[SS] For Starters...

Thursday June 3rd | 16:07 P.M.

Today was the day many hardcore book fans all around Japan have been waiting for ever since the great announcement was made six months ago. One of the greatest authors of this day and age would release his newest work. Their name however was of little importance, as his books were only to meet recognition by those who were deep enough into literature to understand their value which ordinary readers were unable to see. Hence this was a special day for true gourmets only.

There was a certain shop away from the major shopping streets. It was book store that didn’t belong to any big chain, one of the last ones of its kind. And as an indie store it wasn’t that successful in the regards of the big masses, but had the luck of attracting some of those so called “Book Gourmets”.
To serve those “Book Gourmets” in the right way, the store would celebrate any great release no other store around the city would care about, just like today.
With the store opening at 16:00 P.M. out of respect for the students making up a great part of the potential customers, they had indeed launched a special event. Not only were they the only bookstore in the city to sell a certain book, no they even were one of the only 21 stores all across Japan to sell a special edition with additional content: An unpublished short story written by the very same author. To make it even more special this edition was limited to the low number of 100 exemplars for this store.

Oshiro Masaru was one of the brave men of literature to step out into the city and take on the fight to be one of the first to get his copy of the book. He had accomplished the great deed of travelling to the bookstore within the few minutes he had after his school’s final bell had rang.

He however was still a little late to arrive, as there was already a line of four people to stand before him. But that was most likely excusable as some would even go as far as to skip classes for this very special occasion.
On the other hand the boy was still lucky. Being one of the first ones to enter this store usually meant that there was the rare option of taking a seat in the shop’s small reading corner, enabling him to start reading the book right after he would hold it in his two hands, finally being released from all the tension that waiting for it had built up within him.

It was highly unlikely that anyone would interrupt his joys of reading in here, as all customers were true book fans and therefore knew the etiquettes you had to pay attention to in this kind of establishment.


The mission was shopping groceries.

Kuro Akarui’s day had went according the usual plan. He didn’t have much to do as long as he was within Academy City’s walls and so he was given too much time for himself. The most he could do was passing through the streets practicing the Amakusa’s art of shifting into their surroundings.
So no matter what he would wear or how he would appear, people wouldn’t pay him too much attention, granting him a severe advantage when passing through the city’s filled streets.

As usual, he didn’t expect to see many things, as life in Academy City wasn’t the spectacular life you imagined after hearing the many stories about the Science Side. In short, the days of a Magician were lifeless.

While travelling through the student filled crowds of the fresh afternoon, he would take an occasional glance at the many around him. It wasn’t too surprising for this time to be one of the liveliest hours of the whole day, as many schooldays had ended within the last 30 minutes.

Surprisingly though his eyes had come across something rather…strange.

Amongst the thick crowds made from school uniforms he saw a woman. She was about the age of 18 and appeared like the average Japanese business woman, wearing a dark red business suit with a dark red miniskirt, having the usual black hair and dark eyes as well as the usual Japanese facial features. To say it bluntly she was the worst kind of cliché imaginable.

But that wouldn’t be a thing to gain his attention, simply for there being more than hundreds that were just like her.
The object she was holding in her right hand was a different story, though. To most it would have appeared to be an ordinary maybe expensive fan; an true expert however could immediately tell that there was more to it: The outer spokes were made of solid iron plates painted in a bright crimson colour to hide its true nature; the form was special as well.

Kuro should be able to see through this immediately, was he an expert in that matter.

This fan was a Tessen, an old Japanese weapon used by the samurai whenever they weren’t allowed to carry along their weaponry, sometimes even becoming a tool of assassination, as fans were a luxury one couldn’t be denied to carry.  
A rare sight for our modern times. Not many would own one or even carry one around in everyday life like this woman was. So who was she? A strange atmosphere was it that surrounded her, an atmosphere quite similar to the one emitted by Kuro himself. Could it be that there was a link…?

As stated before: There weren’t many people in this modern day and age to own such old artefacts. Most were collectors, some were simply crazy and the other group…

…were those tainted in the colours of magic.


”Akiyama-san~! It’s time to announce today’s mission, so listen closely!”

The girl was trying to sound as important as possible.

”Today this bookstore over here is having a special sales event and Judgement was requested to oversee everything to ensure public safety! So the two of us will have to step in whenever there may be trouble occurring, like arguments or someone deciding to bring food into the store! Oh and of course we should also send people away that simply want to read books without paying! Basically every task needed to make Academy City a safer place!”

Uiharu Kazari felt great! Finally the time had come for her to have her own kouhai. Finally she had become the helpful senpai someone would look up to; the heroine of the day!
At least that was how she saw it.  
Not only was the girl she was lecturing a little taller than her, no she was even a few years older and student at a far more prestigious school while also having a higher Esper Level. Hence most people would naturally assume their roles were the exact opposite.

”And don’t worry, if you should ever have any questions or need help, just ask me! As a senpai it is my most important mission to help out my kouhai with everything I can!”

Akiyama Rika had become the ideal kouhai in more than one way. Due to her recent crime history it had been decided for her to learn about the important values a proper member of society needed. Therefore she had been given the lowest rank in all of Judgement, making her nothing more than a lackey sent out to handle tasks of so little importance, it was ridiculous. And another futile task was added to that list right now. At least she wouldn’t be left alone with it.
Well she shouldn’t have been, if it wasn’t for the sudden ring of a phone…

”Oh, it’s Shirai-san! Wait…Shirai...-san…? Uuuh…” She fell silent. It was as if a switch had been turned inside her head. From one second to the other the proud brightness on her face had disappeared, leaving nothing but panic behind.
”Oh no…I-I still haven’t finished that report! She’s going to kill me!!”

Just like that the great senpai had turned around within an instant. But before she actually ran off she showed a short sign of hesitation, stopping her attempt of flight.

”Uuuh…Akiyama-san…!
I-I really need to go…! I…I’ll trust you with handling all this! I-I’ll be back soon...! So…

Good Luck!!!” Next the flower headband girl started running as if she really was about to face death sentence, leaving behind a dumbfounded Akiyama Rika in front of the bookstore to handle this utterly unnecessary task…all alone.

Akiyama Rika stood facing Uiharu Kazari, her hands were clasped lightly at her back. She viewed the world through her red thick-rimmed glasses. Rika was dressed in her Tokiwadai Summer Uniform, which consisted of the dark tan skirt, white dress shirt, and the light brown vest. On her right arm was the Judgement armband pinned to the sleeve of her upper-arm. The only thing that she could freely customize about her school uniform was her socks, which were white and calf-height.

