The screen flickered for a bit before the author appeared, looking a little sheepish.
*Hey guys Hakuorofan7 here and welcome back to another chapter of Key to New Possibilities…it's been a while.*
*Just two days to a full year since I last updated this story, at least it was under a year this time. That and when notifications are finally working again.*
*Well no more time to delay, let's start this shall we.*
*In this chapter Roxas find himself helping Misaka again while with Riku and Naminé, the former learns about a facet of her ability she hasn't used since Castle Oblivion.*
*I do not own Kingdom Hearts or the Toaru series.*
*Finally just sit back, relax, maybe put some music on, and enjoy. I see you all at the end of the chapter.*
The author snaps his fingers as the screen turns to static as the chapter begins.
Judgment Work
Roxas sighed as he looked through the food shelves for something to eat for the day.
He had been touring through Academy City again looking for a place to view the sunset when he decided to stop by a nearby Price Store for something to eat. So far his search for such a place had turned up a few promising spots, yet nothing compared to the clock tower at Twilight Town.
Granted there was hardly any way to top the view from there, except maybe from the top of a skyscraper. Probably amongst one of the various windmills lining this section of the city...
Roxas nodded to himself as he grabbed a sandwich and began to walk over to the cash register.
Honestly that was probably the closest to recapturing such a view, he'll look for a vantage point like that later.
"Thank you, have a nice day." The cashier said as Roxas paid for the sandwich, waving back as he exited the store.
Double checking his yen, the Nobody made a mental note to keep an eye out for more later. He had spent quite a bit of it yesterday on using the laundromat and on his and Uiharu's ice cream. Something he considered more than worth it.
And just yet another reminder that he needed to settle into Academy City, perhaps he could ask Uiharu. She did give him some advice on his first day on this world on contacting Judgment.
Granted he could always ask her, but Uiharu was the only member of Judgment Roxas knew of. Even if he thought that she would probably turn up at Bernie's Cafe for sea salt ice cream, chances of running into her again by accident were slim.
Besides he needed to take care of a few things like finding a way to get some identification or a phone at the least. Something to start to settle on this world.
Roxas hoped to at least to get that far by the time Naminé got his message.
He didn't trust DiZ in the slightest and wasn't sure that the man was going to seek out Riku and Naminé. Nor that they would be back to the mansion anytime soon with the Organization keeping an eye on it.
Just hoping that he'll get the chance to see them again soon.
The Nobody looked from side to side, making sure the coast was clear, he opened a Corridor of Darkness in an alleyway next to the Price Store. Walking through and closing it behind him.
"So he was just here." Misaka said, shaking her head as she peered around the corner.
Misaka was caught by surprise when she glimpsed Roxas walking into an alleyway. Only managing to catch sight of him disappearing in what appeared to be a pillar of black flames that vanished. Exactly like how Uiharu had described it.
Roxas had slipped away to possibly another School District for all she knew.
She just shook her head at that, it was a lost cause at this point.
At least before she vented to Uiharu about Kuroko earlier, her friend had told her more about the encounter with Roxas yesterday...along with whining about Saten kept teasing her about it this morning.
Misaka was happy that at least Uiharu got some answers like Roxas had promised. Even if it did raise some more questions, including there could potentially be more like him outside of Academy City.
There the reported occurrences of Gemstones, yet compared to the Espers of Academy city they were just a handful scattered around the world. With much of a hassle she personally experienced in needing to leave Academy City even as a Level 1 Esper, Misaka knew that there was no way that an Esper with Duel Skill would be allowed to leave without similar restrictions.
Yet Roxas was capable of doing so 10 months ago and seemingly more people like him existed capable of at least teaching each other to use other abilities.
It could be like the 7th ranked Level 5, Misaka had done a little digging to find his abilities were beyond understanding even by Academy City. What little she knew that was recorded sounded like something straight out of a tokusatsu show.
Maybe Roxas's abilities were something similar?
Between that revelation and finding out about the graviton incidents from Kuroko and Uiharu, it just seemed to be yet another pair of mysterious events going on in Academy City.
More of them just seem to be piling up by the day at this point.
"Misaka are you okay?" Konori asked, getting Misaka to look back to see the Judgment member getting handed something from the cashier
"Thought I saw someone sneaking back here, but it was nothing." Misaka said, getting Konori to nod as the cashier went back into the store.
"I see, anyway come here. We have work to do." She said, getting Misaka to smirk as she walked over to the older girl.
Right now thinking about what could be going on in Academy City could wait.
Instead it was showing that Kuroko was wrong and that she was more than capable of doing Judgment work!
"Here." Konori said, handing a broom over to Misaka. The Level 5 Esper blinking at the outstretched object before looking back at Konori.
"What's this?" Misaka asked, trying to maintain her composure.
"It's a broom of course." Konori said, handing her the broom while she held another one in her other hand.
"I see..." Misaka said, trailing off as she noticed all the litter lining up the storefront. An idea of what Konori was going to say next came to mind.
This was the last thing she expected Judgment work to be like...
Naminé shivered as she clutched her heavy white coat, following behind Riku as they walked through the mountain trail. The snow started to slow down around them as they continued their trek.
According to him Sora had decided to head to the world of Beast's Castle first, Mickey would be there keeping an eye on him first. The world had been under the Organization's presence for nearly a year and the last thing either the king or Riku wanted was for Xaldin to grab or kill Naminé if she was on that world.
Neither of them had any idea if the Organization were still after Naminé, but they both knew that Xaldin was now the group's fixer and was far more likely to silence any loose ends to Xemnas's plans.
Best not to leave things to chance, she and Riku were waiting in the Land of Dragons for Sora, Donald, and Goofy after they were done on Beast's Castle. Mickey joining them afterwards.
While she was glad to at least see another world not from Sora's or Roxas's memories...she could have done without the cold.
"How much further until we reach the village?" She asked as Riku looked along the trail.
