[SS] Intensify

July 8th

Norio's head throbbed. He pressed his hand to his temple as though in some vain attempt to relieve the pressure. It didn't help.

He staggered, his hand reaching for the wall of the alleyway. He felt something and clawed at it as his balance gave way. A metal bin crashed against the ground as he yanked it over in his flailing.

Norio fell against the wall, resting his body which was now wracked with spasms. His ragged breaths burnt his throat and he grimaced, pressing off from the wall and out into the street.

The pounding of his heart filled his head. Rushing blood drowned out the outside world. He didn't even hear the truck approaching him until the headlights hit him. He turned towards the swerving vehicle and his eyes widened.

It sounded like a depth charge. The deep, throbbing hum of an implosion followed by the rushing roar of flames that shook the surrounding buildings, assaulting their foundations with searing heat as the shockwave rippled through the streets.

What remained was little more than a crater. Black, melted tarmac and stone had been blasted into a glass like surface that rapidly cooled with a faint red glow. Nothing remained of the truck or the surrounding street. Only a single, blackened skeleton lay smoking in the wreckage.

"All available units, please report to District 15 Central. An incident has been reported." The call went out to all Judgement and Anti Skill members across the city.

Trystan had simply been walking around in the area when the sound of a huge explosion erupted nearby. He shifted his weight slightly as the aftershock shook the surrounding area to keep his balance. Almost as soon as the shockwave passed, Trystan started running towards the origin of the noise, through a back alley between buildings that connected the two areas. What had happened? Was there anyone hurt? While Academy City was advanced, there was no way that the officials in charge of handling this sort of situation would be able to react so promptly that they would be here immediately after an incident, even with teleporters. Just the sound of the explosion indicated that it had been a serious accident; any injured civilians caught unfortunately nearby would most likely need medical attention immediately!

As he exited the alleyway, Trystan's eyes widened in surprise at the scene of destruction in front of him. Whatever it was that had exploded, it had left a darkened crater, as well as melting whatever the explosive had been encased in into some sort of glass-like sheet. From the still-red appearance, it looked like the 'glass' hadn't even properly cooled down yet. Just what was it that had caused this explosion to happen in the first place? However, the glass wasn't the only thing which had caught his eye.

There was also a charred shape resting amongst the wreckage.

While he was uncertain at what exactly the charred shape was, he was almost entirely certain that there were no other injured civilians in the area; the explosion had blasted all the surrounding debris and cover towards the buildings, and had actually blown most of them apart into small pieces - if there were any injured civilians around, they would be plainly visible even upon a cursory inspection of the area. As such, Trystan moved towards the center of the wreckage, his shoes' rubber soles feeling softer than usual as he walked over the still-cooling glass-like coating. As he neared the area, a strong, thick, and acrid smell filled his nose.

When he saw the charred skeleton, Trystan quickly brought up a hand to his mouth, and turned away, stumbling off the area coated with the glass-like substance and falling to his knees besides the wreckage, heaving ragged breaths as he desperately tried to calm himself down.

So this is the smell of a human burnt...

"Stop right where you are!" A voice spoke to Trystan from the lip of the crater. "I'm from Judgement." Kuroko announced. She looked around, surveying the carnage for the first time. "What happened here..." She wondered aloud, taken aback by the severity of the damage. Her attention returned to the young man who now stood alone in the middle of the blast radius.

"Don't move." She ordered him boldly. The petite girl vanished from sight before appearing in front of Trystan. "You're not going anywhere until you tell me exactly what just happened here."

The first responders were on the scene in minutes. Anti Skill officers formed a perimeter around the crater to hold back the quickly growing mob that emerged to gawk at the scene while members of the rescue teams stood by. Some of them were visibly shaken by the sight. It wasn't often that Academy City had to deal with disasters like this one.

One Anti Skill, a tall woman who looked to be in her late twenties with glamorous proportions and dark hair tied back in a low ponytail stood issuing orders to the other teams. Yomikawa Aiho, Lieutenant of the 73rd Anti Skill branch, frowned at the gruesome sight before her.

