[SS] Intensify

As the strange guy’s mouth let out a continuous flow of words once again, Mikoto fought the urge to tap her foot. He still seemed absolutely convinced that there was some drug that could raise one’s level and that a Tokiwadai girl was involved.

"This one does not mind if the honorable lady chooses to investigate on her own. However, this one beseeches the honorable lady to not refuse this one's need to give chase immediately."

By then, Mikoto was hardly listening, eyes turned to the darkness to try and make out any signs of movement ahead. She wondered how long ago the gang members had fled and if it wasn’t too late.

“Ah Geez, let’s just go then already!” She said restlessly. Mikoto didn’t care anymore if the strange fellow followed or not; as long as she got to test out the members of Skill Out and have her share of the action some point soon, it didn’t matter.

“Which way… Uh, what’s your name again sorry? And by the way, I’m not ‘the honorable lady’, I’m Misaka Mikoto.”

“Ah Geez, let’s just go then already! Which way… Uh, what’s your name again sorry? And by the way, I’m not ‘the honorable lady’, I’m Misaka Mikoto.”

A small, apologetic expression appeared on his face. He spoke faster than he normally would, partially sensing the urgency in her voice, and partially because, well, the situation was rather urgent.

"This lowly Yamato Trystan apologizes; as no formal introduction had been presented, this one didn't feel it appropriate to use the hon-...Misaka-dono's name in conversation. As for a direction..."

His expression hardened once more as he turned towards the direction he had last seen the Skill-Out group fleeing in. While he did have the ability to sense people, the time it had taken to do the examination of the Skill-Out who had acted as a shield had taken much too long. Coupled with the time it took just now to explain things to Mikoto, they were probably already at a distance where his ability meant nothing. Truthfully though, it was probably at least half his own fault for being wordy while explaining; Even the normally socially clueless him could tell in hindsight that he had wasted too much time talking. He'd have to consider getting rid of his habit to speak only in formal speech. Hopefully Touko had managed to keep on their tail as she had said she would attempt to do.

"...This way!"

He hoped that the alley wouldn't branch out too many times; it would be a nightmare trying to catch up if it did. He burst off at a speed others would consider a mad dash, maintaining a steady, loping pace while maneuvering around the random debris that littered the path. As he ran, Trystan kept his eyes and ears open and alert for any sign of fleeing Skill-Out.

Sheesh, no wonder that lady told me that most of Judgement volunteer-work was litter patrol...Damn it, just how far have they gone?!

Mai let out a quiet squeak as Karl dragged her into the half demolished building and forced her against the wall. Her body tensed up and she froze. Half stilled by fear of discovery and half from the awkwardness of their predicament. Her breathing became shallow as she tried her hardest to remain quiet.

Too afraid to move even a muscle Mai glanced at Karl with darting eyes. Hearing footsteps approaching she squeezed her eyes shut.

***

"Hey!" The green haired punk yelled frantically as he burst into the warehouse. "Hey!" He sputtered, bent double and panting for breath. "We've got trouble! Some guys snooping around about Norio!"

The others gathered around the warehouse stopped and turned as one, gravely silent.

"Who?" One girl asked. Her hair, dark and boy-short and the masculine clothes she wore made it difficult to tell her gender at first glance. She glared down at the boy who spoke like a hawk. Cold and aloof with a menacing air of power to her.

"I dunno. A couple of kids." The boy replied immediately.

"If they had been with Judgement they would have announced themselves." She reasoned. "So they must be working alone." Competitors perhaps? She wondered. "Either way it means Norio must have talked. Get ready everyone!" She barked her orders. "We're hunting the intruders down! Don't let them escape!" The other gang members roared in approval.

"...This way!"

Eh???

Mikoto looked on with complete bewilderment as Yamato suddenly burst off at an impressive speed. It was like a mad dash- maintaining a constant pace while dodging the pieces of litter everywhere with great agility.

It took Mikoto a moment to realise that she was going to be left behind fast, just standing around and staring stupidly after the guy who was already putting a great distance between them.

“Hey wait!”

Grumbling loudly, Mikoto’s electricity erupted around her. The blue tendrils leapt between the walls, the ground and her legs as she began to run, using electro-magnetism to allow her greater speed. As the Electromaster followed the strange guy ahead of her, keeping her senses alert for any signs of movement, she couldn’t help but wonder exactly what Trystan’s ability was.

Touko could hear a girl's voice cry out in front of her and she ran towards that sound. She turned the corner sharply only to be confronted with a long stretch of featureless alleyway. Touko slowed to a stop and balled her fist angrily. She'd let them get away.

"So much for finding a lead." She groaned, walking further down the alleyway. She passed by the derelict looking warehouse, the missing front door leading into a dark, empty looking interior.

As Trystan ran, the sound of the electrical buzzing that Mikoto was generating filled his ears. He wanted to turn around to look just what she was doing, but the fact that the sound never really diminished told him enough about their current positions. While he had said earlier that he didn't care either way if they were separated or not, it would be problematic if they really were. There was no guarantee, after all, that after being found out, they had not called for reinforcements. They still had no confirmation that the drug would actually work as they said it would, but on the chance that it did, they would probably do anything to guard the secrecy of such an item.

Coming to a split in the alley, Trystan came to a sudden stop before looking left then right. Then, almost as suddenly as he had stopped, he suddenly accelerated once more, heading towards the path that subjectively looked like it was more disturbed. A few moments later, he breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the somewhat familiar form of Touko.