"A few more minutes, just keep your eyes on the sides of the trail." Riku said, getting the Nobody to nod while shivering from the cold.
The Land of Dragons between a major spike in the Heartless population and the Hun army to the northwest of these mountains made it marginally safer than Beast's Castle. The Organization however hadn't discovered this world yet or if they had Riku had observed this world wasn't important to their goals so far.
Still Heartless had kept ambushing them from time to time, easily dealt with by Riku. He knew however the situation was slowly getting worse.
In just a matter of weeks it will soon become like the worlds a year ago. Once they were in the village and made sure Naminé was secure for the night, Riku would clear up some of the mess tonight.
While Sora was back, it didn't mean he could slack off on dealing with the Heartless.
Especially with Roxas beyond anyone's reach as far as he knew, not sure if that world had any Heartless or not.
If the Organization knew of Academy City before Marluxia's failed coup, there were no records of it in Castle Oblivion. The only way to narrow the location down without randomly jumping between worlds was possibly Axel.
Both of whom Riku dreaded could go after Sora, but he was certainly worried less so of Roxas's intentions for Naminé.
Didn't mean that he was risking any chances.
Along with DiZ possibly going after him, if he could find Sora's Noboday as well.
Riku just sighed as he felt his senses pick something up. Summoning Soul Eater in one hand and training the tip of the blade to a large rock.
Firing a dark orb that washed over it and dispersed the snow from it.
"Naminé wait right there." Riku said as he moved in front of her.
"More Heartless?" She asked, moving towards the rock.
"Quite a few, not helping that I can sense a group of soldiers coming up from the capital." Riku said, adjusting his coat's hood over his head. "We might have to pass through the village and onto the other side of the pass to camp for the night."
Naminé just nodded, sitting on the rock as a group of Nightwalkers and Shadows emerged around them. The Heartless zeroing in on the older teen before pouncing on them. Reaching into her bag as he started to cut them down, pulling out her new notebook and rummaging through it.
Knowing Riku, Naminé was certain that she would be able to finish her latest sketch by the time he'll wipe out the latest pack of them...wait...
Where were her writing utensils?
"No, no, no, please don't tell me I left them down the mountain?" Naminé said as she continued to search through her bag.
Last she saw them was a previous Heartless attack. Like her notebook she had only just gotten it from Riku not that long ago in Twilight Town. She couldn't have lost them already...
Unknown to her a Shadow strayed from the rest of its kind as Riku slammed Soul Eater onto a Nightwalker, destroying the Heartless. Slinking towards Naminé with her back towards it.
Pouncing towards her, only for a large pair of arms to emerge from her shadow.
The Guardian rising from it, holding the struggling Shadow in its grasp before crushing the Heartless. Looming over the girl in case any more dared to approach.
"Thank you." Naminé said, briefly looking up from her bag at the Guardian before continuing to rummage through it for a few more moments.
Sighing and jumping down from the rock, starting to look around the base of it for pebbles.
A Nightwalker strayed from behind its pack as Riku slashed at a pair of Shadows with Soul Eater, feeling the Heartless instantly. It lunged forward, spinning in an attempt to gouge him with its claws.
Riku just sidestepped the Heartless, bringing down his blade right on the Heartless. Sending it to the ground and dispersing it in a puff of darkness.
As its heart was released, Riku looked around sensing no more Heartless around for now. The only one left was the Guardian as it sank back into Naminé's shadow.
He then noticed her holding a bunch of pebbles, grasping them in her hand.
"It's not much, but they'll have to do." Naminé said, clutching the pebbles as a blinding, golden light emerged from them.
Riku averted his eyes from the flash, before it died down. He looked surprised to see that the pebbles had changed into a set of colored pencils. She panted a little before sitting back on the rock, putting most of them away in exchange for her notebook.
"It's been a while since I've done that." Namine said, flipping through the notebook and starting to continue on her sketch.
"Naminé, what did you do?" Riku asked her, never seeing her do anything like this before.
He was more than aware of Naminé's powers over memories and she could use them to disguise her appearance. She had done so when he had been under Zexion's illusion.
Yet completely changing one object to another was something new to him.
"I turned them into writing utensils. Using the collective links I manipulated the and altered the pebbles into something else entirely. Sorry that I lost the pencils you got me." Naminé said, looking down as Riku shook his head with a smile.
"It's fine Naminé." He said, looking down to see her working on a sketch of Sora reuniting with his friends at Hollow Bastion. "This one is turning out great, mind if I see one of them?"
"Of course, I can remake it again." She said, handing him a yellow colored pencil as Riku inspected it.
Spending a few moments inspecting it in his hand before snapping it in half, checking out the insides.
She had completely changed a stone pebble into an object made of wood, wax, and lead. Overwriting the pebble's existence into something completely new with no trace of the original through, all done through manipulating memories alone...
He briefly wondered just what else she could do with this before shaking his head, handing back Naminé the snapped pencil.
"Here you go." Riku said as he handed her the pencil, the Nobody grasped it in one hand as light started to gleam off it. "Castle Oblivion was the last time you used this ability?"
"Yes...with both Sora and your Replica." She said, golden light flashing from her closed hand before opening it. Revealing a yellow star charm to Riku looked to be the same size as the good luck charm Kairi always carried around on Destiny Island. "I used a card and Kairi's charm to further tensions between them. Both have a similar charm I supposedly gave them."
"Alongside the memories you created." Riku said as Naminé closed up the notebook, placing it back in her bag as she looked at the charm in her hand. "Are you thinking of giving it to someone?"
"Maybe, it has nothing but bad memories for me. But I think I know someone to give it too." She said, a small smile on her face as she slipped the charm into her bag and the two of them began to walk back on the trail. "Unless you want it?"
"I'll think about it." Riku said with a smile, hazarding a guess of who'd she give it too. "Come on, we're almost there."
