[SS] Project Radio Noise

A plethora of curious eyes gazed at Kaede, one pair after another. It was clear that she was the only one in the area that was wearing in a Tokiwadai Middle School uniform. She did feel a bit embarrassed about the whole situation, but she was only here to search for someone, not attend the school herself. Holding onto her elbow while being flustered, she slowly tried to find the certain girl she was looking for out of the scattered bunch of people around her. She should be able to point her out, since her "sisters" look exactly like her.

After moments of searching, she was starting to doubt if she could even find this girl. But suddenly a soft tap on her shoulder was felt followed by a curious voice,

“Umm… May I help you?”

Kaede was able to tell that this voice could belong to a girl who attended the school. If so, she might know something about 'her' whereabouts. As she adjusted her head towards the origin of the voice,

"Actually yeah. Do you know where I can find Misaka Mi-"

The sight of this girl interrupted Kaede in the middle of her question. Who Kaede saw was a young, 14 year old girl with distinct chestnut brown hair to which she had seen numerous times before. Kaede was speechless for a few moments before continuing,

"-koto?"

This girl's stature matched perfectly with the sisters Kaede had helped grow up to the most detailed point. The only difference that set her apart from the others is her eyes. It had proved that she was the original. That she was Misaka Mikoto, the third strongest Level 5 in Academy. The certain girl she was searching for since she arrived in this district.

For some odd reason, Kaede felt the need to comfort her. So subconsciously, she raised her arm and gently placed ontop of her head, simply patting it back and forth. By just observing her, Kaede felt that she was one of the sister's she looked after. There was quiet yet awkward moment while both were staring into each other's eyes before Kaede started realize what she herself was exactly doing.

Immediately retracting her arm, while acting surprised by the whole situation, she hesitantly spoke,

"A-ah! I'm sorry! You reminded me of someone I looked after."

"Actually yeah. Do you know where I can find Misaka Mi-…. Koto?"

Their eyes met, and Mikoto saw her own surprised expression reflected in those widened orange orbs. The silence stretched on for a seemingly long time, and before Mikoto could open her mouth to ask a question in return, she found herself on the receiving end of a head pat.

Her cheeks flushed a brilliant crimson, wondering what the hell this woman thought she was doing. Students were whispering around them, pointing and giggling. Mikoto’s eyebrows twitched. The last thing she wanted was another ridiculous rumour about her being tossed around Tokiwadai.

The woman suddenly retracted her arm, as if she only just realised what she was doing.

"A-ah! I'm sorry! You reminded me of someone I looked after."

Someone she looked after? What kind of pathetic excuse was that?!

But Mikoto didn’t say this out aloud. There were too many students staring at them and she had had enough of being the center of attention. Grabbing the woman’s arm, she hissed,

“We’ll talk somewhere else, just follow me, okay?”

Mikoto quickly and forcefully moved them into an isolated area nearby, feeling the gaze of her fellow students drilling into her back. When she no longer felt their stares she stopped, letting out a huff of irritation as she turned to face the blonde woman with angry eyes.

“Just what the heck was that about?!” She asked, then sighed, inwardly reminding herself to keep calm. “You were looking for me, right? So… What’s so important that you had to cause all that commotion out there?!”

As she spoke, Mikoto observed the stranger. She was indeed a golden-haired beauty, the tight fitting clothes bringing out her features with much success. She averted her eyes away with lightly shaded cheeks when she found herself staring blankly at the woman’s exposed voluptuous cleavage. Annoyance levels peaked as the Electromaster quickly folded her arms over her own rather flat chest defensively.

"Nope, today was an actual patrol, I caught a purse snatcher already. Little bastard tried to kick me in the shin when I caught him, Threatening to melt his face sorted him out."

Kuroko looked on with deadpan disapproval.

"You know you're not supposed to do that sort of thing, don't you?" She uttered. Not that the fiery-haired girl appeared to be listening.

"So, any news? Did anyone break any big rules recently?"

Kuroko shrugged.

"I'm not on duty." She replied with the sort of relaxed sigh that tried unsuccessfully to conceal her boredom. "And quite frankly I prefer to enjoy some peace and quiet on my days off." She sounded almost convincing, but anyone who knew Kuroko also knew she loved the thrill of her Judgement work. The more exciting aspects at least.

"You know you're not supposed to do that sort of thing, don't you?"

