[SS] Project Radio Noise

"Oh, nothing of note."

"There was an esper attack at a cafe not far from here."

“Oh?” Mikoto leaned forward, curiousity written all over her expression. Beside her, Kuroko face-palmed. “What happened?”

“Anti-skill and Judgement are still in the middle of investigation,” Kazari replied without missing a beat, “So we don’t know much of the details yet. All we know is that whoever attacked the place was a pretty powerful esper- the cafe looked like a warzone.” Her expression became more solemn. “The roof was half-caved in, all of the windows were shattered… Many were injured as well…”

“Th-this is really serious!” Mikoto cried, her voice rising with tension. “Who the heck would do such a thing? Why target the place?”

“Who knows?” Kuroko sighed, obviously giving up on her initial plan of not clueing Mikoto on anything. “Although one of the injured- a waitress who works there- spoke of a man wearing a waistcoat and a little girl in a green dress. Apparently, this stranger approached the girl and initiated the chaos, breaking the waitress’ arm very brutally in the process.”

Kuroko grimaced at some memory before continuing.

“It seems the man was targeting her. Why, we have no clue. Whoever it is though, obviously has no qualms about getting innocents involved.”

“A little girl, huh?” Ruiko mused quietly, swirling the straw in her drink mindlessly. “I bet she’s just an innocent person too.”

Mikoto’s hands curled into fists on the table. “Those kind of bastards are the worst-!”

“Now, now Oneesama,” Kuroko said smoothly. “I hope I don’t need to remind you yet again that this is completely a Judgement and Anti-skill affair.”

“Huh? What? I wasn’t-“

Kuroko’s eyes suddenly narrowed a little as she interrupted Mikoto’s denials. “The waitress also mentioned there had been a Tokiwadai student with shoulder-length brown hair who had been sitting with the small girl and left just before the attack occurred.” The teleporter paused momentarily, phrasing the next sentence with caution, “…Her description… matches yours now that I think about it-“

Kuroko stopped, noticing Mikoto’s honestly dumbfounded expression. A small smile of relief graced her lips.

“Ah never mind. I knew Oneesama wouldn’t be involved in something like this, even if she does kick vending machines everday-“

“Eh, what?!”

“-revealing those outrageously unfashionable shorts!”

“K-kuroko!”

“Ah~ At least they cover those childish panties underneath! Your reputation would be in complete shambles by now if anyone saw those pink hippo- AACK!”

Face on flames, Mikoto had whacked Kuroko on the head with a fist.

“Th-that has NOTHING to do with ANYTHING, Kuroko!” The electromaster growled, sparks leaping from her hair dangerously.

‘A girl who matches my description? Was that another one of my clones…?’ Mikoto pondered inwardly. A tight knot suddenly formed in her stomach. ‘If so... I wonder what she was doing there…’

As Sayuri wandered off she wondered where she should go as it was getting dark and cold as the sun was beginning to set. Walking through a park area she noticed an older girl scanning through the tall grass.

Sayuri walked closer towards the girl but suddenly felt something hit her foot as she accidentally kicked it across the floor against the lamp-post; because of Sayuri's curse the phone didn't make any noise as it was kicked across the floor.
Wandering over to the phone she picked it up and then walked over to the girl and pulled on her clothes to grab her attention.

She held the phone out to the girl and pointed back to where she found the phone after she accidentally kicked it. It wouldn't sound good if she told the person she accidentally kicked their phone even if she could speak aloud.

As Mari looked through the grass, continuing to tear it up, she noticed a tug on her school uniform, and turned around, still kneeling, to see a young blond haired girl in a green dress.

"Hey kid, listen, I'm kinda busy! I need to find-" Mari's sentenced stopped when the young girl handed her a grey, disposable phone. Her phone, "My cell phone!" Mar snatched it out of her hands excitedly, looking at it to make sure it still worked.

A little banged up, but no use crying over spilled milk. That aside, Mari looked back at the young girl to ask her, "Where did you-" She stopped again, looking to where the young girl pointed,

At least let me finish a sentence, she thought amused, cracking a smile, turning back to the young girl,

"I'm glad that you were able to find my phone for me, I really appreciate it," she stated in a monotone voice, "now allow to properly express said appreciation in 3... 2... 1..."

