A Certain Missing Esper (Arc 4 Main Story)

The path to the roof was quite eventless. While not part of her initial plan, its expansion was as easy as another remote press and more residual memory extraction from leftover moisture and liquids in objects close by. Therefore, after having gone through the least amount of complication imaginable, Shokuhou Misaki was the first one to break forward onto the warehouse’s roof, greeting the still not perfectly fresh summer evening air with open arms.

«Against their complication ability, they actually helped us to the better route ☆ Who wouldn’t prefer such a nice view ability over a gloomy dark tunnel?»

The #5 was in a rather positive mood now that that annoying encounter was over and their path apparently clear. Now all they had to do was…

Actually what?

This was a building roof in a warehouse heavy area. Therefore, whether you looked left or right all there was were other rooftops and street lights. That was all. No fire escapes; not that they were an option in the first place. Consequently, all that was left for them to do was jump. Either a couple of metres down or a few more across…

«Li-sensei. Uuh. How far does your jumping ability reach again? Actually…how are you planning to carry me? I hope you understand to respect a fair lady’s dignity ability!»

«I’m amazed you’re really pulling through with this.»

«…treat it how you will…this is…the fastest…option…»

Overwhelmed by heavy breathing, Kisaragi Anko’s voice was barely audible as she spoke to the bodiless voice that at this point had become her steady company. She had left the office building behind once she had dressed up and was now riding a random bicycle she has found and made her own on the way. Albeit being a highly trained warrior, the endeavour caused visible strain, possibly due to the still present pain emerging from her stomach or – which was the more likely – the fact that the speed at which she was currently moving easily rivalled that of an olympic athlete.

«I thought…I’d finally get rid of…you…but it seems like…the source is in my choker…correct?»

Of course that voice wouldn’t cease to cherish their own superiority.

«I’m surprised it took you this long to realise. So what is your plan now? I gave you the coordinates, set you a timer, and now it’s all up to you.»

But not without letting go of their characteristic politeness.

«I don’t know yet…but I’ll figure something out…it’s still about ten minutes…»

«If you make it that i—»

«I will.»

Not even allowing the man in her ears wrap up his speech, she cut in with pure fierceness. A fierceness she further underlined by increasing her pedalling speed even further.

Yes. Time was none of her concerns. If the rhythm of the clock’s ticking was the countdown she had to fight against all she had to do was move at an even faster rhythm.

The other end of the tunnel wasn't far. A matching set of crudely cut-out steps led upwards to another shell of a cargo container. Presumably in the adjacent warehouse. The metal doors were closed, but a purpose-made latch allowed them to be opened from the inside. It was quiet outside. Reina wasn't certain how she felt about that fact. Was it quiet because there was no one there? Or was it quiet because they were lying in wait for them?

There was only one choice in the end. And as that latch was cautiously opened, the door slowly opened...

Boom!

In a single, violent burst of movement, the doors buckled inwards, striking the frontmost of the group like a battering ram.

"Told you. Rats are good at finding their way out of traps. You just have to wait 'em out." The man in a loose western-style suit stood with his feet planted by the now open container door. He brushed back the spiky quills of shocking red hair and grinned. Behind him, a handful of Skill Out formed a loose ring around the container.

When he moved it was abrupt and sharp, dropping to a crouch like a panther then launching himself like a rocket into the midst of the group. He wouldn't allow them a moment to gather their wits. He aimed for the tunnel. These kids may only be amateurs, but even amateurs knew to protect their firepower. If they had any sense they'd know to keep their ranged attackers at the back of the group. That made rearmost esper his number one priority. His lunging pounce saw him ricochet off the wall of the container with a springing kick that brought him to Saito's side and as he rose up it was with a hooking punch to the boy's side.

***
Stood in the back of the van, bracing herself against the roof with one hand, Naoto spoke to Kohaku over the engine's roar.

"The guys who were chasing you. You remember what they looked like?" It wasn't idle chat. The girl did her best to hide it through her steely composure, but she was rattled. Her informants had given her a brief rundown of what had transpired at the convenience store, but the more she heard, the more alarming it became. Esper fights and street toughs were one thing, they were practically commonplace in certain parts of the city. But paramilitary? In unmarked gear? That was a very different thing altogether.

***

After boosting Misaki up to the open window and clambering up after her (an act not made easy by the cast on his right arm), Guy took a deep breath. They'd not made it to safety quite yet, but he was confident it wouldn't be too difficult to achieve this way.

«Against their complication ability, they actually helped us to the better route ☆ Who wouldn’t prefer such a nice view ability over a gloomy dark tunnel?»

She may have had a peculiarly 'Shokuhou' way of expressing it, but he had to agree with the sentiment. This was the better way, as far as he was concerned. Freedom of movement and clear lines of sight meant that figuring out a route would be easier and the lack of access points from down below worked in their favour. From this angle, even if the enemy spotted them, it would be tough for them to intercept the escapees before they'd broken sight.

Making his way to the edge of the rooftop, Guy surveyed the streets ahead. As expected, the gang had set up a perimeter around the warehouse. A crude blockade that spanned the width of the road a block down. They'd only have to move one roof over and they'd be able to sneak down behind them without worry. He checked the gap to the next warehouse. Not too far. He could make it easily. However...

He'd forgotten one vital fact.

«Li-sensei. Uuh. How far does your jumping ability reach again? Actually…how are you planning to carry me? I hope you understand to respect a fair lady’s dignity ability!»

This girl was hopelessly unathletic.

Looking back to the gap with his new burden in mind, he was no longer so certain he could make the jump. It was possible.

But there was doubt.

He wouldn't tell her, of course.

"Misaki. How much do you weigh again?" He was good at estimating a girl's measurements from a glance, but he wanted to make certain in this instance. However, as soon as he'd uttered those words he realised his error. "You know what, nevermind." Feeling the no doubt venomous glare boring into his back he offered a solution.

"Yeah, yeah. Your loyal steed is right here..." He dutifully knelt down to offer her his back to climb on. Feeling her slender arms clasp around his neck and her decidedly less slender legs hook around his waist, he supported one thigh with his remaining hand and braced himself like a sprinter on the starting block. "You might want to close your eyes." He warned her. He took off running, speed building as he came to the edge. No turning back.

His foot hit the corner of the roof and with a single, explosive leap he threw them both into the air. They landed with a clatter on the next rooftop and Guy staggered a few steps as he slowed them down.

"See. Nothing to worry about." He gave her a wink over his shoulder.

