Toaru Kagaku no Railgun: Garden of Maidens

by p1ka chuu

School Garden is Academy City's secluded, all-girls district where five elite schools for rich, young ladies are located. The story follows a group of girls who attend one of the most prestigious schools in the world, Tokiwadai Middle School. The first volume contains their day-to-day hardships and solving the mysteries of School Garden.

7. Chapter 7 - A Chase

Chapter 7

Part 1

It was late.

The gorgeous park of School Garden was almost deserted. Most of the ladies that had been eating crepes on the benches had already left.

The sky was no longer orange. Its color was balancing between salmon pink and dark blue. You could even see the first stars appearing on its surface.

The curfew for School Garden's residents was coming closer.

Hironaka Miyu could feel the tension and worry inside of her entire body as she was sitting down next to the bobbed hair girl.

The atmosphere was incredibly awkward because there were no other stimuluses that could distract them from each other. The people sitting around the pond were gone. The swans had disappeared somewhere. The food stalls were closing. The sounds of cicadas had stopped.

The ponytail girl wished that there was at least a fountain instead of the pond. Sounds of splashing water could drown the awkwardness hanged in the air and relax her tense body, even if just a little bit.

She would have much preferred to go with the rest of the girls and help. Because she believed she could.

"..."

The clock was ticking and there weren't any signs of Ogura and the others coming back soon.

She closed her eyes tight and crossed her arms on her chest.

She decided to wait.

For now.

Part 2

"OGURA-SAAAN! I'M STUCK!"

"Mhm. Mhm. Alright. I understand. Let me know when you stumble upon something. Mhm. Okay, bye."

The blonde-haired girl had a white smartphone pressed against her ear.

She ended the call and slid the device inside her skirt's pocket.

But there was some commotion happening while she was talking over the phone.

Ogura turned around nonchalantly and put her hands on her hips.

"What now, Minami-san?"

"Urgh. Agh. This... This bush... It's tugging on my vest! Ack, agh! I'm gonna have to get a new uniform after this! AAH!"

The wavy-haired girl fell on the grass as the branch finally let her go.

"Are you okay?"

The blonde girl put out her hand and Minami grabbed it gently as she was crouching.

"I-I'm fine." She responded with her face heating up from embarrassment. "M-My goodness. To think that I have signed myself up for this... You're gonna have to make it up to me somehow, I promise you, Ogura-san!"

The two girls were at a different spot of the park. They were currently standing in the middle of a gorgeous rose garden which belonged to the recreated Chateau de Bagatelle. The beautiful, white mini-palace was visible from the flower garden, but it was still in the distance.

Ogura and Minami had already searched around its major parts. Now, they were checking the nooks and crannies around the Chateau and its garden.

But the optimism and enthusiasm was quickly burning out.

"So, what did Mizushima-san say?"

"She has apparently seen only two people in the alley so far, but no one was suspicious."

The headband-wearing girl took a deep breath.

"We searched around the garden and the Chateau as well as we could. I'm seriously doubting they're here anymore."

"We still have some spots to check, but you're right - the place I was bidding on the most was this one..."

Minami put a finger near her mouth and squinted her eyes.

"Maybe they went inside the Chateau to hide."

"It's closed. There's no way they would get inside without breaking the door or a window. The security systems would trigger an alarm right away."

"But what if they're a teleportation esper?"

Ogura frowned and crossed her arms.

This was the scenario she feared the most.

It's true that teleporting powers were one of the rarest in Academy City. And only a small percent of teleporting espers could actually teleport themselves.

As unlike as it was, if that was the case, the efforts of Ogura and the others would completely go to waste. A high-level teleporter wouldn't even need 10 seconds to leave the crime scene without a single trace. Searching for them would be as pointless as looking for snow in the middle of the desert.

Yes, a teleporter would be even worse than an invisible esper. The latter would at least be stopped at the School Garden entrance gates, while the former could leave the district anytime they would want while skipping the security with ease.

And that would explain how a thief would even get inside School Garden in the first place.

But that was just a theory.

Ogura Iori shook her head quickly and responded to Minami.

"Hah. If they really were a teleportation esper, they would choose a complete escape from the park rather than hiding in an old, empty building." She scoffed and took a ready stance. "Now, let's hurry up and not waste our time. We still have some places to check."

Part 3

Mizushima Sayuri entered another alley.

This one was much more narrow and... completely empty.

She sighed deeply.

Without wasting any time, she turned around and ran towards another one. Her shiny honey-blonde hair flew in the air for a moment as she propelled her whole body forward.

But a sudden sound coming from her skirt's pocket stopped her.

She took the noisy device out and pressed it against her ear.

"Hisakawa-san? Have you found anything?"

The voice responded over the phone.

"No. I'm all alone in here. It's so peaceful and quiet all around that I can hear my own heartbeat."

"Don't stop looking. As Ogura-san said, it may even be lying on the grass somewhere. Just keep looking."

"I know. How about you?"

The petite girl grimaced and looked up.

"Nothing. There are barely any people in the park left and all of them are walking towards the exit gate."

She could hear a tired sigh coming from the device.

Mizushima could feel her classmate's fatigue even through the phone.

"Alright. Well, good luck."

"Good luck to you, too. Call as soon as you find something."

The call ended.

Mizushima Sayuri slid the phone back inside her skirt's pocket and got moving forward.

Part 4

A couple minutes had passed.

Hisakawa Ayako was sitting on a thick tree branch, a couple meters above the ground.

After searching the area for the third time, she had decided to observe it from a high point.

The red cheeks and the sweat on her forehead indicated that she had in fact climbed the tree herself.

She took a deep breath and looked down.

This wasn't working as she would have liked it to.

Suddenly, her phone rang. She was already holding it in her hand, expecting a call from either of the girls at any moment.

She picked it up and put it near her ear.

"What's going on, Iori?" She asked nonchalantly in an exasperated tone.

"Nothing. We have now checked everywhere around the Chateau and even a bit further than that. And we have found nothing."

The pigtails girl could hear someone's heavy breathing in the background.

"Minami-san sounds like she's dying over there."

"She'll be fine. She's just dramatic as always. Well, how about you? Any clues?"

Hisakawa answered bluntly.

"No. The area is deserted. I mean, even during the day nobody comes here."

"Haah... Alright, Let's keep looking for a little longer. Maybe we'll find something."

"Alright. Good luck, bye."

She ended the call by pressing her finger against the screen.

She looked up at the upper branches of the tree and the sky above her.

She hadn't even noticed it was that late.

The sky was almost completely dark.

Part 5

And so, minutes were passing one after another.

The search was continuing, while the atmosphere in the town was changing with the appearing darkness.

The lamps around the entire School Garden lit up.

Part 6

Someone's shoulders tensed up at a bench.

"Th-They really left us here and went off, huh?"

A girl with black hair tied into a high ponytail spoke those words timidly, as if she was trying to drown the dead silence by unnecessary conversation.

She was trying to make a small talk with the bobbed hair young lady sitting beside her. Not only was she nervous and upset because of the expensive bag she had lost, she was also a girl exceeding Hironaka Miyu in almost everything. She was a rich girl from School Garden. For the ponytail girl, talking to someone like that alone wasn't the easiest.

"Well, yes." The girl in a sailor uniform responded reluctantly.

Hironaka Miyu smiled painfully. She did not know if her presence annoyed the bobbed hair girl or not. After all, some high-class ladies would get offended by sitting at a bench alone with a complete commoner. That would insult their status in the Academy City's society.

But the ponytail girl decided to be as friendly and polite as possible.

"I-I really hope they find it~! Haha." She spoke nervously while scratching the back of her head. "It's taking them a bit long."

The young lady wearing a sailor uniform sighed.

"I might go contact Judgment on my way back to the dorm. But if they don't find it in three days, I guess I'm gonna have to sue whoever I choose."

(Sh-She's got money like this?! Hawawawa... Rich girls are scary!)

"Ahaha... There won't be any need to. Iori-chan and- um, my friend, Ogura-san and the others will find it." She responded with a bitter smile. "At least I hope so..."

The bobbed hair girl closed her eyes and hunched her shoulders.

"Haaah... this is more than just losing a favorite bag." She spoke with sorrow in her voice. "I know that a peasant like you won't understand at all, but I have invested six months time, among many other things, in searching for that bag on multiple auctions."

The ponytail girl made an uneasy face.

(She's really not bothered calling me a peasant, huh?)

"I had to fight for it with my own literal money. This was one of the most difficult auctions I've ever been to. I had to constantly raise the price I was willing to pay, trying my hardest to win from the crowd of other hungry collectors. I was screaming insane numbers, just to raise the bar in order to slowly get closer to this majestic piece of craft. I was on a battlefield, ready to lose millions. Dozens of millions. Hundreds of millions. And, eventually, I won. And I won only because I was ready to give up more money than those other people. I won the fight of sacrifice. I was the winner of losing. Yes, I have lost a lot then. But what have I obtained in exchange for that enormous loss? A magical item. Incredible, beautiful testament to Hermèise's unmatched atelier. A bag which determines your class just by holding it in your hand. I was the owner of the most sought-after, exclusive fashion item in the world." She said those worlds in her gorgeous, sorrowful voice as if she was an actress reciting an emotional monologue. "And now? My incredible, heart-wrenching loss is in vain! I lost the money and I lost the prize that this money gave me! I lost twice! How am I supposed to live being labeled as a loser?!"