The flashing of red and blue lights piqued Touko's curiosity and she slung her bag over her shoulder as she approached the barrier.

"Wha-?" She muttered with a slow gasp. "What is this?" She asked aloud, her eyes taking in the crater and the ruined surroundings. Was it some kind of gas explosion? That would be the most common sense explanation, she reasoned.

"Stop right where you are! I'm from Judgement."

Even if she didn't say that, he had neither the intention nor the willpower to actually leave the area. He was a bystander who had rushed to the scene, and was busy trying to prevent himself from spewing all over the ground. After a short while, the girl started talking to him again, in what appeared to be her typical bold and commanding voice.

"Don't move."

Almost immediately after she finished, she vanished from view, before instantly reappearing in front of him.

"You're not going anywhere until you tell me exactly what just happened here."

Nodding his understanding, Trystan shifted his position so that he was sitting cross legged in front of her, obviously in no position to even try running. Even if he hadn't done this, he seriously doubted that he would have been able to get anywhere nearly fast enough to lose a teleporting member of Judgement. Lifting his head slightly, he turned his eyes up towards the girl.

"What would you have this one tell you?"

"What would you have this one tell you?"

"Huh?" Kuroko let out a confused sound at Trystan's odd behaviour. She certainly hadn't expected him to be so cooperative, much less to sit down like a dog being scolded. And he spoke strangely too. Did people really talk like that outside of TV dramas these days? "Well you can start with what you were doing here." She stood firmly, planting her hands on her hips. Her brow furrowed and lips turned downwards into a stern frown.


"Search for casualties. We still don't know the extent of the damage." Aiho shouted her orders over the noisy crowd of curious onlookers. At the edge of the crater an Anti Skill scanned the area with an unknown device that resembled a metal detector. The machine's display flashed with indecipherable figures and characters, the screen a tangle of readings and meters.

"Lieutenant!" The man called over to Aiho. "This ash..." He knelt down beside one of the many piles of dark ash that littered the site. "It's made of human remains." A gentle wind carried the pile off in thick, swirling trails.

"What?" Kuroko spun to face the man with a look of astonished dread.

Aiho's jaw clenched.

"Huh?"

She looked confused...did he say something strange? However, the moment seemed to pass as quickly as it came. As she quickly regained her composure, she placed her hands on her hips, her stance firm and solid.

"Well you can start with what you were doing here."

Nodding, Trystan began speaking.

"This one was merely in the area when this one felt the explosion. From the sound, it was at least a fair distance away, but if the aftershock was sufficient to be felt at that distance, this one felt that whatever it was that had set off the explosion, it would surely have been no small explosive. While this one does not intend to brag, this one is ranked a Level Three Esper by the Academy, and so this one has the responsibility to help however this one can. As such, this one rushed here, but did not see any casualties other than material damages to the surrounding area; the only thing this one could find was -"

Before he could finish his testimony, a loud voice yelled towards someone who Trystan assumed as the Lieutenant.

"Lieutenant! This ash...It's made of human remains."

"What?"

Trystan fell into silence, without bothering to continue his testimony. After all, that was pretty much all he knew as well. The only thing he had seen when he had arrived was the still slightly molten glassy covering, and the charred body in the middle of the explosion.

"Those are... people?" Touko was visibly shaken as she looked out over the ash strewn crater. Just how many people had died? Her fist clenched and she frowned. Could she have saved them? The thought twisted like a knife in her chest.

She moved closer to the woman the Anti Skill officer had identified as the Lieutenant, listening keenly for any clue about what had occurred.

"Stand up." Kuroko said sternly to Trystan before heading over to Aiho. "Officer. This man was the first on the scene. He may know something useful." She gestured to the tall young man.

"Ah. So Judgement were already on the scene before we arrived?" Aiho looked impressed. "You kids really are everywhere, aren't you?" She looked over at Trystan. "Young man, if you have any information on what happened here you have to tell us." She implored him.

