AN: Time for a new arc! Third Original Arc!

Concurrently this happens along with Dream Ranker and Queen of Adriatico arcs.

How did I inspire myself to write this story again? Well there are some stories that are similar to this! Go Misaka clone OCs! So reading them made me realized how much I missed this! ? Plus Railgun T is out so there's more inspiration and the Daihesei Arc ended and I loved every moment of it.

So enjoy and be surprised by the cast!

Chapter 58: Familiar Faces

It was September 21.

My flight was very early in the morning. It was so early the sun was still rising up.

Unfortunately for me, the Daihasei festival had to continue without me. I was just one of many students, so they wouldn't cancel it for my sake. That would be entirely selfish of me. I did look forward to the entire week, but plans had to change.

I yawned due to how early I had to get up.

"C'mon onee-sama did you forget to sleep or something?" teased Proto,

The security team was BAD. They were assigned to keep everyone in this collaboration safe and sound. My own group was coming with me so I could tolerate the trip.

I was given a wheelchair and Proto was pushing it.

"You try sleeping with one arm." I muttered,

My bracelet was taken away from me for obvious reasons.

"Maya and the others are waiting at the airport." Proto reminded me,

Once we arrived at the airport, I saw a private jet alongside a group of people.

"The VIP is here!" Proto announced and gestured to me,

Maya, Kayo, Mio and Ichiroku gave us welcoming smiles. When I glanced at the rest my eyes widened.

"Hello Otomi." Shinobu waved along with Febrie and Janie,

"Hi!" greeted Febrie,

With Shinobu assisting in my recovery I felt relieved. Alongside Febri and Janie, this trip would definitely be fun.

"What an interesting assignment."

!

Was that Aritomi Haruki?!

Why was the man who tried to commit suicide after launching a missile at Academy City here?

Was this guy part of the team?

"Otomi, I know you have a lot of questions." Shinobu snapped me out of my thoughts, "Aritomi is assigned under my watch. Plus he is on a lot of people's blacklists after the whole Silent Party incident."

Interesting to see a former enemy was now going to assist me.

Then again, it was similar to ITEM. We could be after the same goal or we're against each other.

"If he does anything bad then these scary, but super nice, men will take him away!" Febrie added and nodded,

I noticed Aritomi shivering from the comment. I will assume he experienced it already.

"Ironic isn't it?" I chuckled at the guy,

"No need to tell me twice." he sighed,

Still, he knew how to create lifeforms. However, I'm worried if I would be depending on some substance to keep me stabilized.

"Don't worry Otomi." Shinobu ruffled my hair with a small smile, "With me and him your new body will be better. If you don't trust him, then trust me."

I swatted Shinobu's hand away with a smile.

"The owner of this city did say he assembled this team." I pointed out, "So he's not allowed to mess up."

Aritomi simply sighed from my remark.

I could sense the antics between these guys. It was irony at it's peak. Aritomi controlled these three girls when he was the leader of his group. He had an iron fist, but he had a slip up thanks to Shinobu. Now, the girls were in charge. Aritomi, due to his crimes, was hanging by a thread. He was dispensable, but the owner gave him this chance.

The guy was not allowed to get me killed.

"I forgot what was your group again?" I asked the teen,

He looked baffled by my question.

"If you know the Dark Side, then you know what I'm in now." I raised my eyebrow, "So your petty little group is just a tiny ant in a colony."

It was an odd metaphor.

"STUDY." he muttered, "My group is psychologically traumatized by you. The mere mention of your name scares them. Plus seeing a firearm made them tremble. It's quite pathetic. Plus they lost their trust with me since my whole suicide fiasco."

A part of me felt empathy, but their actions must have consequences.

I was their punishment.

"Oh nice." was my simple response,

Was it terrible I did not care what happened to his subordinates?

Those people had the same ideology as Aritomi. They envied espers because those with power invested their resources towards them. These guys had a bright future, thanks to their intellect, but they threw it all away.