Naminé just nodded as they continued to walk towards the village, with her eager to get out of the cold for a bit.
Roxas emerged from a Corridor near his current campsite.
After eating he had spent some time hopping from one skyscraper roof to another, looking for a place with a possible hood view for the sunset. Like his earlier search it had turned out a few promising spots.
He decided to head back to his current campsite on deciding where to explore next, and was surprised by what he saw.
Granted he had been sticking to a public bridge, so it wouldn't be too unusual to see people milling about.
Yet the last thing the Nobody expected to see was Misaka again, her back towards him and acting as a support as another girl with a blue sweater vest, neck-length black hair, and a Judgment armband sitting on her shoulders. Her looking for something on the ledge.
"Not here either." The other girl said as Roxas began to approach them.
Misaka struggled to hold her up, wondering why she was on the bottom. That and they were supposed to be searching for a dog and not a cat, so why were they searching the ledge of a bridge?
Most of the places they searched for didn't make any sense to the Level 5 Esper at all. The fact she kept running into so many bugs while wasn't helping her nerves...
"Misaka, a little bit to the right please." Konori said, getting Misaka to nod as she started to shuffle to the right.
Struggling to keep her balance as the other girl kept rummaging around the bridge's edge. Hearing someone approaching them from behind.
Before she could do anything the other girl accidentally knocked down a millipede that fell close to Misaka's face, landing in the grass near her feet.
Misaka started to panic, stomping around. Ignoring the other girl flailing about trying to keep her balance or Roxas close to them.
"Scary bugs! Scary bugs!" She kept shouting as they moved back from the bridge.
"Don't fling me-" Konori tried to say, but lost her balance and fell off Misaka.
Only for Roxas to catch her before she could land on the ground, the older girl standing herself back up as Misaka was starting to calm down a bit.
"You okay?" Roxas asked, getting Konori to nod.
"I'm fine, thank you." Konori said, fixing her glasses as Misaka approached her while looking a little sheepish.
"Sorry about that..." Misaka said, refusing to look at either of them in the face.
"It's alright. I should have been more careful, just please be more mindful next time." Konori said, getting the younger Esper to nod.
She really should have kept a better eye on that ledge for any insects. Konori had witnessed first hand how her junior reacted to bugs during their previous search areas.
"Right." Misaka said, turning to face Roxas. "I guess you were just passing through Roxas?"
"Correct, I didn't know that you joined Judgment." Roxas said, noticing the armband.
He never noticed it during his first day on this world and remembered seeing another girl with one when they arrived. Guessing that she was the Shirai Uiharu talked about the other day.
"Just completed my training the other day." Misaka said, getting him to nod as Konori looked between the two.
"Is he a friend of yours?" Konori asked.
"I guess more of a friend of a friend." Misaka said before looking at the Nobody. "Have you seen a dog carrying a children's bag around? It's pink with flowers on it."
"Can't say that I have." He said, with a shrug.
"Then can you please keep an eye out for it?" Misaka asked with a determined expression, getting Roxas to ponder for a few moments before nodding.
At least she was upfront about it.
"I'll see what I can do, I make no promises." Roxas said, starting to walk off as Konori smiled.
"Thank you, if you do see the bag or get it please contact Judgment so we can return the bag to its owner." She said, getting him to nod before he opened a Corridor.
A simple enough request, and Roxas had spotted a few office plates for Judgement branch offices during his exploration of Academy City. So it would be simple enough to drop the bag off if he came across it. Of course if no one else found it before then.
Even if he limited the search area to a single School District it was still quite a wide area to find a single dog with a bag. If he spotted it, he'd help out.
And if he couldn't, he'll just continue exploring and possibly find a new campsite later.
Still Roxas had to wonder why they were searching on the side of a bridge for a dog, before shrugging as he entered the Corridor. Closing it as Konori blinked at the fading portal.
"So he is a teleporter, haven't heard of one that can create a portal before." Konori said, shaking her head, trying to think of the 11th dimensional space calculations needed to create and maintain such a thing. Especially if it did open up in another location.
"Think he might be the first one." Misaka said, honestly certain about that as Konori nodded.
Of all 58 teleporters in Academy city, a third of them could only teleport more than one object and a handful of those could teleport themselves under their own power including Kuroko.
Yet there had been no recording of one using their own powers to create portals, yet Konori believed she heard something mentioned about that the other day...
"At least we have more eyes on the ground to help us." She said, breaking from her thoughts before turning to Misaka. "There's no sign of the bag here, let's move on to the next area."
"Hopefully we can find it soon." Misaka said as the two of them began to walk away.
With Roxas's ability to cover vast distances if he stayed in the area they'll have a better chance to find the children's bag. Hopefully they can find it soon before it could explode.
Roxas sighed as he walked down the streets of Academy City, looking along the streets of School District 18.
He had been touring the surrounding area after his conversation with Konori and Misaka. Mostly just exploring while half keeping an eye out for this run away dog or the bag.
More than likely it had been dropped or picked up by someone or Judgment at this point. Yet he'll at least try to spot it during his travels. Honestly he had nothing else to do today.
Except maybe stroll along the streets of this district for a few more minutes before trying to limit his time traveling here again on the ground level.
Aside from hearing this area was for more prestigious schools known for a majority, the atmosphere of this district was somewhat different from what Roxas had previously explored. The very atmosphere felt stifling. The very roadways and architecture of the buildings felt uniform with barely any activity.
It reminded the Nobody of the World That Never Was a little bit, more specifically of the outskirts of the world. Towards where the city grew darker and darker, where the light of the artificial Kingdom Hearts barely touched.
And where the Shadows and Neoshadows gathered in droves most of the time to be fended off.
Roxas had only been there twice in his lifetime, the second was his exit from the Organization just to find a place to open a Corridor to Twilight Town without being found.
No Heartless to be found here, but the stifling air was similar.
Plus what he was making Roxas on edge.
