[Rail IC] Academy City II: Electrokinesis Is Love~

[Lady Serpentine]

The unnamed girl tries to catch Ina's wrist.

"Hey. Calm down. Slapping yourself isn't going to help."

[Lord-Cao-Cao]

Ina stopped at her behest.

"You're right...But I have no idea what to do now. Daisuke-sama is going to murder me if he finds out I've been hiding Astraphobia, and that's if he gets to me before Judgement and Anti-Skill do..."

She sighed and sat on a very badly placed black-and-white couch. Outside, sirens from police cars blared, and everyone was being ordered to return to their homes 'for their own safety'.

"I don't even know your names..."

[Anyr]

As the lesson went on, it became clear that quite a few students were no longer giving it their full attention. The girl to Krystal's left seemed to be staring into space with a dreamy smile; The one in front was excitedly scribbling doodles in her notebook; And the one behind, though not visible, kept sighing quietly in a melancholy way. Luckily the teacher seemed to be busy admonishing a student elsewhere in the class, but that wouldn't last forever. It was all so...frustrating.

[Atrum-Persavor]

Ren continues to rush, keeping up with Tobio by simply going through, over or under any obstacle. Gotou and Sojiro lag behind, both unable to mimic Ren's uncanny ability to just simply slip through any obstacle. Ren stops dead as soon as he sees Ashikaga, and stuffs his hands into his pockets, cancelling his all-out run into a calm pacing gait as he approaches Daisuke.

"SITREP. Location. Estimated destination. We need data, Ashikaga. You know how much damage a rogue Level 4 can cause."

Ren's tone is clipped and professional, never addressing Daisuke more than he needs to. Gotou and Sojiro catch up soon enough. To their credit, they aren't even out of breath yet.

[Lady Serpentine]

((OOC: Neither do I. Some variation of 'dragon' would be appropriate for the name she uses, but google translate refuses to give phonetic renderings of translations to Chinese. ))

[Lord-Cao-Cao]

((OOC: According to Atrum, it's Long. Dragon, that is. Lol.))

[Atrum-Persavor]

((OOC: Chinese: Long (Loung if you want to be absolooootely phonetic, but IMO English's closest approximation is Long) (Funnily, Dragon King is Long Wang.) ))
((Japanese: Ryuu))

[Lady Serpentine]

((OOC: Thanks! I think I prefer the Japanese term, so she now has a nickname, anyway.))

The girl from Tokiwadai sat down next to Ina, and smiled at her.

"Call me Ryuu. It's not my real name, but it's the one I use, so who cares?"

[AnimeKid]

As Tobio lets Mei off of his back he takes note of her groan of exasperation at seeing him and when Ren arrives notes his look of disdain. Deciding to reserve judgment on Daisuke until a later date he stays quiet while his superiors handle the situation. He does however looks at Daisuke with a blank look, analyzing him and his expressions. He wasn't the best but he could at least gleam some traits off of him and if he was lying about something.

[KerfuffleMach2]

As the lesson went on, it became clear that quite a few students were no longer giving it their full attention. The girl to Krystal's left seemed to be staring into space with a dreamy smile; The one in front was excitedly scribbling doodles in her notebook; And the one behind, though not visible, kept sighing quietly in a melancholy way. Luckily the teacher seemed to be busy admonishing a student elsewhere in the class, but that wouldn't last forever. It was all so...frustrating.

Krystal lets out another frustrated sigh as she scribbled out a drawing. Why couldn't people just pay attention? It's not hard. Sheesh.

But, she wasn't going to call them out on it. Not to the teacher, anyways. That wouldn't be nice.

After class, though...she'd have a talk with them.

[Terry576]

Souji ignores Ina's breakdown in favor of checking the area. Shutting the curtains, and peeking outside, he breathes a sigh of relief. Clear. Thank the gods. Turning he, runs his hand through his hair again. "Thanks Ina-san. I'm Fuschichou Souji, Astraphobia, or 2796. Take your pick. Daisuke-san won't murder you, I know that for a fact." He looks at her, his eyes piercing, like they could see into her soul. "If he doesn't take care of the Pure Streets, I'll kill him myself. Is he their leader now? Che. How the mighty have fallen." He sends a dark look towards Ina, but he seems to be looking through her, almost at the wall. "If the Pure Streets are lead by some whining sycophant who casually drops that name, then there must be a new leader. So Ina-san, I know this is a bad time, but which organization leads the charge to destroy Skill-Out?" He's leaving out several key facts here. Like who he knows in Skill-Out. Close friends, casual friends, allies. Skill-Out wasn't bad, they just wanted a different regime. And they put up a fight, a good one at that.

