[SS] Bi-Polar Opposites Attract Trouble

"I wouldn't expect a student from Tokiwadai to use lines like 'normal citizen'.  And certainly not in this city.  Is it so strange to carry a tool that can defend yourself? Besides, who are you to call my actions dubious when you came at me with a damn thunder punch?  And what I was planning to d-..."

"It's strange. That's a violation of the Swords and Firearms Control Act! Students aren't allowed to carry weapons like that around."

As she listened to Fuuka continue speaking, the last vestiges of Hiromi's panic finally faded. This was an undoubtedly high tension situation, and she'd already been in two of these today alone. She'd be lying if she said it wasn't starting to get to her. And whether this was the first or the thirty first, these things would always bear pressure upon all involved parties.

But she mustn't let those things control her. If she was going go be a doctor, then she would have to handle tense situations like these countless times over the course of her career. She was made of stern enough stuff to stand up to this. Even Kohaku, her junior, was staying perfectly calm, so she had to follow her example. Even though normally, she was supposed the one who was an example to be followed...

However, even with her panic having subsided, she wasn't quite like Kohaku. It wasn't a difference in their ability to react properly, per se. Rather, it was simply a difference in their temperaments. Where Kohaku seemed to be the calm and orderly sort, Hiromi was fundamentally a rather hotheaded person. Blood wouldn't fill her head and interfere with her ability to think, but passion and emotion would inexorably seep into her voice.

She was calm now, so her emotions wouldn't run away with her, but the avenue through which she tried to convince Fuuka differed significantly from Kohaku's. Where she tried to appeal to logic, Hiromi's pleas were directed more towards such things as ethos and pathos. This was yet another valid approach. But... After hearing the next words to exit Fuuka's throat, she was forced to consider the possibility that her approach might actually be counter-effective in this situation.

"But why? Isn't chaos much more fun?"

"No, it isn't. Provoking those delinquents will only cause more to come after you. Even if you enjoy unpredictability, there is a point where chaos will inevitably spiral out of your control."

“Please stay back, says this Misaka as she attempts to warn the two of their unawareness regarding the real danger of this situation. Things spiraling out of control is exactly what she wants, elaborates Misaka as she reveals a hard to believe and unpleasant truth. This Misaka, however, is willing to ignore that twisted goal and make a single attempt at peace, says Misaka as she gives you a last chance to pull back before you regret it.”

Those two, short sentences were more than enough to send a tingling down Hiromi's spine. Some others, who had been exposed that sensation more often than they had any right to would label it as 'fear', but in her inexperience she could only explain it as unease. An unease derived from catching a glimpse of a kind of 'humanity' far removed from her everyday life, which she may be fundamentally incapable of understanding as she is. And though it seemed a somewhat ill-fitting choice of words, one might even choose to call that inability a blessing...

She recognized Misaka's words as entirely in the right. The girl's words were a provocation. Hiromi truly didn't like to think so poorly of people, but she couldn't see them as anything else. And she knew all too well that acting on emotion would be directly counter to their interests of dissolving the tension of this situation. So rather than create an argument or plea of or own, she chose to stay silent and hope that Fuuka would accept Misaka's proposal.

What a total drag. An unbelievable buzzkill. Even with all this threat and provocation, these girls still were throwing around pleadings and compromises of peace. Fuuka was finding very little of this to be fun anymore. Unlike the normal targets of her stress relief, nothing moved these girls. Though the idea made her sick to her stomach, Fuuka had to admit there was still a spark of curiosity nagging in the back of her mind as to how they could be so...pleasant. Perhaps she could try...talking, she shuddered from the thought, with them for a bit.

"Damn. Just have to ruin a person's fun time don't you?" Fuuka growled as she put her struggling knife back in her pack and holding up both empty hands as a show of herself disarming. She looked toward each of the three in turn and sank to the alley floor rather than standing. With her arms crossed her fingers endlessly fidgeted, her nails scratching at her arms until they were marred with pink and shredded skin. She could see no joy in her choice, but thought that it might help her gain a further understanding of now these girls thought in order to remain so positive in their actions.

"So what now? I hope you don't expect us to be all bff or anything. I stand down for now, but I make no promises for later if I don't like where this goes."

If there was one thing Kohaku was glad about, it was that the current situation was diffused without…too much violence. While Fuuka's mindset towards disarming herself was far from pleasant, Kohaku was perfectly fine with it. At the very least nobody besides the delinquents now collapsed on the floor were hurt. She almost found herself breathing a deep sigh of relief as the tension in the air had evaporated from her body. Still, she could not help but keep an eye on this girl in case things escalated again.

But, since Fuuka had disarmed, Kohaku took that as a signal to go check up on the conditions of the two delinquent boys who had collapsed, reeling in pain. Without even a single hint of hesitation, she  walked over to the nearest one and kneeled over before placing her hand on him to check up on his condition.

"So what now? I hope you don't expect us to be all bff or anything. I stand down for now, but I make no promises for later if I don't like where this goes."

“I don’t think anybody is asking for you to become all friendly. I just wanted to see this situation diffusing peacefully without anybody getting hurt. Frankly, that’s enough.” Kohaku replied while continuing to check up on the boy. If she had focused on what she was saying, perhaps her tone would not have come out as so brusque but what was done was done. There was nothing the tactless girl could do to redo her answer.

"Damn. Just have to ruin a person's fun time don't you? So what now? I hope you don't expect us to be all bff or anything. I stand down for now, but I make no promises for later if I don't like where this goes."