And without warning, she quickly stood up from her kneeling position, grabbing the young girl, lifting her off of her feet and holding her tightly in a bear hug,

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you so much!" Mari held the girl out, holding her effortlessly, ignoring any awkwardness given the situation of hugging a complete stranger, showing off her overly friendly personality, "This phone's really important, you have no idea how much you just helped me! I-" *Gasp* "Hold on!" She put on a serious face, setting the girl down, and looking at her cell phone, opening the message she got,

Dear Mari,

Head to the attached clothing store, and grab a Tokiwadai uniform top. Also, find and secure something that can be associated with the 3rd Level 5, Misaka Mikoto. I may or may not call back, and if I do, I need you to bring me both items ASAP. Further details wil be given upon arrival. Be prepared for anything.

sincerely, Mack,

P.S. I hope you aren't getting in trouble with Anti-Skill anymore. You've gone a whole three weeks, and I'd hate to see your streak be broken.

Mari skimmed over the message quickly and sighed after reading the last message, "Yeah, yeah, whatever mom." and took notice of an image of a picture brown haired middle schooler, with some measurements for the shirt, and the name 'Misaka Mikoto' scrawled onto it. There was also an image of a store to get the shirt from, with the address scribbled onto it. She nodded, and closed the phone.

She then turned her attention to the young blond still standing there, and gave her a gentle smile, "Sorry about that. Anyway, like I said, thanks for finding my phone. My name's Mari" She said, patting the girl's head, being a bit too friendly, "It's nice to meet you... Miss... um... sorry, but could I get your name," Mari stated, rubbing the back of her head, embarrassed.

Sayuri pauses for a moment as she was asked for her name before reaching into her pocket and pulling out her small whiteboard.

She starts writing on the whiteboard but as she writes she realises her pen was running dry and most of the text was faded.
"Sayuri Fujiwara, nice to meet you" Although after the first two words the last part was very hard to read or was if not readable with the dried out pen.

Sayuri shivered as the wind picked up blowing past her and Mari. She was wearing a green dress that had a few tears in it and was covered in dirt.

The sun was now at the horizon level with the streets glowing orange and purple as night approached quickly. It was way beyond curfew hours now for her and most students who weren't in clubs that allowed for it.

"Sayuri Fujiwara, nice to meet you"

"Sayuri Fujiwara...?" Mari read from the small whiteboard, "That's a really cool name! Almost as cool as Mari Illustrious Makinami. Almost. You're a close second," She said jokingly, then taking notice of her means of communication.

Odd, she needs a whiteboard to talk with people? Is she shy? Or maybe she's mute... She has trouble reading the last few words on the whiteboard, Looks like her marker's almost out of ink,

Mari doesn't notice the wind pick up, ruffling both her hair, and even her clothes a little. At least not until Sayuri starts shivering. As soon as she notices this, Mari also takes into account how dirty her dress is, and frowns,

She then decides on a way to help her out,

"So, we just met, and you're already giving me the silently treatment, huh?" She states in feigned annoyance, looking angry, "Well, two can play at that game!" Mari then digs through her schoolbag for a notebook, a pen, and a black, hooded sweatshirt she was holding on to in case she needed it,

She turns to a clean page in the notebook, and writes down,

Just kidding! Putting her smile back on and winking at Sayuri. She then looks at the setting sun, and decides to ask Sayuri another question,

It's getting pretty late Sayuri, and I'm afraid I have an errand to run. But I should have plenty of time to walk my new best friend back to her dorm. Whaddya' say!? She then hands the notebook to Sayuri, after flipping it to a clean page, along with the pen, and drapes her sweatshirt over the young girl's shoulders.

"Thank you. I don't.." A sudden noise of a tin can hitting the floor startled Sayuri as she expected another encounter with a mage but it was a false alarm with the wind simple depositing rubbish on the ground.

Looking at what she had written, Sayuri rewrites the 2nd part of her sentence crossing out her previous words. "I'm looking for my sister" As she holds it up she sneezes onto Mari before quickly getting her hand out to catch her next sneeze; to which both of them were silent despite making her shake because of them.

Street lights were turning on around the area now and it could now be declared night as the sun was no longer in sight.
"Sorry.. er I mean" Sayuri silently said aloud as she instinctively apologized to sneezing on the helpful stranger. She stressed herself out about apologizing but then saw the stranger didn't seem to pay it any mind.

Mari turned her head after being sneezed on, but chuckled a little,

She noticed Sayuri mouthing something, and read "Sorry" from her lips. At least that's what she thought she read. Mari removed her glasses, and after wiping her face with her arms, she proceeded to wipe the mucus from her glasses with her tie,

"Don't worry kiddo, it was just an accident. It happens. Though if you want to make it up," She placed her now clean spectacles back on her face,

"Could you tell me if you know where you're looking? It's pretty dark, and despite what you hear, this place isn't the friendliest for kids... or woman... or men- you know what, I don't think anyone in general should be out late if they want to avoid trouble." She stated,

"I won't stop you from trying to find your sister, but it's dangerous at night," Mari said factually, "You should probably head back to your dorm room. Like I said, I can even take you home if you want," Mari offered, smiling, with a friendly tone.

