[SS] Project Radio Noise

Sayuri nods happily at that statement, she felt glad that somebody would help her.

As she walked towards a doorway ahead she paused for a moment before grabbing her stomach. If she made any noise she'd of been embarrassed by the sound of her stomach growling but it seemed the only sign now was the feeling she was getting.

Sayuri grabbed her whiteboard and quickly wrote out "Hungry" before placing the whiteboard in her pocket again and continued to walk with #Misaka out of the warehouse building back onto the main street area.

Meirin roughly brushed past Kerri, even though there was plenty of space to walk past him; she wanted to make sure he understood just how little she liked him. She made sure to brush her hand across his coat to heat a few spots up to uncomfortably hot - as in, nearly smoking - just to show how much she wanted to hurt him.

She reached the entrance of the alley. "You guys have fun with that. I'm gonna go do something a little more interesting," she said, heading out in the same direction Accelerator had gone not too long ago. "I'm gonna follow Accelerator. Maybe he'll give up some clues."

Kuroko glowered at Meirin's back as the girl flaunted her intentions. She tried to hide her obvious anger with little success.

"Shirai-san..." Kazari sounded concerned. She too followed the red headed girl with her eyes.

"Look, if she wants to run off and get herself killed then that's her problem." Kuroko crossed her arms defiantly. Kazari's worried murmur sounded in the teleporter's ears as she stalked back towards headquarters ahead of the others. She didn't seem to be in the mood for talking.

***

“Wait wait! Can you wait up?! There’s something I really need to take care of back there! It’s really important! I promise it’ll take like two seconds! If you wait for me, I’ll even buy you a hot drink! Or whatever you want!”

The clone came to a stop and looked back at Mikoto with a slow turn of her head. She wandered back over to the girl and stood over her as she fiddled with the capsule machine.

"Here, says Misaka, offering her change hopefully." Mikoto's 'sister' stood with her palm extended. A small handful of coins sat waiting for Mikoto to take them.

***

Accelerator sat atop the nearby roof, his legs dangling over the edge as he looked up at the waxing moon. He brought his knee to his chin and sighed with boredom. With the experiment put on hold there was nothing for him to do but wait around and think.

Meirin chuckled. "Nobody's going to die," she replied. "Especially not me. Besides, I've got nothing to worry about if he thinks I'm just minding my own business. Uiharu, you want to tag along?"

Without waiting for a reply, Meirin began walking away, intending to go buy some sweets. It'd be a nice cover, should she find Accelerator. At the same time, she was trying to get Uiharu away from Kerri. He looked like one of those creeps who would jump on you as soon as you were alone with him.

'Eh, Kuroko'll be fine if he does that,' Meirin thought, not caring if he attacked Kuroko in the least. She whistled cheerfully as she walked. The prospect of the openly lesbian Kuroko with a man was an entertaining one, to say the least.

"Hungry, Misaka reads what you have written.”

Before the Sister could say another word, there was a soft tug on her hand. Curiously, the blank-eyed girl stared at the place they were joined, letting herself be silently pulled out of the building into the streets.

“Your hand is small but very warm, Misaka expresses her observation.”

The Sister did not let the little girl’s hand go as they walked side by side out into the open streets at a leisurely pace.

“What do you feel like eating? Misaka asks your preference. There is no need for you to worry, Misaka says to boost your confidence in her. Misaka understands how to purchase food from stores and avoid scamming salespeople. She has cash which is necessary during transactions, Misaka states proudly.”

The girl questioningly tilted her head towards Sayuri as she spoke.

***

“Yahoo~! Finally!”

The sparkling eyes of Mikoto Misaka were a stark contrast to the slits of aggravation and obsession they had been during the last hour or so. She had ended up using the entire stash of coins in the wallet plus the ones her ‘sister’ had offered her, and after going through the entire gachapon, the very last capsule had held her prize: the Gekota badge.

She held it up proudly for the clone to see, a cheerful smile of bliss upon her joyous lips. She gave a little skippety-dance on the spot as she yelled out,

“I got it! Gekota! I finally got it~!”

Suddenly realising how childish she must look and sound, Mikoto felt her cheeks heat up as a deep crimson flush quickly spread. She quickly let her hand holding the Gekota badge drop to the side.

“I- I mean, it’s not like I like this childish toy or anything! That would be a misunderstanding, okay?! It was just sitting here and I thought I could just…”

The realisation that she was stuttering and blabbing defensively now only made her embarrassment worse. The crimson flush spread to her face entirely and she quickly put on an impressive scowl.

“Urgh, whatever! I said I’ll treat you, so I will!” She said quite aggressively, obviously in a hurry to put a handle on the situation. “You wanted a hot drink or something, right?!”

Sayuri's eyes dodged around looking at the various cafes as the two girls walked down the street until she saw a place that served food which was more than just a simple snack.

