[SS] Bi-Polar Opposites Attract Trouble

Thursday May 13th | 4:05 pm

School District 18 was unique among the school districts of Academy City. The most well known was that it houses two of the most prestigious high schools in the city--Kirigaoka Girls' Academy and Nagatenjouki Academy, among many others. However, that was not the only point of uniqueness. The district's layout seemed to be quite rigid. It gave off an almost restrictive atmosphere. The roads were of uniform width and the layout was overall consistent. It was as if the architects had designed the district with the sole purpose of keeping the students from having the idea of breaking the rules. One could wonder whether this was an intended psychological effect much like the effects of District 3.

However, those who were a part of the every day hustle and bustle of this district never really noticed the atmosphere that it could exude. As the chilly spring breeze flowed through the streets of District 18, a girl with silver hair wearing a Nagatenjouki summer uniform shivered, clutching the school bag in her hand.

In the end, it was a day just like any other. As the silver-haired girl named Kohaku leisurely walked down the streets of the district, she peered through the windows of the various stores that were littered around the area.

Thursday May 13th, 4:05 pm

She looked around with a sense of wonder and she truly seemed like a new baby with such immense of curiosity of the world. Though that would be the case if she had displayed any emotion, but she only seemed like a cool beauty with her maple colored hair and familiar Tokiwadai Uniform. She also had an odd set of military goggles strapped to her forehead. She had only set out in the outside world today and hadn't wasted any time to begun her real world training.

As those who helped her early this morning had said that her knowledge from testament will not teach her everything about the outside. They have personally suggested Imouto gets into discovering and learning about the world at first hand without relying on either the testament and the memories from the Misaka network. But of course both of help to get her where she is right now. And that seems to be somewhere in distract 18 and unlike other distracts she had briefly visited in the last few hours. This one felt very rather restrictive and she didn't understand that reason immediately. Though maybe it was because the feeling she was getting from Nagatenjouki Academy or maybe not?

"Meow"

The sound of a cute voice caught the sister's attention immediantly and she didn't know how to express what she was feeling as she laid eyes on the origin of the sound. "Neko? Asks Misaka who slowly steps in closer

Thursday May 13th, 4:06 pm

A girl was walking down the streets of District 18. She had black purple hair. She was wearing casual clothes. However, in her bag there was a lab coat that she had been wearing just some minutes ago.

Hiromi has already finished her hospital training and was going back home. She was a medical student at Dangai University. As most universities, Dangai was located in district 5, where the student also lived. However, she had her training at Heaven Canceller's Hospital in district 7. Giving the location of the hospital, she would usually walk through district 18 on her way home.

Today was just an ordinary day for the medical student. And honestly, she wished that the rest of it would be peaceful too. Normally, she would be a person thrilled for any kind of adventure, always curious and getting involved in different situations. But currently, she was too tired to be doing any of that.

Looking around, she felt a bit nostalgic all of a sudden. This was were she spent all of her highschool days. It then occured to her that, compared to back then, school life was fairly easier right now. No, it's not about how hard the studies themselves are, as they ware really hellish compared to highschool studies. But on the other hand, the life now was more free. She could skip classes whenever she wanted. She could go back home before the lesson was over. She could go investigating things and ignore the curfew and no one would question what she was doing or punish her for taking that long out of the dorms. She knew however that this lack of strict surveillance wasn't necessarily good. First, it showed that teachers and administrative staff at university really didn't care about the students or what happens to them, with few exceptions of course. Second, it had already led to many problems, like that time when some drunk students went back to the dorms after midnight, etc...

She was daydreaming when she bumped into someone.

"Agh", Hiromi nearly fell but could maintain her balance and looked at the person in front of her. She was surprised to see a familiar face. It was a girl with silver hair who was wearing a Nagatenjouki uniform.

"Ah, Kohaku! Haha, it's been a while! How are you?", Hiromi asked enthusiastically, happy to meet her Kouhai, and one of her rare friends.

However, in truth, she didn't really understand what she was so happy about. It's not like she haven't talked to the girl in ages. They did keep in touch through social media even after Hiromi left Nagatenjouki for university.

'I guess meeting someone in real life is different from talking to them online, huh?', she made a mental conclusion.

The complete opposite to everything and everyone else on the bright and breezy district, a lone girl made her way aimlessly down the streets. Adorned in a dark blue Kirigaoka High uniform, Fuuka Eto wandered around with no goal in mind and only her resentment of all the happiness going on around her to keep her occupied. This city was far too happy on its surface. Sure, her dealings with her Dark Side job made sure she never forgot that there was much chaos within it as well, but these idiots bustling around these streets really made her sick to her stomach. Joyfully walking and talking, enjoying the cool spring air and going about their perfect lives.

Fuuka grumbled to herself as she put a hand up to shield her eyes from the sunlight. She had just finished another boring day at school. The unrelenting prison life that's only use was to continue her studies and give the facade of a rehabilitated behaved student did little to entertain her. She could get just as much studying done on the subjects she desired by using a library or the internet. This was the modern age after all. Why keep up such dead traditions like cramming all of the youth in a building to learn? Fuuka wasn't on board with any of it, but it wasn't like she had anyone to vent these opinions to. If anyone got that close, she'd just hurt them.

She continued her saunter down the street, to the side of the main flow of the crowd, practically hugging the buildings. She began to realize that she was in such a foul mood because it'd been so long since she'd seen any action. She wanted to have some excitement. Just anything more than this boring crap that was thrown in her face every day. What she wouldn't give for just a bit of chaos to stir things up.