Sakamoto shrugged uncaringly. "If it'll stop 'em, I don't care if I really do have to melt someone's face. It'd be their punishment for causing me so much trouble." Meirin meant every word of what she had just said; she truly wasn't against melting someone's face off if it meant she wouldn't have to deal with them.

Meirin stood up suddenly and yawned. She looked bored. "I was about to take a break. Want a crepe or something?" she asked Kuroko. "I was gonna get one anyway, so it wouldn't be a problem if I were to get you something, too." Without waiting for a response, Sakamoto began heading towards a street vendor, already wondering what she was going to get for herself.

"I was about to take a break. Want a crepe or something? I was gonna get one anyway, so it wouldn't be a problem if I were to get you something, too."

Kuroko's eyebrows raised in visible surprise at the offer. Perhaps Meirin was finally beginning to acknowledge Kuroko as her superior officer. The thought caused the small girl's chest to puff out with pride and she opened her mouth to answer.

"Well, in that case I'll have a-" She stopped mid sentence, staring at Meirin's back as the other girl ignored her and left. Kuroko's face dropped.

Seriously... don't offer if you're not going to pay attention... She grumbled under her breath as she followed the red-headed Judgement volunteer.

Sakamato walked up to the street vendor and stared at the menu for a few moments while she waited for Kuroko to catch up to her. Once the shorter girl had caught up, Meirin got the attention of the vendor.

Putting money for two crepes on the stand, Sakamoto ordered a strawberry crepe for herself and stood off to the side so Kuroko could order hers. Very soon, the smell of the crepes frying could be smelled.

While the vendor began frying Kuroko's crepe, Meirin reached for hers impatiently, not wanting to wait any longer to eat. The vender nearly slapped Sakamoto's hand away, as it was still on the hot cooking surface. Meirin, however, had snatched up her crepe off the still-hot griddle before the man could react.

"Hey! Are you nuts or something?! That's still really hot!" the man exclaimed. His jaw dropped when Sakamoto's hand showed no signs of being burned. Meirin chuckled at the man's reaction. "It's my Esper ability. I can't get burned, no matter how hot the object I touch is. Don't worry about me getting burnt."

Sakamoto bit into her delicious crepe and practically moaned with pleasure. The crepe was amazingly delicious. The vendor blinked with surprise, then muttered something under his breath about "kids these days." He went back to making Kuroko's crepe, finishing up quickly. He wrapped the crepe and handed it to the short girl, still staring at Meirin in disbelief for her strange performance.

“Just what the heck was that about?! You were looking for me, right? So… What’s so important that you had to cause all that commotion out there?!”

The Level 5 Electromaster was on the verge of blowing her top after recent happenings. Kaede was disheartened seeing she was at fault for acting too much of a "big sister" around someone who she barely knew on a personal level. Kaede herself was on the verge of crying as tears formed from within the sides of her eyes. However they were wiped away immediately to avoid any more awkward moments.

"I didn't mean to upset you... the opposite actually. Maybe I'm putting too much effort in the 'bigger sister' role, Misaka-san."

Kaede noticed Mikoto's defensive attitude towards her after inspecting something other than her eyes. Covering her own petite chest, Mikoto flustered greatly as she looked the other way. Since Kaede had experienced this situation numerous times before with others, she could be able to point out what she was concerned about. Thinking of the most simple resolution, Kaede turned the opposite way while speaking to her and chuckled.

"Hehe~ Girls shouldn't have to worry about their size around that age. Thinking back, I think I had a flatter chest than you did. It's merely a matter of patience."

Hoping that reasoning would make Mikoto more comfortable while speaking to her, Kaede continued,

"Anywho, we haven't met before... but I'm one of the lab assistants from the Research department of Genetic Engineering. Kaede Faye, glad to meet you."

Assuming it was safe to turn around, Kaede reached for her hand for a warm greeting.

"I didn't mean to upset you... the opposite actually. Maybe I'm putting too much effort in the 'bigger sister' role, Misaka-san."

Mikoto stared at her, unable to comprehend what she was going on about.

"Hehe~ Girls shouldn't have to worry about their size around that age. Thinking back, I think I had a flatter chest than you did. It's merely a matter of patience."

Mikoto’s cheeks reddened, completely embarrassed and a little miffed that the woman had read her own feelings so easily.

‘What, is she a mind-reader or something?!’ she thought, annoyed.

Feeling a little uneasy, Mikoto let out a careless huff to cover this as Kaede continued speaking.