It was someone's heart, one of the strongest he had ever sensed since arriving in this world. But that was all he could tell.
Every time his senses picked it up, the best Roxas could describe was that they reflected off the heart in every direction. Unable to even get a clear reading of it.
Something he had never heard of before and more than willing to steer clear from whoever that heart belongs too.
Roxas turned a street corner, deciding to explore a little bit more before his senses went haywire again.
Looking around quickly he didn't see anything, but opened another Corridor behind him. Emerging onto the roof of a small office building, getting a clear view of the streets below.
Spotting a shimmering form near where Roxas previously was, it seemed to move briefly before vanishing completely. Not a single trace of it remaining.
He stared at the spot for what seemed like another minute before opening a Corridor, walking through it before emerging onto another skyscraper.
Wondering just what in the name of Kingdom Hearts was that?
Whatever it was Roxas could only sense its heart briefly, but it was utterly unrecognizable to anything he or Sora had ever sensed before.
Seemed to be a bit curious, yet whatever it was had vanished.
The Nobody kept watch on the surrounding area for a few more minutes before deciding to open another Corridor and hop from rooftop to rooftop out of School District 18.
He needed to do some serious research before even considering entering this district again.
"Not here either." Konori said as she looked behind some trash cans at a small park next to the roadway.
"I guess we were too late here." Mikasa said as she observed a burnt patch on a bush near the top of it.
Having a good idea on what caused it, something that could be repeated if they didn't get that bag soon.
The two of them had gotten word from another Judgment branch that the dog had been spotted around this park, but it seemed to have run off already. With more members of the organization spread out in the surrounding area looking for it.
She was at least thankful none of them were either Uiharu or Kuroko...
Misaka was broken out of her thoughts as she jumped back from a full cup of soda thrown at her.
"Hey!" She shouted out before seeing the culprits in a car.
"Take care of that too will you!" The culprit said hanging from the passenger side window, her recognizing him as the teen who littered in front of her while sweeping outside of the Fresh Mart. The nerve of him to repeat the same thing again.
She growled, sparks fluttering off her.
Tempted to zap him again as he and his cohort's car started to speed up a little. Reigning in her temper, and smirking as an Anti-Skill car pulled them over.
Perfect.
"At least you didn't use force this time." Konori said as the electricity around Mikasa dispersed. "We'll settle this matter first before resuming the search, shouldn't be more than a minute."
"Right." Misaka said, trying her best to hide her smirk as the two walked up to the cars.
"Well here's a dog, but not the right kind of bag." Roxas said, looking down at the dog sitting at his feet.
A chocolate colored shiba let out a bark as it sat at Roxas's feet, wagging its tail happily.
He had spotted the dog walking the streets, carrying a pink bag. Didn't take him long to corner it. Yet getting a better look at the dog, the Nobody thought that it was the wrong one.
The bag was pink, but looked like a small pouch on the shiba's collar with no flowers on it. Alongside a leash that the shiba kept trying to paw to Roxas.
Looks like this wasn't the same dog, more than likely one that ran away.
"Ranpo! Where are you?!" A girl's voice called out, getting the shiba's attention as they started to bark in that direction.
Turning its head back to Roxas as it wagged its tail, with him grabbing its leash.
"Alright let's get you back to your owner." He said, the now named Ranpo barking happily as the shiba tried to run ahead. Attempting to pull Roxas along or wretch the leash from his hand.
Clearly he can see how he got away...
It didn't take long for Roxas to find the owner, a girl around his age with long back hair and a white hairband over the fringes.
Ranpo barked happily and tugged on the leash even harder as the Nobody let go of the leash, running to the girl and began nuzzling her leg as she bent down to pet the dog.
"There you are, what have you been told about running ahead like that." The headband girl said as she grabbed the leash. Wrapping part of it around her forearm before facing Roxas. "Thank you for finding him."
"No problem, but you might want to keep a tighter grip on his leash." He said, getting the girl to sigh.
"I know, he actually belongs to a friend that asked me to walk him." The girl said, opening the pouch on his color and throwing something to Roxas, catching it to reveal a dog treat and Ranpo barking at him. "Usually I can handle him, but he got excited at seeing another shiba running around."
"Was this one carrying a pink bag?" Roxas asked before looking at the dog. "Sit."
Ranpo complied, sitting down waiting for the treat.
"I think so, it ran off that way a few minutes ago." The headband girl said, pointing to the right of her as Roxas handed Ranpo the treat.
Sounded like the dog was definitely nearby.
Or at least it was before running off, still it was something to check up on.
"I see, thank you. Be sure to keep a tight grip on his leash." Roxas said, walking off with a wave which the girl returned.
Ranpo barked happily as he disappeared from view.
"I'm sorry, as I told someone else about 10 minutes ago that's all I know." The headband girl said, getting Misaka to sigh as Konori nodded,
The two had heard of the girl making a call to Judgment earlier about a runaway dog with a pink bag, finding out everything had been resolved. Except the dog they were originally searching for had run ahead.
Ranpo for his part was sitting at the girl's feet, panting and trying to look splendid.
"Was this person a boy in a black coat?" Misaka asked, having an inkling on how this girl had met.
Getting confirmation as she nodded.
"Yes, he even brought Ranpo back to me before heading off." The girl said, with the shiba barking happily.
"So Roxas probably hadn't found it yet." Konori said, given the lack of any updates on the situation. "I see, thank you for everything."
The headband girl just nodded and waved as Konori and Misaka walked off to continue their search.
"Where did she go?" Misaka said, looking around with a bland expression as she traversed a side street. Walking past a teen with glasses and headphones in his ear.
About half an hour ago after their last tip about the dog and the children's bag, Konori had run up ahead leaving Misaka alone to continue the search in the current area.
So far it has turned up nothing yet again.
Honestly the longer this drags on, the longer she worries that it could go off and hurt someone.
