Yuuya pressed the barrel of the Desert Eagle against Nunotaba's ribs. He draped his other arm around her shoulder and steered her deeper into the alley.
From the outside, it looked like a delinquent putting the moves on a girl. Or perhaps a lovers' quarrel.
But the reality was much colder.
He pinned her against the graffiti-covered wall, placing his free hand by her ear in a classic "Kabedon" pose.
"..."
Nunotaba was trapped. Her back was pressed against the brick, and the cold steel of the gun was digging into her chest.
"What do you want?" she asked, her voice flat. "Let me make this clear: if you try to do that to me, I'll kick your little brother into pieces."
Her dead-fish eyes stared straight into his wicked grin, showing zero fear of sexual assault.
If a normal person looked into those lifeless eyes, they would be unsettled. But Yuuya just chuckled.
"...Don't worry. I'm not that kind of lowlife."
His eye twitched slightly. 'Do I really look like a pervert? First the System, now her?'
"I'm threatening you to ensure cooperation. I've never killed anyone before, let alone a beautiful girl. I wouldn't stoop to something as tasteless as killing an innocent woman just to make a point."
"Girls are for teasing, not for killing. How dark must one's heart be to hurt a pretty face?"
Looking into his clear, dark eyes, Nunotaba found herself inexplicably believing him.
'He's rational,' she analyzed. 'He won't fire indiscriminately.'
"Good," Yuuya whispered, leaning closer. "Now, answer my questions."
"Tell me about the Level 6 Shift Project."
"Specifically: What stage is it at? Have the outdoor experiments started? Where are the labs located? And how long until the next phase?"
"Also... give me the access codes for the Bank's encrypted network."
Nunotaba's dead-fish eyes widened slightly.
She knew why he was here. But she couldn't believe he was saying it out loud.
"You... you want to interfere with the Absolute Ability Evolution Project?"
"You know too much. Just answer the question."
Yuuya slowly moved the barrel of the Desert Eagle down from her chest to her stomach. A deliberate intimidation tactic.
(Actually, the gun was empty. He had used all the ammo shooting cans earlier. He was just gambling on her fear.)
"Although I don't know how you found out about the Plan..." Nunotaba turned her head away, looking uncomfortable. "I'm sorry. I don't have that information."
"I'm just a researcher in charge of the 'Testament' learning device. I wasn't involved in planning the experimental sites or the schedule."
"Ah! That's a real shame."
Yuuya sighed and shook his head. A wicked smile played on his lips.
In a flash, he raised the gun and pressed it right between her eyes.
"Then... Sayonara."
Nunotaba's pupils contracted to pinpoints. Her face turned deathly pale.
She wanted to fight back, but her body froze. She heard the hammer click back.
'I'm doomed...'
Click.
The trigger snapped.
...Nothing happened.
Nunotaba stood there, bewildered, waiting for the bullet that never came.
"Just kidding~"
Yuuya grinned cheerfully. He holstered the gun and flicked her forehead with his finger.
"Phew..." Nunotaba let out a breath, her knees almost giving way.
Then, a wave of strange anger rose in her heart.
'This guy... he was just scaring me? His personality is twisted! I almost had a heart attack!'
Whack!
She raised her hand and chopped him on the head.
But Yuuya was faster. He caught her wrist effortlessly.
"It's not a good idea to attack the guy with the gun, Miss Nunotaba. Even if it is empty."
"You're a first-year high school student. I'm a third-year senior. Show some respect for your elders," she scolded, now that the fear of death had vanished.
"Come on. Do you really not know?" Yuuya shrugged, staring at her with half-closed eyes.
"I don't know the schedule," Nunotaba admitted. "But... tell me."
Her gaze sharpened.
"What do you hope to achieve by getting involved in this plan? I advise you to walk away. Once you step into the darkness, you can't step back out. It won't do you any good."
"Why? Of course, it's to save the Misaka Sisters. That's why I came to you."
Yuuya said it simply, his hands back in his pockets.
He knew the truth about her. Unlike other researchers, Nunotaba Shinobu appeared cold and aloof, but deep down, she was kind. She was currently plotting to stop the experiment herself by distributing cash cards to disrupt the observation data. She was willing to risk her life to atone for her sins.
"Save the Sisters?" Nunotaba blinked. "Why would you do that?"
"They are just experimental animals. They have no independent consciousness. No feelings. They are mass-produced dolls created for the sole purpose of dying. As long as there are materials, we can make thousands more."
She recited the party line, testing him.
Yuuya's expression shifted. The playful smirk vanished, replaced by a gaze of steel.
"Stop it."
"They are human beings. No matter how they were born... from the moment they took their first breath, they were human."
"So they don't have self-awareness yet? So they lack emotions? That just makes them sick patients who need treatment, not trash to be discarded."
"That's why I want to save them. Being born just to be killed for data? What a joke."
Nunotaba's dead-fish eyes trembled.
She stared at the boy in front of her. He spoke with absolute conviction.
Even knowing they were clones. Even knowing they were "dolls." He stood firm.
'There are only two kinds of people in this world who know the truth and still say such things...'
'Madmen. Or Saints.'
She was silent for a long moment.
"Do you know who is supporting this plan?" she asked quietly.
"You're trying to tell me that this plan is backed by the Board of Directors. By Aleister Crowley himself. So getting involved means fighting the entire city."
Yuuya smirked again.
"You think I'm a fool who has courage but no capability? Think again."
He clenched his fist.
With a casual motion, he gently tapped the brick wall behind her.
Crack.
He barely touched it. Yet, an invisible shockwave rippled through the structure. Spiderweb-like cracks exploded outward from the point of contact, shattering the bricks for three meters in every direction.
[Xiao-Li: Force Focus]
Nunotaba's eyes widened. "Level 2 Pyrokinesis... my ass."
Snap.
Yuuya snapped his fingers.
The air around them shimmered.
Suddenly, the narrow alley floor was covered in steel.
Dozens of firearms materialized from thin air.
AK-47s.
Rocket Launchers.
A crate of frag grenades.
Even the Desert Eagle in his hand vanished and reappeared on the pile.
"Spatial Teleportation?!" Nunotaba gasped, her jaw dropping.
....
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