Window-shopping was what one would call a poor man's fashion show. One looks at things they can't afford, fantasizes about having them, but never attains them. The odd thing was, Kohaku was far from poor. Being a Level 4 at Nagatenjouki Academy meant she was given quite a heavy stipend so she had quite a bit of money both stored up and on hand that she could access. So one could wonder why this girl was window-shopping then.

Kohaku herself could wonder just that as she aimlessly looked through the windows of the stores while walking down the roads. One could call it a deep philosophical thought about the very nature of window-shopping. However, all deep philosophical thoughts were cut off when the girl had bumped into someone else, an older girl in casual clothing. Kohaku had stumbled back a bit and nearly fell but regained her balance by pushing against the window near her.

As she looked to see the older girl in casual clothes she had bumped into.  "Ah, Kohaku! Haha, it's been a while! How are you?"

It was the familiar face of a senpai of hers who had just recently graduated high school and started college. "Hiromi-senpai?!" Kohaku blurted out her name at the sight of her friend. "I'm doing fine. I see that you're doing well also. How is--"

Kohaku was about to speak but she caught something in the corner of her eye--a lone car speeding down the empty road. In the car's path, a girl in a Kirigaoka uniform was trying to cut across the walkway despite a red light, unaware of the car careening down the road. In the end, the girl on the road had noticed too late to dodge the incoming vehicle.

The car collided with the girl causing her to roll over the roof of the car and fall onto the the road, causing her to lose consciousness. The girl lay on the road unconscious with wounds indiscernible from a distance as the car immediately zoomed off into the horizon.

The girl watched without stir as the accident occurred on the street. Kirigaoka uniform girl had been walking across the road as expect when a red light was on. But without warning a car had slammed into the girl despite the obvious traffic law to stop when a red light is active. This confused the girl more then she would understand and thought maybe this was an obvious tradition in this part of the city?

She wasn't sure and probably had the complete wrong idea. But she had made sure to get a good look at the offending car before walking without haste towards the scene of the accident and noticed people were already calling help as she made her way. When she got up close she spoke clearly in her absurd way of contradicting the seriousness of the situation.

"They're calling for help... Says Misaka who looks blankly at your entire body..... Misaka hasn't heard any response she shall help you in the most appropriate position Says Misaka who proceeds to employ her first aid skills." That was right. Testament had provided 10032 with knowledge on first aid which seemed to be a needed piece of information, just in case an accident befalls other sisters outside their intended objective or just anyone that needed it. The Sister couldn't do much but she was able to put the person in a recovering postion slowly and with care to wait for the right people to arrive.

"I'm doing fine. I see that you're doing well also. How is--"

Kohaku suddenly stopped talking. She seemed distracted by something, because she kept gazing somewhere. Hiromi wondered what was going on and followed Kohaku's gaze. It was then that she saw it, a girl was harshly hit by a car, rolled over its roof and fell on the road. Hiromi widened her eyes in shock. She couldn't make sense of what happened, nor of the car's action that followed. Instead of stopping and checking on the girl that they collided with, the car's owner appearently thought running away was the best action to do. Hiromi could feel her face twist in frustration and anger. She hated those kind of people the most.

However, she knew she didn't have time to space out. She rushed at the accident scene. The closer she got, the more scared and nervous she became. She may have learned how to do first aid at school, but she never applied it in a real life situation, with a person in real life-threatening danger. She was afraid to mess up.

Honestly speaking, she really wished someone else would volunteer to save the girl instead and she would be able to back off.

Strangely enough, a girl wearing a school uniform and some kind of goggles on her forehead reached the laying girl. Hiromi couldn't see her uniforme clearly from afar. She saw the hazel-haired girl put the victim in a recovering position. She could tell the girl was waiting for someone to take it on from there.

'This isn't the time to be hesitant.', she said in determination.

Yes, Hiromi understood that it was now her turn to interfere. She recalled what Masao-sensei once told her:

"Don't wait for someone else to do it. Don't think you'll mess up. No matter how much you mess up it's still better than the victim dying. How many people died because everyone kept on watching without doing anything, or because someone whith no appropriate knowlege tried to help but only made the matter more complicated for the secourists later? So don't hesitate. Jump at the scene and do your best to help. Don't wait for others, do it yourself."

Hiromi, feeling confidence coming back to her, run with all her might.

When she got close enough, she noticed the volunteering girl had a Tokiwadai school uniform. A middle school girl couldn't possibly do it right, so she and Kohaku were the only ones who could help the victim, it seems.

When she got to the accident scene, she shouted, both introducing herself and asking the people to give her space to do her job.

"I'm a medical student! Please everyone here, back away so that I can help the girl!"

She then looked in the eyes of the hazel-haired girl, and nodded. There seemed to a mutual understanding between the two.

'Leave it to me', Hiromi promised in her mind, and hurried to help the injured girl laying on the road.

Hiromi acted while recolling her training. First thing to do, unlike what most people would think, is to ensure the safety of the saviour, then came the safety of the victim and finally the people around. It was somewhat ironic, but it made sense. If the saviour was also cought in another accident, who would save the victim?

That's why, Hiromi took the victim's arms, raised her head and back a little in order to avoid having her hit her head and complicating the damage even further, and dragged her away out of the road.