Walking into a restaurant Sayuri quickly found a table and grabbed a menu for the sister before getting one for herself to look at.
A few tables down a bunch of girls were whispering and kept glancing over at Sayuri and Misaka#, it wasn't clear to Sayuri at first until she put her menu down and noticed them staring over from behind Misaka#.

Choosing to ignore the girls from the other table she frowned slightly and focused on the sister and pointed out her meal choice. Before she made this choice she moved her finger a few times trying to make up her mind and was uncertain.


As Sayuri pointed her choice a waitress walked over and asked for their order. Sayuri quickly slid back into her chair as she was stretching over the table so she could show Misaka# her order.
It appeared to be a breakfast meal for her first choice but it then darted from a healthy meal to a slightly less healthy option when Sayuri noticed it had added vegetables as part of the order.

"Lemonade please" Sayuri silent spoke instinctively to the waitress' comment.
The comment was lost though because nobody was watching her as she spoke, but Sayuri didn't seemed bothered as her choice was merely a suggestion as it was hot outside and she wanted a drink to go with her meal.

OOC: Sorry ahead of time for indecisiveness

Kerri watched as both Meirin and Kuroko walked off in opposite directions. Those two really didn’t get along.

It seems that Red-Hair is pretty confident in herself. So sure she could win. Arrogance. So many people are arrogant, always expecting nothing but success, and with this girl, against Accelerator, the level of her arrogance is amazing. Perhaps warranted, not sure. Her heating ability is strong enough to melt skin and thin metal, but I don’t know her level, so I don’t have a good idea of what her limits are, if she has any.

I can’t get as much of a read on Kuroko. I don’t really know much about her. It’s obvious that she and Meirin don’t get along, but the disdain seems one-sided… safe to assume that it’s more then just from insubordination. Personal. Her teleporting abilities are dangerous, perhaps even deadly if she puts something inside her enemy. I’ll need to keep an eye on her to see if there’s anything else she can do. Physical contact or not, or if she can even move objects or not.

Uiharu is a bit of a question mark. She seems averse to social interaction, but that can easily just be from shyness. I don’t know what kind of ability she has, but her intelligence appears to be up there. She doesn’t appear to be very dangerous. Appearances can deceive…

Speaking of which, Uiharu’s looking pretty nervous... well, the Red-Haired girl and Kuroko don't seem to be very close to reconciling so... dammit, now i don't know where to go.

Kerri notices Kuroko place herself in between Uiharu and him. Showing a lack of trust...

Maybe I should find a way to show that I can be obedient...

"It's too bad the Red-Haired girl had to leave, I thought we were getting along pretty well. Though, I guess now i get the chance to hang out with you guy-While getting some work done of course! Hehe..." Kerri says, then changes his facial expression to display something of disappointment,

"So, Kuroko-Senpai, Uiharu Senpai, what do you think I should do? While I think the Red-Haired girl is bound for failure in terms of getting Accelerator to talk..." I hope that's the most that'll happen to her. Her death would mean one less person to help investigate. "I think checking out the area would help out. Maybe chat with some people to see if anyone saw a person dropping those cards." Kerri stated,

"I'm not a master with computers, but I think I would be helpful with getting people to talk. I could work with one of you on this or..." Kerri looks at the alleyway where the Red-Haired girl left,

"Maybe I could tag along with the Red-Haired girl. Make sure she doesn't die be- er, doesn't die. That is all." I almost said 'before the investigation's over,'

"Either that, or I could stay with you two. Heck, maybe it'll be fun," He says with a slight smile, "But, the final call is yours, so discuss it and tell me what to do."

Asking before acting. This should at least be a start.

"Nobody's going to die, Especially not me. Besides, I've got nothing to worry about if he thinks I'm just minding my own business. Uiharu, you want to tag along?"

Kazari shook her head insistently, bringing up her hands as she shuffled back a step in what was unmistakably a show of instinctive refusal.

"No, that's fine. I've got important work to be doing!" She said, eagerly grabbing her laptop and pointing to it as though it were a shield to ward off Meirin.

"So, Kuroko-Senpai, Uiharu Senpai, what do you think I should do? While I think the Red-Haired girl is bound for failure in terms of getting Accelerator to talk... I think checking out the area would help out. Maybe chat with some people to see if anyone saw a person dropping those cards. I'm not a master with computers, but I think I would be helpful with getting people to talk. I could work with one of you on this or... Maybe I could tag along with the Red-Haired girl. Make sure she doesn't die be- er, doesn't die. That is all." I almost said 'before the investigation's over, Either that, or I could stay with you two. Heck, maybe it'll be fun," He says with a slight smile, "But, the final call is yours, so discuss it and tell me what to do."

"Asking around might be worth a look." Kuroko decided quickly. Up until now the bank card case had barely been worth devoting any serious manpower to. Mii had certainly thought not at the very least. But with that Accelerator character involved, even tangentially, Kuroko was certain it couldn;t be anything less than bad news.

She spared a hesitant glance in the direction Meirin had left.

***

“I got it! Gekota! I finally got it~!”