"Anywho, we haven't met before... but I'm one of the lab assistants from the Research department of Genetic Engineering. Kaede Faye, glad to meet you."

Mikoto’s uneasiness increased at the words “Genetic Engineering”. Why would a lab assistant from such a department come through all that trouble to find her? The rumours flittered through her mind, but she quickly pushed them aside. She had already found out the truth didn’t she? Clones didn’t exist. They just couldn’t… Yes, she was just being paranoid.

Mikoto took Kaede’s hand carefully,

“Well, you already know who I am, obviously- Misaka Mikoto.” Her tone was polite, although her eyes were filled with wariness. “It’s nice to meet you Faye-san… But why did you want to speak to me?”

The last question came out in a bit of a rush, curiosity and impatience getting the better of her.

“Well, you already know who I am, obviously- Misaka Mikoto. It’s nice to meet you Faye-san… But why did you want to speak to me?”

Scratching her purely golden strands of hair, she once again chuckled. Kaede didn't put so much effort into searching for the Electromaster just to fool around, her true purpose was to shed some light onto the shady project she herself could not figure out alone.

"Misaka-san, what I want to ask of you revolves around the DNA sample you gave, but that's all I can say right now. It's better if we talk about this matter somewhere private, otherwise the higher ups will be on my back if something were to leak out. So, if its not too much trouble to ask, can we talk about this inside my house? I'll make us both lunch if you're hungry! Oooor I can come back later if you're busy right now."

Even though it was an abrupt request, Kaede had to play this safe throughout. Misaka Mikoto was her only hope at this point to determine whether the "sisters" are harmed or not.

As Kaede spoke, Mikoto’s wariness grew, especially since she asked about her DNA donation. How did this woman know about that? Was she somehow directly involved with the whole incident and the lies that the scientist had told her? Did she know about the discarded cloning project? Mikoto wanted to demand an explanation now, but realised she might really lose her chance to learn something more about the strange situation if she refused Kaede’s offer. For now, she would just follow along.

“It’s fine- I have time now for lunch thanks,” Mikoto said nodding. Her lips pressed into a thin line, hints of arrogance and impatience marring her tone. “But I hope you get to the point soon, I really don’t have all day you know.”

With that, Tokiwadai student gestured Kaede to lead the way, her heart pumping a little faster.

“It’s fine- I have time now for lunch thanks. But I hope you get to the point soon, I really don’t have all day you know.”

The young woman with golden hair kindly smiled as turned to head towards the direction where she parked her car.

"Yeah, for sure. I'm eager to ask myself. I just have to be cautious about what I say, that's all."

It only took around 10 minutes to drive from the district where prestigious individuals inhabit to the middle class district. They had both arrived at series of townhouses, each looking no different from the other on the outside. Kaede drove up to the second Townhouse from the right, concluding this to be her home.

"Well, we're here. It might not be as royally majestic as the houses from your area, but it's definitely the house I grew up in, so please don't mind."

The two approached the door, while Kaede rummaged through her purse to find her house keys. Once she did, the door was unlocked and opened into a casual environment for numerous people in Academy City.

"I wonder if my little brother is home.
.
.
.
Ha~
ra~
gi~
-san~
Are you free for a brother-sister bath tonight?~"

Kaede spoke his name out in a tune, while acting as if she was flirting. The thud from the stairs grew louder and louder until a certain individual had entered the scene. His eyes were intimidating as ever supported by his expressionless smile.

"No thanks... Anek-"

His voice was cut off from the sight of someone new to his home. In fact, he was more surprised by this certain type of person entering his home. Kaede noticed his sense of curiosity from Misaka's presence inside their home.

"Oh, I forgot to mention. I brought Mi-"

The spiky haired boy had interrupted her sentence in order to finish what she was about to say.

"Misaka Mikoto.... The third strongest Level 5... Am I right?"

The boy had glared at the 14 year old girl, looking as if he was threatening her visually.

"And you complain about my behaviour." the twin-tailed teleporter's face dropped with a skeptical look of disdain. "Why did you decide to bother me today, anyway?" She yapped her foot impatiently as she watched the ill-mannered girl devour her food. Kuroko beamed brightly at the salesman as he handed her the crepes. But as her gaze returned to Meirin it was obvious that she had little left in the way of patience.

After all, it was well known that trouble followed close behind Meirin Sakamoto.

Meirin shrugged and popped a piece of her crepe into her mouth. "I was just walking around randomly, and I heard your voice. It wasn't hard to find you; you were screaming your sexual fantasies out for the world to hear, after all. I just thought I'd save you the embarrassment of having everyone in a three mile radius hear you. Oh wait, you don't care if people hear you, right?"

Meirin frowned as she chewed. "Hmm. Not crispy enough." She then ran her free hand over the crepe. It sizzled a bit, and turned a slightly darker color. When she bit into the crepe a second time, there was a slight crunch. The smile returned. "Ahh, perfect." She took another bite, thoroughly enjoying her crepe.

Of course, Kuroko was right - trouble was following Meirin Sakamoto. Trouble in the form of Skill-Out. Of course, she didn't know this yet - they had been stealthy, and they had followed her because she was wearing her Judgment band.

"Well, we're here. It might not be as royally majestic as the houses from your area, but it's definitely the house I grew up in, so please don't mind."

The blonde girl unlocked the door and Mikoto stepped into a wide living room. It wasn’t anything elaborate, but it was open, spacey and rather homely- Mikoto liked it. Afterall, even if people described her as an Ojou-sama, she had never been the type to really treasure the all-out-fancy-nonsense. She preferred things that were comfortable and nice (cuteness was of course an important factor). Before she could express her feelings of like however, Kaede moved forward purposefully.

"I wonder if my little brother is home.
Ha~
ra~
gi~
-san~
Are you free for a brother-sister bath tonight?~"

What the heck…?! Was she… flirting with her brother?!

Mikoto’s cheeks flamed red at the thought, wondering furiously if this woman was actually a complete pervert.

Sounds of footsteps preceded the entrance of a guy whom Mikoto assumed was Kaede’s brother. She noticed the siblings didn’t look very similar. In fact, Haragi was quite the opposite, with black mopped hair and brown eyes that created the intimidating presence about him.

"No thanks... Anek-"

His eyes settled on Mikoto and she tensed slightly at his intense but curious stare.

"Oh, I forgot to mention. I brought Mi-"

"Misaka Mikoto.... The third strongest Level 5... Am I right?"

It didn’t surprise Mikoto that he recognised her- no, she was completely used to (and slightly irked by) all that celebrity and fame business. What really put her off was the threatening glare that he suddenly gave the Electromaster. She wracked her memories quickly, wondering if she had somehow forgotten a brief encounter with him, but realised there was actually nothing to remember. Perhaps he was just an openly hostile person- another characteristic that seemed supposedly very different from Kaede.

“Yes, I’m Misaka Mikoto, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Faye-san.” Mikoto kept her tone polite, returning his glare with a half-smile. "Your sister generously invited me over for lunch."

And to give me a damn explanation, she silently added.

“Yes, I’m Misaka Mikoto, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Faye-san. Your sister generously invited me over for lunch."

Kaede nodded and added on,

"That's right, Haragi-san~ But it's also for work-related reasons."

The spiky black haired boy seemed like the reasoning sufficed, but it wasn't entirely enough to keep him from being suspicious of the situation. He felt like there was more to than her older sister inviting the Level 5 Railgun out of the blue, and only for work related ideals. Then again, Haragi never really knew what his sister's job was about, only that she was adamant about keeping a living income for both him and herself.

"Work-related reasons... huh?.... Well anyways... I'm about to head out to my makeup lecture.... Aneki, don't wait for me since I might come back home late...."

"I see. Well good luck on your lecture, Ha~ Ra~ Gi~ Misaka-san, I'll go ahead and start on lunch. We're going to have Crêpes! Tell me what you want on it when you can."

The cheerful tone in her voice merely irritated the boy which kept his consistent expressionless smile. He descended down the stairs and walked towards the doorway. Kaede rushed towards the kitchen, and left Misaka to alone with the Level 4. As Haragi passed by her side, he quietly whispered,

"There are two kinds of espers in Academy City... Those who are in the light, and those who are kept in the dark.... And if you are planning to get my sister involved in that dark.... You'll regret it personally...."

Haragi kept his eyes shut, and sent out a bone chilling aura to Misaka, attempting intimidate her with his attitude. There was no looking back, just forward movement. His words were as if he was attempting to provoke the Level 5 into a fight. But that was not the case.

"That's right, Haragi-san~ But it's also for work-related reasons."

