[SS] Project Radio Noise

“I don’t want to help people who are so willing to throw away their lives like that… But… I can’t forgive the bastards who used my DNA for such stupid experiments. You might be willing to give up like that and wallow in your pain, but I… I’m not going to let it end like this.”

Kaede's eyes darkened as silence fell upon her. She remained still on the ground as if she was paralyzed, feeling devastated by Misaka's response. Her intention wasn't ever to give up, nor was it to sulk about the decisions she made. All Kaede wanted was to clear her longed guilt.

All sound around her started to distort out to the point where mumbling was only heard. Kaede felt completely isolated. However, life entered her eyes as she realized Misaka asking a question in anger towards the girl Natsumi.

“Just who do you think I am?”

“...Fine. Do whatever you want ...But you'll cry once you see the true face of the city you love so much. The darkness of this experimental city and what they do to their students. If you're naïve enough to think you're ready to walk on such an unlighted path on your own then, Tokiwadai's Railgun, Misaka Mikoto... So be it.”

Kaede didn't want to see the darkness consume Misaka. She already felt enough pain as it is just from discovering the Sisters being regularly murdered by Accelerator. Kaede hesitated to speak as she opened her mouth,


"Y-you're wrong... the darkness would never get to her if she has someone by her side. Someone who is willing to care for her even in the tightest pinches... There'll always be someone there for her even when it doesn't seem like it..."

She started to roughly cough, spitting out the blood of her own. Her injuries, this guilt, it was all like some sort of consequence she had to pay for creating the sisters. Misaka had her every right to despise her, but Kaede deserved all that hatred.

"Misaka-san... you try to do everything on your own thinking it's your own problem to clean up... But I carry some of that burden too... I need to take the share of that blame... I need to help clean it up... But I don't want to see you suffering like this ... I won't be able to move on knowing that you're furious because of what I did... I want to be able take that away from you... either through your hatred or your forgiveness..."

She recalled the times she tended to her brother when he was young and still mentally unstable. The times she deeply loved him even after that fateful day with her mother. No matter how her brother acted, she still cared for him all together. The same story could be said for the sisters.

"Even if you have the same face as the sisters... even if the time we spent together was so small... even if you hate me..."

She paused as blood dripped down her face before continuing.

"I cherish you... as a little sister of my own... because I care about you just as much as the sisters..."

She raised her head and smiled.

Natsumi rolled her eyes so much that the term itself was an understatement. Following by a sigh, she reflected upon what Kaede had said.

Yet no matter how much she tried, she couldn't understand her mindset.

She had been a lone wolf for as long as she could remember after the death of her parents and the only person who was by her side then was now but a mere stranger to her.

Since her arrival in Academy City, and even some time before that, she had not tried a single time to make friends, nor to have someone by her side and would shove off anyone who tried to get close to her.

By that, Natsumi could not understand Kaede's point and, as usual, shoved it off as childishness.

”...I thought I told you to spare me the sugar-coated emotional bullshit...”

She muttered, exasperated while her gaze went back towards the sky. Though she was not able to see it, this time either.

"So... that's it?" Mari asked,

She was the type of person who loved action, loved violence loved anything that had to do with fighting, and the idea of a simple conversation sounded completely boring to her,

Mack, not being as willing to jmp into combat as her, saw this as the best option. He had no idea when Misaka Mikoto would leave Kaede Faye's side, and knowing her chivalrous nature, she could stay with her in a hospital, after bringing her to one. He simply didn't want Mari taking on a Level 5, not because he thought she'd be beaten, but because it wasn't necessary... and the end results are only guaranteed to be chaotic.

"Well, depending on how it goes, it could be interesting..." Mari said thoughtfully, tilting her masked head,

"That's not what's important," Mack stated, "I don't need to make this interesting, just convincing. I have to convince Kaede Faye to stop pursuing whatever project is going on... and in case things go south, my back up plan for escaping alive requires your help Mari," Mari held up her hands in defeat,

"Fine, fine, I get it, I can't punch anyone....... which sucks, but I still get it." Mari stated, irritated. "Honestly, I could be playing my video games right now, and here I am negotiating..."

"How are you considered mature enough to give any orders?" Mack asked, rhetorically, "Alright, just follow my lead, and if you can, I'd appreciate minimum involvement in the conversation. You can be somewhat... unintentionally antagonistic."

"Sure, whatever," Mari stated

"Alright, You know the drill, voice changers and code names only." Mack reached into his mask to flip a switch, making his normal voice into a much more child-like one, "Ready Pusher?" He said to Mari,

Mari flipped her own switch, changing her voice into gruffer, more boyish voice, "Sure thing, Lighter."

The two of them walked out from behind the containers, and as he started walking toward the three of them, Mack called out to the group of three,

"Excuse me!" Mack stated in his now childish voice, "I hate to bother you, especially after seeing such a horrendous act, but I need to speak with Kaede Faye." He stated, with Mari at his side, crossing her arms, and giving an annoyed air from her body language,

He needed to try and sound reasonable, but at the same time he had to be convincing, "I was sent here because I need to ask that you stop trying to interfere with the experiment. You may call me Lighter," Mack clenched his fist and put it behind his back, "At the very least, would you listen to my explanation as to why you should?"

Mack observed the other two carefully, and than took note of Mari at his side, I really hope I can rely on you, Mack thought to himself.

The last time Natsumi had actually saw stars was actually quite a while ago. In a fashion of when she looks for them, she couldn't find them, yet they were always here when she wasn't paying attention.

As she sighed out of frustration of having the sole thing she could peacefully observe in this city being taken away from her, she turned her gaze to Mikoto. She was still thinking that her way of handling things on her own would only make her waste her own energy, while more Sisters were slaughtered by Accelerator.

"Excuse me!"

Suddenly she heard a voice, a childish one out of nowhere. Her head snapped towards the source of the voice while frowning at the regular figure that didn't fit its voice.

"I hate to bother you, especially after seeing such a horrendous act, but I need to speak with Kaede Faye."

It seemed that Kaede Faye was fairly popular, or at least that's how Natsumi saw the current situation.

"I was sent here because I need to ask that you stop trying to interfere with the experiment. You may call me Lighter, At the very least, would you listen to my explanation as to why you should?"

Despite the fact that she had no more business here, she still opted for listening to what the childish figure had to say, judging it wiser to get any information income possible in this situation.

The 'Sisters' continued to go about their work even as the railyard threatened to erupt into another heated battle. It was as though they were oblivious to the events transpiring around them. This was, of course far from the truth. The Sisters continued to gather data about the area around them constantly. As though each of them were a self contained security drone feeding to a central data bank. So it was only occasionally that the girls lifted their eyes from their respective tasks to survey the ongoing situation.

Welding, moving, repairing and disposing of the remains of the Level 6 Shift experiment. These were their tasks and they performed them with robotic efficiency.

“...Fine. Do whatever you want ..But you'll cry once you see the true face of the city you love so much. The darkness of this experimental city and what they do to their students. If you're naïve enough to think you're ready to walk on such an unlighted path on your own then, Tokiwadai's Railgun, Misaka Mikoto... So be it.”

"….I cherish you... as a little sister of my own... because I care about you just as much as the sisters..."

”...I thought I told you to spare me the sugar-coated emotional bullshit...”

Mikoto stood in silence, locked within herself by her own inner turmoil of emotions. Neither of Kaede and Natsumi’s arguments made any sense to her. It just further proved to the Electromaster that she was alone in this, and that she had to take action in the way she thought was best.

“I don’t care,” Mikoto said stubbornly, “Just don’t interfere both of you.”

"Excuse me!" A childish voice suddenly cried out and Mikoto turned her head towards sound. The edges of her eyes tightened at the sight of two new figures who had appeared. Their forms were shrouded in darkness, and she could barely even make out the outlines of their faces.