She politely listened as her Judgement senpai explained the 'mission' to her, the word 'mission' being used loosely here. The girl who seemed to have various flowers sprouting from her headband was so very excited, the words flowing from her mouth had an overpowering flavor of joy to them. Rika smiled awkwardly, a hint of red showing on her cheeks out of embarrassment. However, it wasn't from being around so many people, or being at this specialty bookstore that caused her to become flushed. Instead, it was this senpai that stood in front of her, so full of energy and enthusiasm that one could feel it oozing out of her every pore. Each overzealous word exploded from Uiharu like rays of light from the sun, and the burning intensity of her smile and brilliance of her sparkling eyes was enough to blind any of the many surrounding pedestrians.

There was only one thought that Rika could manage while staring in amazement at this Judgement senpai's child-like expression of pure bliss, 'C-cute...'

Twiddling her thumbs in anxiousness, Akiyama Rika nodded her head in understanding once Uiharu had finished her explanation, and parted her lips to speak. Before she could, though, a ringing cut her off. It took only a second to realize it was the senpai's who was leading her today, and Rika immediately tightened her lips back up so as to not interrupt the phone call. It wasn't like her to stay so quiet, but Rika had learned the hard way that speaking out to a senpai in Judgement would more than likely get her in even deeper trouble than she already was. For once, she would be nice and quiet, so as to avoid tacking on any more time onto her probationary trial period for Judgement. That was the last thing she wanted.

Before she knew it, Uiharu's entire expression had done a complete flop, and she did not look natural. Rika looked at the face of the girl who had just moments ago been so full of eagerness that it was sickening, and felt a tremor run through her heart as that cute face had now taken on a state of defeat. Uiharu Kazari updated Rika on the situation that had now gone downhill, and without allowing any time for a counter, Uiharu turned around to leave.

Crushing. Defeat.

"A-ah! Wait, don't leave me here alone!" It would have been nice if Rika's words had reached that caring senpai, but they were quickly swallowed up in the noise of the other occupants of the bookstore. The Tokiwadai girl pulled her thick-rimmed glasses off and cleaned the lenses with her vest in frustration. Once she was satisfied with that, she returned them to their rightful place above her nose. Now, the girl was left to deal with Judgement's work all by herself. She had originally only been given the pathetically low jobs of a lackey, such as running errands and running packages between Office Branches; now, she was technically in charge of this mission. This small area that consisted of only the specialty bookstore and its entrance was now her domain. While it should have made her proud and happy, she was instead filled with dread. It meant that now she would have to actually put in effort- instead of leaving Uiharu to the majority of the work- in order to avoid being penalized by Judgement later on for not following orders to the utmost of her abilities.

Akiyama gave an exasperated and drawn-out sigh, trying to recollect herself, "Fuuu~" She tugged on her Judgement armband, setting her mind to the task at hand. Even as she did, Rika's eyes caught a customer attempting to enter the store with what appeared to be a 32 oz. drink container from a nearby fast-food chain restaurant. Clearing her throat once, the Tokiwadai girl approached the boy, who seemed to be in high-school, and grabbed for his attention with an audible "excuse me, sir". Notifying him of the rules, Rika was somewhat surprised at how easy it went when the boy casually tossed his drink into a trash bin and continued on.

Akiyama Rika questioned in her mind, though there was clearly no one to give an answer back, 'How long do I have to be here, exactly?' Her eyes wandered around as she monitored the area that she was now mentally claiming as her own territory. No one would be allowed to break the rules in this zone that Rika had claimed, not because the girl was particularly keen on following the rules, but because it would negatively impact her should she allow rule-breaking to occur on her watch. While she wasn't actively enforcing the rules given to her by Uiharu Kazari, Akiyama mused around the store while keeping an eye out for potential rule-breakers.

Kuro had to admit that this mission could only really be described with one word: boring. While he had no problems with carrying out the station he was given by the Amakusa, he wished a little more could actually happen here. He didn't even fully understand why they felt the need to have a magician like himself here in the city of espers. But at least it was good practice at concealing himself. Not even his unusual attire was noticed by the people as he walked through the bustle and hustle.

But what could this be?

Though the woman he spotted looked average in appearance, black hair, eyes and normal japanese facial features, the Japanese war fan she held in her hand stood out clearly. It might appear to some as a flashy accessory, but to a master of such weapons it raised several flags of suspicion. What was her purpose for even having it on her person, much less holding it in her hand in the middle of this busy, student-filled street? But even more than that, just who was she?

The red suit aside, she looked no different from the citizens around her. But that could just be her own sense of fashion. There was no evidence of appearance to suggest that she didn't belong here in Academy City. But then why did she have a weapon so rarely used by people in this day and age? The possibility occurred to Kuro that she might be a magician like himself. But how probable was that answer?

With little else to go on, Kuro decided to put his trip to the grocery store on hold. This was more interesting and worth investigating. Taking care to keep his distance, he began to follow the woman and try and find out more about her and why she had that fan.

Luckily, he'd been able to muster up enough speed to get fourth in line for the bookstore. Now he was hopelessly out of breath - Running was assuredly not his strong point. As he leaned against the front of the bookstore, waiting for the doors to open, he began to review his plan for the book. He wouldn't use his ability on this one. It was too valuable to not enjoy in its fullest, by turning the pages and consciously seeing the words. He'd read the short story first, since it was shorter than the book. For that purpose, he'd take advantage of the convenient table the store had set up. The actual book could wait for when he arrived back at his dormitory.

The doors opened, and the first few people were ushered in. They even had a Judgement member there. Well, as the store's quantity of short stories dwindled in supply, it was entirely possible there could be a fight. "Thanks," he muttered to her as he entered the store. It was refreshingly cool, and so he took one final deep breath before approaching the register.

"I'd like a copy of Takeda Shingen: The Great Unifier." It was an alternate history novel in which Shingen, instead of Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu, had won the battle to unite Japan. It would be an interesting read, but only the additional short story would make it worth the...

"35,000 yen, please." The cashier's voice interrupted his thoughts, and he rummaged around in his pocket for his wallet. After paying, he quickly walked to the table where he could read. Most of the front part of the bookstore was visible, although he could only see into a few shelves. He opened the book, and began to read.

For a few moments this bookstore had indeed been able to taste the joys of pure peace. The customers were all following the rules and if there was one not doing it, then the Judgement member in charge took care of reminding them of those very rules. This of course only worked thanks to the fact that most customers were book lovers who knew the importance of respect towards their brothers in arms.

But on the other hand there was a great ease at tipping the balance in no time at all.

Guess what was about to come.

”Oi Hanzou, you sure this is a good idea?”