"I don't have a dorm, I'm not from Academy City" Sayuri wrote before withdrawing a burnt visitor pass that was dated for the previous year.

"Last time I visited sister was during the festival, but I can't go back" Sayuri wiped away a tear that formed in her left eye. "They'll be waiting for me" Sayuri said silently with her head lowered.

(OOC Note
Indigo = Natsumi
Green = People
Dark Red = Phone Contact
Yellow = Misaki Shokuhou
End of OOC Note)

July 22nd, 23:00.

Natsumi was lying in her bed, she was exhausted from her encounter with the dorm head.

Yet again she had broken the curfew, multiples times in a week.

(...That damned Hisakawa, is she trying to get me killed?)

She sighed, and attracted the attention of her roommate.

"Oh my, Hujisaka-san~ You seem rather tired!"

The girl asked worriedly, though honestly she believed it was unnecessary. If Misaki wanted to know what was wrong, chances were she could find out.

Natsumi sighed again, and reached out for her phone.

"Hm? Oh ... Yeah."

A few hours had passed since the restaurant incident, and frankly, Natsumi didn't feel worried for the girl, though concerned.

(I said 'Next time' but I have no idea whatsoever of who that girl is, and where she lives...)

"Well~ Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, it's just shopping, it's not that important."

She was hoping the discussion wouldn't last long, she had to call Hisakawa, and didn't have any time to spare for Misaki.

"Oh? Well, you should be careful. If you don't get enough sleep, it will begin to affect your health~☆"

"I think I passed the age of growing while sleeping anyways..."

She had said so in a bored tone of voice, she obviously had already lost interest in the discussion.
It didn't seem like Misaki wanted to continue any further, either.

Staring at her phone, she decided to, even if it would get her killed by the dorm head, go outside to make her call, the kind of conversation she had with Hisakawa weren't the type of conversations that were meant to be eavesdropped upon.

After some while of walking, she decided to settle in an alley. While she was dialing, she pondered on how she'd approach the girl the next time she met her.

"Oh, myyyy~~~~! Natsumi-chan is finally calling me~~!"

Hisakawa faked a cute, but yelling voice on the phone. For a minute, Natsumi regretted calling her.

"Oh shut the hell up, will you? You know what I'm calling for, right?"

"Well of course I do, we talked about this earlier!"

"So, did you get anything?"

"Rather than anything, I found everything! ... At least what was in my reach."

She could be annoying, but Hisakawa knew how to be serious when needed.

"So, where should I start, the Railgun Mass Production Plan, also known as the Radio Noise Sisters, why it was frozen, or how the sisters are currently used in a plan called the Level 6 Shift?"

"Level 6...? Start from the beginning."

She was curious about the Level 6 part, but she wouldn't understand it if she hadn't heard about the things that came before it.

"In a nutsh..."

"No. Give me a proper explanation."

"Fine fine, it looks like Misaka Mikoto was tricked into giving her DNA map by an institute that pretended to research muscular dystrophy. Her DNA map was then used to create clones, also called the 'Sisters', for military purposes..."

"...Though it seems that since they didn't reach even 1% of the Railgun's power, they were unsuitable for use, so the project was frozen ... Before continuing on, do you know about Accelerator?"

"Accelerator? The 1st ranked Level 5 Esper in this city?"

"Yup, I assume you know about his Esper abilities, and whatnot, and if you don't then you can look a bit around. So!"

She exclaimed, but paused to think about how she would go with this

"It seems that Tree Diagram concluded that Accelerator is the only Esper that can reach the unknown Level 6, though since the normal curriculum would achieve that result in only two centuries, they reused the Sisters to accelerate the curriculum though real battles."

"In short, the Level 6 Shift program consists of Accelerator slaughtering 20,000 Sisters in order to achieve Level 6."

"Are they even sure it exists that Level 6? They didn't even consider the possibility that they're slaughtering 20,000 Sisters for nothing?"

"Don't forget they are researchers, if they find a new possibility, they will look upon it. That's how people in Academy City are. They will forget everything related to morale ... Besides, if Tree Diagram itself said that Accelerator could attain Level 6, then they will follow the plan, even blindfolded, they're these kinds of idiots."

