of his ODD's return function, purposefully putting several suits between him and his weapon so it would collide with the suit during the return trip.
As the number of active Powered Suits ran thin, Kuroko found herself down to her last pin. Unfortunately, that wasn't the only thing Kuroko had to worry about.
"Shirai, it's Therestina!" Konori cried over the commlink, "She ambushed us and is now chasing after Misaka and the others in a mech suit!"
"Go help the others," Touma insisted, "You're down to your last pin anyway. Don't worry, we've got this."
"What about you?" Kuroko asked.
"I'll catch up, I promise," Touma replied, "Just go!"
"Alright then. Konori, I'm coming your way," Kuroko said over their commlinks as she teleported away,
"Ready for another bout?" Kongou inquired.
"I can do this all day," Touma retorted, breathing heavily, "Why, getting tired?"
"As if I, Mitsuko Kongou of Tokiwodai Middle School, would get tired from something as simple as this," Kongou boasted.
Up ahead, several more Powered Suits approached, organized in two marching lines.
"Looks like they're lining up," Kongou noted.
"Well, they're excited," Touma replied as he kneeled and held his ODD in electric pike form over his shoulder.
Kongou wordlessly followed suit, applying an ejection point on the bottom end of the makeshift javelin. With the preparations in place, Touma released his weapon as Kongou sent it rocketing towards their opponents. As the weapon flew, Touma mentally set the electrical output of the taser function to max, making it so electricity would jump to the nearest conductor if it was sufficiently close enough. The speed at which the ODD flew created a shockwave, knocking the Powered Suits to the side. In addition, the electrical current left the Powered Suit's fried, rending them offline. With the last of the Powered Suits dealt with, Touma recalled his weapon, stowing it away upon recovering it.
"Looks like that's the last of them," Touma noted.
His thoughts were quickly interrupted by thunderous boom coming from where everyone else had headed off to. Turning around, he saw a giant pillar of orange light cut through the sky before fading away.
"I take it you handled Therestina, Zapper?" Touma asked over the commlink.
"What? Did you think I could only fire coins?" Mikoto asked in reply.
"I was more concerned about you aiming your railgun at me then what you used as ammunition," Touma admitted, "I'll contact Anti-Skill to get these guys processed. Looks like I won't be there to see you wake up the children."
"Anti-Skill is already on its way," Konori interrupted, "Don't worry about protocol, I'll take care of everything."
"You sure, chief?" Touma asked.
"You helped find the children in the first place. You deserve to see them again after everything that happened," Konori insisted, "Unfortunately, you'll have to take care of transportation. I'd lend you my bike, but I need it myself while I work with Anti-Skill to get these guys processed. Besides, you don't have a license."
"Rotten luck," Touma groaned, "Well, whatever. I'm short on cash so I can't use a cab, but I'll think of something. I'll see you girls at the site."
"Alright then, Kamijou. We'll see you then," Kuroko said.
"Yeah, Misfortune out," Touma replied before dropping the line.
Touma's eyes wandered the battlefield as he racked his brain for some sort of solution. Eventually, a sheet of metal from one of the trucks caught his attention. It was a little under two meters long and a little under half a meter wide. One end of the sheet was bent at a right angle while the other end was rounded and curved up slightly. His eyes then wandered over to Kongou, who returned a confused look.
"What?" she asked in confusion.
"I was just wondering," Touma said, a plan forming in his head, "How long can you make an ejection point last?"
"Girls, I'm almost at the facility," Touma called over the commlink, "How are you on the children?"
"Uiharu is just figured out where they are being kept. We're heading to the lower most block right now," Kuroko answered, "How'd you get so close so quickly? That's a lot a ground to cover without some sort of vehicle or ability."
"That's because I borrowed on," Touma replied proudly as he rode down the expressway.
With a little help from Kongou, Touma had fashioned himself his own temporary mode of transportation. Presenting her the sheet of scrap metal he found during the aftermath of the battle, Touma had Kongou apply several long-lasting, gradually releasing Aero Hand ejection points across its surface. They placed several ejection points on the bottom surface and a few more the bent-up portion. On Touma command, Kongou activated all the ejection points simultaneously, causing the points on the bottom to produce lift and the points on the back to produce thrust. In no time at all, Touma had himself a makeshift hoverboard.
It took a bit of trial and error for him to get a feel for the board and find his balance, but Touma figured it out rather quickly. In hindsight, he really shouldn't have been surprised. He did get the high score on the surfing simulator back at the Phantasm Carnival.