"To be fair you were running away." I added,

"No need to remind me." he sighed again,

"Like a coward." I added another comment,

"That too."

Aritomi excused himself and gestured to the others.

I gasped at the next person.

Wait there's only one dark skinned woman that wore a gothic styled dress.

"Sherry?!" I gasped,

Proto pushed my wheelchair towards her.

"That is my name." she said calmly,

She didn't seem crazy unlike when we first met. The woman looked relaxed. If I could recall her friend Ellis was an esper, but he wanted to use magic.

!

Oh my god.

I just realized what this collaboration was truly about!

My new body will have magicians involved! Was this black lightning considered magic? Will my new body be able to handle both esper and magic abilities?!

I was going to be a hybrid.

Like Ellis or Tsuchimikado, I'm going to be a hybrid. Unlike them, they were born naturally so the complications were severe for them. However I'm artificial so, hopefully, my body would be able to handle to stress. What would my designation be?

Then again, Shinobu did her research about the previous attempt. She's being researching this for a few weeks now.

"Twenty years is a long time." were her words as I recalled the memory, "Twenty years, Academy City's medical technology improved significantly."

I was going to be ok.

"Looks like you figured it out." Sherry chuckled in amusement,

"Does Shinobu know about you guys?" I asked her,

"No she does not." she shook her head, "If she did then she and those girls would be dead."

I tightened my fist. Shinobu was already aware of the magic side. She didn't show it in front of Sherry. Ever since she got lent to STUDY, Shinobu became more cautious about her knowledge.

"So what's the official reason you are assisting?" I asked,

"On paper, I gave out the necessary materials for your new body." she answered, "Then I will oversee your new body's limit."

Since she created her golem out of various materials, I assumed it was similar to making a physical form. The physical form, this time, was a human body.

"I never got a chance to ask Stiyl, but what's the name of your group?" I asked Sherry, "I fought and worked with them before, but I never bothered with the name."

The woman gave me a contemplative look. It seemed like she was weighing the pros and cons of revealing her group's name to me.

"Necessarius." was her answer, "The Church of Necessary Evil."

Woah, that's a cool name. Then again, when I looked back at Stiyl's actions the name made a lot of sense. They were willing to harm innocent people if it mean keeping the world safer. To let a few people die so millions could live was a tough decision. I could relate to that. It was a necessary evil.

"I see." was my response,

Shaking my head, I realized this was the entire team for this project.

"Lazarus Project, eh?" I chuckled,

"It's more akin to Eastern Orthodox." Shirley pointed out, "A man brought back from the dead after four days of his death."

I never was the religious type. Eastern Orthodox? What does that mean?

"I'm aware of the story." I replied then asked, "What's your belief anyway?"

"Anglicanism." was her answer,

My mind was blank from the answer.

"Sorry." I apologized, "I'm ignorant when it comes to religion. It never caught my interest."

"From where you originated, it would be strange to see you fascinated by it." Sherry scoffed, "If you are not interested in it, then how do you know the story of Lazarus?"

"Internet." I answered,

To be fair, practically everything is on the internet.

"Plus the owner said the name so I took a quick look on the origin of the name." I went on, "Latin sounds cool if you ask me."

I don't know why I added that, but it felt good to get it off my chest.

"Yes." Sherry replied with amusement, "Cool."

Anyways this was the entire group. BAD would be the security firm to ensure our safety and maintain the schedule. Shinobu and Aritomi were to create and maintain my new body. Sherry, officially, brought the materials and check the limits of my new body. Febrie and Janie tagged along to provide morale support and to keep us from being bored.

Before we could get on the plane, there was another person eager to see us off.

"Wait!" a certain small sister yelled out, "Misaka Misaka demands because Misaka wants to see her sister off!"

Last Order ran towards me accompanied by 10046 and 19090.

I ruffled her cow lick.

"Hey!" she whined, "Misaka whines as Misaka is going to miss her sister!"

Proto and I chuckled at her antics.

