compyuutah | standing in the middle of roads upon arrival is becoming tradition

Entry tags:

standing in the middle of roads upon arrival is becoming tradition

[Funny, how your life can change in an instant. Baroona had already experienced it enough. Twice recently–both arrivals to the City. But after a year he had assumed he was stuck there. A permanent fixture in a futuristic city he had only just started to get used to.

He was wrong.

From laying in the park to sitting up in a dirtied alleyway, the change was instantaneous. A quick look around guarantees that he's alone, allows for a moment of panic. Check to make sure everything is still here: knives, cigarettes, lighter, clothes... translator? Baroona stares down at it curiously, it's presence oddly comforting in his hand. He keeps it there and stands, listening and looking.

It looks like the City. There's a thick crowd at the end of the alleyway and brightly colored balloons passing by overhead. He recognizes it from the City. A parade? Maybe. It's certainly noisy enough.

This isn't going to be fun.

With a sigh, he presses forward anyway, slipping through and around people, taking himself to the front. People glare as he pushes past but get distracted before there's any issues. A float passes by. Baroona regards it plainly. Definitely a parade. What a pain.

Looking past the floats and balloons, Baroona studies the buildings, looks for something familiar. But familiarity is hard to spot when everything looked foreign in the first place. It's hard to tell. A quirk of a frown pulls at his lips as he moves towards another tactic. He fits the translator into his ear, and pushes it on.

At first, all goes well. The strange language being spoken around him gets translated. Yeah, I'm– and then cut off. Static fills his ears instead, loud and merciless. Baroona bows forward, clutching his ear with a wince. The people around him notice and give him space but he can't tell. The static changes to feedback-a high-pitched scream drilling into his head. He winces again and stumbles forward, into the parade and in front of the float. Still, Baroona doesn't notice. Not until the translator is out of his ear and thrown on the ground does he even look up, shoulders slumping.

The people on the float look down at him, shocked. The parade comes to a temporary halt. Security closes in on him from all sides and people shout foreign words from the sidelines. But all Baroona can hear is his own breath as he looks over the float as a thought occurs to him.

He has no idea where he is.]

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

[Baroona knows better than to trust a drunk's word. Douglas has given him enough experience in that. Still, there's a lingering curiosity to how true her words are.

The more she seems to hate something, the more she actually likes it. Did that explain her weird behavior? There had never been a doubt in Baroona's mind that they were friends but had always figured her anger was sincere. Could it truly be just a cover-up?

And honorifics? Baroona didn't know what that was. He figured Mikoto had known that but could there be a chance that there was something else to it? That she permitted it out of fondness?

It all seemed so minor to mean anything.

He dismisses it. Spends the rest of the walk placating her mother with murmered comforts and quiet promises he may or may not keep in the future. Lulling her to sleep. By the time they arrive in front of what he thinks is a hotel, she's been asleep for awhile.

Troublesome.

It disrupts his plan of leaving her and running, hiding away so no one will see his face. So Mikoto will have less problems to deal with.

Looks like there's no avoiding it now.

With a sigh, he trumps up the steps, past the doorman and into the reception area, blinking wildly as he's faced with bright fluorescent lights and smiling receptionists. Their cheer fades as they watch him recover, stepping back a bit and glancing down. Fancy locales had never been his specialty.

"Can we help you sir?" A brave brown-haired women pipes up from behind the desk. He looks at her, bewildered and lost.]

I need Mikoto.

What's that supposed to mean?

[Said with one raised brow as he closes the gap between them, trying to peek over her shoulder at what she's writing. Curiosity killed the cat.]

Who are you talking to?

[The receptionists proceed to stare at him. And just when things couldn't get any more awkward and bizarre, the elevator dings. Its doors slide open, and out comes one Misaka Mikoto, who ha decided to take it upon herself to embark on a one-woman citywide search for Misaka Misuzu, despite it being, oh, 1:30 AM.

Needless to say, she doesn't need to look very far. The moment she looks up from growling and muttering irritably to herself, she sees several things incredibly wrong with this picture. There is Baroona, looking like his actual gender. There is her mother. Drunk. Asleep.

In his arms. Now, she knows he's no lothario, but...it's taking every ounce, right down to the very last drop, of her will to not outright send lightning bolts hurtling through this entire lobby at this unnerving sight.

A foreign anger swells from somewhere just as unknown, for reasons unknown. But the horror before her is what's triggering it; that much is certain.