"Guess something useful did come out of that trip," Mikoto mused.
"What about that giant Gekota Kamijou won you?" Kuroko asked absentmindedly, "You snuggle that thing in your sleep every night."
"You snuggle the plush I won you to sleep?" Touma asked, mildly surprised.
"Shut up!"
"Well, I'll be there soon. ETA ten minutes," Touma replied before shifting his focus back to flying.
As he rode down the street, Touma couldn't help but feel like something wasn't right. On his way to the children's location, he had gone past the mech that Therestina was piloting, or at the very least what was left of it. He had circled the pill of scrap metal a couple of times to evaluate it, but his finding had stuck him as odd.
Mikoto had clearly hit the Kihara with something larger than an arcade token based on the extensive damage to the mech. The blast was powerful enough to cripple the robot and open a hole straight through the cockpit. However, the blast didn't cut through the seat, only barely grazing where the pilot would sit. However, the most startling part was that there was not sign of Therestina at all except for a few small blood stains. Unless she was vaporized by the railgun, she had either gotten away and in hiding, or had another trick up his sleeve. As sick as it may be, Touma was seriously hoping she was vaporized.
"I need to take a break," Touma lamented, "All these high-stake Judgement cases are starting to get to me. I'm starting to think like a maniac."
"I found you," Kiyama sighed in relief at the sight of her students.
Next to her, Uihara was pounding at Haruee's pod, trying to walk the poor girl up. To Uiharu's relief, her roommate came to and was not worse for wear. Saten left to look for a control panel while Kuroko and Mikoto looked on from a distance, smiling the entire time.
"No long now," Kiyama said to her sleeping students, "We'll get you out of there."
"You hear that, Kamijou?" Kuroko said over their commlink, "We've found them."
"Yeah, thank goodness," Touma replied, "Estimated arrival time, five minutes."
That was when the ringing started. The ringing that was the bane of all Espers.
"No, that sound again," Mikoto whined, "It can't be."
"But it is," an all to familiar voice said from behind the Tokiwodai girls, "You pesky, meddling brats!"
Mikoto turned her aching head to see the sadistic smile of a bleeding Therestina Kihara Lifeline.
"It's her," Mikoto whimpered.
"This is to pay you back for earlier!" the mad women yelled as she smacked to Tokiwodai girls aside with a giant lance.
The girls fell to the ground, their ear pieces coming knocked loose.
"Shirai! Misaka! Are you still there?!" Touma cried from his end.
Outraged by the researcher's heinous actions, Kiyama charged at the Kihara. However, it was a fruitless effort as she was just as easily knocked aside.
Hearing all the commotion, Saten returned to the room to see her friends lying on the ground at the feet of the crazed researcher. She stopped at the door, gritting her teeth as she contemplated charging in herself.
"That felt good!" Therestina laughed, "That's what you get for making me look like a fool!"
"You're using Capacity Down! Misaka describe it to us before! The sound it emits only affects Espers!" Uiharu cried.
"This is Capacity Down?" Saten asked herself.
"What's your point?" Theretina inquired, "Knowing what it does isn't going to protect you."
"She told us that you upgraded the system with speakers too big to move around easily," Uiharu continued.
"So what? Are you going to try and destroy every speaker in the facility one by one?"
"A system like this needs a control center and it can only be in so many places with how big it is!" Uiharu further explained, "Based on what I've seen about this building, there is only one place it could be, back in the Central Control Room."
"Maybe you're right," Therestina replied, smacking the last Esper aside, knocking her ear piece out as well, "Not that it matters when there is nothing you can do."
"Uiharu! Damn it! Can anyone still read me?!" Touma begged, "Saten, if you're still there, you have to deal with Capacity Down! From what I can tell, Therestina still doesn't know you're there. I'm still a few minutes I way, so you're the only one that can do this!"
Saten hesitated for a moment. She wanted to help. This women hurt her friends and caused so much suffering for so many other people. She wanted to hit Therestina with her bat with all her might. However, she knew Touma was right. Uiharu was telling her what she needed to do. She was telling her how she could be useful. Thus, she ran. Saten ran back up stairs as fast as she could to the Central Control Room. She was not going to be a burden. Not this time.
"Do all little girls talk as much as you do? You should thank me, I'm about to show you something amazing," Therestina boasted, oblivious to Saten's presence, "The completion of the Ability Crystal."