The group slowly made their way down the tunnel towards their escape from the veritable army of thugs that was sure to have surrounded the warehouse by now. Luckily it did not seem as if anyone was following them, at least, if they were they were keeping their distance and out of the range of Aiko's perception. The tunnel itself wasn't that long so after a few moments the group arrived at a set of metal doors that appeared to be the exit. Aiko followed the few steps up to the door and turned to the rest of the group, placing a finger of her lips to signify they should be quiet. Aiko's ability had a hard time penetrating barriers like walls, so sensing if someone was on the other side proved difficult. She couldn't hear anyone so the chances that someone was there were feeling low.

Aiko reached up and unlatched the door, allowing it to swing open slowly just a crack. As soon as she did and her ability was able to make her aware of the other side of the door it was already too late. Aiko tried to turn and warn the others but before she could utter a word, the doors exploded nailing Aiko on the back and sending her flying down the few stairs and directly into the hard ground. Thanks to her ability, she'd had just enough of a warning to protect her head with one of her arms before she hit the ground, however the impact had still seriously hurt and knocked the wind right out of her.

"Told you. Rats are good at finding their way out of traps. You just have to wait 'em out."

Aiko took a deep breath as she quickly struggled onto her hands and knees. As she looked up she saw this voice came from a man in a suit with spiky red hair. Behind him stood a number of skill outs blocking the exit. The spiky red head then crouched down and launched himself directly towards the back of their group, more specifically directly at Saito. With an extra kick off the side of the container he lander right in front of him and right after, a hooking punch was to follow. There was no time to think, Aiko couldn't fire a laser, in short amounts of time they were too weak to stop someone and he was still inside her field to begin with. Even if he wasn't and the laser had enough power her field wasn't even set to the right mode for lasers right now.

Aiko realized there was only one thing she could do to try and stop this. Her hands quickly fell to her legs and reach for the gun strapped to her leg under her skirt. A shot to the arm would easily stop the punch, but that was a moving target and if she missed it would almost certainly hit Saito. The red head's body was a large mostly stationary target in the moment, however if she hit an important organ by accident, she could have another death on her hands and Aiko wanted to avoid that more than anything. That left only one good target. Aiko gripped the gun tightly in both hands and fired a signal shot aimed at the man's leg. The loud noise of the gun echoed in the enclosed space of the tunnel as Aiko stared forward to see the result of her actions.

All was quiet in the tunnel; no pursuers behind them, and no movement ahead save for Hirashi’s companions. The tunnel was short, and soon the group faced a set of flimsy metal doors. Hoodie Girl reached for the latch and a sliver of light spilled into the tunnel before-

The door caved in with a deafening crash. Hoodie Girl, in a stroke of luck, was turned away as she was braced for the impact a split second before the door actually flew open.

It was an ambush, they were outplayed. Despite Hirashi’s best efforts, the #5 must have noticed his suspicions and pulled a double bluff on him.

"Told you. Rats are good at finding their way out of traps. You just have to wait 'em out."

The speaker was a red-haired man in an ill-fitting suit jacket, a handful of skillout-looking thugs was behind him.

Hirashi analysed the situation, the tunnel was a choke point, and straight in the center of the Skillout kill box. Going back was not an option, the small tunnel would be much too slow of a route to take plus the warehouse may have already been overrun with their pursuers at this point, and they can hardly stay in the tunnel. Which means they had to move forward through the ambush and break out.

Red Head however, betrayed Hirashi’s expectations, instead of attacking the front of the group from a safe position from the exit and waiting for the group to push out into the center of the kill zone, he barreled down the tunnel alone and aimed an attack at…

“...me?”

Thinking can only get you so far, as usual, Hirashi’s lack of practical hands-on skill is proving once again to be a major inconvenience. Hirashi’s fast thinking allowed him to recognise the situation earlier and give himself more time to prepare. But his body was not built for extreme feats of athleticism. Hoodie Girl however seemed to draw a pistol from seemingly nowhere. The gunshot which followed blinded and deafened Hirashi with blinding orange light and an almighty bang.

Maybe Hoodie Girl had the power of foresight.

With a little help from his ability Hirashi threw himself back as far back down the tunnel as he could, hoping to avoid Red Head’s attack.

They had made it somehow. However, Shokuhou’s initial worries quickly proved to be not all too far off from reason. After all, her Esper ability came with a kind of toll she really did not wish for in times like these.

«Your acting ability doesn’t fool me! You know that Li-sensei!!!»

Still, even if she had been able to tell the older boy’s nervousness towards that jump, she had taken the risk, albeit with a bad feeling in stomach. That was a portion of trust she had placed into him. One that went beyond logic and reason.

Still, even in trust all of her four limbs had become awfully clingy, effectively pressuring his body as though it was a tin can ready to meet the dumpster.

«A-anyway, I suppose it is time for you to lower yourself so that I can get off. While I do appreciate your service ability, it is no longer of need. Be grateful I allowed you to be of service!»

Naturally, this wasn’t a state for a high class lady – no a queen – to ever fall into. Thus, at the highest of her own acting ability, the Queen of Tokiwadai would shrug it all away behind false superiority and a raised nose.

Not that she could do anything more.

Not while she had to let loose and jump from his back for that.

The tell-tale click of a pistol's cocking mechanism. The soft swish of metal clearing a holster.

"Huh." The red-headed attacker's eyes flicked towards Aiko, his body still spiralling upwards to deliver the blow to Saito's side. Without halting his spin he swept his leg up and around to strike the gun. The flash of gunfire lit up the container and the loud, dry crack echoed loudly in the enclosed space, followed by the sharp ping of a ricochet as the bullet bounced away down the tunnel.

He'd had to sell his initial attack short, the savage liver shot to Saito's torso had lacked its full power. That had meant the difference between pulverising the boy's ribs and rupturing his liver and merely cracking them and bruising the soft organ. Aiko's quick thinking may have saved Saito's ribs, but in the process it had also made her the prime target.

"Ha. Using a firearm in a confined space? And in the middle of your comrades? You're a crazy girl." He chuckled appreciatively at Aiko's boldness as his foot carried on its trajectory around his body, and as he landed softly it tapped against the ground for just a moment before snapping back up into her chest with a stamping side kick.

Reina dove away, pressing herself to the edge of the container where she hoped she would be less likely to trip up her friends. But the attacker's hand snatched at the collar of her borrowed jacket. The loose garment gave him a handle as he spun around to shove the small girl's light body towards Saito further down the tunnel. If the boy was still in any shape to attack, a human shield would put a stop to that.

That left Tsubasa. The tall, androgynous biker would feel the deep bite of a kick scything against the back of her calf, knocking the foot out from under her.

