Bearing the immense weight pressing upon her body, she reduced every obstacle in her path to mere fleeting clouds.
Someone, riding a high-tech Academy City transport vehicle, sped through familiar streets, nimbly climbed steep slopes, a satisfied smile gracing her face.
But then the ground suddenly shook violently. Natsume Sonoko looked up to see a dazzling Railgun streak tearing across the sky.
"Was that Misaka-senpai?"
Natsume-san frowned slightly at the sight of the orange beam.
Without hesitating for long, she leaped down from the white cylindrical vehicle.
Before gravity could pull her fully to the ground, a pair of translucent wings carried Natsume-san skyward.
Even with an armful of packages, it didn't hinder her performance. Natsume-san quickly spotted the source of the commotion from her aerial vantage point.
By the time she landed, a crater about ten meters deep marked the spot, surrounded by deep fissures, with piles of scattered earth and rubble heaped not far away.
Near this pile of debris, Shirai-san, whom she'd just met earlier, was slumped on the ground, breathing heavily. On the other side stood Misaka-senpai, her arm still extended from having launched her Railgun.
Natsume Sonoko's feet touched down precisely between Misaka-senpai and Shirai-san.
Natsume Sonoko glanced at the dozen or so metal needles embedded in the ground—Shirai-san's signature weapon.
Shreds of torn fabric clung to the needles, but the guy who had been pinned down by them was gone.
It looked like the perpetrator had escaped.
"To not only defeat Shirai-san but also manage to escape from Misaka-senpai…" Natsume Sonoko was astonished, quickly piecing together a rough idea of what must have happened.
Even if Shirai-san's ability methods were somewhat straightforward, she was still a spatial ability user. Your average thug was no match for Shirai-san.
Anyone who could give her trouble meant this was no ordinary incident.
"Onee-sama! You finally came to save Kuroko! Kuroko is so happy!" Shirai-san slowly got to her feet, her face a picture of moved gratitude. She had some minor scratches, but nothing serious.
The moment she regained her balance, she accelerated into a dash towards Misaka-senpai, seemingly aiming to throw herself into her beloved senpai's arms, only to collide head-first with a certain meatball-haired girl who happened to be standing right in the middle.
"Oww, ow, oww!" Shirai-san clutched her head and crouched down, a prominent bump already forming. She couldn't help but hiss sharply through her teeth.
That really hurt! But why was there a wall in front of Onee-sama?
Puzzlement suddenly clouded Shirai-san's thoughts.
"Shirai-san, suddenly ambushing people isn't very good, you know. It causes quite a bit of trouble." A familiar voice reached the ears of both Misaka-senpai and Shirai-san.
They froze for a moment, but their eyes saw nothing.
"Is that you, Natsume-san?" Misaka-senpai ventured.
Misaka-senpai caught on quickly. She could perceive her surroundings via minute electrical currents in the air.
It was similar to how Natsume-san could sense heat, allowing her to detect hidden enemies even in darkness.
The weak electrical currents in one particular area were behaving too uniformly, outlining the shape of a relatively short person.
One hand shot forward, and a wind shield hastily materialized, catching the accelerating Shirai-san off guard and sending her bouncing away.
The rebound force wasn't strong, so it couldn't deliver a critical hit.
Her other arm was still tightly clutching her spoils of shopping. Just after she finished speaking, Natsume Sonoko prepared to deactivate her optical camouflage.
Natsume-san's optical camouflage had reached a highly refined level. Simply by manipulating light refraction through air of different temperatures, she could derive a host of useful skills. Shirai-san and the others were aware of this, so they weren't overly surprised.
With the camouflage deactivated, Natsume Sonoko made her flashy appearance.
"You! What are you doing, standing between Onee-sama and Kuroko for no reason?!" As she spoke, Shirai-san's displeasure grew.
The camouflage was one thing, but this person had the audacity to use her ability to bounce her away, giving her a bump on the head! Couldn't she have at least provided a softer landing?
"Eh? Back at the Judgment Branch Office 177, you weren't treating me with this kind of attitude, Shirai-san."
Natsume Sonoko shook her head slightly, putting on a look that said she'd seen right through her.
Under normal circumstances, even if it was unintentional, she should offer a proper apology. But if the other party was Shirai-san, that was different.
After all, normal people don't launch themselves at others at a full sprint.
"Fine, let's forget it this time. I suppose you didn't do it on purpose, Natsume-san." Shirai-san rubbed her head and spoke somewhat gloomily, as if remembering something.
Before long, Anti-Skill officers appeared on the street to restore order, and the panic among the crowd subsided.