But then, she could see people started gathering around them. She couldn't say she didn't expect this, because she did, so she asked the two girls next to her foe help.

"Kohaku! And... You!", Hiromi knew it was a rude to call a stranger like that, but she didn't really have time for introductions. Being polite right now was the least of her priorities. She had to hurry up and any unnecessary conversation is to be avoided. It is but a waste of precious time, time that could help this girl.

"Please keep the people away!"

The feelings of boredom and annoyance had quickly faded in the face of rushing excitement. As if in response to Fuuka's wish for excitement, a speeding car had appeared at the end of the road barreling down the street with no show of concern for the pedestrians it tore past. The blatant disregard had resulted in one absent minded jaywalker being impacted at the crosswalk. Fuuka watched the car momentarily, which had not shown any hint of slowing down to take responsibility. How outstanding.

The accident was already drawing much attention. People were stopping from their normal activities in order to get a better look and understanding of the situation. Fuuka even saw a few younger ones flipping out their cells to snap a picture of the scene. This display amused her as she could tell that the girl's misfortune was turning out to make her infamous already. An unfortunate martyr to be discussed on all the social networks for sure. Nobody was even thinking to contact emergency personnel before snapping the pics? Fuuka made her way closer, an easy feat for her as people instinctively gave her a wide berth in response to the discomfort her AIM field projected on them as she drew close. Having reached a decent observations spot, right on the sidewalk next to the scene of the accident, Fuuka rested easy by relaxing against a street lamp pole and just smirked.

The victim was a girl from her school it seemed, as made apparent by the same blue uniform that Fuuka currently wore herself. But aside from the initial observation itself, she gave it no thought. Such things were trivial. No matter what school they went to, they were all the same vile bitches. So there was one less in the world...it didn't make much difference either way. But then Fuuka's mood took a dip as one by one, other girls showed up at the scene trying to assist the girl. Way to ruin my fun you jerks... Her mind seethed, but quickly came up with another way of entertaining herself. She watched as the others dragged the victim to the side of the road and tried to administer first aid. Then she spoke out loud enough to be heard by the saviers over the chattering onlookers.

"You're all just wasting your time. There's no point in helping that...thing there. That was such a marvelous accident to witness. The speed of the car, the cascade of her body over it...and of course the satisfactory smack of her skull against the pavement." Fuuka hoisted herself up from her leaving position and took a step closer to get a better overlook view of the body. "The obvious lacerations, contusions and abrasions from the impact and the fall aside, her range of possible serious injuries is enormous. After that fall, she definitely has a concussion and likely is going to suffer symptoms such as brain swelling and hemorrhages. The front of the car hit her at about waist height, so that has a high chance of having damaged the bones and ligaments in her hip and pelvis region. Best case scenario is that she suffered spinal cord damage. So she'll likely be in amazing pain for the rest of her life, be crippled in a wheelchair, or both. So don't you see that your little game of playing hero is pointless?"

A car accident.

A hit-and-run.

If anything could make her remember the pain which caused her scar, it was that.

Watching as these events happened did just that. Kohaku grimaced, while clutching on her clothes at the area where he body had once been cut open much like a cadaver in an anatomy lab. It was not pain. But while the feeling was not pain, it was definitely an unpleasant feeling. After all, the Kirigaoka girl with the long, black hair and purple headband had just been hit by a car and left to die.

Moreover, bystander effect was starting to show as nobody rushed to help the girl who's body was obviously damaged…or so she thought until a girl with an odd set of goggles had went up to help the girl.

Kohaku realized she needed to help. She refused to let anyone go through an accident like her own without help. So, she, in an odd coincidence, started to make a run for the girl on the street at the exact same time as her senpai.

But, her older senpai was far more athletic and efficient as she had moved the girl off the road and onto the sidewalk.

In the meantime, she found an open wallet that had likely flown out during the collision with her face on it. As she made a run to the girl, she picked up the wallet and saw the ID through a transparent plastic area.

Arisawa Haruka.

That was the name written on the ID near her picture. She continued to run to Hiromi and Haruka.

She heard Hiromi's order to keep others away but it was not the best option.

"Senpai, I need to assess the damage. If we're going to help, we need to know how much damage the accident did to her body. So, give me a few seconds to do the reading while you take preliminary measures."

Kohaku put her hand on Haruka's. Don't worry. We'll definitely make sure you get out of this in one piece.

After twenty-three seconds, Kohaku had finished her reading. However, before she could report the conclusion, another Kirigaoka girl with visible scars on her face had shown up in the area and started to talk down to them very loudly.

"You're all just wasting your time. There's no point in helping that...thing there. That was such a marvelous accident to witness. The speed of the car, the cascade of her body over it...and of course the satisfactory smack of her skull against the pavement." Fuuka hoisted herself up from her leaving position and took a step closer to get a better overlook view of the body. "The obvious lacerations, contusions and abrasions from the impact and the fall aside, her range of possible serious injuries is enormous. After that fall, she definitely has a concussion and likely is going to suffer symptoms such as brain swelling and hemorrhages. The front of the car hit her at about waist height, so that has a high chance of having damaged the bones and ligaments in her hip and pelvis region. Best case scenario is that she suffered spinal cord damage. So she'll likely be in amazing pain for the rest of her life, be crippled in a wheelchair, or both. So don't you see that your little game of playing hero is pointless?"