”Calm down Hamazura, that’s the ideal place! I’m not lying! Really!”

Two young gentlemen were about to enter the store.
Well they actually entered, talking loudly without holding back in the slightest. The first one to talk was a guy about highschool age, his hair blonde and his face as ugly as any other delinquent’s; he was wearing an orange zipper hoodie. The other guy wasn’t any better, just another delinquent wearing a black leather jacket with a black bandana on his head.
They were obvious delinquents and – even though nobody present should know – high ranked members of Academy City’s Skill-Out. But were they also true lovers of the written word?

”But really…a book store? You sure we ain’t attracting more attention this way…?”

”Just chill, there’s no better place to relax and hide. The guys over here don’t really talk that much and everyone cares about their own business, better than any bar. See? Those folks are all caught up in their little stories!”

Keeping their voices down was nothing they seemed to bother. The two no-goods had simply continued what they had been doing the whole time, passing by the customers and aiming straight for the reading corner’s large table.
And – it couldn’t have been any worse – they had simply taken their seats right next to a certain glasses wearing book fan.

”’Sup, four eyes?”

There was no book in any of their hands; there was no interest in the etiquettes; their overall appearance was so different from all the intelligent youngsters.
By now it should have been absolutely obvious: Those two truly were black sheep.  


The average girl was apparently nothing less than an average girl.

Upon tailing her, Kuro should have seen just how average she was. Never had her eyes met him; she hadn’t even checked her surroundings even once, like most Magicians would have done. She hadn’t shown worry, nor had any of her movements shown a sign of being under pressure.  

She had headed down the street for while, crossed it at some point making it across right before the lights had turned red, keeping on walking like before. At times she had appeared a little lost, had she been checking street signs a little too often, before finally settling for a direction she was heading for.
For some reason she hadn’t taken out her phone once – unlike most girls her age. But maybe she was one of those girls that weren’t that big about social media – that species still existed.

And just before anyone could have considered her aimless, she had found her way into a large department store, buying a bottle of perfume shaped like an apple made from crystal, only to leave the store again without looking around any further, leaving through a different entrance.

Taking track of her was difficult, no; it should have been a pain, even for someone like Kuro Akarui. The girl had managed to take detours so illogical and random in an absolutely natural manner, it was incredible. She had been so difficult to predict, making sudden decisions that could turn everything around on a whim and she did never stop moving for more than 60 seconds, the only actual hint of a pattern.
It had all happened naturally, yet it was strange. Was she really just that average or was she actually that calculated as to toy with a pursuer on such a level?  

It had become fairly likely that this average girl was nothing more than an airhead carrying around a fan she expected to be nothing more than a fan used for cooling down in the summer heat. Modern day people didn’t know a lot about ancient weaponry after all, did they?


The next instance she had headed around a corner, straight into a dark back alley.

[OOC: The first part is for Rika and Masaru. Just to let you know~]

...Two delinquents. Were they going to steal his book? He really didn't want to have to use his ability to read it, but if he was going to be forced to hand it over... He guessed it would take about 45 seconds to read the short story, which is what they'd be interested in. Just in case, he began to analyze the test for its resistivities, using his Esper Power.

Wait a second, delinquents didn't steal books! Plus, there was a Judgement member in here. She'd stop them if they tried anything, right?

"Hey. How're you guys doing? Read anything good lately?"

Any way to defuse whatever situation there was, he would use. Besides, delinquents were normal people too. Normal people could have normal conversations. Hopefully the Judgement girl would notice before long.

Draining...absolutely, positively draining. That was the only word that could describe this impulsive investigation. Kuro had continued his pursuit of the mysterious, war fan carrying airhead for what felt like an eternity. As skilled as he was at remaining unnoticed by normal people, Kuro was starting to feel the drain of constantly weaving untouched through the crowds while keeping an eye on this girl and her near constant, seemingly erratic movements. But even as tiring as it all was, he was starting to get more information on her and develop a better deduction on her. The way she wandered around with a confused air, often checking street signs, showed Kuro that she was likely not from around here. Yet she didn't seem exactly like a magician; not careful enough to check her surroundings. So rather than someone malicious, perhaps she was here to visit someone or attend some kind of event?

The duck into the department store nearly cost him his cover. He didn't dare risk waiting for her outside, as the store had several entrances. The chances of missing her departure from the building in this crowd were much higher than he was comfortable with. But that didn't make it any easier to blend in with the shoppers in the perfume section of a department store. Kuro actually found himself approached by a much too eager and attentive employee as he pretended to peruse the selection, asking him if he needed help finding anything. He made a double check to make sure the girl hadn't noticed him from this and shook the worker off with a simple answer of "Just browsing..."

After she made her purchase, the insanely random chase began again. She moved about the streets as aimless as a rat in a maze. If she did have a destination in mind, Kuro felt she surely had no idea how to get there. But he couldn't shake one feeling from his mind. This all seems a bit too random, even for a lost or absent minded person. Is she possibly following a route to shake off anyone who'd try and find out where she's going? Nah... Kuro shook the over-thinking from his mind as he kept up the chase. This was starting to border on exhausting. The only thing that kept his curiosity perked was that fan. If it had been a regular fan, he wouldn't have minded so much. But for her to be wandering the streets with a weapon like that...he just felt he needed to know why.

Then things seemed different as she turned and headed off the road and into an alleyway. Why would a girl leave the main road and take such a dark and suspicious looking path? Kuro took care to make sure he was unseen and followed her in, pressing himself against the building walls to avoid blocking the light from the street and revealing himself.

Various glances and stares were pointed at the two black sheep, not so much for the way they dressed, but the volume at which they spoke. This was obviously a book store and reading center, and people required a quiet atmosphere to really enjoy the stories they were reading. Clearly, it didn't bother these two, but it sure impacted the other customers. It was because of the uncomfortable atmosphere that Rika was forced to act in accordance with her Judgement duties, even if she didn't necessarily want to.

Approaching the table that the newly formed trio were stationed at, Rika tapped the shoulder of the boy in leather, "Excuse me, but you really need to keep it down. You don't seem to understand proper etiquette, because you're interrupting the other guests with your loud voices. Please keep it down..." There was a pause as the Judgement girl looked over not just the two newcomers, but even the glasses-boy who was with them. Besides the latter, the other two were in clothes that were more befitting of a street fight or a carjacking, instead of going to book opening. 'Maybe... No, that'd be stupid. Then perhaps... Hah, that wouldn't make sense. Then it could be... No no no, none of that fits together!' Rika rustled her own hair in contemplation, still looking at the group, before placing her hand down on the table with a short sigh.