"I hate to bother you, especially after seeing such a horrendous act, but I need to speak with Kaede Faye." The childish voice said, "I was sent here because I need to ask that you stop trying to interfere with the experiment. You may call me Lighter. At the very least, would you listen to my explanation as to why you should?"

Mikoto stared. She wanted nothing more than to move away from this place right now, but something about their presence unsettled her. This was connected too, she was sure, to whatever was going on.

'They know about the experiments…
Who are they to say not to interfere with this?! This involves my clones…! My DNA that I donated because of my misguided decision…!'

A burst of anger sparked again, and it took her a few deep breaths to settle herself. With gritted teeth, she took a step forwards with narrowed eyes.

“I don’t know who you are, but you better explain what you mean.”

Both Mack and Mari observed the three of them cautiously. The brown-haired girl looked at them rather indifferently, Kaede seemed to still be registering everything taking place, and Misaka,

Misaka looked mad as Hell, and was struggling to keep a lid on her anger. She needed to take a few breathes simply to calm herself down, and took a single step forward stating angrily,

“I don’t know who you are, but you better explain what you mean.”

Mari noticed this, and decided to take several liesurely steps forward, in front of Mack's way,

Gotta make sure she doesn't try anything funny. If she does, Mack's screwed. Alright, let's try keeping this calm... calm and rational.

"Hey, easy pal, not appreciating the hostility I'm getting from you," Mari held her arms up, Well, I am, but... whatever. Then placing her hands at her sides, "Just because your friend is dead, doesn't mean you should take it out on us. I mean... this is an everyday thing, right? Why are you only mad now?" Mari stated in her gruff voice, putting her arms down.

Oh boy... Mack thought, regretting that Mari knew as much as she did,

"Anyway," Mack said hastily in his childish tone, "I'm only here to speak with Kaede, you two probably aren't actually all that involved in this since I have no need to speak to either of you, so please leave and keep it that way. Trust me," Mack stated as he took off his bag, rummaging through it, going through several weapons and pieces of equipment, and finally finding a photo he managed to get along with Kaede's personal information,

It was a copy of a photo. A very old photo that Kaede would remember well.

In the photo, an eight year old Kaede Faye is smiling innocently, a stark contrast to the broken shell of a woman in front of him. At her side is her brother, Haragi Faye, smiling without a care in the world. Both are flanked by their parents, and the scene in back is that of a cheerful park in a sunny day. All would be right with the photo, if the ink wasn't there.

The ink from the red marker Mack wrote on it with. The one that was used to cross out the Faye Parents faces. The one used to circle Haragi Faye's face.

This should at least shock her, He thought,

Mack spoke again, "Kaede, if you're going to say that you can't be dissuaded from doing this, even if it costs you you're life, well, you'd be lying. When a person's life doesn't matter to them, you just have to find something they care about even more," Mack handed the photo to Mari,

"If you would Pusher,"

"Right," She stated, taking the photo, but stopping to look at it. She then laughed to herself, a loud, open laugh completely out of place laugh given the situation, and with what seemed to be a leisurely throw, tossed the photo to Kaede, letting it land face up in front of her,

Mack looked confusedly at Mari, though it couldn't be soon through his Mack. He told her a bit about Haragi Faye and what he could do, but she had no idea it was the guy who threatened her in an alley before, nor that the same person could have ever smiled so brightly with that bored expression he seemed to keep on no matter what.

"Kaede, you seem like such a polite and caring individual!" Mari said happily, before crossing her arms, her voice turning cold, "How can you seriously be related to such an apathetic asshole?"

Dammit Mari... better start charging, Mack thought to himself, preparing in case he needed to make an early escape.

“I don’t care, Just don’t interfere both of you.”

Misaka coldly exclaimed as if she had been stripped of her emotions. Her words stung Kaede heart, creating a new pain aside from her injuries. She still didn't understand. Kaede's concern for her was nothing meaningful through her eyes. Misaka was willing to burden everything, including Kaede's mistakes. Why would she go that far? At this point, Misaka wouldn't be able to understand, regardless of what others say.

A childish voice called out to the bunch, revealing new individuals entering the scene. Kaede, on her knees, tilted her head upwards to see masked man and female.

"I hate to bother you, especially after seeing such a horrendous act, but I need to speak with Kaede Faye. I was sent here because I need to ask that you stop trying to interfere with the experiment. You may call me Lighter. At the very least, would you listen to my explanation as to why you should?"

The blonde haired girl didn't seemed too surprised if suspicious individuals like them asked for her. At this point, it would seem more and more people were being sent after her for the only reason she could think of. Her knowledge of Level Six Shift and the possible rebellious attempts to completely stop it. It would make sense that the higher ups would send people after her. However, Natsumi only came only because of curiosity. The people present right now felt to be a different case.

They both reeked of a stench that Kaede only could similar describe to her younger brother whenever he came home late for strange reasons. She had a bad feeling about them. They knew of the experiment and came after the research assistant, yet they paid no heed to Misaka or Natsumi. If Kaede continued to go on and continue to interfere with Level Six Shift, she would surely be stopped or even killed by these kinds of individuals. Adding onto the fact that she had a sore spine and ruptured ribcage only to be barely alive by her Blood Control ability. If she didn't get treated soon, she would never be able to keep her promise.

Her head faced the ground as she bit her teeth. She finally spoke, while heavily breathing,

"You've gotta be joking... *pant* I'm not going... to let the sisters get killed so cruelly. *pant* I won't stop until I fulfill my promise to them!"

The man had ignored her, instead rummaged through his bag to take out a photo. Kaede slowly looked up only to have her eyes and mouth widen. It was an old photo of her family. She could remember distinctly it was from London, UK. Before her father's disappearance and her mother's death. And before Haragi changed. Nostalgia stung her as she remembered the innocent little boy who was as carefree as she was. How was he able to manage to get a hold of such an old photo?


The man took out a red marker as well and began to write on the picture. Crossing off her parent's faces, Kaede's face shook in fear in sight of what he did next. A dark red circle was placed around his little brother's face. The sight of her brother's blood made her nauseous. She covered her mouth, with tears coming out of her eyes.

"Kaede, if you're going to say that you can't be dissuaded from doing this, even if it costs you you're life, well, you'd be lying. When a person's life doesn't matter to them, you just have to find something they care about even more."

They were planning to go after her brother if she continued to do what she was doing. They know she didn't want her brother involved with something dangerous as this. They found out her weakness and they were going to use it to it's fullest. However, she raised her head after hearing laughter coming from the girl.

"Kaede, you seem like such a polite and caring individual! How can you seriously be related to such an apathetic asshole?"

As Kaede heard this, she immediately retorted.

"That's enough! *tears* You don't understand what he's been through.. *tears* Through his whole life, he was living through regret... and yet he still wants to live....  I can't even bare the thought of how much pain he's been in ever since that day.... but he's done nothing wrong to you people... I'm the one you're after... so why go after him?!.. *sniffs*"

Kaede's only option to keep her brother safe was to give it all up. Give up on stopping Level Six Shift. Give up on saving the Sisters. And give up on her promise. Her mind shook, recalling a piece of the past.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

12 years ago, she remembered her mother, well and alive, within the kitchen along side her. Both were helping each other with making dinner. Kaede was chopping away at the cucumber, while her mother was stirring the pot containing chicken curry.

"Mom, don't forget to make some room for Dad. He's coming home early today!"

Hanaka Faye smiled, while noticing that she was already finished cutting the cucumbers and even the lettuce.

"Kaede-chan, you're getting pretty good at this. I'm impressed. This means you'll be looking after others sooner than I expected with how you're maturing."

Kaede pointed her finger to her mouth in confusion.

"You mean Dad and Haragi?"

Hanaka paused for a moment, thinking about her question.