Those were words only a high-class girl from School Garden could utter while being completely serious. How this Shakespearean language worked in this small town was still a mystery to Hironaka Miyu.

But behind all those beautiful words, the essence was the most important. And that was something the ponytail girl could more than understand. Of course, not the part about big auctions and millions being thrown around, but she knew exactly the feeling of losing something very important.

For the first year in middle school, she had lost contact with her dear childhood friend.

The bobbed hair girl squeezed her both hands on her chest and closed her eyes tight in something that looked like a desperate prayer. This was her last resort.

"Please... I can't look myself in the mirror ever again if it's really gone..."

Her emotions spoke more words to the ponytail girl.

This was purely heart-wrenching to look at. The worst thing about it was that Hironaka Miyu could understand that feeling a bit too well.

Why was she sitting there beside her idly instead of getting up and trying her best to help?

Why had she not made a decision herself?

Because Ogura Iori had told her not to?

She respected her friend's advice since she was just a guest after all, but the situation had drastically changed.

Hironaka Miyu turned on her smartphone.

"Ngh.."

Whatever Ogura and the others were doing right now, it had to be ineffective.

The time was running out.

Hironaka Miyu bit her lip.

On one hand, there was a promise she had made with Ogura Iori which she didn't want to break and suddenly get involved when she was not supposed to, but on the other, there was a hurting girl who had lost something very valuable and precious to her.

There was no time to think about it.

Intense emotions rushed through Hironaka Miyu's head as she made the decision rapidly.

Even if she would have to face consequences of her actions, she had to help this girl now.

She sighed deeply.

"Hn?" The bobbed hair girl looked in her direction.

Hironaka rubbed her legs against each other as she was looking down.

"U-Um, you see... I-I might actually do something to help."

"Huh?" The young lady tilted her head and looked at the ponytail girl with her glossy eyes. "H-How? How can you, of all people, do something in this terrible situation?"

The girl had lost hope a long time ago. Someone like Hironaka Miyu, especially, would not have her trust.

But she decided to be upfront.

"I... I have an ability that can help."

This was a surprise.

"H-Huh?"

The ponytail girl smiled painfully and slightly raised her hands.

"Y-You see, I-I'm actually a Psychometric." She uttered timidly, as if she had no confidence in what she was saying.

The sailor uniform girl was just looking at her overwhelmed, in complete silence.

"U-Um..."

Hironaka Miyu stood up from her seat slowly and turned around to face the bench.

She could not believe she was doing that right now. Especially since there was no way of checking if this could actually work.

But the least she could do was to try.

She squatted in front of the bench and looked up to meet eyes with the bobbed hair girl.

"Can you tell me where have you placed the bag, more or less?" She asked in a firm voice.

The rich girl was quiet for a while, with her hands clenched on her chest, but she then opened her mouth and answered hesitantly.

"Um, I-I think it was, like, somewhat in the middle..."

She did not really understand what the ponytail girl needed that information for, and what she was about to do in general, but if she was at least attempting to help, she decided she might as well answer.

Hironaka Miyu nodded and put her hand on the bench's seat, right next to the bobbed hair girl's thigh.

It was a spot more or less at the center of the bench.

She took a deep breath as she felt anxiety paralyze her body for a moment.

She was not confident in what she was about to do at all.

How could she?

She was merely a Level 2 and her friends did not even consider her to be helpful enough to include her in the searching mission.

Yes. She did feel like she was hopeless and weak.

But right now, what mattered was to do her absolute best, even if she could only help a little bit.

"U-Um, excuse me, but... How does this work exactly?" The bobbed hair girl asked in a confused tone as she grew impatient.

Hironaka Miyu answered with an uneasy expression.

"My ability is - Psychometry - ... When I make physical contact, I can obtain various information, stimuluses or visions sent to my brain by analyzing an object."

The sailor uniform girl was staring at Hironaka Miyu, while sitting in that same position this whole time.

Her eyes were unsure, but she was carefully listening to the ponytail girl.

"Because I don't have the object with me, all I can do is try to search for informations about the close area. Whether it's smells, sounds or full visions, I can more or less get a clue of what might have happened to it."

"S-So you can tell where it might have gone?! And who took it?!"

The ponytail girl could feel a strong pressure being put on her fragile, weak shoulders.

She could not live up to such expectations when she, herself, had no idea what could possibly reach her through this tricky ability.

"I-I'm just a Level 2 so I can only pick up the most prominent occurrences in the area. Also, my limit in time passed is thirty to forty minutes. I can't get clear information if the bag has been stolen a long time ago." She answered nervously with frowning eyebrows. "B-But I'll try!"

The bobbed hair girl had no questions left. Whether because she had no hope in this method working or because she wanted to give Hironaka a moment to focus, it was a sign to finally start.

The ponytail girl closed her eyes slowly and sighed quietly.

Her brain gave a sudden signal to move something, but it was not her leg nor arm. There was another entity she could control which was also a part of her body, however, it was not visible to the eye like a limb. But controlling it was as real and as intuitive as moving one.

Humans were natural machines powered by a core called brain. And this phenomenon was a product of its maximum efficiency.

An Esper Ability.

Hironaka Miyu triggered something that, in an instant, filled her brain to the bottom through the tips of her fingers.

"...?!"

She bent her spine backwards suddenly while still keeping her hand on the bench. A flood of confusing, mysterious, foggy dreams possessed her brain and her entire body.

The feeling was something like being put into somebody's dream, but sped up, muffled and lacking any sort of sense. It was like a state of confusing half-unconsciousness, with a slowly growing headache.

She knew that this state of her brain would last only for a short moment, so she focused herself primarily on looking for clues regarding the stolen item.

She was swimming through a lake of completely unintelligible sounds and incomprehensible visions. There were also intense, obscure smells popping out of nowhere every now and then. The journey through this insane dream started to seem meaningless, until she finally reached a point near the end of it.

She noticed something peculiar and immediately opened her mouth to speak.

"Uhm... around twenty five minutes ago... something... I'm seeing something... uhm..." She mumbled as she was not sure what the vision was yet.

The image she was scanning in her head was blurry and incredibly vague. The ponytail girl was sure that the vision had sense, but it was just too unclear to tell what it was.

"Can you look into it more?" The bobbed hair girl said in a shaky tone.

Hironaka Miyu was doing her best. She frowned and squeezed her eyes even tighter as if she was experiencing a strong pain.

"I'm trying..."

She had to let the dream-like scene get clearer with time. She could not do much herself, she was mostly depending on her brain's capacity at this point.

Some muffled sounds resurfaced from the dead silence.

The blur started to disappear.

But the longer she was staying in that half-unconscious state, the stronger the headache was getting. It was hard to collect her thoughts.

She clenched her teeth and spoke again.

"Al...Alright... I'm seeing the bag..."

The bobbed hair girl's eyes sparkled with surprise.

"Y-You do?! Where is it?! What does it look like?! Is it damaged?!"

"It's on the bench." The ponytail girl responded plainly. "Twenty five minutes ago."

"O-Oh, right."

The weird dream vision was continuing.

"Hnh..." A small groan escaped Hironaka Miyu's mouth. "L-Looks like... there's nobody beside it... it's just sitting on the bench by itself..."

"Y-Yeah? Is anybody coming towards it?"

"I-I can't see that far... The vision is zoomed in so close I can't see the surroundings yet."

The confusing scene looked like it was frozen. The bench was not moving, the bag was not either. It was stagnant and still for a couple seconds.

Until...

"Huh?!"

The bobbed hair girl jumped slightly.

"Wh-What? What's happening?"

She received no answer.

"..."

Hironaka Miyu was silent, but incredibly focused. She could not waste time and energy to speak.

Her entire brain power was being drained by the ability itself, so she had to pour all of it in without thinking about the outside world. There was no place for doing anything else. She had to get to the bottom of this before her brain would no longer allow it.

And she was feeling like she was at her limit.

However.

"H-Huh? Eh? Ah?!" She started to whimper in confusion.

It was clear to the sailor uniform girl that Hironaka Miyu had finally saw something worth attention.

She was rubbing her fists against each other near her chest while looking at the ponytail girl with impatience.

"Wh... What is going on?"

The image was now much clearer but harder to maneuver around because the point of view got incredibly unstable. Sometimes the vision was spiraling, sometimes it was foggy, sometimes it was blacking out. At this point, somebody with motion sickness would have probably vomited.

However, it was all due to the sudden motion that had occurred. And Hironaka Miyu was carefully analyzing it.

Motion had to be caused by somebody or something, though.

If she could find even a small trace of a body part in this small, zoomed in vision, she could more or less tell what school they belonged to thanks to the uniform.

She was desperately trying to find that very important clue.

And, finally.

Something attacked her eyes like a sudden flash of light.

"...Eh?!" She flinched and tilted her head quickly. "No way."

Her voice, surprisingly, wasn't particularly astonished.

"That's... That's..."

Hironaka Miyu saw something.