Though her continued hostility made it impossible to relax completely, when Fuuka put away the knife the tension seemed to drain from the air. The immediate threat had been resolved, and the only violence was that which had already occurred. Though she wished that the other girl wasn't so gruff about it, it wouldn't do to wish for too much. You couldn't force to someone to be friendly, even if you wanted to.

Kohaku had rushed towards the two collapsed boys immediately, but Hiromi had remained where she was. In part, this was because she trusted Kohaku to check up on them, but it was really that she was reluctant to Misaka and Fuuka alone. The two of them had been in a confrontation just earlier, so she wanted to be able to defuse a potential argument quickly if something happened.

“I don’t think anybody is asking for you to become all friendly. I just wanted to see this situation diffusing peacefully without anybody getting hurt. Frankly, that’s enough.”

But unexpectedly, words of aggression had come from a completely different source than she'd been looking out for. She was sure that Kohaku hadn't meant to come to off so brusquely, but that didn't change the way the words sounded. But at the same time, she couldn't quite formulate a response. Though rough, and not quite the way she would have worded, she agreed with what was said. Though she was definitely glad that they had avoided any violence, she couldn't just ask for Fuuka to get along with them. So rather than speaking, she simply glanced indecisively and worriedly towards in Fuuka's direction and told herself that if she reacted negatively she would intervene, even as she hoped she wouldn't have to.

Though the fun of physical conflict was gone, this new tension brought on by the new established standoff was rather entertaining. It was like the other girls were viewing Fuuka like some kind of land mind, ready to detonate at the slightest provocation. They had likely jumped to the wrong conclusion. While Fuuka liked violence and confrontation, she didn't wildly attack others like that. Only when she was in the mood or annoyed; so maybe they weren't completely wrong and she was dangerous. But even Fuuka had to control herself to an extent. Her backers wouldn't be able to pull enough strings to keep her free otherwise.

Fuuka watched as Kohaku ran to check the boys who'd opposed her. Always quick to worry about others.  It wasn't like she'd find anything anyway. Fuuka's ability left no physical marks on her victims. Other than elevated adrenaline levels from the sudden onset of the pain, she'd end up with nothing out of the ordinary.

“I don’t think anybody is asking for you to become all friendly. I just wanted to see this situation diffusing peacefully without anybody getting hurt. Frankly, that’s enough.”

Unexpectedly, she'd thrown such a harshly toned response at Fuuka. While her selflessness still irked her, Fuuka was starting to be intrigued by this girl. She thought of flinging another line at her to see how far she could stretch her patience, but then her eyes fell on Hiromi. Unlike Kohaku, she hadn't moved from her spot, her eyes glancing worriedly in Fuuka's direction. She seemed almost frightened after Kohaku's reply, as if expecting Fuuka to explode into a sudden attack. It'd be more fun to mess with her right now.

"What's the matter sweetie. Afraid I'm going to bite your little friend over there? I think you'd make a more satisfying snack personally. Are you afraid of a little pain?" Fuuka slowly raised one finger nail over her own arm before slowly dragging it down, harshly scratching herself again. But she made no link with Hiromi to share the experience. All she wanted was to watch the fear play out as she led up to the act, and to see how she and the others would act when they realized it was a feint.

With the first check done, Kohaku could safely affirm that the boy was not in any danger. There was a bit of residual elevation in epinephrine levels but it was nothing life-threatening or enough to explain why they had collapsed. So, she moved to check on the next one.

"What's the matter sweetie.  Afraid I'm going to bite your little friend over there?  I think you'd make a more satisfying snack personally.  Are you afraid of a little pain?"

As she heard Fuuka's words, she instinctively turned back to face her. Kohaku's focus dropped but the calculations were still ongoing. After just a few more extra seconds, her scans finished up. Just like with the first delinquent, she read nothing more than elevated epinephrine levels. It was likely that the two of them were panicked when they fell unconscious. At least, that’s what the epinephrine levels were likely a sign of.

But, that did not help her figure out what had happened to the two boys. Perhaps it was something that messed with their nerves or perhaps it was some telepathy ability. She had far too little information to go on.

All she could do was keep watch of Fuuka's actions with heavy scrutiny from her position on one knee.

Well, there was one other thing she could do.

“Hiromi-senpai. She’s trying to rile you up. Just keep calm.”  

"What's the matter sweetie.  Afraid I'm going to bite your little friend over there?  I think you'd make a more satisfying snack personally.  Are you afraid of a little pain?"

“Hiromi-senpai. She’s trying to rile you up. Just keep calm.”

Though Kohaku had warned her, it wasn’t necessary. Hiromi may still have been ill-at-ease, but she calm and rational-minded. Fuuka’s display wasn’t going to rile her up by any measure. What she felt instead of aggression was worry. It didn’t seem as though Fuuka had held back when she’d scratched herself.

So the concern in her eyes, originally born from the fear that Kohaku’s overly brusque comment would incite her, changed shape. Instead of being worried about Fuuka, she now felt worried for her. She spoke about the pain as if it were a little thing, and seemed to have had no hesitation in the act, but that was more of a warning sign then any reason to allow herself to be relieved.

So she allowed herself to ask a question. She was a worried about how Fuuka would respond to it, but she would ask anyway. That wasn’t enough of a reason to shy away.

“Are you okay?”

“Are you okay?”