"How can you?" Mikoto asked, standing in defiance despite the pain, "I don't understand. You're a victim in this too. Your own grandfather used you for his experiments. He made your ability run out of control. And yet, here you are."
"You're wrong. I'm no victim. I'm Academy City's greatest dream. This seed of greatness was born thanks to me," Therestina declared, presenting a vial containing a single, red Ability Crystal, "And I intend to let it bloom."
"It can't be…" Kyama gasped, "That vial, it contains the First Sample?"
"Using this, I'll finally create a Level 6!" Therestina yelled triumphantly, eying Haruee, "This young girl is about to become the first Esper in Academy City to reach Level 6! The power of the other children will flow into her!"
"You can't do it!" Uiharu begged, "Not Haruee!"
"And why not? Her ability is unique in that it is capable of resonating with the crystal. It was truly a stroke of luck that you brought her to me," Therestina boasted, "I'll borrow the other children's realities, extracting their Runaway Esper neurotransmitters to create an inhibitor for the Ability Crystal, and it will finally be complete. The old geezer could never figure it out, but I will succeed where he failed!"
"You can't!" Mikoto protested, "If the children wake up in their current state, the Poltergeisting will destroy the city!"
"Why should I care?" Therestina asked, hoisting Mikoto up with her lance, "Creating someone who holds the power of god while in a mortal body is the whole point of this city. Once that's achieve, there's no point in the keeping the city around."
Dr. Kiyama attempted to attack Therestina one more time, but once again was easily kicked aside.
"You said something interesting before, that Skill-Out members weren't my lab rats," Therestina said, staring right at Mikoto, "You were just one word away from being correct. They aren't my only lab rats. No, you're all my lab rats! Better yet, your all my livestock, waiting for me to use you as I please."
However, Therestina's rant was cut off by the sound of the facility's PA system turning on. On the other side of the line was Saten, her voice clearly shaken yet determined.
"I don't give a damn if you think we're lab rats!" Saten declared, "Don't forget, rats have sharp teeth!"
"Saten!" Uiharu cheered.
"There's another one of you brats here? How is she still standing?!" Therestina demanded.
"I'm not going to tell you twice. Keep you're hands off my friends!"
The last thing heard from the PA system was the sound of a shattering computer.
"Kamijou, Capacity Down is offline! I did it!" Saten cheered over the commlink, "Where are you?"
"I just arrived!" Touma yelled as he weaved through the mess of offline Powered Suits and trucks Mikoto created outside the facility, "Bottom most level, right?"
"Yeah, at the bottom of the central spiral stair well!" Saten confirmed.
"On my way!" Touma yelled as rode into the facility, his board scraping against the walls as he made some tight turns through the narrow hallways.
Soon enough, he found the stair well that Saten mention and say Saten already making her way down. Touma needed to get down fast, and there was only one way he could think of to do so without jumping of his board. He gripped the tip of his board with his left hand, pulling it upward. Some might call it stupid to try a maneuver you saw only a few times on television with no practice, but it was his only real option. Recalling a certain anime he saw once, Touma attempted the show's signature move, the Cutback Drop Turn.
And so, Touma fell.
With Capcity Down gone, the Espers were once again able to fight back. Using her last pin, Kuroko was able to knock the First Sample out of Therestina's hand, allowing Kyama to retrieve the last bit of data she was missing. Mikoto then used her electricity to throw the heavily armored researcher aside, putting some distance between the two of them. Despite the setback, Therestina was still resisting.
"Fine then. Looks like it's time to change tactics!" Therestina laughed, "Fortunately, I have a plan B! I'm gonna blow you and this whole place away!"
Therestina held out her lance, which then split apart into a four-pronged claw, surging with electricity.
"I designed this particular weapon after carefully analyzing your ability!" Therestina explained, "It's even more powerful than your railgun!"
"Honestly, first laboratory rats, then livestock? How bitter and pathetic do you have to be to think so lowly of other human beings?" Mikoto asked, taking out an arcade token.
"You may be a Level 5 Electromaster, but in this town your just data!" Therestina laughed, "That's right, just a bunch of data with two legs and a smart mouth!"
"That's where you're wrong. The people of Academy City are much more that that. They can achieve greatness in ways only possible here. As a Certain Strange Addition to Judgement would say, the people of this city being just data is just an illusion," Mikoto declared, tossing the coin in the air, "So I'm going to shatter it!"