What had appeared in her vision was definitely the culprit of this whole commotion.

The bobbed hair girl desperately needed to know the answer.

"Who did you see? Who is this?! Where did they go?!"

By the time the bobbed hair girl said these words out loud, the motion inside Hironaka Miyu's vision had already stopped.

The bag was already gone.

All she was looking at was a lonely, empty bench.

While still keeping her eyes closed and with her hand placed on the seat, the ponytail girl finally spoke.

"I saw... some things... hah... um... I have to... tell the others..."

"Alright, alright! Tell me! With details! Everything you saw!" The bobbed hair girl squealed with impatience and high tension.

Hironaka Miyu finally opened her eyes. She stood up slowly, while supporting her body weight with the bench's armrest as she was still a bit dizzy.

She felt like she had just woken up from the most bizarre nightmare. She needed a moment to sit down and breathe.

This was the first time in a while she had used her power to such extent, almost completely reaching her limit. She could feel a strong wave of pain striking her head violently.

"Ack..!" She groaned and pressed her hand against her forehead.

"Are you okay?"

"Y-Yes, I'll be fine. Just a little by-product of overusing my ability." She gave the bobbed hair girl a bitter smile and then looked her in the eyes. "W-What's more important, can you please hand me my phone? It's right beside you. I have to tell the others as soon as possible!"

"Ah, oh, alright. Here you go."

Hironaka Miyu grabbed the device and turned it on.

Without wasting any time, she proceeded to search a certain number, while making a lot of tapping noises with her fingers.

The rich young lady that was sitting beside her, rubbed her fists against each other nervously.

She needed the answer, which the ponytail girl knew, more than anything right now.

She had to use this chance to ask one more time.

"P-Please, can you tell me what that was? Who did you see? What did you notice?"

It was natural to seek answer when your extremely expensive bag had disappeared in the middle of a peaceful park.

Hironaka Miyu sighed while she pressed the smartphone against her ear.

The device was connecting her with another person.

In that moment, while she was waiting for the call to start, she turned her head in the girl's direction and opened her mouth to speak.

"Do you want me to be honest?"

"Y-Yes! Of course! Please, tell me!"

The girl agreed, so there was no point in wasting time.

Hironaka Miyu looked at her with serious eyes and gave her a simple, satisfying answer.

"If you want to know everything, to put it quite plainly, I saw a feather, a wing, a beak and a long white neck."

...

That answer left not a single ounce of doubt.

This combination meant disaster, the same way one plus one equals two.

The bobbed hair girl uttered quietly as she looked ready to faint at any second.

"Are you... kidding me...?"

Part 7

"Ogura-san!"

A melodic voice resounded at a rose garden.

"Hn?"

A blonde-haired girl wearing Tokiwadai's uniform turned around just to see Minami Himeka standing right in front of her face.

"It's getting late, let's go back." The wavy-haired girl spoke to her classmate with crossed arms. "We can continue searching tomorrow, but now we don't have time."

Ogura Iori sighed tiredly.

"Going back tomorrow makes even less sense. If we can't find it right now, there's no way we'll be able to find it the next day!"

Minami looked at her with a defeated expression and raised her eyebrows.

"Well, then, I don't know how else to tell you this, but it's gone." She responded exasperated. "We looked everywhere and, I hate to say this, but it's finally time to give up."

The ribbon-wearing girl turned around and looked at the entirety of the Chateau's garden.

Yes. They had searched around this area multiple times.

They had checked every bush, every bench, every patch of grass, every flower, every nook and every cranny. At this point, they knew this place like their own pocket.

And yet, there was not even a trace of the expensive handbag.

It was the exact same with Mizushima Sayuri, who went east, and Hisakawa Ayako, who went south. The item was nowhere to be found in the entirety of the park.

She looked down.

This was not only a loss for the bobbed hair girl. This was a loss for everybody who supported Hermèise's brand and everybody that had wanted to purchase this bag.

(What a terrible disgrace.)

But even somebody like Ogura knew when was the right time to admit to her fail.

She collected her thoughts and closed her eyes. She was ready to take a step forward and start walking out from the area.

But.

A playful, high-pitched ringtone interrupted her suddenly.

"Huh?"

The looped melody was coming from her skirt's pocket.

"Pick up. It's probably Hisakawa-san or Mizushima-san calling because they want to go back, too." Said Minami from behind her shoulder.

"Ah, right."

Ogura reached out to her pocket and grabbed the white smartphone.

She pressed the "accept call" button without thinking, but the name on the screen caught her by surprise.

"Eh?" She looked at it once again and read it out loud. "Miyu-chan?"

The wavy-haired girl turned around when she heard that and started looking at Ogura with intrigued eyes.

"What's going on, Miyu-chan?"

"Iori-chan, listen!" The blonde-haired girl heard a sudden, loud voice through the phone.

She jumped slightly as she did not expect to hear that at all.

"Wh-What?!"

"Listen, I will explain everything to you later, but you have to listen to me carefully and let me explain everything to you as fast as possible."

Hironaka Miyu's voice was incredibly harsh.

Ogura nodded her head and responded with a worried expression.

"A-Alright. Tell me."

"I'm going to get to the point, I can almost certainly confirm that the bag was not stolen by a person! What snatched it from the bench was most likely a swan!"

The girl's forceful words left Ogura's entire mind blank and her entire body frozen for a moment.

She stared at the grass beneath her feet as she was taking the shocking information in slowly.

"Iori-chan, are you there?! Hello-"

"A SWAN?!"

The blonde-haired girl suddenly exploded as she screamed at the top of her lungs.

Minami, who was standing a couple meters away from Ogura Iori, jumped startled as a terrified expression painted her face.

"A swan...?" She muttered to herself confused.

The ribbon-wearing girl could not believe her ears. This information was too sudden and random for her to normally accept.

"A swan?! How? How do you know this?! Did you ask somebody? Did somebody see it? I mean, how do you know that it wasn't a person?!"

"I said, I'll explain everything to you later! Now is not the time to ask questions! It's a long story!"

"A-A-Alright! Tell me where it went!"

Hironaka Miyu paused for a second just to respond with a hesitant voice afterwards.

"I... I can't be one hundred percent sure... and I don't remember it perfectly... But from the way it looked: it grabbed the bag, flew over the bench, then it landed behind the bench and went northeast!"

This was incredibly confusing.

Ogura Iori had more questions with each new information.

But this was the time to think about something else. She decided to focus her mind on the solution and keep the questions about how Hironaka Miyu got these informations to the side.

(Northeast... northeast...)

She put a finger near her lips and let herself think intensively.

After a quick second, she realized something.

"Northeast! Of course!"

"What? Did you think of something?"

"To the right of the entrance gate, there's a closed-off animal exhibit for the park's garden animals. We didn't even take that place into consideration because no one besides the park's workers is allowed to even get close. Those swans and peafowls are rare and expensive breeds." Ogura answered with intensifying stress. "Miyu-chan, are there any swans where you are at?"

"Um..."

The girl on the other side must have put down the phone for a little while because a moment of silence followed after.

"H-Huh? Uh, no, there aren't any here..."

This was exactly what Ogura had expected to hear.

"As I thought. The animals that live in Parc de Lys are professionally trained to go back to their exhibits by the sunset."

"So the swan who stole the bag must be heading there."

Ogura bit her lip and looked at the sky above her.

"We need to hurry. The food stalls are a bit far from the animal exhibits so it should've taken it a long time to get there, but it's been about twenty five minutes since the accident so..." She said nervously, but then she bit her own tongue and shook her head. "Anyways, we'll get moving."

"Be careful."

The blonde-haired girl smirked.

"Thank you, Miyu-chan. You've been a great help." She spoke warmly. "But since I still don't know where you got all this information from, I'm gonna have to have a little chat with you when this is over."

"O-Okay, I promise, you will! Now hurry up!"

"Alright."

Ogura quickly ended the call and looked at Minami.

The wavy-haired girl did not need to hear the full story to understand what had happened.

And her face was indicating that she was more than displeased with that.

"Ogura-san, I'm not chasing a bird."

Her voice was tired and monotone.

The ribbon-wearing girl did not have time for this. She shrugged her shoulders at that and turned around.

"Well, then, I'm gonna have to leave you here by yourself!"

Without any warning, Ogura took a big step forward and started running as fast as she could.

"Ah?! W-Waaaaaait! What are you dooooing?! Where are we gooooinggg?!"

Minami Himeka was forced to follow her.

While running through grass fields and bushes, Ogura looked at her phone once again and tapped on the screen a couple of times.

She clicked a call button and put the device near her ear.

"Mizushima-san, I have a request for you! We found out who, or rather, what took the bag and we're now trying to chase it! It's apparently a white swan that's heading towards the closed-off exhibits!"

"E-Eh?! A swan?!"

"Yes! Could you help us over here?! You know where it is, right?"

"A-Ah, yes! I'll run as fast as I can!"

"Alright. We will meet halfway."

"Okay."

As soon as the call ended, Ogura hid the phone in her pocket again and picked up the pace a bit.

"Ngh..."

(I hope we can make it!)

The wind was blowing in her ears as she was speeding through a well trodden path. Suddenly, she heard an exhausted voice behind her.