The question stabbed at Fuuka's already sinking mood. There had been no fear or reaction to her stunt. It was like these girls were the complete opposite of her in every way. That made them a little predictable, but left so many wonders about how they behaved. There were too many anomalies; too many contradictions to what a person's priorities should be. So while they were indeed predictable, they were at the same time mysterious. It was like playing a game. If they were the main character, they would undoubtedly choose the noble and selfless option and dialogues every time. The irritating part was that Fuuka still couldn't understand why.

"You all are so annoying." She growled, barely more audible than a mutter. Tiny specks of blood could be seeping from the torn skin on her arm where she'd scratched, the area around it bright pink from the irritation. "Why do you seem to care about others' well being so much? Even total strangers? It's abnormal..."

Hiromi's words had caused a change. Fuuka's curiosity had finally surpassed her annoyance. Rather than continue to wrack her brain for an answer, she'd opted to question them about their behavior directly. She noticed the Misaka girl from earlier, standing by like a lifeless doll. She'd not said anything or made a move ever since Fuuka had agreed to halt her hostile actions. Fuuka figured another question wouldn't hurt.

"So what's up with you over there? You some kind of robot?"

Whether Fuuka had seized that small thread of peace they had thrown at her or whether she was merely delaying an eventual but proper conflict, 10032 remained heavily on-guard regardless and was ready to pull out the contents of her normal school bag in case things took a turn for the worse even though she wished for the best.

She could not afford to be relaxed in front of someone still showing disdain towards Hiromi and as such she barely moved, bearing no expression and holding still in a manner that would put a statue to shame. It was a mystery if she was even breathing, experience having taught her how to minimise her presence and make every single one of her actions count as if it was the last: she was currently applying that knowledge to the letter.

"So what's up with you over there? You some kind of robot?"

“'No, Misaka may share many similarities with them but she is an organic being and therefore does not fit in the category of robots,' says Misaka as she carefully rectifies your mistaken belief.” Those acts though, or precisely the lack of them, seemed to have gathered Fuuka's attention who after an unfriendly exchange with Hiromi turned towards her.

“'Misaka had simply not been addressed and found no point in interrupting', further clarifies Misaka.”  Yet despite her clarification she did not leave her careful stance, instead deciding to return a question of her own now that she had been given the opportunity to do so. "'Though this Misaka has to ask what is up with you as well,' daringly asks Misaka as she indirectly questions your odd arm scratching."

What Fuuka was saying was hardly audible, but it was obvious to even Kohaku that she had long since passed the point of irritation though what other emotions were mixed into her at the moment were something she still had no understanding of. All she could understand was that the girl had scratched so deep that her nails were now even damaging her dermis, leading it to leak specks of blood.

In a sense, all Kohaku could feel was pity. It was quite presumptuous of Kohaku to do so considering how little she knew of this girl and her life. After all, she could not begin to understand the experiences this girl may have gone through to end up to become so irritable. Nevertheless, such was the only feeling she could grasp.  

Kohaku could not even imagine what her emotion her face was contorted to reflect now. Perhaps it was the pity. Perhaps it was curiosity over the girl’s strange, seemingly cynical view of the world.

"Why do you seem to care about others' well being so much? Even total strangers? It's abnormal..."

She could almost barely hear those words. Given how soft her voice was, Kohaku was not even sure she had heard correctly, but if she had…

Was the girl so jaded that she could not even understand empathy or kindness?

She could not help but find herself fascinated by the girl in front of her.

"So what's up with you over there? You some kind of robot?"

The girl seemed to direct her question to the girl referring to herself as Misaka.

“'No, Misaka may share many similarities with them but she is an organic being and therefore does not fit in the category of robots,' says Misaka as she carefully rectifies your mistaken belief.' Misaka had simply not been addressed and found no point in interrupting', further clarifies Misaka. Though this Misaka has to ask what is up with you as well,' daringly asks Misaka as she indirectly questions your odd arm scratching.”

After Misaka gave her somewhat dry answer, Kohaku could only wonder whether Misaka was attempting to lighten things up with a joke given her straight answer and referral to herself as an organic being.  

Still, she brought up an excellent point. The level of scratching she was doing was definitely unhealthy. So, since the others asked about her scratching, Kohaku asked something else entirely as she got herself off her knees, unconsciously discarding any sense of tact. “Do you need a bandaid? You seem to have scratched so much that you’re bleeding. It wouldn’t be healthy to leave that open and get an infection.”

"You all are so annoying. Why do you seem to care about others' well being so much? Even total strangers? It's abnormal..."

Normally she might not have heard it, Fuuka had spoken so quietly. But Hiromi had been focusing closely on Fuuka for some time now, and right then she had been tentatively awaiting an answer to her previous question. So she was able to hear every word, if only barely. And hearing Fuuka express such views, Hiromi couldn't just stand by quietly.

For anyone to think that way, much less a young girl, was just too sad. Such a cynical way of looking at things, such a pessimistic outlook, it went against everything Hiromi believed in. How could one stand to live when they made choices on that kind of basis? Every step would take them further and further away from happiness. Not to try and reach out to this girl, to try and drag her out of that way of thinking, would go against everything Hiromi believed in.

"Because every good deed you do will help someone. And then, the person that was helped will surely help someone else, and then they'll help another person. The world may not be perfect, but every single act of kindness makes it better, even if only a little! And eventually, if everyone does it, than that little bit will add up."

Hiromi had been careful not to sound too much like she was lecturing, speaking in a more conversational tone, but she'd been unable to prevent some heat from entering her voice. Her personality wasn't originally a calm one, after all, so it had been inevitable.