***

«Your acting ability doesn’t fool me! You know that Li-sensei!!!»

"Wait, you're not reading my mind are you? If so, I apologise, but those sort of thoughts are only natural with the smell of perfume and the warmth of a body pressing against my back."

A bit of levity in the midst of a life-threatening situation was a good tonic for fear and panic. He could feel her clinging to his back a little too tightly.

«A-anyway, I suppose it is time for you to lower yourself so that I can get off. While I do appreciate your service ability, it is no longer of need. Be grateful I allowed you to be of service!»

"As you wish, my lady." He lowered to one knee and gently let her down. And it was as he did so that he saw over the lip of the open roof of the warehouse to the dire scene below. A ring of hoodlums were surrounding an open crate and the sound of a gunshot split the air.

"Damn. Looks like we really did luck out after all." He turned to Misaki. "Listen, this might be a bit of selfish request, but I'd feel bad leavin them like that. What do you say we give them a helping hand?" It meant jeopardising their clean escape, but that foolish 'heero complex' seemed to be rearing its ugly head once again. He offered Misaki an apologetic and imploring smile. Even if it was just frying one of the thug's brains for a little while, it would help even the odds in Aiko and co's favour.

"Huh."

As Aiko pulled the trigger and fired the pistol, the red-headed boy's leg whipped around, hitting the barrel of the gun just in time to throw off Aiko's aim. The bullet meant for his leg was instead sent ricocheting down the tunnel they had just come from. It looks like she hadn't stopped Saito from getting hit, but needing to stop himself from getting show had robbed the red-headed boy's attack of much of it's power.  The boy seemed amused by the brazenness of Aiko's action.

"Ha. Using a firearm in a confined space? And in the middle of your comrades? You're a crazy girl."

The red-head the quickly spun around on his leg and launched a kick directly at Aiko. Her arms already being out in front of her, Aiko pulled them in close to brace herself against the kick. There was still a lot of power behind it and Aiko slid back across the floor a few feet as the watched the boy almost dispatch the rest of the group with surprising speed and agility. Only then did Aiko have time to give a small smirk in response to the boy's comment.

"You don't live long in the dark side without being a little bit crazy."

In the moment she had, Aiko moved the gun over to one hand and reached into her skirt and withdrew the laser pointer kept there. Though she called herself crazy, if it wasn't to try and save Saito, Aiko wouldn't have drawn the gun here. The boy was right, it was a small enclosed space and she was surrounded by her allies. Making use of the gun would be risky if she missed anymore shots. In close quarter's though, her laser was basically useless as she needed to fire it through her electron field so it didn't work on anyone too close to her. Unfortunately that left her with the gun has her only option.

Seeing the ease at which the Red-Headed boy jumped and and started fighting the group, she could tell he was a more than capable fighter. Not to mention the group of goons that where still blocking the exit. If they wanted any chance of escaping, they'd need to take the red-head out now. If Aiko just started taking pot shots at the boy, she had no doubt he would be able to avoid and counter she needed a way to keep him from being able to tell where her shots were coming from. Changing the properties of her field, Aiko plunged the tunnel into darkness. Then taking advantage of the fact that the boy had knocked both Reina and Saito away, she used the bit of open space to keep moving around and carefully fired three more shots at the boy. Each shot from a different spot.

It was the most ghetto experience one could receive. Standing in the back of a rickety van, keeping herself on her feet by holding onto the roof and a wall, and surrounded by shady strangers, Kohaku could absolutely say that she had never thought she would ever have this experience.

Granted, she would have said a that about a lot of what she had experienced in the past 48 hours, so at this point, what was the harm in adding another crazy piece to that list of experiences?

“They were armed and armored. I was trying to keep distant throughout the whole thing so I didn’t see much beyond that.” She was far from a girl with a photographic memory, but she still held some pride in her above average memory. “I don’t think they had any symbols or emblems anywhere. It isn’t like they’d want to be tracked by those anyway. I can’t remember any individual faces, either.”

As expected, Hirashi failed to fully avert the attack, but thanks to Hoodie Girls’ distraction, it could have been a lot worse.

Hirashi hit the ground ungracefully and rolled himself to a stop, his previously drawn nails scattered about the ground. Hirashi did not try to get up physically, but rather reached out mentally and tried to let his thoughts pierce through the fog of pain which enveloped his brain. He tried to focus on any sensations that was not the pain in his side, like the coolness of the ground and th-

Hirashi was then hit by Gown Girl.

The impact threw out the focus Hirashi was attempting to achieve and pinned him down on the ground. From the words still being exchanged between Hoodie Girl and Red Head, it seemed Red Head was not hit by Hoodie Girl's shot. That meant he was still a threat, and that Hirashi needed to respond immediately.

Still lying down and motionless, Hirashi was pinned down by the combined weight of Gown Girl and his injury. He neither had the time or energy for the physical exertion needed to pick himself up, and visually acquire Red Head with his ability.

Letting his muscles go limp, Hirashi gave up on moving entirely and focused solely on his ability. He defined an area above him roughly in the shape of a small sphere with his ability, and by applying a gentle outwards push from inside the defined area, Hirashi felt for the resistance when the force hit an obstacle. This was not too unlike a person feeling around in the darkness looking for the lightswitch, but in this case Hirashi was feeling with telekinesis instead of his hands, and was looking for more than just a lightswitch.

The first pulse mostly had Hirashi focusing on the ground, attempting to determine the location and orientation of his dropped nails. And the second pulse was directed forward to the tunnel exit, searching for a target.

Just as they were advancing, enemies appeared out of now where.

Suddently, someone hit her on the back of her calf, knocking her down.

She didn't see it coming at all.

Tsubasa was paralyzed and disoriented for a few moments. The whole situation was a mess. They got ambushed and were now cornered in this rotten underground. Her friends were getting attacked by this red haired dude. Saito seemed to be hurt. Aoki was struggling to keep up with the enemy, despite her efforts.

The gun's noise brought Tsubasa back to reality.

'Shit, I have to keep my focus on the battlefield. I spaced out there.'

First things first, she threw her jacket at Saito.

"Hey, use this to stop the bleeding."

Her attention was then drawn to Aoki who was firing bullets at the red-hair.

'I need to help her, she won't be able to fight him one on one for much longer. But I probably can't get close with bullets flying around... Damn it all, I can't know the result untill I try, right?!'

Tsubasa accelerated towards the boy and ducked.

"Aoki! Don't stop shooting, I have a plan."

While the guy was most likely busy avoiding the other girl's bullets, Tsubasa would try attacking from his blind spot.