He breathes deeply, and leans against a wall. "Anti-Skill and Judgement will give up soon enough. If you're associating with the Pure Streets, you ought to know enough about me, especially since it seems that Daisuke-san knows something about me..."

He grins at the previously unnamed girl. "So! Ryuu-sama, what's it like to be on the run from the law? Exciting, frightening, or just bothersome? C'mon, I don't usually get to question the people who run around with me like this!"

[Anyr]

Krystal lets out another frustrated sigh as she scribbled out a drawing. Why couldn't people just pay attention? It's not hard. Sheesh.

But, she wasn't going to call them out on it. Not to the teacher, anyways. That wouldn't be nice.

After class, though...she'd have a talk with them.

By the time that the lesson ended, things had deteriorated even further, and the poor teacher was approaching her wit's end. She'd eventually noticed the full extent of her class' disorder, but had found herself powerless to reverse it. She'd tried tackling the problem one student at a time, then by admonishing the entire class, and finally by desperately appealing to their sense of decency. At best, all she'd succeeded in doing was switching some students from one overblown emotion to another. Eventually she simply dismissed the class and scurried off to find the headmistress.

The departure of Krystal's class was certainly a lot more animated than usual. The girls who felt relief or joy at its ending practically skipped out, while those who'd been cowed by the teacher scurried away with nervous glances in all directions. Some left in pairs, such as the longstanding rivals who argued fiercely all the way to the door; Or the dating couple who walked away hand in hand while staring deeply into each others' eyes. Taken together, the whole thing was quite a spectacle.

This was no longer some slight oddity which would take a practised eye to notice. By now, anyone would instantly be able to tell that something was amiss; Anyone, that is, who wasn't too busy being amiss...

[KerfuffleMach2]

And Krystal's frustration at her fellow students kept her amiss for now. Why couldn't they just pay attention?

She sees the girl that first gave in to boredom, and approaches her.

Hey. What was up with you in class? Not getting enough sleep or something?

She decides to give the benefit of the doubt, and pin in on something other than the student simply being lazy. For now, at least.

[Lord-Cao-Cao]

"Ryuu, huh? I can live with that, yeah."

She gave Ryuu a wan smile, still a little flummoxed over her recent situation as she waited for Souji to finish speaking. And when he did, she looked a little confused.

"Huh? Daisuke-sama is the leader of Pure Streets. I mean, I don't know the details about it, I hear people talking about an old Pure Streets every now and again, yeah, but it sounds like it was a long time ago. And we're not out to destroy Skill-Out, really...Just...Just..."

She gave the ground an odd look, as if still trying to comprehend what she was about to say.

"Just teach them a lesson, or something. I mean, you've got Skill-Out gangs making a mess of things down in the poorer districts, yeah, picking on Espers and other Level 0s...We're just there to rough them up a little, show 'em that being a thug doesn't pay."

They did quite a lot more than that, and Souji would pretty much know this as a fact, if he was one to associate with Skill-Outs and Level 0s. Still, Ina seemed sincere about this, even as she alternated between terrified glances at Soujis' face and downcast, crimson-faced gazes at the ground.

"I...I don't know, Fuschichou-sama...I don't really know how Pure Streets works, I just go along with them sometimes. I...Daisuke-sama only really found me about three months ago. I'm...The new girl, yeah. If you really wanted details, you'd probably have to talk to someone like 'Boil'. But I don't think he'd take kindly to you, yeah...Not after what happened at the School Garden. You're really strong...But Boil is pretty strong too, maybe even slightly stronger than Daisuke-sama in psychic power, and certainly stronger physically. He's the 'First among his Knights' and Daisuke-samas' right-hand man, yeah."

'Boil'. That sounded like a nickname, not a real name.

"And you shouldn't be so hard on Daisuke-sama...He's a great guy, really, he is. He looks after all of us, who had nowhere to go. You...You just don't know him very well. And I don't think you could kill him anyway, Fuschichou-sama. Not with the Pure Streets watching his back."