"Especially them. But they're will be others."

"Who else is there?"

"Well, that's up to you."

The elder woman started to chuckle. Though she continued talking,

"You'll begin to understand better once your older. There'll be others you'll meet. And once you're friends with them, it'll start to make sense to you. "

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Kaede was too young to understand what her mother meant back then. She was probably teasing her for having no friends. But after remembering this, she began to realize it. The meaning behind her mother's words, even if unintentional. Kaede wasn't able to break her promise. Nor did she want Haragi to be in danger. She didn't want to involve Misaka to suffer while carrying this burden either. But at the same time, she would lose that all if she continued on like this. That's when she realized what she had to do. The only one true path she could take to achieve all of that.

"I'm.. not going to break my promise... nor I'm going to let you hurt my little brother. I'll stop this experiment until I have my last breath!"

She regained enough energy to use her Blood Control. Blood flow was focused on her injuries, creating artificial limb-like structures to suppress her pain. She stood up, shaking hesitantly due to the temporary effects of her Esper Ability and the excess pain from her injuries even after Blood Supression. Reaching for her back pocket, a small, but shiny pink USB was brought out. She had enough strength to whip it towards Misaka.

"Misaka-san... Forgive me for what that I did. Using your DNA without permission. Creating the Sisters. And even forcing you to feel horrible because of it. I share that pain because I was the cause of it... In that USB, carries my hopes and promises for stopping this experiment. I entrust you with it.. I believe I'll be able to help you end your suffering that way but it won't be enough to apologize. But... I'm not about to let people like them take that opportunity away from me! If you ever do see my little brother again... Tell him that my only wish was to see the people I care about alive and well. So go Misaka-san! Help the sisters not only for their sake... but for mine!"

She lifted her arms to the side against the shady individuals, only for Misaka to be able to escape with the USB stick that contained everything she needed to know to stop Level Six Shift.

"Hey, easy pal, not appreciating the hostility I'm getting from you, Just because your friend is dead, doesn't mean you should take it out on us. I mean... this is an everyday thing, right? Why are you only mad now?"

Sparks furiously leapt from Mikoto’s forehead as her jaws clenched audibly. The blue arcs danced angrily along the length of her hair, rippling in sync with her charged-up emotions.

“Are you… seriously asking me that?!” Mikoto could barely keep the fury out of her voice as she glared at the figure who had spoken.

"Anyway," The other figure with the childish voice quickly stepped in, "I'm only here to speak with Kaede, you two probably aren't actually all that involved in this since I have no need to speak to either of you, so please leave and keep it that way. Trust me,"

Mikoto’s fingers curled into trembling fists.
Trust? That was exactly what her lead to this situation years ago…
And to say that she wasn’t actually involved in this? How dare he?!

She opened her mouth to give the two figures a piece of her mind, but they had already turned away from her to face Kaede. She faltered, wondering what they were showing the woman to make her look so frightened. Mikoto shifted slightly to the side, trying to take a glimpse of the object, but it was hidden away from her view, in the darkness.

"Kaede, if you're going to say that you can't be dissuaded from doing this, even if it costs you you're life, well, you'd be lying. When a person's life doesn't matter to them, you just have to find something they care about even more.”

A sudden burst of laughter made Mikoto’s heart freeze, and made her turn to the one who had mocked the Sister’s death earlier with a glare.

"Kaede, you seem like such a polite and caring individual! How can you seriously be related to such an apathetic asshole?"

‘Are they referring to… Haragi?’ Mikoto frowned, the image of the cryptic guy she had met earlier returning in her mind. She didn’t know the details of this situation, but it sounded like Kaede was being blackmailed, and it involved her brother.

"That's enough! *tears* You don't understand what he's been through.. *tears* Through his whole life, he was living through regret... and yet he still wants to live.... I can't even bare the thought of how much pain he's been in ever since that day.... but he's done nothing wrong to you people... I'm the one you're after... so why go after him?!.. I'm.. not going to break my promise... nor I'm going to let you hurt my little brother. I'll stop this experiment until I have my last breath!"

“Faye-san…” Mikoto whispered. The woman was terribly injured, almost on the verge of death, but still she was fighting with all she had. There was no need for her to blame herself, and yet…

Something flew in her direction and Mikoto caught it on reflex. Surprised, Mikoto glanced down at her hands, finding a USB there.

"Misaka-san... Forgive me for what that I did. Using your DNA without permission. Creating the Sisters. And even forcing you to feel horrible because of it. I share that pain because I was the cause of it... In that USB, carries my hopes and promises for stopping this experiment. I entrust you with it.. I believe I'll be able to help you end your suffering that way but it won't be enough to apologize. But... I'm not about to let people like them take that opportunity away from me! If you ever do see my little brother again... Tell him that my only wish was to see the people I care about alive and well. So go Misaka-san! Help the sisters not only for their sake... but for mine!"

A hand clenched around the USB tightly as Mikoto gritted her teeth. A fresh surge of determination and anger flowed at Kaede’s words, and a sense of responsibility to the extent she had never felt before became raw upon her mind. Kaede thought she could never be forgiven for the creation of the Sisters… And Mikoto knew too, that her own sins would never be erased no matter what. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to sit back and do nothing. That resolve had always been there, the moment she had watched the clone die tonight.

She tucked the USB into her skirt pocket, looking into Kaede’s eyes.

“I will.”

The two simple words rang with promises that could not be broken. It was an oath, a vow, bound for life.

She was never going to let anything slide aside. She was never going to turn a blind eye. Not ever again. And that was starting from now.

As Kaede raised her arms, Mikoto stepped forward.

“No,” the Electromaster said. Her eyes were fixed on the two strangers now, thin tendrils of electricity erupting from her hair in angry bursts of bright blue.

“If you’re thinking of taking her, you’re going to have to get through me first.”

“As you wish.”

She muttered one lie when Mikoto told both Natsumi and Kaede to not interfere.

The lie came from the fact that she was going to get involved regardless of what Mikoto said, should Miyako give her the order to do so. Her main purpose for being in Academy City was freezing any kind of weird projects, and the Level 6 Shift was weird enough to fill Miyako's criterias.

"Hey, easy pal, not appreciating the hostility I'm getting from you, Just because your friend is dead, doesn't mean you should take it out on us. I mean... this is an everyday thing, right? Why are you only mad now?"

“Are you… seriously asking me that?!”

Despite the fact that what the figure had said was quite horrible to say to a person who witnessed this experiment, Natsumi could not disagree with the fact that it was an everyday thing. The experiments had probably ran for enough time for it to become Accelerator's routine. That was what Natsumi thought.

"Anyway, I'm only here to speak with Kaede, you two probably aren't actually all that involved in this since I have no need to speak to either of you, so please leave and keep it that way. Trust me,"

“Heh. Trusting someone who just arrived and who could be the living definition of suspicious.”

She had said it in an ironic tone, though frankly she didn't give a damn for what the figures wanted. The income of informations was all that mattered to her at the moment, and she was not displeased at the view of the picture one of the figures had handed out.

It seemed to be a family photo of the Fayes, though the carefree attitude of the kids was simply horrifying her.

Natsumi could've sworn Kaede had said something, but she accidentally ignored her while focusing on the figures.

"Kaede, if you're going to say that you can't be dissuaded from doing this, even if it costs you you're life, well, you'd be lying. When a person's life doesn't matter to them, you just have to find something they care about even more,"

She observed the photo from a safe distance, not willing to get too close to the figures.

"Kaede, you seem like such a polite and caring individual! How can you seriously be related to such an apathetic asshole?"

(Related. As expected, that was Haragi Faye huh... It seems like I'm going to be able to bite off a bit more than what I managed to earlier.)

As Kaede answered, Natsumi took a photo of the two figures regardless of their masks.