Kohaku was a bit surprised. The girl had done some pretty rough diagnosis but it wasn't fully off. "The rapid movement of her head caused her to suffer a concussion. Aside from that and a few scrapes on her head, there are no injuries there. Luckily, her spine was not damaged at all either. However, she suffered some broken ribs due to the collision with the ground as well as a large laceration on her abdomen and multiple other smaller lacerations at various points on her limbs. There also some fractures on her pelvis and one of her legs. There is also internal and external hemorrhaging taking place."

Her report was quick and almost robotic as she gave the matter of fact diagnosis she had obtained with her ability. Once she was done, she immediately switched her tone.

"Haruka can still be saved. She has sustained heavy damage but there is zero reason to give up on her. No, even if the diagnosis showed an impossible situation, that would still not be a reason to give up on her." Kohaku never directly addressed Fuuka. However, it was clear that she her words were in direct response to Fuuka's own. "After all, the moment you give up, you cut off any and all paths aside from definite failure."

Kohaku looked towards the Sister. "Tokiwadai girl, call emergency services immediately. Tell them to dispatch an ambulance to send them to the hospital on the east side of District 7. That's the closest one here and the one where that doctor does his work."

She then looked to Hiromi. "Senpai, we need to do what we can to prevent any more bleeding and possible infections before the EMTs arrive. Let's do this."

"Tokiwadai girl, call emergency services immediately. Tell them to dispatch an ambulance to send them to the hospital on the east side of District 7. That's the closest one here and the one where that doctor does his work."

The sister seemed slightly confused and looked to the left to see if there was a Tokiwadai girl. She wouldn't exactly understand for a moment as she looks around herself for that Tokiwadai girl before looking down at her clothes to realize the misunderstanding. She wasn't exactly a Tokiwadai girl and was just told to wear this uniform because a certain someone bears that position as a student of that school. "Oh says Misaka realising you meant me. This Misaka wants to tell you that the others were already on their phone the moment I got to the victim." Imouto had said without any emotion but she seemed to be thinking about something. "Though another Misaka had experience an incident when one was using AcademyTube on their phone, instead of calling the appropriate emergency service... But no worry this Misaka has located and informed the appropriate people Says Misaka with a good feeling of being helpful" None of them realised that she had sent the call over a secret network, that probably would be beyond their understanding at the moment.

But despite her lack of emotion, this Misaka seemed rather accomplished in her role here.

"Senpai, I need to assess the damage. If we're going to help, we need to know how much damage the accident did to her body. So, give me a few seconds to do the reading while you take preliminary measures."

After hearing her Kouhai's words, Hiromi gave herself a mental chop. How could she forget Kohaku's esper power? Using her powers to find the amount of damage would of course be more effciant than the traditional way and it would gain them time. She was truly glad Kohaku was with her right now.

Meanwhile, to gain more time, Hiromi started evaluating the state of consciousness and the breathing of the victim, while folowing what she learned in her training.

She tapped the girl's shoulder to wake her up if she ever was conscious. "Hey. Do you hear me?"

She received no reply.

'No vocal response.'

"If you hear me open your eyes."

No sign of opening eyes.

'No sensorial reaction.'

Finally she held the girl's hand and said "If you can hear me squeeze my hand."

'No motrice reaction either. She's unconscious on all three levels.'

It was then that she heard a girl's voice. From the few words she heard she knew this girl was saying some harsh things, but she didn't have time to argue with her right now, so she focused on her task instead. Kohaku would most probably take care of replying to the girl's comment. Hiromi's duty right now was to make sure she evaluated the victim properly.

Hiromi proceeded to check the girl's breathing. She looked at the victim's chest and saw it moving, and she leaned over and felt the breath on her cheek coming from the victim's mouth.

'Alright. Breathing is steady.'

Finally she put her index and middle fingers on the girl's neck and counted the heartbeats for ten seconds.

'Heart rate is steady too.'

Just when she finished Kohaku started reporting her diagnosis. Hiromi listened carefully to know the action they needed to do next.

And just as she expected, Kohaku answered the girl. Hiromi kept an eye on the victim meanwhile.

"Tokiwadai girl, call emergency services immediately. Tell them to dispatch an ambulance to send them to the hospital on the east side of District 7. That's the closest one here and the one where that doctor does his work", Kohaku has told the goggle-girl.

Hiromi added the necessary information to make an alert call.

But remembering Kohaku never mentioned the girl's full name, Hiromi took the ID card and read the name.

"And please tell them the victim is called Arisawa Haruka. She had a car accident, and now she is unconscious but breathing with no problems with the heart rate. Report to them Kohaku's diagnosis too. And inform them we are going to put her in the recovery position and stop her external bleeding while waiting for them to arrive."

"No worry this Misaka has located and informed the appropriate people Says Misaka with a good feeling of being helpful"

'So her name is Misaka?', Hiromi wondered. Besides, she was amazed at how this girl could've contacted them that quickly. However, she decided to not ask and let it pass for the moment, there were other priorities.

It was then that Kohaku snapped her out of her daze.

"Senpai, we need to do what we can to prevent any more bleeding and possible infections before the EMTs arrive. Let's do this."

Hiromi, hearing her junior's resolve, nodded her head. "Right."

They both started compressing the wounds to stop the bleeding. Thankfully, the external ones weren't so sever, so they didn't need a garrotte, just their hands, covered in their sleeves to avoid contamination, was enough.