Ina seemed utterly convinced that Daisuke was a good guy, flying in the face of everything Souji had learnt about him thus far. A few moments later, she stood on trembling legs, half-turning to face what was presumably her kitchen, which was filled with various items in very curious and awkward places.

"A...Are you hungry? Thirsty? I'll make something, yeah..."

__________________________________________________ ________________

"SitRep? Ah, yes, Shirogane. I met this ruffian in the School Garden. He tried to hide his identity from me, but I saw right through him and called the guards. In a display of utterly mind-boggling incompetence, they insisted that he wasn't Astraphobia until he managed to get away, thus effectively denying my comrades and I the chance to subdue him."

Daisukes' voice was utterly full of venom as he drawled over the word 'Shirogane', and his eyes contained a trace of ...What? Was it jealousy? As he glanced for the merest instant at Mei, then back to Ren. Whoever this fellow was, stating that he was not fond of Ren would be an understatement.

"As for the situation here, he apparently opened fire on some Anti-Skill agents with his 'Railgun', and then made an escape somehow. By the way, you wouldn't have happened to have spotted an almost-ganguro girl around, have you? No? Oh well. She probably went home or something. We'll have to find her later."

[Lady Serpentine]

Souji ignores Ina's breakdown in favor of checking the area. Shutting the curtains, and peeking outside, he breathes a sigh of relief. Clear. Thank the gods. Turning he, runs his hand through his hair again. "Thanks Ina-san. I'm Fuschichou Souji, Astraphobia, or 2796. Take your pick. Daisuke-san won't murder you, I know that for a fact." He looks at her, his eyes piercing, like they could see into her soul. "If he doesn't take care of the Pure Streets, I'll kill him myself. Is he their leader now? Che. How the mighty have fallen." He sends a dark look towards Ina, but he seems to be looking through her, almost at the wall. "If the Pure Streets are lead by some whining sycophant who casually drops that name, then there must be a new leader. So Ina-san, I know this is a bad time, but which organization leads the charge to destroy Skill-Out?" He's leaving out several key facts here. Like who he knows in Skill-Out. Close friends, casual friends, allies. Skill-Out wasn't bad, they just wanted a different regime. And they put up a fight, a good one at that.

He breathes deeply, and leans against a wall. "Anti-Skill and Judgement will give up soon enough. If you're associating with the Pure Streets, you ought to know enough about me, especially since it seems that Daisuke-san knows something about me..."

He grins at the previously unnamed girl. "So! Ryuu-sama, what's it like to be on the run from the law? Exciting, frightening, or just bothersome? C'mon, I don't usually get to question the people who run around with me like this!"

She shrugged.

"It's an interesting change, for sure. More than that, I can't really say yet."

When Ina offers to make something, Ryuu smiles at her, and says "Do you want some help with that?"

[Lord-Cao-Cao]

"It's okay, only I really know where I keep all my stuff, haha, yeah. Would you like anything, Ryuu-san?"

Her kitchen really was a mess.

[Anyr]

And Krystal's frustration at her fellow students kept her amiss for now. Why couldn't they just pay attention?

She sees the girl that first gave in to boredom, and approaches her.

Hey. What was up with you in class? Not getting enough sleep or something?

She decides to give the benefit of the doubt, and pin in on something other than the student simply being lazy. For now, at least.

The student in question turned to meet Krystal with what was almost a twirl. All trace of her previous lethargy had vanished, to be replaced by pure exuberance. She took Krystal's annoyance in stride and greeted her with a friendly smile.

"No no, nothing like that. I just couldn't bear to even feign interest in that mind-numbing lesson. You wouldn't believe the relief I felt when we finally got out of there."

[AnimeKid]

Tobio watches with interest at how Daisuke and Ren react to each other. He wonders if it has something to do with Daisuke's exuberance around Mei and
the fact that Ren was her partner. It's when he gets to the part of his description with Astraphobia that his interest is really peaked. "Railgun? He's able to replicate something of that much destructive power?" Tobio's mind boggles at that kind of power as the self doubt he felt at the start of the mission comes crashing down on him again. He looks down towards the ground nervously as he twirls a piece of his light blue hair between his index finger and thumb again. "Welll at least there are more of us to apprehend him now. Was there anything else Ashikaga-san?"