"Wh-What... haaaah... about... haaaahhh... Hisakawa-san?!"

The blonde girl turned around just to see Minami, who was barely keeping up with her at this pace.

Ogura responded from behind her shoulder while running.

"Ayako is too far away. She wouldn't make it. Since we were at the north side of the park and Mizushima-san is at the east, we can easily come together at a marked point which is in the middle."

"Are you... haaah... sure... haaah... we can do it... haaah... by ourselves?!"

The ribbon-wearing girl pursed her lips while her long blonde hair was swaying in the air.

"I'm more concerned about the bag itself." She said nervously. "I'm glad it wasn't a work of a thief, but... A thief would at least know how to handle a bag so precious and expensive, hoping that they can sell it. But right now we're dealing with a mindless creature. Who knows what might happen to this bag while being carried by that swan? Getting dirty after being dragged through the mud?! Pecked and bitten until the fabric gets ripped?! Pulled on so hard that the hardware gets damaged?! Aaargh! I can't even think about it!"

They were currently at a place which looked more like a nature reserve than a French garden. There were barely any man-made objects around and the nature looked exactly the same as in the wild.

This drastic change indicated that they were getting closer to the animal exhibits' area, where the students were not supposed to go. Even in the day, you wouldn't see a single person strolling around this side of the park. There was nothing beautiful or sophisticated about it. It was simply just a path designated for the staff to get to the animal exhibits, connected with the main alleys.

Ogura's legs were moving as fast as possible and her eyes were focused on observing the area carefully.

"...?!"

Suddenly, from behind a tree a couple of meters away, a silhouette of a petite girl with long, honey-blonde hair submerged.

She was running so fast that her hair was almost frozen in the air.

"Mizushima-san!" Ogura shouted to her.

"Oh, we meet faster than I have anticipated!" Mizushima Sayuri responded loudly.

They could not hear each other too well, and they had trouble hearing their own voices too, so they had to shout to each other in order to drown the wind blowing in their ears.

The petite girl had a troubled expression on her face.

"By the way, what is this all about, Ogura-san?! How did you know it was a swan that took it?!"

The ribbon-wearing girl knew the answer, but was just as confused by it as Mizushima Sayuri.

"Miyu-chan told me over the phone! But I don't know how she found out! She told me that she'll explain after this is all over! But I trust her!"

Mizushima was dumbfounded.

There was barely any proof for why they were running towards the stinky animal exhibits, but she did not try to question it.

It was not the time to think about the logistics of it all.

She shook her head quickly and decided to change the topic.

"Anyways, where is Hisakawa-san?! Is she not going with us?!"

"She's on the other side of the park! There's no time to wait for her! The two of us are gonna have to do it by ourselves."

Someone behind them squealed angrily.

"TWO?! HAAHH... WHAT- WHAT DO YOU MEAN.. HAAAH... OGURA-SAAAAN?! I'M RIGHT HERE! HAAAH...!"

The two blonde Tokiwadai girls turned around.

Minami Himeka was almost about to faint, but she was still somehow running.

She was nothing more than a pain in the neck at this point.

They gave her a bitter smile.

"Aaah, right!"

"Give your best, Minami-san!"

But they were in the middle of a chase. They did not have time to think about Minami, who was only slowing them down.

Mizushima Sayuri looked straight and started observing the area quickly.

"So you're sure that it's supposed to be somewhere around here?"

"That's the only possibility we've got. And since there's no other entrance to the animal exhibits besides the one this way, the swan we're looking for is most likely a bit ahead of us."

The honey-blonde girl nodded.

"Let's combine our eyesights to try to locate it! It might be hiding in bushes or flying above us!"

They continued to look around while running.

As they were getting closer and closer to the animal exhibits, they started to see small flocks of peafowls going in the same direction as them, as well as rabbits, ducks and flamingos. They were all special, rare breeds imported to School Garden's parks. You wouldn't be able to see peafowls with tails as big and colorful and flamingos with such a majestic glow in their feathers anywhere in the world.

All of these animals were either incredibly beautiful or incredibly adorable, but they were not what Ogura, Mizushima and Minami were looking for.

There were no swans.

Was it too late to find one in the park already? Did they not make it in time? What if different animals had different returning hours?

The girls gritted their teeth in frustration.

But they were not about to give up just yet. There was plenty of spots to check as they were moving forward.

They were running through the path with many animal eyes observing them with curiosity. Their hair was dancing in the air and their hands were constantly in motion. They were creating quite a commotion in this animals-only area.

All kinds of park animals were staring at the three Tokiwadai girls running at a high speed.

Finally, a small building revealed itself from behind the trees in the distance. They could not see it clearly from that far, but it was fenced off and had a big empty area with little ponds and wooden bird houses.

Mizushima Sayuri opened her eyes wide.

"The animal exhibits!"

"We're that close already?!" Ogura groaned frustrated. "And yet there wasn't a single swan on the wa-"

As she was about to say that, something flashed before her eyes.

Something that completely made her pause all of her thoughts.

Even though her legs were still automatically running, her mind was frozen.

Something bursted through a small bush and stopped a couple meters in front of them.

The three of them flinched and widened their flabbergasted eyes.

"IT'S... IT'S..."

Mizushima Sayuri's squeaky voice reached Ogura's right ear as she was staring at what had appeared in the middle of the pathway.

The two girls opened their mouths at the same time as their brains were being filled with a dangerous wave of endorphins and adrenaline.

"IT'S THE SWAN!"

"IT'S THE BOURQUIN!"

They shouted in an almost perfect unison, creating a wave of sound that exploded in everybody's eardrums.

A gorgeous white bird standing in front of them had a strap of a large beige handbag clamped between its orange jaws.

The extremely precious Himalaya Bourquin was awkwardly dangling two centimeters above the ground, as the swan with an incredibly long neck was carrying it in its beak.

If the bobbed hair girl herself had been a witness of this hideous scene, she would have probably passed out.

As soon as Mizushima Sayuri and Ogura Iori's scream filled the area, without a second of delay, a violent flutter of long, white wings resounded.

The bag was no longer swinging near the ground.

Instead, it was rapidly lifted up in the air as shiny white feathers appeared and started to dance in the wind.

The bird turned around and took off as quickly as it could, making its escape from the source of the sudden scream.

"Aaah, it's running away!" The petite girl screamed, pointing up at the swan.

"After him! Quickly!" Ogura shouted to the two girls and immediately propelled herself forward.

They followed her, trying their best to run as fast as possible, since they had to keep up with a bird flying in the air after all.

And even though the swan was not that high above the ground, its wings were giving it advantage.

The three girls were speeding below it, with short breaths and sweaty foreheads.

"Do you think if I jump high enough I'll be able to grab it?!" Ogura uttered in a breathy tone.

"No, it's too high! You'll just break your leg when you fall!"

The ribbon-wearing girl gritted her teeth and continued to run as fast as she could.

She could not let this bag disappear from her eyes. Even if it meant completely ruining her perfect hair and clothes.

They had been looking for it for too long for her to give herself a break.

Even though she could feel her heart almost exploding inside her chest, she had to keep running after the bag - an item worth fortune materially and sentimentally, taken away from its owner.

This moment was the only chance to get it back.

"Ogura-san, look!" Mizushima pointed up again.

"...?!"

The blonde-haired girl raised her head and looked at the tree branches above them.

A couple meters in front of them, path they were using was continuing between two rows of tall, old oak trees. And those two opposite rows had their luscious tree branches touching each other closely, almost combining them together, creating something that resembled a tunnel.

The crowns of the trees combined together had created a solid roof, not even letting sunlight peek through.

Now, the swan had two options. Flying above or below the roof.

It did not have much time to decide.

However.

Because it was just a swan and not a very agile bird, it chose the latter.

"Ah!"

It lowered its body to avoid a collision with the trees' crowns and continued to fly forward.

But that slight change of height was just enough to give the girls hope.

The bag was fluttering two to three meters above the ground now. At such height, jumping with a hope of grabbing it was not the worst idea.

"Give it baaack!" Ogura Iori squealed as she made a far leap.

While she was still in the air, she outstretched her hand as high as she could.

"Nghh...!"

However, she was not only too far to grab it, she was also too short.

Mizushima Sayuri made the same attempt.

"Come on!"

She jumped as well, with her hand reaching up. When she thought she was close, she closed her hand quickly in an attempt to grab the bag.

However, the item dodged it and disappeared from her eyes as she fell back down.

"Ughh, it's fiddling too much!" She whimpered frustrated and picked up the pace again.

"Minami-san, your turn!" Ogura shouted to the exhausted girl from behind her shoulder.

The wavy-haired girl flinched and looked at them with her dead eyes.

"Wh-Why me?!" She uttered between her heavy breaths.

"You're taller than us! It might work for you!"

"H-Huh?!"

Mizushima Sayuri raised her eyebrows and looked in Ogura's direction.

"Ogura-san, let's give Minami-san a support!"

"Okay!" The blonde girl nodded and immediately slowed down.

The two of them stopped for a moment, put their hands together and created a cup shape with their palms, which were resting on top of each other.

Minami was looking at them confused as she was getting closer.