She would duck, doing her best to avoid any nearby bullets, and then do one back roll, supporting her weight on her hands, her left leg would aim for his abdomen.

Would it land?

No.

That was merely a feint meant to throw him off guard.

Her goal was his neck all along.

She would swiftly move her left hand around while exercing more strength on the ground, forcing her lower body to follow the tragectory of an arc mid-air while kicking, and, when her left leg would seem to aim for his gut, her right leg would be in reality postitioned right next to his neck, and she'd aim to drop him down with one fierce kick.

"Listen, this might be a bit of selfish request, but I'd feel bad leavin them like that. What do you say we give them a helping hand?"

"I suppose since you asked so nicely." Misaki nodded, reaching into her purse for one of the numerous remotes. She closed one eye as she took aim at the thugs down below and tapped a rubber button on top of the device. The effect was instantaneous, if unexpected. One of the boys turned abruptly to the one standing next to him and slugged him with a solid swing of the baseball bat in his hand.

"What the hell!?" One of the other Skill Out yelled. Misaki aimed again, pressing a different button this time and the boy beside him clocked him with a right hook to the jaw while wearing a surprised expression on his face.

"I didn't- I mean, my hand moved by itself!" That was enough to start pandemonium. The crowd of Skill Out who had been surrounding the entrance to the container began fighting amongst themselves.

Guy surveyed the chaos from upon high. At his side, the fingers of his free hand were opening and closing into a fist over and over. Misaki's hand on his shoulder broke him from his thoughts.

"Careful. I don't need to read your mind to tell you were about to jump down there like a fool. Leaving aside the fact you'd probably break your legs, there's no point throwing yourself into the trap, too. This should be enough. We need to get going."

Reluctantly, Guy sped towards the edge of the roof. There was no convenient fire escape this time. Not even a well-placed dumpster to catch his fall. A narrow window ledge could slow his descent halfway if he was able to time catching it, but with only one arm to take his weight it was risky. He spied a long, thick drainpipe on the corner that looked suitable, though...

"You owe us one!" Misaki called out to the group in the container before she followed Guy to the edge of the roof.

***

In the cramped space of the container, the fight was growing more frenzied. The red-haired stranger never stopped moving, even for an instant. Kazuma's movements were swift and unpredictable but far from erratic. He bounced from one member of the group to the next in quick succession, always careful to keep them from recovering their poise fully. Always keeping them off balance. So far his attacks had been light, meant to wear them down over time rather than aiming straight for the kill.

Whatever his peculiar ability was, the narrow confines of the container allowed him to make the most of it. He rebounded off the walls and ceiling as if unaffected by gravity or inertia and as the leather-clad girl charged from one side, he had already moved, dodging the rapid-fire shots from Aiko's pistol. He had not moved to the side, back, forward, or even down into a crouch.

He had evaded straight up, rebounding off the ceiling. And as his feet made contact with the ceiling of the container he reached for the back of his belt. The extendable baton rattled as it snapped open and Kazuma cast his arm wide, sending the rod ricocheting off the walls of the tunnel towards Saito. The boy hadn't moved for some time, he might have even been incapacitated, but Kazuma was not about to take that chance. Better to keep him on the defensive.

His rebound from the ceiling had taken him in a swift dive kick towards Aiko where he unleashed a flurry of strikes, batting her arm aside to clear the gun, pressing that arm into her body to keep it pinned and then snapping a fist up into her chin. Only after that stunning blow did he risk trying to disarm the weapon, hooking his fingers behind the grip and driving his elbow into the outside of her wrist to break her grasp.

And all throughout, Kazuma's expression remained eerily smiling. From the floor beside Saito, Reina could see that not a flicker of emotion had registered in that boy's aura the entire time. No panic, no fear, not even a hint of anger. He was totally, utterly at ease.

In the midst of a life or death fight, this person was in their element.

***

Guy felt the ground beneath his feet, his (barely) controlled slide down the drainpipe had, thankfully gone without a hitch. Given his streak of luck so far tonight, he'd expected it to break off the wall half way.

He stood underneath Misaki and opened his arms.

"OK, I got you. Jump." He offered himself as a landing platform.

The situation was bad. Saito was laying flat on the ground and Aiko couldn't tell if he was still conscious or not, the red head was bouncing around at a frankly ludicrous speed dodging all of her and Tsubasa's attacks, and to make matters worse it looked like his next strike was aimed right for her. The red head launched himself at her after springing off the ceiling. Aiko managed to get one more shot off before he impacted her, but do to her haste it didn't land. The boy's strike then knocked her gun arm wide, opening her up for several more smaller hits. Aiko might have screamed if the boy's next attack, a strike to her chin, didn't ensure her mouth stayed closed. With one final motion, the boy gripped her arm and swiftly forced her to release the weapon she was holding.

What could she do? The boy was too fast for her gun, so she'd never be able to concentrate a laser on him. Not to mention the fact that he was able to easily get too close for her to fire one to begin with. The gun she was using had been knocked out of her hand and she doubted the boy would make the mistake of letting her pick it back up. As the gun clattered to the ground Aiko noticed the sudden commotion near the tunnels exit. The group defending the exit was suddenly thrown into chaos as they began to attack one another opening an escape route. This was followed shortly after by a familiar voice saying "You owe us one!". As much as Aiko hated the idea of owing Misaki a favor with the path open and seeing how outmatched they were against this opponent, it seemed like fleeing might be the better option.

"Tsubasa! Reina! See if you can't grab Saito and run! I'll try and hold him off. Don't worry, I'll catch up!"

Some "Bad Guy" she was. Trying to protect her companions so they could escape. If she had tried to run on her own, Aiko had little doubt she'd be able to escape. Hopefully the others listened to her and took this opportunity to leave. Aiko's ability to flee was better when she was alone anyway. To give them the best opportunity to get away, Aiko still needed to distract the red head. Aiko grabbed hold of the arm the boy had used to disarm her and at the same time, contracted her field so that it only encompassed the two of them. Aiko then amplified the light entering the field to cause a blinding flash, then quickly swapped it to block all light causing pitch darkness. Hopefully this would disorient the boy enough that he wouldn't realize what her next move was. Aiko, gripping tightly to the boy's arm, would open her mouth wide and bite down as hard as she could. Lacking any other method of harming the boy, this was all she could think of to cause enough of a distraction so that the others might escape.

«Th-this is a lot higher than I imagined…!»

Only now taking a glance down the path the older boy meant for her to jump Shokuhou once more lost her usual queen-like demeanour of superiority and instead fell into a nervous hesitation. There most certainly was a difference between being princess carried around by an inhumanly strong underling and having to do these jumps yourself.