[Lord-Cao-Cao]

Daisuke paused to reflect.

"Astraphobia also shorted out electronic items as he passed. Given that this is the School Garden, there are cameras everywhere. I very much doubt that he left them as they were, so if we follow a trail of cameras which are either inoperative, or were inoperative around the same time period as this incident...We should be able to trace his footsteps, if slowly."

He looked quite proud of his deduction. Leaning on the hilt of his curved, expensively-looking European saber, he thumbed his jawline, musing further. Behind him, his companions finished cleared the rubble and checking for clues. While most of them appeared quite ordinary, one stood out in particular-A massive, foreign boy, dwarfing everyone around him, adult or no, in both height and width of the shoulder. A discerning eye might be able to note him as being Slavic in origin and curiously, his hands were heavily wrapped in bandages. Despite his massive, imposing presence, he waited deferentially for Daisuke to finish speaking. Daisuke appeared not to notice.

"Ishida Tobio. That's your name, right? One of the more promising young rookies. I wouldn't worry too much about Astraphobia, by the way. Yes, his 'railgun' is powerful, but unless he has been holding out on us, he ranks at a powerful level 4 at best. Nothing the group of us can't utterly thrash. I also apologise for whatever mishaps may have occurred with a few members of your current party. Fear not, Ishida. They are not representative of Judgement as a whole."

He shot Ren another hateful, jealous look.

"Speak, Sir Boil. You need not have waited so long."

Boil was pronounced Bo-Il. It sounded foreign, and odd off Daisukes' certifiably Japanese tongue. Nevertheless, the giant boy rumbled and bowed his head respectfully, speaking with a strange accent.

"My lord, we've got the the stack of camera feeds for all the cameras in this region. Shall we look at them now?"

[AnimeKid]

Tobio nods at Daisuke's encouraging words. It was a little discerning how hateful he seemed to be towards Ren but then again there would always be people who don't like each other. Letting go of the piece of hair he was twirling holding and chuckles nervously. "Mei said the same thing, it's nice to know so many people have confidence in me." He still feels a little nervous but to calm down reaches inside his backpack and pulls out an ice cream sandwich that is still in the wrapper. He unwraps it and proceeds to start eating the still frozen treat while Boil addresses the issue about the cameras. After thinking for a moment he says,"I've got six more in here. Anyone else want any?"

[Terry576]

Souji's plain look at her showed that he was entirely aware of the Pure Streets 'other' activities, and he sighs as she continues to praise Daisuke. He had saved her from... something. Gods only knew what, but still, it counted. "From what I know of Daisuke-san, he is callous, shallow, and not very clever. You see him as honorable, noble, and a brave man. I guess... Daisuke-san must be somewhere in between. Just like the rest of humanity, you know?" A smile. Then he grins wickedly at Ryuu. "Please. No reaction at all? Not even a 'you can't be Astraphobia!'? That's sorta disappointing Ryuu-sama." He sighs, stretching as he goes to help with the cooking.

[KerfuffleMach2]

The student in question turned to meet Krystal with what was almost a twirl. All trace of her previous lethargy had vanished, to be replaced by pure exuberance. She took Krystal's annoyance in stride and greeted her with a friendly smile.

"No no, nothing like that. I just couldn't bear to even feign interest in that mind-numbing lesson. You wouldn't believe the relief I felt when we finally got out of there."

Krystal still seemed frustrated. I know school isn't the most fun of places to be, but you have to come, so you might as well pay attention. I mean, if you fail, you'll have to be here longer, right?

[Anyr]

Krystal's criticism seemed to flow off its target like water off a duck's back. Instead of becoming doubtful about her actions, the girl instead shook her head and gave Krystal an even brighter smile than before.

"It must be sad going through life with an attitude like that. If you could see all the wonders that these lessons are keeping us away from, you wouldn't be able to concentrate either. For example, my ability lets me stick to anything I want. How can I sit here doing algebra when I could be out there climbing skyscrapers?

The same goes for you: How can you keep your mind focused on lessons and textbooks when there's a great big wide world out there, waiting for us to explore it? And yes, I do mean us. Come on, sourpuss; It's time to give you a lesson in perspective."