Fuuka's irritated look evaporated into a blank stare in reaction to Misaka's response. That odd way of talking was just too weird. And the degree of stillness she'd been maintaining while not being addressed was kinda eerie to be seen in an "organic being."

"You sure you're not a robot..." Fuuka muttered under her breath, not really desiring an answer just because she didn't wish to hear that funny speech again. It hadn't bothered her so much when they were fighting, but maybe that was because the exchanges had been short, with no sentences long enough to show just how unusual her speaking patterns were.

Then the robot girl also threw an inquiry about Fuuka's behavior. She seemed to have less concern for the wound than the other two, more focused on the action itself. Fuuka didn't feel like getting into too much exposition here. Only the most cliched villains went into long winded explanations about their powers or their plans. Besides, after the restaurant and examining the boys here in the alley, Fuuka was sure that they would be smart enough to put two and two together to figure out what her ability was and why she constantly hurt herself.

"I have no need for a bandage. This level of injury is nothing." Fuuka coldly replied to Kohaku yet again showing that troublesome concern of hers. "I make sure to keep my body healthy to prevent infection. It's kind of necessary when you get as many open wounds as me." Fuuka raised her hand and momentarily pulled back the long hair that covered the burned half of her face. "And after all, it's not like I worry about leaving scars."

Now Hiromi was talking, and the material made Fuuka want to gag. It sounded like some useless drivel from one of those sappy children television shows that spoke of the power of love, friendship and kindness. Fuuka didn't believe in that kind of stuff anymore.

"If one anomaly like yourself does a good act to help someone, nine others will just do for themselves at the expense or unconcern of others. The selfish always prevail over your kind minority. One plus one will never reach an amount greater than ten plus ten added at the same rate. All living things care most about themselves first and foremost. It's in our instincts and our way of life. Self preservation."

Fuuka's words showed just how cynical she was, but betrayed a little about her state of mind. These were not the words of someone who had been selfish from the start, but of a more innocent mind corrupted and colored black by the ugliness of the world in front of her. The biggest hint came in how she referred to Hiromi's kind as doing "good" acts. A person who was truly evil from the beginning would not recognize their actions as being bad. Maybe with a little help, these girls could possibly-

"What have we got here?"

A new voice sounded as the girls conversed among themselves. A large number of rough looking young men, ages ranging from mid-teens to early twenties, were marching into the alley from both directions. The voice had come from the one in the center of the group, carrying himself in a pompous way that was a major giveaway that he was the leader of this gang. In all, there seemed to be about 12 of them.

"When our boy called saying that an esper girl was starting shit with them, we didn't know whether or not to take him seriously. Thought it was crazy that five of ours couldn't handle one measly girl. Now it makes more sense. But the tides have changed now. I hope you're all ready to accept your punishment for messing with my underlings."

Fuuka's face immediately went crazy again. Any trace of progress Hiromi and the others had possibly been making was gone, her cynical views once again reinforced by the violent arrival of these thugs. She turned her head back to Hiromi for a second just to say, "Told you so. The bad always act more than the good. The only way to survive is to beat them at their own game."

Fuuka was ready to fight again.

Though she hoped that everyone could eventually part in a decent amount of peace even if she wasn't naive enough to expect friendship, it seemed fate was against it as more delinquents appeared, almost fully attracting Imouto's attention as she turned towards them and adopted a fighting stance alongside Fuuka.

"Told you so. The bad always act more than the good. The only way to survive is to beat them at their own game."

Her normal school bag was now dangling in one hand and her other cautiously laying to her side as Imouto finished adjusted her goggles in front of her eyes, showing reluctance to having to use its contents against anyone but the person she was born to point them towards. (“Misaka has fought an enemy whose touch means immediate death more than ten thousand times, such a small group is nothing,” says Misaka serial number 10473 as she discourages serial number 10032 from the possibility of making use of weaponry.”) The words flowing inside her brain from the network's transmission confirmed it, if nothing bad happened then only her ability would be necessary to subdue them.

“'Though she doesn't share that entirely cynical mindset, Misaka has to agree that diplomacy will not get us anywhere against such persistent delinquents,' unfortunately announces Misaka as she prepared to fight against the group of delinquents as well.”

Unfortunately for Kohaku, any chance of rebutting Fuuka’s cynical responses was immediately cut off by the boisterous entrance of group of young men. Instead, as soon as the gang had entered the scene and made their declaration, it seemed Fuuka may have cut any chance of listening to the girls with an open mind.

"Told you so. The bad always act more than the good. The only way to survive is to beat them at their own game."

Was Fuuka really that adamant about her cynicism? Would playing the game of violently beating down anyone who meant harm really be the right course of action? Kohaku could not help but ponder this girl’s nature as she continued to observe. She could not help but consider the way Fuuka viewed the world.

But even so, that did not mean she had to accept it. Were people selfish? Perhaps. She could not deny that she could be selfish at times. Would it, at times, outmatch those simple acts of kindness that eventually added up? Of course. But, that did not mean one needed to abandon another. Self-preservation was one thing, but empathy was a great counteraction to that. After all, it was empathy that had saved her…and it was empathy that drove the very world she wished to tread.

“'Though she doesn't share that entirely cynical mindset, Misaka has to agree that diplomacy will not get us anywhere against such persistent delinquents,' unfortunately announces Misaka as she prepared to fight against the group of delinquents as well.”