Trystan nodded as he got up on his feet once more. Now that some time had passed since he had first arrived at the scene, he had recovered his composure sufficiently that he could do so without the massive wave of nausea that accompanied his first whiff of the smell in the area. As the girl walked off towards an Anti-Skill officer, Trystan started to gather his own thoughts. Just what could have happened in this area? He looked towards the charred area, glossy with the sheen of a glassy coating. Focusing on a region further away from the center of the explosion, Trystan narrowed his eyes to attempt to get a clearer look. Underneath the clear shimmer, and especially since this accident area was now brightly lit so that the Anti-Skill and Judgement members could investigate more easily, he could make out what looked to be darkened tire marks. Was it some sort of car bomb? Or maybe some sort of vehicle carrying explosive substances when it unfortunately hit some pedestrian? Shaking his head, Trystan cleared his head of these sorts of thoughts; even he knew how ridiculous and implausible these ideas of his were. Suddenly noticing that the girl from Judgement was pointing in his direction, he shook the remaining thoughts from his head as both the Anti-Skill officer and the girl approached him again.

"Young man, if you have any information on what happened here you have to tell us."

Trystan could tell from her voice that she was rather sincerely, or at least she was very convincingly pretending to be, asking for any information he might have gotten that they had not already. Shaking his head, Trystan started speaking.

"Truthfully, this one regrets that this one can not be of much help. When this one arrived at the scene, it was already in this state, save for the fact that the glassy cover over the road had not cooled yet."

Trystan lifted his shoes to demonstrate the slightly deformed markings underneath.

"The only thing this one can say is that when this one arrived, there was only one charred human-shaped remain in the middle of the explosive area, and that -"

Trystan gestured towards the skid marks left on the ground from the truck earlier.

"- this explosion probably involved some vehicle or another...Also...While...it may not be this one's place to suggest so, this one finds it highly suspicious that an Esper who resides in Academy City, who possesses the power to completely incinerate a vehicle and perhaps its occupants and contents, and leaving only small debris in such a large area, would fail to have enough power to save him or herself from the scorch of their own flames. Such power with such lack of control is such a risk to the citizens within Academy City that it seems implausible that the City would not have known..."

Trystan paused a bit before continuing.

"Please excuse this one's insolence; this one has speculated far enough. As for the scene that this one has seen prior to the arrival of Judgement and the Anti-Skills, there was nothing else which has changed from then until now, save for the scattering of the ashes of the charred remains."

Trystan remained standing where he was, waiting quietly for a response.

In a certain dark alleyway…

Bzzzzzzzt! Zzzzpppptt!

Angry sparks of blue electricity arced and crackled loudly in the air, immediately joined by terrified screams of young men. Twitching bodies fell onto the ground with heavy thuds, thin trails of grey smoke trailing up from their charred clothes into the sky.

“Jeez! This is such a pain!”

Standing alone amidst the scattered bodies was a brown-haired teenage girl. A deep scowl was etched onto her face as tiny sparks of electricity leapt from her hair in her annoyance.

The Electromaster folded her arms, looking around with a rather satisfied expression. These stupid delinquents had been trying to hit on her yet again. One would think that living in a place such as Academy City where anyone could be powerful espers would give them some restraint.

But no, there were dunderheads and idiots everywhere she went.

Huffing loudly, she turned around and began to head out to the main street at a leisurely pace, a bored expression overtaking her facial features.

“Y-you…”

Mikoto stopped, eyes widening. It may have just been her imagination, but there had been a weak voice behind her. She spun on her heels to look back at the sprawled bodies. All was suddenly silent and nothing moved minus the quiet twitching of fingers here and there. Breathing a sigh of relief, she turned back to continue her way.

For a moment, she had been reminded of that girl and that guy. People who could somehow resist her Level 5 powers while calling themselves mere Level 0’s.

“Ridiculous!” Mikoto muttered grumpily. And that teacher had bloody acted the hero and saved her! Irresponsible, self-sacrificing, wanna-be-hero, handsome … She felt heat rise up to her face and shook her head furiously. What the hell? Where had that thought suddenly come from?