Mikoto's eye twitches, as does the right side of her mouth.] What the hell is---

["......YOU....!"

Mikoto and the hotel staff end up gawking as Shirai Kuroko, still clad in her unfortunate lingerie, abruptly teleports into the scene, right in front of Mikoto herself.

"Onee-sama, get back! I will handle this!"]

Uh...exactly what I said.

[COME ON, NOW. Mikoto, upon sensing his approach, smoothly puts her phone down. Tosses him a feigned nonchalant look.]

It's just Kuroko worrying again. Nothing important.

[Though, she makes sure to also covertly put her cell phone on vibrate, with the press of a button.

Have fun uncovering the mysteries of modern technology, Sherlock.]

[Instinct takes over when Kuroko pops in. Baroona takes a step back, turning his body towards her in order to protect Misuzu. It only takes him a moment to realize that it's not necessary. It's hard to be mad when the girl poised to attack him is dressed in... lingerie. He settles down, turning fully back towards them and looking directly at Mikoto.]

I found her outside. She said she was your mother.

[Lifting her as he speaks seems to make her stir, curling further around him. There's a twitch of a frown as a hand pulls down the collar of his shirt but he deals with it. Can't spare a hand to guide her away.]

I thought she'd be safer here.

[The streets aren't any place for a drunk this late at night.]

Is that a problem?

[Meeting Mikoto straight on for that, his question asking more than what it seems to be. It's a challenge on multiple levels–is it a problem that he's there, is it a problem that he's not disguised, that he would actually want to feel normal for once? His stare is a challenge–daring her to say yes.]

I thought you said she was trouble.

[With suspicion, he watches Mikoto put it away though his interest evaporates once its out of site. He lights another cigarette because I forget if he was already smoking one, yolo.]

Should we get going?

She is, but she's also my friend. She's being dumb about it, but she's just worried.

[Mikoto looks fairly sheepish when she says that last bit, scratching her chin. Kuroko was a monumental pain in the tuchus at times (well, 98.76% of the time, for accuracy's sake), but she was always there for Mikoto, no matter what. She went through pains to have her back and support her---and in all honesty? Mikoto couldn't ask for a better friend.

Even if that friend sexually harrassed her, but it wasn't as if Mikoto couldn't defend herself.

When she catches a whiff of the cig as they exit the alleyway back into the sidewalk, Mikoto shoots Baroona a pointed look.

And that's when her cell phone goes off. Perfect timing...!] Oh, and Baroona---while I don't care if you smoke, the authorities here do, especially since we're out here in the open again and they'll get on you stat if they detect the smoke. Put that out.

["Unhand Misaka-san, you fiend! I am going to count to ten! If you don't put her down by then, expect consequences!"

Kuroko, glaring all types of daggers and other pointy objects at Baroona, takes out her famous throwing pins, holding them between her fingers, ready to let them fly should he make any sudden movements again. Mikoto, meanwhile, continues letting her eye twitch, eventually cringing and turning a bright red as Misuzu proceeds to...ah, try to strip him. Or something.

But that's the thing. She can see in his eyes that he's trying to confront her about something.

Kuroko on the other hand, lets out a screech as Misuzu yanks at his collar, burying her face in his neck. The hotel staff looks deeply (unsure) as they debate either letting this freakshow run its course or giving Anti-Skill a call.

"1! 2! 3! 4..."

Mikoto doesn't have a problem with any of that. She doesn't blame him. She actually feels bad for making him going along with her scheme, but at the same time, she can't let him get involved in the secrets of Academy City.

She couldn't let him see what they did to high-level Espers like her. She knows he wouldn't let it lie. But he's no match for the opponents she goes up against. Even a Level 2 could overpower him.

Mikoto swallows, furrowing her brow, looking from him to her mother, and to Kuroko, who looks about to throttle him on the spot.]

Baroona. Put Mom down. I...

[Kuroko stops counting, frowning at Mikoto. "Onee-sama?"]

Kuroko, stay with Mom. I'll take care of this.

[She supposes she should come clean. Mikoto takes a deep breath, looking off to the side as she steps toward Baroona. Whispers---]

We need to talk. Alone.

[There's almost an audible record scratch that shakes through the air when she says that. Baroona stops short, staring at her with a mixture of horror and anger.]

What?

[He glances at her before stepping forward and gently placing her mother down in one of the lobby lounge chairs. It takes a few minutes to disentangle her from his clothes but he manages, casting an unimpressed glance at Kuroko before following Mikoto outside.]