With that the girl suddenly reached out and attempted to take Krystal's hand in a seemingly light grip which (thanks to her power) would prove impossible to break. If successful, she'd then set off running down the hall with her new acquaintance in tow.

[KerfuffleMach2]

Krystal starts a reply, but then she suddenly gets pulled forward by the girl who seems to not have a care in the world.

Hey! Where are you taking me?

[Anyr]

"Away!"

And away they went. Two students speeding hand in hand through Tokiwadai, one with boundless enthusiasm and the other just along for the ride. On any other day this flagrant rule-breaking would have been enough to draw every eye to them; Today, however, it was just one spectacle amongst many. By now the gas had nearly reached full strength, and there was barely a girl in the school who wasn't acting out in one way or another. The beleaguered teachers (who for some reason were mostly unaffected) had more pressing things to do than enforce the rule about not running in hallways.

"Come on, admit it: You've always wanted to do this!"

[KerfuffleMach2]

Not during class time! The frustration in her voice was obvious enough. Class time is for class stuff and that's it!

[Lord-Cao-Cao]

Ina stuttered, froze and blushed as she attempted to prepare food for her guests. It was obvious that her heart rate was through the roof, for reasons largely attributed to Souji. Although Soujis' recent actions had somewhat reassured her that she wasn't going to be murdered in her own home, the fact that he was a very dangerous, very powerful and downright gorgeous criminal helping her prepare food in her kitchen sent a simultaneous thrill of fear and ecstasy up her spine. And she loved it, almost drowned in the heady euphoria of danger. Outside, the sun reached its' zenith, the panic in the streets having died down considerably, people once again beginning to stroll down the School Gardens' streets, albeit a little more warily.

She was then jolted out of her adrenaline-fueled daydream by the beeping of her phone. Pulling it out of the handbag on the counter, she read the message, and then let out an eep.

"Uh, the other guys want to know where I am, yeah...What should I say?"

[Terry576]

"Tell them."

It was blunt. It was perfectly unlike the portrayal Souji had used before. It was obviously uncaring, he seemed more preoccupied with what he was cooking then with conversation. He was in the process of tying on an apron, having removed his jacket and rolled up his sleeves. It was... uncanny how easily he seemed to be able to do it. Sure, in experience he had burned everything he had made, but still. It was impossible to burn rice. Nobody could do it.

"Daisuke-san wants to beat me. He wants to gloat over my defeat. Don't deny it. You know he wants to. If you tell him 'I'm at my house, with the target.' He'll assume that you brought me here to give to him, as a gift or something. Daisuke-san won't question it, you're loyal, damn loyal."

He flicks his fingernail off his front teeth, listening to the almost satisfying clicking sound. Ck. Ck. Ck. He's thinking again - no, not thinking. Brooding, is more the word of it. He's thinking about Daisuke once more. How Daisuke knows the name - his true name, not the name he called himself.

2796. His past. How much did Daisuke know? The full thing - he had those sort of connections it seemed. Or did he just know enough to know that he should be frightened of the tall, lithe figure that he had stood in front of just a short while ago?

He cuts that line of thought. Didn't matter now. Daisuke was the leader of the Pure Streets, but not the old ones. The old ones were so noble it was sickening to those who disagreed with Skill-Out - Wouldn't kill, wouldn't maim. Saved whoever they came across. The old ones were idyllic to the point of delusion. They wanted to save everyone, no matter the cost. He would know. His life was meaningless in the long run - who cared about one clone, one clone who was just another number? Not even an important number at that - just Two Seven Nine Six. Two thousand, seven hundred, and ninety five came before him. None came after him. He'd ended all that. But still, in his heart, he was just another number.

He was getting off track. He needed to figure out Daisuke - what makes him tick.

"Knowing Daisuke-san, he'll come straight here. He might bring some back-up, but..." A grin. "Won't be enough to matter. Astraphobia - the Fear of lightning. Do you know how rare lighting strikes are in this world? One out of a hundred people are struck by them. I force people to submit to that fear - it's a primal instinct you know. Fear those stronger than you."

Ina should be able to tell he's rambling. Ryuu should tell that he's rambling. But Souji continues.