However, halfaway through, when the bleeding seemed to decrease and no longer pose any major threat, Hiromi left the task to Kohaku and put the victim in the recovery position.

Fuuka felt her teeth grinding as the group pretty much disregarded her and her taunts and continued their efforts to stabilize the accident victim. She had very clearly outlined all the problems the girl likely had right now and how likely she was to die. But they just continued anyway. Where were the looks of dread? The hopelessness clawing at their very hearts as the realization of the futility settled and robbed them of all hope? This wasn't fun anymore. The moment had been ruined by these girls and their sickening kindness. The cry of a siren around the corner foretold the arrival of the ems that they had called for.

"What a let down..." Fuuka trailed as she fiercely turned and made her way away from the scene. A horrible image of disgust and maliciousness was spread across her face, adding another reason for people to avoid her as she stomped off, looking for a way to relieve the once again rising stress of this goody good world.

Back at the accident, the ambulance had pulled up and filled the street with its loud siren wail. The team quickly rushed to the aid of the girl's helping the victim and told them that they would take it from here. The earlier curious civilians crowding the site were starting to lose interest now that the experts had arrived, and the scene quickly started to become mostly normal again as the viewers went back to their business.

One would say that watching a high school girl dictating a list of symptoms to an EMT was odd but that was exactly what Kohaku was doing. She was giving a detailed list of all of the injuries that the young girl they were pulling into the ambulance had sustained from internal to external wounds. The burly EMT stood there, attentive, but stunned at the detailed diagnosis about the victim he was being given.

"Ah, that's right." She remembered before cutting herself off and pulling the wallet she had found earlier. "Her name is Arisawa Haruka. From my reading, I didn't notice any pre-existing medical conditions or anything that may cause complications mid-operation in my reading." She handed off the wallet with the school ID to the EMT.

"Understood. That matches the information we were given for the emergency call. I take it your Esper power was what allowed those readings?" The EMT responded.

Kohaku nodded. "Mm-hm."

"Well, we appreciate what you all have done and we'll take it from here. We'll also let you know how things go with her." The man said before heading to the back of the ambulance and closing the doors.

Kohaku was unsure if the doctors letting them know about Haruka's condition after all was said and done was a good idea. However, she neglected to mention that as she did not want to be left in the dark about the girl in the end.

As the ambulance pulled away from the three girls standing at the corner of the street, Kohaku looked around. She wanted to see if she could find that black-haired Kirigaoka girl from earlier. She had so many questions she wanted to ask the girl but she mainly wanted to find out about the seething bitterness that girl seemed to exude.

However, it seemed that she was nowhere to be found. She must have left when the crowd had disappeared. It was disappointing, but there was nothing she could do. Besides, the girl was from Kirigaoka. Kohaku was sure she would likely encounter her in District 18 again at some point so there was no use in worrying.

So, she turned back to the girls. "I'm sorry you guys had to get involved in a hit-and-run." She cringed for a second after remembering the unpleasant feeling she had when she saw the accident happen. "How about I make it up to you? There's a family restaurant nearby here with some pretty good food. It'll be my treat."

The amount of disconnect in her statements was odd but this tactless girl did not notice as she made the offer.

She was only observing from the side, there wasn't much she could do at this time. She had only helped briefly and with that done she should of simply just waded to the side back into the moving crowd. But something caught the unemotional sister's interest, she was curious you see about how things worked out in the open world. And that is why she stayed here quietly observing and only the moment she heard words spoken from the one of two who basically saved the victims life her concentration broke rather easily.  "I'm sorry you guys had to get involved in a hit-and-run. How about I make it up to you? There's a family restaurant nearby here with some pretty good food. It'll be my treat."  

"Milk tea? Asks Misaka who feels like something filling should go with it. Misaka doesn't know what to order yet until she investigating the resturants selection of items on the menu. Says Misaka who hints are a possibly increasingly large order."

The sister had said who stepped in the sight of the girl who made the offer, noticing she seemed partially there when making the offer. The sister wasn't trying to be rude, but only to make sure she noticed her offer was accepted without delaying and with full grattiude. "Oh Misaka would like to offer her grattiude before we go eat. Says Misaka with a whole-heartedly smile"

Upon hearing the sound of a siren coming from the corner, Hiromi felt a wave of hope filling her. The ems were here. This meant the girl could be saved!

Hiromi was overcome with joy, until she heard a weird, and really distrupting comment...

"What a let down..."

To be honest, this took her by surprise. She looked at the girl who blurted out those words with shock. The medical student would have never imagined such reaction to seeing a life being saved. Where there really people that wished misfortune to others? She had always assumed people did wrong deeds by mistake, whether it be a choice or not, they didn't really want it deep down. Did "heartless people" really exist? Was she misunderstanding the girl's words? The feeling of malice surrounding her didn't help dispelling Hiromi's impression though.

She was lost in her questions when she heard Kohaku talk.

"I'm sorry you guys had to get involved in a hit-and-run. How about I make it up to you? There's a family restaurant nearby here with some pretty good food. It'll be my treat."

She didn't understand what was Kohaku apologizing for. Hiromi dashed to the accident scene on her own after all.

"Kohaku, you don't have anything to make up to us', Hiromi answered while smiling, "This isn't your fault, and actually, it was our own choice to get involved, because we wanted to help, to save that girl, as much as you did. However, knowing you, it's no use arguing with you about the payment saying i'll pay for myself. You'll just disregard anything I say, haha. So... this time it's your treat. But next time we go out, it'll be on me, okay?"