"Quick, Minami-san! Jump!" They shouted to her at the same time.

They prepared a support to take off from.

She did not have time to hesitate.

Without much thought, she did as they had told her.

She placed her leg on the support made of the girls' palms and kneeled down for a moment to create a momentum.

They could feel her body weight putting heavy pressure on their hands, but they were strong enough to withstand it.

Immediately after, Minami Himeka propelled her body upwards, making a very high jump.

She flew in the air towards the swan, which was just a couple centimeters above her outstretched hand.

She was incredibly close, but controlling her body in that split second of hanging in the air was more difficult than she had imagined.

She panicked.

She finally got to the highest point in her jump. She knew that a second after, she would not have another chance.

This was the moment to grab it.

She swung her hand quickly trying to catch the purse fluttering in front of her.

However.

The only thing she grabbed was air.

Her hand was closed tightly but there was nothing in it.

"Ugh..."

Minami groaned as she could feel in her stomach that the gravity was pulling her back down.

And.

She was about two meters above the ground.

"Haawawawaaa!"

With her wobbly, tired legs she tried to make a steady support for the landing on the ground.

But mid-falling down she had realized she was not going to succeed.

(O-Oh dear!)

As she noticed the dirty ground getting closer and closer to her face and her legs refusing to obey, she had come to the conclusion that she could not safely fall down.

She just had to take it.

"AAAAHH!"

She hit the ground with a loud thudding sound and her body continued to roll across the pathway for a couple of seconds after that.

She was whimpering while her knees and elbows were grinding against the ground for a moment, until her body finally stopped.

It was not an extremely serious fall, but serious enough to efficiently immobilize an unathletic, already exhausted middle school girl.

Mizushima and Ogura had no time to stop and help her out. They had to continue chasing the bird.

They passed Minami's body, which was blocking the way, while quickly checking her condition mid-run.

Her uniform was completely destroyed by now and her headband was lying on the lawn beside the path.

"Minami-san is down!"

"So it's just the two of us now!"

Ogura gritted her teeth nervously.

"Oh, no!" Mizushima Sayuri screamed.

The roof made of the trees' crowns was ending in front of them.

The one advantage they had against the swan was no longer.

The bird was about to get higher and make it impossible for the girls to grab the bag again.

They were in a pickle.

They got out of the "tunnel" and continued following the swan.

"We can't reach it from here for sure!"

"Look! It's going even higher than before!"

The ribbon-wearing girl frowned.

She could feel she was near her limit as well. She wasn't one of those Tokiwadai girls who had zero trouble during gym classes.

But even though she hated running, she could do long distances quite well. She wouldn't feel tired after running five or six laps at the Tokiwadai's tennis court normally.

However, this was way longer than what she was used to.

She started breathing heavily and forcing her exhausted legs to move.

She looked up at the swan flying above them, trying to come up with a reasonable strategy.

As she was about to do that, a certain thought went over her head.

It was an incredibly important fact that she might have overlooked.

She looked straight and widened her eyes.

"O-Oh, no... Haahh... Are you... Haaahh... kidding me...?!"

She spat out those words in a defeated tone between heavy breaths.

Yes, the animal exhibits were straight ahead.

They were even closer than they could have thought.

And...

By looking at what was in there, it was easy to guess where exactly the swan was heading.

In one of the closed-off exhibits, besides a ton of mud, a couple of bushes, feeders and wooden shelters, a large flock of white swans was swimming in a pond.

The exhibit had a plate built on its wooden fence.

The girls were close enough to be able to read what was written on it.

"This is the exhibit for the swans!" Mizushima Sayuri shouted. "It's flying towards the pond where the rest of the swans are, too!"

"Oh, no!"

Ogura stared at the scene in front of her in horror.

The inside of the exhibit looked like an absolute nightmare. The ground was muddy and dirty, most likely full of bird feces and chunks of rotten food.

If the Himalaya Bourquin, which was the most precious and rare handbag in the world, were to touch something so filthy and disgusting, Ogura Iori could have never forgiven herself.

Rage filled her body as she gritted her teeth violently.

Mizushima Sayuri felt no different.

The faces of those two pure high-class girls were now painted with anger and frustration as they were cursing the bird above their heads with their eyes.

It was almost about to fly over the fence and hop into the pond.

Even in the best case scenario, which was only getting the bag soaking wet with the pond's water, the Bourquin would have been completely destroyed as well. So they could not let the bird even touch the inside of the exhibit.

But the time was running out and whatever they were planning to do could have turned out to be ineffective or simply too slow.

Which meant...

"MIZUSHIMA-SAN!" Ogura shouted at the top of her lungs suddenly, while closing her eyes shut and tugging on her skirt's fabric. "PLEASE, JUST DO IT NOW! I'M LEAVING IT ALL UP TO YOU!"

A troubled expression appeared on Mizushima Sayuri's face.

She knew what the ribbon-wearing girl meant by that, yet she could not help but feel hesitation.

However.

There was no time. That decision had to be made quickly.

And she felt convinced the second she saw that the swan flew over the fence.

Her body acted automatically.

This was the last resort that she was about to use.

She spread her both hands wide and started to move them around slowly and gracefully, as if they were her oars, rowing the air around her.

And then, completely out of nowhere, like an unexpected tidal wave, a powerful gust of wind arose with a violent whistling noise. It set the nearby bushes and trees in motion, making them sway from side to side powerfully.

"Mngh..."

Ogura hid her face with one hand as every grain of dust and every fallen leaf started to dance in the wind.

The gust swirled around Mizushima Sayuri who was continuing to move her hands around slowly, as if she was giving the gale orders with this graceful dance.

The wailing of the wind accompanied by rustling of the leaves got stronger.

The girls' skirts started fluttering dangerously, which Ogura was trying to protect herself from. Their hair was going in every direction possible, making it hard to keep their eyes opened.

The wind was so strong, it felt like just a little bit more force could have swept the girls from their feet.

But suddenly, Mizushima Sayuri made a quick movement.

She swung both of her hands from left to right which made her hair freeze in the air for a second.

Immediately after, the wind changed directions.

The gale was no longer spiraling around the two girls.

It had already created enough momentum.

Mizushima Sayuri propelled its entire force forwards, creating a drowning sound of a roaring hurricane, capable of knocking off every loose object that had been on its way.

Leaves, flowers, stones and branches all flew high up in the air again and got taken by the speeding gale.

This girl controlled air.

She was an aerokinetic esper at Level 3. Even with a minimal accepted power in Tokiwadai Middle School, espers could create phenomena as big and strong as this one.

"Hnhh..." Ogura groaned as she felt the violent blast hitting her face.

The wind travelled a short distance until it reached a white swan hanged in the air.

Before the bird could get swallowed by the powerful gale, however, Mizushima lifted her hand and moved it in a random direction.

The wind reacted to that gentle movement.

The swan got lightly pushed from behind, lifted up from below, spun a couple times and finally thrown out of the exhibit.

The honey-blonde girl was maneuvering it carefully, as she did not want to do any damage to the bird.

Her only target was the beige handbag hanging from the swan's beak.

The poor, startled animal started making desperate cries as it was dancing clumsily in the wind.

Finally, the bag got separated from the swan.

But...

"A-AAHH!"

Ogura let out a frightening scream with her hands resting on her cheeks.

This was a terrifying sight.

The swan did not let go of the strap that had been clamped in between its jaws, but the strap simply broke off.

Multiple little diamonds scattered everywhere.

"NOOO!" The blonde-haired girl wailed in pain as she ran towards the bag, which started to fall down. "Mizushima-san, help!"

The petite girl nodded and with a strong motion of her hand, she compressed the air around the bag to make its fall safer.

Ogura jumped and grabbed the item with her both hands, hugging it safely in her chest.

"S-S-S-Safe!" She spoke nervously while twitching on the ground and hugging the Bourquin tighter.

The honey-blonde girl sighed with satisfaction and let her brain rest.

She was no longer controlling the wind, nor was she able to, so every blow that was about to reach them now was completely dependent on nature.

The swan started to rapidly spin in the wild wind, but after a moment it got weak enough for the bird to fall back down onto the lawn.

The girls' hair was still fluttering a bit until the whistling breeze finally disappeared.

Mizushima smiled tiredly and fell on her knees.

"Haaaahh... Th-Thank goodness..." She moaned exhausted under her breath.

She let herself cool down and catch a breath for a moment, but there were still multiple things to worry about.

This was not over yet.

The honey-blonde girl raised her head and looked at Ogura Iori, lying on the dirty ground and embracing the Bourquin with her hands.

"Ogura-san, what's the bag's condition?"

"I-It doesn't look damaged or dirty, thankfully." She responded while touching the sophisticated leather with her hand. "But..."

Mizushima looked down and frowned her eyebrows.

Yes, the chain was destroyed.

Many pieces of precious diamonds were scattered around, lying on the pathway and in the grass. Picking them up in an attempt to restore the bag's strap was meaningless.

The damage had been done and there was nothing to do about it.

However, there was still one puzzling thing that went over Mizushima Sayuri's head.

"But why did it refuse to let go of the bag? That's the thing I don't understand."

Ogura stood up from the ground and shook the dust off of her skirt.

