You can hear me, right?
I avoided the communications system when I smashed this thing.
From here on, if I ever see one of these
or one goes near one of my friends,
even for an instant,
then no matter where you are, I swear I will find you...
...and crush you.
He ran away.
Well, any memories linked to Shokuho are either erased or overwritten,
so it wouldn't matter.
There isn't much information to speak of in the truck, either.
They are careful, anyway.
I could tell as soon as they sent that robot out,
but this isn't the work of amateurs.
A vehicle this big would have no choice but to take the main roads.
There are only so many routes it could have taken.
If I trace back where it came from using the security cameras,
I should be able to find where they're holding her.
"A Certain Scientific Railgun T"
Have you still not picked up Miss Misaka's trail?
No.
I guess that's that. Well, let's go in teams of three again and search--
Sorry, but we have a competition that's about to start.
And we can't really have this many of us skip out.
Aw, man!
Well, those of us who are left will start looking!
If only our Queen were here right now. Has anyone been in contact with her?
Not since last night.
--Um, who's the "Queen"? --Where could she be?
They mean Miss Shokuho Misaki, from our school.
The girls in her clique refer to her as their Queen.
Oh, yeah? Queen, huh?
Wasn't Shokuho Misaki someone who could manipulate memories?
Those blue-blood girls really are unusual.
Thank you very much.
Miss Wannai, what is Miss Kongo's condition?
According to what the doctor said,
luckily, none of her trauma should leave any permanent scars.
As for the nanodevice, they are sending it to an agency that specializes in them.
So it's safe for us to breathe easy, then?
I believe so. There is one other thing we can do...
I hate to keep troubling you about this.
Not at all.
So then, um,
are you able to speak to cats?
No. My ability is psychometry.
That's a completely different class than telepathy,
so it's not as though I can communicate with them.
All I can do is read the fragments of an animal's qualia--
meaning their sensory experiences, but it does have the benefit
of being able to pick up on information that the cat itself may not be able to understand.
Oh...
You said yesterday around noon, right?
Yes, that is what we heard.
All right...
It was... at a construction site or a stockyard.
"Development Permit Notice"
There was a tall man there. Oh, and someone else--a girl, it looks like.
They started talking.
"One way or another, we have the initiative."
"We don't have time to bother with that now."
"What's happening with Auribus oculi fideliores sunt?"
That's Latin. "The eyes are more trustworthy than the ears."
Could that be some kind of cipher?
Um...
Hmm, I think anything beyond that might be difficult.
The kitty seems to have been pretty shaken up.
Oh, no, thank you very much. While it might not mean anything to us,
it could prove to be useful information to Miss Misaka.
Miss Saten, do you have your cell phone?
Oh, yes, right here.
The situation being what it is,
I think it's best if we contact Miss Misaka right away.
Could we ask you to call her for us?
You bet.
All right, thanks for your assistance.
We will be in Miss Kongo's hospital room if anything comes up.
Roger that! Now then...
Wait, I don't know Misaka's phone...
...num... ber...?
"Misaka Mikoto"
I have her saved?
It's taking too much time checking the cameras at all key intersections.
They could make a run for it before I even find them.
"Tokiwadai Middle School takes 1st in Balloon Sandwich"
It looks like Mikoto is doing pretty well. Nice, nice.
There, there, everything will be okay.
--You don't need to worry. I'll stay with you.
--I know that head. --You don't need to worry. I'll stay with you.
Uiharu!
Ms. Misuzu!
Who is that?
A lost boy.
Huh? In this crowd? That's a big deal. Do you want some help?
Oh, no, I've already asked his father to come to us.
You have?
Yes. Everyone's entrance pass is equipped with GPS, including your own,
so our headquarters can look up the location of any visitor.
It's Papa! Papa!
Please be careful, okay?
"Entrance pass" "Misaka Misuzu"
You don't say.
I was wondering how you were able to manage this many spectators.
You have everything under control, don't you?
Yes, but, if you hack into that system,
it makes it easy to locate specific visitors...
Misaka Mikoto's mother.
I thought one hostage would be enough,
but this is the third-ranked Level 5 I'm dealing with.
I think having one other would be more reassuring.
So what is this urgent matter you wanted to talk to me about?
Well, um...
I have many things to do. Please make this quick.
Mm-hmm...
The thing is...
So what is her condition?
Her life isn't in any danger,
and Wannai and Awatsuki are watching her, so I think she'll be okay.
I see. All of that happened to Kongo Mitsuko...
Mm-hmm. Misaka seemed awfully angry about it.
I think maybe she feels responsible.
Once again with Misaka Mikoto.
I think I have a handle on the situation.