"That's enough! *tears* You don't understand what he's been through.. *tears* Through his whole life, he was living through regret... and yet he still wants to live....  I can't even bare the thought of how much pain he's been in ever since that day.... but he's done nothing wrong to you people... I'm the one you're after... so why go after him?!.. *sniffs*"

She didn't know if Haragi was affiliated with the dark side of Academy City, but something in those words was hinting her greatly that he was.

"I'm.. not going to break my promise... nor I'm going to let you hurt my little brother. I'll stop this experiment until I have my last breath! Misaka-san... Forgive me for what that I did. Using your DNA without permission. Creating the Sisters. And even forcing you to feel horrible because of it. I share that pain because I was the cause of it... In that USB, carries my hopes and promises for stopping this experiment. I entrust you with it.. I believe I'll be able to help you end your suffering that way but it won't be enough to apologize. But... I'm not about to let people like them take that opportunity away from me! If you ever do see my little brother again... Tell him that my only wish was to see the people I care about alive and well. So go Misaka-san! Help the sisters not only for their sake... but for mine!"

“I will. No, If you’re thinking of taking her, you’re going to have to get through me first.”

Natsumi brought a hand to her head in an attempt to calm the headache that was currently running due to Mikoto and Kaede's corny discussion that felt like it was out of an anime to her. She doubted whenever Mikoto had any idea of how the dark side could handle things. Though she couldn't guarantee that the figures were from the dark side.

At this point she had gotten impatient of this night ending, she wanted to leave this place as soon as possible to reflect on what she should do from here onwards.

“I will. No, If you’re thinking of taking her, you’re going to have to get through me first.” Mari and Mack looked at each other for a moment, and Mack sighed audibly,

"You seem to be misunderstanding. I'm only here to ensure that Kaede doesn't interfere with the experiments anymore. I wasn't threatening her brother, so much as i was pointing out a fact. You're a hindrance, but still useful as you are Kaede, so it only makes sense they'd harm someone you cared about. If I get your word that you won't interfere anymore, than the chances of anything happening to your brother because of your actions drops considerably," Mack stated, "But... your actions don't seem like something that would place him in danger,"

Mari chuckled to herself and said, "I mean, the way you put it, it seems like you don't know: your little bro threatened my life earlier when we were in an alley alone. And I didn't do anything to bother him. He just walked up and threatened to murder me outright if I couldn't prove I was an esper, for some reason. Didn't care about me, about the innocent bystanders who would probably be traumatized by my torn up body, or even a lick of concern for for the ones who would have to clean me up," Mari stated factually, as if she were mentioning the weather, mumbling "They've got enough work to do at night..." to herself while rubbing the back of her head,

Mack than stepped forward, and spoke to Kaede, "Speaking of placing people in danger... I sincerely hope you're making the right decision giving that information to Misaka. I have no reason to be concerned with what she does, but I don't think you should be placing her in danger... after all, if a strong esper like Misaka can handle it, than someone powerful like your brother should be able to as well. What does that say about the danger of this mission? Risking Misaka's life over his?" Mari then jumped in front of Mack,

"Yeah, it's super dangerous! There's all sorts of thugs, murderers, super dangerous espers, and even magicians! Freakin' magicians!" Mari stated, getting a little too excited, "You can't run off and let yourself get killed, I won't get to fight you than! I mean..." How do I get my point across...

"Um, Pusher, could you calm down, I don't think-"

"Aha!" Mari suddenly kicked her leg into the air, and Mack backed up quickly, "Look at ME!!!" and than slammed her foot into the ground just as quickly.

A normal person's kick wouldn't have any noticeable effect.

Mari's kick was far from normal, it had a large amount of force being expelled from it.

The ground beneath her caved in on itself, sinking downward creating a crater. The crashes and crunches of the earth below could be heard clearly, and the results could be seen as rocks started flying about, along with the dust thrown into the air from the sheer force of the kick. The shock wave from the force, could be felt all across the railyard, shaking the balance of everyone nearby. The only reason Mack maintained his own balance was because he was used to Mari's ability.

"Damn it, Pusher... a little more warning would be appreciated..." Mack stated,

Mari just casually hopped out of the crater, without a care in the world, and gave him a sheepish "Sorry" before turning back to the others,

"You see, something like this is as easy as breathing for me, and even I'm careful around scary folks like Accelerator." Mari said, than clapped her hands, "Back on topic, how about your word that you won't interfere anymore, okay Kaede?" It's hard to tell what was scarier about Mari right now,

Her raw power, or how casual she is about displaying it.

Kita raced up the stairs in her dorm, tripping on the last step but still able to keep her balance.
As she raced past a few doors she stopped and walked back to a doorway.

Knocking on the door a few times Kita expected Ami to open it, but instead she was greeted by a small child who looked up at her with innocent eyes.
"Erm.. hello there?" Kita responded confused.
"Come in Kita-san" Ami called from further in the room.  Kita let herself in and walked past the child.
"I got your text, sorry I was out doing some quick shopping"
Ami was sitting down at her desk and as Kita came further into the room she gave her a brief glance as if to tell her she was lying.
"You gotta work on your lies"
Kita sighs.  "Alright, I was investigating what was going on at Misawa Cram School after that little fight I had with the bunch of skill-outs" Kita said honestly.

Ami stood up from her desk and gestured her hand towards the younger girl.
"This is my little sister Sayuri"
"Its nice to meet you Sayuri-san"
Sayuri responded with a curtsy instead of replying.
"Shes mute"
"Oh er.. okay, I thought you phoned her before?"
Ami paused for a moment.  "Yes I did.  She wasn't always mute and that's why I need you help"

"Don't worry Sayuri-san.. we'll have you talking in no time" She said grinning as she put her two fingers out ready to tickle Sayuri.

She didn't get time to escape as Kita quickly went over to tickle her.  
She began laughing silently and Kita stopped letting Sayuri fall to the floor finish laughing silently.
"Huh..?" 
Kita wasn't sure what to say but she could tell something weird was up.
"She doesn't make any sound at all any more and I'm not entirely sure of the details myself"

Kita say on Ami's bed and let Sayuri sit down next to her.  She could already tell that this wasn't going to a quite week for her.

DarkOnistar wrote:Story about Sayuri continues here: https://academycity.forumotion.co.uk/t231-ss-reflections#2619

"Just shut up...."

Her hair covered her eyes as she trembled when speaking. Everything these two individuals had told her was devastating as it is. But she had already decided. She would take the brunt of the responsibility and face her consequences after because of it. She would fight till her last breath to stop anyone she cared about from getting harmed. However, hearing the fact that her little brother threatened to kill the girl in front of her was unbelievable. Kaede couldn't imagine Haragi brutally murdering someone without consent. She knows that he changed his ways from that day.

"Stop feeding me lies! Though he may have threatened you for whatever reason he had... but he would never carelessly kill someone. He's not like that at all on the inside... I know him... so don't go telling me he doesn't care... otherwise he would suffer only more....."

Kaede strongly expressed her brother's situation. But yet they still judged him. It would all stop if she gave up pursuing the shutdown of Level Six Shift. However, if she did give up she would never forgive herself. She would have to live with that regret for the rest of her life. It was something much worse than dying to protect those she cares about.

"You people just don't understand..... I made my decision a long time ago... I will look after the people I care about... and that includes the Sisters. I'm not going to let them die as lab rats!"

Kaede coughed out blood, realizing she was exhausting her Blood Control ability. Her artificial blood clotting would soon diminish leaving herself crippled once more or even death. She knew time was running out. She smiled as she averted her focus on Misaka.

"Misaka-san... I'm truly happy that you came for me... but I'll handle them. I'll prove to you... that I care about you and the sisters. That USB key contains information I've gathered information for the past few days and analyzed the weakpoints of Level Six Shift. But there isn't much time to be dawdling around if the weakpoints are still active... I won't be able to move in 10 minutes... So please, let me do my part and take my share of the responsibility. I won't let them stop me."