She had a troubled expression on her face.

"I don't understand it either. I mean, it could have just grabbed it because it was shiny, but..."

"Ogura-san, look!"

The honey-blonde girl shouted to her classmate suddenly, but she was not looking in her direction.

She had her head turned around while looking in shock at something behind her.

The swan was sitting on the grass by a small tree with its legs hidden under its fuzzy torso.

But what had caught Mizushima Sayuri's attention was something else.

"What is it, Mizushima-san?"

"Look!" The petite girl squealed while waving towards Ogura, giving her a sign that she should come closer. "The swan!"

The ribbon-wearing lady took three steps forward and squinted her eyes while hugging the Bourquin in her chest.

"This is..." She mumbled under her breath.

The two girls were focusing their eyes on the swan's beak. And they noticed something that made them gasp suddenly.

Tiny remains of the bag's strap were stuck inside its nostril and a piece of ripped fabric was still dangling from it.

The bird was trying to get rid of it by shaking its head multiple times, but to no avail. The broke off chain was still stuck in its beak.

Mizushima and Ogura looked at the swan with pity as they had realized what really was the culprit in this case.

"Oh, my. So it was all because the chain got stuck in its nostril?" Ogura mumbled in a worried tone.

"And since the swan could not get rid of it, the bag was just being dragged along with it."

Mizushima sighed deeply and sat down on the ground.

However, Ogura was still troubled by something.

She looked down onto the purse she was hugging in her chest and frowned.

There had to be something more to it.

As rude and as unmannerly as it was, she had to quickly check something.

She grabbed the bag by its hardware and reached for the clasp to open it.

"Hn? Ogura-san, what are you doing?" Mizushima asked in a tired voice.

"Um. Just checking something~?" She responded melodically and opened the bag wide.

She looked inside as shock paralyzed her body.

The contents of the purse were all over the place, as she could have expected. The Bourquin had been dragged around by a bird for quite a while so expecting a perfectly clean inside wouldn't have been fair.

However.

"Hn?" She tilted her head puzzled.

Behind a spilled lip gloss, an opened powder compact, and a shattered mirror, Ogura noticed something else.

Something that caught her attention immediately.

She carefully reached her hand deep inside the bag in order to grab the item.

The honey-blonde girl sitting on the ground looked up at Ogura with intrigued eyes.

From the mysterious Bourquin, the ribbon-wearing girl pulled out a chunky loaf, evidently half-eaten, wrapped in a neat plastic wrapping.

She put it closer to her face and stared at it for a second.

"Bread?"

She uttered confused as multiple thoughts started circling around her mind.

Why would a middle school girl carry a loaf of half-eaten bread in her purse?

Did that have to do with anything?

However.

Something extremely sudden and violent shattered her thoughts.

A sound.

A loud, slamming noise coming out of nowhere struck a terror in Mizushima and Ogura quicker than a thunder strike.

The girls' shoulders jumped quickly when the tip of their ears vibrated.

They turned around to see the source of the sound and their eyes widened in panic.

The doors belonging to a staff building near the swans' exhibit closed loudly.

A person wearing janitor's clothes and a pair of dark combat boots appeared on a small wooden patio.

It was a woman with short hair styled in a braid and a very angry face.

She was looking at the two girls with frowning eyebrows and hands put on her hips.

Nothing could feel more like trouble than this moment.

A petrified expression painted the faces of Mizushima Sayuri and Ogura Iori. They gulped loudly while trying to force a mindless smile onto their lips.

The woman opened her mouth and let her strong, harsh voice reverberate around the entire park while chilling the blood of the two girls in front of her.

"WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU TWO DOING IN HERE?!"

Part 8

Under a lit up street lamp, a group of girls was standing in a ladylike manner.

The surrounding area was a lonely, deserted park with little to no sounds present, besides a quiet whispering of an evening breeze strolling by the empty alleys from time to time.

The exit gates were right around the corner, but the girls had to do something first before they could leave.

...

A wobbly, tired hand passed a beige alligator handbag to one of the girls.

A young lady with a black bob, wearing a sailor uniform looked at the item with her sparkling eyes.

She was sniffing and sobbing, with red cheeks, watering eyes and pursed lips. Her face was that of a gorgeous theater actress, playing a scene of a heart-warming reunion with her most beloved one. Her beauty was truly showing only when she cried.

That gorgeous high-class girl grabbed the purse gently with her pale hands and pulled it closer to her chest.

Between the sobbing and sniffing, however, she managed to spit out words of gratitude.

"Th-Thank you. Thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Sniff, thank you... sniff, so much."

One of the five girls that was standing around her scratched the back of her head in an embarrassed tone.

That girl had a silk ribbon tied into her long, blonde hair. There was dust all over her prestigious uniform and even some on her cheeks. She looked like she had just run a ten kilometer obstacle course without a single athletic skill.

She spoke to the bobbed hair girl in an exhausted tone.

"I-I'm sorry that the chain is broken... We couldn't do anything about it..."

Another girl, standing next to the ribbon-wearing blonde, opened her mouth to speak.

"A-And we're sorry that it took so long. We got caught by a caretaker at the animal exhibits and had to explain everything... Then we had to take care of the swan that got the chain stuck in its beak... and then we needed to help Minami-san and..."

"It's a very long story."

But the black-haired sailor uniform girl did not seem to care in the slightest.

She shook her head slowly as she hugged the beige handbag tighter and let a warm smile appear on her face.

"No. No. I don't mind at all. What's most important is that you have found it. It's more than enough." She spoke in a soft voice. "You know, at one point I have lost hope of ever seeing it again, but you have found it! I can't thank you enough."

Ogura Iori scratched her neck and smiled bitterly.

"Thank Mizushima-san, not me." She pointed at the short girl next to her with her thumb. "Without her, the Bourquin would have probably ended up in a muddy pond water."

"Muddy pond water?!" The bobbed hair girl screamed with her mouth covered with her hand. "W-Well then... P-Please accept my utmost gratitude, Mizushima-sama."

"-Sama?!"

Minami Himeka cleared her throat.

"But I do find it quite strange that a swan would attack and snatch away a bag without a reason." She said soberly while crossing her arms. "There had to be something that attracted it to do so. Maybe something inside the bag?"

It was no effort for a smart girl like Minami to strike a jackpot.

The sailor uniform girl's face turned red in an instant.

Embarrassment was written all over her face. She knew something that others did not.

Ogura looked around the group obliviously and put a finger on her mouth when certain thoughts came to her head.

"Hmm, you're right. Well, I did find a loaf of bread inside it, which I thought was a bit strange."

The other girls looked at her confused.

"A loaf of bread?"

"Why?"

The bobbed hair girl's shoulders twitched.

"Y-YOU OPENED IT?!" She screamed embarrassed.

Ogura curled her hands near her chest as she felt a bit surprised.

"W-Well, yes. I just wanted to check if the contents were okay. And, well... they are not, but..."

"DID NOBODY TEACH YOU THAT YOU SHOULD KEEP YOUR HANDS AWAY FROM SOMEONE ELSE'S STUFF?!"

"S-Sorryyy..."

Minami ignored this whole commotion, however, and put a finger on her chin as she started to think.

"So the swan most likely wanted to just get the bread out of the purse, but the chain got stuck in its beak." She spoke quietly. "But what would a loaf of bread be doing in a middle school girl's purse?"

The black-haired girl could not take this any longer.

She squeezed her fists and turned in Minami Himeka's direction. She attacked her with her angry eyes and potato red cheeks.

"I CARRY IT AROUND WITH ME, OKAY?! WHAT IS SO WEIRD ABOUT THAT, HUH?! WHEN I GO TO THE PARK I LIKE TO SIT NEAR THE POND SO I CAN FEED THE SWANS AND DUCKS AND OTHER ANIMALS! I'VE BEEN DOING THAT FOR EVER! WHAT, IS IT WEIRD THAT I DON'T HAVE FRIENDS AT MY SCHOOL?! I DON'T NEED THEM! SITTING ALONE IN THE PARK IS TEN TIMES MORE ENJOYABLE THAN TALKING WITH A BUNCH OF MEAN BULLIES!"

She screamed in a high-pitched tone, but the only thing that answered her was her own echo.

And then, silence.

"..."

Everybody was staring at her with blank faces without saying a single word.

Nobody even moved.

...

And that silence continued for a long time.

Until.

"What are you, an 80 year old grandma?"

Part 9

The streets of School Garden were empty and lit up by metal lamps. At this hour, there were as many people on the main roads as in back alleys.

But a one particular group of girls was still out in the town. They were walking down a cobblestone street and passing by Parisian-style buildings.

Four of them were Tokiwadai Middle School students but the fifth one was wearing a white-and-salmon tennis uniform.

Ogura Iori, one of the Tokiwadai girls, was carrying a Terre Cuite handbag on her elbow while her shiny hair was bouncing up and down and her loafers were click-clacking down the street.

"What a strange girl." She sighed arrogantly.

"I know. But I guess each school in School Garden has their own type of students." Hisakawa Ayako giggled while playing with one of her brown pigtails.

The ribbon-wearing girl put her index finger up and grinned.