But the part about Misaka Mikoto possibly being one of our friends
is a bit of a leap, is it not?
"Misaka Mikoto"
Yeah, I'm just saying, "possibly."
There's an esper at Tokiwadai who can manipulate memories, right?
You think that Shokuho Misaki tampered with our memories?
For what reason?
Moreover, if you believe that, why did you not contact Uiharu?
Because if my guess is correct,
telling Uiharu about it might not be...
I-In any case,
I have a message for Misaka, so why don't we ask her directly?
Well, I suppose you leave me no choice. As a member of Judgment,
this does not appear to be a situation I can ignore.
Who would be calling me now?
Miss Saten?
H-Hello?
Oh, um,
is this Miss Misaka? My name is Saten Ruiko.
Oh, mm-hmm. Thanks for everything at the hospital.
I appreciate you telling me what happened.
--Oh, well, um, I heard from Wannai... --Why is she so nervous?
...that you're looking for your sister, right?
Anyhow, we had someone who can do psychometry check out her cat.
I see.
Still, I'm sorry. I appreciate you investigating,
but I have no idea what this girl who could be Shokuho
and the man who was with her were talking about.
Yeah, well, about that, they did mention a name I'm quite familiar with.
Huh? Really?
I'd like to find out more about our relationship with you, too.
Is there someplace where we could meet up?
Mm-hmm, all right.
Where are you right now?
The plaza in front of the terminal station building in School District 15,
on the upper level.
Oh, we're pretty close to there.
Okay, you wait there, and I'll have Shirai pick you up and bring you here.
Hey, I am not a taxi!
Kuroko is there with you?!
I-I told you, please do not use my name so casually!
Miss Misaka?
There is a little something I was hoping you might tell me.
I'm a little busy right now.
I don't have time to be chatting with strangers.
However, if you have something to do with the people who hurt my friend,
then that's another matter.
Whoa, just like that, you're in combat mode. But then,
what do you say to this?
"#7 Auribus oculi fideliores sunt. (The eyes are more trustworthy than the ears)"
Miss Uiharu?!
Now, now, let's start with having you hang up the phone you're holding
and getting rid of it.
Good, good.
I don't need to introduce myself, do I?
I mean, you attacked so many of our villas and made off with our data.
Villas? Attacked?
What are you talking about?
Non, non, you can't play dumb. You've been sniffing around,
so you know what I'm about to ask, don't you?
The clones of you that are known as "Sisters"--
where exactly are they hiding? I've done a thorough investigation
into how you interfered with Project Level 6 Shift.
It's not like you wouldn't know what happened to your "Sisters"
once the project went belly up.
Where are the clones who are still in Academy City being kept?
What's going on here?
Is she not working together with Shokuho?
We're scouring dark side intelligence networks in high gear,
but whenever we search for "Sisters," our leads always come up empty.
Which organization has the souped-up security to keep them?
I don't know who you people are,
but what is it you want to do so badly that you'd assault my friends?
Oh, dear, after everything else, you can ask something like that?
If you ask me, you're the one who's messed up
if you can just blithely live here in the city like this.
I mean, you know, after everything you've seen.
The inhuman atrocities that were carried out to achieve Level 6;
the human experimentation that went on using Child Errors;
using negotiators to swindle people out of their DNA maps--
It's not like activities such as these were carried on by only one organization.
If you trace them backward, they all lead back to Academy City's higher-ups.
You are aware that this whole city is one big proving ground.
No, you aren't like the other students who know nothing about this.
And yet you turn a blind eye to the truth and live your non-committal life here.
I'm impressed that you could be so nonchalant.
You know, I...
Never mind.
That has nothing to do with this.
It's unrelated to the fact that you brought harm upon my friends.
I have nothing to tell you.
Now let Miss Uiharu go.
My shocks will go through you much faster than that knife.
"Miss Uiharu," huh?
So you do know her! She was pretty chummy with your mother,
so I suspected as much.
My mother...?
Is that...? Mama!
A second hostage!
Not even you can take out two people at once, can you?
The lives of these two far outweigh the location of the clones, right?
So I'll ask you again, where are the Sisters?
And I'll say this one more time, too. I have nothing to tell you.
Oh, my, you don't think I'm bluffing, do you?
Or are you willing to abandon both of them?
I...
...am going to save Miss Uiharu.
Even if it costs me my life.
I swear it.
Does that mean you don't need your mother? How mean--
Oh, seriously?
Oh, dear, negotiations have broken down. Sorry about this, Mom.
I hate to have to end this with her taking me so lightly,
so if you must blame someone, blame Mikoto for letting you die--
She had a friend lurking nearby?!