She was done trying to think it over, like her senpais in Judgement had taught her. Instead, she was going to just be herself and let it go as it may. After all, the adults always told her to be honest, right? With a straight-forward face, Rika parted her lips, "Gah, I just can't get around it! You're delinquents no matter how I look at it." Her eyes jumped from the leather guy, to the one with dyed blonde hair, and finally stopped on the boy who looked like he had actually fit in there. "But I really can't see how you're with these two..." Furrowing her brow as she thought, Rika looked back at the other two before returning her gaze to the glasses-boy, "You can tell this Ojou-sama if you're being bullied, you know!" There was an innocent smile on her face as the girl with the Tokiwadai uniform on removed her hands from the table, straightened up, and placed her hands on her hips in an attempt to seem more elegant, thought it did not feet whatsoever.

”You see…Hamazura is the reader of the two of us. But he ain’t too much into books. He prefers magazines. The ones for real grown ups, if you get what I mean!”

Then the bandana guy began laughing, his friend joined in. Did they show any intention of actually purchasing anything? You’d wonder. Sadly their fun was to be interrupted by the approach of a brave middle school girl.
They both appeared a little surprised, forcing them to remain silent for a few seconds. Not a real success for her, though, as words were to follow soon again.

”Huh? Too loud? Sorry. Sooorry. But isn’t the customer supposed to be the king? And none of the other guys said anything, doesn’t that mean it’s fine for them? Doesn’t it!?” He had turned towards the glasses boy forcing upon a positive answer. ”Like he said, we’re here to buy books! Good books! Books about…uuuh…stuff! And while…doing so…making friends with other book friends ain’t forbidden, right?”
Rika should have been able to tell that those two weren’t going to become her friends. In fact it had taken them a few seconds to already settle on the fact that they were born enemies. The girl’s school uniform was more than enough to settle this.
The words she had spoken made it even worse, though, had she fed their expectations in the proper way. They had obviously been waiting for this opportunity.

”Ojou-chan! Your words hurt us so deeply! We’re not mere delinquents! We’re customers! Aren’t you Judgement people supposed to be nice and friendly to anyone? Let alone help the innocent people in need?”

Time for a counter attack! The guy called Hamazura took the word first. he was actually also preventing a worse disaster from occurring while also taking the chance to release his frustration on the girl full force. This situation was a free pass for fun entertainment after all.

”Ojou-chan! Uuuh…I really want to buy a book, but…there’s no clerk around to help me! But you’re here…and…it’s your duty to help, too, right? So could you please show some more kindness and help me find…uuuuuh…the ideal book for me to buy? I mean, it’s your job, right Ojou-chan? It’s not like you would go ahead and piss simple customers with money in their pockets off, ain’t ya?”


Gone.

The alley way was empty. It was shadowy yet not absolutely dark as a small portion of sunlight was still able to reach into the small passage between two large buildings. Deep shadows however should still remain, adding a touch of mystery to the scene. On the alley’s sides Kuro could make out a few trash cans and trash containers here and there. If he looked a little higher he would see the typical fire escapes, like ladders or even staircases. That was all there was to notice upon first glance.

Well there was actually something else. In the exact middle – oddly enough – a little deeper into the alley stood something made from crystal. It was red; reminiscent of an apple. Kuro of course knew the object, had he seen it only a few minutes ago.

The red crystal apple was sparkling as a weak sunbeam hit its surface.

It was tempting.

It was a trap. Even an idiot should be able to tell it.

Obviously, it had been way too obvious.

But what was the secret behind such an obvious trap? Was it a Magical thing toying with the symbol of the apple representing the temptation in a biblical sense? Or was it simply that the girl had lost it right there as she had been walking into the alley way?

Where was she even?

There was no way of telling. It was if her presence had been fully erased from this world.

Kuro cast his vision over the whole of the dimly lit alley, trying to find where the girl had gone. But aside from empty fire escapes and scattered trash containers, he saw nothing upon first glance. Then a sparkle of light danced across his vision as he moved forward to investigate. The same decorative perfume bottle the girl had just purchased in the store was now sitting in the center of alley further in. Just placed there in plain sight with its owner nowhere to be seen. Obviously planted, as such a brittle crystalline object would be totally shattered if dropped by mistake. But that begged the question, why? Was this some kind of trap?

Kuro ventured closer, wondering if it was safe enough to touch the apple. But as he took another step, his suspicions all came flooding back. This seemed too risky. And the girl's disappearance was too quick and sudden. Besides, he was alone in an alley now. This opened up certain other options. An almost playful smirk came to his lips as he reached up and unwound the scarf wrapped around his neck, holding it in his left hand like a whip.

The air in the alley seemed to change as he held this article of clothing tightly between his fingers. Then he drew his arm back and whipped it forward again in a fluid winding motion that brought the scarf leaping ahead of him. If it had been a whip, it probably would have cracked. In response to the scarf's movement, a sudden fierce gale of wind blew down through the alley from Kuro's position. He had made it in an attempt to disturb the apple and see if it was rigged in any way, but he had also turned his attention to the trash cans. The wind was strong enough to blow them over too. Perhaps people might be hiding in them. If so, he wanted the drop on them rather than the other way around.

Well, they were off his back. That was what he wanted, right? Plus, they were bothering the Judgement girl, and it was her job to deal with delinquents. So his work here was done, right? He could get back to reading.

In an ideal situation, that would be the case. But, even as selfish as he was, Masaru didn't think it was a good idea for the girl to deal with them alone. Didn't Judgement usually work in teams? Plus, even though most delinquents tended to be Level 0s, you could never be sure. At the ver least, he could relieve some of the pressure. He sighed, folded up his book, and stuck it into his school bag as he faced the girl.

"I wouldn't say I'm being bullied, although I think it may be in our best interests to just get them their book."

Leaning in, he reinforced his point in a lower voice. "That way, they'll leave. I know this store pretty well; If you watch them out here I can quickly get whatever they're looking for. Is that a plan?"

With her hands still on her hips, Rika clenched her fists, scrunching up the ends of her light brown vest in frustration. With a deep breathe in an attempt recompose herself, she released her vest and brought her hands together in front of her as if to ask for an apology, making a smile that was clearly forced. The edge of her curved lips twitched slightly before she began speaking to the two delinquents in front of her. "You know, I'm not an employee here, d-d-dear customer..." Rika trembled as those words passed through her lips, but she continued to restrain herself in a mature way, "so what books you want are not of any concern to me. This armband -that I didn't even want- does not mean I am a maid that follows the whims of the public, understand?" There was obvious contempt in Rika's words, although she did a remarkable job at keeping herself tame, if not because she was on her first single-player Judgment mission, but because she was in a bookstore.

