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

[Anyr]

Kin returned the confused look. The concept made perfect sense to her, so why was her friend having trouble with it? Then she remembered that Krystal's perspective on this city was rather different to her own. Apparently it was time for another broadening of horizons.

"I suppose the concept might seem strange to a newcomer; Especially one who (no offense) doesn't mind living in a fishbowl. I'll explain why things work that way here, but it'll be faster if we do a little practical work first. Since you like school so much, here's an assignment from Professor Miura: Count the cameras."

Kin then proceeded to quicken her pace (though again making sure not to drag Krystal) and take them on a tour around this small section of the School Garden. The two sped through the streets, past shops, lampposts, fountains...and cameras; Lots of them. The little devices were quite unobtrusive, and blended in well with their surroundings, but if someone was actively picking them out they'd find their count rising at a surprising rate. The point which Kin was trying to make soon became apparent, but she didn't stop moving until her personal tally had reached triple digits. When she turned back to her 'student' and addressed her again, it was with a surprisingly serious tone.

"Were you paying attention? If you were, I'm betting that you're at least a little disturbed by now; And if you're not, I'll need to think up another way of spooking you before we move on to the next lesson..."

[Lord-Cao-Cao]

((OOC: I have returned from a holiday in Australia. Please forgive my long absence, friends.))

Shougo blinked as he heard Moroes' supposed reason as to why she came back and paused. His mother looked at her interestedly, examining her face intently-If Moroe was any good at reading people and social conventions, she might be able to tell if his mother was wondering if there was anything going on between the two. There was a moment of silence as neither of them knew what to say, Shougo looking uncomfortably at the clock. His mother then opened his mouth to speak, but he cut her off, with a strange; pained, and resigned; look in his eyes.

"Thanks, Ishimaru-senpai...I...

He glanced at the clock again and let out a barely audible sigh.

"Ishimaru-senpai, mother...You should probably both leave soon."

His mother let out a startled yelp.

"Shougo-kun, I absolutely will not let-"

He silenced her with a hand, face absolutely devoid of expression.

"There's nothing you can do, mother. I will live, do not worry..."

He then turned his head to Moroe, inclining it slightly in deference. The ticking of the clock would have been audible right about now-It read at about 3.30pm. School had just finished. Shougo unconsciously touched his ribs and tensed ever-so-slightly, as if remembering some old wound.

"Thank you again, Ishimaru-senpai...For everything. But you should probably go; this is something I...I have to face on my own."

He made one last glance at the picture of his father on his bedside table, silently murmuring the words 'Give me strength to endure, in the times to come.'

__________________________________________________ _______________

Mei stood amongst the considerable crowd surrounding Souji and watched, silently impressed. Nevertheless, while she acknowledged his skill at that particular shooting game, she was insistent that she was his superior in skill. Inhaling deeply and preparing herself, she stepped forward into the light.

"Hey, you there! Hat Boy! I bet you aren't as good at me at House of the Dead."

Just then, her headset buzzed, immediately throwing her into a state of alertness. Souji would be able to hear her mouth the words "Who!? Where!?" as she turned to face her Judgement companions, currently positioned behind her.

[Anyr]

Moroe opened her mouth, then closed it again. The proper approach to take here wasn't at all obvious. Should she pretend to leave and then guard Shougo in secret? Tell him flat out that they would face the supposedly imminent peril together? Put his mind at ease about said peril while simultaneously increasing his guilt? No, this wasn't an easy decision. In the end, though, Moroe begrudgingly nodded to Shougo and moved back towards the door.

"Okay, if that's what you really want. But if you ever change your mind, let me know."

She then gave him one last look of regret, left dejectedly and walked down the corridor...until she found a decent piece of cover, behind which she promptly hid. Moroe had made her decision: She was going to let Shougo know that she'd be looking out for him; But only after his mother had left. It was a pity for her to be left thinking that her son was alone, but including her in this wasn't an option. Instead, Moroe would wait until mother dearest departed (assuming that Mrs. Nimori did indeed leave), before walking straight back into Shougo's room without knocking and silently taking a seat beside his bed. She would then brace herself for the contest of wills which was no doubt about to begin...