«Are you sure there is no convenient fire stairs or ladder available?»

But ultimately, what other choice did she have.

Thus, shrieking loudly she took the jump.

«I’ll make sure you won’t tell anyone about this!!!»

The telekinetic pulses Hirashi was throwing out may have given Hirashi an accurate position of Red Head if he had more practice, or if Red Head was not zipping about the tunnel in seemingly impossible maneuvers which violated the laws of physics. But alas, the feedback Hirashi received was but a blurry mess. But within that tangled mess of jumping and turning, there was a more easily obtained set of data.

Changing his focus, Hirashi concentrated on the position of his companions instead. Gown Girl was still half-lying, half sitting besides him from the throw. Hoodie Girl, trying to aim her weapon, was staying relatively still. And Mad Biker, despite her eager and swift blows, was still slower than Red Head, and at least Mad Biker’s attacks followed concepts such as friction, gravity, and momentum, all three of which did not seem to bother Red Head in the slightest.

Subtracting the area of tunnel’s cramped interior by the positions Hirashi’s allies were occupying, Hirashi saw there was not really that much space available for Red Head to move, he was merely moving through that small space with incredible speed.

“Incredible speed...”


That phrase made Hirashi think back on Blondie back in the other warehouse, it would make sense for two individuals from the same organisation to have similar skills.


They have defeated Blodie’s seemingly impossible speed before by saturating his surroundings with so many threats that he could not have dodged them all. And that is exactly what Hirashi is going to be trying again.

“If it ‘aint broke, then don’t fix it”

With his ability, Hirashi would locate the positions of his nails scattered about the ground. Still keeping track of his allies’ positions, Hirashi would then, in an uncharacteristic choice of quantity over quality, ung-

Bonk

With all his concentration, Hirashi failed to notice the baton, which was too small and traveling too fast anyway, heading in his direction. The impact threw the tower of equations balanced precariously inside of Hirashi's head into disarray.

In school, Read Head was probably the type to double check his homework before handing it in.

Positions and orientations scrambled as Hirashi continued lying down, but for a much less productive reason now. The commotion between the thugs outside and Hoodie Girl’s brave proclamation of self sacrifice were drowned in pain and shock as Hirashi desperately tried to re-center his thoughts.

Red hair dude was bouncing on walls at a superhuman speed.

“Come on, not this again!”

This frustrated her to no end, and reminded her of the painful powerlessness she felt against the blond dude some time ago.

“Stop jumping like a damn frog!”

He headed straight for Saito and then for Aoki, and Tsubasa couldn’t reach either of them in time.

Just then, she heard a proclamation that threw her for a loop---

"Tsubasa! Reina! See if you can't grab Saito and run! I'll try and hold him off. Don't worry, I'll catch up!"

… What?

She only then realised the younger girl’s plan. She was using herself as bait. Saito was struggling to keep himself focused after getting hit. It seemed to be up to Tsubasa to decide what to do. She had a duty to protect both Reina and Saito. And they even had a way out. The escape route was somehow cleared out for them when the thugs started attacking each other. Escaping was the rational thing to do. It was also Aoki’s wish to keep them safe, but still…!

“You’ve got to be kidding me right now...”

This couldn’t be happening. Not after finally making her first friend since Hajime, her childhood friend’s... death.

Death...?

Death?

'Ah', she suddenly realised what was happening.

Her friend was going to die again.

'No...'

But Tsubasa had to leave. She had to. Reina couldn’t possibly protect herself from any Skill Outs waiting outside. And Saito was in no shape to do that either.

'No---!!'

Tsubasa had to step up her game and do as Aoki said. That was the optimal course of action. There was no other choice. The other two's safety depended on her.

“Aoki, I understand, I’ll go. But don’t go dying on me here--- or is that what you wanted me to say, you idiot? So much for being a villain, heh.”

At this point she didn't know if the other girl was listening or not.

Tsubasa swallowed hard and closed her hand into a fist. What she was about to do, it was a selfish decision. Tsubasa was aware of that. But she really didn’t care about that anymore. She forgot all about their mission, why they were here in the first place. She had always been a person who prioritized what she wanted above other’s needs. And right now she only had one thought in mind.

Aoki will die.

“Fuck that!”

She looked back and whispered to the sitting pair.

“I’m sorry, you two, but I need to stay. Reina, can you manage on your own? Saito needs some medical attendance. Get him to the hideout, drag him on the ground if you need to, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind some dirt. The coach will know what to do. Saito, are you listening? Snap out of it man. Reina needs you. Also, try to keep a low profile on your way. That should be easier with two people than four. Now go.”

Meanwhile, Aoki was beginning her counter attack on the red hair. The light ahead was blinding, but Tsubasa wasn’t directly looking into it so her eyes were fine. And then it became suddenly too dark to see what the two were up to inside the sphere.

“I’m not leaving you behind, Aoki! You hear me? I’m not letting a friend die again! I promise you!”, Tsubasa yelled at the top of her lungs, this time to make sure that her friend could hear the sincere promise.

Tsubasa stepped forward, hoping that Saito and Reina weren't as stubborn as her and actually escaped.

Eventually Kisaragi Anko had made it to her destination, dropped the bike in nearby greenery and scaled the barriers surrounding the compound that voice had led her to. However, what she found there did not entirely match his description, or rather it lacked the one thing she had come here to find.

There were three shabby looking vans and a bunch of thugs looking exactly like the types of Skill-Out she herself had turned to earlier.

Part of them could be Kurama’s men.

These, however, were none of her interest. Another section of the area concerned her more. There was a warehouse and an adjacent container-like building from where loud noises of combat erupted. Among them gunshots. Thus, given the general ineptitude this type had when it came to keeping their eyes open, Kisaragi had little problems jumping over the fence and sneaking past them.

«Is this where she is?»

She’d whisper while crossing the yard in the shadow of the night.

Only to never receive an answer by that voice. He must have tuned out. Critical timing. Of course.

Hence, driven by only her own curiosity the tracksuit kunoichi would seek out an angle from which she could scale the container building unseen and unheard, make it to the roof and peek in from a small hatch she’d find following her knowledge of these types of architectures.

And what she found was disappointing to say the least.

The scene was chaotic. Flickering lights. Someone jumping around at inhuman speeds yet a true master’s elegance. Someone attempting to charge straight at that person. Too many things to make sense of. But what she heard between all that was a familiar voice. In this case, even one she’d heard frequently.

Aoki? What’s going on?