Placing her quivering hands back down onto the table, her eyes jumped from the two delinquents to the glasses boy. "I appreciate your assistance in the matter. If you wish to do as they like, you are free to do so. I will reluctantly do my job and keep the peace, since that's what I'm here for." Her gaze then shifted once again to the two older boys in low-class get-ups. "And as I previously stated, keep your voices down since this is something akin to a library." Taking a step back from the table and coughing to clear her throat, Rika put on a smile that seemed like it naturally came to all of the Tokiwadai ladies, clasped her hands together as politely as possible, and changed her tone completely. "Now please listen to this Ojou-sama and follow the rules! Tehehe!~"

”But Ojou-chan, what we are asking you to do is…uuh…keeping the peace! I mean doesn’t keeping the peace include helping out customers in need that would otherwise have to…uuuh…ask other customers…and…well…ruin their fun at reading their new stuff?”

”You’re not doing a good job as a Judgement member. I know how they’re supposed to behave, been dealing with ‘em a lot. Soo this’d be worth a complaint.”

Unlike the two glassed elite students the two delinquents were a team of great brilliance, launching their attacks with perfect unison. And not only that, they seemed to have quite some experience in that kind of battle. As they had, they were already prepared to bring out their next trump to nail it once and for all.
From one moment to the other the bandana guy had take a cheap phone from his pocket that he was now presenting as if it were a straight flush in a game of poker. If the evil grin wasn’t explanation enough the words he spoke would do the rest.

”Of course a good complaint will only work with evidence. Those tricks phones have nowadays are pretty handy, aren’t they? I mean taking pictures, recording voices and all that good stuff.”

Now that was an obvious attempt of blackmail thrown out in the usual straight forward manner those to were showing ever since they had entered the little shop.

”But guess what! We’re nice guys and we’ll give you another shot. Just behave like a proper Judgement member should, yes?”

”…now...back to the book I’m looking for. Would you be kind enough to help me out…ojou-chan?”

Those two idiots were still playing their little game of stepping on the Judgement girl’s nerves. Luckily that girl wasn’t able to know that their cheap phone didn’t even have anything like a voice recording function. However a good bluff in most cases was more than enough to conquer quick victory.
It had been working in the old days of the great armies fighting and it would work in the modern times, with delinquents messing with “honour students”!


It was the all too familiar sound of a war fan being swung down with utmost precision.

The gust of wind was blowing through the alley, throwing over some of the trashcans, pushing them and few pieces or garbage farther away. That little perfume bottle wasn’t an exception. Besides that nothing happened in the alley way. No explosion, no fancy light show and not even a hint of Mana being set free. It was all just...ordinary. The average result.

However all of Kuro Akarui’s focus should have been on monitoring the result of his action. Of course it was, no normal person wouldn’t be curious about seeing the activation of a trap they had seen through that easily. And that was the exact thought the hunter had come up with…
Everything had gone according her plan.

A ferocious single strike was unleashed from point blank range.

He shouldn’t have noticed the person behind him. There was no way he could have, had he been distracted from the beginning. Well that wasn’t the main reason: This person’s sneaking ability had been on a level far different from anything he had met in his life. If you were looking for a good comparison then Japan’s legendary elite assassins were the best fit.

That single strike was aimed straight for the back of his head, relying on the war fan’s metal plates as well as the movement’s overall perfection. To put it bluntly: It was a sure kill attack. But the execution was far from perfection.

In the end he only should have been unable to notice, if it wasn’t for the sound ringing in his ears just now. With only a split second of time to react Kuro Akarui had been giving a decisive chance.

As his spell blew through the alley, Kuro's concentration was suddenly invaded by an unknown disturbance in the wind around him. With his scarf in hand, he had a mild sense of the airspace around him, which along with the telltale ringing of metal helped to save his life. He made a large sidestep to the left as the attack was made against him. But since the attack had gone unnoticed until the last moment due to his heavy concentration on the apple, Kuro didn't have time to fully dodge the attack, even with his speed.

The blades of the war fan ripped through the right shoulder of Kuro's robes. It managed to cut into his flesh, but only a light gash as he spun counterclockwise along with his sidestep and brought his scarf whipping up, producing a repelling blast of wind to separate his attacker from him. His first thought had been to cast a wind blade, but you can't get info out of a corpse. He was still playing this safe, making a non-lethal counter-attack to try and get some answers.

Kuro's main focus was now on the assailant, but he kept wary of his surroundings in case she had allies waiting to attack from his blind spot again. He stared at this girl, asking the first natural question that could be said in this or any situation to be honest, "Who are you?"

[OOC: I decided to post for Kuro to get this thing moving~]

Taken by surprise she was blown backwards by a few metres.

After sliding for a little bit, the distance between them had gone up to 7 metres.

The girl he would find in front of him was of course the exact average girl he had been following ever since he had discovered that war fan among the crowds. She was staring at him, as intense as a wolf would when hunting down their prey.

”Ridiculous.” The girl took a long pause. She moved her feet in order to take on the perfect stance for this very combat situation. Her breathing had been growing more regular, she was definitely preparing herself. ”The creep is asking me who I am? What kind of messed up logic is that? Do you people never think about why you are attacked in the first place?”
In the end even her voice was quite the average example for a Japanese girl. Well one that was rather easy to annoy.  

Taking a very deep breath her eyes were focusing on him, scanning him from top to bottom.

Without any hesitation she had begun charging forward at full speed.

There was no knowledge about his set of abilities in her head, there was no knowledge about anything her stalker was able to do, yet she was taking this opportunity for a straight attack on a whim. Was she crazy? Or was there an actual plan backing up her recklessness?

”Creeps like you need to be punished!!”

Her aim was to strike his head with the closed war fan, relying on its club like characteristics. To put it bluntly, another killing blow was about to follow. Wasn’t she forcing herself a little too much to end this quickly? What was all that hurry even about?

Well, that was that. Masaru sighed again before fully standing up from his seat. His hard-won seat, in which he had simply intended to finish a book. In which he had intended to simply enjoy his afternoon by reading something without using his Esper power. He'd better get something in exchange for this selflessness. At the very least, maybe he could call in a favor with the Judgement girl at a later time.

"All right." He turned to the delinquents. "I know this store better than anyone here. What's the book? I'll find it for you to buy it."

...And leave, he mentally added. They were disrupting his plans. Of course they didn't actually intend to get a book - But he'd get a bit of recompense for his effort when he could laugh at whatever book they'd come up with for him to get.