As Misaka spoke, Kohaku felt even more firm in her stance. Ultimately fighting the delinquents with power would definitely end the current situation. But, the amount of unnecessary pain that would end up inflicted upon everyone was not optimal.

Who says that violence is the only way to end this? It was a hopelessly naive, yet painfully altruistic thought. One could almost laugh at how self-destructive that altruism was.

Despite that, this was who she was. The girl did not want to see anyone hurt. After all, empathy also encompassed the ability to sense another’s pain. Injuries and violence ended up leaving more scars than just the physical. Even if she was a tactless speaker, she could not deny that she was attuned to that quite well. She aimed to be a doctor after all.

So, she would fight the only way she really knew how to. Not with violence, but with kind words. Even if she was tactless and fumbled around as she spoke, it was better than the alternative of letting thing escalate. She walked up till she was in between the delinquents and the two girls raring for a fight and took an apologetic bow.

“I am sorry about them but they are not hurt. I could call the ambulance to take them to the hospital if you would like, though.” Of course, the tactless girl was unaware that she only exacerbated the situation.

"If one anomaly like yourself does a good act to help someone, nine others will just do for themselves at the expense or unconcern of others. The selfish always prevail over your kind minority. One plus one will never reach an amount greater than ten plus ten added at the same rate. All living things care most about themselves first and foremost. It's in our instincts and our way of life. Self preservation."

Cynical in the extreme; that was the simplest way to describe Fuuka's way of thinking. That wholehearted belief that selfishness outnumbered and outweighed selflessness, and that such a state was the natural conclusion for humanity. It indicated an utter lack of faith in other people. But all Hiromi could wonder was why. People weren't born with any particular ideology, after all, so Fuuka must have some reason for thinking that way. And if she could know that reason, Hiromi could understand her. And if she could understand her, she could communicate, and maybe even... But Hiromi's thoughts went no further than that.

"What have we got here? When our boy called saying that an esper girl was starting shit with them, we didn't know whether or not to take him seriously. Thought it was crazy that five of ours couldn't handle one measly girl. Now it makes more sense. But the tides have changed now. I hope you're all ready to accept your punishment for messing with my underlings."

"Told you so. The bad always act more than the good. The only way to survive is to beat them at their own game."

Interrupting Hiromi's train of thought was a train of people, obviously thug-like. And as she listened to the violence they brought onto the scene, Hiromi couldn't but feel a sense of irritation. It wasn't anything such as ill will, but merely a sense of frustration regarding how they had finally managed to begin conversing yet had their effort all ruined by these new arrivals. Rather than fear, though that emotion was certainly present, that sensation seemed stronger to her at the moment.

“'Though she doesn't share that entirely cynical mindset, Misaka has to agree that diplomacy will not get us anywhere against such persistent delinquents,' unfortunately announces Misaka as she prepared to fight against the group of delinquents as well.”

“I am sorry about them but they are not hurt. I could call the ambulance to take them to the hospital if you would like, though.”

On one hand, Hiromi saw Misaka preparing for violence once again, and on the other, she saw Kohaku attempting to brush the delinquent's ill intent away. But she herself couldn't find that she agreed with either method. The former would not only go only against everything she had just said to Fuuka, but reinforce her own negative view even further, and the latter, though not ill-intentioned, she couldn't imagine would diffuse the situation. She needed to try and do something to stop this without violence. Something to use to try and prove to Fuuka that the bad didn't outnumber the good.

"N-No! You've got it all wrong! I'm sorry, but we don't want to fight! These two collapsed, but they don't seem to have any obvious injuries, so we were making sure they were okay," she said quickly, before turning to Misaka. "Misaka-san, don't be so hasty! There's no need to fight!"

She was doing everything she could to try and defuse the situation on all fronts. Talking down the delinquents, playing down Misaka's comment, and trying to supplement Kohaku's. She could only hope her efforts would bear fruit. It might be naive to hope for something like that from a gang of delinquents who came looking for a fight, but for the sake of everyone here, whether it was Fuuka, the delinquents, or the rest of them, she did so anyway.

Idiots...

Fuuka's mind let the word roll with no hesitation. Surely they didn't expect this kind of appeal to work with a blood-thirsty gang? The futility of it was even more apparent watching the faces of the gang members as both girls struggled to dispel the tension between both parties. Anger and disgust were only intensifying on their features as both peace keepers spoke. This was to be expected. These types didn't usually hold high opinion of Academy City students. They held a massive inferiority complex, though only those looking for a fight would dare say that to their face. This complex led them to view espers as holding a feeling of superiority to the powerless such as themselves. So in short, they were unwilling to listen to reason from an esper.

"Y-you all continue to look down on us!? You see the situation you're in and think you can walk away from this with just an apology!?"

The leader's fury was starting to affect the rest of them too. Mumbles from the others began bubbling out beginning in a quiet sound but quickly elevating into an aggravated buzz like a wasp hive ready to go for the kill. One gang member was a little more ambitious than his peers and charged toward Kohaku's position in the center.

"All you stuck up espers, deserve what's coming to you!"

As he swung his fist down at Kohaku, a sudden hand reached out and caught his wrist. Fuuka was now standing in between the two, having read the situation and moved to intercept his attack. He looked perplexed for a moment, but quickly redirecting his aggression to her in Kohaku's place. He started to raise his other fist to strike her, but was met with Fuuka's other hand bringing up another one of her needles she'd retrieved from her pack in advance. Without hesitation she plunged the needle into the gangster's held hand. He recoiled away from Fuuka and Kohaku, crying in agony from the sudden attack. Fuuka rolled her eyes at his display as he retreated back to his buddies.