Won't this look more suspicious?

[Mikoto sighs loudly and grunts.

Yet another hurdle she's going to have to make her way past. As if getting him to go along with her (hare-brained) plan wasn't difficult enough...

ALSO, SHE HAS A TEXT TO READ. IT IS VERY URGENT.]

Well, obviously, it's bad for you, and most people here are underage. So...they don't allow smoking, except in certain designated spots, but... [She huffs. The very last thing she needed was him getting into brawls with more undesirables, so she really can't believe she's telling him all of this---

---But then again, she doesn't want him to feel anymore caged in than he probably felt already.] ...You're gonna have to deal with thugs.

[A beat.]

And some of them have powers, too.

[Kuroko tosses him her worst look as she goes over to the passed-out Misuzu, but quickly turns her attention to Mikoto thereafter, frowning sharply. "Onee-sama, what is going on here? Do you know him?"

Mikoto herself steels her expression. Briefly clenches her fists.]

Ask Konori-senpai. All I can say is this:

[She fixes Kuroko with something of a protective look. Sure, the latter was her best friend, but Baroona had become an equally significant figure in her life, and she would defend him without a second thought as well.] He isn't going to hurt me.

[Kuroko stares at her, bewildered, but Mikoto shakes her head.] Please.

[Ultimately, Kuroko looks warily from Mikoto to Baroona, and exhales, throwing her hand up in defeat. "Very well, onee-sama. But he brings up a good point, amazingly."

She casts him a dark look; Mikoto pulls up the hood of her hoodie.]

It won't look weird if no one recognizes me. I'll be back, Kuroko.

[She walks past Baroona.]

Let's go.

[He grunts in amusement, making no signs to put out his cigarette.]

I can deal with them.

[Powers or no. That was how the City had been, wasn't it? There wasn't much difference. More importantly:]

I'm going to smoke.

[No arguments.]

[Baroona sighs, ignoring the glare Mikoto's friend is blatantly shooting at him. He follows her, walking past the bewildered receptionists that are too confused by the whole spectacle to comment. It isn't until they're out of earshot that he speaks up again.]

You're making a bigger deal out of this than it should be.

[Mikoto simply groans and slaps her forehead, but...well, in his case, she knows better than to get between a man and his smokes. And since ne'er-do-wells around here had a surprisingly large population...

...She supposed she could compromise, but...considering they're reaching the mall, and people are looking at Baroona funny, she still has to put her foot down.] Just save some idiots for me, okay? But, I'm serious! We're headed indoors! You can smoke lat---

["Smoke detected"----

Mikoto lets out a growl.

God

dammit. She tosses Baroona her worst look. Honestly, she wasn't prepared to live the Thug Life™ this early!] Go in! Now!

No, you don't understand.

[Mikoto shakes her head, exhaling, remembering the conversation she had with Konori just the other day---at first she thought it would be about maybe helping out Judgment with something, but it turned out to be a topic that hit close to home.

Really, really close to home. Like, standing right next to her close.

"Misaka-san, there's been sightings of strange people wearing white."

"Jeez, more idiots trying to do illegal, inhumane research? You know, if we got paid for every time we dealt with spooks like that..."

"Tell me about it, but...it may actually concern you. Or rather, your friend."

"......What?"

"They were asking people if they've seen someone matching his description. Without the wig and the glasses, obviously. Anti-Skill has been looking into it, but you never know. I think you should warn him."

Mikoto swallows. Her fist clenches.]

Remember when I mentioned secret experiments?

[Baroona gives her a look but throws her a dime–stomping out his cigarette before darting inside. The automatic doors still freak him out, though not as much as the scope of the mall they walk into. Gigantic and sprawling, he stands in the lobby dumbfounded and with people staring. Ignoring the people, he looks towards the lights, fluorescent and mind-numbing, glittering off the sleek metallic surfaces everywhere. He looks to his most despised–the escalators that have single-handedly taken the place of stairs and a twin shaft of elevators, dinging and opening incessantly. With an almost worried expression, he glances back towards Mikoto.

Help.]

Yeah.

[He doesn't necessarily get it, though. It's not that it's a hard concept so much as he's never seen anyone do it. In his world inside a world–the people he's met, the things he's seen–"experiments" are rare, if there at all. It's hard for him to imagine what they'd include, nevermind them actually being present and... applicable to his life.

Mikoto's question strikes him as odd and he immediately runs through the possible connections to it and what just happened.]