Feeling awkward around the siblings’ exchange, Mikoto kept silent, allowing Kaede to speak in her stead.

"Work-related reasons... huh?.... Well anyways... I'm about to head out to my makeup lecture.... Aneki, don't wait for me since I might come back home late...."

"I see. Well good luck on your lecture, Ha~ Ra~ Gi~ Misaka-san, I'll go ahead and start on lunch. We're going to have Crêpes! Tell me what you want on it when you can."

Before Mikoto could even react, Kaede had already rushed off into the kitchen, leaving her with her brother.

“Ah wait!” Mikoto moved to follow, but her eyes caught the movements of Haragi and she faltered as he moved closer. A whisper trailed from his lips as he passed by, leaving the words strangely ringing in her ears.

"There are two kinds of espers in Academy City... Those who are in the light, and those who are kept in the dark.... And if you are planning to get my sister involved in that dark.... You'll regret it personally...."

She turned her head but Haragi did not look at her. A slight chill ran through her spine, as if the room had suddenly dropped a few degrees in temperature. The Electromaster could detect a threatening aura about him, something dangerous and unknown lurking within, and the mysterious words further darkened those shadows. Her lips parted but no words left her, leaving her in silence as the last echoes of the slammed door faded away.

She stared at the closed door, feeling completely bewildered.

Just what the heck had that been about?

Irritation quickly replaced the confusion. That guy probably just had some serious problems, she decided. With a huff, Mikoto chucked what had just happened to the back of her mind. There were more important things to think about than the possible issues a weird guy might have.

Sounds from the kitchen quickly brought her to the present and Mikoto rushed out of the living room.

“Faye-san… Would you like some help?”

Her mother Misaka Misuzu always teased her about how terrible she was at house work. But Mikoto herself didn’t think she was THAT bad... Helping someone in the kitchen couldn’t be too difficult, right? Besides, she genuinely wanted to help; Kaede had invited her to her home after all, even though it was, as the blonde had described it, "for work-related reasons".... Whatever that meant.

Kuroko tried her hardest to ignore Meirin. In her mind the girl was nothing more than a troublemaker and an attention seeker. Her brows furrowed, twitching as the other girl used her ability for such a trivial task. It was hypocritical of her, but Kuroko's mind was clouded with frustration and it took all her self restraint to bite her tongue.

"Shirai-san!? Sakamoto-san!?" Kazari announced herself with audible surprise in her voice. "I thought I heard your voice." She smiled sweetly at Meirin as she approached. "Congratulations on your arrest earlier, Sakamoto-san." She bowed politely to hide the admiring look in her eyes.

It wasn't hard to see why Kazari looked up to the older girl. She was tall and attractive and strong. Everything Kazari wanted to be. But most of all it was her outgoing personality that she envied the most. She looked down at her shuffling feet as she reflected on her own 'inadequacies'.

As the "expert" cook, as Haragi described her, was getting her cooking utensils ready, a innocent voice was heard from behind her,

"Faye-san… Would you like some help?”

Kaede turned to see Misaka Mikoto standing idle until she would hear a response from Kaede herself. It was a while since anyone helped Kaede out with cooking. The last time was probably the day before her mother passed away when she was young. Her mother and her always had cooked together making delicious meals for the rest of the family. Its where Kaede got her expertise culinary skills from. Seeing this resemble Misaka's request, it would be improbable to ignore.

"Yeah, that'll be great if you could. I'm actually glad you asked. You can start off by getting the wheat flour from the pantry."

Kaede exerted a kind smile towards the Level 5 appreciating her support. But first things first, which was that she wanted to clear any misunderstandings about her little brother. Haragi's earlier impression might have lead Misaka the wrong way.

"Oh, about earlier. My little brother can be a bit mysterious in some ways. Maybe even seem pretty scary to some people. But he really isn't. At least not the way I know him. He really sensitive on the inside, you just have to try and crack the outer shell he hides under to get to speak to him. But disregarding that, he's a pretty strong esper like you. I personally never seen him fight, but from what I heard he's been able to take out wide areas without any sweat. But he manages to control his esper ability at home even when he's really angry. I think his esper ability is called Solid Air, or something ridiculous like that. But that besides the point, don't think too differently of him. I always think he acts with a reason."

Kaede strongly believes his brother is someone who wouldn't do wrong out of habit. Even though his esper ability could take out large areas, he manages to keep his power under complete control.