The peace had returned to the streets...but had escaped the twisted scarred girl. Fuuka strode down the street, both hands in her pockets and balled into fists tight with frustration. How quickly her enjoyment had been denied. Why did the perfect world of self interest and misery continue to be generously sprinkled with those who worked against those constants? There was and should be only one truth: people only look out for themselves. Her mind jumbled with these thoughts, Fuuka spotted a nearby restaurant and decided to duck inside to cool off as well as escape the sun for a bit.

The inside of the restaurant was much cooler than outside. The air felt good on Fuuka's skin, though her face would never lead one to believe she felt anything remotely in the area of good. The sign at the door said to seat yourself, so Fuuka let herself in and bee-lined right for a side booth against the back wall. She turned a few heads as she walked through the scattered parties sitting down for late lunches, people either intrigued by her appearance or feeling the effect of her presence. Once settled at her table, Fuuka waited briefly for a waitress who obviously would prefer to stay away from the unsettling girl. Fuuka decided to be easy this time and just ordered a soft drink and let the scared girl leave.

A few minutes later, with her drink in front of her, Fuuka pondered on the turn of events. Chaos as usual had found its way into this crazy life. But rather than letting the negativity swallow them, those girls had all decided to do their best to help the girl hit by the car. It conflicted with everything Fuuka had known in life. There were no nice or selfless people out there. Only those interested in exploiting the situation in the interest of an ulterior motive. Fuuka stirred her drink with a straw as she tried to figure out why they had behaved that way, and why it pissed her off so much.

"Milk tea? Asks Misaka who feels like something filling should go with it. Misaka doesn't know what to order yet until she investigating the resturants selection of items on the menu. Says Misaka who hints are a possibly increasingly large order…Oh Misaka would like to offer her grattiude before we go eat. Says Misaka with a whole-heartedly smile"

"Milk tea?" Kohaku questioned the sudden choice of bursting out what drink one wants without checking the menu but she quickly dismissed it. Everyone has their little quirks, after all, and it's not like this girl and her odd way of speech were any different.

"Kohaku, you don't have anything to make up to us', Hiromi answered while smiling, "This isn't your fault, and actually, it was our own choice to get involved, because we wanted to help, to save that girl, as much as you did. However, knowing you, it's no use arguing with you about the payment saying i'll pay for myself. You'll just disregard anything I say, haha. So... this time it's your treat. But next time we go out, it'll be on me, okay?"

"Hehe…sorry about that." Kohaku gave a short chuckle. "Well, then. Let's get going, then."

---

Joseph's Coffee and Restaurant totally not Denny's was a fairly popular family restaurant in Academy City. The restaurant chain was fairly well-established both within and without the city and as such it was always ready to take customers. However, it seemed oddly out of place in the restrictive District 18.

As such, there were far less people in the District 18 site than one would normally expect in this restaurant.

The waitress at the front of the restaurant led the three girls to a pair of cushioned seats surrounding a table. However, the girls did not seem to notice that they were seated adjacently to the girl from earlier who was jeering at them.

As they took a seat and picked up the menu, Kohaku spoke up. "So, feel free to get anything from the menu." If one could follow the girl's eyes, it was pretty obvious she was glancing through the desserts to see what would quench her sweet tooth.

But before she could decide which dessert to pick, she remembered something. She put down the menu for a second and looked at the girl in a Tokiwadai uniform. "Come to think of it, I never got your name. Well, I think it's Misaka since you kept saying that but I just want to make sure. I'm Kira Kohaku. Nice to meet you…"

Misaka was the type of girl who rarely showed emotion and this wasn't exactly from choice but from how she worked. If she would to describe herself, then she would be labeled as a product with the emotions tab turned off. "So, feel free to get anything from the menu." But when she heard that it was oddly obvious she had a satisfied look on her face, which only comes down to the fact she knew this place had a favorite treats according to the memories of the other sisters. Looking at the menu her eyes immediately traveled to her desired treats which first was the obvious milk tea.

"Come to think of it, I never got your name. Well, I think it's Misaka since you kept saying that but I just want to make sure. I'm Kira Kohaku. Nice to meet you…" the sister looked towards Kohaku with unemotional eyes and look at her blankly briefly before bowing again in gratitude for this wonderful offer of free treats.

"Misaka would be the correct way to address this one. Says Misaka rather who is happy to meet with another... " The sister had said who's gratifying smile returned as she smelt a tea being brewed in the distance. "Misaka is very curious about you all. Misaka had noticed not many can act the way they did today Says Misaka."

Because of both the nature of her studies and her tendency to find girlish hangouts like shopping and all boring, Hiromi wasn't someone who went out to have fun that often. So, this was a very rare occasion for her, and it was only because she enjoyed those two girls' company, which was even more uncommon. Actually, that was quite a big compliment for them. She was really picky when it comes to choosing her friends and people she would spend her free time with. However she was of course too shy to say it out loud. Telling them how she thinks about them was just too embarrassing.

When they sat down and took the menu, Kohaku told them to choose what they wanted.

"So, feel free to get anything from the menu."

"Thanks", the university student replied rather cheerfully, "Well then, I guess I'll have crepe as always."

She already knew what she wanted. She would often drop by this restaurant with her roommate Sayaka on the way home from college.

Then, Kohaku recalled something important all of them had forgotten.

Intoductions!

The Highschooler introduced herself to their new acquaintance and asked her about her name.