"Make sure you give Accelerator a hard time!" Proto giggled,

"Of course Proto-nee!" Last Order saluted, "Misaka salutes as Misaka laughs with her younger sister!"

I could see both girls pulling off a lot of pranks. I shivered at the thought of how much chaos they could potentially make.

I gave a nod towards my two sisters.

"You girls behave and don't cause too much trouble." I told 10046 and 19090,

"Onee-sama when you return please visit Misaka." requested 19090, "Misaka requests with hopeful eyes."

I saw her eyes shining. Giving her a smile, 19090 returned the gesture with small one.

A part of me wondered if these girls will be able to freely express their emotions.

"Don't worry onee-sama, you focus on recovering." 10046 told me, "Misaka hopes to see her beloved sister soon."

Both of them will be fine.

"I almost forgot!" Last Order screamed out, "Misaka screams as Misaka realizes she almost forgot to tell onee-sama something!"

The tiny girl turned to me with a grin.

"He didn't want to say it, but Misaka will say it for him!" Last Order went on, "Misaka Misaka babbles!"

He?

"Thank you for saving us from Kihara!" Last Order thanked me, "Misaka thanks as Misaka proudly represents all her sisters and Accelerator!"

I saved Accelerator?

!

Oh now I know! Since Gensei corrupted the whole Misaka Network, Accelerator was affected by it as well. Accelerator depended on the network to function normally, but without it his brain couldn't process movement.

"It's not just me, you know." I pointed out, "Mikoto and sempai helped too."

I couldn't take all the credit. It didn't feel right.

I ruffled her hair again and ignored my little sister's protest.

Looking at the plane, I simply sighed.

The sooner we leave, the sooner I can recover.

...

"Look Shinobu we're in the clouds!"

"Yes Febrie we are."

The flight was smooth.

Janie stuck with me and held my shirt.

"What's wrong?" I asked with a smile,

"You have one arm." she pulled my sleeve, "Are you okay?"

Janie was just too adorable.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." I patted her head,

Shinobu and Febrie approached me.

"Otomi come with us!" Febrie beamed up, "We're gonna you show our sisters!"

I couldn't help but grin.

"Sure lets!" I nodded,

I followed them to the storage section of the plane. Mio was the one guarding it.

"Ah hello there little children." my fellow BAD member knelled in front of the two girls,

"We're here to see our sisters!" Febrie grinned,

"Why of course!" Mio giggled and opened the door for us,

As Shinobu, Febrie and Janie walked in, Mio stopped me.

She gave me a sympathetic smile.

"Otomi, you gave Maya a scare yesterday." Mio began, "The footage we saw on what transpired made us worried for you."

A part of me wondered what happened to them after the whole Level 6 shift incident.

"We saw you take Misaka-san's place in that black sphere." she continued, "Almost made my heart leap."

"Sorry." was my only response,

"Well at least you are valuing your own life now." Mio gave me a gentle smile, "For that I am thankful."

Before I could reply, Janie ran up to me.

"C'mon." she pulled my shirt,

"Go on." Mio giggled,

I followed Janie to a room filled with tanks. There were eleven tanks, but ten of them held identical girls.

"That's Marie, that's Junie and that's Julie!" Febrie pointed at each sleeping individual,

I noticed these girls had more cowlicks than Febrie, who had two.

Recalling my sisters' words, I realized our theories were proven right. The name patterns was very accurate.

"Misaka believes they are named after the months." were 10032's words,

"I bet Decie will have twelve of those sticking out!"" Proto joked back then,

When I looked at Decie's tank, I noticed twelve cowlicks on her head.

Our guesses were real. I wondered if Proto saw these girls. Either way she would see them sooner or later.

My eyes turned to the eleventh tank at the end.

There was a Sister there!

I touched the tank with a solemn face.

"That is going to be your new body." Shinobu approached me with a small smile, "It's recently developed."

I stared at the Sister's closed expression. It's like she's sleeping.

