Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:RailgunSS3 Chapter4 (section)

===Part 5===

By the time Mikoto made it back outside, night had fully fallen.

This road was always brightly lit up, but it was now illuminated even more garishly by plenty of red flashing lights. Several Anti-Skill vehicles were parked outside of ''the front facing part of'' Club Psychedelic Beach.

They had finally done it.

They had captured that girl with semi-long blonde hair and a light blue leotard.

They still did not know her name or exact esper power name, but the immediate threat was gone. They had not dealt with the actual villain belonging to the organization managing those keys, but they had a solid lead now. Once that leotard girl was questioned in the interrogation room, they were sure to get more details. Then they could find the name of whoever was at the top.

“It’s true we pushed you in that direction, but I’m impressed you pulled it off.”

That exasperated comment came from the adult Anti-Skill officer watching as the stretcher carrying the limp leotard girl was loaded into an ambulance.

Mikoto was pretty sure his name was Inoue.

Mikoto responded while making sure to deal with all the phones aimed their way by the onlookers standing behind the Anti-Skill tape.

“To be clear, we were only saving our friend. This wasn’t some weird form of thrill seeking. The rest is your job, so make sure you settle this.”

“We much prefer you leaving it with us. C’mon, Maeda, speak up.”

“…”

“Maeda, they were right. Since we’ve caught a new suspect red-handed, it’s pretty obvious whether or not Sakibasu Yuri was guilty.”

“Hmph…”

Maeda could not bring himself to bow in apology and Mikoto started quietly laughing at his behavior. He had not realized the onlookers’ cameras were not working. She would have felt bad forcing him through any more of this exchange.

Inoue gave a small bow in his colleague’s stead and changed the subject.

“So where is, um, Sakibasu-san? Also, your skirt looks kind of odd.”

“I don’t need your concern. Did you think you had some kind of winning hand with a night club, a middle school girl, and a broken zipper? I don’t know what kind of gross things you were imagining, but we weren’t attacked in that way. The only reason Sakibasu-san isn’t coming out yet is, well, let’s just call it her personal fashion sense. …I need to make sure she’s properly dressed when she goes outside from now on.”

“?”

Inoue tilted his head in confusion, but this was a difficult thing to explain tactfully.

Mikoto shrugged with her torn skirt held together by pins.

“I have an underclassman in Judgment, so can she handle the investigation of Sakibasu-san?”

“Oh, it isn’t about that. I just wanted to apologize to her in person. Maeda feels the same way. He just won’t say it.”

The ambulance gave a quick honk of its horn.

They looked over to see the EMTs gesturing over from the pop-up back door where the luggage would be loaded in a normal van.

Inoue sighed.

“I’ll accompany the suspect there. Sorry about all this, miss. We’ll give you a proper apology later.”

“You were just doing your job, right? Sakibasu-san understands that too.”

“Maeda, you stay here.”

“No, I’ll go too. Please don’t leave me here. I don’t think I could bear it.”

Inoue laughed quietly, bowed for his partner again, and then climbed into the ambulance carrying the attacker in a leotard. He and Maeda closed the back door and then the ambulance drove off with its siren blaring.

Mikoto did not know how this would end, but this was a clear dividing line.