"Misaka would be the correct way to address this one. Says Misaka rather who is happy to meet with another... " Misaka is very curious about you all. Misaka had noticed not many can act the way they did today Says Misaka."

The answer left Hiromi confused a bit.

Misaka would be the correct way to address this one. It was a strange way to confirm one's name. Also that reply didn't make it clear whether Misaka was her given or family name. Considering the usual use of the name "Misaka", Hiromi guessed it is a family name.

'She doesn't want to share her first name, perhaps?', she wondered.

But then it was her turn to make introductions so she couldn't space out for long and leave the girls waiting.

And it didn't really matter, did it? She surely had her reasons, so Hiromi wasn't going to push her to precise or anything. And the girl herself seemed like a good person.

"Nice to meet you, Misaka-san. I'm Yamaguchi Hiromi", the girl smiled.

Speak of the devil...or at least think of it. Whatever mysterious forces were at work here, Fuuka was getting royally pissed at them. Why did that group of sickening do-gooders have to show up again when she was already mad enough and trying to sort out just why? Her fingers curled in irritation, resembling a feral beast as her nails scraped at the smooth wood of her table. But she tried to curb her behavior for just a moment and listen quietly to the table on the other side of her cushioned booth. Maybe spying on them would reveal more about them and why they acted the way they did.

"...I'm Kira Kohaku. Nice to meet you…"

...

"Misaka would be the correct way to address this one."

...

"Nice to meet you, Misaka-san. I'm Yamaguchi Hiromi."

So Fuuka knew their identities at least. Now she had names to assign to the faces of those who irritated her. But was this so far no more than a simple meet and greet between teenage girls. Such friendly banter only irked Fuuka even more. These types of meetings were only fun when the smiles were fake, each girl hiding an agenda to tarnish the others and take the lead for her own goals. Unfortunately, that was definitely not the case here. Fuuka huffed with disappointment and stirred her drink some more as she listened. A ringing of the front door announced the arrival of some more customers, but Fuuka gave it no further thought beyond hearing the sound.

"Misaka, huh?" Kohaku muttered. "It's nice to meet you, Misaka-san." Kohaku said with a smile.

It was odd, though. The girl calling herself Misaka did not want to give her first name. Perhaps she was a bit embarrassed? Kohaku had heard that girls from schools situated in the School Garden were generally more sheltered than others so it made sense that she might be a bit embarrassed.

"Come to think of it--" Kohaku started to say before she was interrupted by a waitress.

"May I take your orders?" She asked with the characteristic smile of a waitress on display.

"Umm, I think I'll take a chocolate sundae." Kohaku said before turning to the other two. "So, Misaka-san, why is a Tokiwadai student wandering around District 18? It seems odd for someone from Tokiwadai to be wandering around here of all places." She asked, not taking any hints about the mood around her.

"May I take your orders?" a waitress said who caught Misaka's attention immediately and waited very patiently as   the other ordered first. "Umm, I think I'll take a chocolate sundae." Kohaku said too which she turned to herself and the other to continue. "So, Misaka-san, why is a Tokiwadai student wandering around District 18? It seems odd for someone from Tokiwadai to be wandering around here of all places." Misaka had heard what she had said but her attention was elsewhere as she noted it was her turn to order.   "Misaka would like to order some milk tea and something on the side like a couple slices of toast with blackcurrant jam. Misaka said stating her not so grand order."

She felt please, she finally was going to get what she desired and then only after taking the time to much such a request she turned to respond to the further question asking about her presence in distract 18. There was no real reason or course, not underlying purpose other then a sense of curiosity. She felt like a baby stretching her legs out in a wide world and even though this city has walls. Even in Academy city there was so much to see and that honestly was the purpose of her visit. To explore and understand other as much as she could of anything.  "Misaka was just exploring since she never normally has a chance to come to this part of the city, the reason for this is because Misaka had felt it was absurd to live here without truly knowing it. So this one begun to explore and here she stumbled onto the scene earlier says Misaka who doesn't regret her decision, but Misaka wonders why do you feel its so strange for this one to be here?

"I would like to have chocolate crepe please". Replied Hiromi.

As the waitress left after taking the three orders, the 18-­year-old just kept listening to the discussion unfolding between the two girls.

"Misaka was just exploring since she never normally has a chance to come to this part of the city, the reason for this is because Misaka had felt it was absurd to live here without truly knowing it. So this one begun to explore and here she stumbled onto the scene earlier says Misaka who doesn't regret her decision..."

'Exploring, huh.'

Well, a Tokiwadai student, specially those living in the inner dormitory, wouldn't have a reason to hang around out of School Garden, let alone in a District other than 7. So it wasn't that odd to hear that Misaka never got a chance to visit District 18 before.

"... but Misaka wonders why do you feel its so strange for this one to be here?"

"Not really. It isn't strange", she reassured the chestnut­-haired girl with a friendly smile, "we were just curious, because it's rare to see Tokiwadai students over here. Sorry if it bothered you, you know, to be the only one receiving questions."

She apologized. Anyone in the middle­ schooler's shoes would feel awkward. It was like she was having a police interrogation... just maybe with a friendlier atmosphere. But still, it wasn't a nice feeling to be on the receiving end all the time in a conversation.