It seemed like there were two sides: Aoki Aiko’s group and that red headed man. The latter immediately caught Kisaragi’s full attention. His movements were abnormal. Abnormal on a level far beyond anything she had ever seen or expected in Academy City. There was no clumsiness. Each motion was performed to absolute perfection. Yes, this was a true master of his craft. The craft of her world. A craft she could only admire.

If Aoki Aiko and whoever she was with were really engaging that monstrosity, their deaths were more than certain. In fact, not even Kisaragi herself felt confident in her skill to survive a direct encounter with that.

Still, she had to interfere. One loss tonight had been one too many already.

This isn’t what I came here for. I swear if you people won’t be grateful, I will come for your heads myself.

Annoyed at how her hand had been forced by these circumstances, the kunoichi leapt of the roof silently, moving past the lines of the thugs, towards their vehicles.

For some reason the ruffians had begun to engage into a fight themselves and – oddly enough – among themselves. Whichever. Whatever. Their reduced attention gave Kisaragi an advantage as she snuck past them, towards their vehicles.

Arriving there after the shortest necessary detour, she carefully opened the right-most van’s backdoor without making a sound, crept in there, and through its loading area which clearly was dedicated to transporting the many goons that’d been outside alongside the random makeshift weaponry they had brought along, until she reached the driver’s seat. Fortunately, the driver had been dull enough to leave his seat and keys behind. Thus, all she had to do was lock the gas pedal in place using shoelaces and a random specimen of canned soup she had found among other things in the back-area, start the motor, shift gears and stir the van into the right direction. While the engine’s howl shook some of the thugs back into reality, them still fighting among each other robbed them of the capability to react adequately.

With that, all she had to do was knock the driver’s seat’s door open and throw herself out right when it set off into its maddening charge towards the wall.

Let’s hope this is sufficient.

Grinding her teeth, she didn’t even take the time to watch her makeshift steamroll tear into the building, but immediately transitioned from her landing roll into a quick leap from light to shadow where she was hoping to find enough cover from her enemies’ eyes.

"Tsubasa! Reina! See if you can't grab Saito and run! I'll try and hold him off. Don't worry, I'll catch up!"

Kazuma felt Aiko's teeth sink into his arm and he winced. It wasn't the pain that bothered him, the girl's teeth didn't even manage to penetrate the cloth of his sleeve. What bothered him was...

"Hey, crazy girl. You know how expensive this suit is?" He clicked his tongue. The flash of light and ensuing darkness caught him momentarily by surprise. But with her jaw clamped around his arm, finding his opponent in the darkness was a trivial matter. Another barrage of heavy strikes would rain down on the girl as Kazuma estimated her position and the correct angle for the final blow. All he would have to do is deliver a hard thrust to the side of her exposed neck, which should be just... around...

Kazuma prepared his fingers to stab into Aiko's jugular when a cry from beyond the darkness interrupted him.

“I’m not leaving you behind, Aoki! You hear me? I’m not letting a friend die again! I promise you!”

He spun, wrenching Aiko around to put her between himself and the oncoming attacker.

Reina clambered to her feet in the midst of the melee, clumsily lifting Saito from the ground by his arm and offering her shoulder to help him stand. She wasn't that tall and definitely not strong enough to carry the boy's entire weight, but nevertheless, she supported him, shuffling as fast as she could manage past the sphere of darkness. It was a strange sight to witness. It looked as if someone had hastily scribbled out a part of a photograph with thick black ink. The darkness looked almost solid but it was hard to make out any real shape or depth to it. But even without light she could make out the combatants inside by their 'auras'.

The Skill Out beyond the container's doors were still brawling among themselves. With no way to tell which ones among them were friend or foe, it was every man for himself. Even so, the chances of her and Saito sneaking past were slim. Reina set her face in a grim and determined frown as she resolved to push on.

Suddenly, the wall burst inwards.

A vehicle from outside plowed straight through the warehouse wall and careened straight through the interior to bury itself into another metal container on the far side. It was a miracle no one had been in its path. That was their chance.

***

"We're here." The driver of Naoto's van announced. The androgynous girl in a peaked cap leaned into the front cab of to look out the window.

"Damn. They've got the place surrounded. What the hell's happening in there?" She was in the middle of assessing the situation when it changed violently. A van had plowed straight through the wall of the warehouse. They wouldn't get a better opportunity than this.

"Get us inside!" She slapped the driver on the shoulder and the van took off in a wheelspin. Crossing the uneven debris left from the crumbling wall, their own van slipped through the gap and came to a skidding halt in front of the open shipping container. Naoto tore open the door and through dust and smoke her eyes scanned the scene of mayhem. It didn't take much to separate Skill Out from their victims. Naoto's steely eyes fell on the small girl helping her injured companion to safety and she called out without hesitation.

"You! Get in! We're getting you guys out of here!"

***

«I’ll make sure you won’t tell anyone about this!!!»

With a girlish shriek, Misaki leapt into the open air. Guy's knees sank as her weight landed in his arms, and he brought her to a safe, if not particularly comfortable, halt.

"Looks like we made a clean getaway after all." Guy said, setting Misaki down on her feet.

He'd curse those words almost immediately.

"They're here!" A cry from the end of the alley proved him instantly wrong.

"Oh come on..." Guy groaned wearily as he took Misaki's hand and began to run.

***

"You said your name's Rachel?" Natsume said from one side of the curtain. "Sounds like you're not from around here either." She'd decided talking with her 'cellmate' would be a good way to pass time until they could make their escape attempt. And from the sound of it, the other girl was in dire need of something to keep her spirits up.

"No. I am." Rachel protested. "Well, I'm half Japanese." There was something in her voice. Derision? Like she wasn't exactly glad of that fact. "I've lived here almost as long as I can remember, in any case."

"I see. Well, I'm just visiting, myself." Natsume said.

"You got family here?" Rachel stared up at the ceiling, tilting her eyes away from the bright lights to keep them from burning into her vision.

"A sister." Natsume offered cagily.

"Must be nice." Rachel's voice carried unconcealed bitterness. "I haven't seen any of my family in years. Pretty sure they've forgotten about me."

"I'm sure that's not true." Natsume could only say weakly, she had no idea about the girl's situation, after all. Rachel gave a harsh laugh.

"No family, no friends. I might as well not exist." The small girl sneered to control her trembling upper lip.

"Don't talk like that. I'm sure people are out looking for you right now. Everyone's got someone who cares about them."