As Mack spoke, blue sparks of electricity zapped from Mikoto’s hair, sizzling restlessly in the cold night atmosphere.

"… Speaking of placing people in danger... I sincerely hope you're making the right decision giving that information to Misaka. I have no reason to be concerned with what she does, but I don't think you should be placing her in danger... after all, if a strong esper like Misaka can handle it, than someone powerful like your brother should be able to as well. What does that say about the danger of this mission? Risking Misaka's life over his?"

Mikoto’s eyes narrowed at Mack’s implications. Her hand clenched around the USB residing deep within her skirt pocket.

"Yeah, it's super dangerous!” The other masked figure suddenly piped in excitedly. “There's all sorts of thugs, murderers, super dangerous espers, and even magicians! Freakin' magicians! You can't run off and let yourself get killed, I won't get to fight you than! I mean..."

"Um, Pusher, could you calm down, I don't think-"

"Aha! Look at ME!!!"

“?!”

Everything suddenly swayed as the overly-enthusiastic figure abruptly unleashed a stomp on the ground which produced an unnatural force that threw Mikoto’s sense of balance off. She stumbled a bit, but managed to hold her footing. The lightning escaping from her hair burst forth with more ferocity.

"Damn it, Pusher... a little more warning would be appreciated..."

"Sorry. You see, something like this is as easy as breathing for me, and even I'm careful around scary folks like Accelerator."

The figure clapped their hands.

“Back on topic, how about your word that you won't interfere anymore, okay Kaede?"

The blonde woman surprised Mikoto with her answer.

"Just shut up...."

Mikoto stood with widened eyes as Kaede defended herself, her brother, and the clones fiercely.

"Misaka-san... I'm truly happy that you came for me... but I'll handle them. I'll prove to you... that I care about you and the sisters. That USB key contains information I've gathered information for the past few days and analyzed the weakpoints of Level Six Shift. But there isn't much time to be dawdling around if the weakpoints are still active... I won't be able to move in 10 minutes... So please, let me do my part and take my share of the responsibility. I won't let them stop me."

Mikoto froze, uncertain of what to do.

Kaede was asking her to trust her, to let her share some of the burden...

But it wasn’t the matter of trust right now; Kaede had already clearly proven whose side she was on.

Even on the verge of death…

Mikoto’s teeth grinded.

‘Why am I even hesitating? Hadn’t I already promised myself I wouldn't let anything else slide by?’

She had no desire to see another person die because of her poor decisions.

“Sorry…” She averted her eyes away from Kaede, knowing that the woman would probably hate her for stubbornly going against her wishes like this. “But I can’t let this go.”

She turned to the strangers with a glare.

“I still don’t know who the heck you are…”

All of the frustrations, anger and pain that had built up during the night began to leak out through her powers. Each spark of blue sizzled violently with her fury, growing like wildly twirling cobwebs as she let loose her pent-up emotions with a roar.

“But you’re the ones who should stop interfering!!!”

The blue threads joined together like wisps of a tornado, spiraling into a giant bolt of crackling electricity. The power rushed towards the hooded pair recklessly, seeking injury with the vengeance of a demon. Mikoto immediately moved towards Kaede, planning to move her out of harm's way while the two were distracted.

"Tch."

At the turn of events, it seemed as if a fight would break down. On a defensive attitude, Natsumi used her ability to blast herself upwards and back-flipped in mid-air to spot and land on a nearby container.

Following that, out of mere boredom she talked with a strong voice to make sure everyone could hear her.

"Are you guys done with the melodrama already? I was under the assumption that one party was going to get busy enough with the Sisters while the other was doing whatever the fuck they wanted to do with Faye."

She looked around at everyone on the scene with a condemning glare and spoke with a dangerous tone.

"If you don't have any bloody reason to keep this going then don't fucking do it."

Her mood was considerably sour with the day she had just spent. She didn't have a feeling that it would get better over the next days, it was pretty much the opposite. Knowing her luck, she didn't want to risk playing dare-devil and get into a fight involving suspicious persons and the Railgun.

Mari watched as the brown-haired girl hopped up onto a crate, , and started yelling at them, probably annoyed by the commotion Mari caused,

"If you don't have any bloody reason to keep this going then don't fucking do it."

"The same could be said with you and your swearing." Mack called out, otherwise ignoring her, and noticed Kaede talking with Misaka, who looked all but enraged. The sparks coming off of her were only increasing as they spoke,

"Lighter," Mari stated. Her calm demeanor gave off an aura of boredom. The emotional moment Kaede was having, and the rage of a Level 5 meant little to her,

"Yes Pusher," Mack stated in response, his own relaxed voice caused by his lack of expressed emotions. Inside, he was anxious, but mainly because he felt bad for the two in front of him,

Not sympathy though.

Pity. Pity for a very futile looking effort... mixed in with a bit of curiosity towards the brown haired girl.

"I don't think this is working," I usually don't hate it when she's right, "Plus Misaka seems pretty peeved at us. Should I try taking her on?"

Mack sighed, and held out his clenched fist, preparing himself for whatever may come. "No Mari, I'm afraid not. We need to get away and make sure none of these people can follow us. Ready to help?"

"Sorry... but I can't let this go," The two of them noticed Misaka saying to Kaede,

Ugh, God, am I supposed to take this seriously? And Mack was worried that we were going to be over dramatic. Mari thought, casually walking to Mack's side,

"This sucks, I can't even fight my first level 5..." Mari stated dejectedly,

“I still don’t know who the heck you are…” Because we totally want you to know who we are, Mari thought sarcastically, getting ready to use her powers, watching as the sparks coming off of Misaka's increased, turning to lightning,

"Ready?"

"Just don't break me in half," Mack stated,

“But you’re the ones who should stop interfering!!!”

As soon as Misaka had shouted that, Mari had jumped to the left, grabbing Mack by the torso, pulling out of the way of Misaka's lightning.

"Woah, nice!"

"Focus!" Mack said, as he held out his fist, unleashing his own ability. His Sting Glow allowed him to absorb light, and than release it, which was useful for creating bright flashes meant o blind people.

Such as the flash used to allow the two of the to escape. It was brief, but bright enough to blind everyone in the area.

Thankfully, Mari knew what to to next,

She increased her speed, slower than usual so as to not harm Mack, and than used her ability to quickly leap onto one of the containers onto the railyard, then repeat the process, this time going onto one of the lower buildings, continuing to hop away until the two of them were far away enough. After using her ability and body movements to make some counteractive force to lessen the impact, she landed on a rooftop a few miles away from the area.

Mari let go of Mack, who took a moment to stretch, "Well, that went better than the first few times. I don't have anything broken like the others."

Mari sighed, "You're never gonna let me live that down, are you?" She asked, smiling underneath her mask, which turned back into a frown as she looked at the city. More specifically at the railyard, "So, what now?"

"Well..." Mack thought for a moment, "It depends on what happens. Kaede would need to be taken to a hospital as soon as possible. Than Mack had an idea,

He still had his ally who brought him to the railyard,

"Kyou drove me here... maybe he can do me another favor." Mack thought out loud, and Mari took off her mask, giving Mack a surprised look,

"Really? You've been having him drive you around? How come he never does stuff like that for me?"

Mack took out his phone, and dialed a number, "I'll call him and ask him to give them some help as a 'random bystander'," Mack said, speaking as if Mari hadn't said anything.

As Mack started speaking into the phone, Mari gave him an annoyed look, "Well, whatever. Can I get going or..." Mack nodded no as he started talking, and Mari sighed.

"Hey Kyou, can you do me another favor?"