"Oh come on, it wasn't even that deep a stab. And I didn't even go after your fingertips. That's where the pain really is." She sighed at the low level of these delinquents, if this first one was to be any measure of the rest of them. "I'm afraid this girl is already occupied with another engagement. And I'm not in the habit of sharing my prey. Though if you wish to entertain me too, I'd be willing to give you some time like your friends over there."

Fuuka's challenge was obvious. All memory of Kohaku and Hiromi's input was tossed aside. Fuuka smiled darkly again as the thick tension finally snapped and the gang began to pour forward. "Stop trying to be a hero. I really don't like heroes." she said matter of factly to Kohaku behind her. "Just try and stay out of my way for this."

"Y-you all continue to look down on us!? You see the situation you're in and think you can walk away from this with just an apology!?"

Their temper had long since gone past the stopping point. The leader, who seemed to be barking out in response to Kohaku’s attempt to de-escalate the situation, was pulling everyone along in his anger as the rest of the group began to match up to his tempo.

His tempo had gotten so many of his allies into a fever pitch that one overzealous one began to close in on Kohaku. Before she could even notice, he had gotten in range to throw a punch.

"All you stuck up espers, deserve what's coming to you!"

By the time he had started shouting out, he was already in position, readying his punch. Even if she pulled her body straight, she would be unable to avoid getting hit.

But, she never felt the strike. An unlikely hero had saved her. As she finally pulled herself out of her bow, she saw the back of her unlikely hero, Fuuka as the delinquent seemed to cry in pain, running back to his gang in quite the unsightly fashion.

"Oh come on, it wasn't even that deep a stab. And I didn't even go after your fingertips. That's where the pain really is." Fuuka seemed to sigh as she spoke up. "I'm afraid this girl is already occupied with another engagement. And I'm not in the habit of sharing my prey. Though if you wish to entertain me too, I'd be willing to give you some time like your friends over there.”

Kohaku could not see what expression Fuuka was giving to the delinquents who she was facing but even she could tell that there was a twisted aura surrounding Fuuka at thus very moment. "Stop trying to be a hero. I really don't like heroes. Just try and stay out of my way for this."

“There’s not reason for this to play out with violence.” Despite how much she had seen the failure of the apology, she was still stubborn about this. “We don’t have to let anyone get hurt any further.” She tried to  emphasize this to the girl standing straight in front of her. Her sense of pacifism and optimism were continuing to exude. After all, she was not the type of person who could fight with violence or with powers. All she could do was fight with words.

Of course, this optimism made nary a difference in the face of the delinquents who were embroiled in nothing but rage and an urge for violence. Still, she would be as stubborn as necessary.

She turned slightly to the side so that she could catch Misaka in her periphery only to see something even worse entirely.

From behind, there were four of them approaching Hiromi and Misaka. Likely, when the delinquent who had attacked Kohaku retreated, the four had decided to attack from behind. One held a crowbar. One held a metal pipe. The other two came in barehanded.

Kohaku’s eyes widened as she called out to the two in warning. “Misaka-san! Hiromi-senpai! Behind you!”

“'No, you don't need to...'”

Having risen a perplexed eyebrow to the rather loud warning coming from Kohaku, Imouto simply turned around to face the four delinquents as she lightly lifted her hand and constricted it a bit. Just like Fuuka's earlier needles, the crowbar and metal pipe found themselves pried away from their owner's hands at the girl's will.

“What the...?”

“An Electromaster?!” The two delinquents tried out as they tried their best to keep their grasp onto their weapons, though Imouto took the chance to open up her palm and where the weapons had once been pulling away from their hands, they now gave in to the opposite force and with a little prompting from Imouto, went to fly straight into their faces.

“Pffwargh!” They both screeched out before falling to the ground, their counter-effective and now slightly bloodied weapons now floating away from them to stay by Imouto's side.

“'...be worried about Misaka.' says Misaka as she finally finished her sentence. 'Misaka has faced worse enemies than this.' she explains as she reassures the well-intending girl.”

Hiromi watched helplessly as the delinquent swung his fist. Even if she wanted to do something, she was too far away. But even so, she found herself stepping towards them instead of away, even though it was too late for her to do anything. However, she stopped as quickly as she'd started. The reason she'd stepped forwards no longer existed, after all.

"Oh come on, it wasn't even that deep a stab. And I didn't even go after your fingertips. That's where the pain really is. I'm afraid this girl is already occupied with another engagement. And I'm not in the habit of sharing my prey. Though if you wish to entertain me too, I'd be willing to give you some time like your friends over there."

"Stop trying to be a hero.  I really don't like heroes. Just try and stay out of my way for this."

Though Fuuka was fanning the flames of the delinquents' anger further, Hiromi's worry over that was all but suppressed by a pair of two other emotions. Relief was first and foremost. Thanks to Fuuka's timely intervention, Kohaku was unharmed. There was no way she wouldn't be happy about that, no matter it was ensured, even if conflicting emotions were also present. And second was gratitude. Towards Fuuka, whose actions had saved Kohaku from harm, it was impossible for her to feel anything but. And...

Though she was telling others not to play the hero, even if only in her actions, Hiromi couldn't help but notice that Fuuka herself was acting in a rather hero-like fashion. Though, now wasn't the time to mention such things. Not with what was happening behind her.