Hisakawa had a dark tone of voice, she knew she couldn't joke around when it came to Academy City's methods.

(In others words, those Sisters were created in order to be killed ...)

"How many experiments took place?"

"9981 out of the 20,000 planned by Tree Diagram. The 9982nd experiment should take place tomorrow."

"You sure know a lot for someone who told me she just heard rumors a little while ago, don't you?"

"That's because of my precious sources ☆ ... Anyways, are you going to do something to stop those experiments?"

"Is that a mission?"

"A free-to-deal-with one."

Natsumi smirked at the answer, and looked up at the sky.

"I'm not going to do anything right now."

"Are you planning on observing Misaka Mikoto?"

"As always. I'll act if I need to. Later."

Natsumi hung up, and kept looking at the stars.

It was ironic, the stars were there, yet they couldn't be seen due to light pollution.

After much thinking, she had come to a decision.

"Well then, I wonder how she'll deal with it, that Misaka Mikoto..."

She still had her smirk on her face, and honestly wondered how a girl that considered Academy City as 'home' would deal with the darkness that would surround her.

Though frankly she didn't know if Misaka Mikoto was involved, was planning to get involved, or just didn't care.

She opted for following Misaka, hoping that would lead her to the battlefield of the 9982nd experiment.

"I don't have a dorm, I'm not from Academy City",

Not from Academy City? Mari's muscles tensed, but not enough to let Sayuri see it, Who is this girl? How did she enter the city if she's not a student?

She watched Sayuri's hand reach into her pocket, and produce a burnt visitor's pass, dated for the previous year,

"Last time I visited sister was during the festival, but I can't go back" She said, holding the notebook she wrote on with a trembling hand. Mari watched the girl lowered her head, a single tear drop sliding down her cheek, causing Mari to calm down,

Mari looked at the girl passively, focused on thinking about her situation as this occurs, So, this girl's visited here before...? I guess it makes sense, but I'm kind of wondering why her visitor's pass is dated for last year... is she... No, she's just a little kid, she's no threat to the city.

Mari decided on what to do next, Well, whatever this kid's story, I owe her for finding my phone, so this should be a small price to pay, She looked towards the girl, and wiped the tear streaming down her face with her finger,

"Hey come on, no water works. That won't solve anything." Mari said, "Instead, let's try to do a little problem solving. You need to find your sister, but it's too late outside to look now. You also need a place to wash up, rest, and maybe get your dress cleaned up. And, well, you need a place to stay, and it just so happens that I've always wanted a roommate... see where I'm gettin' at, Sayuri?" Mari said with a positive tone, trying to cheer Sayuri up,

Sayuri looked up at Mari and nodded, she wasn't quite smiling but neither was she crying.

The wind picked up again whistling past and rustling the trees around the park along with more rubbish as it was dragged along the path.
Sayuri ran over to Mari and grabbed her arm firmly with her eyes scanning the area encase somebody else was there.

It really showed that she was a scaredy-cat and Sayuri wasn't sure if she believed in ghosts, but she did fear the people who were chasing her. Given her recent abilities and events she knew anything was possible in this city.

As Sayuri walked away from the park area with Mari she lessened her grip but still held onto her hand as it seemed to give her some kind of security in the now dark streets.

Ruiko and Kazari watched the two girls in their heated exchange.

"So seriously, what's the deal with the bank cards?" Ruiko leaned in to ask.

Kazari absent-mindedly stirred her drink with her straw as she sipped on it.

"So far we've not been able to find anything concrete, but after investigating the security feeds around the locations they've been reported they appear to have been placed deliberately in areas with security blindspots..." She raised her eyes contemplatively. "At least, that would be my guess."

***

The clone slowly extended her hand to take the lollipop from Kaede. Her eyes never left the shiny red wrapper and she let out a small sound like a murmur.

"Thank you, says Misaka, gratefully." She wore her usual deadpan expression, the sweet lolly in her mouth rendering the words muffled. She accepted the pat on the head like a cat remaining aloof from its owner's affections.

"So seriously, what's the deal with the bank cards?"

Mikoto turned her attention towards Kazari as her friend replied to Ruiko’s question.

‘Placed deliberately in areas with security blindspots?’ Mikoto wondered again what that fish-eyed girl had been up to. This was new information for the electromaster, but she had a hunch that the girl’s actions had something to do with her clones. What though, she had no idea.

‘Dammit, why did she have to be so difficult and refuse to tell me anything…!’

“Misaka-san, what’s wrong?”