Is your mother part of them?

[Just as she's about to dart right in after him, Mikoto takes a peek at her phone (finally), and scans the following message from Saten:]

sweet lolita if you wanna be daring but i'd just stick with stuff that's preppy and simple!! :> what's up? giving someone a makeover?

[Mikoto has to stifle a laugh as she quickly puts her phone away, but that quickly dies down the moment she sees Baroona standing rather rigidly a few steps away, looking fairly panicked. Her snort morphs into a small groan.

Soooo...first public transportation, and now modern establishments.

What luck. You know, if he wasn't an important person in her life...]

......We're going to have to stick to the ground floor, aren't we?

[He can hear the exasperation in her voice and he throws a stubborn glance back.]

I'm fine.

[Said maybe a bit too stiffly. He turns back towards the escalators, reluctantly walking towards them. Occasionally glancing back just to make sure Mikoto is following him–especially when he freezes at the base. Then it's just a back and forth between her and the steps sliding out and up, their teeth jutting out like fangs. Baroona clutches the railing for support, noticing that it moved a moment to late. It drags him forward and he stumbles onto the escalator, freezing once he's regained his balance and death-gripping the stupid moving railing as he looks down at Mikoto, terrified.]

Hah, no. She's just a normal---well, okay, not normal, as you saw, but she's just a regular person. No powers. My dad's normal, too. Me turning out to be an Esper was just dumb luck.

[Mikoto forces a laugh---she really can't imagine her mother strutting around in a lab coat, much less really getting into science. Her dad had equally as little to do with Espers---he was a businessman, and traveled abroad.

And she liked it that way. It made things easier to deal with. After a small pause, Mikoto looks up at the sky.

It's a full moon out. For a moment, she's a bit awestruck. She's never really gotten the chance to go stargazing. But, she had to focus. Her expression turns serious once more.]

But there are other people out there who are looking for ways to discover the perfect Esper. Whether it's by drugs, cloning, modifying people...you name it, they've probably tried it. I don't doubt someone's keeping an eye on me, and the people I know.

[A beat, and she looks at Baroona.]

You included. So...be careful, okay? I....

[She proceeds to look embarrassed, looking off to the side.]

...Wouldn't want you to get hurt because of stuff like that.

[There's only so much Baroona recognizes from what she says. Human modification, drugs. Things he's familiar with mostly by name. And that one time Tom drugged him.

More importantly, he's confused as to why she's concerned about him. They're interested in espers, she said. Not humans. Not Level Nothing's or whatever he was. What has he got to worry about?

He looks at her, confused.]

I don't understand.

[His brow wrinkles in his confusion. He takes a step closer.] Why would they come after me?

[Oh, she's following him, if only to prevent today's installment of When Doing It Wrong Goes.....Wrong from going any further south, undertaking the directorial duties of one, trying not to facepalm and two, ignoring the bewildered stares of shoppers, including a little boy's exclamation of, "wow, that looks fun!" (it doesn't) as he stares in awe at Baroona gripping onto that railing Bond-style as she practically bounds her way up the escalator to catch up to him.

She sighs.]

You could've waited for me to get on it with you, you know. And you can do that with one hand. You're not going to fall.

I have more enemies than you think, Baroona. People around here don't just fight using their powers---they fight with information.

[Mikoto raises her hand, and starts flicking a small arcade token up and down between her fingers. Level 0s aren't worthless, contrary to popular belief. In fact, they're the most ideal test subjects, being blank slates to be modified and augmented to whatever extent was deemed fit.

Mikoto shudders as she thinks back to Saten's coma, to the children she saw in Kiyama's memories, to Erii and the Child Errors. How they all suffered as pawns in the search for Level 6.

Who's to say it wouldn't happen to Baroona? He clearly was different from everyone else---unique despite not having powers.

And if it became known that he was from a completely different universe...]

I mean, what better way to strike at a leader than to target those close to them, you know? You should be familiar with that concept.

It's shaking.

[With a glare, he wobbles a bit on his step as demonstration. He has every reason to remain clutching for dear life on this death trap, excuse you.

Still, the torture ends soon enough as the steps rise and flatten out. Baroona gingerly steps off, visibly relaxing at the solidity of the ground.]

You never told me your world hated stairs.

[And cigarettes. And everything else he enjoys. Can you tell he's cranky?]

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Page 3 of 4

standing in the middle of roads upon arrival is becoming tradition

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject