Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:MvM2 Depth7 (section)

===Part 7===

Meanwhile, Mikoto’s squadron was making their carefree return to the carrier.

It was still just barely before dawn.

“Sigh, I’m exhausted. I need to recharge by eating something sweet.”

“Onee-sama, um, I don’t mean to be rude, but do you know what time it is? Enjoying some sweets at 3 in the morning seems a little barbaric to me.”

“Just wait an hour and it will be 4 in the morning, Railgun 01. That is the perfect time for some yogurt or cereal sprinkled with dried fruit to make it feel like a dessert☆”

Would their insistence on ordinary mealtimes and 8 hours of sleep go away once they began combat shifts on the carrier? Mikoto was a little worried.

(Ugh, I feel so sluggish.)

They hadn’t been in the air for long, but the weight of exhaustion pressed down on them now that the dogfight was over. It was like they had spent 20 or 30 minutes sprinting at full speed and now they were paying the price.

Was it that hard to sense the changes in their bodies when the fear of death and thrill of the speed had their adrenaline and dopamine pumping? They had been exposed to gs several times that of Earth’s gravity. Fighters really were designed without a concern for the human body. They defied the laws of nature.

And then…

“Hm? What is it, Brat 04?”

“Th-they’ve already withdrawn the air tanker for midair refueling on a long-distance mission. I’ve already repaid my debt, but now I’ll run out of gas and crash into the ocean before reaching land!!”

“Ugh, if you don’t want to die after working so hard to win, then stop being difficult and just land on the Izanami. C’mon, we’re heading back.”

They had all survived.

Mikoto needed to focus on that. If possible, she wanted to take a bath and then climb into bed. After all this effort, she wanted to sleep well past noon.

“Railgun 01 to Izanami. The skies are safe again, so we’re heading back. Prepare for our landing. Also, I can’t wait any longer, so have a baked custard or caramel latte ready for-”

Mikoto trailed off when she noticed something.

The Izanami had changed its heading.

“?”

Cruisers – and any oblong warship – had a direction they would want to be facing an enemy. For example, a cruiser’s close-in defense Gatling guns would be lined up along the port and starboard sides, so if it wanted to create a barrage to defend itself from an incoming missile or enemy fighter, it could fire the most Gatling guns if it had its side turned toward the enemy.

But while the enemy had come from the northwest this time, the Izanami’s position had shifted.

Why were they staring to the south?

(What is Shokuhou doing? Don’t tell me she forgot to account for the force of the waves and got swept around. But if it isn’t that…)

“Did…did they correct their position to face some other enemy?”

“Izanami to all squadrons,” said a tense voice. It belonged to Kobayashi, Shokuhou’s aide who was viewing the carrier’s early-warning radar screen in the idiot’s stead. “We have detected a new enemy 300km south of us. It is a 10 thousand ton landing ship. Please follow control’s instructions.”

“Huh!?” shouted Mikoto on reflex.

She felt like she had just worked hard to finish her homework only for her teacher to inform her she had done the wrong problems.

“Another enemy? You mean…we can’t land? Or refuel!? We have to battle a ship now!?”

A landing ship.

What did the 10 thousand tons mean? In this world, were warships 100m swimsuit girls backstroking through the ocean?

Hokaze radioed over for advice.

“My, my. What do I do, Railgun 01? I thought this would be an aerial battle, so I only have air-to-air missiles loaded. Should I attack them with my autocannon?”

“We’re talking about a 10 thousand ton hunk of steel. Do you really think you can sink that with 20mm bullets? O-Oneeee-samaaaa, how hard are they planning to work us out here?”

“There isn’t even a hint of dawn yet. The day hasn’t even begun, girls☆” said the giant curly blonde twintails girl flying alongside them. “Brat 4 to squadron. I do have anti-ship missiles. Admittedly, it’s only two short-range ones, but still.”

“That’s it!!”

YF-22A had been placed on 101 Squadron without any kind of resupplying after being captured on her carrier attack mission. That meant those anti-ship missiles had originally been meant to bring down Tokiwadai, but Mikoto was willing to accept anything if it would work.

Mikoto scratched at her head, irritated by her craving for something sweet.

“Okay, the rest of us will escort Brat 04 into anti-ship missile range. If she’s taken out, we lose our trump card and I do not want to fight a marathon battle against this big boss!!”

“Carrier Izanami to all squadrons! No, stop! No attack ability! We are in serious trouble if they decode these encrypted transmissions!! Do not cause any trouble! You need to act ladylike for now!!”

“?”

Mikoto frowned.

It was unusual to hear Shokuhou Misaki so panicked in the face of an enemy. The stronger the enemy, the more that wicked girl rejoiced because she could make them into her pawn.

On the other hand, her behavior seemed somehow familiar.

Yes, it was like after lights out in the dorm when you would climb into bed and pretend to sleep until the night patrol had moved on.

But wait.

Why did that particular scene come to mind?

(What is going on?)

Then it happened.

“Hello, Misaka.”

The staticky voice over the radio was enough to produce a cold sweat on the lovely young lady’s back.

Her instincts bypassed her reason to raise the white flag.

She must not fight this person. Even considering it was suicidal. Being a Level 5 or the student of an elite school meant squat against that monster.

That voice…

That voice!!!

“It breaks my heart as the dorm manager charged with supporting a proper life for you fools, but I hear you have been breaking just about every school rule in the book as you enjoy your life in this world.”

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