Rachel's thoughts turned to the older boy with shaggy black hair. The only teacher who didn't treat her like a pest or a lost cause. The nearest thing to a friend she had in the city. Would he be out looking for her? She scoffed at the idea. He didn't even care enough to spend time with her. He wouldn't risk his neck looking for her now.

"No. No one." Rachel swallowed back a lump in her throat "I don't have anyone like that."

Natsume could only feel that she'd made the girl feel worse.

“Aoki, I understand, I’ll go. But don’t go dying on me here--- or is that what you wanted me to say, you idiot? So much for being a villain, heh. Fuck that! I’m not leaving you behind, Aoki! You hear me? I’m not letting a friend die again! I promise you!”

If her mouth wasn't currently buried in the red head's sleeve she may have smiled. Aiko had a feeling Tsubasa might try something like this, the the fact that she actually did cemented the type of person she was in Aiko's mind. If they both made it out of here alive, Aiko knew that Tsubasa was a friend she could always count on.

In Aiko's current predicament though, the red head didn't seem the least bit bothered by her biting attempts... or at least he didn't seem injured. Mostly just upset about his clothes. The boy then tried to spin Aiko around interposing her between him and Tsubasa. However, rather than resist the boy's attempts to move her, Aiko moved with him then let herself go limp using the momentum and her body weight to break the boy's grip, at the same time releasing him from her bite to send her tumbling onto the ground.

Her position wasn't great. Reina had started to evacuate Saito, Tsubasa was still here trying to help, and even if not in the boy's grip Aiko had taken several more blows and had blood trickling down her head and bruises all over her body. The loss of blood and all the blows were starting to make her woozy and she wasn't sure how much longer she could keep up using her ability like this. Things were looking bleak until something miraculous happened. A vehicle suddenly burst through the wall of the tunnel and crashed into the other side leaving a missive hole to the outside... another escape route. As if to make things even better, a second vehicle pulled up next to the hole that was made, and someone inside was yelling.

"You! Get in! We're getting you guys out of here!"

Aiko didn't know who the people in the vehicle were, but it didn't seem like they were enemies and they had an escape route for them. In another twist of fate, the spot Aiko had landed after her little tumble was right next to the firearm she had just dropped. With the commotion from the vehicle crash giving her but a moment, Aiko snatched the gun up and yelled to the others.

"Get to that car! We have to go now!!!"

The gun she picked up had 6 shots left, she'd been counting each of the previous shots she'd fired. Aiko fired one more at the red head, hoping to catch him while distracted, but also not expecting the shot to land. As quickly as she could with how hurt she was, Aiko got back to her feet and started sprinting towards the car. While she ran, she emptied the gun at the boy and ran towards the hole in the wall. None of these were perfectly aimed shots, merely covering fire to try and make sure the group could get to the hole before the boy could reach them by forcing him to dodge. At the same time, she used her ability to block the light coming from their direction, hoping to obscure her groups positions as she they ran. Between her injuries, firing this gun, using her ability, and sprinting at full speed, Aiko could feel herself fading fast. If this conflict lasted much longer she might not make it to the end.

«They’re here!»

This wasn’t ever going to end was it?

Right when her legs had at long last returned to the ground, Shokuhou found herself pulled along once more. Only this time into a hasty sprint instead of a life threatening jumping extravaganza.

Under any other circumstances this would have been too much. Actually, it was.

«Li…-sensei…can’t…you slow…down a little…?»

It only took a few metres for the #5’s infamous athletic ability to reach its limits and when it did, Guy Li would find that he was dragging nothing but a limp sack of meat along.

One desperately begging for this hellish ride to come to a halt.

«…please…I’ll…do anything…but…please…!»

Hirashi tried to get on his feet to his best ability, he could feel Gown Girl’s small frame struggling to prop him up. Staying here any longer was a bad idea, Red Head for some unknown reason seemed to have a hard on for Hirashi, and the blows he had taken to the head was seriously impairing his ability to use, well, his ability. Hirashi would only be a dead weight in the fight, and securing the important asset, Gown Girl, is priority. So in short, Hirashi was totally on board with the running away idea. The potential loss of his comrades would be inconvenient, and maybe even a little sad, but Hirashi was sure he would get over it.


However, between Hirashi and Gown Girl’s poor physiques, he did not fancy their chances inside that rough and tumble melee of Skill-outs. Hirashi stole a glance at Gown Girl, her mouth was set in a determined line, and her eyes burned with some fierceness which almost always indicated some stupid/brave plan. Just as Hirashi was about to reign her eagerness back, a van, quite literally, burst into the warehouse. Another van followed suit shortly after, and a capped figure flung open the door, shouting

"You! Get in! We're getting you guys out of here!"

Hirashi’s logical reasoning told him not to get into the car, his natural paranoia for anything and anyone that is not himself made him question the standing of these newcomers. If they were in cahoots with the Skill-outs, being taken to a secondary location was practically a death sentence.

However, it was not like they had much choice in the matter. Their odds of making it if they stayed was not much higher. Hirashi would half-walked, half-fell into the van’s open door.

Tsubasa had given up on getting out of here alive. But life had other plans for her.

Just as she was going to Aoki's side, unexpected help arrived. It was a scene straight out of a movie. One van, most likely being driven by a madman, burst through the wall of the warehouse, breaking the entirety of the wall. Who the fuck would do such a thing? Seconds later, another van appeared. With all of the noise around, Tsubasa couldn't discern what the person was telling them. But Aoki thankfully relayed the message.

"Get to that car! We have to go now!!!"

Tsubasa noticed that Saito and Reina were also heading towards this van, and as long as Aoki was escaping as well, Tsubasa didn't have any reason to stick around anymore.

She quickly got into the van, and hoped the red-haired guy wouldn't follow them. This time they had only escaped thanks to a literal miracle. They wouldn't be so lucky a second time.

She looked at the new faces and didn't recognize any of the rescuers, so she assumed they were either Aoki or Saito's allies, or they had some ulterior motive for helping them. They might be after Reina, too. She'd have to wait and see how this plays out, and be prepared for anything.

But, it had to be better than dealing with the red-haid, right?

As Kazuma advanced on Aiko his fingers flexed menacingly. When the girl raised the firearm at him once more in a blind shot, he calmly stepped aside to take cover behind the bent metal door of the container.

"Oh?" He chuckled at her defiant strategy as the bullet zipped through the air past him. Another handful of shots pinged and rattled off against the container door and the ground. Upon hearing the tell-tale click of the empty magazine he peeked out from the cover and watched as the van and its occupants reversed through the gap in the wall. "Haha. That's hilarious." He shook his head in gentle disbelief at their brazen escape.