The clone stared blankly at Mikoto, the wide brown eyes tracking her with detached curiosity, like a cat watching the light from a window against a wall.

“I- I mean, it’s not like I like this childish toy or anything! That would be a misunderstanding, okay?! It was just sitting here and I thought I could just…”

The clone remained sitoic, silently judging the girl with an unblinking expression of focused attention.

“Urgh, whatever! I said I’ll treat you, so I will! You wanted a hot drink or something, right?!”

Still the clone said nothing. The kitten in the sister's arms mewled noisily like a yawn, the first sound to break the awkward stillness.

"Misaka does not judge you for your taste in accessories, though she finds it somewhat childish. Honestly, Misaka is impressed that you have the courage to wear something like that in public, says Misaka with a back-handed compliment." The clone gave no indication of sarcasm.

As Sayuri pointed out her orders, the Sister looked over the menu with intently, not seeming to notice the stares they were receiving from a bunch of girls in the restaurant.

“Misaka would like a Spaghetti Carbonara, Misaka decides,” the clone declared in her usual monotone to the waitress. “Misaka has never eaten such a dish before, but is looking forward to the rich flavour of the white parmesan cheese sauce.”

The waitress smiled amusedly as she wrote down the order , “I’m sure we won’t disappoint you.”

“Misaka would also like to order some cold drinks,” the Sister continued, as if reading Sayuri’s mind, “Misaka thinks the refreshing acidic taste of lemonade would be perfect for a day like this one.”

The waitress nodded and left, leaving the two alone in silence.

The Sister stared at Sayuri blankly, her face completely unreadable.

***

As an awkward silence stretched on, Mikoto started to feel unnerved. Although those blank eyes were unreadable, she felt as if she were on trial and being judged upon.

"Misaka does not judge you for your taste in accessories, though she finds it somewhat childish.” The clone finally spoke. At the word ‘childish’ Mikoto’s mouth drooped, her face still flaring a bright crimson. However, the clone was not done assessing her.

“Honestly, Misaka is impressed that you have the courage to wear something like that in public, says Misaka with a back-handed compliment."

Mikoto could almost feel hot steam coming out of her ears. Her clone had just offered her an insult sugar-coated by a praise. The fact that this Sister sounded so honest, without a single trace of sarcasm, made it even worse somehow.

“I-I wasn’t-! I’m not going to wear it! It’s not like that!” Mikoto yelped frantically. “I told you, I don’t like this- this childish stuff!”

‘That’s right…’ Mikoto stared down at the badge in her hand wearily, ‘It’s not like I can actually go around wearing something like this on my clothes. If I did…’

An image of Kuroko peering at her with pitying eyes suddenly dawned upon her mind.

‘Urgh… But still I could… Maybe I could put it on my bag?’

Suddenly, a bright idea lit up, sparkling her eyes anew.

“Ah! Hold still for a sec!”

Mikoto moved forward and pinned the Gekota badge carefully onto the Sister’s jumper. Then, standing back, she admired the look with star-filled eyes.

‘Whoah~ It actually looks really cute! This is even better than a mirror! It really doesn’t look bad at all, maybe I could put it on my clothes after all…!’

Nodding to herself happily at this thought, Mikoto reached out, meaning to take the badge off her ‘sister’ and reclaim it.

Sayuri sat patiently while the food was being prepared, it'd be quite some time so she looked around the room.

The two girls a few tables down from behind Misaka# were still looking Sayuri's way and it was making her feel uncomfortable so she decided to ignore them and focus on Misaka#.

Taking out her small whiteboard she began to write. "Do you have some kind of club today?"
Sayuri was paying attention to the school uniform she was wearing despite the time of day.

"Do you have some kind of club today?"

Misaka blinked slowly at the words on the whiteboard.

"Club? Misaka ponders your question, confused about what you mean."

If she really was confused, she did not show it. Her blank eyes followed Sayuri's gaze, noting that the little girl was looking at her clothes with interest.

"Although Misaka is uncertain what association these clothes would have with a club, Misaka can tell you that these clothes are a necessity for Misaka. Basic needs, Misaka clarifies."

The calm gaze swept over Sayuri's green dress.

"Misaka finds the colour green very refreshing to the eyes, Misaka approves of your colour choice. It has wear and tear, but the clothing still looks good on you. Misaka offers her honest opinion as she gives you the thumbs up."

In a swift motion, the older girl had lifted up two hands from under the table and gave Sayuri the thumbs up as she spoke the words that dictated those actions.

Sayuri smiles "I mean your still in uniform at this hour. I thought maybe you were in some after school club or something" Sayuri looks at her clothes. "I like this dress too, its too bad it got damaged earlier"

The waitress arrived at the table and placed two glasses of lemonade down.
"Thank you" Sayuri quickly wrote and showed it the waitress who smiled. "Your welcome"

As the waitress walked off to wipe down some tables Sayuri sipped some of her lemonade and waited for Misaka#'s response.
She was curious about school clubs as she never got to participate in any at her last school which was a rural mountain area.