---

In a car outside of the railyard, about a block away, the large man named Kyou nodded as he spoke,

"Mmhmm... Sure... no problem," He said, listening to what needed to be done, "Of course I know. And don't apologize, I'd help you even if I didn't need to." The man closed his phone, and buckled his seat belt, muttering complaints to himself, as he fastened his seat belt,

"Keeping me waiting for like, twenty minutes... couldn't even get things done... and now I have a Level 5 esper to worry about..." Kyou shifted his car into drive, pressing his foot against the breaks, "...freakin' perfect..." He took a deep breath to prepare himself, "Alright, let's get this over with." Kyou slammed his accelerator, shifting back as his car sped forward,

Than, with just as much urgency, he smashed the breaks down, and turned the wheel so that his wheels started screeching from the friction between it and the road. Kyou calmly walked out of the car, inspecting the skid marks near his tires, bending his large body down. He scratched his bald head as he thought,

Looks authentic enough o be real, Kyou thought, and than made a mad dash into the railyard, going through the crates, From where I saw it, the three of them should be... there!

Kyou though, as he saw Misaka tending to Kaede. He than started calling out, "Excuse me, what's going on?!" Kyou said, doing his best to sound surprised. He managed to make it seem like he was doing a very poor job of being calm, "I saw some sort of lightning from outside, is someone hurt-" Koyu stopped in his tracks as he got close, noticing Misaka's hostility,

Well, Mari and Mack aren't exactly the most sociable types, it's understandable, Kyou thought, pretending to be shocked from seeing Kaede. She looks nearly dead already. Better make sure it stays at 'nearly'.

"My God... is she alright?! What happened-how-?!" Kyou shook his head, "Never mind, we need to get her to a hospital. Even someone like me can see how blood she's lost," Kyou said, referring to Kaede's pale complexion, and held his hands up as a sign that he had no ill intentions, "Please, let me help her, I have a car right outside this place."

I really hope I'm being convincing...

Seeing that Mack had ignored what she had said about all the melodrama, she ignored Mack as well.

While watching the two figures evade Misaka's lightning, probably thanks to the ability of one of the figures, she tried to pull her cellphone out of her skirt pocket only to be greeted by a blinding light.

(Damn them..)

By the time she regained sight, the two of them had already left the scene. As such, Natsumi said one last thing to Mikoto in a high voice for her to hear before leaving.

"Dunno how you're going to try to halt the experiments, but let me warn you right now. You're going to end up searching for your own salvation once you realise you can't do anything about these experiments on your own."

She had a feeling she already knew what Mikoto and the near-death Kaede would answer to her so she didn't wait for an answer from the both of them. Instead she decided to leave by using her ability in the same way as earlier to jump off a few containers while taking care to not destroy any by doing so.

At some point, she had jumped off a final container and switched to walking as to not exhaust herself more than she'd wish. She could've sworn she heard a car near the railyard but didn't give any attention to it as she was already on her way back.

---

As she got near the 7th District, she remembered what she tried to do earlier before being blinded. She successfully pulled her cellphone out of her skirt pocket this time and sent a message containing the report before calling Miyako.

"I thought you said you weren't going to report tonight?"

"Changed my mind, I have some time. I also need to think about what happened."

In fact, she had planned on not sleeping this night, or barely at the very least. She figured she had to think about the experiments, considering she had not wanted to rush any of her decisions in regards to it.

"So, what are you going to do?"

"..."

She kept it silent, trying to gather her thoughts and thinking about her answer while walking.

"From reading what you said, I'd tell you to investigate more and then attempt to stop the experiments."

"Didn't you say it was a free-to-deal-with mission?"

"I may have changed my thoughts with how dangerous it sounds from what you told me tonight. Don't forget that the main reason you're in DAWN is principally to stop these kinds of experiments. How you do it is none of my concern as long as you successfully do it without causing any third-party problems." Natsumi thought she was done talking, but she quickly continued before Natsumi could say something. "But let me guess, you want to continue observing for a little while before deciding if you'll intervene with the experiments or not, and possibly find someone to snap Misaka Mikoto out of it?"

"You're a sharp one."

"Got any ideas?"

"Not really..."

She thought about it while resting her back on a nearby tree. She didn't know Mikoto well enough to know about her surroundings, so there were only two persons coming to her mind: Shirai Kuroko and Guy Li, but both were a no-go to her.

The former, Shirai Kuroko, was Mikoto's roommate and close friend. However, this was the only thing she knew about their relationship, as such she did not find it wise to choose her. There was also the fact that she had never spoken to Shirai so she didn't know if Shirai would believe her even if she did end up telling her.

The latter, Guy Li, was Mikoto's English teacher. While she was not aware of the relationship between the two, she always knew about Guy more than Shirai. The problem was her uncanny dislike for him. She preferred having to deal with the experiments herself rather than ask him.

"Guess I'll have to forget about that, at least for now. I'm hanging up."

Blood Control was over exhausted causing Kaede to feel the ground once more. Her breathing became irregular this time, as her eyes were half open. The two individuals after Kaede were gone thanks to Misaka Mikoto but that didn't change the fact time was running out. She weakly spoke,

"You're so stubborn, haha... defending me like that... when I'm the one who told you to let me handle things..."

She slowly pursed her lips, weakly smiling as she drew tears of happiness.

"Thank you..."

Even though she spent little time with Misaka Mikoto, she understood her pain and shared it.

Her life was on a short rope at this moment, and she would surely die if she used her esper ability once more for her own body. Judging by her irregular blood flow, at best she would only have a few moments before the worst would come.

"Misaka... I need to be quick.. That USB you have, tells you everything about Level Six Shift from Amai Ao's perspective. The location of the facilities-"

Kaede was interrupted by her own coughing, spitting out excess blood from her ruptured rib. But she still continued.

"-are also there... I've already reached my limit... listen carefully... my last request is for the sisters to be safe..."

Her mind drew images of the ones she cared for. First of her friends and parents, then of the 20,000 sisters. Lastly the two silhouettes of certain individual stood side by side. One faced away with his arms crossed and expression taken away, and the other one was of a girl afraid of what the darkness offered. She watched as the two figures slowly fade away.

"Mom... did I make the right decision?"

Her eyes fully closed as the blood pool expanded beneath her. She fell into deep sleep, with her last breath taken and her smile still.

“Damn, it missed?!!”

Sparks immediately gathered around Mikoto’s bangs when a bright light unexpectedly exploded in front of her eyes. She staggered back in surprise, her hands flying to cover her face. It was already too late though; no matter how much she blinked, her sight was gone.

“Dammit!” She sensed them escaping via her electroperception, but by the time she got her bearings, they were already gone. It was too risky to chase them in the darkness like this, and Mikoto knew Kaede needed attention.

She stumbled towards where she believed Kaede was, unable to see a thing.

"Dunno how you're going to try to halt the experiments, but let me warn you right now. You're going to end up searching for your own salvation once you realise you can't do anything about these experiments on your own."

Mikoto ignored Natsumi’s last words as she felt her presence leave the area. She knelt down next to Kaede, blinking furiously as her sight slowly began to return.

Her blood chilled as Kaede’s near death state greeted her. She hurriedly blinked away the tears that threatened to spill.

"You're so stubborn, haha... defending me like that... when I'm the one who told you to let me handle things... Thank you..."

Mikoto's throat tightened, unable to comprehend why the woman was even thanking her. That was the last thing she deserved right now…

"Misaka... I need to be quick.. That USB you have, tells you everything about Level Six Shift from Amai Ao's perspective. The location of the facilities-" She cought violently, and Mikoto flinched as a spurt of blood flew from between her lips. She was obviously in agony, but still continued to speak.

"-are also there... I've already reached my limit... listen carefully... my last request is for the sisters to be safe..."