“???” Mikoto suddenly realised how tense she was and quickly rearranged her facial expression into a relaxed smile.

“It’s nothing, nothing~” She sang, as the others gave her curious looks.

“So much has been going on recently, Judgement is becoming swamped with work.” Kuroko sighed, rubbing a small lump that had formed on her head gingerly. “I feel that we should prioritise the café incident, since it has posed itself as more of a threat than the bank cards. But I’m also afraid that if we neglect this issue, it could grow into a bigger problem than we realise…”

Mikoto glanced at Kuroko, knowing fully well how much all of this was bothering her junior, who took her work as a Judgement officer very seriously. Looking at her now, she noticed how tired Kuroko seemed. The stress and pressure to get to the bottom of these incidents were probably mounting up rapidly.

A small smile tugged at the corners of Mikoto’s mouth as a sudden idea dawned upon her.

“Why don’t we all go out tomorrow?” she abruptly suggested. “You know, a girls' day out!”

Mari smiles as Sayuri nods, and is slightly surprised when she clings to her arm after the wind blows more loose garbage around and rustles the trees,

Mari comforts her as the two of them walk out of the park, patting her head, "No worries kiddo, you're safe and sound with me." she states, "We're just going to make a quick stop at a store, and then we'll head home, okay?" Mari notices Sayuri relax, letting go of her arm, but still holding onto her hand.

The two of them walk for a few minutes in silence. Mari tried to get Sayuri to talk a few times, but she wouldn't respond, and she wasn't willing to let go of her hand to write a message in the notebook she was given, so Mari just shrugged it off.

The two of them reach the store that Mari was ordered to go to, and she noticed the sale going on. Apparently the store was having a big clothing sale, everything half off today only.

Perfect, I get to save a little cash. Thanks Mack.

"Come on, Sayuri, this should only take a minute," She pulled Sayuri in, a little forcefully, and went straight for a map of the store hanging on the wall, which appeared to be a store meant for students to buy school supplies, such as the uniforms offered for sale in case they needed any spares,

Mari traced over the map with her finger, searching for her objective, "Let's see... clothing... clothing... clothing-Ahah!" Mari tapped on what she was looking for, and walked with Mari to the clothing aisle, riddled with school uniforms, and even some casual clothing, of all sizes. She looked at her phone, reviewing the size she needed, and found the Tokiwadai top still wrapped in plastic.

"Alright, this should be good... say Sayuri," She asked the young girl, "See anything you like? I can buy you something if you want a change of clothing," Mari stated, referring to her filthy dress.

Sayuri smiled as Mari offered to give her new clothes. She quickly dragged the older girl around the store until she saw a uniform she recognised.

Most of the uniforms were for the various schools in Academy City but Sayuri stopped at an area that was selling a green western style uniform; a blazer and skirt combination.
"This is my sister's uniform!" Sayuri wrote excitedly before grabbing one of the smaller size uniforms and showing it to Mari.

The uniform belonged to "Haru Chugakko" (Spring Middle School) which had a green skirt and blazer with a plain white shirt. There were other variations of the uniform but Sayuri recognised this particular one because it was the one she remembered seeing her sister wearing when she last visited her during last years festival.


Haru Chugakko wasn't any particularly special school in Academy City as it ran mostly normal classes and the majority to if not most of the students were level 1s and 0s which gave them a bad reputation to schools within the School gardens who seemed to only respect higher ranked espers.

Despite this though Haru Chugakko had made the front page of the urban legends website a few times as having misdiagnosed espers as some of their students were able to rival even the elite schools. The misconception however was the leveling system in Academy City, as each level is determined how much they warp reality and most level 0s could have passive abilities which according to Academy City's leveling scheme does not count towards their level so they are deemed level 0.

Mari looked at Sayuri, amused at her excitement, as she read what was written on the notebook,

"This is my sister's uniform!" She showed Mari, the smaller version of her sister's dress excitedly, and Mari held it up to look at it,

"No, no, no, no no, Sayuri! This isn't your sister's uniform, this is your uniform!" Mari stated as she grabbed Sayuri by the hand, and to the cash register. She bought both article's of clothing, and also picked up a dry-erase marker for Sayuri,

After the transaction was complete, she handed Sayuri the marker in exchange for her notebook and pen, "I just need this for notes and such, and with the new marker, you can write on your board again. Fair trade, right?"

The two walked out of the store, and Sayuri held her grip on Mari's hand, scared just like before. Mari was on edge, but she didn't show it like Sayuri did. She was mentally prepared for the possibility of an attack.