“Misaka-san! Hiromi-senpai! Behind you!”

Kohaku's warning had almost come too late. Hurriedly, Hiromi turned about, a half beat slower than her best because she was in an awkward position from suddenly stopping before. But, what she saw there wasn't danger but rather a scene that mirrored what she had just seen behind her.

“'No, you don't need to... ...be worried about Misaka.' says Misaka as she finally finished her sentence. 'Misaka has faced worse enemies than this.' she explains as she reassures the well-intending girl.”

What Fuuka had done for Kohaku, Misaka had done for her. It seemed that today, those who aimed to become people who save others are the ones who are to be saved.

But as expected, just remaining a damsel in distress wasn't something that Hiromi would accept. Neither was the use of violence to escape this situation, though both Misaka and Fuuka seemed to have accepted that as their tool of choice. Her mind was as one with Kohaku's in this regard. And down the path that Misaka had opened by knocking down the delinquents, Hiromi found her alternative. Rather than fight, flee.

"Kohaku? This way! Grab Fuuka-san and run!"

Though shouting like this meant the delinquents would know their plans as well, it wasn't as if Hiromi had any other way to tell them. They just had to take advantage of this chance where they were all still reeling from Fuuka and Misaka's attacks to get a head start as they fled. Afterwards, they needed to aim to get out of the alleys and into a public place as soon as possible. They could plan things out further there.

Hiromi was a bit worried as to whether Fuuka would cooperate, but they couldn't wait. If they tried discussing it, then the delinquents would recover and they would quickly be chased down.

The situation had quickly escalated into a total brawl. But only two of the girl's present were doing anything to stand against these ruffians out for blood.  Fuuka had to deal with multiple opponents in irregular waves as she continued to hover near Kohaku's position to provide protection.  A few got close to the peaceful Kohaku, but Fuuka only grinned at the fact while wondering if she'd begin to realize the futility of her bleeding heart.  Even still, Fuuka had to begrudgingly admit to herself that this fight was tiresome. Her swift dealing with the first attacker seemed to have spooked the rest, but they were slowly regaining their courage and launching assaults towards her.

"Come and let me paint the walls with your blood." Fuuka growled as she swung one of her knives at her latest assailant, leaving a gash in his arm that ran rich with dark blood dripping to the ground. He jumped back and tried to stop the bleeding while another of his gang approached Fuuka from the other side wielding a large baseball bat. Fuuka caught the movement with her peripheral vision, but didn't see herself having enough time to dodge the swing. Thinking on the fly, she held up one arm to block the attack.

Searing pain shot through her arm as the bat made contact. A loud crunching sound reverberated through the alley leading to the majority conclusion that Fuuka's arm had been broken.  But the opponents didn't have time to worry about that as the five closest to Fuuka were all holding their own arms while howling in agony. Fuuka's own breath was heavy and labored, but she was still standing despite the pain. This wasn't enough to keep her down. The fighting took a pause as confusion and fear spread through the boys.

"Kohaku? This way! Grab Fuuka-san and run!"

Hiromi seemed to be making use of Misaka's defense and had found her own peaceful solution to the encounter. Fuuka slowly shuffled backward toward Kohaku, keeping her vision glued on the five she was currently linked with. For good measure to keep the pain fresh, she swung her good fist into her broken arm much to the dismay of her victims.  Fuuka spoke quietly and fast, but with breaks in her speech due to her injury.

"If you....want......to go now......I won't stop you."

She would've liked to keep going. But with this injury, fighting while protecting Kohaku would be impossible. She wondered what decision Misaka would make. That girl seemed to finish whatever her mind was set to.

The commotion that she was utterly unable to comprehend had Imouto as thoroughly confused as she could possibly be: why were the girls alongside her so frantic about the matter? She rose a sceptical eyebrow, but not once had she actually moved from her position; there was simply no need to. Her calmness in this rather violent situation could terrify the most stubborn of delinquents.

(“Serial number 10032, that short-haired girl seems to be tackling the matter in a strangely optimistic way,” notes Misaka serial number 10574 as she finds herself perplexed by how different the mindsets of normal people are.)

Casting a long side-glance at Hiromi, seemingly the source of this nonsense by trying to put an end to this situation in an awfully naïve manner, Imouto's eyes then returned to the remaining delinquents. Even if they ran, with an injured person in their party it was likely that they may be caught up to and if the girls got themselves stuck in an environment even more restricting than this without being adequately prepared, that situation would be so many much times worse than the current one.

(“It does not seem like the situation will sort itself on its own at this rate, 10032 should properly step in now before something worse happens,” advises Misaka serial number 19302.)

“'It can't be helped,' sighs Misaka as she decides to take matters into her own hands while incidentally lifting one.” As she did so, all metal items within her vicinity of the alleyway immediately flew near that raised hand and obediently sat there, whether they had been the delinquents' weapons or just mere abandoned metallic objects.

“'Misaka will give you one chance to grab your friends and retreat,' says Misaka as she makes the amount of weapons near her hand clear. 'Unlike the other girls here, Misaka can and will knock you all out with these weapons before you even get near her, or anyone in this group, so she strongly advises against trying to pursue the fight,' declares Misaka as she intensely stares at the group of young men before her.” It was an affirmation that was only meant as an illusion of a choice, never an actual one, and she would act far before the two strongly altruistic girls even tried to stop her...

The situation was growing into an extreme one, after all, and it was about time to apply some more extreme means than simply defence.