Looks like it was a lucky gamble...

He called out towards her form while waving a hand in her direction.

"Touko-dono!"

He skid to a halt in front of her, slightly winded, but overall still breathing evenly.

"Touko-dono, are you unhurt? Did you see where the rest have fled?"

Mikoto almost crashed into Trystan when he came to a sudden stop before a split. She was about to yell at him when he accelerated once again, causing her to curse loudly instead. At least he seemed to know where he was going…

"Touko-dono!"

Seeing Trystan skidding to a halt ahead, she pulled her brakes early this time, sliding across the dusty ground to a stop next to the Judgement member. Sucking in a breath, she looked up to see who Trystan had spotted.

"Touko-dono, are you unhurt? Did you see where the rest have fled?"

Mikoto baulked at the figure standing before them and her mouth dropped in pure surprise. Of all people…

“What are you doing here?!!”

The angry outburst was accompanied by streams of lightning that crackled and sparked violently from Mikoto’s hair. First it was the weird guy, and now HER?

Previous encounters with the so-called level 0 passed through her mind. They had been brief, and Mikoto couldn’t say she knew much about her, but it didn’t change the fact that she had never met anyone so infuriating.

Mikoto grimaced. Maybe not.

The image of a certain idiotic teacher flashed briefly in her mind.

***

Karl could hear Mai’s shallow breathing and wished she could be more silent. His heart was pounding as he heard footsteps approaching, and he kept absolutely still.

Don’t notice the door. Don’t notice the door.

Usually, Karl hated hiding. But fighting with a frightened girl and not knowing who the opponents were was just plain stupid. He would wait for his opportunity.

The footsteps passed without event and Karl let out a breath he had not know he was holding. His relief was shortlived however, when a voice suddenly rang through the air.

"Touko-dono!"

Karl heard more footsteps and sounds of someone skidding to a halt. They were close by for sure. He moved quietly towards the door, listening in. A moment later, another pair of running feet slid to a halt.

Karl swore under his breath. How many WERE there?

"Touko-dono, are you unhurt? Did you see where the rest have fled?” said the voice again.

He glanced at Mai, signaling at her with quick hand gestures to come closer to the door. Wanting to get a proper bearing on where their pursuers were standing, Karl pulled the door ajar slightly to give them a view of the outside. He froze when it creaked loudly, hoping that none had heard it.

At that moment though, a female voice gave a furious cry, possibly drowning out the creaking sound.

“What are you doing here?!!”

Karl’s eyes widened. That voice…

He looked out quickly from the gap, his hand digging painfully on the floor as he crouched down. It was quite dark outside and he squinted desperately, wanting to confirm the identity of the person he had just heard.

The group was standing only a short distance away. As he had imagined from the sounds he had heard, two figures were standing facing a lone figure ahead. His piercing green eyes carefully studied the three standing in the pale darkness, sizing them up and committing their dark outlines to memory. Someone with an athletic figure and short hair styled up in quills (Something told Karl that this Touko person was female although he couldn’t really be sure); a squarely-built guy with a mop of messy hair…

Although he could only make out a rough silhouette from behind, there was no doubt about it. Short, shoulder length hair, with that skirt and the all-too-familiar voice he had heard from that time…

Railgun, he thought bitterly. Had she brought her esper friends along just to torment and play with them? He scowled at the three figures, hating them for who they were and what he knew they could do. A hand slipped into his pocket, caressing the syringe there. It was almost calling to him, daring him to use it now and teach them all a well-deserved lesson…

But now wasn’t the time… Now wasn’t the time…

Karl ripped his hand out of his pocket yet again and gripped the door frame tightly instead. His green eyes glittered darkly as he stared unmoving at the figures ahead, listening intently to their conversation.

"Touko-dono!" She turned at the sound of her name being called, surprised to see Trystan hurrying towards her. She had been running her fastest and he'd caught up to her easily.

"Touko-dono, are you unhurt? Did you see where the rest have fled?" She shook her head, still a little out of breath from the sprint and placed her hand on her hip with a frown.

"No. They must have taken another turning when I lost sight of them." She admitted with a snarl, blaming herself already. "I was sure I heard someone this way..." She scratched her head and looked around.

“What are you doing here?!!” She looked blankly at Mikoto for a second.

"Hey. It's Biri-biri." She pointed, recognised the other girl immediately and referring to her by that annoying nickname. "I should ask you the same thing!" She jumped back suddenly, remembering the level five's tendency for unleashing her ability when angry. And she usually seemed angry at something.

"Hey. It's Biri-biri."

...Biri...biri...? Eh?

Trystan listened to the short exchange with a slightly confused expression. Did they know each other? As he pondered their exact relation, he was shocked back to the situation at hand as sparks started flying off from Mikoto. He didn't need his gut to sense the obvious agitation that she held towards Touko. All of a sudden, it felt like at least one of them had completely forgotten why they were gathered here in this shady back alley to begin with.

"I should ask you the same thing!"

Trystan sighed as he scratched his head, which had gotten slightly itchy from the generous amount of static Mikoto was generating. While he didn't like interfering with others' quarrels, it looked like Touko had gotten caught up in Mikoto's pace as well. Actually, that wasn't exactly a fair thing to say. Anyone who was being threatened like this by the Level 5 rightfully should be caught up, if only to attempt to save themselves from a savage beating...or an electrifying execution, in this case.