"But when he does come, I'm not going to fight him. I just want some answers. He recognized me based off the only nickname I'm barely known by. Yeah, some people can recognize it, but that's pretty rare, y'know? It's like... Recognized King Arthur based on his first name, or Hercules because of his bow."

Myths. Legends. He speaks of them fondly, the names falling almost lovingly from his lips. They were his friends, those myths, those legends. King Arthur and Excalibur. Hercules and the Twelve Labors. The Travels of Gilgamesh. Cuchulain and Morgana. Ragnarok. But Souji liked Arthur the best. He was so noble, so just, just wanted to be so badly - but he lost it because he was betrayed. And even then he went on. He was the greatest of all heroes - he was Souji's hero. It was why Souji kept on fighting, even against all odds. To impress someone who wouldn't even be there to say "Well done," to impress someone who might not even exist. Because he wasn't supposed to exist either.

[Anyr]

Not during class time! The frustration in her voice was obvious enough. Class time is for class stuff and that's it!

Krystal's companion inclined her head towards a triad of students who seemed to be engaging in an impromptu dance number; Then to two more who were having a blazing row that stopped just short of physical violence.

"They don't seem to think so!"

None of these sights compelled the girl to slow down even slightly. She simply dragged Krystal along through a school which was only two steps away from descending into pure anarchy. After many twists, turns and the occasional frantic dodge of something coming the other way, they reached their destination: The main exit of Tokiwadai. With even greater enthusiasm before, the girl rushed out and into the open air. She gave a sigh of relief as the midday sun touched her skin, and would probably have done another twirl had she not been attached to Krystal.

"There, free at last. Doesn't seeing that open sky make you feel so much better?"

[Lord-Cao-Cao]

Ina's face paled.

"N...No! I can't do that, Fuschichou-sama...You've got Judgement on you now, Daisuke-sama will come with many people...And he'll...He might kill you! Unless you're a level 5 or something...You say lightning strikes one out of a hundred people, yeah, but what about the other ninety-nine!?"

She bit her lip out of fear, clearly frightened-And not in a good way-Of the things that Souji was asking. If she did as he asked, Daisuke would no doubt show up with probably over a dozen Espers and perhaps double that in Anti-Skill. It would be a massacre, unless Souji was capable of unleashing something that could eclipse even the 'railgun'. There would be no mistake. He would be killed. And she couldn't have that.

Well, actually, she couldn't have them demolishing her entire flat and probably half the apartment block in the ensuing firefight, either; and this was something she felt that she absolutely had to make known. This place was special to her. It was the only place that had ever actually been hers, the only place where she didn't have to worry about being kicked out or denied entry after a late night out in town. Even if she'd made a real a mess in trying to decorate this place, she'd be damned before she let someone blow it up; even someone as mysterious and charming as the criminal currently making rice in her kitchen.

"And if he comes, Fuschichou-sama, when you fight-And don't say you won't because you know it's going to happen, yeah-You're probably going to blow up my house and...And I can't have that."

She bit back a faint whimper of terror. Talking back to someone who could end her life casually! She was only a level three Esper, 'Gravity Slam', and just barely at that. She was scared, scared that he was stronger than she was, and Souji would be able to tell. It was a primal instinct, just as he said.

__________________________________________________ _______________

Both Daisuke and Ren waved Tobio off. Gotou did not look particularly interested in ice cream, and Mei appeared tempted, but turned it down once she saw than Ren wasn't taking some either. Only Sojiro accepted it, as the two level fours discussed plans in utterly icy tones.

"Thanks, man. It's gonna be a hot day, I think."

"I see, Shirogane. You may do as you wish-Review those tapes. In the mean-time, I would advise the rest of you to remain on guard. You are free to do as you wish, but I request that none of you stray too far from here, and be ready to move at a moment's notice once we have traced the shorted cameras to its' end."

Mei briefly looked very annoyed as Ren strode off to review the security footage alongside the techies. After a moment, Gotou decided to leave for the same reason as well, leaving just Sojiro, Mei and Tobio in their original group. Daisuke looked like he wanted to say something; he looked pleased, overjoyed even, at the prospect of talking to Mei without the interference of Ren. But before he could do so, Mei grabbed Tobios' wrist and led him away from the group, muttering darkly. Sojiro, looking rather unenthusiastic about the prospect of spending time with Daisukes' formal-looking comrades, trailed behind them shortly.