Still, she did enjoy the time with Sayuri. She had other friends, but none of them were from her Academy. Most of the time, she was alone, so having company while walking home was a nice change. As the two arrived at the dorm, Mari stopped short, stopping Sayuri as well, and looked around to see if anyone was around.

At the gate, Mari noticed the dorm mother scanning around for any tardy students.

Tardy students like me... Mari thought annoyed. Plus I've got to sneak Sayuri in... Mari looked at the metal fence. She could jump them, but past experience taught her that carrying people over the fence with her power usually ended up with people yelling... either in fear, or just at her for doing it anyway. Normally she'd have taken Sayuri over without a second thought, but she wanted to avoid getting caught. At least for tonight. There were a few moving cameras they could avoid, but otherwise, it wouldn't be that hard getting in. Mari just would have felt like a pretty shitty friend if she got Sayuri caught.

Looking at the fence, Mari realized that while they were supposedly meant to keep intruders out, being over ten feet tall, they were mainly meant for decoration. And to make the fence more aesthetically pleasing to the eye, they left some extra space in between the bars. Just enough for a small child to fit through.

"This way." Mari whispered, taking Sayuri to another part of the fence, away from the dorm mother or any other people that may catch them.

Without warning, Mari casually hopped over the fence using her ability, also using it to reduce the impact of the fall, preventing any noise.

"Okay, now you just slide through the bars and follow me back to my dorm. And we're home free." Mari stated quietly,

Sayuri tries to slide through the bars but as she does so she notices a second too late as one of the bars broke off and flew up into the air.

The two girls watch as the metal bar hit the ground and bounced a few times before coming to rest on the ground. Luckily for Sayuri she was the source of the noise and due to her curse the otherwise loud klang noise from the metal bar hitting the ground was silenced.

Sayuri walked over and picked up the metal bar and placed in back next to the fence again and smirked back at Mari who was seemed concerned a few seconds ago considering the material hitting the ground.

"Don't worry about it" Sayuri silently spoke, she figured it wasn't worth spending time writing in the dark and wasting time when a patrol could come by.

Mari watches as Sayuri squeezes through the bars, and moves back a few steps to give her some room. She watches Sayuri suddenly move through, but it takes Mari a minute to notice that one bar had actually moved out of place, and had hit the ground,

Mari cringed as the bar hit the ground, Dammit, how did I not hear the bar come out of place! But relaxed as she realized that there was no sound as it hit the ground, and bounced a bit.

Huh? Mari stared at the bar as Sayuri hoisted it back into place, I didn't hear it hit the ground... wait no, I should have heard something, at least a soft thud, but there was nothing...

Mari looked at Sayuri silently say something and Mari read something along the lines of, 'Don't worry about it'. It was hard to tell with how dark it had gotten.

Now that I think about, this kid hasn't made a single noise all night... Mari stared at Sayuri for a moment, before shrugging it off, My old boss made me paranoid, even over a little kid,

Mari grabs Sayuri's hand, and maneuvers her around the area, avoiding the view of the cameras, and the watchful eye of any passing guards. They also avoided a few other students out and about, just getting home, to ensure that they didn't get caught.

After climbing the stair of the dorm, and reaching the third floor, they had finally made it into Mari's room. It was a simple design, one bedroom, one bathroom, averaged size with some games haphazardly placed in a corner.

"Apartment, sweet apartment," Mari opened the door, and threw her bag to the side, continuing to walk forward,

She then stopped in her place and walked back to the bag to get Sayuri's new uniform out, and handed it to her. She then pointed back at the bathroom with her thumb and told Sayuri,

"First, you wash up Missy, and put your new uniform on. Unfortunately, I don't have a bath in here, just a shower, so you'll have to make due. Also," Mari started in a rueful tone, "I'm afraid I've only got one frozen dinner for us to munch on, so... yeah, I hope you don't mind sharing."

Sayuri nodded and went into the shower. It disturbed her at first as she hadn't thought about the sound of a shower before but once she gripped the shower after letting it run to temperature she found the entire shower silenced as she washed herself.

She sighed silently and hurried to finish washing encase Mari happened to walk in thinking something was wrong.
After drying herself she put on the uniform she was given by Mari and looked at herself in the mirror; she looked just like her sister from a family photo.

"I wasn't expecting the shower to go silent on me too" Sayuri wrote on her whiteboard. "Er.. how does it look?" She twirled slightly while she held the whiteboard up for Mari to see.