Trying to change the topic, Hiromi added:

"Actually, I kind of understand what you mean, Misaka­-san. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever told you this either, Kohaku. You see, back in middle school, I attended Tokiwadai too. I personally was in the outer dormitory, but there were a lot of my schoolmates who have never even left School Garden. So, I think you should be proud that, even when you are surrounded by overly sheltered girls, you still have the spirit to wander around in Academy City on your own."

She told the younger girl while smiling. It was both an encouraging and an amused one; Amused at remembering her own adventures in that school, and how the dorm manager had always punished them, Sayaka ­- her best friend since middle school -­ and herself, whenever they came back after the curfew.

"Reckless adventures are the best when you are with your best friend though...", she said in a low nostalgic voice, mostly talking to herself, upon recalling the past.

Since Sayaka has joined Judgement some years ago, they no longer went on such adventures together as much anymore. Or more precisely, Hiromi wasn't allowed to. As a civilian, she wasn't allowed to get involved in their investigations.

Sometimes she would impose herself, specially when Sayaka herself was in danger. But most of the time Sayaka would refuse her help. And even if Sayaka were to accept, her higher­-ups wouldn't allow it either.

So, for the last few years, Hiromi had been adventuring on her own most of the time.

Fuuka was still listening as they continued to converse. So far it was boring stuff related to the circumstances of how or why they all had been in the area. Gag. Just more friendly conversation. Fuuka longed for a way to break the vanilla flavor of niceness they were all sharing. Then she got her chance as the waitress from before emerged from the kitchen. Bearing a tray loaded with the three's orders, she was swiftly and skillfully making her way towards their table to deliver the refreshments.

Fuuka's face broke into it's devilish grin again as she innocently crossed her legs, bringing one foot on top of her knee and casually slipping the fork from her napkin under the table. She watched the waitress closely, looking for the opportune time to strike, preparing by snaking her way into the unsuspecting girl's mind. With the connection ready, she just had to wait for the right......MOMENT!

Fuuka jabbed the fork into her ankle as the waitress came upon the neighboring table. The shocking pain of the sudden stab blossomed through her foot and brought a strange satisfied look on top of Fuuka's mischievous smile. She heard the waitress shriek from the pain and the following shatter of glass as the tray of dishes crashed violently on the restaurant floor. The gazes of everybody in the building could be felt turning to the embarrassed waitress as she picked herself up and began to clean up the mess while at the same time repeatedly apologizing to the three girls whose order she'd ruined. Fuuka chanced a quick look and was delighted to see the deep shade of crimson the girl's face had turned in her embarrassment. Her mood improved for the second, she took a long sip of her drink and continued her eavesdropping.

Kohaku listened to the others as they waited for the waitress to return with their orders.

"Misaka was just exploring since she never normally has a chance to come to this part of the city, the reason for this is because Misaka had felt it was absurd to live here without truly knowing it. So this one begun to explore and here she stumbled onto the scene earlier says Misaka who doesn't regret her decision…"

It was actually quite fascinating hearing from someone who came from the School Garden. She had heard that the girls who went to school within the School Garden were generally sheltered and preferred to stay within the confines of the School Garden.

Still, she was glad to see that the middle schooler did not regret her decision. Wanting to see more of the world outside of the confines of ones own comfort was a simple yet potent desire. In the end, she did not want to give up on that desire. Kohaku could not help but crack a smile in response.

"Actually, I kind of understand what you mean, Misaka­-san. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever told you this either, Kohaku. You see, back in middle school, I attended Tokiwadai too. I personally was in the outer dormitory, but there were a lot of my schoolmates who have never even left School Garden. So, I think you should be proud that, even when you are surrounded by overly sheltered girls, you still have the spirit to wander around in Academy City on your own."

But this came as a minor surprise to Kohaku. The girl who she made friends with about a year prior was from Tokiwadai. It made sense. At least, her personality definitely would have made her fit in in a school for sheltered rich girls.

"Reckless adventures are the best when you are with your best friend though…"

Even the socially tactless Kohaku could catch onto Hiromi's moment of nostalgia. "Hiromi-senpai, you--"

However, Kohaku was distracted by something else. At this moment, Kohaku spotted, in the corner of her eye, a waitress coming out of the kitchen area with three different trays, each carrying their three different orders. The girl either had insane levels of coordination and balance or was just plain stupid. As she continued to walk over to the girls' table, it was pretty evident that it was the former. Kohaku could not help bit find her deft command of her center of gravity to be quite impressive.

"Table 6, correct? I have your orders read--" Before she could finish her regular greeting, the waitress was interrupted by a piercing pain emanating from her ankle as she took a step. Needless to say, she made a pained expression, which Kohaku did not fail to miss, as soon as that foot took a step down.

In that instant, her leg wobbled and gave in, causing her entire center of gravity to shift. The food and beverages immediately fell off the trays and crashed into the floor, though not before a valiant, yet pained effort by the waitress to catch the falling items in the one second that they were in midair.

As the plates and cups broke, the various foods and drinks mixed into an odd amalgamation. In the meantime, Kohaku jumped out of her seat and made her way to the waitress who immediately began to try to clean up by picking up the shards on the floor. As she made contact with the girl and began a reading, she asked, "Are you alright?!"

The adept yet embarrassed and distressed waitress continually repeated the same thing while trying to pick up those shards of glass. "I'm sorry miss. I'll get your order to you right away."

"You looked like you were feeling pain when you stepped down before you fell. Are you sure you're alright."

"I'm doing fine, Miss Customer." The waitress insisted.