"Couldn't say it better myself!" a familiar voice echoed from the door.
Touma suddenly turned the corner, flying at full speed. He once through the door, he jumped off his board and let if fly straight at Therestina. The board slammed into her firing arm, knocking it upward and causing her railgun to fire prematurely. The blast hit the ceiling, causing rubble to fall and pin her in place.
"Misaka!" Touma yelled, "Take the shot!"
Mikoto complied, flicking the coin just as it lined up with her finger. Her railgun fired with a thunderous roar, slamming into Therestina's chest. The mad scientist was driven into the wall at Mach three, passing out on collision.
Eventually, Saten was able to catch up with the others in the lower most block. When she got there, Mikoto, Uiharu, Haruee, and Kiyama were by the system's control panel, Kuroko was waiting by the door, and Touma was in the back, staring at the bloody and unconscious Therestina. Seeing that everyone was safe, Saten let out a sign of relief, leaning over a railing to rest.
"That was nice work," Kuroko complimented, "You saved all our lives."
"Heh, it was nothing," Saten chuckled, "I was just doing what I could to help, just like a certain other Level 0 we all know."
The two girls turned towards said Level 0 and approached slowly. All the while, Touma stood over the Kihara, completely silent. It barely even registered in his mind that the girls were approaching him.
"You okay?" Saten asked.
"Oh, hey. Yeah. I was just… thinking," Touma replied absentmindedly.
"What about?" Kuroko inquired.
"It's stupid. It's just… So much suffering was caused because a couple of scientist like the Kiharas were desperate enough to disregard other people just to create a Level 6, a mortal that could stand as God's equal," Touma explained, "I was just wondering what would happen if Imagine Breaker became common knowledge. In my right hand, I hold the power to destroy and suppress the supernatural and the undermine the will of God. Even my name entails that I could stand against God and the devil despite just being a normal high school student. I thought that maybe if I had made Imagine Breaker public, people like the Kiharas would have left everyone else alone and focused their research on me. Maybe then, these children wouldn't even need to be saved in the first place. They're peace wouldn't have been stolen from them."
'And for all I know, Yuri is going through a hell just as bad or worse that the one these children have endured,' Touma thought to himself, remembering the unknown man, Amata Kihara.
"Come on, don't say that," Saten encouraged, "It's not like all of this is your fault. Besides, you did what you could to help. That's all that really matters."
"Is it though?" Touma argued, "All I've been doing is stepping in once things have already gotten bad. Maybe if I had known, I could have done something to prevent things from getting this bad in the first place."
"You can't play the martyr every time someone is in trouble. Think about what the rest of us would go through if you went into the hospital after one of your escapades and didn't come back out," Kuroko countered, "Why are you so intent on sacrificing yourself for others anyway?"
Touma paused for a moment as his thought wandered back to that fateful morning. The morning he woke up in the hospital with amnesia and saw Index on the verge of tears. Of all the memories he had made since his accident, that one was still the hardest to swallow.
"I just… don't want to see people cry," Touma admitted, hesitation evident in his voice.
"You hesitated," Kuroko pointed out.
"I know, it's stupid. It's just how I feel," Touma conceded.
"Of course it's stupid," Saten added, "Tears of joy exist too."
For the first time since they started talking, Touma actually looked at the two girls in the eyes. They both gave him warm smiles, as if to say that they knew he knew what they were implying. All Touma could do was return the smile and chuckle.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Both of you," Touma admitted, "Hard to believe I forgot about that."
"I don't think so. You do have amnesia, after all," Saten joked, earning another chuckle from the unlucky boy.
"Well, Dr. Kiyama is working on her awakening program for the children. How about we go see if any of those tears of joy are shed today?" Kuroko suggested, nodding towards the rest of the group.
After a long and tedious process, Dr. Kiyama was finally able to complete her awakening program thanks to the data from the First Sample. Although hesitant at first, the former teacher was given the courage to run her program thanks to a message passed over to her from Edasuki through Haruee. At long last, after many years, the children had finally woken up. Despite the time spent asleep, they all recognized the teacher they all loved so dearly. Just as it was predicted, tears of joy were shed.
"Alright, can I finish saying it now?" Kiyama asked, turning to the students that accompanied her in her quest, "Thank you so much."
The students could only smile at the gratitude.
"We have to hurry!" Uiharu cried, "I don't want to miss it!"