Completely irritated at herself, Mikoto quickly diverted her thoughts away from the certain teacher. Anything but him…

‘May as well go check out the new arcade game now,’ she promised herself quickly.
Having something to look forward to, she felt her spirits rise a little as she continued onwards.

“W-wait… Stop….!”

Mikoto froze. It was that weak voice again. Slowly she spun around, unsure what to expect.

Far behind, the bodies still lay twitching where she had left them. The momentary relief however vanished when she caught sight of one of the young men dragging himself towards her.

What willpower-!

Stunned, she almost took a step back in awe. Mikoto had released her power in amounts that were not enough to kill, but enough to knock out full grown men for a long while. To be able to still move to some extent after that was impressive. Her lips twitched.

Except Kuroko, she thought dryly.

Her roommate had become so accustomed to being electrified that she had become rather resistant to electric shocks. It was a troublesome fact, especially when the pervert didn’t know how to keep her hands to herself.

Mikoto glanced down at the man in front of her with curiosity. What did he think he was doing? She could tell his left side was slightly paralysed temporarily but was pushing himself forward along the ground with his right leg and arm. His black hair greyed with dust and his clothes torn and ragged, the young man’s angry eyes were fixated on Mikoto as he pushed himself closer.

Uncertain what to make of this strange person but annoyed all the same, Mikoto boldly moved forward, closing the gap between them in few strides.

“What?” she said roughly, glaring down at him with hands on hips, “do you want more or something?”

The man sucked in a rattled breath and glared right back at her with such ferocity in his green eyes that Mikoto took a small step backwards.

“You… Railgun…” He spat at her alias viciously, as if he could taste something extremely foul. “You high-levelled… espers…. Are all the same!”

He coughed violently and Mikoto suddenly felt very guilty and sorry for him. But that’s what he wants, isn’t it? She thought, and she quickly steeled herself.

“What, you bullies get pleasure out of hitting on poor girls who are alone. You obviously deserved it,” Mikoto said carelessly. She folded her arms across her chest defensively.

Despite his sorry state, the guy’s anger was palpable and very real. It grew into a foreboding presence that made Mikoto feel rather small in comparison.

“You are… no better than us,” he gritted his teeth. “Always… believing you are above us… No… You are the bullies… forcing us with your powers… Just because you have it easy, doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want!!!”

The last sentence came out in a rush with a voice full of passionate fury as the burning anger blazed in his green eyes. Silence met his outburst as Mikoto stood stone still, face half-turned away into the shadows.

“Have it easy, do I?” came the quiet reply.

Mikoto turned back to him, her calm expression frosty and oddly detached.

“I’ll show you what’s easy!”

In a series of fluid movements, Mikoto grabbed the front of the guy’s shirt and pulled him upwards as her other hand clenched into a fist that slammed into his right cheek with surprising force. His eyes flew wide open with pain and shock.

She let go and he stumbled back, landing hard on his buttocks.

“Jeez,” with one final icy glare at the battered guy, she turned and made her way to leave.
The guy touched his tender cheek with a hand, stunned and bewildered. But anger soon flared up again as the pain began to fade into a dull throb. His fists clenched and he shook visibly.

“I’ll show you… I’ll show them all!” he muttered.

“Railgun!” He shouted after her, “The name is Karl! You better remember it well!”

Whether the Electromaster heard or not, she showed no sign of it. Mikoto calmly walked out into the main street, leaving the battered Karl alone in the dark alley, shaking in rage.

His nails dug into his palms. It was time for revenge.

***

Mikoto glanced at her right hand. It was slightly red from the impact it had made earlier. Karl’s words reverberated in her mind and those eyes filled with such hatred and rage…

Sighing, she forced herself to swallow down the guilt still lingering. It was no good to wallow in what had already happened. His threats were probably empty as well anyway. Perhaps she had been rather insensitive, a bit too forceful… Shaking her head quickly, Mikoto turned her full attention to the arcade centre across the road.