Putting aside Mikoto's temper, however, there were more pressing issues at hand; he hoped that Mikoto had enough sense to not randomly attack people just for having been called a name. In the back of his mind though, he could see why Touko had decided to give her this nickname; two out of their three meetings had already ended up with electricity flying everywhere. Pushing these thoughts aside, Trystan walked off slightly to the side, his hair settling back down as the distance between him and Mikoto increased, to let the two work their quarrel out on their own.

His brows furrowed as he considered their situation. The only Skill-Out member they had managed to incapacitate was one who had nothing on him. The others had managed to escape, but they didn't know either if they still had the syringes on them. The Tokiwadai girl was nowhere to be found, and they had no further leads. After a short moment, Trystan ruffled his hair in frustration. He didn't know if what he did was correct anymore, and it frustrated him to no end that things might have gone better if he had just waited or tailed them.

Giving a short grunt of annoyance, his eyes darted around, looking for anything that might be sturdy enough for him to vent a bit on. After a bit of rather irrational consideration, he decided to pick and old, shabby looking building of sorts. As a sort of justification towards himself, he noted that the building was half-demolished anyways - there was no way that anyone would be using this sorry remnant of a building for anything remotely useful.

Oh, that looks promising! Stay still and let me kick you around~

Letting out a loud kiai, Trystan reinforced his leg with all six of his hansha, before unleashing a full-power kick towards the crumbly wall. It was a meaningless gesture that accomplished nothing, but as he felt the entire corner of the building give under the destructive force, a small but satisfied smile came to his face. It always felt good to let loose once in awhile, but nothing really beats seeing oneself demolishing rock and sending it flying. By this point in time, it had completely passed over his head that, as a volunteer member of Judgement, what he was doing right now was pretty much increasing his own workload. However, as the dust that had been kicked up cleared...

He squinted, trying hard to see through the dust cloud at the two lumps huddled together by what looked to be the original door frame of the now mostly demolished building. Was that what he thought it was?

Two...people? A...familiar looking uniform?

"Hey. It's Biri-biri. I should ask you the same thing!"

Mikoto’s cheeks went slightly red at hearing the stupid nickname.

“My name is MISAKA MIKOTO, you dimwit!”

She let out a thin whip of lightning that Touka seemed to have anticipated, for she dodged it by jumping backwards. Mikoto huffed, feeling even more irritated.

“You shouldn’t be here, you’re not even a Judgement-“ the Electromaster stopped hurriedly, realising with annoyance that she was turning the argument against herself. The red patches on her cheeks grew bigger in embarrassment and her next sentences were delivered with more aggression and arrogance than they required.

“Hmph, what I do is none of your business! Anyway, shouldn’t you be at school in class?! It’s kind of suspicious that you would loiter around here like those delinquent Skill Outs!”

Mikoto was so busy taking jibes at Touka that she did not notice Yamato moving away from them.

**
Karl crouched low, eyes peering out as his ears strained to listen to every sound. It was easy to hear the Railgun’s voice- it was shrill and angry, and he wondered with a sneer what had worked the little princess up.

Feeling relieved and sure that none had seen them, Karl let out a shuddering breath. Just as he was about to turn to the huddled form of Mai though, his ears picked up soft footsteps coming their way.

Shit, who is it?!

Karl whipped his head around, looking out through the gap in the door once more. He realised that he couldn’t hear a certain voice any longer and one person was missing from the group. Was that guy the one coming this way? Or was it one of his friends who had managed to get away? His heart drummed wildly in anticipation and he dared not breathe.

They couldn’t move now. They were trapped and all they could do was wait…

Closer and closer the footsteps came.

Suddenly they stopped and Karl’s eyes darted around wildly, trying to work out where they were. From his angle though, he could only make out some of the alleyway and the two figures still arguing in the distance.

WHAM!

Karl only just managed to stop himself from crying out loud as an entire corner of the room they had been hiding in gave away. He ducked, closing his eyes as the debris rained down from the celing. When he realised nothing had hit them, relief swept through, but his suspicion and logic quickly pondered what had happened.

Or rather, what had made it happen.

He couldn’t help but cough as the dust irritated his lungs and he immediately brought his sleeve up to cover his nose. Karl squinted against the cloud of dust, trying to make out the figure standing across the haze.

Friend or foe?

As the dust began to settle, the shadowy outline turned into a familiar silhouette… Of a recognisable foe.

Karl’s mind whirled into action, knowing that this was probably the best chance of escape they will have anytime soon, while the dust was swirling in the air. He grabbed at Mai, lunging for the door.

Mai suppressed a squeal as the wall came down and in the instant that Karl moved to take her hand she triggered her ability, his fingers grasping at the translucent image as she cowered with indecisive fear. She realised her error too late as Karl made a break for the exit. She reached out for him through the dust and gloom.

"Wait!" She called out to him, her voice tight with panic. She stumbled after him, groping through the thick cloud.

Oblivious to the dangerous levels of aggression shooting from Mikoto towards Touko, Trystan was entirely focused on the situation in front of him. As the dust cleared, it was obvious, even through the dim lighting, that he recognized who these people were; they were boy and girl pair he had tailed at the very start. Furthermore, while he wasn't absolutely sure, he was fairly certain that the male was the one the currently incapacitated Skill-Out threw the syringes to. Despite this, Trystan still couldn't say for sure that these were those individuals. As the dust continued to settle, it conveniently covered their faces enough that they remained unrecognizable.