"If you are wondering there is no consciousness within her." my friend reassured me, "Aritomi assisted with certain formulas to ensure the body's growth will be natural after being accelerated to the appropriate age. Plus, with Sherry's materials, your new body will be able to go beyond your current limits."

I bit my lip.

I stared at the face intently to see if there was any sign of life. She wasn't breathing at all, it's like a statue painted to resemble a person.

"So any designation for this Misaka?" I wondered, "Misaka Lazarus sounds like a weird name."

"I got one." Shinobu chuckled at my lame name, "Misaka Hybrid."

Misaka Hybrid sounded right.

"So from Defective to Hybrid, not a bad way for a promotion." I chuckled,

I recalled my old self leaving me. Little One left while Akami Otomi stayed in this body. If I looked at it from another viewpoint, I could see it as Defective Sister leaving while Misaka Hybrid remains.

A small spark of black electricity emerged and it swirled around the tank. It's like my lightning was being called by her.

"So that's the power you obtained from Misaka's level 6 shift attempt." Shinobu observed,

The small spark was moving on it's own. It wanted to get into the tank.

I removed my wig and contact lenses. Shinobu gasped at my new look.

"Otomi." she wrapped a of my hair around her finger, "W-What happened?"

"It's when I absorbed the lightning." I answered, "When all that black lightning entered me, my hair and eyes became this."

White hair and red eyes was an oddity itself.

"I have to check the footage then." Shinobu nodded,

The place was absolutely destroyed. I don't think there were any surviving cameras.

"If there is any." I commented,

I stared at my new body again.

"So did you come up with a magic name?" Shinobu asked me,

"What?"

I recalled the first time I met Sherry.

"Do you not know what happens when you speak a magician's magic name?" she asked, "You've encountered a few didn't you?"

It felt so long ago.

"I looked up some information on how magicians work." Shinobu shrugged like it was no big deal, "Magic name means everything to a magician."

I recalled various phrases from the magicians I've encountered.

"Fortis931!",

"Salvare000!"

If what Shinobu said was true then that meant, these names were vital.

"It means a duel to the death." I recalled more of Sherry's words,

Sherry's magic name is Intimus115.

"It involves Latin." my old friend went on,

"They have numbers as well." I pointed out, "Like identification of sorts."

Shinobu gave me a smile.

"There's only so many Latin words you can use." she pointed out, "The numbers are to ensure magicians can use the same word, but have a different set of numbers."

This was similar to having an online id.

"You just thought of your video games did you?" chuckled the one person who can read my mind,

I grinned sheepishly.

"Lastly, there's a phrase to declare who they are." Shinobu finished,

In a nutshell, there's a: word, number and phrase for a magic name. It was quite interesting.

!

"Wait." I realized something, "Why are we doing this?"

"Think of it as a transformation." Shinobu answered, "Look at your new body."

I looked at it again. It did not have my white hair.

"When you say your phrase you will transform into your current state." she explained,

This was a powerup.

"Like those anime with transformation sequences." I groaned,

Shinobu simply smiled at my simplification. As fun it was to explain details and such, I was lazy. I wanted to put it in simpler terms.

"Alright let's start coming up with names." she clapped her hand enthusiastically,

Coming up with my name was easier than this.

"Shinobu how would you describe me in one word?" I asked,

It got her thinking too.

"Hey!" Febrie yelled for us,

The Janie and Febrie approached us.

"Otomi you saw your new body!" the little girl grinned,

Shinobu and I gave each other a nod. We were both thinking the same exact thing.

Children were always honest.

"Can you girls help us?" Shinobu asked,

"How would you describe me?" I requested,

Both of them were thinking.

"Otomi you are my hero!" Febrie declared with a smile,

My face heated up from the comment. Shinobu chuckled and patted my shoulder. I'm glad Shinobu could be more lax than before. Being burdened with Testament and the Sisters, especially us, Shinobu never had time to relax. After we freed her from those burdens, I'm glad Shinobu could freely express herself. Having Janie and Febrie under her care helped brought out her caring side.