"Yeah, that'll be great if you could. I'm actually glad you asked. You can start off by getting the wheat flour from the pantry."

Smiling, Mikoto rushed forwards, opening the cupboards. The pantry was filled with packages and utensils, as if it was owned by a master chef. Feeling awed, she trailed her eyes along the packages, searching for the requested item as Kaede spoke again.

"Oh, about earlier. My little brother can be a bit mysterious in some ways. Maybe even seem pretty scary to some people. But he really isn't. At least not the way I know him. He really sensitive on the inside, you just have to try and crack the outer shell he hides under to get to speak to him. But disregarding that, he's a pretty strong esper like you. I personally never seen him fight, but from what I heard he's been able to take out wide areas without any sweat. But he manages to control his esper ability at home even when he's really angry. I think his esper ability is called Solid Air, or something ridiculous like that. But that besides the point, don't think too differently of him. I always think he acts with a reason."

Mikoto stiffened. Acts with a reason? What about earlier then? Her lips pursed, quickly thinking over Kaede’s words. If he was that powerful an esper, but one that she had not yet heard of, then he was most likely a level 4. Realising suddenly that Kaede was probably waiting for a response, Mikoto whipped her head to the side and smiled brightly at Kaede.

“Ah~ It’s fine! He was also probably just surprised to see me suddenly…” She reached forwards and grabbed a package labeled wheat flour. “Ah! There it is!”

Taking a large bowl, Mikoto poured the contents into it. She didn’t particularly want to talk or think about the strange guy. His final words had bothered her, but she believed it was nonsense and didn’t want to dwell on it. The Tokiwadai girl kept her eyes on the falling grains of flour, looking up only when the final speck landed atop the peak of the white mountain.

“So, just tell me what you need help with next,” she said, a little bit too eagerly.

Meirin smiled a little. "Hello, Kazari. What brings you here?" she asked. "Following the sound of Kuroko's dulcet tones like I was, or by chance?"

She continued eating her crepe while talking to Kazari, but she didn't talk with her mouth full.

“So, just tell me what you need help with next.”

Seeing how Misaka seemed like she was a bit inexperienced with cooking, Kaede thought it would be beneficial if she learned how to perform the basic acts of cooking.

"You know, Cooking is one thing that many girls are able to do. I know that those girls, including me, do this as a way to show their feelings for the person they care about most by cooking them delicious food. Soooo, I think having you learn a bit about cooking might help you get that 'special person'. Don't worry, I'll hold your hand through it."

Ignoring any possible oppositions, Kaede gathered the rest of the ingredients and bowls, and set them in front of the Level 5. After an hour of attempts and Kaede's guidance, a successful batch of Crepes were made. The two set themselves onto the table, with Kaede somewhat exhausted. Both of them were tattered in remnants of dough and flour regardless.

"Man, you sure took a while to learn how to whisk the flour and the eggs properly. But no worries, we made some that turned out pretty nicely at the end! Dig in."

Kaede clapped her hands together and mumbled, "Itadakimasu." She took a Crepe from the pile and delightfully took a bite out of it. After swallowing the contents inside her mouth, the thoughts of happily bonding with Misaka went down with it. She realized that having fun like she was wasn't the reason that Misaka voluntarily agreed to come. It was more for the purpose that Kaede had promised to ask her about the 'sisters'. Kaede had looked more depressed as if someone had recently passed away.

"Misaka-san... you yourself happily gave your own DNA to the research division, right? ... Meaning you approved of their research and initiative, right?.... Does this mean you know the true purposes behind... Project 'Radio Noise'?"

For an hour, Mikoto found herself working laboriously over the crepes. Kaede had indeed turned out to be a master cook and Mikoto realised that her mother had perhaps been correct in her judgement that she was terrible at such skills. She would never admit it to Misuzu of course.

Although it had been intense, Mikoto thoroughly enjoyed it. Kaede had also turned out to be quite a good teacher and the Tokiwadai girl found herself learning much, becoming totally engrossed in the task at hand. The only time Mikoto grew flustered was when Kaede suddenly mentioned a “special person” and a certain idiot came into mind for no reason whatsoever. Glowering at the frying pan in front of her, Mikoto’s irritation had only died when Kaede suddenly yelled out in alarm that the electric stove was heating up rapidly. They ended up spending the next ten minutes cleaning up the smoking black blobby mess that had meant to be a crepe, with Mikoto apologising in embarrassment.

