Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:Item2 Chapter4 (section)

===Part 2===

“Oof.”

Still drenched, Takitsubo held limp Kinuhata below the arms and dragged her to a nearby room. That might not be enough to protect her from stray shots when espers of that level were fighting, but it was still better than leaving her where she was.

The clingy wet clothing felt gross.

Ammonium carbonate smelling salts would be meaningless even if Takitsubo could find some. There might be a drug that would work on the nano iron paint graffiti burned across the surface of the brain, but even a top quality(?) black market doctor had been hesitant to try anything there. It would probably be best to not break open the locked glass cover over the shelves and make a selection with her phone’s search engine in one hand. The most she could do for Kinuhata and Frenda was keep them in a position that wouldn’t obstruct their breathing.

Mugino Shizuri had not asked Takitsubo for assistance.

Ainame Caroline didn’t seem to be paying her any heed either.

But..

(I can still help.)

The track suit girl pulled a small case from her pocket.

She tried to sprinkle some of the white powder on the back of her hand but failed. An unnatural and unpredictable shaking caused the powder to fall to the floor.

“Kh.”

She clenched her teeth.

Her brow was soaked with sweat.

Even so, Takitsubo Rikou was a member of Item.

She could tell Mugino was having trouble fighting on her own. She had once been a victim of false accusations, which led to her rights being stripped away and brought her a step away from being a lab rat. The person who had rescued her from that life was again facing a foe with anger in her heart. If she screwed this up, an even more horrific reality was sure to present itself.

Even dark side villains would never abandon someone they had chosen as a teammate. Anyone who couldn’t even manage that was just a sack of shit.

Takitsubo once more grabbed the small case.

She sprinkled the white powder onto the back of her other hand.

The back of her throat was still stained red from coughing up blood before. She herself couldn’t fully explain what had happened when she fought Tachiuo Mary, so she decided she couldn’t expect it to happen a second time.

But that didn’t mean she could give up. Maybe she was a villain, but she had to consider every option available to her here.

(Using Body Crystal again so soon is pushing it, but I should be able to support Mugino from here.)