The clone had stood passively as Mikoto fixed the badge to its clothes. With its deadpan expression the girl almost seemed to be protesting her treatment but as Mikoto reached to retrieve the badge her hand was swatted away. Another attempt would yield the same result. Again and again the clone girl batted Mikoto's hand aside like a martial arts master, deftly parrying her 'elder sister's' clutches. The kitten in her arms clambered up to a safe vantage point on her head. Thanks to its small size it almost didn't look out of place.

They stopped, facing each other in a stalemate before the younger of the girls spoke abruptly.

"Misaka is thirsty, says Misaka, growing bored. " Ignoring Mikoto, the robotic girl turned and, with the kitten still sat atop her head, started to walk back along her original path. She didn't stop until they reached a nearby cafe. The clone stopped, pondering the location for a second before walking off again.

"Not here, decides Misaka arbitrarily." She said, venturing off down the street towards a familiar arcade. Close by a young mute girl was speaking with a familiar looking girl over a menu.

The sister paused again, seemingly entranced by the flashing lights and loud sounds of the amusement arcade, with its myriad videogames and machines. Her mouth hung open in mute wonder. The kitten seemed just as amazed.

"I mean your still in uniform at this hour. I thought maybe you were in some after school club or something. I like this dress too, its too bad it got damaged earlier"

The waitress returned, placing two cold glasses of lemonade upon on the table.

“Thank you, Misaka thanks you with a slight bow of her head.”

The girl with the green goggles titled her head forward towards the waitress, who flashed a simple smile in response.

“This is the Tokiwadai Middle School uniform, which is supposed to be worn at all times by its students, Misaka explains. Misaka is still uncertain of what you are referring to when you say "school club". A “club” is defined as an association dedicated to a particular interest or activity, Misaka shows off her knowledge. It can also refer to a heavy stick that can be used as a weapon. Is it the first or the latter, Misaka asks you to clarify yourself.”

The waitress who had been wiping a table nearby tilted her head curiously towards their direction as the Sister spoke in her strangely detached manner.

***

Eyes narrowed to dangerous slits, Mikoto stood before her ‘sister’, having reached a frustrating stalemate in her hand-to-hand combat. Her arms and hands were covered with red slap marks, the result of the clone’s expert defence against Mikoto’s attempts to take the badge back.

“What are you playing at?!” Mikoto fumed, “I just want my badge back already! Give it!”

Much to Mikoto’s chagrin, the clone completely ignored her and suddenly turned away, walking along her original path.

"Misaka is thirsty, says Misaka, growing bored."

“Oi! Don’t just FRIGGIN WALK AWAY AGAIN!!!”

Mikoto stomped her foot, throwing a tantrum like a little child would. When she realised her ‘sister’ wasn’t paying any attention whatsoever, and that she was only going to be left behind, Mikoto quickly followed after her again.

'Damn her! I spent ages looking for that badge-! She better give it back!'

Fuming, Mikoto hardly noticed the clone’s musings as she trailed behind her. One major problem fed her anxiousness: What if the clone never gave back her Gekota badge?

'No! I won’t let that happen! I’ll never let that happen-!'

"Not here, decides Misaka arbitrarily."

'If she doesn’t give back my badge I’ll-!'

Too pent up in her own worked up emotions, Mikoto failed to notice that the clone had abruptly stopped and walked right into her.

“Ow!” She rounded on the Sister furiously, “Hey, don’t just suddenly stop-! Huh?”

The clone was standing in front of the arcade, mouth hanging open at the amazing display of flashing lights and loud sounds. Mikoto followed her gaze, a slight grin pulling on her lips.

“Heh, you’re interested in the Arcade Centre?”

A sudden idea lit up brightly in her mind.

“Hey…” The grin transformed into a sly smirk. “Why don’t we make a little bet? We’ll play a game. If I win, I get to take my Gekota badge back. If you win, you can keep it for real, consider it a present from me. How does that sound?”

Mikoto’s self-confidence was at its highest peak. After all, she believed herself a master at these arcade games, scoring multiple numbers of highscores every week. There was no way she would lose. It was a guaranteed way she would get her Gekota badge back.

The prideful smirk grew wider.

"The first one. We're not allowed to hurt each other at school or we'll get into trouble" Sayuri wrote.

Sayuri noticed the waitresses glance and shrugged.
"Do you always talk like--" Sayuri wiped the board in mid sentence but it was already observed. "Sorry I mean you remind me of somebody back home"

The food had arrived outside the kitchen and the waitress walked over to collect it.

“Heh, you’re interested in the Arcade Centre?”

The clone stared, unresponsive.

“Hey…Why don’t we make a little bet? We’ll play a game. If I win, I get to take my Gekota badge back. If you win, you can keep it for real, consider it a present from me. How does that sound?”

Her sister's eyes turned to her with that laconic expression.

