Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:MvM2 Depth8 (section)

===Part 5===

But whether the enemy was a fighter or a long-sleeved leotard butt, they were flying through the sky, had a radar lock, and could launch an air-to-air missile. That was an F-22A regardless. More than 60 seconds had passed since she got on Shirai’s tail. Even in a dogfight, there was only so long you could escape the wobbling seeker.

Once the two marks aligned and the lock was complete, the missile would be launched.

Mikoto had to act before that happened.

“Kuroko!!”

“No time for a count to three. Now!!”

Shirai released all her flares to confuse the F-22A just long enough for Mikoto fly in from behind and spray it with machinegun fire.

She didn’t wait for a complete lock.

At this range, Shirai’s flares could easily confuse it anyway.

Instead of launching a guided missile that would pursue the dozens of heat sources provided by the firework-like flares, the enemy girl(?) prioritized her own safety and took a sharp turn. She readily abandoned the position that would give her an advantage in locking on.

(As ridiculous as she looks, she’s really cautious!)

Mikoto quickly moved to pursue.

But all of a sudden, the F-22A vanished from view.

She now only saw the lock seeker wandering uncertainly near the center of her view.

The F-22A had twisted herself into a clockwise roll and then pitched her nose upwards. The craft coiled around while advancing forward.

When Mikoto realized what it had done, a chill ran down her spine.

Aircraft used air resistance to brake. One method was to swing the craft around wide to increase the surface area that caught the wind.

And distance was another important factor.

Which was longer: a 10cm wire stretched out straight or a wire coiled around a 10cm pen? The answer was obvious.

A quick movement could move a craft outside its enemy’s view, break a radar lock, and also rapidly brake to make the enemy overshoot it.

“''A barrel roll''!?” shouted Mikoto just as an alarm sounded inside her cockpit.

The F-22A was already directly behind the Shinshin.

(Damn, I could see her if I looked back, but I can’t fire a Railgun like this!!)

Overlooking the enemy’s rapid deceleration gave them a chance to turn the tables.

The F-22A and the Shinshin had been developed at around the same time. The Japanese stealth fighter had been developed as a rival to the American stealth fighter.

So there was little difference in their specs.

(Was this a skill issue on my part?)

A missile was launched from directly behind.

Mikoto couldn’t escape.

If she forcibly swung the craft around, she would only knock herself out from lack of blood to the brain.

So only one option remained.

She switched off the jet engines.

In midair.

Mid-flight.

Intentionally.

That was suicide, but the air-to-air missile sharply approaching from behind flew right past her.

The F-22A had shown concern over Shirai’s flares. That meant her missiles used an infrared guidance system that detected and pursued engine exhaust heat.

“So if I eliminate that heat source, it won’t hit me!!”

Mikoto wasn’t going to let this happen twice.

She yanked the nose up.

Even while flying freely in the supersonic world, basic gravity did not just go away. An aircraft used more energy climbing than descending. Which meant it would decelerate when directed upwards.

What happened if you forced that action while the engines were switched off?

''!?

She could have sworn she heard a gasp.

Something shot rapidly below the Shinshin. It was the F-22A that had been pursuing Mikoto’s craft from behind. Just like she had done to Mikoto before, Mikoto had tricked her into overshooting.

Mikoto reignited her engines.

Instead of operating the many switches and buttons, she directly manipulated electricity to control each wire separately. This was a forcible technique that only she could pull off. If she had attempted it with the usual manual controls, the engines might not have responded and she could have plummeted to the ocean below.

The wind and shockwave of the overshooting enemy rattled her craft, but Mikoto wasn’t about to let her quarry escape.

The F-22A and the lock seeker aligned.

Mikoto adjusted her grip on on the control column.

She only had to press the button below her thumb to launch an air-to-air missile.

But…

“…”

Was there any meaning behind her hesitation?

Mikoto used her index finger to pull the trigger on the control column to instead release a line of machinegun fire.

She avoided the giant girl’s bare skin and instead tried to chew through the thin armor on her right leg…which was probably part of the tail assembly.

There was no explosion.

Nor any red blood.

The F-22A’s flight destabilized, she couldn’t recover from her tailspin, and she began a gentle descent toward the blue sea below.

The girl had lost her wings.

At this speed and altitude, maybe it didn’t really matter either way.

“One down by machinegun.”

“The larger reading – probably a B-1B? – has turned,” said Shokuhou. “It appears to be leaving the area to the northwest. It probably felt exposed without its escort.”

“Onee-sama, should we go after it?”

“…No. Not if the ship is safe. We don’t want to pursue too far and end up without enough fuel to get back.”

Mikoto breathed a heavy sigh.

She felt an ache deep in her chest.

Was it her lungs or her heart that felt on the verge of tears?

Never again would she recklessly take to the skies in her summer uniform. Was the clear plastic canopy made with lead mixed in? She hoped desperately that it blocked the radiation and UV found at high altitude.

“Anyway, Shokuhou, can you send out a helicopter from the carrier? Or move the entire ship, if you would prefer.”

“Why?”

“Did it not show up on the radar? The display based on our shared datalink may have only shown a small dot with an ‘F-22A’ label, but you are not going to believe your eyes when you see this in person.”

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