Now, she sank in her chair, tired but feeling triumphant as she looked down at the successful crepes on the table. Bits of dough and flour were stuck on her hair and uniform, but she couldn’t care less at the moment.

"Man, you sure took a while to learn how to whisk the flour and the eggs properly. But no worries, we made some that turned out pretty nicely at the end! Dig in."

Mikoto’s cheeked turned slightly pink.

“Ah well, everyone has different strengths right?” she laughed weakly, “I guess cooking just isn’t mine… Thanks though, Faye-san, it was fun and I learnt alot!”

Smiling, she picked up a crepe.

“Itadakimasu”

Mikoto bit into it hurriedly, suddenly realising how starving she was. Kaede followed suit. She chewed quickly and gulped, smiling.

“My judgement might just be faulty since I’m so hungry, but I think it tastes pretty good!”

Her grin faded quickly when she saw Kaede wasn’t smiling any longer, her orange eyes full of intense seriousness. In fact, she looked depressed, and it took Mikoto a moment to realise that cooking, eating, chatting like this as if they were well-acquainted friends was perhaps out of time and place. She had been well-distracted, but she remembered with a sinking heart what she had actually come here for.

"Misaka-san... yourself happily gave your own DNA to the research division, right? ... Meaning you approved of their research and initiative, right?.... Does this mean you know the true purpose behind... Project 'Radio Noise'?"

Mikoto stared, unable to comprehend what Kaede was asking. She placed the crepe on the plate in front of her, a small frown creasing her forehead.

“If you’re talking about the Mass Production Railgun Project, then I know about it already.” Mikoto avoided the first two questions, not particularly feeling like going into such details. She really didn't want to think about that again. Shrugging her shoulders carelessly, she picked up the crepe again.

“It was abandoned, so it doesn’t even matter anymore. But you would know that already right, since you sound like you were involved in it somehow.” A slight edginess entered her tone. She took another bite of her crepe, brown eyes watching Kaede carefully.

“If you’re talking about the Mass Production Railgun Project, then I know about it already. It was abandoned, so it doesn’t even matter anymore. But you would know that already right, since you sound like you were involved in it somehow. ”

Was she joking? Mikoto didn't seem like she was, rather confident about what she had said. That wouldn't make sense, if the Project 'Radio Noise' was canceled, why would Kaede still be assisting in developing the 'sisters'? It would be highly unlikely the project was ongoing away from the higher up's eyes... unless Mikoto was being lied to and had no idea of the project still being active. That had meant...

"Yoshikawa-senpai has been lying to me then all this time... The 'sisters' I helped create was without Misaka's permission... But if that's the case.... What were the sisters being used for????"

She pondered about the situation for a moment before she came back to reality, looking upon Misaka's oblivious face.

"Misaka-san... I really don't know what to say... If you're serious about what you said, then... Project 'Radio Noise' was never abandoned to begin with. The Mass Railgun Production... It's been going on for a while, even today..."

Her mournful eyes looked as she silently kept her mouth shut, waiting for her shocking response. Kaede felt like she had been used for an project that might be very well inhumane and against her morals.

"Hello, Kazari. What brings you here? Following the sound of Kuroko's dulcet tones like I was, or by chance?"

Kazari shook her head.

"Actually I was investigating the bank card rumours." She admitted, happily ignoring Kuroko who stood beside the pair growing more and more angry with every passing moment. One could have sworn steam was pouring from her ears for how red her face had gotten.

"Wait... you're looking into that?" Kuroko looked incredulous. "It's hardly worth our time, don't you think?" She tossed a strand of her auburn hair over her shoulder. She didn't want to admit that her own investigation into the matter had turned up empty so far.

"It's becoming a major security risk!" Kazari insisted. "I hear a lot of people are getting into fights over these cards. Some are even winding up in hospital over it!" She looked back to Meirin.

"Sakamoto-san!" She addressed the other girl respectfully. "Would you mind coming with me? It'll be easier to cover the area with two of us."

Sakamoto snapped out of dreams of free money for a moment. "Eh? Uhh, sure, fine. Uhh... How much money's being put in these cards? I mean, if it's not very much, then I don't think it'd be such a huge problem," she unquired, expertly masking the inquisitiveness in her voice. She was definitely interested in something like this; the problem was, so were other people.

It was decided then - should she find any of these bank cards, she would confiscate them... "for the greater good," of course.