Mikoto’s breath hitched as Kaede’s eyes closed.

“No…”

‘She can’t be dead… She can’t be dead… She can’t be dead…’

‘It’s all my fault… My fault…’

Mikoto’s trembling fingers moved to Kaede’s cold neck, fumbling for a pulse. She let out a breath she didn’t even know she had been holding.

‘She’s still alive!’

Hope flared. Mikoto spurred into action, putting Kaede’s limp arm gently around her neck to hoist her up. She had to get her to the hospital as fast as possible.

"Excuse me, what's going on?!"

Mikoto immediately tensed at the new voice, spinning around with a glare into the darkness. A shadowy outline of a new figure could be seen, who stopped in his tracks as he approached.

"I saw some sort of lightning from outside, is someone hurt-"

He trailed off as his eyes fell on Kaede, looking shocked.

"My God... is she alright?! What happened-how-?!"

The stranger shook his head. "Never mind, we need to get her to a hospital. Even someone like me can see how blood she's lost.” He put up his hands in a friendly gesture. “Please, let me help her, I have a car right outside this place."

Mikoto hesitated, wondering if he could trust him. She wanted to ask him what he was even doing in this area all alone at this time of the night. It was suspicious to say the least. But right now, Kaede was first priority, and the woman was slipping away with every second lost.

Mikoto gave a short nod.

“Thanks, she needs all the help she can get right now.”

She resumed her attempt to move Kaede. The woman's blood soaked through Mikoto's own uniform, and Mikoto shivered at the thought of its symbolic nature. Shaking her head, the Electromaster drove the shadowy thoughts out of her mind and turned to focus on the task at hand.

This would be easier now with an extra pair of hands.

“Where’s the car?” Mikoto asked him urgently. There was no time to exchange proper introductions; there would be time for that later.

Raymond Dean prided himself in having the common sense that most people he worked with lacked. He wasn't a social butterfly, but he had a good grasp of what was considered normal, and even knew when things that were necessary had to be done.

Things he prefered not to do..

So, he was pretty surprised to learn that his superior, the second in command Mack had called him for help in talking with a young woman known as Kaede Faye. He was given the details about her, and barely had any time t memorize the information he was told, about he, her brother, their powers, her parents, and even the most absurd thing of all: Accelerator's involvement.

Dammit, I hate working for them enough. Now I'm even doing freakin' overtime! Not to mention that stupid package Mack forced me to bring to this girl.  He thought grumpily. Some people went to work not only for monetary gain, but with the joy of seeing his fellow co-workers.

Raymond wasn't that kind... well, he tried not to be at least.

Raymond walked through the hospital doors as they slid open for him, hands in his mostly empty pockets, not counting his disposable cell phone. He brought his black backpack with him, but only with the package inside. He couldn't have anything suspicious on him in case Kaede did anything stupid and got him caught.

As he walked through the halls, he saw who he was looking for, taking a moment to compose himself before walking up to him. Most members of Deep-Six were pretty off, but all had a rhyme to their reason once you get to know them a bit. Kyou was the stern type who didn't tolerate tomfoolery. Raymond had heard about his ability and knew that he had to keep himself from giving Kyou any snide comments.

This guy's way more intimidating than Mari... than again, she doesn't really bother to act intimidating around everyone unless it's during work.

Raymond walks by him as he sits next to the door to Kaede's room, reading a magazine. From what I was told, he drove her and the Railgun here after Mack and Mari's failure, and decided to keep an eye on Kaede, acting as a good samaritan, while the Electromaster herself hightailed it out of here. Apparently she's just waking up.

Kyou looks up at him briefly, and looks back down, hiding a very subtle nod. He knows what's going on, and about several other members wandering on the outside in case things go awry.

Raymond quickly slip into the room, removing my hood, wincing as the light hits his eyes. He ignored the black ponytail coming out of his hood, and casually take a seat next to Kaede, ignoring her for a moment,  and just thinking about how he should approach this situation,

He pours himself a glass of water from a pitcher and glass on a nightstand in her room, probably brought by a nurse, and immediately spit the water onto the floor.

It's warm! Dammit, I hate warm water! Raymond starts grumbling to himself as he pours another glass, this time using his ability to cool it.

One of the more unorthodox uses of his Frost Crunch ability.

He finally takes a look at Kaede, and decides to just be blunt about it,

"So, you're not planning to confront Accelerator again, are you?" Raymond may have supposedly had more common sense than other members, but he was lacking severely in the conversational skills department.

Kaede Faye slowly opened her eyes finding herself within a hospital bed. She attempted to get up only to find herself in severe pain the sides of her chest area. In thought, she asked herself,

"What... happened?"

She had felt like she had just woke up from a nightmare. But that didn't explain why she felt like she was severely wounded. Her eyes wandered off into space as the recollection of her memories only led to her to remember the murder of a certain girl she cared for and eventually the events surrounding it.

She felt at grief for a few moments before she realized that she entrusted Misaka Mikoto with her USB. She left her with stopping Level Six Shift from progressing. But even still, Kaede felt as if she would be able to help rather than just lie in bed. Otherwise her nightmare will continue until something was done.

Blood Control was active once again for a short while due to her rest. If she is able to use Blood Control to be able to move, she can escape the hospital and save the sister participating in the next experiment. While thinking so, she was to remove all the medical equipment attached to her until someone had entered the room. Her vision was a bit hazy, but it was clear enough to see a hooded boy. The only person who could possibly visit her now was...

"H-haragi?"

Her mind shattered as the hood came off to see someone she never seen before. He casually walked inside and sat down minding his own business for the moment.

"Who are you?"

The boy with the ponytail ignored her and asked her,

"So, you're not planning to confront Accelerator again, are you?"

Kaede grimly stared at the end of her bed, as she realized who this person could have been.

"If you know about my connection with Accelerator... then you must be one of those that the higher ups sent to stop me. Aren't you?"

The man showed no emotion or fear, only intimidation by keeping silent and expecting a answer to his question.

"I'm not going to stop trying until Level Six Shift is shut down and the sisters are safe. I'll keep going until I can't go any further. It's my job to clean up the mess I created. So please, don't make this any harder for me and stay out of my way. "

Raymond looked at Kaede, staring at him grimly... though that wasn't the only grim thing about her. The woman's body was covered in bandages, she looked hal dead,

"If you know about my connection with Accelerator... then you must be one of those that the higher ups sent to stop me. Aren't you?"

And it seems the part of her that's alive is feeling less than compliant, He thought, annoyed,

"I'm not going to stop trying until Level Six Shift is shut down and the sisters are safe. I'll keep going until I can't go any further. It's my job to clean up the mess I created. So please, don't make this any harder for me and stay out of my way. "

Raymond could feel a blood vessel bulge in his head when he heard those last lines from Kaede,

"Stay out of your way?! While I appreciate the 'please', my my job is to literally keep you from getting involved!"

Raymond angrily pulled out his cell phone, speaking mostly to himself,

"I get that you have your own issues, your own responsibilities for your own life, but do you know what this is like for me?!" Raymond said angrily, as he smashed the send button on his phone, sending the message:

Shes not being cooperativ. Opt's? I want to finish NOW!!!!!1!!

"I have to do very unsavory things every day and night, at any moments notice, and the one day I think I don't need to worry about anything, I get called in for you! All because the HR department sucks, they ignore all of my complaints, and-I am getting off topic!!!" Raymond glared at Kaede for a moment, trying to think of something to say, and just as he was about to open his mouth, his phone vibrated,

He looked at the message, Isk er wut'll hapn tooo teh "tEsd ssubjex". Ef taht dusnt werk, opn the pakaj.

I swear the spelling just gets worse and worse...