Seemingly aware of this hesitation, the man took no time at all in scrambling up onto his feet, then reached out behind him, apparently to grab at the girl. Trystan blinked as the next scene unfolded in front of him. As the man's hand seemingly made contact with the girl's hand, his own hand passed right through, sending him stumbling forwards through the doorway as he pushed himself off with enough force for two. Had he misjudged the distance because of the dust? But dust at this level shouldn't cause anyone to miss a person they were right next to just moments before! As he thought this, a thin voice shrill with panic came squeaking out through the dust.

"Wait!"

It looked like they were in a league together somehow - after all, you wouldn't ask for someone you didn't want to have any interaction with to wait, right? However, if this was so, then all the more reason that they couldn't let these two get away this time. Gritting his teeth, Trystan deactivated four of his hansha and layered the remaining two over his legs to reinforce them. Turning around, Trystan roared out towards Mikoto and Touko using their full names, hoping that his voice would be enough to get them to put aside their differences for now and just focus on the task at hand. Why were those two so easily distracted anyways? Wait, wasn't he just judging them based on the very few interactions he's had with them so far? Maybe it was just that they had bad chemistry with each other! Why was he considering things like this just moments before he needed to give chase? Damn you, over-reactive trains of thought!

"Misaka Mikoto-dono, K...-"

What was her surname again? Did they ever properly introduce themselves? What a grevious oversight of manners! Welll...whatever; there wasn't much they could do about that now.

"-Touko-dono! Over here! Please assist this one in securing these two individuals! This one believes that he has found the girl from your school, as well as the male that had been accompanying her!"

Having said that, he could really only hope that they heard him. He dashed off towards the direction the male had run off in at the same mad pace as before.

“My name is MISAKA MIKOTO, you dimwit!"
“You shouldn’t be here, you’re not even a Judgement-“
“Hmph, what I do is none of your business! Anyway, shouldn’t you be at school in class?! It’s kind of suspicious that you would loiter around here like those delinquent Skill Outs!”

"What does any of that have to do with you?" Touko replied, still braced for an attack from the Esper when Trystan's kick demolished part of wall behind them, prompting shouts and sounds of running. "Such misfortune..." She lamented, wondering how she'd managed to go from facing down a gang of Skill Outs to insult slinging with Academy City's famed 'Railgun'. And now by the looks of things more trouble was on the way.

Mikoto was left arguing with herself as Touko spun quickly, taking off after Trystan and whatever it was that had caught his attention. She probably would have felt bad about it, had she thought about it for a moment.

"Hey. Slow down!" She called out, pushing harder to catch up with the superhumanly fast boy.

Karl ran out of the door into the alleyway in a hurry, heart pounding wildly. It was moments later that he realised his hand had completely missed Mai.

Crap!

He could leave her here, he really could. But his conscience didn’t allow it. Again, he felt responsibility weigh heavily on him.

Karl forced himself to stop, spinning back around the direction he had come from.

The dust was spreading in the area, carried by the wind. Karl continued his dive into the smog, squinting for Mai.

“Kashiwagi-san!” He called out loudly, hoping that she would find him quickly.

Someone was coming from the distance. Karl stopped and tensed, knowing fully well this wasn’t Mai. The footsteps were too heavy, too fast paced…

An enemy was coming this way…

Karl immediately crouched into a fighting stance, jaws clenched tightly in anticipation. His green eyes darted wildly, trying to work out what the unknown person would do. He raised his fists protectively in front of him and wondered if that would be enough.

If worst came to worst…

The syringe in his pocket suddenly felt twice as heavy.

**

"What does any of that have to do with you?"

Mikoto opened her mouth to give her furious reply when she heard a loud crash and shouts.

“Wha-?”

She turned to the direction of the sound, wondering what was going on. Now she saw that Yamato was missing and realised that it had been his voice shouting out to them only a few moments ago.

"Such misfortune..."

Hearing Touko’s mutter, Mikoto spun back to her.

“What the hell’s-?”

But she never got to finish her sentence for Touko had already dashed off towards the sound.

“Hey! Wait!”

Not wanting to be left behind, Mikoto’s electricity erupted around her, lifting her into the air a few feet by magnetism from surrounding walls. She literally flew in the air after Touko, thin blue tendrils caressing the nearby buildings. Mikoto easily caught up with Touko’s running speed and she flew just behind her, complaining loudly.

“Jeez, taking off like that…! What the hell’s going on?”

The air was suddenly filled with dust and Mikoto was forced to cover her mouth and nose with a hand. Rough particles flew uncomfortably into her eyes, making them sting and water. She stubbornly fought the urge to close them, not wanting to miss anything.

The distance between Trystan and the two figures still in the dust decreased rapidly. Looking behind him, he noticed, with a bit of relief, that the two had stopped their argument for long enough to hear what he had shouted towards them. Turning his attention back towards the scene in front of him, Trystan tried to find the locations of the pair once more. The dust had more or less settled down now, with the area becoming more or less visible again, but the remaining grainy residue still permeated the air around them; he could taste and, unfortunately, feel the gravelly mixture coating his tongue. As he blinked away the tears from his eyes, Trystan finally found their forms again.

Rather, to be more accurate, he had found the male, and had bumped into the female. Actually, had he bumped into her? He had been so focused on the male that the only indication of her presence had been the colors of her uniform out of the corner of his eye. In any case, now that both Touko and Mikoto were here, he could properly leave the girl to them. While he couldn't be certain that both of them would prioritize the girl, at the very least Mikoto would show some concern towards the girl right? After all, they were from the same prestigious school, and she had been caught around known Skill-Outs. Of course, this was all under the assumption that the girl was from the same school. His brain hurt. He was thinking too much.