The sounds of someone groaning in pain broke Misaka out of her thoughts, turning to see two older teenagers cornering the glasses wearing one she passed earlier clutching his face.
"You think that you can just talk back to me like that?!" One of them shouted, kicking the glasses wearing one in the gut as she frowned.
Okay, that was it!
"Hey!" Mikasa shouted, rushing over to them before the teen could wind up for another kick. Getting their attention. "What do you think you are doing?"
Both teens looked between the teen and her, one of them noticing her armband. Immediately giving the Level 5 Esper a dismissive look.
"Judgment." He sighed out, his compatriot shaking his head.
"We were doing nothing." The other one said, both walking towards her.
"Nothing, my ass!" Misaka said, taken aback and furious from their reactions. "You two were ganging up on-"
"You're too noisy." One of the older teens said dismissively as they walked past her.
"Stupid kid!" The other said as the pay continued to walk away.
"Kid?!" Misaka said furiously as electricity started to form off the Esper, her hair started to rise while glaring at them. Gritting her teeth as she focused on the glasses wearing teen, the sparks fading away. "Bear with it. Bear with it."
She walked over to him, thankful he didn't seem to be bleeding from his nose. But noticed that bruises were starting to form on his face.
"Are you okay?" Misaka asked, only to recoil as the glasses wearing teen glared at her.
"Get here sooner!" He said, glaring at the armband venomously for a few moments before slinking off the wall. Walking away while clutching his nose.
She stared after him worriedly for a few moments before letting out an annoyed sigh.
"What's his problem?" Misaka said.
"Honestly I would say they haven't lessened up on him." Someone said from nearby, getting her to turn to see Roxas emerging from a Corridor. "Still no luck with the dog?"
"No, I assume you haven't seen it as well." Misaka said as the Corridor faded away. "Is he someone you know?"
"Helped him the other day from a pair of bullies, it seemed like he got angry at the thought of waiting for Anti-Skill or Judgment." Roxas said, getting Misaka to huff.
"It's usually over by the time Judgment arrives." She grumbled, remembering making that point clear to Kuroko earlier that morning. "You tried to help him out."
"Just gave him some advice and at least got them off his back for a day. But things don't seem to have improved." Roxas said, shaking his head as turned to where he sensed the glasses wearing teen's heart.
Frowning as he sensed the imbalance had grown worse over the past few days, alongside the anomaly in his heart. The imbalance alone was worrisome, yet the phenomenon of his heart...
The effect of his heart had only grown stronger, the depth he sensed feeding even more on its light and darkness while also amplifying what remains.
Worse still, it was much stronger than those two Espers on his first day in this world now...
Just what was the meaning of it?
Roxas sighed, shaking his head before looking down the side street with a frown.
Misaka followed his gaze, seeing the two teens from earlier. One of which looked pale as he saw the Nobody.
"He was one of them?" She asked heatedly, getting Roxas to nod.
Said teen withered under a frigid and heated glare, outright looked like he was panicking as sparks of light and electricity emerged off the two of them.
He could deal with the kid from Judgment, but not the both of them!
"Come on, let's leave him alone!" He said, proceeding his nervous looking compatriot away down the side street.
Both looked as the older teens booked it out of view, Misaka shaking her head as they canceled their powers.
"Some people just never change." She said, getting Roxas to nod in agreement.
"Misaka!" Both heard Konori call out, turning to see the older teen walking towards them. "Did you find it yet?"
"Ah, no..." Misaka said, placing a hand behind her head.
Hoping the Judgement Branch leader didn't see what happened moments before.
"I see, not here either." Konori sighed before turning to Roxas. "No luck on your end either?"
"Nope, I just arrived here anyway." Roxas admitted, the older girl placing a hand to her hip.
"Where else haven't we looked..." Konori said, before smiling. "I think I might have an idea on where to look. Roxas, do you mind accompanying us?"
"Sure." Roxas said, figuring it wouldn't hurt to search around with them for a bit as all three started to walk away.
Peering behind the corner Hatsuya glared at the two Judgment members before walking away, turning up the volume on his headphones.
While he was grateful for getting the bullies off his back for today...they still arrived far too late.
He just needed a little more time...
"Here." Konori said, having led the two of them to a nearby playground after a few minutes. With children running around and playing on the equipment as both Roxas and Misaka looked around, the latter had a bead of sweat trailing down her face.
"It can't be..." Misaka said quietly, her tone filling with dread as she looked at the children playing around.
Unaware of what could go off at any time...
"Plenty of places for the dog to hide, or if it tried to go after anyone else's bag." Roxas said, not hearing the Level 5 Esper as Konori nodded.
"Yeah, and I expect some of the kids aren't good with dogs." Konori said, bringing her hand to the head as she surveyed the area.
"No that's not the issue here." Misaka said, getting the older girl to nod.
"Right, it could bite someone." She said.
"Like I said, it's unrelated!" Misaka said heatedly, surprising Roxas.
"Let's search here." Konori said, pointing to the area in front of them. "I guess you can check this area while Roxas can take the area to the right. Good luck you two!"
"Is she ignoring me?" Misaka asked as the older teen took off to the left area.
"Honestly, I'm not sure." Roxas said, shaking his head before walking off as Misaka sighed.
She couldn't tell either.
"Are you a Judgment person?" Someone asked, getting Misaka to look down to see it was a little girl...quickly finding herself surrounded by a group of curious little kids.
"Wow, a Tokiwadai Middle uniform!" Another little girl said in awe.
"Rich girl!" A little boy said.
Misaka looked between the group of children, trying to figure a say out of her current situation.
With Roxas he inspected some bushes on the side of the park, wondering what had gotten Misaka so worked up about this bag.
If it was a simple children's bag he could understand the annoyance of having no luck finding it after a while. But her reaction towards Konori showed that she was definitely focused on finding it soon.