Although the assailant had vanished, Shirai-san hadn't given up the chase.
As she retrieved the metal needles she'd shot earlier from the ground, she noticed the other two whispering to each other.
"Natsume-san, you're just coming back from the supermarket?" Misaka-senpai remarked, looking somewhat curiously at the numerous bags in the girl's hands.
"Yeah, I was just heading back to the dorm when I saw your Railgun beam, Misaka-senpai. I was worried something had happened, so I rushed over to check." Natsume-san nodded in reply.
But judging by the scene, Misaka-senpai seemed to have handled things. Her help wasn't needed.
"Heading back to the dorm? Then let's go back together, Natsume-san. I heard from Tsuchimikado-san that the cafeteria is making tiramisu cake tonight." Misaka-senpai suggested, a hint of anticipation appearing on her face.
"Tiramisu cake, huh? Sounds pretty good." Saliva almost unconsciously gathered in a certain meatball-haired girl's mouth, and she nodded with interest.
"Onee-sama, that won't do! Natsume-san needs to come with me to track down that illegal intruder! Please return by yourself!"
"As guardians of Academy City, we must hold the front line firmly. Indulgence doesn't suit us!"
Spreading her arms wide, Shirai-san used her ability and instantly teleported, planting herself between the two. Her voice was filled with unwavering resolve.
"Illegal intruder?" Natsume Sonoko tilted her head.
Uh-oh, maybe I asked the wrong question.
Why was Shirai-san trying to drag her along? There had to be some ulterior motive here.
"Correct. It's an ability user who can control soil." Shirai-san answered somewhat hesitantly, not entirely sure about the opponent's ability.
"Onee-sama, you might not know this, but Natsume-san has already agreed to become a Judgment member today. We're about to start our operation."
"You're a civilian, Onee-sama, you shouldn't get involved in these matters." Noticing the dissatisfaction on Misaka-senpai's face, Shirai-san quickly explained.
A sinful hand began to move, attempting to teleport a certain meatball-haired girl away, but it was unexpectedly dodged with agility by its target.
Hmph! Trying to use the same trick on me twice, Shirai-san? You're still too naive.
Immediately taking a step back, a conditioned reflex having formed from the earlier experience, Natsume-san easily evaded Shirai-san's 'sinful hand'.
"Shirai-san."
"Strictly speaking, I'm not officially a Judgment member until I complete all the procedures in two days. And according to our agreement, I'm not required to do these kinds of things."
Natsume-san stated righteously. Even if being helpful was her defining trait, she wouldn't let herself be conscripted so casually.
According to the agreement she signed with Judgment, she only needed to handle criminal incidents she happened to encounter.
If it was beyond her capabilities, she could choose to abandon the pursuit or call for backup. She wasn't required to do patrols or manhunts.
Of course, outside of the agreement, it all depended on whether Natsume-san felt like it or not.
Shirai-san left with her cheeks puffed out in anger, once again experiencing how troublesome a certain meatball-haired girl could be.
Although she was terribly unwilling to let Natsume-san and her Onee-sama return together, her sense of justice and her duties as a Judgment member suppressed that feeling, and she teleported away in a hurry.
On the way back to the dorm, Misaka-senpai helped carry some of Natsume-san's 'spoils,' but a worried look was on her face.
"Misaka-senpai, are you worried about Shirai-san?" Natsume Sonoko asked, noticing her senior's expression as they walked.
"Yeah. The enemy Kuroko is chasing now is strong. It can create giants made of earth and rock. Even though the giant was easily pierced by my Railgun, I still have a bad feeling about this." Misaka-senpai couldn't help but voice her concern.
Maybe it was her imagination, but that person gave her a very strange feeling, unlike a normal ability user.
"Is that so? Well, after we have dinner, let's go help Shirai-san together. Uiharu always has a location lock on her."
After thinking for a moment, Natsume Sonoko said seriously. Shirai-san could be annoying sometimes, but she didn't want anything bad to actually happen to her.
As for the tracking issue, maybe she could ask Uiharu to install a locator map for Shirai-san on her phone. Then she could always pinpoint a certain teleporter's location.
"But Natsume-san, didn't you just refuse Kuroko?" Misaka-senpai asked, surprised.
"That's because Shirai-san decided on her own without asking for my opinion. Sometimes I really can't stand her doing that." Natsume-san complained.
"You feel that way too, Natsume-san? During the Summer Festival last time, Kuroko made me so mad..."
Before they knew it, on this ordinary path leading back to the dorm, the two Level 5s reached a complete consensus regarding the misdeeds of a certain spatial teleporter.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.