Aah, damn it all. I don't know anything anymore!

Focusing back onto the male, Trystan prepared himself to give chase, but was surprised that he had instead turned around and held his fists up. As he was a member of Skill-Out, Trystan assumed that this man had little to no Esper powers whatsoever. As such, his honor as a warrior demanded that he cancel out his own hansha and face him man-to-man. However, his duty as a (volunteer) member of Judgement also demanded that he apprehend this suspicious individual at all costs. Gritting his teeth, Trystan forcibly ground down his honor, opting to do his duty instead. If what he had heard while eavesdropping on the group was true, any information that they could get out of this individual was information that they needed. Even if the effects of the glowing substance within the syringe didn't do what it was described to do, what did Skill-Out, or their source, have to gain from doing such a thing? Furthermore, the suspicious nature of the accident from yesterday was still fresh in his mind. He had to know just what was going on! As he neared the man, Trystan sprang into action.

Cancelling the hansha on his feet, Trystan started grinding to a sliding stop, leaning back slightly to prevent himself from falling over from the momentum. However, this was an action designed to put the man off guard, thinking that this was simply the pause before the storm. At the current distance between the two, his individual hansha wouldn't be able to operate at their full power, but he had numbers and practical knowledge of this sort on his side.

First was to restrain this man's movements.

Manifesting four hansha at once, Trystan immediately latched them onto the man's arms, one around the wrist and one around the inside of his elbow. This would most likely provide more than enough leverage to stop possible movements in those limbs. Without being able to use his arms or hands, he wouldn't be able to attack, defend, or evade with them. As soon as he felt them latch on, Trystan would use the two sets simultaneously to pry the hastily-put-together guard open, exposing his head and torso. However, just to be on the safe side, Trystan had also simultaneously manifested one more hansha, and aimed it at the man's throat, attempting to choke the man out. If all went well, it would render him incapacitated and unconscious within a few moments, and would at least mess with his vision and breathing if it didn't.

With this accomplished, Trystan jumped in as well, arms held at the ready to react to any other attack the man might throw at him as he closed in. With the decreasing distance between the two, the restraining hansha already deployed would increase in strength as well. Finally, for good measure, Trystan aimed his last remaining hansha at the man's solar plexus, before using it to deal a heavy full-strength thrusting punch.

Trystan came to a stop before the unknown boy with Touko close behind. As she came up behind the trainee Judgement member she could see his opponents arms open up as though restrained by some invisible force. He leapt at him, presumably to deliver the finishing blow.

As fate would have it that was the moment the Touko's trainers chose to disintegrate. The cheap shoes tore apart at the stitching, the sole coming loose and sliding out from under the girl's feet as she ran. She felt herself pitch forward and instincitvely reached out for something, anything to grab hold of.

Unfortunately for Trystan that something was him. Touko felt her hand touch something, a soft sensation that slipped through her fingers as it dissipated like steam.

*Such misfortune* She thought to herself as she tumbled head over heelsinto Trystan's back.

In a place like Academy City, where many people were Espers with unimaginable powers, you always had to be prepared for anything.

Karl had learnt this the hard way.

But sometimes, even when you were anticipating the worst, sudden events could surprise you.

Karl found himself in this exact situation as he felt some force hold his limbs. As he struggled, he felt another pressure against his throat. His eyes widened in pain, doubling his efforts to get away.

Shit, what is this?

Brief flashes of silver shimmered in the air before him and he wondered what they were- these things that were keeping him immobile.

He was struggling to breathe and his head was beginning to feel fuzzy. Inside he was swearing profusely, willing himself to stay lucid even as his windpipe was becoming crushed. The force holding him was growing stronger as his enemy approached and Karl glared down at him fiercely with his intense green eyes.

Something hit him on the solar plexus then, making him cry out in pain. He tried to cringe, wanting to cradle the place that was hurting, but the vice-like grip holding his limbs did not relent.

He could feel his consciousness slipping; black dots danced in his vision.

Shit… Kashiwagi… Got to…

He cursed himself for not using the syringe earlier. But it was too late now…

And then something unexpected happened. The forces that were holding him somehow disappeared. Karl fell forward, mind hazy in confusion for a moment.

What just happened?

But then he realised that did not matter at all, for he was free. With renewed strength, he quickly stood up, ignoring the pain that spread in his head and body.

A hasty glance at his enemy showed him sprawled forward, the spiky- haired girl half draped on top of him. Why was that girl helping him? Again, none of it mattered. This was his chance.

Karl began to run once more, pumping his legs as fast as he could.

“Kashiwagi-san!” He called desperately, his throat dry and painful from being choked earlier.

**

Mikoto saw the events unfold in slow motion. It was almost like a dream, seeing Touko flying through the air suddenly and landing in a heap on top of Yamato. Feeling bewildered, Mikoto skidded to a stop behind them, noticing pieces of shoe lying on the ground.

Amusement filled her, who would have thought the girl was such a klutz? Grinning, she was about to take some more jibes at the spiky haired girl when what she saw further ahead wiped the smile off her face.

A familiar figure was fallen over on the ground, breathing heavily. His green eyes were clouded in pain, but he quickly heaved himself up and ran off without looking back.

Mikoto stood frozen. Karl… His name had been Karl, she remembered. Had he been the one behind all of this? Anger flashed in her eyes.