The Nobody figured that if they didn't find it in this park, he'd just ask her directly before heading off to another part of Academy City.
Roxas was broken from his musings as he heard someone yelling.
Looking back at the entrance to the park, Roxas could only tilt his head at the sight of a flustered looking Misaka. Her face red and feet stomping as a few kids chorused around the Esper.
Briefly wondering what was going on, he decided not to pay it any mind as he continued searching through the bushes.
Until he heard something rustling behind him, turning to see a sesame colored akita emerged from the brush. In its maw was a pink bag with flowers embroidered on one of its corners.
The dog stared at Roxas for a moment, letting out a surprised bark as the Nobody pounced at it.
Running away before he could catch it.
"Misaka, the dog's here!" Roxas called out, starting to run after it.
Her eyes widened, snapping to attention and started to look for the dog too alongside the kids surrounding her.
"A dog, where?" A little boy asked excitedly.
"There it is!" A little girl shouted, getting Misaka to look at the dog running towards them. Making a turn away from the park entrance seeing the crowd gathered there.
She ran after the dog, determined not to let it or the bag escape!
"Konori!" Misaka yelled, the older girl looking through a piece of shrubbery. Turning her gaze upwards to see the dog running towards her.
"Stop right there!" Konori said, running to join the chase.
Only to trip on her own feet and land facedown on the ground, the dog jumped over her arms before running to the back of the playground.
"I got him!" Misaka said, running past Konori as Roxas caught up to her.
"I'll cut him off." Roxas said, getting the Esper to look at him then at the direction the dog was running ahead.
She smirked as electricity bristled around her and Roxas opened a Corridor, falling through it. Misaka continued to chase the dog as it ran towards a light pole. Letting lose the electricity once it got close.
The akita let out a startled bark as electricity hit the light pole in front of it, causing the light bulbs to light up and explode from the surge. It came to a stop and threw the bag up before Roxas emerged from a Corridor right in front of the dog.
Catching the dog in his grasp, frowning when he saw the bag was missing. Until he looked up.
"No way!" Misaka said, seeing it falling towards the fountain. Turning and running towards it with sparks traveled along her body. "Don't take me lightly!"
Closing the distance within moments, she canceled the sparks as she jumped to catch the bag. Managing to reach it before landing in the fountain with a splash.
Roxas let go of the dog, it ran away as he rushed to join Konori and a group of children as they approached the fountain.
"Misaka, are you okay?" She asked, seeing the soaked girl getting up from the water.
A smile on her face holding the completely dry bag in one hand.
"Object safely acquired!" Misaka declared proudly.
Konori let out a sigh of relief as the children were in awe at what they just saw. The Nobody smiled as Misaka began to walk out of the fountain.
"Good work, you did well." Konori said with a smile, grabbing the bag from Misaka's hands to her shock.
"Wait!" Misaka said worriedly. "Should you be handling it like that? We need to call the bomb disposal unit!"
Roxas's eyes widened at that as Konori looked at the girl in confusion.
"Bomb?" She asked, before realization dawned on her. The Nobody noticed a thin white rim formed briefly along her irises and pupils before it quickly faded and Konori's eyes returned to normal. "I can understand why you were worried, but everything is alright this time."
"Are you certain?" Misaka asks, getting a reassuring smile from the older girl.
"I would have seen it otherwise." Konori said as Roxas sighed.
"Good to know, but what is this about a bomb?" He asked, giving Misaka a pointed look.
Knowing that he was helping to search for a potential bomb would have been helpful.
"So you don't know?" Konori asked, getting him to shake his head. "Let me call Shirai to bring the original owner first, we can explain the rest afterwards. It will be better for more people to keep their eyes open for these recent incidents."
Misaka just let out an awkward chuckle while shaking her head.
Great, Kuroko will be coming here and possibly Uiharu too. She knew that it was only a matter of time...
At least she'll be happy with the little girl getting her bag back.
Roxas sighed as he shook his head, sitting on a bench with a still Misaka on the opposite side. She leaned against the back as Konori briefly turned her attention to the playground's entrance.
The sun was starting to set, and he learned from Konori both Uiharu and this Shirai he heard from the former should be here any minute now. With the little girl in hand to reclaim her bag.
After the call Roxas had finally gotten to the truth on why Misaka was so concerned about the bag...and he could see why...
According to her and Konori lately there had been incidents of small scale explosions thought to be fireworks. No one had been injured lately, but Judgment finally found the cause yesterday.
Apparently they believe an Esper has been using their ability using gravitons to accelerate in aluminum. The gravitons converge and compress on the metal before all the energy is released in an explosion.
The culprit was still unknown, but what troubled Roxas was the method this 'Graviton Bomber' was using.
Sneaking in bits of aluminum in children's bags and stuffed animals...
"I have actually seen one such explosion yesterday." He said, surprising Misaka. "About two blocks away from Bernie's Cafe, I saw a teddy bear compress on itself before exploding. Wasn't sure what to make of it except for an Esper messing around..."
"That was our thoughts too originally before the incidents increased in frequency. But I do remember satellites picking up on the incident you described, of course no one actually saw what detonated except for its after effects." Konori said while shaking her head. "I believe that it was the fifth one, did you notice anything strange around the area?"
It had already figured out that the Esper's ability could be activated remotely. But they still had no information on who.
Considering the event Roxas described was shortly after a previous incident not even half an hour apart, there could have been a clue. But no witness at either scene could point to anything concrete.
Judging by Roxas's reaction, neither could he.
"Didn't really notice anything." He sighed out.
Honestly he needed to double down on keeping a better eye on his surroundings in Academy City.
First the remains in that alleyway the other day, what he encountered in School District 18, and now these Graviton Bombings...something strange was going on in this world.
Given the nature of the city on this world it would make sense, plus the Nobody had seen his fair share of strange occurrences on other worlds unrelated to the Heartless. But those were usually days or weeks apart on missions.