Raymond looks back up at Kaede, thinking a bit about the message he got, and understanding the question, realizing what it incinuates,

"What happens when the experiments end? What happens to the girls? I mean... why..." Raymond took a second to gather his thoughts, "Would they be kept... without the tests...?" He said, maintaining his angry look, but his words held an some uncertainty, him not sure how much weight his words would hold.

"What happens when the experiments end? What happens to the girls? I mean... why... Would they be kept... without the tests...?"

What would happen to the clones if Level Six Shift was somehow stopped? What would Academy City plan to do then? She couldn't think of an answer without imagining the worst possible scenario. But she was reminded of her own promise she made to them.

"I don't know... but if I don't do anything now, I'll definitely lose them. And I can't let people like you stop me from saving them."

She harshly struggled to rise up from her hospital bed. As she got out, immense pain struck her body from the points of her injury she received recently. Almost collapsing, she grabbed onto the nearby IV Pole while heavily breathing. She realized she was in no shape to move about, even with her Esper Ability. She also realized the hospital gown she wore exposed her bare back down to her lower curves. Her clothes must have been within the room's closet. But the only problem that remained was the mysterious man behind her who could attack her at any moment.

"Besides... I think you have bigger problems you should be worrying about if someone got a hold of me being in the hospital."


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As midnight struck, Haragi rushed through the night air of District 7 with worry. Being recently relieved from a certain spiky haired girl's resolved conflict, his next goal was obvious after the phone call from the hospital was made. As he skid on thin air, he muttered to himself,

"Forgive me.. Aneki... but just a little while longer... I'll make sure whoever did harmed you will pay...."

"I don't know... but if I don't do anything now, I'll definitely lose them. And I can't let people like you stop me from saving them."

Has she thought out the consequences of 'saving' them? Raymond thought to himself dumbfounded, and sighed, reaching into his back pack, but flinching when he saw Kaede standing up, wincing in pain,

"Woah, what the Hell are you doing, you idiot?!" He said angrily, surprised at her actions, as she limped passed him, using her IV pole for support.

Is she seriously getting her clothes in that state?! Raymond pondered briefly before turning his attention back to his bag, Oh whatever, I need to see what's in this stupid package.

"Besides..." Raymond looked up at Kaede, "I think you have bigger problems you should be worrying about if someone got a hold of me being in the hospital."

I need to make sure she doesn't hear me opening this,

"Do you seriously think you're in a position to make threats!?" Raymond said, yanking the package out of his bag, Thankfully she's too focused on getting her clothes too turn around, "You're obviously in severe pain," Raymond opened up the package, seeing it's contents, "despite being doped up on anesthetics," Raymond looked at a note inside, skimming it over, "and limping in an IV pole in nothing but a hospital gown!" He then quietly up, taking out what appears to be a syringe in his hand,

Than, he started to creep behind her, carefully closing what little distance was between the two of them. He had to make sure that she didn't scream.

The instant he though he was close enough, he made his move, quickly covering her mouth with his hand, ignoring he struggling, and immediately stabbed the syringe into her neck,

Dammit, I can feel teeth! I hate getting bitten! Raymond thought, irritated, waiting for the struggling to die down. After a few moments, he noticed Kaede had gone still, and dragged her back to the bed, along with the IV, careful to make sure her hospital gown stayed on.

After which, he rearranged everything in the room so that it appeared that she had never left the bed. He then reattached her IV, and took out another syringe, and injected the liquid in the IV with it, pouring the contents into it. It mixed seemlesssly, showing no change at first glance.

No one would guess that this would keep Kaede Faye out for the next few weeks.

That's what the note said anyway Raymond reached into the package he received and took out the one last item he had to give her-a small box of chocolates, It also told me to give her this... 'get well present' so I'm a little wary of it... oh well, if anything happens, it's not my fault. I got this girl out of the equation

Raymond walked out of the room, with his back and everything else, nodding to Kyou as he left. He then opened his cell phone, grimacing at the bite marks on his hand, and texted a single word,

Done.

As he walked, Raymond thought he saw a young man with spiked hair going through the air towards the hospital.

I hope he's not hoping for a conversation with his sister. Raymond thought, sighing tiredly,  before going on his merry way.

The hospital doors burst open as Haragi forced himself. For the next few moments, all eyes were on him as he noticed patients and several secretaries within the main foyer of the entrance. His bold eyes and heavy breathing only intimidated those around him like he was some madman barging into a place of silence.

Haragi ignored those around him and only eyed the secretary in front of him. She felt at unease as he was approaching her as if a dangerous animal was about to strike it's prey. She hesitated to speak as she shook in fear,

"D-do you need s-somethi-"

"Tell me which... room she's in...."

Haragi abruptly cut in and spoke over her. The woman shrieked as she stared at her computer searching for someone not even knowing who to look for to begin with.

"Wh-h-o are you exactly l-l-looking for??"

"Kaede Faye, I'm her younger brother...."


The woman stuttered as she gave the room number to him. As soon as he took a note of it, he stormed into the hospital leaving the people behind him struck with fear and confusion. Haragi ignored the secretary's cries about some kind of Visitor tag as he focused on getting to Kaede.

Kaede's room was just around the corner as he rushed through the hallway, interrupted by a nurse who stopped him in his tracks. The nurse gleaned at him with curiosity,

"Who are you supposed to be, and why are you here in the patient's quarter? I don't see a visitor tag on you."

Haragi grunted as was about to pass by her. But the nurse was persistent as she stopped him from doing so by side stepping towards him.

"You're not allowed to be in here."

Haragi sighed seeing how he didn't have time to stall.

"Kaede Faye.... my older sister... I need to know how she is..."

The nurse looked at him blank eyed for a moment before realizing who he was talking about.

"Oh, Ms. Faye! She was in very bad shape when a boy and girl brought her in. Here come follow me, she should be awake by now."

Haragi questioned himself as he mumbled as he followed the nurse,

"Boy and girl?"

They had both entered a room identical to the other rooms in the hospital, only to see Kaede unconscious with bruises around her arm. Haragi stared at her, gritting his teeth denying to believe what state she was in. He mumbled to himself,

"Aneki...."

While the nurse looked surprised.

"I was sure the drug would wear off by now. Why is she still unconscious?"

Haragi ignored her questions as he wanted answers of his own questions instead. He calmly asked her,

"Who exactly brought her in and what happened to her?"

The nurse told Haragi what she knew since Kaede had gotten here. About the injuries, what she knew of the young boy and girl who brought her here, and still not enough information he would be able to reason with.

"Oh now I remember who the girl was. The Level 5 Railgun was the girl with them. But I still can't remember who the other guy was."

Haragi froze for a second as his eyes narrowed once he heard the name. In his mind he asked, "What?... What does Misaka Mikoto have to do with this?... Did she do this to her?! No... It's too early to tell... There's also that other individual she couldn't recall.... Now I have to find Misaka and get some answers from her... She must have an idea of what's going on in Aneki's life..."

Haragi stared at his tranquil sister in sleep once again. He has no one but himself to blame for this to happen. Those times she said she was working overtime or the fact that she didn't come home was something she didn't regularly do. That meant she lied to him to hide something she didn't want him to know which eventually injured her greatly. Haragi's resolve never wavered, he would still carry out his burden to prevent the darkness ever reaching the light. He was ill-determined to clear out the scum who laid their hands on her. And to do that, he has to track down Misaka Mikoto.

The boy turned towards the door, leaving the room to set out his task.

"I need you to do me a huge favour... Just keep this between you and me... Don't let anyone else be allowed to visit her... For all I know her life might be in danger... Please do this one thing for me..."

The nurse seemed confused and nodded to ensure his word.

"Since the hospital has your number, I'll call you if I ever recall who the other person was. Though I don't know what's exactly going on but I'll leave it at that."

With that Haragi had left the room, with one location in mind where he can start off gathering information about her. Tokiwadai School Dorms within District 7.