"I watched the videos." Janie began then stared, "You're kinda scary but you wanted to save us."

I stared at Shinobu for some unasked answers.

"It's the footage from when you saved me and Janie from STUDY." she answered,

I gestured Janie to continue.

"You hurt bad people, but you do bad things to bad people." Janie went on,

I chuckled at the description. Janie wasn't wrong about me.

"I'm a bad girl." I stuck my tongue out,

"Otomi you're still our hero!" Febrie repeated, "You're a good girl!"

Shinobu was amused by these us. She gave Febrie a smile.

"It's hard to describe it Febrie." said Shinobu, "Otomi does bad things to bad people, all to keep good people safe."

"So like that one hero with the funny mask?" Febrie wondered, "The one who's scared of bats, but now like bats?"

Oh I like the show.

"Yes." was Shinobu's reply,

"But his sidekick is a bird." muttered Janie, "I don't get it."

I ruffled Janie's hair and hugged her.

"So Otomi what do you think?" Shinobu asked me, "How would describe yourself in one word?"

The answer was obvious.

Throughout my entire life, I was willing to do whatever it takes to survive. I killed so many people, but those people were worse than me. In my eyes, if those bastards were still alive, they would've killed so much more people. I'm protective of my friends and loved ones. If any harm came to them, I wouldn't hesitate to retaliate. Still I would ensure their safety first, before I go on vengeful streak.

"Anti-hero." I describe myself, "I avenge those who are wronged."

I was guided by vengeance, but it's not as prominent as before.

"So what's the latin word for avenge?" Shinobu asked me,

"Not revenge?" I raised an eyebrow,

"Sounds more like a villain." Shinobu pointed out, "I'll look it up."

She took out her phone and her fingers tapped the screen.

"Vindica." she said,

Vindica. That sounded cool.

"Vindica614." I tried the name, "I avenge those who are wronged."

That sounded badass.

"Why 614 for numbers?" my longest friend asked,

"Randomly." I shrugged,

Something told me these numbers were key to someone else, but not for me. However, I decided it with no pattern or importance whatsoever. They were just numbers.

With all of this to take in, I realized I missed some of my friends already.

"Me and girls are going to get some snacks, do you want some?" offered Shinobu,

"You go ahead." I simply answered, "There's some people I have to call."

First it was Mikoto. I wanted some clarification over something.

"Otomi?!"

She seemed surprised I'm calling her.

"Is it a bad time nee-san?" I asked,

"N-No, you can talk to me anytime!" she stuttered,

If I call her sister instead of her name, I hoped she knew I meant the conversation would be about the Sisters. However this Sister was about me.

"Onee-sama is that Otomi?" I heard Kuroko from the phone,

Were those two in their room?

"Sorry Kuroko I need the room for a bit." I heard Mikoto apologize,

I heard a complaining Kuroko and a door closing.

"Alright what's the matter?" she asked,

"What exactly happened after I got you out of that sphere?" was my question,

She was quiet for a few minutes.

"How should I put this?" she wondered, "Otomi you are holding your phone, right?"

"Yes why-"

!

My phone was forming electricity around it.

"What did you do?" I asked,

"It's like your memory technique." Mikoto explained, "However it's the other way around, I'm going to give you my memory on what happened yesterday. So is your ear by your phone?"

Mikoto wanted to transfer the memory via phone. Our phones were conductors and since we're on the same line Mikoto could, in theory, overcharge my phone. It was a simple and effective method. Still, I believed it was a bit painful for Mikoto to recall the memory. She was forcibly transformed against her will.

"Yes." I answered,

Then the memory formed within my mind.

Everything was through my sister's eyes.

I saw myself being kicked out of the dark sphere.

"Otomi!" Mikoto yelled, "No, no, no, no!"

"No Otomi!" I heard Touma yelled,

My head turned around and saw a worried Touma.

"H-How'd you get out?" asked Touma,

My vision was blurring

"I-I dunno! Otomi just took my place in there!" my sister screamed in desperation,

I saw staring at my prison.