Now things were getting confusing again. Kuro was unable to think of what it was that had tipped this girl off to his presence in the first place, but now she was attacking him like this had been her aim all along. He wondered if she was mistaking him for someone else. The "creeps like you" line had awoken such thoughts as he didn't know what she was referring to. Did she have some knowledge of him being a magician? Maybe she was a trained, capable woman who was attacking him as an alleged creepy stalker. Or...maybe she was a member of one of those anti-esper gangs that he'd heard about. Her anger along with her straightforward normal attacks contributed to that as a possibility. Either way, he couldn't let her continue this struggle, or he'd be forced to get serious and maybe hurt her.

"Too naive. You continue your assault without knowing everything about your opponent."

The cold critique cut more harshly from his mouth than any weapon could hope to achieve as Kuro's right hand moved in and out of his robe with a flash, rising up to meet her closed war fan. But instead of being barehanded, Kuro had produced one of his own two war fans. The solid metal one that was more like a club than a fan; a single of metal perfect for parrying the opponent's strike. In addition, Kuro did away with his position of only defense and mixed in a counterattack. As his fan met her own, he whipped his left arm in a circular motion that wrapped his scarf around his left fist. Next came a fierce jab that resulted in a mass of compressed air, more concentrated than the gust he'd used to separate them earlier, firing from his hand and scarf just before his strike met her body. Unlike the earlier gust, this blast would have enough spontaneous force to blow her back and knock her off her feet. There was a slight risk of injury involved, but nothing fatal. Kuro was hoping he could make her stop before it came to that.

The attempts to pick at Rika's nerves was clearly working exceedingly well. She gritted her teeth, trying her hardest to make it as unnoticeable as possible. Her fingers twitched, and the Tokiwadai girl maintained her composure to a certain extent. If it wasn't the delinquents' presence that pushed her buttons, and was their blatant threats of blackmail. To be so shameless as to blackmail a Judgement member, let alone a young, delicate lady such as herself; these two completely shattered her first impressions of them as simple delinquents upgraded them to scoundrels.

When the glasses boy gave in to their demands, it brought out a deep breathe from Rika. It saved her not only from the public embarrassment of making a scene, but also the punishment that came after she returned to the Judgement Office. While Uiharu herself may not have seemed like any sort of threat, there were plenty of other members that were potentially dangerous elements. With Masaru taking responsibility, Rika placed her hands together and bowed her head slightly. "Ehehe, thank you, dear customer!" The smile was a bit forced, but also sincere to a (small) degree. He was doing the job she really did not want to do, and it would also hopefully get her out of this sticky situation. What a deal on her end! That was how you were supposed to use people, especially if she could get away without any consequences on her end.

With one last distasteful look- more of a glare, actually- at the duo of delinquents before she tried to dismiss herself from the situation. "As I have an actual job to do, I'll be leaving you three." Rika quickly escaped the scene, making a quick round trip around the store. It was simply to check and make sure everything else was going as it should, and upon seeing that nothing else was out of the ordinary, she felt relieved. Now the Judgement member could return to making sure a certain couple of idiots didn't do anything stupid. She wasn't going to make her presence known to them, but instead would spy from a distance. Or rather, that was how the plan was supposed to go. Instead, Rika moved around the bookshelves, hid amongst the customers, and attempted to be all around sneaky. That's exactly how she saw it, but it would probably be completely obvious to anyone remotely street-smart, which she was definitely not.

That Judgement girl really was someone those two would never stand. An arrogant egoistic princess girly that would command others to dirty their hands in her stead, quick at sacrificing anyone near them just for their own advantage; that type surely was the most hated one amongst the members of Skill-Out.
But they had decided to leave it at that when the glasses boy took the initiative.

”Fine, then you’ll be the one to help me, pal.” ”Yeah, thanks for being such a great help, ojou-chan!”

Masaru wasn’t lucky, though, as he was still an obvious Nagaten student, another one of Skill-Out’s natural enemies so to say. However as he had taken the boy’s offer Hamazura had finally gotten up from his chair, ready to be led through the book store by the professional advisor.

”Since you’re a guy, I guess I don’t need to keep any secrets. So…the list is…a little longer. Wanted to spare lil’ ojou-chan a little. Suppose that ain’t a problem, huh?” With that the blonde boy tried to lead the friendly helper a little farther away from the table they had been occupying, straight towards the store’s many shelves. For now there didn’t seem to be any evil intention on the boy’s mind, at least he was acting quite natural – natural for a delinquent in a book store. Still, this would mark the beginning of a long journey. ”Soooo what I want? Uuh…been looking for a love story, not one with the overly long romantic part but one where they skip to the good part right away. Well described at best…I mean most of that crap is boring as shit filler, right...hehe?
Also something from Chopping or Beck (Chopin and Bach) ‘d be nice.” The ability to actually pretend being an educated book fan was obviously nowhere to be found on Hamazura’s skill list.  
”Oooooh and…uuh…does this shop have something like…adult mags?

Holding back? What for? Hamazura was aiming straight for the top! The one helping him was a guy after all and a true man would of course be able to understand another man’s desires!


The other guy had never followed them, left behind at the table. However once anyone would check, they would soon figure out that his seat was empty. No trace of him was left. He had simply disappeared, just like that…


The war fans’ collision was all it had taken for her to foresee the battle’s conclusion. With a faint smile on her lips she had let go of her weapon, letting it be thrown away as if it was nothing more than a burden.
Hence there was nothing that would slow her down anymore.
Circling around Kuro at highest speed, she easily evaded the wind fist he had thrown at her. She hadn’t been fully able to see through the trick he was attempting to use against her, yet the scarf’s sole usage was enough of a signal to her.
And then once she had circumvented his defences, she went straight for the weakest spot. Time to strike.

It was simple strike using her hand’s heel aimed for his defenceless neck. Nothing more was needed to end this all.

Usually such a blow would be seen in cheap martial arts movies, yet there was some truth behind its devastating capabilities. True masters surely knew how to perform such a strike as killing technique and she was most likely to be one of them. In this case however it would simply immobilise him for the time being, robbing him off all resistance.

He wasn’t bad; it wasn’t that she was superior; it simply was her unique style of fighting that she used in order to gain the ultimate advantage. She was quick at finishing things and she intended to do so from the very beginning. Therefore all this could never be called an actual fight.

”A warrior should learn lessons for himself before he decides to lecture others. Truly: You Academy City folk are the most ridiculous people I have ever met.”

In the end he would remain at her mercy. The girl had proven the capabilities to easily manage to defeat a professional Magician barehanded, robbing his capabilities to resist her future attacks, making it obvious that there was some deeper intention within her actions.

”Now can you tell me all I wish to know?”