Granted he never stuck in a singular world for long except for The World That Never Was and Twilight Town.
Maybe it was a similar experience to his first time on this world?
Still better to be more cautious going forward.
"I thought so." Konori said while shaking her head. "Still if you do notice anything please just contact Judgment or Anti-Skill. It's our job to help maintain order in Academy City and I hope you won't get caught in these incidents."
Roxas nodded as Konori shifted her gaze to Misaka, smiling at the young girl.
"As I told you before, even with training it will take a bit of work out in the field. Took me a while to get used to using our map app. Especially now synching up the satellites to track graviton acceleration." She said.
Misaka did her best to hide her wince from the older girl. Silently grateful she was never pressed about that.
"Has there been any other incidents today, last I knew there were five?" Misaka asked, hoping that there wasn't any more.
"Thankfully there hasn't been any more so far. But that doesn't take away that you protected the bag even when you thought it might be a bomb." Konori said with a smile. "With some more work, I know that you can become a truly fantastic member of Judgment."
Misaka just smiled at her tiredly, not even going to refute that.
Of course she had no intention of continuing, today showed that Judgement truly was tough work...
Konori's phone went off, checking the notifications as she secured the children's bag under her arm.
"That was Shirai, they'll be here in a moment. I'll return the bag before introducing you to them. I'm sure after today you'll be working with our branch in the future." Konori said, intending to let her junior rest.
Minus her splash in the fountain, it had been a long day for the younger girl.
Misaka for her part just smiled.
"And thank you for your assistance Roxas." Konori said with a smile before walking away.
Said Nobody got up from the bench as Misaka shook her head.
"So you're going to slip away now?" She said, giving him a pointed look.
"Yes, it's been a long day. And I take it you are going to tell Konori the truth now with Uiharu and this Shirai coming here." Roxas said, getting Misaka to freeze before leaning back on the bench.
No use hiding it now. Besides Konori was going to find out soon anyways.
"Konori's comment tipped you off, didn't you?" She asked, Roxas nodding in response. "Figured, the armband is Uiharu's. She left it behind and Konori mistook me for a new member of Judgment."
"Still you played along." Roxas said.
"Mainly to show Kuroko she's wrong, Shirai is her last name." Misaka said, adding in the latter bit on seeing the Nobody looking confused. He nodded as she continued. "Kuroko's my best friend too, even if she gets on my nerves most of the time. Always going on about Judgment this, Judgment that! It was especially worse today. I know Uiharu believes it is because she is worried about me, but Kuroko could have done so without criticizing everything she deems childish!"
Sparks bristled off her, Roxas actually taking a step back as they arched off of her before the electricity dispersed.
"Guess best friends can do things that infuriate us when they are worried." He said, thinking of Axel's actions leading to him leaving the Organization and afterwards. "Sometimes we can do something foolish in response."
Honestly heading to Twilight Town after leaving the Organization wasn't a good idea, the world was practically on their doorstep. Not helping that DiZ and Riku were based there too.
Plus he had a feeling Xion was probably involved there as well, his memories of her were still returning. But he supposed that is where he had killed her...
Ignoring the pangs he felt in his chest, Roxas changed his thoughts to where else he could have gone.
The only other options he could have thought of was island hopping Neverland or maybe hiding out in Olympus Colosseum. At least there maybe he could've asked Phil for help or training.
He and Tinkerbell were the only ones outside of the Organization that knew of him and he could've trusted at the time. Roxas had no idea where Genie went after dealing with the chaos the Antlion Heartless created in Agrabah.
Perhaps he should visit them after getting somewhat settled on this world...
As Roxas was lost in thought, Misaka stared at him for a few moments before shaking her head.
Maybe he was thinking of a 'foolish response' he did in the past?
Certainly joining Judgement just because she wanted to show Kuroko how easy the work was a mistake. It was a lot harder than she thought.
"You might be right Roxas." Misaka sighed out, before noticing something and smiling. "But it might be worth it sometimes."
Following her gaze, he saw Uiharu and a short girl with tawny hair tied into two wavy pigtails with the same uniform as Misaka. Roxas recognized her from his first day on this world, having arrived with Misaka. So this was Shirai.
But what caught his attention was Konori crouching down as a little girl in a yellow dress ran up to her. Konori handed the girl the bag, who smiled brightly as she got it back.
Roxas smiled, letting out a chuckle as dark wisps formed around his feet.
"Looks like you might be right about that Misaka." He said before the Corridor opened and enveloped his body. "Tell Uiharu I said hello."
"Wait!" She called out, but he had vanished with the Corridor. "Great, just like the other day again!" She groaned out.
Least he could have done was stick around.
Misaka just shook her head, figuring that she'll make her irritation known to him the next time they met. Considering she keeps running into him and that annoying boy by chance, it was only a matter of time.
But for now, she had her own issues to deal with.
Uiharu and Kuroko had noticed her and were now talking with Konori. Misaka supposed she had been found out now, no more use in hiding it anymore.
And to return the armband back to Uiharu too.
Naminé sighed out as she finished sketching in her notebook for the night, looking over their campsite.
After a brief stop at the village, as Riku said the two of them soon exited as they got some more supplies. Camping once they crossed the mountain with thankfully very little Heartless activity.
It had been quiet for the most part, and to Naminé's satisfaction much warmer even here at the foothills.
Riku had been fast asleep for a while now, Naminé not so much.
Partly because of the Guardian looming over the campsite in case any Heartless drew close to them. Already having distributed her sketching when a pair of Shadows wandered by, surprised that it hadn't woken up Riku from the commotion.
Yet it was perfect for what she was attempting,
Putting away her notebook, Naminé took out a number of sticks and pebbles from her bag. Gathering a number of the former before throwing them into the campfire to keep it going for a bit longer.
Naminé took a deep breath as she stared down the pebbles, looking at the sleeping form of Riku before focusing back down on a singular pebble.