It was time for some serious de-stressing.

Kuroko and Aiho listened silently as Trystan explained his take on events. With a solemn expression, Aiho crossed her arms over the heavy plate of her body armor. The dark haired woman shook her head ruefully.

"Well, we have no reason to disbelieve him." She admitted before addressing Trystan. "But until we've finished dealing with the scene of the crime we have to detain any witnesses. I hope you understand." She said firmly.

What he said was true enough. Any Esper with the power to generate that sort of power would almost undoubtedly possess the means to control the backlash as well. Something more had to be going on here.

"Lieutenant." One of her subordinates hurried over and stood to attention in front of her. Aiho nodded.

"What have you found." She asked, her voice hushed with hesitation. The officer held something in his hand. The thin, cylindrical object resembled a white pen or thermometer.

"This was on the body." The officer explained, his voice issuing as a mechanical hiss from his mask's mouthpiece.

On closer inspection the small pen appeared to have a spring loaded tip and a small window that showed the empty interior of the tube.

***

Kashiwagi Mai leaned forward, her eyes fixed on her target. She wouldn't fail. This time they would fall into her grasp. The tip of her tongue poked from her lips as she concentrated. So close.

The mechanical arm lifted, it's claws empty. Mai's shoulders sank and her head tipped to the side in dismay.

"Darn it." She grumbled, stepping away from the machine. She'd wasted the last of her money on trying to get that stuffed animal. She eyed it enviously.

An extremely self-satisfied smirk planted itself on Mikoto’s face as the screen before her eyes joyfully flashed the words: “NEW HIGHSCORE!!”

She lazily stood up from her seat and stretched her arms as nearby occupants crowded around and gazed at the screen in awe.

“950!” someone exclaimed with eyes popping out comically.

“No way!”

“The game came out only yesterday and the high score is already this?!”

“Auuuu~ I really wanted to have a chance on the highscore boards…” Another wailed pitifully.

Unable to stop the arrogant smirk spreading across her lips, Mikoto quickly grabbed a handful of arcade coins nearby and hastily stuffed them into her pocket. Before anyone could ask her for tips on the game, she ducked away from the gathering crowd to mingle elsewhere.

She felt much happier now and her head felt lighter. The newly released game had given her plenty of opportunities to vent out some of her previous feelings of frustration and worry. After persisting for an entire hour with extreme focus, Mikoto had even managed to beat the current highscore by 300 points, earning her the top place.

Feeling some glowing pride at her achievement, Mikoto decided to call it a day at the arcade centre. She glanced at the digital clock hanging on the wall.

‘I wonder if Kuroko is back from Judgement work,’ she pondered.

Deciding that she would take the long way back to the dormitories, she headed for the door.

"Darn it."

A quiet mumble from her side caught Mikoto’s attention and she turned her head.

The first thing she noticed was the Tokiwadai uniform. The girl who was wearing it looked rather annoyed, eyeing something in the claw machine with obvious longing. Mikoto followed her gaze to a stuffed animal sitting mockingly behind the glass, staring right back at the troubled girl with an innocent smile on its cotton face.

‘Whoah~ Cute!’ Mikoto thought, eyes sparkling. It was little wonder the girl wanted it, Mikoto felt the strong desire to have it herself.

‘Onee-sama, that’s so childish!’ Kuroko’s scolding voice suddenly rang in her mind and Mikoto flushed slightly red. Mild annoyance starting to creep up again, and she quickly diverted her attention to the situation at hand.

Mikoto’s eyes turned back to the Tokiwadai student, her brain racking furiously to put a name to the face. She was sure she had seen her around…

Ah, of course, she was in Kuroko’s year. Probably a friend of Kuroko’s then, she swiftly assumed.

Her lips pulled into an easy-going smile. In a good mood, and feeling sorry for the saddened girl, Mikoto felt motivated to help. And if that stuffed animal was presenting itself as a challenge, she would conquer it no matter what.