Kuro grew wary as his attacking opponent smiled and deftly dodged his counterattack. But even as he followed her movement around him, he couldn't recover from the motion of his own spell in time to evade or block her hand. Stars burst before his vision and his legs grew weak, causing him to fall rather clumsily to his knees, also dropping the tessen in his right hand. Her blow had completely stunned him for a few moments, but he was still able to perceive everything around him.

This is bad...I can't do anything to resist her right now.

The only choice Kuro had left was to talk like it seemed the girl wanted to do in the first place. She could have used a nicer method of introduction though. "I guess this is what I get for going easy on an unknown enemy. Your movements were pretty good." Kuro's voice seemed as calm as ever, only showing the slightest difference in tone to convey genuine respect for the girl's performance. He was a martial artist as well as a magician, and as a result had a high opinion of skilled warriors. "I can only tell you what you wish to know if it falls within my knowledge. So there very well may be answers you seek that I cannot give you."

Kuro tried moving his fingers, but could only wiggle them a tiny bit. He would have to try and keep her talking if he wanted to make a recovery enough to get out of this predicament.

”Without any second thought I’m sure that I can say the same about you. Against most opponents your attacks would have worked quite well. However my style is a strong exception anyway.” Speaking those words the girl had gone ahead to collect the tessen she had lost during her final move’s execution. Once she had retrieved it she returned back to where the incapacitated Kuro lay; her eyes had been fixated on him all the time, scanning even the slightest movements he would show. The girl also made sure for him to always be positioned in her striking range.

”I can also see that you favour the tessen, a funny coincidence. Oh, I wish I could have seen a short presentation of your skill, but there was hardly time for that. Still: You are good, aren’t you? How great is your mastery?” It was as if there were little sparkling stars twinkling within her deep dark eyes. There was no denying that the girl carried some strong obsession about martial arts in her heart, that was just how deep she had sunken into that world.
Yet in this case this curse also lead her to mix up priorities, meaning she totally forgot about the interrogation at hand or even more important: Her actual purpose. A truly professional behaviour? ”If I really am honest: I still need a lot of Tessenjutsu training. It isn’t easy, though. My comrades don’t think it fits one of us in the least. I mean the tessen is a weapon of the samurai, not one to be used by us.
However that isn’t enough to change my heart. I really love it! Ever since the first time I saw it, my heart was skipping beats! Not often are there weapons that befit my style of fighting like that!!”

That non average average girl had totally lost it, hadn’t she?

Suddenly a thought crossed her mind! Quickly before even cursing her own inability she jumped back into serious mode, finally getting back to her original intention of questioning the mystery man.

”Oooh right. I wanted to press some answers out of you, Mr.
So…uuuh…who are you? How old are you? Where are you from? What are your hobbies? And what you’re preferences?

No wait…

those were the standard questions for dating not for interrogations!!!”

As her voice had grown a few pitches higher, her face had turned all red, glowing like molten metal! Shame overload!

[OOC: As announced I will make sure for this thread to progress~]

Agh... He'd really messed up. Now he basically had to do what the delinquent was saying. It sounded like he wanted a romance novel... but one where the characters were already in a relationship? Masaru really didn't read those kinds of novels in the first place, so he couldn't think of any off the top of his head...

The next comment blew through his train of thought like a shot from the fabled Railgun of Tokiwadai.

"A-Adult magazines? What're you thinking? Of course they don't sell those here!"

They probably actually did - at least some, in one of the sections of the store - but he hadn't really sought them out, and didn't have any intention to do so this time either. He took a few breaths and continued, rather more calmly.

"Look, if you want those kinds of things, check your local convenience store. They'll have a better selection. I might be able to do something about the first part, though..."

He still had no idea about the romance novel, but he had a plan that would more than make up for it, if it worked.

"All right, you wait here. I'll be back in a bit - I've already got a book in mind."

That last part was a lie. Masaru retreated into the maze of shelves until he was certain he couldn't be seen and pulled out his phone. It would have been considered advanced, were he not in Academy City - All the processing power and storage of a normal laptop, condensed into a handheld package. He took a breath and opened up the web browser. Time to get to work.

Just to check, he tried to use his ability. Green sparks arced over the phone's surface, but outside of its internal storage, no information came to him. He still couldn't link his memory with the Internet - So he'd have to do this the normal way.

Search engines are everyone's friend. He typed in "romance novel with pre-existing relationship" and hoped for the best. He opened the first five or so results and then used his ability again - As long as the pages were being stored on his phone's RAM, he could read them nearly instantly.

Most of the information wasn't helpful, but that was the case with most things. He sifted past all that and brought to bear the few pieces of data he could use. There were a few titles he thought would be a good match. With that being done, he hurried to the Romance section.

The store had four of the books which he'd decided on, so he took them off the shelves. It was time to use his ability again and find out if they really fit the bill. Quickly reading the first few chapters, he determined that one of them wasn't what the delinquent would be looking for. That left three.

"Geneva Convention of Love," a novel about a time when rules are put on love just like they were on war. "Chocolate Cold Day," about what happens when a couple gets snowed into a resort cabin on Valentine's Day. "Before the Sea's Scent Fades Away," a love story which made girls in Japan fall in love with fishermen at an alarming rate. These would be the contestants in his fight to oust the delinquent from his reading spot. Masaru hurried back to where he'd left the other person. There'd only been about five minutes between the time he'd left and now.

"Here're some books which fit. Is that enough?"

Hamazura had been left behind with some disappointment remaining written on his face. Were those adult magazines that important to him? At least he didn’t show any signs of caring for where that boy was headed for, remaining where he had been standing all along.

”A bookstore, huh…?”, he muttered to himself. He still didn’t understand why his comrade was so eager about picking this location. ”At least we’re safe, ain’t we?” More muttering.

With a few moments having passed the glasses boy finally returned carrying a few items. Items that could obviously be described as books. Yet there was still no real enthusiasm seen in the face of the one he was trying to help.
All that delinquent boy did was take all three books into his hands at once, check the descriptions written on the back side and then speak out the obvious: ”Mhh…so those are for real grown ups, yes?” No sign of shame, simply shooting out this question without even a second’s hesitation.

Another pause; the guy used his left arm to press the books against his chest so that he could make use of his right for the important task of scratching his head and butt. ”Still no adult mags. And here I thought the rumours about those bookstores were true…
Does this store really not have the gourmet 5 stars extra S rank bunny girl mags from overseas where the models are so extremely erotic you’ll get seven nights of wet dreams after just seeing the cover…?” The older boy’s shoulders dropped at the moment of realisation. ”Guess next time I’m simply gonna get my stuff at the store ‘round the corner again…damn it bookstore…”


Just like a innocent puppy left in the rain, the delinquent stood there. His spirits appeared to be crushed by the heartless evil glasses boy that would tell him lies instead of actually trying. Lied to and disposed of, the misery of one that carried a dream within his heart.