“Oh no you don’t!”

Bright blue arcs danced around her legs as she began to run after him at an unusually fast pace.

She was gaining upon him quickly, and when Mikoto found herself at a good angle, shot a strand of lightning at him. It missed when he suddenly rounded a corner, charring a building wall.

She gritted her teeth, knowing that she really didn’t want to knock him out if she had to. Mikoto wanted to ask him some questions, and to do that, she wanted him conscious and lucid.

'At the speed I’m going, I’ll be able to catch him anyway,' Mikoto thought with a smirk.

She heard him shout, “Kashiwagi-san!” and the name shook her momentarily. Why was he shouting out her junior’s name? Yamato’s previous warning crept in her mind, but Mikoto quickly shook her head of such thoughts.

It was nonsense. There were probably plenty of people in Academy City with the name Kashiwagi. Feeling relieved at this reasoning, Mikoto ran on, lessening the distance between them with each crackle of electricity.

**
Karl was breathing heavily, his throat raw with each breath he took. Running so fast after being choked was definitely not a pleasant experience. But it wasn’t like he had any choice in the matter.

“Kashiwagi-san!” he called again.

Someone was following him, and they revealed their identity when he heard a loud crackling sound narrowly miss him as Karl rounded a corner. He didn’t even need to look back to see who it was.

Railgun… No, I have to find Kashiwagi-san and the others…

Ignoring the pain flaring up his throat, Karl summoned the strength to shout again, calling out the girl’s name with every ounce of his desperation.

“Kashiwagi-san!”

As he closed the last few paces between them, Trystan noted the look of bewilderment on the man's face as his arms sprung open. The color gathered in his face as the area around his throat indented inwards, then darkened further as the last hit towards the solar plexus forced the pressure from within the man's body upwards, but find no orifice to escape from. However, despite all of this, the man still stood, perhaps by sheer force of will, and gave a fearsome, but unfocused glare towards Trystan. A slight tingle shot up and down Trystan's back at this expression. It was a strange sensation; if he had to describe it, it would be a mix of expectation and fear. It was the expectation of a fearsome fighting spirit that would threaten to overtake his own if he were to let up his assault even slightly.

It's a shame we had to have met here...

However, this sensation did not last long, as the tingle in his back was quickly, and violently replaced by that of the feeling of someone running into him. At the same time, Trystan lost all physical feedback from the hansha he had already deployed. In this moment of sensory confusion, the normally well-balanced Trystan toppled over forwards onto his face from the tackle's momentum. He tried turning his head to try finding out who had run into him, but before he managed this motion, the groaning that came from behind him told him all that he needed to know. Cursing slightly under his breath, Trystan tried pulling himself up, but instead tangled himself in Touko's limbs as she continued to lay draped over his back. Lifting his head, he barely managed to see the man's back as he dashed behind a nearby corner, rasping and croaking some sort of disjointed words.

"-wagi san *biribiri* ka *biribiri* sh-wag *biribiri*"

The words were already being rasped out, but it didn't help his recognition any that Mikoto's buzzing quickly drowned out any words he might have been saying due to her proximity. However, the buzzing quickly faded as well, as Mikoto chased the man around the corner, yelling vague threats of some sort or another. He needed to hurry and give chase as well; that man was more dangerous than he had seemed!

"Excuse this one's rudeness."

After a bit of writhing, Trystan finally extracted himself from Touko's limbs, then turned around and lifted himself off the ground. With the same movement, Trystan had also easily lifted Touko by her underarms like a small child, then gingerly placed her on her feet as well.

"Come, Touko-dono. Can you stand?"

As he carried out this incredibly rude motion, his mind continued to wonder just what had happened earlier. The man was a Skill-Out, wasn't he? Trystan couldn't tell exactly when his hansha had been cancelled out, but there was no denying that they were; how else would he have gotten up and running if the restraints weren't undone? Furthermore, it was almost as if the feedback from the hansha were cut all at once. The shock from that alone had been enough to disorient him. Of course, it could have also been from Touko as well, but does an Esper ability that cancels other Esper abilities really exist? Even the notion itself sounded ridiculous to him. On the other hand, the glare that the man had given Trystan wouldn't leave his mind, and as such, he was almost entirely convinced that it was the man who had done something to make his hansha disappear.

Given that he was a member of Skill-Out, the only thing Trystan could think of was that they had some sort of technological device that could forcibly cancel Esper skills on command. Furthermore, given that Mikoto was still utilizing her own power to give chase, it also looked as if it were a device that was able to target specific Espers while leaving others unaffected. Combined with the possibility of a power-enhancing drug, the threat that Skill-Out could possibly pose was, more likely than not, far beyond the scope of what the common public believed.

Shit, does Judgement even know about this?!

Turning to Touko once more, Trystan began speaking, still completely unaware of the rude action he had just committed.

"We must give chase; can you continue running, Touko-dono?"

Coughing and sputtering, Mai emerged from the dust, waving her arms to ward off the cloud. She squinted to see, following close to the wall as she made her way to where the sounds of a confrontation could be heard.

“Kashiwagi-san!”

"K-Kar-" She tried to croak out his name as she heard the boy call out for her but instead dissolved into a fit of coughing. Up ahead she could see two figures standing, but with her eyes still sore from the dust she could make out no more than their silhouettes.

“Kashiwagi-san!”

Karl called again. Mai mustered all the courage she had and took a deep breath. She stepped through the wall of the alleyway.

