Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:RailgunSS3 Chapter3 (section)

===Part 7===

“This place here,” said Saten over the social media app.

“Sa10> A while back, everyone was talking about how the subway tunnel makes a weird turn here. The rumor was they built it that way to avoid an underground power spot because there were so many accidents during construction.”

“GK> A power spot? But there is a reference to it in the Judgment records. That was where a so-called Mr. Inertia used the sharp curve to lean up against high school girls on the packed train.”

Most of the information was just plain awful, but Mikoto was thankful to at least know the right location.

She Railgunned a big hole in the road and hopped down through there.

“Onee-sama, we need to have a family meeting once this is all over.”

“Are you checking to see if I’m calm enough to take issue with the ‘family’ part?”

It was a narrow passageway made from plain concrete. It was like the secret exit from a lab. They had cut in somewhere in the middle, so it extended far ahead of them and behind them. Mikoto and Shirai nodded before setting off in opposite directions.

By this point, Mikoto felt incredibly dumb for having started all this in their uniforms, but they did not have time to go change right now.

“Can you not predict where they’re headed?”

“GK> That would be difficult. I can predict the path of the underground passageway using the areas that slip through the gaps of the other underground structures, but I can’t tell you what surface buildings it connects to.”

“Misaka-saaan.”

Mikoto turned around in surprise when someone called her name from behind.

For some reason, Sakibasu Yuri was catching up to her with violin case in hand. Unlike a certain unathletic Queen, this black kneesocks girl was surprisingly active.

“Sakibasu-san? How did you find your way here?”

“Your footprints. Since you stepped on all that cornstarch I scattered around earlier, I can use my Carbon Search to track the invisible footprints you left behind. …Although I was trying to follow the ones the leotard girl left.”

“…”

“Oh, the cornstarch was of course expired and about to be disposed of. I like to go the eco-friendly and non-wasteful route.”

With powers, it was all in how you used them.

Mikoto could see why Shokuhou Misaki found this girl interesting enough to accept her into her clique.

Sakibasu may not have been aware of her own value, though.

“Oh I know. Misaka-san, you and Shirai-san wear the same school-designated loafers as I do, so the soles should all have the same general design. I should have ignored those and tracked just the pointe shoe prints.”

“Um, Sakibasu-san? Can you still do that? I’m pretty sure she went this way.”

“Yes, of course.”

From there, the curly black twintails girl took the lead.

It did not take long once she found the footprints in that straight passageway. The passageway made a few 90-degree turns along the way and there were some three-way and four-way intersections, but Sakibasu never hesitated when choosing the route. She continued onward and eventually arrived at a metal door.

“Uiharu-san, check the map at my phone’s GPS location. What’s above me?”

GK> Um, a club? I think???”

Uiharu’s response was full of question marks, but that may not have been a problem with the map data. She may have just been unfamiliar with clubs in general.

A lot of time had passed since they met up after school, so it would be late evening or early night up on the surface. But if this was another place where no one used the front entrance, they could cover up all the windows 24/7 like a movie theater or planetarium and play loud dance music whenever they wanted.

“The door has an electronic lock, so I can open it at any time.”

“GK> Even if you use your power, any method you’ve used once will be registered.”

“Sa10> Registered?”

“GK> An AI server called Zero-Day Link will tag the method based on risk level and send it straight to the virus storage center. So keep in mind you can’t use the same method twice.”

“What will you do, Shirai-san?” asked Sakibasu.

“True T-Tails> I will meet up with you two of course! I will be right there, so wait just a moment!!”

“No. Uiharu-san, the club has a public-facing side too, right? I don’t care if it’s incomplete. Pull up the layout and send it to Kuroko’s phone. Kuroko, you head to the surface and watch the front exit. You’ve seen what that leotard girl looks like, right?”

“True T-Tails> Onee-sama!”

“I can’t leave this job to Uiharu-san or Saten-san. This is meaningless if the attacker can just escape the club, so we have to catch her here. We’re going to end this ridiculous incident and bring safety back to our lives. Got that?”

“True T-Tails> …My position is being threatened by an invasive species…”

“Kuroko.”

“True T-Tails> Fine, fine. I get it!”

Mikoto then glanced over at Sakibasu.

“If the attacker specifically chose this as a destination, she must hope to accomplish something here. That means the odds are good she has a plan to fight back. I don’t know if it will be with a gun or with her powers or if she will be on her own or with a group. You wait here. I’ll crush the threat on my own.”

“I get that.” Sakibasu showed her impatience and nerves by rubbing her black kneesocked thighs together. “But this underground passageway is also a secret area someone doesn’t want found, isn’t it? It seems to branch off all over the place, so if it connects to other locations, I might run into someone arriving from a different building. The risk inside the club doesn’t seem any greater than in the tunnel.”

“…”

“Plus, you haven’t seen what she looks like, have you? The leotard stands out, but that’s why she will probably change out of it to escape. It would be safer for both of us if I went with you.”

“…Okay. Watch my back.”

“Will do☆”

The metal door had an electronic lock, so Mikoto’s powers could easily open it.

But opening it was bound to cause something to happen.

It was Mikoto’s group against the attacker. One side would win and the other would lose.

That was like the door to hell.

But if they did not cross that threshold, they would be forced to continue living in fear of attack from assassins sent by an unseen villain. Not even Mikoto could look after Shirai, Uiharu, Saten, and Sakibasu 24-hours a day.

She had to accept this challenge to reclaim peace in their lives.

Mikoto held her palm toward the electronic lock panel and made an announcement.

“Let’s do this, Sakibasu-san!!”

<noinclude>
{{Toaru_Nav|prev=Toaru_Majutsu_no_Index:RailgunSS3_Chapter2|next=Toaru_Majutsu_no_Index:RailgunSS3_Chapter4}}
</noinclude>