That poor good willed delinquent wouldn’t get his high class porn, just because of some mischievous spoiled honour student ridiculing his feelings…

Just how could a human being become as heartless as that Masaru…?

"Well it sure is a small world" Kuro commented lightly as the girl announced her own admiration of tessenjutsu. "I still have more to learn, so I wouldn't call myself a master, but I'd hope that my skill is somewhat high since my home is a tessenjutsu dojo. I've been learning it since I was born."

Kuro was glad that she seemed so easily distracted. It was saving him the trouble of finding a way to stall for time, and at the same time allowing him to relax. This chatty atmosphere she had going now was making her seem a lot less dangerous, even if she'd managed to incapacitate him in an alley. There was nothing to lose, merely everything to gain by being friendly and making conversation with her now.

"I am impressed by your footwork. You make great use of evasion rather than striking head on, which would be a bad choice with a tessen. I don't know who your friends are, but if they don't appreciate your skill, pay their opinion no mind." The sudden change in her seriousness made Kuro crack a small grin on the corner of his mouth, which persisted as she jumped into her...serious interrogation? How amusing this was.

"No need to press answers out of me. I ain't going anywhere. Kuro Akarui. Age: 25. I like practicing my martial arts, listening to music, and reading books. Anything to pass the time really. I kinda go with the flow. As for my preferences..." This was a hard question. Despite his age, Kuro hadn't paid much attention to establishing relationships of that kind yet in his life. But he had to admit, he did have an idea of what made women desirable. The faces of a few girls from the Amakusa danced in his mind for a moment. He then smirked a split second before having some honest fun. Who would've thought that telling the truth could have such entertaining possibilities? "I guess I like a woman who's kind of plain, nothing too glamorous. Being a strong partner would be a plus, and oh yeah I really like long hair; especially dark in color like brown or black.

These words flowed from Kuro's mouth with no hesitation because there was no deception needed. Everything he'd just described was his honest opinion. His always calm demeanor had allowed him to confess this without even so much as a pink hue on his cheeks. As he spoke, he tested his hand opposite from her, finding that it was possible to clench his fingers now. Just a while longer.

"Since I gave you my name, may I ask for yours in return Miss?

The words making up the response to her “interrogation” really struck her hard.
He is actually answering my questions!??!?!?!??!!? Her head’s red had grown even brighter, surpassing the state of glowing by shining as if it were a lamp! This was terrible! So utterly and undeniably terrible! With all her might she tried to cover that shame filled face of hers with both her arms, of course unable to prevent the bright red from shining through.
And then his description of the type of women he liked…it really delivered the final blow. The poor girl was close to choking.

It had taken some strength to calm her emotion’s overflowing heat.

”M-my name…y-you want to know…my name?” Once she had repeated the words he had just spoken, the red’s intensity began to rise once again. Her Love Success Super Dating Handbook Volume 4 would have described this situation as “now is the time, go for it little butterfly and rush straight for the 1st base”.
But...this was hardly the right time for that! Shaking her head at an impossible frequency she tried to rid herself of any indecent and unprofessional thought. ”No! No! No! No! Noooo!! I said noooo!!!”

After another short while her face had finally turned back to a state that could somehow be described as normal. Of course there was still some hint of pink to be seen ornamenting her average cheeks. Nonetheless, seriousness had returned onto her face. ”Looking at my current circumstances it wouldn’t be wise to give out too much information or any at all. On the other hand, though, there would be no gain for you from obtaining this information, except a symbolic one of course.” A short pause; the girl had decided to think through her next step before speaking. ”Refer to me as Kisaragi.” In the end she had settled on revealing something. There was no way to tell if this was her true name or something she had made up on whim.

Even now that girl called Kisaragi would be surrounded by some weird tension, one that any shoujo manga would depict by adding a lot of “dokidokis” floating in the air around her. She even was pressing her free hand against her chest, fighting the chaotically beatings.

”S-so what is such a person that grew up in the old world doing in a place like Academy City?” Suddenly a switch had been turned. From one second to the other everything had changed into an entirely opposite direction. No trace of that lovey dovey atmosphere left.
”Wait. You aren’t with Academy City, right? Then which side do you belong to? Were you sent by another clan or what exactly was your reason for following me around the city like some creep?” Her tension had changed yet again, reaching an interrogator’s ideal form.

”Answer me, Kuro-san. I want to know all of it.”

One wrong move and his head was likely to be smashed to pieces. The girl calling herself “Kisaragi” was dead serious.


Today had been a tough day for Mari Illustrious Makinami.

Early in the morning had she been contacted and given a mission along with the other members of Deep-Six. They’ve been told to take down an intruder that had somehow managed to sneak into a facility in District 2, Academy City’s military centre. Usually such a thing wouldn’t be within the range of possibility, as most intruders would fail at the insanely tough security. This one however had managed to somehow slip through. To top it all, the higher ups had settled on keeping Anti-Skill out of this, probably due to some secrets that should never be leaked.

Indeed that person was rather skilled, even giving all six members a though time hunting them down. Their target wasn’t an exceptional fighter nor were they equipped with a special ability or some kind of superior weaponry, yet they were still capable of surviving for hours and hours; just by relying on what seemed to be old school techniques. The effort it had taken to corner that eternally fleeing opponent could only be described as inhuman.

Yet when they had done so, it had already been too late. Their target had died; committed suicide to be precisely. To raise the difficulty level of gathering data about themselves the intruder had made sure to destroy all her belongings by burning them or using some kind of acid to destroy what could be destroyed.

The only information the Deep-Six were to gather was the fact that their intruder had been a Japanese woman, possibly from outside the city – they were unable to find any data on her – relying on weaponry that was long since outdated.
Many questions had been raised, though there was no trace of a solution.


With all that trouble over Mari had decided to call it a day and spend the few hours left to her at one of her favourite dancing machines in one of the city’s lesser popular arcades. In order to prevent additional time loss, she had decided to take a few shortcuts in order to reach her destination quickly.

Her shortcuts would lead her straight through a certain back alley.

Being right at the alley’s other end there was still some distance between her and those that had been fighting on its other end only a few moments ago. The girl shouldn’t know about her luck yet…


”Seems like someone’s going to crash your little romantic Cinderella date, Kisaragi Anko-cha~n” A faint voice’s whisper in the darkness.