[Terry576]

Souji, of course, being Souji, gave a bow, tipping his hat to the girl, revealing another flash of silver hair.

"I would be honored to play a game against you, Judgement-chan."

He grins widely, but frowns as she turns to her Judgement companions.

"Hey Judge-ment-chaaan! Did you realize that I would be better at House of Dead then you? Or is your boss telling you your next assignment?"

His wide grin remains, eyes sparkling with mirth.

[KerfuffleMach2]

Krystal's eyes went wide as she realized how many cameras there were.

Wow...that is a lot...but why so many? I mean...it's not like this area's full of crime...is it?

[AnimeKid]

Tobio skated calmly into the arcade and came to a stop beside Mei. He then starts whispering to her, "I got the information on my headset. You guys haven't noticed anything?" There is a note of concern in his voice and he was panting slightly. He was probably booking it to get in a hurry and only calmly skated in once the arcade was in sight.

[Atrum-Persavor]

Crowds attract attention. It's what they do. They focus attention on the most interesting things around and provide entertainment.

Yet, many interesting things happen when nobody's paying attention.

Like that of the completely average-looking person sitting at the Blazblue machine drawing out a pair of very illegal titanium knuckledusters out of his jacket and slipping them on, before placing his hands in his jacket pockets.

He gets up, and casually walks up behind Mei and Tobio.

"Mei. Tobio."

[AnimeKid]

Tobio looks back at Ren with a surprised look. While he could sense heat signatures that didn't mean he could differentiate one persons from another. He whispers, Ren-taichou, do we have any idea how we are going to locate Astraphobia? After all with all the bulletin boards of him all over town the only way he could not have been reported by now would be if he was disguised or he has an illusionist with him." Tobio had called Ren the leader because it felt natural. After all they were mostly following his lead for this mission.

[Anyr]

Krystal's eyes went wide as she realized how many cameras there were.

Wow...that is a lot...but why so many? I mean...it's not like this area's full of crime...is it?

"No, the crime rate around here is really low. According to the Judgement members I've asked, the cameras are there to keep it that way; All 2,500 of them..."

There was a note of genuine concern in Kin's voice. She had the look of someone who'd pondered this issue before and not liked the conclusions she'd reached. However, before too long she just gave a one-sided shrug and resumed the lecture; Best to stay focused.

"For the purposes of this lesson, it doesn't really matter why they're there; The point is that they are. And while School Garden may have a higher concentration than most areas, they're all heavily monitored. Between the cameras, security droids, satellites and who knows what else, Academy City has the best surveillance network in the world. And that's fine when it comes to catching criminals; Not so much when you're an ordinary citizen looking for some privacy."

She didn't bother to go on. Krystal was probably savvy enough to fill in the rest of this logical chain herself.

[KerfuffleMach2]

So...somebody got the bright idea to rent out places without any cameras, right?

She's following the chain well enough. She was used to being around cameras. She just didn't think she'd find a place with more of them then her hometown of Detroit.

[Atrum-Persavor]

Ren takes a look at Tobio and shrugs.

"So, somebody remind me what Astraophobia's hair color was again?"

[AnimeKid]

Tobio puts a hand to his chin as he says, "Astraphobia has silver hair, a very rare color even for people with dyed hair, and silver eyes. The thing is that those features are easily disguise-able. All he would have to do is dye his hair and put in some colored contacts. We need something that can help us find him no matter what he looks like." Tobio rubs his chin as he tries to figure out how they could find him.

[Lord-Cao-Cao]

Shougos' mother did leave, after a long minute of hesitation, fleeing down the hallway with tears in her eyes and agonised sobs wracking her body. Even if Moroe were standing right in the open, it is likely she wouldn't have seen her. And when she did enter the room, without knocking, she was indeed greeted with a protest. Unexpectedly, however, it was surprisingly short; within no more than two minutes, Shougo had ceased his opposition and stared at the floor before uttering a quiet, grateful response.