She started to run, the dilapidated interior of the building was dark and claustrophobic. Without her power she would have stumbled and fallen within her first stride, but with it she was able to sprint unimpeded, emerging on the other side with a gasp.

She stopped, rooted to the spot by what she saw in front of her.

"Come, Touko-dono. Can you stand?"
"We must give chase; can you continue running, Touko-dono?"

She dusted herself off, a little disoriented from the fall and her handling from Trystan. She nodded before taking a step. There was a loud rip as the sole of her shoe tore further, catching along the floor and tripping her. She caught her balance narrowly and cursed.

"I guess not." She looked down at the tattered shoe. "You go on without me. I'll catch up." She urged him, kneeling down to tend to the problem.

As he ran, perspiration slid down his face; He didn’t know how long he could keep up the pace. Railgun was hot on his heels, gaining on him fast.

Then the sight of Mai up ahead set relief spreading through his very bones.

“Kashiwagi-san!”

With one last shout, he lunged to the side, grabbing at her figure. The force with which he did this threw him off balance, and he fell in an ungraceful heap on the ground with a pained grunt.

Mikoto saw him fall with a satisfied smirk.

“Got yaa-! Eh?”

As she skidded to a stop before him, her eyes fell on the second, familiar figure who had her mouth open in a gasp. Mikoto felt her own mouth fall open in surprise.

“Kashiwagi-san? What are you-???”

She stood completely still, an astonished expression growing almost comically on her face. Then her bewildered mind whirled, as parts of her earlier conversation with Yamato swam through her thoughts.

“…had followed a young lady…dressed in the same uniform… she had short, brown hair…”

No way, he had meant HER?

But it didn’t make sense, none of it made sense. Yamato had said that her junior and the guy were friends, but Mikoto refused to believe that could be true. Kashiwagi-san was a lovely girl, she would never never go hang around with law-breaking delinquents like that guy Karl…

There was only one conclusion that Mikoto could draw.

And it made her blood boil.

Electricity suddenly flared around her form violently, crackling with ferocity. Her eyebrows were drawn together, brown eyes intense with anger. The grinding of her teeth could almost be heard, even above the sparking sounds of her power.

Karl immediately got up, not allowing his tired body to give up. His hand snaked around to grip on Mai’s arm tightly as he glared at the electromaster.

Mikoto’s eyes widened at Karl’s tight grip on Mai, his actions further enforcing her beliefs that he had kidnapped her junior.

“You bastard…” Mikoto snarled.

In the heat of the moment and any rational thoughts clouded by fury, the Electromaster completely forgot to factor in one important fact: that if she shocked Karl with her electricity, Mai would also receive the pain through their contact.

She only realised this a second too late however, and Mikoto unleashed her blue sparks upon Karl, forcing herself to limit her own powers with much difficulty.

Karl tried to dodge, but how could a mere human beat the speed of light? He screamed in pain and immediately let Mai go as he fell to his knees, his body convulsing horribly. Black blobs danced in his vision as he struggled to keep himself conscious.

It had all happened so fast. The boy's hand around her wrist and the bolt of blue. She barely had time to think, seized with confusion and panic. Was Mikoto attacking her? Surely it had to be a mistake. But sure enough the burst of electricity snaked its way through the air with a snapping hiss.

It struck Karl, the shock passing through his body and into Mai's in the space of an instant. She screamed, falling to her knees limply. It hurt all over.

What was going on? The fog of her pain clouded Mai's mind.

Trystan watched as Touko wobbled about slightly, clearly still disoriented from her fall. Luckily for him, it seemed like while she was disoriented, him picking her up like a child had gone right over her head. However, just as she looked to be stable on her feet and ready to go, a ripping sound came from below them. He instinctively jerked his hands forwards, attempting to catch her if she fell again. However, it was a needless worry, as she soon righted herself before uttering what sounded like rather obscene curses underneath her breath. Looking downwards, Trystan finally saw that one shoe was already completely demolished, while the other had just ripped at the seams. Kneeling down to do what she could to fix her shoes, Touko started talking to Trystan.

"I guess not. You go on without me. I'll catch up."

Trystan hesitated for a moment, before bringing two hands up, patting Touko on both shoulders and nodding his acknowledgement.

"Stay vigilant, Touko-dono."

With that, Trystan took off after Mikoto, rounding the corner before an intense light tore into his eyes. Gritting his teeth and immediately bringing up a hand over his eyes, Trystan watched the scene of destruction unfold before him with squinted eyes. In a flash of blue light, Mikoto had unleashed a massive amount of electricity towards the pair. It looked like the man had tried to move out of the way, but, as to be expected, the speed and precision of the strike was too much for a Skill-Out to really dodge. The man was screaming and spasming in pain as the surges of electricity ripped through his body. Like a chain reaction, the energy surged and snaked up the girl's hand as well, leading her to scream in pain. Almost as soon as it had begun, the intensity of the light being given off by the charges Mikoto had generated faded back to nothing. As the attack stopped, the man fell groaning to his knees, falling face first onto the hard cement; his head, freely falling as the strength had left his body, impacted with the ground with a small cracking sound. The girl had fallen to her knees as well, clearly still feeling the aftereffects of the attack. Looking towards Mikoto, Trystan realized that for some strange reason, that last attack had drained her considerably. He cursed under his breath, accidentally lapsing back into his native tongue, before correcting himself and shouting towards Mikoto as he ran towards the man.