"Why would Misaka take that bet? Misaka already has what the prize, says Misaka, pointing out the flaw in your ploy." The girl tugged on the badge to emphasize her point. "However, this Misaka will humour you. Misaka is confident that her superior intellect and reflexes will prevail, says Misaka confidently." The deadpan expression never left the girl's face.

"Asking around might be worth a look." Kuroko decided without hesitation.

Decisive, or just hasty? Is she experience, or more likely feeling rushed? Probably the latter for each, but I still don't know.

Kerri notices Kuroko shifting her head worriedly towards where the red haired woman left. He grins, and decides to have a bit more fun before heading off,

"Awwwwwwww, you're worried about your little friend! That's adorable!" He said, before starting to walk off, going past her, ignoring her denial,

"Well, that's understandable," Kerri stated, his head shifting downward. As this happened, he suddenly seemed... different. The shadows on his face shifted, covering the top half of his head. Everything but his pale, white eyes had been covered. He looked back at Kuroko, "After all, getting involved with Accelerator can lead to some grim endings, to say the least,"

His voice had turned cold, and business like. He was serious, just like everyone usually wanted him to be, but he knew he was creepy like this.

"Uiharu," he said, and the girl looked at him. He saw her visibly flinch, and decided that he should try acting more lighthearted. He just wanted to prove to Kuroko that he could be serious,

"What? I told you I don't bite! Just gettin' serious!" he said, cheerfully, lifting his head back up, "I just need you to know that I'm relying on you, Uiharu-Senpai!" He said, lightly punching her in the arm, though it seemed to hurt more then it was meant to, "Uh, sorry."

"Anyway, I'm gonna meet up with the Red-Haired girl and work with her. it's best to have someone watching your back at all time. Buddy system, right!?" He stated, then quickly dashed out of the alley where the Red-haired girl left, stopping for a moment to turn to them,

"My number should be on file, if you need me!" He called back, "Good luck you two!" He waved them off with a two-fingered salute, and then he dashed off at a brake neck pace, to catch up with the Red-Haired girl, despite how close she actually was.

"The first one. We're not allowed to hurt each other at school or we'll get into trouble."

The Sister remained silent, watching shrugging younger girl with a voidal expression. She took careful sips of the lemonade, looking very much dignified even while sucking through a pink straw.

"Do you always talk like--"

Sayuri hurried wiped the words away mid-sentence, but the stoic girl’s sharp eyes had already seen it.

"Sorry,” the younger girl quickly wrote, as if she realised her earlier words may have been offensive, “I mean you remind me of somebody back home."

Finishing the final drop of her drink, the Sister placed the glass back on the table with a gentle ‘clang’.

“Who does Misaka remind you of, Misaka asks you out of curiosity.”

At that moment, the waitress arrived at their table with their ordered food.

“Hope you enjoy your meal,” the waitress said with a bright smile as she placed the dishes in front of them.

“Thank you, Misaka conforms to social etiquette as she shows her gratitude.”

As the waitress left, the Sister took a long sniff of the food’s aroma then picked up her fork.

“Misaka knows the proper way to eat Spaghetti. Misaka gives you a demonstration.” With that, the Sister stabbed the fork into the pile of noodles. She began twirling the kitchenware with so much force it almost looked like she was trying to drill it through the plate.

The spaghetti became perfectly wrapped upon the metal tines, an artwork in its own right. The Sister held it up and observed it in solemn silence for a moment. Then, her mouth opening wide like a great cave, she devoured the large cocoon of noodles in one gulp.

“There is too much cheese, making the sauce quite salty, but the overall taste is not so bad, Misaka presents her review.”

***

"Why would Misaka take that bet? Misaka already has what the prize, says Misaka, pointing out the flaw in your ploy." Mikoto glared as the girl tugged on the badge almost mockingly. "However, this Misaka will humour you. Misaka is confident that her superior intellect and reflexes will prevail, says Misaka confidently."

The grin returned on Mikoto’s face, and the Original tucked a strand of brown hair behind her ear.

“Heh, you seem very confident. Let’s see what you’ve got!”

‘There’s no way I’d lose to a clone of myself…!’

Soon they were standing in front of a game machine, a brand new game that had been released just a few days ago. Mikoto had originally been planning to choose the punching game (her biggest forte), but her pride decided that she would still win even if she chose something she had never tried before.

“Let’s see now…” Mikoto flashed her clone a confident smile, “I’ll go first and show you how it’s done!”

It was a fight simulation game, one where you had to dodge obstacles and shoot as required by what was occurring on the screen. There was a headset and a toy gun, translating the player’s movements to their actions in-game. Once the player’s health reached 0, the game would be over.

10 minutes later saw the screen flashing bright yellow words:

“NEW highscore: 770 points!”

With a self-satisfied smirk, Mikoto passed the headset and the gun to her ‘sister’.

“It’s not that hard, really,” Mikoto said pridefully, “you just have to shoot at those monster npcs and dodge the fireballs. I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it.”