"Thank you, Ishimaru-senpai."

But whatever he was expecting clearly didn't come. If Moroe waited for just over a half an hour, she would note that nothing of significance actually happened. And Shougo was clearly taken aback by this, bearing a mixed expression of confusion and relief on his face.

"Huh? He should be here by now..."

__________________________________________________ _______________

"Good point, Tobio."

By now, the crowd was beginning to look a little edgy; four Judgement agents clearly on guard inside an arcade was normally not a good sign for anyone involved.

"I've heard that a powerful Electromaster like Astraphobia shorts circuits electronic items..."

Two machines had shorted out. If Souji had a case of the nerves, another one would have shorted out nearby. Mei frowned and pulled out her phone, the numerous trinkets attached to it chiming as she did so.

"Nobody move..."

And then she begun moving it around, checking for Astraphobia.

[Anyr]

Moroe was pleasantly surprised by this comparative lack of resistance. She'd been expecting a bitter struggle, with both sides fighting tooth and nail for every inch of ground given. She accepted Shougo's thanks with a slight bow of the head, not wanting to start another argument about who was in debt to whom. After the silence had reasserted itself, she made no move to break it. Instead she simply sat with him, game in hand, waiting for an event which she already knew wouldn't happen. When he finally spoke again, she hesitated. This was it; The moment she'd spent half an hour preparing for in her mind. And for some reason she still hadn't made a firm decision about how much to tell him. In the end, she took the coward's way out and just gave a nonchalant shrug.

"Maybe he's giving you a break, since you're so badly hurt already. Or maybe he had something more important to do. Whatever the case, it gives us some time to plan a proper strategy. Tell me about this gang of his: Who are they? What are their capabilities? How do they usually operate?"

----------------------------------------

Kin nodded. In actual fact Krystal seemed to have missed a few links somewhere along the way, but Kin wasn't about to hold things up by backtracking.

"Not just cameras; No names, credit records or inspections either. You might not have noticed this yet, but anonymity is a rare and precious thing in this city. The salons exist because, quite frankly, they're just about the only way for kids like us to have a secret base that's hard for the adults to find."

[KerfuffleMach2]

Huh. That's...handy. Krystal seems surprised by this info. Definitely something she's not used to.

[Lady Serpentine]

Ryuu slipped into the arcade, looking for Souji... Only to be distracted by a Judgement member waving her phone through the air, a sight which was momentarily baffling for her, until she remembered the machines glitching when they entered.

Wonderful. They had someone smart looking for him, who knew roughly where he was - or, of course, was extremely lucky, but that was rather unlikely. In any case, whichever it was, something needed to be done about it.

Nearby, a couple shivered at a sudden chill, which would have easily been put down to the air coming on, were it not for the fact that was nothing coming from the vent above them.

Fortunately for Ryuu, they weren't as observant as they might have been, and simply moved to another area, thus not noticing that the space kept cooling, far beyond what the cooling system of the arcade would do - and, besides which, it was far too localized for that.

However, this cooling wasn't the point of what she was doing. The point was that she had to take heat from somewhere in order to warm something. In this case, Mei's phone, which should quickly become quite uncomfortable to hold, and, a bit after that, burst into flames.

[AnimeKid]

Tobio's eyes widen as he feels the a certain portion of the store cooling down and the temperature of Mei's phone rising. Could it be? Another Cyromancer on Astraphobia's side?! Knowing that he had to do something or they were bust his eyes glow as he activates his powers chilling Mei's phone by the same degree that it was being heated and diverting the heat that he took away into the ground. If it was a Cyromancer like he thought they would only try harder. It was up to him to try to keep up so that they could find Astraphobia. Huh, not once did he think that the mission would rest on his shoulders.

[Lady Serpentine]

Ryuu smiled sofly, looking forward to the challenge of facing someone like herself. Assuming that he was, like her, a level four, this should be down to reaction time, and cleverness.

So, as Tobio expected, she did push harder, chilling the section of store so much that a light mist began to form. But, after a moment, while she could easily have kept going, she stopped in her attempts, quite suddenly, as though she was unable to keep up the attempt.

Any relief Tobio feels is likely to be short-lived, however, as a few seconds later, Ryuu begins to rapidly transfer heat from the heated portion of ground that he'd made when cooling the phone into Mei's armband, hoping that if she could make it catch fire, she, and the other Cryokinetic, would be distracted enough that she could destroy the phone.

[AnimeKid]

Quick on the draw as always Tobio notices the minute details in the change of game. He then realized something. He didn't need to make the tempuratures of the phone and armband normal. He just needed to provide enough resistance that whoever was using the power tapped out at thier maximum. To help with that Tobio sighs as he releases his aura of cold stretching it to it's maximum twenty degree radius and 0 degrees celcius. More than enough to cover the whole store. That should at least keep Mei's armband from bursting into flames though it may get hot enough to become irratating. He then keeps his focus on the phone to try and counteract any funny moves.

[Cole10000]

A Few minutes after leaveing the coffe shop.

Carver was starting to get irritated, he had called to see if there was anything besides the Astraphobia case he could help wiht. And what do they give him? Garbage clanup, and there was no way he was doing that while other people got into something interesting.

Sitting on a banch near the sidewalk he thinks to himself.

Now then what should I do? Go to the arcade and see whats up, after all I've met the guy we're looking for so I could proboblhy identify him. Who knows they might even need some help with him, god knows he's crafty. Well... that or insane, but I suppose there really isn't a difference.

With that he gets up and heads toward the arcade. Upon arrival he hides his judgement armband and adopts a very innocent and ignorant face. Looking around he quickly spots Tobio, who aparently is haveing some trouble.

Wondering what is going on he decides to use one of the uses of his ability he doesn't use very often and activates it on Tobio.

He doesn't alter anything, all he does is make his voice come into his head saying.

"Tobio, don't panic. It's me Carver and I'm here to help. I'm not 100% sure whats going on but I'm going to keep hidden and try to find astraphobia undercover. If things get bad yell."

With that Carver tries to be as inconspicuous as someone with blue hair and a sword can be, all the while keeping a look out for anyone suspicious...

Well anyone more suspicious than he is at least.

[AnimeKid]

It's only Tobio's absolute focus on his powers that keep him from jumping and breaking his concentration. However hearing Carver's voice and remembering how his powers work he he feels at least some relief wash over him. Now he just has to hold out against whoever it was that was doing this.

[Lord-Cao-Cao]

Ina looked extremely worried as she took note of the four Judgement agents inside the School Garden arcade. She tugged at Soujis' sleeve, looking nervously around the area and shivering at the sudden shifts in temperature, glancing at Ryuu as she did so. Dangerous, so dangerous. She hated it, yet loved it at the same time; it made her feel truly alive, unlike the tedious humdrum of daily life around here.

"F-Rei-kun, this place is beginning to look pretty unfriendly, yeah...We should probably get out of here. No fun and all, haha, yeah."

__________________________________________________ _________________

Mei frowned at the shifts in temperature, pulling her Tokiwadai jacket around her shoulders more tightly.

"That's weird...Tobio-kun, is that you?"

__________________________________________________ _______________

"No. He always knows, is always watching. After what happened today...Well, I've no doubt it's reached his ears by now, and he really will stop at nothing to ruin me. I'm not sure you should get involved, Ishimaru-senpai...But since you wish to know, I shall you."

He took a small breath, and his face slowly coloured with intemperate, seething rage-The fury present in his eyes was rather at odds to the Shougo Moroe knew.