‘If there is another one like that in there… Maybe I can get one for myself… I’ll have to somehow hide it from Kuroko though… I’ll never hear the end of it…’

With these distracted thoughts, Mikoto approached the girl gently, not wanting to startle her.

“Hey,” Mikoto gave her a genuine smile while gesturing towards the soft toy, “Do you need help with that?”

Touko eavesdropped on the conversation between the Anti Skill officers, staring not too subtlly over the barricade as she strained to hear. The pen-like object immediately caught her attention. She couldn't tell from where she was standing but it's shape reminded her of an epipen. Why would that have survived when everything else had been blasted to dust?

“Hey, do you need help with that?”

"Huh?" Mai turned, surprised by Mikoto's words. When she realised who it was standing in front of her the girl's expression melted from standoffish suspicion to starstruck delight. In her eyes the Tokiwadai lady seemed to sparkle in the light. "Misaka-senpai." She half sighed, half whispered.

Her attention returned to the stuffed animal Mikoto had gestured to. The white bear stared back at her with open arms.

"Can you really help?" She asked with wonder.

Mikoto watched with half-amusement and half-exasperation as Mai’s expression turned into one of recognition then admiration.

‘I sure hope Kuroko hasn’t been spreading her perverted ideas to her friends,’ she thought mildly.

"Can you really help?"

Mikoto grinned at the girl who was staring at her with wonder-filled eyes. Turning her attention to the white bear in the machine, she nodded the affirmative, feeling confident and ready to face the newest challenge.

“Sure! Let’s see now…”

Taking out a couple of coins from her Gekota purse, Mikoto inserted them in the machine. Grabbing hold of the controls, an intense look of concentration and stubborn determination passed her face as the metallic arm began to move.

’To the left… A bit more…’

The metallic claw plunged down suddenly, narrowly missing the bear’s arm. It started lifting back up, clutching at nothing but empty air.

’Shit! What?!’

Mikoto realised she had lost control as frustration welled up inside. Giving a sideways glance at Mai, she felt her cheeks heat up with embarrassment. She scowled inwardly as her sense of pride deflated. She had been so certain she could do it-!

It left her with no choice.

As the metallic arm moved back into its starting position, Mikoto positioned her hand on the machine’s side out of Mai’s sight. Blue sparks leapt from her forehead and traveled down the length of her arm, to her hand and into the machine.

The metallic arm suddenly jerked alive. With a speed unheard of, the claw immediately sought out the white bear and picked it up, depositing the bear for its new owner to pick up with an equally unnatural speed. The claw jerked violently as some sparks spluttered from its ends, before coming to a sudden halt at its starting point.

Mikoto almost let out a sigh of relief as she turned back to Mai. She smiled but her eyebrows twitched slightly, hoping that the girl had not noticed anything amiss.

“There you go, uh-” Mikoto said, pausing uncertainly as she realised she still did not know the girl’s name. It was always quite embrassing when people knew her name but she did not know theirs.

Mai watched, enthralled as Mikoto took the controls, though she seemed more amazed by the girl playing than her performance. She flinched as Mikoto's temper flared visibly, offering a meek smile in response.

The machine lurched to life again and, moving with remarkable speed, snatched her prize from its place and deposited it neatly into the slot by Mikoto.

Mai was astounded to say the least.

"That was incredible!" She gushed. "You're really good at that game." It seemed Mikoto's trick had gone undetected. It was likely that in Mai's mind, being a proper lady and a level 5 gave one talent in any area of expertise. Mikoto's question caught the girl unaware and she blinked mutely for a second, her mind struggling to catch up.

"M-Mai." She managed to stammer a reply. "Kashiwagi Mai." She regained her composure and introduced herself properly.

"That was incredible! You're really good at that game."

Mikoto gave a slightly awkward laugh as she waved the praise away good-naturedly, relief flooding her mind at the knowledge that she hadn’t noticed.

The girl looked nervous as she stammered out her name.