Mikoto gave her ‘sister’ a friendly pat on the shoulder, obviously in a cheerful mood.

‘Gekota is definitely mine now~!’

"A foreigner visited our town a couple of weeks back. I never got her name, but she liked to always talk with riddles for some reason"

After Sayuri finished writing she quickly grabbed her folk and tried to shovel some spaghetti into her mouth, which most of it managed to fit in at once but left her looking slightly messy so she quickly grabbed the wipes which were provided.
She looked somewhat more relieved after she had her first folk full of food as her stomach stopped grumbling silently.

The two girls continued eating and it wasn't long before most of the food had been eaten.
Finishing off her drink the waitress took the plates away. "I'll go get the bill" The waitress said as she left the table.

Natsumi walked down the street of the shopping district, some shopping bags in hand, she was exhausted.

The night before, she had yet again got yelled at by her dorm supervisor for breaking curfew.
Her punishment was to clean the pool of Tokiwadai, and she had just finished thanks to some classmates helping her out when she almost blew the pool in irritation.

She had decided to go for a walk before going back to the dormitory.

"God, damn, it. Why the hell should I get those harsh punishments just because I'm following someone's orders? Ehh?" She muttered to herself, even more irritated

Literally, she was the calm kind of person, but when you pushed her buttons, she could be a very sarcastic, and irritated person.

"... On a more positive note, I've got what I wanted, so I shouldn't have to return to this district any time soon, hopefully..." Muttering yet again, she hoped that the clothes she bought would last her a long time.

Tokiwadai's rules would state that their students must wear the uniform at all time, Natsumi wasn't an exception.

But depending on the dangerousness of her mission, she would change into more casual clothes, as to not get recognized as a Tokiwadai student.

This time around, her mission, also the reason that she had to break curfew, came out to be rather dangerous.
And during the process, she had charred to black her last set of clothes, it could be considered a miracle that they weren't reduced to ashes.

(... But still, why do so many girls go out to go shopping every week? I don't understand what's the point of constantly buying clothes for the sake of buying them..)

Despite being part of it, she did not comprehend the species known as 'female'.

(... Ehhhh whatever, I'll just sit down somewhere around here.)

She realised that her feet couldn't take her any further, so she decided to take a break, she sat down and observed her surroundings.
What was in front of her was a restaurant, she knew that the restaurant wasn't anything fancy to say the least, but that it served good food.

(... Though honestly, restaurant food is just taken from the freezer and heated up, not as if there was much effort in the preparing, this is the Academy City after all.)

She tended to avoid to eat or drink outside, Academy City was an experimental city, and she feared that her organism may not take drinks or food 'Made in Academy City'.

Looking deeper into the restaurant, she saw a chestnut brown haired girl, and a blonde-haired one.

(That blonde-haired, doesn't seem like a student, I never saw her... Well I assume I don't know each and every student in this city... More importantly...)

Her gaze turned to the chestnut brown haired.

(... Is that Misaka?... ... I don't think so, there's something off with her...)

Then it came to her.

(Wait, I heard rumors about a cloning project of Railgun for military purposes... Don't tell me...)

Her gaze stayed on the girl for a minute or so... She decided to not give it any thought for the moment.

(I'll check it up with Hisakawa later, she owes me a few, but for the moment I'm here to relax so...)

She took out her mp3 player and earphones, and started listening to music while staring up at the sky.

Meirin groaned with frustration when she heard Kerri following her. "What the hell do you want?" she snapped. "I'm busy, go away!"

She picked up the pace so she was moving at a quick walk. She didn't want to have to deal with Kerri, but apparently he wanted to stick to her like glue. It would be hard to keep an eye on Accelerator if she was being tailed.

She exited the alley, planning on just doing what she had been planning on doing had Kerri not come with her. She bought some sweets from a roadside vender - one who knew her and used her name, much to her chagrin, as Kerri was likely nearby - and walked around, looking for Accelerator. An tall albino boy shouldn't be too hard to find, right...? So why wasn't he around?

Meirin knew for a fact that Accelerator wasn't one to rush to do anything. Even with a head start of a few minutes, he wouldn't be too far. Maybe he climbed up somewhere high?

Meirin began to scan the edges of rooftops in addition to checking out the crowds, vainly hoping Kerri would get bored and go home.

“It’s not that hard, really, you just have to shoot at those monster npcs and dodge the fireballs. I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it.”

The stoic girl stood and listened like an obedient child before taking her turn at the controls.

NEW Highscore: 800 points!

"Misaka is pleased with her performance, says Misaka, rubbing salt into the wound." The clone taunted her before heading for another game. By the time evening drew close the girl had dragged her 'sister' around the entire arcade and siphoned off nearly her entire pocket of change.

"Misaka has enjoyed this evening, says Misaka, conceding defeat." Their competition had ended in a narrow victory for Mikoto. The clone started to unpin the button from her skirt to hand it over.