趕他媽的！Falling face first is never good, and the girl is hurt as well....

"Misaka-dono, this one leaves the girl to you!"

It would be better this way; from this past action alone, if he left Mikoto with this man, he wouldn't be surprised if she tried to finish him off while his back was turned. Furthermore, now that he was able to take a closer look, the uniform that the girl was wearing was clearly the same one that Mikoto was wearing as well; she would at least show concern to her classmate whom she had injured just now, right? That and, well, he simply didn't know how to handle a girl's body. Since there was another girl here, it was obvious that she should be the one to do this, right?!

Returning his thoughts to the situation at hand, Trystan quickly and deftly flipped the man onto his back. They were to apprehend him, but killing or permanently incapacitating the man was out of the question. Thankfully, he at least had a semblance of what to do in this situation. In truth, however, no good kid should imitate what Trystan was doing now; his so-called knowledge was almost entirely gathered from watching emergency room dramas on television. Granted, most actors for dramas nowadays are trained beforehand on the procedures to add to realism, but...

...in any case.

Straddling him slightly to keep his convulsions from moving himself around too much, Trystan used his fingers, prying open the man's eyelids. Though his eyes were clearly unfocused, his pupils were constantly dilating and...what was the opposite term again? Sucking together? Constricting? His mind was spinning slightly at this point. Pushing his fingers lightly into his throat, Trystan felt his pulse; it was elevated, but at least it was still going. As he didn't really know what else he could do in this situation, he was satisfied with the fact that at least the shock didn't end up killing him. It certainly looked like it could have, at least. To be on the safe side, Trystan kept his finger on the man's throat, just in case the shock was too much and caused heart failure. Was that even the right term? Activating two of his hansha, Trystan began using them to search through the man's clothes, bringing out any item he could grab in the various pockets on the Skill-Out's clothes.

Guilt flooded Mikoto as she watched Mai fall forward in pain. Karl had deserved it and it had been necessary, she told herself, but watching her junior screaming in agony made her feel weak. A part of her anger died and she opened her mouth to apologise when Yamato appeared.

"Misaka-dono, this one leaves the girl to you!"

Yamato leapt onto the delirious Karl in a flurry of actions and Mikoto felt irritation ignite. Why couldn’t she be the one to take care of that bastard? Electricity sparked from her hair, sizzling with her distaste.

She opened her mouth to complain, but her eyes caught Mai’s crumpled form once more and she immediately shut it. No was not the time to argue.

She knelt down beside the younger girl, concern reaching her eyes.

“Kashiwagi-san,” she said gently, “can you hear me?”

Mikoto wondered how Mai had ended up in this predicament, and why Karl had kidnapped her junior. What had he wanted?

Her jaws clenched with fury. Whatever it was, that stupid bastard would pay. No one touched her friends without facing the consequences.

**
Karl’s mind was hazy and clouded with pain. Everytime he tried to focus on something, it kept slipping out of reach. But he knew he coulnd’t just give in to the blackness. There was something… and someone he had to protect… Kashiwagi… Mai… His foggy mind felt sluggish. Something heavy was pressing him down and he felt strange hands over him- one somewhere near his head… the others searching through his clothes… Wait, more than one hand? Were there more people surrounding him? Railgun… espers… His hazy mind drifted through disjointed memories, but alarm quickly spread when a hand moved rather close to the syringe deep in his pocket. No… the syringe… they couldn’t find the syringe…!

“N-no,” he tried to croak, but all that came out of his mouth was a strained sound.

“Kashiwagi-san, can you hear me?”

Mai flinched backwards as Mikoto approached, scurrying back until the wall of the alleyway prevented her from going further. Like an abused pet she trembled, too afraid to move. Her eyes, wide with uncertain anxiety, stared up at the level five.

"W-why?" She managed to croak out pitiably. From her perspective neither she, nor Karl had done anything to deserve their rough treatment. Especially not from someone she had thought might be her friend. Mai curled up tight, her muscles still sore and aching from the shock.

Looking over at Karl she wondered what would happen to them. Why were these people doing this? Had they both just been caught up in something? It wasn't fair, she thought. It wasn't fair at all.

"Well, well, well." A deep, husky voice called out. "It looks like my boys were telling the truth after all."

A tall, rake thin figure stood alone at the end of the alleyway. It was difficult to tell their identity from such a distance, especially with the eyeshade of their flat cap pulled down over their face. Slowly the light behind them was obscured by countless bodies. To their left, to their right and even behind were all cut off as more of the gang appeared, surrounding the group and pinning them into the alleyway.

"We don't like strangers poking around our turf." The androgynous figure declared. "Tell us what you're doing here and we may let you go." The figure lifted their hands from their pockets and tipped the cap upwards to reveal a feminine face. "That is, if I like the answer." Naoto lifted her hand over her head, her fingers snapping loudly.

The first few charged in while their less courageous comrades advanced behind them at a more cautious pace. These were Espers they were dealing with, after all.

"Don't rough 'em up too much." She looked at Trystan in particular. The hint of a cold smirk cracking her thin lips as her icy blue eyes tightened.

Among Skill Outs it was well known that the best way to deal with Espers in a fight was to beat them with numbers. Swarming the opponent until they were overwhelmed. And in these tight quarters, approaching from all angles, the odds were stacked in their favour. Some thought had gone into their plan. This wasn't just a gang of thugs. They were more organised than that.

The crowd pressed inwards, closing around the hapless espers.