***

Naoto was quick to slam the door of the van shut once Aiko and Tsubasa joined the others inside. One of the thugs outside lunged for the door and was rewarded with a crushed hand as the sliding door slammed shut on his fingers.

"Hold on!" Naoto said to no-one specific and slammed her fist on the back of the driver's cabin. The compartment lurched, sending everyone inside rocking as the van pulled a rapid evasive maneuver and rumbled across the scattered debris on its way out.

"Everyone okay?" The androgynous girl said breathlessly. Her large blue-black eyes flickered across those who had made it into the vehicle. A leather clad biker girl who bore more than a passing resemblance to herself, a smaller girl with silver hair almost as long as she was tall, a boy who looked to be in bad shape, and another girl in a Tokiwadai uniform who seemed to be almost as injured. They were an unlikely lot going by appearances. She turned to Kohaku next. "Friends of yours?" If these people were tangling with Kurama's gang, then there was a chance they might also be involved in whatever trouble Naoto's latest rescue had gotten herself into.

***

One of the brainwashed Skill Out came lunging in from the side and Kazuma lazily swatted his head into the wall with a backhand as he reached into his coat pocket.

"Hey hey. It's Imai. Yeah." He strolled towards the hole in the wall and peered down the road where Naoto's van squealed into the distance. "I've got a read on the situation here. Not much longer."

***

With the roadblock behind them, Guy and Misaki just had to outrun their pursuers and they'd manage a clean getaway. Already their shouts had grown distant. They couldn't hope to keep pace with the boy whose natural talent was said to be for running away.

But there was another who was struggling to keep up with him. And unfortunately this individual was someone he couldn't leave behind, even if he were to release the grip on her delicate wrist.

«Li…-sensei…can’t…you slow…down a little…? …please…I’ll…do anything…but…please…!» The girl gave a pitiable gasp as Guy slowed, allowing her to stagger to a halt.

"I'll handle the running..."He spared a half-second glance back at the pack of Skill Out snapping at their heels and scooped the girl up into his arms. With the backs of her knees supported by the crooked hook of his cast-bound arm, Misaki could see the looming shapes approach over Guy's shoulder as he took off again. "...if you do something about them."

Much like she had assumed, none of her shots managed to hit the boy as he took cover behind a metal door. That was fine though, they had only been meant to secure her and Tsubasa's escape. Luckily, their whole group had managed to make it into the and as Aiko and Tsubasa practically leaped in, one of the people in the van was quick to slam the door closed behind them. Before Aiko could even get her barrings Aiko heard someone yell out a "Hold on!" moments before the van sped off throwing her around and onto the ground with an audible "Gweh". As the van sped off, Aiko considered getting up from the floor she was no laying on, but now that she had a moment to breathe, she realized she may be a bit worse off than she thought. Adrenalin must have been making up for a lot there. Finally opening her eyes to look around, Aiko could feel the blood from a injury on her head drip into her eyes making it a bit hard to see. Every part of her body hurt but she was alive, and so was Tsubasa.

"Everyone okay?"

Aiko glanced over at the person speaking. Aiko couldn't tell if they were a boy or girl and the blood in her eyes wasn't making the distinction any easier. Okay was about the last thing she was feeling right now anyhow. Aiko finally manage to sit up straight, though still on the floor. As she did she felt a sudden light headedness. With the loss of blood and how much she'd been using her ability, she was surprised she was even still conscious. Realizing her hand was still tightly clamped around the her gun. No ammo meant she wouldn't be able to rely on that for a while. Remembering the promise she'd made earlier, Aiko slipped her phone out of her pocket and sent a quick text to Guy to let him know they had escaped. With that done, she turned to face the person who had spoken earlier.

"If by okay you me alive, then I think I'm doing okay... for now anyway. I feel awful."

Looking around again, Aiko notice that outside of the group she'd come here with, she didn't recognize any of the people in the van.

"Thanks for the help back there. If I was on my own I may have been able to get away, but I wasn't going to leave these guys behind so you're a real life saver. I'm Aiko by the way. Who are you guys?"

Aiko then reached out and put her hand on Tsubasa's shoulder. A small gesture to let Tsubasa know she was doing, well alright at least.

After making it inside the van, Hirashi scooched away from the door to the best of his ability. Shortly after, Hoodie Girl and Mad Biker piled into the getaway vehicle just in the nick of time as the capped stranger slammed the door shut in the face of a Skill-out.

"Hold on!"

Hirashi was already backed up against the van on the opposite side of the open door, so he simply leaned against the van as it maneuvered itself away from the warehouse. The weight of Gown Girl pressing into his chest made an unpleasant grating sensation inside on Hirashi and a new wave of pain.

"Everyone okay?"

Hirashi looked around the van, and in typical Hirashi fashion, he started cataloguing the things he saw. The capped stranger, Peaked Cap, was likewise surveying the group. Besides a pair of chilling blue eyes, it was difficult to tell their gender or facial features from where Hirashi was propped up.

As for his companions, Gown Girl was fine, at least physically from what he could tell.She did get thrown a good distance but considering Hirashi served as her crash pad, some bruises should be the worst of her injuries. Mad Biker took a few nasty hits, but looked okay? She seemed to know her way around a fight and that biker’s leather jacket certainly helped her. Hoodie Girl had definitely seen better days,sprawled out on the floor of the van. The moment she drew that gun, she became a priority target for Red Head, and it was thoroughly evident from her injuries.

And as for himself, Hirashi suspected his injuries were objectively not too severe, but in terms of how he felt…
Hirashi felt like he was about to die.
Hirashi was never a hands-on person, always preferring trickery or espionage over fighting. As a result, experiences such as getting hit were rare, and Hirashi was unaccustomed to the physical consequences which follow. Every breath hurts and his head is spinning, Hirashi finds his only solace in the fact that if everything hurts so much, it must mean he was still alive.

"If by okay you me alive, then I think I'm doing okay... for now anyway. I feel awful."

“Hai. I am also alive here, and also feeling awful~”

"Thanks for the help back there. If I was on my own I may have been able to get away, but I wasn't going to leave these guys behind so you're a real life saver. I'm Aiko by the way. Who are you guys?"

Hirashi began to quip in a light tone, but as Hoodie Girl continued speaking, he fell quiet. Hoodie Girl was not just all talk, back there in the warehouse he could see she was prepared to be the rear guard even if it meant she might not make it out. This made Hirashi slightly uncomfortable, as he could not understand why anyone would do such a thing. He found it illogical, and if this was someone who was supposedly from the “evil” dark side, would that mean Hirashi was evil? More so than an operative from Academy City’s dark side?