"Yes, I agree. For example, Tokiwadai only has mean girls."

"Haha, no, that's not true."

"It is. Ayako, if you've ever been to a flower arrangement club, you would know what I mean. It's non-stop gossiping."

Minami, who was walking in the front, closed her eyes as she scoffed proudly.

"Oh dear, are my ears hearing this correctly? I was convinced that you were the type of person that fancies gossiping, Ogura-san."

The blonde-haired girl frowned and put on an oblivious smile.

"Of course not, Minami-san. I am miles above that level. What an unsightly thing to assume about somebody, really." She responded pompously and brushed her hair off of her shoulder. "But anyways, don't you girls think that leaving a bag like the Himalayan Bourquin alone on a bench is a bit reckless?"

Minami turned around and looked at her with dead eyes.

(Does she realize she's doing it right now?)

"You're right, I would have never done that, ever." Mizushima Sayuri nodded her head.

"Right. That was a bit reckless of her. And to leave that bread in there? She was begging for some animal to snatch that up."

"I mean, I would have at least taken it with me to the store and not leave it there by itself. Haah, people these days do not know how to respect art." Ogura sighed deeply with her eyebrows raised high.

Hironaka Miyu smiled bitterly at that as she was keeping up with the rest of the girls behind.

"But at the end of the day, everything turned out just fine thanks to you two."

Ogura crossed her arms and looked at her friend with a serious expression.

"No, no, no! Thanks to you, Miyu-chan! And besides, why have you never told me that your ability was psychometry? Have you been hiding this from me since elementary school?! Why didn't you say anything when we were about to go look for the bag?! We would have saved ourselves plenty of time!"

The ponytail girl tensed her shoulders and giggled awkwardly.

"W-Well, you didn't listen when I wanted to tell you..."

Ogura froze for a moment.

"Oh, really?" She asked obliviously and put a finger on her lips. "I don't remember."

"That ability turned out to be our biggest savior." Minami said plainly as she turned right and led the group to a wider road. "I must applaud your courage for doing it even against Ogura-san's word."

Hironaka Miyu's cheeks filled with warmth.

"Th-Th-Th-Thank you, Minami-san!"

An elegant ojou-sama that the ponytail girl had only been able to see in old manga and TV shows had spoken to her with sympathy and warmth. The feeling of getting praised by someone so graceful and sophisticated felt more than rewarding for her efforts.

However, Ogura Iori looked at Minami from behind and grimaced a bit.

"Minami-san, are you really okay after that fall? Are you not hurting anywhere?"

"You already asked me this. I am perfectly fine."

"But that fall looked pretty painful. Are you sure you don't have any injuries?"

"I'm sure. It did not hurt as bad as I thought it would. What I'm most worried about, however, is my uniform. It's been through a lot today... But I appreciate the concern." Minami responded bluntly and looked at the light-brown vest she was wearing. "I'm gonna have to get another spare one." She mumbled under her breath.

Ogura smiled bitterly as she followed her.

"You did your best, even though you're not the most athletic one."

"That's very Minami-san-like." Mizushima Sayuri added with a warm smile.

The headband-wearing girl visibly tensed up.

"Wh-What are you talking about?" She uttered embarrassed as she tried to hide her blushing cheeks. "A-Anyways, we're here."

"Hn?"

The girls looked up.

What appeared in front of their eyes was a horizontal row of Doric columns supporting a grand, neoclassical roof with its distinguishable triangular pediment at the top. The building was at least 10 meters tall, gloriously marking the very important border between School Garden and Academy City with its size and beauty.

The girls arrived at an enormous empty square with cobbled pavement laid all-throughout.

The Square of Golden Archways it was called. Usually a setting for meet ups and saying goodbyes.

A sad smile appeared on their faces as Hironaka Miyu took three steps forward.

She turned around and looked at the group of Tokiwadai ladies standing on the pavement, while holding her white handbag in both hands.

"It's finally time to part ways for now, huh." Ogura said quietly as she was looking at the ponytail girl.

"Y-Yes." She nodded her head and looked down with a warm smile. "Thank you everyone for today. Thank you for doing all of this for me and thank you for making today the best, most magical day of my life."

The ribbon-wearing girl hid her hands behind her body and grinned playfully.

"No problem."

"I-I would have never imagined going to a place like this, with this many amazing people wanting to greet me and try to get to know me... And with so many surprises prepared just for me... I-I truly can't thank all of you enough."

Minami gave the black-haired girl a gorgeous smile as she looked at her with her shiny eyes.

"You're welcome. And we should thank you, too."

"Eh?"

Mizushima Sayuri nodded her head and opened her mouth to speak.

"Of course. You helped us a lot today! Without you, nothing would have worked out."

"And it wouldn't be nearly as fun." Hisakawa Ayako added. "Ah, and remember what I told you about lacrosse! Maybe try it out when you go back to school for the second semester!"

Hironaka Miyu put a hand near her mouth as she giggled quietly.

"Okay, understood. I'll try. Thank you, Hisakawa-san."

"Miyu-chan!" Ogura spoke suddenly. "Feel free to come over again any time you want! Next time we can go shopping together!"

"You spoiled me enough today, Iori-chan!" The ponytail girl responded while puffing her cheeks playfully. "But of course, I'll come over again. I wouldn't miss another chance to have fun with you girls."

The headband-wearing lady bowed her head properly.

"Of course. We will be glad to."

Hironaka Miyu placed a hand on her chest as warmth filled her heart.

"Thank you all." She uttered with a sweet smile. "W-Well, then."

She raised her hand from her chest and waved to the ladies slowly.

"Goodbye, everybody!"

Mizushima, Minami, Hisakawa and Ogura all started waving back as they were looking at the figure of the ponytail girl moving away from them.

"Goodbye, Hironaka-san!"

"Take care, Miyu-chan!"

"It was nice seeing you!"

"Until next time!"

The voices resounded at the empty square as Hironaka Miyu went through an archway and disappeared in the distance, where a row of electronic gates was built.

The four girls continued waving for a moment after that, until they heard a beeping sound coming from a gate. From that point on, it was sure that their guest had already left School Garden.

All that was left was dark silence.

A sad smile appeared on Ogura Iori's lips as she was staring into the distance.

"What a sweet girl she was." Minami said to the ribbon-wearing girl.

"Of course." She responded while still looking straight. "That's my Miyu-chan for you. You can't find a girl kinder than her."

"It must be nice, having a childhood friend like her." Mizushima added with a sweet scent of nostalgia in her voice.

"It is..."

"Alright, girls." Minami said abruptly while clapping her hands twice. "We better hurry up to our dorms, or else we'll be in big troub-"

As she was about to finish her sentence, something incredibly powerful and terrifying drowned her voice.

Something that evoked instant panic in those four girls who were all high-level espers.

Their eyes widened, sweat started to drip down their foreheads and their faces turned white in an instant.

"N-No..."

"A-Are you... kidding me...?!"

The curfew bells.

Spread out all around School Garden, the bells and their resonant chiming heralded living hell for anybody who could still hear them on the streets.

The sound was engraving pain inside the girls' hearts, which had almost stopped beating for a second from the intense fear.

There was only one way to save themselves in this awful situation.

"R... R... RUN! EVERYBODY, RUN!" Minami shouted in hysteria as she turned around and propelled her body forwards.

"Q-QUICK! HURRY!"

"WE NEED TO RUN AS FAST AS POSSIBLE!"

"R-RUN TO THE DORM! RUN TO THE DORM!"

The four girls sprinted through the square while making a noisy commotion.

Their hasty footsteps started a series of loud click-clacking sounds against the cobblestones, echoing in the empty streets.

They were entering one of the five main roads leading to the district's school dorms.

"Y-YOU'RE KIDDING... HAAH... IT'S THAT... HAAH... LATE ALREADY?!" The wavy-haired girl uttered with frustration and fear as her arms were moving up and down.

"I GUESS WE HAVE LOST TRACK OF TIME AT SOME POINT! HAAH!"

"ISN'T THAT YOUR FAULT, OGURA-SAN?! LOOK WHERE THAT SEARCHING MISSION TOOK US!"

"EEEH?! BUT YOU WENT WITH US!"

"YES BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT TO BE LEFT ALONE! AND THIS WAS YOUR IDEA, REMEMBER?! NOW BECAUSE OF THAT WE HAVE TO PERFORM THIS HORRIBLE ACT OF RUNNING DOWN THE STREETS LIKE A BUNCH OF HOOLIGANS!"

Hisakawa tutted exasperated and opened her mouth to speak.

"CHOOSE WHICH RULE YOU WOULD RATHER BREAK: RUNNING ON THE STREETS WHEN THERE'S NOT A SINGLE SOUL AROUND OR GETTING CAUGHT STAYING OUT AFTER CURFEW AND GETTING THE PUNISHMENT OF YOUR WORST NIGHTMARES?!"

The headband-wearing girl gulped loudly with sweat dripping down her face.

She was imagining what could happened to them if they got caught. Tortures? Homework for the rest of their lives? Cleaning the school everyday?

A chill went down her spine so she started to run even faster now.

Luckily, the dorms were fairly close as they were located somewhat in the middle of School Garden, so there was an easy access to them from any part of the town.