"M-Mai." She spoke in a soft voice and then visibly regained her composure to introduce herself properly. "Kashiwagi Mai."

“It’s nice to meet you properly, Kashiwagi-san,” Mikoto said respectfully.

She turned back to the white bear waiting at the slot. Mikoto picked it up carefully and glanced at its smiling face as a sudden pang of desire to have it herself gripped her once more. It was just so cute, so cuddly… She sneaked a look into the machine, eyes searching desperately for the same soft toy.

None that she could see. Just her luck.

Feeling a little deflated, Mikoto held it out for her junior to claim while her eyes gazed at the bear longingly. She swallowed her feelings with a gulp and tore her eyes away from the toy’s cuteness, willing herself to flash Mai a genuine smile.

‘It’s not her fault… She did come here first. I was just helping her… Gaaaah! I want it! I want it!’

Her fingers clutching the bear twitched slightly, but the perfectly happy expression gave nothing of her internal battle away.

“Kashiwagi-san, here you go!”

“It’s nice to meet you properly, Kashiwagi-san,”

Mai's stomach fluttered as Mikoto spoke her name so sweetly. Like many girls at their school, she had an admiration for the older girl that bordered on the cult-like. She could barely think straight, sputtering and stumbling over her words.

“Kashiwagi-san, here you go!”

Mai stood, stunned for a moment before grabbing the toy from Mikoto's hands.

"Really!?" She couldn't believe her luck. "Thank you, Misaka-san!" She squeezed it tight, the prize all the more precious for being a gift from her idol.

Mikoto inwardly cringed as a feeling of great loss swept over her, watching with longing eyes as the bear was taken away. Feeling deflated, she smiled at Mai as she squeezed the bear tightly as if it was her lifeline.

‘It’s rightfully hers,’ Mikoto attempted to convince herself, ‘she’s happy…’

"Thank you, Misaka-san!"

Eh?

Mai’s shining eyes staring into her own with excessive admiration made Mikoto suddenly feel self-conscious. Heat crept up her face and Mikoto turned her face away slightly. She struggled internally for a moment then gave a genuine smile at Mai, stuttering a little in embarrassment.

“It-it was nothing. You’re welcome.”

Seeing such a happy smile on the other girl’s face made Mikoto feel good, and she was glad she had decided to help. Even the fact that the bear did not belong to her didn’t seem to matter so much any more.

ooc: meanwhile, back at the scene of the crime...

"Well, we have no reason to disbelieve him...But until we've finished dealing with the scene of the crime we have to detain any witnesses. I hope you understand."

Nodding his understanding, Trystan simply stood there, awaiting further instruction. There wasn't anyone else waiting for him nor things he should be doing now that couldn't be done later; assisting the authorities in this case held a higher priority. In any case, he was sure his teacher would understand when he explained any possible absences this might cause.

"Lieutenant."

"What have you found."

"This was on the body."

Curious, Trystan peered over at what the approaching officer held in his hand. In his hand was what appeared to be some kind of thin...pen? He scratched at his chin as his brows furrowed; just what was that in the officer's hand? As the original female Lieutenant fiddled with the object, turning it this way and that, the only thing that Trystan could discern of it was that there was some sort of glass covering, showing the now-empty insides. Perhaps it used to contain something? The tip of the pen-like object also seemed to be easily pushed back in...Maybe the pen was broken? Why was he so hung up on it being a pen anyways? As he pondered, Trystan absent-mindedly voiced his thoughts, mumbling under his breath.

"...looks like a new-fangled syringe, doesn't it..?"

Kuroko nodded in agreement.

"He's right." She pointed to the spring loaded tip. "It's an injector of some kind." Aiho pressed down on it carefully and a small, sting like syringe emerged, barely visible in the harsh street lights.

"The question is, what did it contain?" The dark haired woman frowned thoughtfully as she studied the device. She turned suddenly to the other officer. "Have our lab technicians find out what they can from this."

"What should I do?" Kuroko asked eagerly. Aiho pondered, glancing around.