***

He often sat here, on the rooftops. It was less frustrating than dealing with the countless problems of the city at street level. All was silent. Sound waves reflected against his barrier, plunging his world into a silent calm. All he could hear were the sounds of his own breathing and the beat of his heart.

Some would have questioned the sanity of isolating himself and losing awareness in such a way. But they were not the strongest esper.

What did he have to fear? He was invincible.

Accelerator's mobile rang, piercing the still night. He didn't hear it. Only the flashing light of its screen bleeding from the edges of his vision made him aware of the world around him again.

"What?" He snapped harshly into the phone. "Oh?" His scowl soon widened into a twisted smirk. "So we're back on schedule?" He let out a strangled laugh.

"A foreigner visited our town a couple of weeks back. I never got her name, but she liked to always talk with riddles for some reason."

“Riddles are excellent tools to confuse other people with, Misaka shows her appreciation for intelligent linguistic devices.”

She watched and waited patiently as Sayuri ate her fill. Once they were done, the waitress returned with the bill on hand.

“3500 yen, Misaka reads the total. The spaghetti was good, but Misaka didn’t think it would be worth this much, Misaka says honestly.”

Reaching into her skirt pocket, she took out all the cash she had and laid them upon the table. Without blinking, she observed them with an unchanging expression.

“It appears Misaka is lacking the money required to pay the full fee, Misaka explains her situation. Misaka wonders if she can haggle her way out of this one.”

She turned her calm gaze towards the waitress, who looked alarmed.

“Uhmm… That’s not really up to me to decide,” she said with an awkward smile. “You can go out and get some more money from the ATM though. It’s just down the street, I’ll be happy to wait and keep your friend company here.”

The Sister stood up, nodding. “Very well then. Misaka will go outside and get more money, Misaka agrees with a nod of her head.”

With that, she turned and walked out of the restaurant, passing by a certain Tokiwadai student sitting upon a bench. Hardly giving her a glance, the Sister made her way down the street to find the ATM.

***

NEW Highscore: 800 points!

Mikoto stared at the screen, unable to believe her eyes. The image of Gekota flashed in her mind, fast fading into darkness.

‘No way…! I… lost? To my own clone?!’

"Misaka is pleased with her performance, says Misaka, rubbing salt into the wound."

Mikoto’s mouth opened and closed, but only a strangled sound of despair came out. Her wounded pride throbbed in her heart.

‘How the heck is my clone better than me at this?! There’s just no way this is completely a genetic thing- Eh?’

Before she knew what was happening, Mikoto was being dragged around the arcade by her ‘sister’, who wanted to try everything. By the end of the evening, Mikoto’s wallet was absolutely empty, but her pocket was bulging with arcade coins.

In her hands were two large cans also full of arcade coins. Her eyebrows twitched as she stared down at them.

‘Who the heck plays this many games all at once? Even I don’t have such urges… Urgh, what the hell. I think I have more than enough coins to last me the entire year now.’

"Misaka has enjoyed this evening, says Misaka, conceding defeat."

Mikoto’s eyes widened when her clone suddenly started to unpin the badge from her skirt.

‘This feeling… Why do I feel like a complete bully all of a sudden?’

“W-wait!” Mikoto suddenly exclaimed before she could stop herself. “Y-you can keep it, it’s fine! You did win the first game and that was the one that counted…”

‘What am I even saying?’ Mikoto wondered inside. When did she ever give up her Gekota?

No, it was the simple matter of pride, she quickly decided. She HAD lost the first game (how, she didn’t think she would ever understand) and she wasn’t going to be a sore loser. Besides… This girl was…

Mikoto’s cheeks turned a shade of light pink as she quickly shook her head out of her thoughts.

“Just keep it okay?!" she blurted out hurriedly, "Consider it a present from your Oneesama!”

Her cheeks abruptly turned bright red. Oneesama?! Where had THAT suddenly come from?

“Urgh! Whatever!”

Mikoto’s head throbbed. This was just too much. It was official- her clone was slowly driving her insane. There was no other explanation.

'If there really are five clones of me…' Even thinking about it made her head spin.

As Misaka# left Sayuri sighed at the annoying turn of events. As she waited by the table a tall man with a very victorian looking appearance entered the cafe; he was wearing a waistcoat and was checking the time as he entered.

The man glared at Sayuri as he entered and was stopped by the waitress who could see the concern on Sayuri's face as he approached. "Excuse me sir"
The waitress tapped the man's shoulder and in a quick turn of events the man grabbed the waitress's arm and snapped it quickly without having to apply much effort in the process.
The sound of the waitress's arm was loud and clear, which sent a shockwave of panic to all those who heard it.

The waitress screamed in pain as she fell to the ground holding onto her now broken arm.
Sayuri's heart began to race as she started to slid herself backwards towards the window away from the opening near the stranger as he approached.
The two girls on the other side of the room were shocked by what had just happened but Sayuri didn't get much of a look at them as the stranger approached closer and grabbed her arm with some force pulling her out of her seating area.
"Let go of me!" Sayuri silently yelled as she felt pain from being dragged out by her arm.