It started to gleam with light as she focused her powers on it.
Slowly the light started to spread among the other pebbles as Naminé gained a determined expression.
Castle Oblivion was truly the last time she could experiment with her powers, but it had been under the Organization's watch. While restoring Sora's memories she had been under the watch of DiZ.
Now she was free from them...
The only one she has truly helped with her abilities had been Sora and that was to undo everything from Castle Oblivion.
Maybe she can change things, if only a little...
The night was quiet as the pebbles started to shift into something else under Naminé's command, the Guardian shifting closer to the Nobody.
Silently looming behind her, intending to make sure nothing would disturb her progress.
Roxas browsed the shelves of a Green Mart the next morning, looking for at least something to eat for the day.
After leaving the park yesterday Roxas just continued to look for a spot to enjoy the sunset. Managing to find a few good spots before ultimately deciding to just head back to his campsite.
While they did offer a good vantage point even compared to the clock tower of Twilight Town. But even then those spots felt empty with just himself...
Today he'll look around for a few more spots and start to do some more research about Academy City. Trying to at least get an idea of what he encountered in School District 18, and maybe see about registering into school without an I.D..
He was broken from his thoughts as the door chime went off followed by the sound of a pair of stomping feet. Leaning from the shelves to see a pair of older teens, a boy and a girl enter the store. The girl held a riot shield and both had the Judgment armband.
"We're with Judgment! Everyone please evacuate the premises immediately!" The girl shouted as the boy started to walk down the shelves.
Roxas frowned, starting to look around the shelves too.
It couldn't be related to yesterday, could it?
Better to check it out.
"Is there something wrong with my store?" He heard the manager ask.
"A graviton particle acceleration has been detected here." The Judgment girl said, confirming Roxas's suspicions. "There is the possibility of a bomb in the store."
Panic erupted as patrons hurried out of the Green Mart, both Roxas and the Judgment boy looking for the bomb.
Hearing a yelp of pain from the other end of the store, Roxas moved closer to the source to see the Judgment boy picking a girl from the floor. Looking like she scraped her knee in the panic.
"We have to hurry to evacuate." He said, getting the girl to nod before noticing something under a refrigerated shelf in the corner of his eye.
In the small space close to the bottom was a plush rabbit resting in the corner...that began to compress on itself.
The Judgment boy's eyes widened in horror as he moved to shield the girl with his body.
"Get down!" Roxas called out, rushing towards them as an explosion consumed all three of them.
Smoke quickly began to filter out the store, the Judgment girl soon could see through her riot shield.
After making sure that the manager was safe, she ran to the back of the store worried that her partner was caught in the blast.
She went to the back of the store and saw that the damage was worse than initially imagined.
The entire back section of the Green Mart was blackened with soot, the shelves closest to ground zero all but destroyed. Some of the ones closer had pieces of shattered glass or bent from the force of the blast. The origin of the blast itself was nothing more than a small, smooth crater. As if what was originally there had simply been erased.
She looked in horror, before feeling relief at seeing her partner was alright.
He was holding onto an equally surprised looking girl, in front of the was a slightly younger teen in a black coat. Hands outstretched as the barrier around them began to shimmer.
Roxas eyes the small cracks in the barrier in front of him before dispelling it, letting out a sigh.
"Are you two alright?" He asked, getting the girl to nod shakily.
"We're alright, thank you for protecting us." The Judgment boy said, Roxas nodding as he started to walk away.
Managing to slip past the Judgment girl as she ran to check on her partner. The Nobody exited the Green Mart and began to canvas around the area.
Uncertain if he could even find anything, Roxas was still going to check incase the Esper responsible was nearby.
Yesterday when he heard of the graviton bombings they were comparable to firecrackers, but this was much worse. And if it continued he was sure anyone caught in the next bombing won't be so fortunate…
The screen flickered for a bit before the author appeared with a wave.
*Hey guys Hakuorofan7 here and I hoped that you all enjoyed this chapter.*
*I'll keep things short, Roxas is still adjusting to Academy City while running into a few things he clearly hadn't expected like in School District 18. I'll admit a thread or three for events later to come, but those more familiar with Toaru series can guess just what Roxas had run into this chapter.*
*Well it will certainly be interesting to write when I finally get to that point.*
*On the aside he briefly has another run into Misaka again and helps her out, learning the current trouble of the graviton bombs before experiencing one himself.*
*It is only going to get worse and events more chaotic for him from here.*
*With Riku and Naminé, the former has given her the Guardian to better defend herself whenever he isn't around. Granted he is more than capable with the Heartless, but is more or less a nod to Kingdom Heart III. While on her part showing an ability she hadn't used since Castle Oblivion.*
*Riku is more than aware of her ability to use memories to disguise herself like when she appeared as Kairi to him, but that they could also affect items too. Figuring the best example of how she can do to objects is use the collective memories to overwrite the existence of the items into something else.*
*Literally overwriting Kairi's charm and a world card into her own star charm from the fabricated memories of Sora and the Riku Replica…honestly when you think about it Naminé's powers are kind of terrifying.*
*The ability to affect reality through collective memories…well only one other character comes to mind. While Naminé's powers are more limited than the example but food for thought…*
*Naminé has decide to more or less focus on honing in her abilities now without the Organization or DiZ in order to help others.*
*Considering memories is a constant important theme in the Toaru series, it will lead to some interesting things to say the least.*
*Anyway that should be all for now. Also a quick shout out for warrior or six blades for their help with the chapter.*
*Next chapter the issue with the Graviton Bomber reaches its zenith as Roxas gets roped into it once again. In the end finding himself in a situation that will affect his future in Academy City. Hope that you all enjoy it when it comes out, trying to get it out before the year's end.*
*If you have any questions leave a review or PM me and I'll get back to you when I can. So until next time, ciao!*
The author waved goodbye as the screen faded to black.