There was little time for her to even react to Misaka’s actions. In the end, Kohaku was far from an athletic person. As soon as Misaka had heard the warning, she had acted swiftly enough to disable the delinquents approaching from behind.

As the events unfolded before Kohaku’s eyes, she could tell straight off once Misaka had made her ultimatum to the delinquents that the situation would take one of two routes. Either the delinquents would make a last ditch effort and use their fists, seeing as they were still seething with rage to the point where she could not affect them, or they would take the opportunity to cut their losses and run.

The de facto leader of the group gritted his teeth and stared with pure contempt as the rage in his eyes was refusing to die down. His fist clenched tighter as his gaze began to focus on Misaka.

“DAMMIT!” The leader shouted slamming his fist onto a nearby wall.

“What do we do?” In contrast to the leader, the remainder of the delinquents held a mix of confusion and fear as they did not know what to do now that their weaponry had been taken. After all, the weaponry was what, compounded with numbers, allowed them to fight back against Espers. But, now that was a lost cause as it could be used against them as easily as it was taken away.

The confused delinquents continued to eye the rest of the group. Whispers began to fly around. A pair of the delinquents even pointed at two of the girls while whispering to each other.

“We retreat…” The leader spoke. However, there was zero resolve behind it. The only weight his words carried was that born from reluctance and regret. Without looking away, he took one step back. Following suit with their leader, all of the other delinquents took two steps back.

The ones knocked down earlier by Misaka after Kohaku’s warning got back up and picked up the unconscious bodies of their friends who had been knocked out by Fuuka and all of the delinquents bolted out of the alleyway and dispersed.

It was over. The thread had subsided.

Taking the opportunity in all this silence, she moved over to Fuuka, who was, by far, the most injured member of the group. As she closed the distance, she softly put a hand on the shoulder of the arm that was not broken. “Are you alright?”

They never had a chance to run—Misaka erased the need. Her high tension, her adrenaline high, all of it unceremoniously left as she watched the delinquents give up in the face Misaka's ability. Though Hiromi should have felt relief, what accompanied the loss of tension was instead an unpleasant feeling of conflict. They had resolved it without having to resort to overly forceful means, that was true.

But looking at how Misaka had surgically applied the pressure of violence and the way Fuuka stoically endured her broken arm, Hiromi couldn't bring herself to feel happy. Even if the coming of the ending at last was something she should be glad for, the process they had taken to reach it was such that she couldn't innocently smile in joy.

“Are you alright?”

This was still not the time for reverie.

"I'll call an ambulance! Kohaku, could you take care of her in the meanwhile?"

The dispersing tension recovered some as she realized that they needed to get treatment for Fuuka's injury. She picked out her cellphone, and called the emergency line with practiced hands without waiting for Kohaku's answer. She knew the number by heart, and Kohaku's response did not need to be heard. She knew the girl well enough to know that she would do what needed to be done.

She listened to the phone ring, waiting impatiently for the other side to answer as she attempted to organize the situation in her head. It was important that she relay the situation calmly and accurately to the operator. But even as she attempted to arrange her thoughts in a calm and logical fashion, she was assaulted with a sense of frustration instead of coherency. That sense of conflict was still throbbing in her chest.

Fuuka watched the scene unfold with a sort of half relieved feeling. She was bummed to see the chaos disperse. But she had to admit, to herself at least, that she didn't have control over the situation anymore. With her injury, the fun for today was over. The only thing left to do now was make a decision on what action to take next. She could wait for the ambulance Hiromi was calling, but that'd probably lead to an evening of pointless questions and interrogations from doctors, nurses, and authorities trying to get to the bottom of their incident. And since Fuuka had fanned the flames of the thugs' fury, it could warrant as the kind of incident her handlers had instructed her to tone down on. That was a development she had no desire to come to. So the answer was obvious...she just had to leave and report to her people herself. They had medical facilities and could patch her up with only a light lecture in return as long as Fuuka didn't get in trouble with public authorities.

"Been really fun messing with you perfect good Samaritans, but I think I'll go now." Fuuka coldly dismissed herself from their company and turned away from the group to start making her way out of the alley. "By the way," she stopped and half turned her head back to give Kohaku a sideways glance, "if you continue to try and only do good by others and never step on any toes, you're gonna get yourself or someone with you killed someday."

"Been really fun messing with you perfect good Samaritans, but I think I'll go now."

Fuuka coldly attempted to disconnect herself from the group. Despite her injury, she seemed to want to simply just get away from the scene as quickly as possible. She had pulled herself away from Kohaku’s shoulder but even she could tell that those injuries were not something she could simply walk off.

As the hand she had placed on Fuuka fell down, it balled into a fist. She clenched tightly and then released with a deep sigh, watching as Fuuka turned her head around to face Kohaku.

"By the way, if you continue to try and only do good by others and never step on any toes, you're gonna get yourself or someone with you killed someday."

Killed?

Kohaku had to wonder how that girl could so easily and casually claim that kindness could get one killed. It was not like she was a doctor on a battlefield, putting herself on the line to save the lives of those wounded in the line of duty.

Just what kind of world was that girl staring into in order to be able to say something like that?

“I can’t say that I understand where you’re coming from, but the world is not as cruel as you seem to want to claim it is.” There was no need to say anything else. Anything further would have been nothing more than a break down of a firm statement.

“Come to think of it, I never did get your name. Allow me to introduce myself first. I am Kira Kohaku.”