Her breathing, pulse, and body temperature are normal.
From what I can see, she is not injured.
She ran away.
I would like to go after her, but the safety of the hostage comes first.
Besides, I can ask her what happened.
Miss Uiharu is all right. She doesn't appear to be hurt.
Please back away!
Huh? Hold on...
Judgment!
You are under arrest for kidnapping and assault--
Kuroko! Get away from her!
That girl... isn't human?!
My bolts have no effect.
Kuroko, teleport these two someplace safe.
My shocks didn't work, either.
Can I blow her away with my railgun?
Huh?
She melted?
Is that...
some kind of liquid metal?
It looked like she was controlling it remotely like a puppet.
So why did she suddenly stop?
I don't know.
If this is that girl's ability, then maybe she fled out of range.
Well, having Mikoto die wouldn't work for us anyhow.
I have to admit,
negotiating with her head-on is difficult.
Can't help it, though. She can do lots of stuff on the other end of the camera.
Still, I should be glad I got anything at all out of this.
Villas? Attacked?
What are you talking about?
I brushed it off back there, but she would gain nothing by denying it.
Eyewitness reports had me convinced that it was Mikoto,
but maybe it's possible that the testimony was false. Meaning...
it's also possible that the witnesses' memories were altered.
Maybe I'd better reconsider this. Besides...
You know, I...
...there may still be some hope for her.
So, would you mind explaining to me what happened here?
Sorry, but I don't know who that was, either--
I am bothered by that, as well,
but first, tell me about what just happened.
You were acting as though you were sure I would be there.
When you said that you were going to save Uiharu and not your mother.
That was a declaration to me, was it not?
Well, um, after I hung up on our call,
I could sense the EM signal of an incoming call to Miss Uiharu's cell,
and figured that Miss Saten was calling her to check on what was happening.
I had already told you where I was,
and knowing you, you could be here in less than ten seconds,
so I assumed you were hiding somewhere nearby...
Thank you...
...for letting me take care of rescuing your friend.
Uiharu is with Judgment. It is only natural to give priority
to a civilian over a colleague.
How could you leave your own mother's life up to a stranger?
If I had put Mama ahead of a friend, that would have made her angry at me.
Besides...
...I had faith in you, Kuroko, and was sure that you would save her.
W-Well, that is my job, after all, so naturally--
Are you okay?!
I'm sorry. I must have overexerted you when you're still injured.
Huh? I-I am all right! I do not require your unwelcome concern!
What are you talking about?
Come on, hold on to me tight.
L-Let go of me, please!
My tastes do not run that way!
It sounds like neither of them were hurt.
They said they should both wake up in no time.
Thank goodness.
So? You said you needed to speak with us?
Oh, mm-hmm.
Um, the person who kidnapped your sister--the girl in that kitten's memory...
You're sure it's Shokuho Misaki, then?
Mm-hmm.
I don't think there can be any question.
So anyway,
that Auribus-whatever-it-was Latin that we heard from the psychometry
is the same name as the urban legend site that I browsed.
Urban legend site?
Why would Shokuho Misaki be concerned with something like that?
The site doesn't just collect different rumors;
its lure is that it actually goes around validating their details.
And yesterday, when I was off trying to find Shadow Metal,
Uiharu was searching that site for me,
but said she couldn't find it.
So a little earlier, I tried searching for it again,
and sure enough, the results are plastered with similar pages,
but I can't find the original site in there anywhere.
It's impossible to completely erase any data once it's uploaded on the net.
So I was thinking that somebody must have distributed
a bunch of dummy data with much higher search rankings
to keep people from actually reaching the site.
Or put another way,
there was something on that site that this somebody considers problematic.
Right.
Knowing Uiharu, she would sense something out of place
and try to hunt down the cause of it.
She also has the skill to find it.
But this somebody detected Miss Uiharu's actions on this end
and attacked her.
Assuming it was Shokuho, she would have had Uiharu erase the data,
and then, after searching her memories,
she would also learn that she is my friend.
It all fits together.
This sounds like a crazy conclusion to draw from connecting the dots,
but if it is true, then that computer...
...is worth checking out, isn't it?
The erased data has been reconstructed!
There it is!
"A secret technique lying behind fortified lines?! Track down the cutting-edge DNA computer that generates abilities!"
Shokuho...!
"Next episode preview"
The Railgun of Tokiwadai,
"Next episode preview" "#8 Railgun ✕ Mental Out"
the disagreeable girl who brags about being a Level 5!
Or so I thought, but what is the deal with her smile?!
Why is my heart churning so much inside me?!
Maybe because you're a degenerate?