But the bells did not chime for long.

At some point, they had stopped as it was already after curfew.

The girls ran towards the dormitory building as fast as they could. Even if it meant breaking an ankle, they could not stop even for a second. Time was very precious especially at times like this.

And after a moment of constant running in sweat and heavy breaths, the campus of Tokiwadai Middle School finally revealed itself on the horizon.

They were close already.

But the unknown of what could happen when they arrive there was still terrifying. In fact, they should have been here a long time ago.

Minami Himeka bit her lip as she was looking up at the European-styled brick dormitory building which was getting closer and closer with each second.

If there was anybody standing in front of it, the girls would have been caught right away.

But there was still the possibility of getting away with it if luck was on their side. They could still sneak their way inside if they were smart enough.

However, the smartest one out of the group had a trouble coming up with anything in this horrible situation.

The headband-wearing girl slowed down her run and gave a sign to the rest behind her.

The girls looked at her confused and frustrated.

"Why did you stop, Minami-saaan?! You want to get us caught?!"

"Shhh!"

She put a finger on her mouth as her eyebrows frowned.

"(Don't you know what being discreet means? If all four of us just run inside the dorm, even the second floor is gonna hear us.)" She whispered.

The girls exchanged a troubled glance as they finally stopped completely.

"(Here.)"

On Minami's sign, everybody pressed their backs against a Parisian building they were passing by. The wavy-haired girl peeked from behind the wall and saw the Tokiwadai dormitory, which was right around the corner.

She squinted her eyes and whispered to the ladies.

"(Alright. I think it's clear. Nobody's standing at the front.)"

"(Are you sure)" Mizushima Sayuri squealed nervously.

"(Yes, there's no one in the area. It's safe. Come on, let's go.)"

The group came out of their hiding spot and started sneaking their way towards the dormitory building, while trying to make no sounds with their leather loafers.

Minami held her breath as she was nervously scanning the area around her.

Were there security robots hidden in the bushes? Were there spies of the one who should not be named spread around the area to catch poor, young maidens enjoying their summer vacation days for a bit too long?

"Ugh..."

This was the first time Minami had to take lead in an operation like this. Her leader skills were incredible, but even she could feel more guilt than pride in herself when she was only trying to save her skin from consequences.

"(Wait.)"

She spoke suddenly and crouched on the sidewalk, behind a large flowerpot. The flowers were placed right at the front of the building, so the entrance was just three steps away.

Minami peeked from behind the flowerpot and observed the wooden front doors.

"(I don't see anyone, there are no sounds, there are no lights in the lobby.)" She whispered quietly. "(I think we're safe.)"

Ogura looked around nervously and rubbed her fists against each other.

"(Y-Y-You go first, Minami-san...)"

The headband-wearing girl gulped and brushed her hair off of her shoulder with a shaking hand.

"(A-A-A-Alright. A-After me...)"

She slowly got up and walked quietly towards the doors with hunched shoulders and lowered head. She did not want her face to be at the same height as the building's windows, just in case somebody was watching them from the inside.

Minami pressed her body against a wall next to the big, wooden doors and looked straight at the other girls, who were still hiding behind the flowerpot.

"(I'm scaaaared...)"

"(I don't wanna get out...)"

She heard quiet squeals coming from that spot.

A vein appeared on her big, naked forehead as she grew annoyed.

"(We don't have time for this! Get out of there and come here, right now!)" She scolded them in a harsh whisper.

"(Hawawawa! A-Alright!)" Ogura Iori's panicked voice reached her ears while she rolled her eyes.

One after another, three girls appeared from behind the flowerpot and stopped next to Minami.

At this point, they were too close to be even whispering. Since they did not want their presence to be known, they could not produce any sounds at all.

Minami gave the girls a sign with her hand and slowly reached her hand to grab the door's handle.

Sweat started to appear on everybody's foreheads as the moment grew intense.

One wrong move on Minami's side and they could be in big trouble.

Luckily, the headband-wearing girl pressed the handle down gently and quietly.

Then, she started opening the door as slowly as she possibly could, giving the ladies behind her a sign with her eyes.

They nodded and went inside through the opening hunched over.

As Ogura, Mizushima and Hisakawa all passed by her, the headband-wearing girl stopped her breath and entered through the door herself.

She closed it behind her gently, without making a single noise, and followed the girls.

They entered a completely dark and silent lobby. The scent of French antiques hit their noses immediately, as this was the smell they could call the most familiar and home-like in the entire Academy City. There were many old paintings hanged on the walls, 18th century sofas and chairs were spread around, as well as old, wooden tables, bookcases and cabinets.

This was a place they were always coming back to at the end of the day, but this time it was completely different. Instead of freely coming inside like it was their home, today they had to sneak their way into their rooms and put effort into not being seen.

However, it seemed like nobody was around.

The lamps spread around the lobby were turned off, the wooden floor had already been cleaned by the maids and the reception desk was empty.

It looked like they were alone.

The girls calmed down their nerves a little bit as they looked around.

Yes, it was pitch black, but they could feel the lack of any presence around them. The lobby was incredibly quiet.

Minami gulped. She looked straight and then up, at a big wooden staircase leading to the first floor.

All they had to do was to reach the staircase and then it would be a piece of cake. The higher up the stairs, the lower was the chance of getting spotted by anyone.

They were currently at the heart of the dormitory building. And they had to get out of here as quickly as possible.

The headband-wearing girl took a firm step forward.

And then...

A dark and twisted nightmare came to the real world.

A haunted sound revealed its blood-curdling self from the absolute darkness and pierced through the air like a grenade explosion.

A sound that squished their insides first before actually attacking their ears.

Their hearts stopped.

Their thoughts got smashed into tiny pieces and all the emptiness got replaced with dread and terror immediately, filling their brains up completely.

Their bodies froze in place as if they were under an evil witch's spell.

And the evil witch was...

"So that's how it is."

A terrifying voice spat out those words out loud in the complete darkness.

The sound touched the back of their necks. It was right behind them.

The absolute horror and panic built up to the point of not being able to contain it.

This was worse than being haunted by a ghost.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!"

A harmonized high-pitched scream bursted through the darkness and shook the air violently.

The girls fell down onto the floor as fear took over their bodies. They were curling up while crying and screaming, like scared little rats in front of an angered lion.

They knew what was coming for them.

They knew what they were so scared of.

This was the end for them.

Suddenly, the darkness disappeared as a powerful explosion of eye-burning bright light illuminated the lobby.

In a second, the evil witch's figure revealed itself barely a meter away.

"I was expecting you girls here."

A terrifying voice took form of a scary-looking woman.

Black high-heels click-clacking against the wood, black buttoned blazer hanging below her waist, black matching skirt embracing her thighs tightly.

And those short, black hair tied into a bun behind her head...

She looked like the devil itself, staring at the curled up, insolent little rats on the floor with her piercing eyes.

With her dark eyebrows frowning frightfully, red lips pursed in displeasure and hands put on her hips, she was punishing the Tokiwadai girls lying on the floor with her presence itself.

But what was about to happen next was even worse.

She focused her scary eyes on Minami Himeka, to the girl's absolute horror.

Was she her target?

Was she going to get scolded for all of this?

The wavy-haired girl gulped loudly.

The situation could not have been worse, but even then she still had to pull out her desperate last resort.

She opened her trembling mouth and put on an oblivious smile while cold sweat was dripping down her face.

"G-G-Good evening, M-Mrs. D-D-Dorm Manager."

Yes. This was the end for them.

...

Hi :)

First of all, Happy New Year! :O 2021 doesn't even feel real tbh

Second of all, hi we're finally over with this mini arc which was supposed to be a one-shot story but instead turned out to be a three chapter arc. :\ Only I can make little slice of life chapters into "story arcs" plsss I'm peeing this is so ridiculous but anywaysss

I'M ANNOUNCING A VERY IMPORTANT THING RN:

To all the people asking about characters appearing.

1. I can't get to the point I need to get to in one volume. I write like a snail and everything in my head is important and everything has to be explained etc. This volume is slow and low on characters. BUT

2. To all the Kuroko stans, y'all are about to EAT. I'm talking a whole buffet. Next chapter and chapters after that, nothing but eating. Kuroko's gonna be a star believe me.

3. To all the Touma stans, sweetie I'm so sorry but this is about rich mean girls living in a boujee town. First, I need to do the basics which is building up the boujiness and doing Daihaseisai, then we can make room for boys. But right now it's a girls-only story, just how I like it. Yes, absolutely, welcome to my world.

4. Miss Misaka, I want to keep her character as this inaccessible, strong VIP celebrity thingy to accentuate this thick line between her and, like, average Tokiwadai students. Cuz the girls in this fanfic are pretty basic ojou-samas imo. So she's only gonna be mentioned, sometimes appearing when the canon story forces me to, but no major roles for her. Sorry, queen, still love you xxx

(on a side note: they announced that miss girl Shokuhou is getting her own spin-off and I can't express this enough: I WON. srsly im so excited im ready to simp aaa)

But anywayssss

Thank you for reading!

Write a review if you feel like it!

And correct me if there are some errors, as always?

See you next timeee

K, bye :,)