Sayuri stood wearing a green blazer and skirt with a white shirt and a blue tie. The uniform had a very woodland theme to it and the style seemed very western compared to the usual sailor uniform.

(OOC Note: I do not know if " Не пуха не пера " was the correct spelling for what I was trying to write since I don't speak Russian. So I will use " Не пуха не пера ". End of OOC Note)

July 23rd, 05:00 A.M

Natsumi woke up to the sound of her alarm clock, she had set it to 5 A.M in order to follow Misaka Mikoto.

From what she had heard the day before, she could not afford to miss out on the experiment, and was sure that Misaka Mikoto would lead her there

(But still, why the hell did I have to get up so early ... In the end I barely slept...)

The night before, she went out at 11 P.M to make a phone call, and by the time she came back to the dormitory, it was already 1 A.M.

(Total sleep: = 4 hours ... Thank God I'm used to all-nighters ... Anyway, let's get prepared before that airheaded roommate notices I'm awake at this hour...)

She got up, and went to get a set of clothes she bought the day before.

It was a simple black and white hooded sweatshirt, a pair of jeans, she was rarely (or never) seen without a jean, and black and white baskets.

She put the clothes in a bag she had brought back from the store, as she was planning on going to somewhere fairly dangerous like an experiment ground, she couldn't afford to be recognized as a Tokiwadai student by other people.

(Hm, time to go, if she sees me, she's definitely going to ask questions...)

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

After some while of waiting, she had decided to go on the rooftop of the school.

Waiting would just be painful, and she knew that Misaka's class wouldn't end before 11 A.M.

(Besides, being on the rooftop has its advantages, I'll be able to see from here when Misaka will be free from classes, and following her by jumping from rooftop to rooftop seems like the best way to go about it...)

She sighed, and decided to call Hisakawa to entertain herself while she was waiting for classes to end.

"This is weird, you're calling me so often these days, usually it seems like you never pay any attention to me when you go in your contact list..."

"Do I seem like the type of person who uses her phone that often?"

"I guess not, what's up, calling so early?"

"I'm bored. To hell and back."

"Weren't you going to follow Misaka Mikoto?"

"What the hell would she be able to do during classes? I have to wait until she's free of classes, afterwards I'll follow her when she leaves Tokiwadai."

"Going with rooftop jumping again?"

"Absolutely correct ... Is what I'd want to say, but I'll only be able to do so for a little while, I'll definitly get taken for someone suspicious if I try to jump over the gates of the school garden, so from there on I'll have to go on foot."

"Heh, that's going to be hard on you since you always observe from places high up in the sky..."

"I don't have a choice, do I?"

"Doesn't seem like you do, well, I'm kind of busy over here, so I'll call you back later if I learn anything new. Later."

"I'm glad you like it."

Delightful that the sister appreciates Kaede's gift, she was also thinking of ways to approach her question without being heard by the people monitoring the sister. Earlier when she entered the room, she had a feeling she was being watched from somewhere. Thus she had to act cautiously, without saying anything suspicious. Kaede placed both of her hands gently onto the sister's shoulders, while reaching the side of her ear. She quietly whispered,

"Listen, I need you to talk to me like this right now otherwise they'll hear. You don't need to worry about why. Just know that I really care about you and your other sisters."

Closing her eyes, she asked what she truly came here to ask,

"Do you know about Accelerator's whereabouts?"

"Listen, I need you to talk to me like this right now otherwise they'll hear. You don't need to worry about why. Just know that I really care about you and your other sisters."

Still there was no register of emotion on the clone's face. But she listened without complaint.

"Do you know about Accelerator's whereabouts?"

The sister's eyes turned first to look at Kaede before her head followed. She raised her hand deliberately to her mouth and whispered into Kaede's ear in kind.

"Misaka does not know what it is you hope to achieve, but she will rendezvous with Accelerator at the railyard at 22:00 on 23/07, recites Misaka, hoping she is of help."

***

Accelerator emerged from his apartment late that afternoon. The boy scarcely raised his eyes from the pavement in front of him as he stalked off with a slow, unhurried gait. He met another resident of the building who glanced nervously at him as they passed, turning his back to the wall to stay clear of the albino's path.

Accelerator didn't acknowledge him. A fact that the other boy was grateful for.

***

“Why don’t we all go out tomorrow? You know, a girls' day out!”

Kuroko eyed her suspiciously for the briefest of seconds before she realised the opportunity this presented. She could definitely turn this to her advantage. All she would have to do would be to send Kazari and Ruiko off to investigate to investigate the bank cards while she and Mikoto took a trip to the cafe together...