"Well everything here is under control. You're free to go." She said, assuming the girl would prefer to spend her free time on things other than her Judgement duties.

She didn't know Kuroko.

The teleporter nodded in understanding before turning to Trystan.

"Come on. You should get out of here too." She took his hand, preparing to teleport them both clear of the perimeter. Already she was plotting how she would pursue the case on her own.

***

“It-it was nothing. You’re welcome.”

Mai giggled.

"You're too modest." She smiled at Mikoto with an innocent warmth. Her every thought and feeling was written on her face plain to see, hiding nothing. It was the kind of behaviour common among new students who had just moved to the city. Wide eyed wonder and excitement with just a hint of fear. A nervous expression washed over her suddenly as she felt butterflies in her stomach once more. "Uh, Misaka-san?" She asked hesitantly, avoiding the older girl's gaze as she shuffled about. "Do you want to walk back to the dormitory together?"

It was obvious from the happy expression and the wide-eyed wonder that Mai was one of her fan girls. Mikoto wasn’t particularly fond of girls who swooned at her, but Mai appeared to be a very nice girl. The hint of fear that was so openly displayed in Mai’s eyes was something Mikoto was already used to; she just had to ignore it.

"Uh, Misaka-san?" Mai asked hesitantly, looking very nervous, "Do you want to walk back to the dormitory together?"

Poor girl, she thought, inwardly sighing, I swear some of these girls think I’m going to fire my railgun at them if they make me unhappy.

Mikoto smiled good-naturedly at her.

“Sure, Kashiwagi-san! I was going to head there anyway!”

She began to walk at a leisurely pace out of the Arcade center. It felt kind of strange walking with another person other than Kuroko, but at the same time, it felt nice.

"He's right...It's an injector of some kind...The question is, what did it contain? Have our lab technicians find out what they can from this."

"What should I do?"

"Well everything here is under control. You're free to go."

Assuming that the Lieutenant was talking to him as well, Trystan visibly loosened up. As he turned towards the alleyway entrance he had entered from to leave the area, the girl began speaking to him. He wasn't one to do something so impolite such as showing his back to someone who was talking to him, so he turned back around to face the girl from Judgement.

"Come on. You should get out of here too."

To his surprise, the girl had reached out and grabbed his hand. He flinched slightly, the softness of a girl's hand still vastly foreign to him. Regardless, this moment quickly passed, as he reminded himself that she was probably doing this to somehow move him with her powers as well. However, he wasn't exactly ready to let this incident go either; his sense of Justice simply could not let him sit around and wash his hands of this matter now that he's seen it first hand. Grasping the hand which had sought out his tightly, Trystan turned towards the girl.

"Excuse this one's insolence, but...this one does not believe that he could simply leave this matter be. Putting aside this one's status as a Level 3 Esper, as one who has sworn to protect Justice, this one could not help but want to pursue this matter further. But...would this..."

His brows furrowed as he seriously considered his wording. Normally he wouldn't have bothered voicing this concern, and just gone ahead to 'take care of business', something about this particular case felt off to him. His gut was telling him that this wasn't something that should be attempted alone, that something darker was lurking beneath it all. Should this be the case, he wanted to be certain that his own position was secure from assault. Call it cowardly if one must, but it was a necessary precaution at all times to ensure a safer exit. His Master had shared more stories than he could have counted where some misfortune or another could have been prevented with simply a few more safeguards.

"...Would this put this one at odds with the authorities?"

Kuroko frowned.

"Yes. We can't just let people take the law into their own hands. If you want to help you need to sign up as a volunteer." She stated firmly. She already had enough to deal with given Mikoto's love of shooting first, asking questions later. Another vigilante enacting their own brand of personal justice would make her go grey with stress.

"Not that I can let something like this lie either..." She said, already planning her next move in the investigation.

***

Mai beamed brightly.

"Thank you!" She bowed politely before walking in pace with the other girl. Though she tried to act naturally around Mikoto she couldn't help but steal nervous glances in her direction.