"Misaka, Shirai, it's not like you to be late," Saten noted.
"Honestly, of all days, Sissy, this is the one you chose to sleep in on!" Kuroko yelled, chastising her roommate and senior.
"Shut up, you were sleeping every bit as soundly as I was!" Mikoto retorted, "Besides, what about this idiot? He was just as late because of his stupid camera!"
"I can't help it if the batteries died!" Touma defended, "Academy City may be technologically advanced, but a lot of the stuff still needs electricity! Of course, you wouldn't need to worry about stuff like that!"
The group of friends ran through the streets of Academy City, clearly in a rush to get somewhere. Today was a special day, and one that they did not want to miss out on.
"I have to admit, I'm kind of surprised," Uiharu said as they ran, "I never would have expected Misaka to come up with something like this."
"What are you talking about?" Saten asked, "It's sweet, and generous, and thoughtful, just like Misaka is."
"Yeah, you're right!" Uiharu agreed.
"Really? I get more of stern, short-tempered, and violent vibe from her," Touma admitted.
"Keep talking like that, and that's exactly what you're going to get!" Mikoto threatened.
Despite the group's desperate attempt to get to their destination, they found themselves stopping on a bridge when Kuroko received a call from Konori. Apparently, Therestina had finally woken up and Anti-Skill had started interrogating her. Unfortunately, she wasn't saying anything. It was clear it would be a while before they a full record of the Kihara's crimes. However, they didn't think too long about is as they soon realized they had stopped running and were wasting time.
"Look, up there!" Uiharu cried, pointing up at the sky.
The rest of the group turned to where she was pointing to see the main event of their plans flying by. With Mikoto's influence as a Level 5, they were able to arrange for one of the blimps to present a special message for a certain researcher. On the screen were all of Dr. Kiyama's students, wishing her a happy birthday while they all recovered in the hospital.
Across the city, people looked up at the blimp and couldn't help but smile at the act of affection between some students and their teacher. Out of everyone in the city, the group of Touma, Mikoto, Kuroko, Uiharu, and Saten appreciated the act the most. It was proof that their efforts were well worth the struggle and that Therestina was wrong about the city. The students were not just test subjects, they were, in their own way, family.
As he watched the blimp go by, Touma raised the camera he had hanging off his neck and took a picture. Soon after, a fresh copy of the picture was printed out, completely visible from the get go. Just another one of Academy City's technological marvels. He then took out his journal and turned to an event entry subtitled "Dr. Kiyama's Birthday" and attached the photo to the page.
Touma turned his attention away from the book when he heard Mikoto stretching, clearly satisfied with how the event turned out despite not being there in person. All the rest of the group could do was smile at this simple action.
"There's never a dull moment, is there?" Mikoto mused, "Not in this city."
Glad that that's finally done. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. I certainly enjoyed writing it. I'm especially happy with the final clash at the end. I'm normally pretty lenient with filler arcs in anime since they have their own merit and can be just as interesting as anything canon to the original work. However, I was really irked by the beam-o-war at the end of the fight in the anime. Seriously, it's simple physics. You can't have a beam-o-war when the projectiles clashing are small, blunt objects that are essentially bullets. For a side-story titled "A Certain Scientific Railgun", that's pretty scientifically inaccurate. Granted, it's science fiction, but they can at least get the basic science right!
Anyway, my scientific grievances aside, I'm happy with how the chapter came out overall. Remember how I said I don't believe in throw away lines? Well, this chapter is a pretty big example of that. I'm sure you all thought the surfing simulator line during the not-a-date chapter had no weight in the long run, yet here it is, coming back as a new skill for Touma. I even have plans to bring it back again later, so keep an eye out for that.
Also, references. Lots of references. Mostly Marvel references. Is my hype for Infinity War apparent yet? How many can you find?
I'll be taking a small ciesta after this. Need to rewatch the Sisters Arc on two fronts for research purposes. Also, Fate/Grand Order's Zero Accel Alter even is up and I need to make some serious progress if I want to reunite the Emiya family. Funny thing is, I was rolling for Kiritsugu and got spooked by Iskandar on my only X10 roll. I've been having crazy luck with to rate-ups lately. First Dantes, then Jalter, now Iskandar. All of my SSR Servants have been from events so far. Guess I've got a good shot at Illya when she comes out if the trend is anything to go by.
Leave a review if you like.
Best guy and girl, thank you!