A loud thud noise was followed soon after as Sayuri felt her arm was let go.. but instead of the man simply letting go.. he was thrown away by a force which smacked him into the wall on the other side of the cafe.
The two girls had got out of their seat; one of them was calling for help and the other was in a fighting stance.

Sayuri now free from her captor stumbled back out of the walkway where she was between the stranger and the girl. It was at this point that Sayuri realised that the girl had thrown one of the heavy chairs at the man.
"Don't worry your.." The girl was about to say 'alright' as she looked at Sayuri but then there was a loud crash noise as the heavy chair which had been thrown against the man was tossed aside.

"What kind of person are you?" The girl mumbled
The man stood up and straighten his blazer before whispering some words.
Sayuri recognised some of the words and yelled out "Get down", but sadly her voice was silent and the esper girl was suddenly overcome by a violent shockwave which sent her flying across the cafe and out the window onto the street unconscious.

The waitress was still on the floor and was trying to get behind the counter where she could hide from the man. Sayuri in fear hid under one of the tables and tried to control her breathing as she could hear the man's steps draw near.

As the man drew closer Sayuri could feel herself break out into a cold sweat when suddenly. Slam! It was a near miss but Sayuri managed to avoid being crushed by one of the tables as she tried to run towards the back of the cafe.
While Sayuri ran the man threw out another shockwave aimed at Sayuri but just before it hit with her she whispered a few words silently and pulled out her pocket sized mirror from her pocket as a shield.

The shockwave hit the mirror and made a deafening sound as the shockwave resonated through the mirror before bouncing back at the man; in the process going through some of the structural beams of the building making the roof buckle.
Recovering from an unexpected blow from the girl the man looked at the roof above Sayuri's head.

Sayuri was unsure what the man's thoughts were as he stood back and began to mumble his incantation again, however before he could finish he suddenly found himself screaming in pain as something hit him from behind. Unaware to Sayuri this act had saved her life as the man was unable to bring the roof down on her head.

As the fight between the man and newcomer started, Sayuri stumbled through the backdoor to the service alley. As she looked back she saw that parts of the roof had already begun to collapse inwards.

Kerri stopped abruptly as the red haired girl "What the hell do you want?" she yelled at him.

"Just to help, jeez," he said,

"I'm busy, go away!" Kerri pretended to give a loud groan as he walked awa,

"Fine, whatever!" However, inside he was thinking of what he should be doing next,

She doesn't want me to follow her, but I told Kuroko that I wold... I need to gather information, and I'll be a good back up in case this girl actually does get herself killed, Kerri looked back over his shoulder, watching as Meirin walked quickly into an alleyway, Sorry red-head, I'm coming with you whether you know it or not, Kerri immediately dashed into another alley just went he was out of Meirin's sight, running quetly so she wouldn't hear him,

He had traveled around this area several times for his work, and even when he didn't have to work, simply to get to know the area. This blocks alleys all went to the same area, And Kerri would be able to tail the red haired girl without issue.

he hid next to the wall, carefully glancing out, prepared to recoil from sight if he was spotted. She was buying candy from a vendor, looking wary,

She's buying candy right now. Why?

Is she taking this opportunity to slack off?

Is is to seem as if she's just a normal person on patrol? Perhaps just a lazy Judgement member who just happened to be out?

It would work if she got caught. A feint. Pretend she happened to meet him. Walking around, not caring, candy emphasizing her lack of care. And it could even be an excuse to be in the area. She could say candy's from here are her favorite.

Most likely for investigation purposes, possibly for actual lazing around. Kerri thinks as he watches her gazing at the sky. He noticed a crowd of people coming by, and noted that she had gotten somewhat far away from him.

Not wanting her to get too far from him, Kerri slipped into the crowd, putting his hood up, and keeping his head low so he was behind most of the people. He was cautious to stay behind as many people as possible so he wouldn't be seen.

She was still staring at the sky as Kerri slipped into another alleyway. In case he was noticed, Kerri had an easy route of escape he could take from the other side, and just round back to track her again.

Looking at the red haired girl again, Kerri noticed that she wasn't really looking straight up at the sky. She was looking at the buildings.

Kerri backed his head back into the alley, out of her view, to take her eyes off her and look up.

What exactly is she looking... for... Kerri squinted his eyes to make sure he was seeing what he thought he was seeing. From what he could tell... it was a teenager. Pale with a black shirt... the building he was on was pretty high, so Kerri couldn't get a definite view of him. He wasn't going to be totally sure about even the vague details until he got a better look at him.

But yeah, definitely a kid up there or small adult, most likely an esper... is it Accelerator? I've seen his picture so I knew who to steer clear of, I'll decide whether or not that's him when I get a better look. Kerri thought to himself as he cautiously turned his gaze back to Meirin, ready to pull out of sight if necessary.