"His name is Ashikaga Daisuke, son of Ashikaga Yoshiharu. Yes, that Yoshiharu. His gang is the 'Pure Streets', a gang of Espers; to put it lightly. They are supposedly anti-Skillout, but they're usually worse than the gangs they hunt. They have a number of level 4s...Daisuke is one-Codename Axis, his power being the ability to 'twist' or 'rotate' things, and I'm willing to wager that that large, foreign boy ever-present at his right hand is one also. They're not really an anti-Skillout gang...They're just a group of thugs with powers."

He then stopped, pressing a finger to his left temple as he realised something.

"I take it you knew it was them I was expecting?"

[AnimeKid]

A bead of sweat run's down Tobio's face from pushing his powers as he says, "Yes and no. It seems that Astraphobia has a Cyromancer on his side. I sensed the changes in temperature and had to act quickly. Whoever it is they were trying to make your cellphone and now your Judgement band overheat, and by my guess burst into flames. I'm counteracting them right now but I'm not sure how powerful they are. Hurry and try to find Astraphobia."

[Terry576]

Souji meanwhile, shrugged as the girl ditched him, and turned around. He continued his story for a while, until suddenly the cold hit him.

He stiffened, and wrinkled his nose. "Ah...Ah..."

A sneeze. But with the sneeze, something fell out of his left eye, something he didn't bother to notice.

A blue contact lens.

The boy turned back to his audience, grinning. Strangely, his one silver eye went ignored, at least for now. "Well? Does anybody here want to play House of Dead with me? Judgement-chan appears to have bailed in favor of her job." He pouts at that, but quickly gets over it.

[Cole10000]

Carver slinked around the edges of the arcade looking for anything unusual. One of the first things he notices is a small crowd gathered around one of the games. Remembering how Souji has an uncanny ability to attract people he decides to investigate.

Quickly melding into the crowd he looks at the one it's evidently gathered around.

A Grin comes to Carver's face as he sees the man they're gathered around and remembers his face very well, it even seemed that he had been wearing contacts but one had fallen out. Thinking to himself,

Bingo

Now however he isn't sure how he should act in this situation, he had joined the crowd and Souji was scanning it so look for another player, if he walked away now and drew attention to himself Souji might recognise him from when they met before, even if he had dyed his hair from Green. to Blue

He decides on blending with the crowd useing the connection he still has with Tobio to send him another message.

"I've found him, there's a crowd around one of the games, he's here and looks as though he's wearing a hat and one blue contact."

He sends a mental image of the game, crowd, and souji's appearance to Tobio.

[Terry576]

Ina looked extremely worried as she took note of the four Judgement agents inside the School Garden arcade. She tugged at Soujis' sleeve, looking nervously around the area and shivering at the sudden shifts in temperature, glancing at Ryuu as she did so. Dangerous, so dangerous. She hated it, yet loved it at the same time; it made her feel truly alive, unlike the tedious humdrum of daily life around here.

"F-Rei-kun, this place is beginning to look pretty unfriendly, yeah...We should probably get out of here. No fun and all, haha, yeah."

Souji sighed, pulling on one of his bangs. "Heh, you're probably right Ina-san. C'mon, let's go shopping or something. Nobody else wants to play on the arcade anymore."

He waves goodbye to the crowd, and walks towards the exit, whistling. In his hand is a single coin, and he's tossing it up in the air, catching it.

Toss.
Catch.
Toss.
Catch.

Which is probably why nobody expected it when he brushed the coin machine, and lightly, ever so lightly, sent a current of electricity through it. It was quite unlikely that the members of Judgement were ready for the torrent of Arcade tokens that came flying out, much less so for all the people scrambling to get them. Grabbing Ina's hand, Souji swiftly exits, grinning and saying "They really should replace that machine, don'tcha think Ina-san?" His eyes are sparkling with mirth, as they seemed to always do.