Kuroko's lips curled in a devious grin.

"What a great idea, Onee-sama." She quickly agreed with her usual overzealous enthusiasm.

"What a great idea, Onee-sama."

Mikoto grinned, completely oblivious to Kuroko’s devious smile and thoughts.

“Alright~! Uiharu-san, Saten-san! How about you guys?”

“Of course I’m in, do you really even have to ask?!” Ruiko said, laughing at Mikoto’s enthusiasm.

“Oh, oh! I’m definitely joining too!” Kazari said hurriedly, waving an arm. She abruptly paused, looking thoughtful.

“But… What should we do? Did you have something in mind, Misaka-san?”

“Hnn~” Mikoto thought for a moment. An advertisement she and Kuroko had passed by earlier flashed in her mind and her eyes lit up.

“Why don’t we go to the movies?! There’s something I- I mean, there’s a m-movie t-that’s being r-released tomorrow and…” Mikoto mumbled a few incoherent words then quickly blurted out, “I’m sure we’ll all enjoy it!”

A blissful smile erupted as the large screen advertisement showing her favourite frog mascot in action consumed her thoughts. Mikoto wasn’t sure how the others would react if she told them now. They’ll probably just laugh at her and call her childish…

But…

‘If I surprise them, I’m absolutely certain they’ll end up enjoying it, no matter what!’

As Sayuri stepped into the bathroom, Mari went to a mini fridge in her miniature kitchen and pulled out a microwaveable pizza, sticking it into the microwave,

I'll start it in a few minutes, gonna let her wash up a bit before doing anything, Mari turned on the TV, moving a foldable table to the center of the room, and setting up a swivel chair up for herself, and a foldable chair for Sayuri, Sorry Sayuri, but this swivel chair is my swivel chair. Mari thought to herself, placing two plates out for her and Sayuri, and some cups for drinks,

She watched some local news reports about various petty crimes going on, and some other fairly uninteresting things about new students entering the power curriculum, whose family members are powerful figures. Other then some vague details about an esper attack on a restaurant, with most details of the event withheld, nothing caught Mari's attention. Including one important subject matter,

Nothing about Misaka Mikoto. Mari thought disappointedly, Well, other then public announcements of top student scores, she hasn't really done anything noteworthy... she sighed to herself and said,

"Man... I may be a bit of a blabbermouth, but Mack could at least have given a little more into on her," she mumbled to herself,

She looked at the games she had in the corner, and back to the closed bathroom door, I hope Sayuri's done soon, It's been a while since anyone's come over that I can play a game with... wait... Mari stared at the door confused. Not because something was wrong with the door. The issue wasn't visionary, but auditory.

There's no shower running? What has she been doing in there? Mari crossed her arms and thought to herself, Could it be like before? With the bar? And now that I think about it... she hasn't spoken at all. She's been writing on that silly whiteboard... should i ask? She may be desperate to hide it, so I don't want to scare her away-

Suddenly, the bathroom door opened, and Sayuri stepped out, in her new uniform,

"I wasn't expecting the shower to go silent on me too" Sayuri wrote on her whiteboard. "Er.. how does it look?" She twirled slightly while she held the whiteboard up for Mari to see.

Well, so much for the 'desperately hiding it' theory, she just outright told me about the shower going silent. Oh well, I'll ask in a minute, but first,

Mari looked at Sayuri contemplatively, taking in her appearance, giving her a cold stare. She then pushed her glasses in an angle that the glare from the light in her room covered her eyes, and walking up to her and cupping Sayuri's face in her hands,

"Sayuri..." she said in an icy voice, pausing before...

"You are the cutest thing to walk on two legs!" Mari stated in a voice full of amusement and emotion. She decided to tease Sayuri a little bit, just to have some fun. "Seriously, the dress looks great on you. You get the patented Mari approval, with two thumbs up!" Mari gave Sayuri a double thumbs up before running to the microwave to start the pizza,

"Now come on, the pizza's gonna be done in five minutes!"

Sayuri smiles happily and sits down on the fold out chair. Her smile fades when she notices the cafe on the TV and she quickly turns the TV off. "Stupid curse" Sayuri's smiled faded as she muttered silently.

Turning to Mari who was getting the pizza out the microwave.
"Say Mari-san do you believe in magic?" Sayuri wrote out tilting her head to the side.

She wasn't sure what her reaction would be as most people believed it was all make believe. Was it a good idea to tell her?

As Sayuri saw the pizza she decided to return to the table to sit down. She could show off her magic later.. the sight of food made her stomach rumble.. silently.