[AnimeKid]

Tobio then says to his team members. "Guys, that boy with the cap! That's Astraphobia! He lost one of his contacts. We have to get past the crowd to get to him!" With Astraphobia leaving it is likely Ryuu lets up on the cyrokinesis as Tobio does as well. Seeing that Astraphobia is getting away and remembering the pledge he took as a member of Judgement Tobio skates forward towards the crowd. He then jumps into the air twisting in a display of impressive acrobatics over the crowd as he lands on his feet and skates after the fleeing fugitive. He only hopes that Ren used his teleportation-like power to get the rest of the team past the crowd.

[Anyr]

Huh. That's...handy. Krystal seems surprised by this info. Definitely something she's not used to.

"Indeed it is. So, should we head over and see if they fit the bill?"

----------------------------------------

"No. He always knows, is always watching. After what happened today...Well, I've no doubt it's reached his ears by now, and he really will stop at nothing to ruin me. I'm not sure you should get involved, Ishimaru-senpai...But since you wish to know, I shall you."

He took a small breath, and his face slowly coloured with intemperate, seething rage-The fury present in his eyes was rather at odds to the Shougo Moroe knew.

Moroe had seen looks like that before; More often than not, she'd played a part in causing them. This was the face of a good person whose capacity for forgiveness had been pushed beyond the breaking point. Once someone had been damaged enough to reach that level, there was usually no going back; Well, this time would be different.

"His name is Ashikaga Daisuke, son of Ashikaga Yoshiharu. Yes, that Yoshiharu. His gang is the 'Pure Streets', a gang of Espers; to put it lightly. They are supposedly anti-Skillout, but they're usually worse than the gangs they hunt. They have a number of level 4s...Daisuke is one-Codename Axis, his power being the ability to 'twist' or 'rotate' things, and I'm willing to wager that that large, foreign boy ever-present at his right hand is one also. They're not really an anti-Skillout gang...They're just a group of thugs with powers."

Moroe's expression hardened. Though she'd never crossed paths with them before today, these so called 'Pure Streets' were preceded by their reputation. If what she'd heard was true, then Shougo would have had every right to hold them in contempt even if they hadn't made his life a living hell. With people like them as the enemy, there would be no need to hold back.

He then stopped, pressing a finger to his left temple as he realised something.

"I take it you knew it was them I was expecting?"

"Knew? No. But it wasn't exactly hard to make an educated guess. And besides..."

Once again Moroe shied away from revealing her part in this reprieve; For some reason it seemed better to keep it concealed. Even she didn't really understand her reluctance, especially considering what she was about to say next.

"...Even if there was no danger, I wanted to let you know that I'd stand by you. Let's drop the pretence here: You have a serious problem that's beyond your ability to solve alone. It's not going to go away no matter how much pain you endure, and you're in no condition to fight it. You need help; And I'm going to give you that help, whether you want it or not.

Bottom line: We're partners now; Deal with it."

[Cole10000]

Carver sees Souji begining to leave and once he causes to make ythe machine go haywire he felt it was time to act.

Witht that he pulls out his armband and unsheathes his sword yelling,

"EVERYONE OUT OF THE WAY! OFFICIAL JUDGEMENT BUSINESS!"

looking at souji souji he adds.

"ASTRAPHOBIA STOP RIGHT THERE!"

Carver then begins charging at Souji with his sword drawn.

[Lady Serpentine]

Tobio then says to his team members. "Guys, that boy with the cap! That's Astraphobia! He lost one of his contacts. We have to get past the crowd to get to him!" With Astraphobia leaving it is likely Ryuu lets up on the cyrokinesis as Tobio does as well. Seeing that Astraphobia is getting away and remembering the pledge he took as a member of Judgement Tobio skates forward towards the crowd. He then jumps into the air twisting in a display of impressive acrobatics over the crowd as he lands on his feet and skates after the fleeing fugitive. He only hopes that Ren used his teleportation-like power to get the rest of the team past the crowd.

Ryuu, actually, instead of letting up on it, starts to pull heat from the crowd around her, and channel it into Carver's shirt. He is, after all, charging Souji with a sword.

Also, it's worth noting that she's focusing completely on her powers now, barely even noticing her surroundings, save for what's necessary to use them.