"Get her out of there!" Mikoto yelled,

Touma touched the sphere and it obliterated his arm!

""Why destroy everything?" I heard myself asked,

"It's my fault." was what my sister whispered,

This was when I conversing with Elder. However, Mikoto took it the wrong way. She thought the question was directed to her due to the recent rampage.

"Let this curse die with us, Elder." my past self proclaimed,

Mikoto's thoughts became wild and vivid. Despite all the panic, she had one single goal. My oldest sister did not want me to die.

"Elder? That's-" my sister realized,

She did see all of our memories.

Then it happened.

A huge snake went around Mikoto and bit the black sphere I was trapped in! More snakes came and started to devour the sphere.

Mikoto turned around and gasped at the sight. All of these snakes came from Touma's destroyed right arm!

"What?" was her only reaction,

Were those creatures really snakes?

No. The bodies may be made out of the scales, but the heads were like of different design. Some had horns, while others had wings. It was so bizarre.

Were those dinosaurs?!

No too childish.

Dragons?

If those beings coming out of Touma's arm had a body then I could see those reptilian winged beast.

"Thank you."

It was me. I sounded so content with what Touma was doing. The sphere was a meal for the dragons. They tore it apart like it was corpse.

To my sister, I was accepting my death.

"Otomi!" she cried out,

Then I appeared from the sphere looking worn out. My eyes were closed, but I was smiling. I saw myself falling down, but Mikoto quickly caught me.

The memory ended.

"Wow."

It was the only way I could described it. Seeing it from another perspective was bizarre, but I wanted to know what happened. Seeing myself, in such a weakened state, made me realized how vulnerable I felt. My bravado to stop my friends from worrying had the exact opposite effect.

"Yeah, wow." chuckled Mikoto, "So no more making nee-san worried, alright?"

"No promises, but I'll do my best." I replied earnestly,

Mikoto and I said our farewells.

After her phone call ended, another person immediately called me.

"Misaki?" I stared at the caller ID,

There were so many questions as to why she would call me. It was obvious about recent events. She defeated Gensei, but I wondered how she won. Also, maybe she knew what happened to that old man. I was curious since that bastard was the reason I'm not dead. Yet, there was only one to find out.

"Hey, Misaki." I greeted casually,

It was a video call.

She was smiling at me.

"Hey Otomi." she greeted back,

She didn't looked that injured from her battle with Gensei.

"I have to thank you for sending your adorable siblings to assist me!" she beamed up, "Plus your friends Maya, Mio and Kayo came to help as well!"

So they didn't go after Kouzaku, instead BAD decided to regroup.

"I wondered how many of those private forces the old man have, but thankfully everyone kept them busy while I dealt with Kihara." Mental Out went on,

So that's what happened.

Why did it looked like she was underground? If she was underground how did she call me? Wasn't the reception terrible down there?

I shook my head.

It's Academy City. They had to have some sort of signal down there.

"Where are you anyways and why did you video call me?" I asked her,

Misaki turned the screen and showed a worn out Kozaku.

What the-

"Before you react, I'll explain." Misaki simply smiled, "I looked into that old guy's memories and I found out Dolly has a sibling."

I wondered if this Sister was the second prototype.

"Her sibling has all of Dolly's memories and experiences." she continued,

Was she crying? Maybe my eyes were playing tricks.

"So Dolly is alive." I smiled, "I'm glad."

Still it bothered me that they said Dolly's sibling and not a new body.

I gave my new body a glance. Dolly and I were quite similar in terms of situation. Both of our lifespans were significantly short and we made some impact throughout various people. Now we had another similarity.

"Is that why Kozaku is with you?" I wondered, "So you can both see your mutual friend?"

Both girls nodded.

"I shouldn't keep you two waiting then." I told them,

I ended the call feeling a bit better.

"Nee-san."

Turning around I saw a blushing Ichiroku.

"I need some advice." he requested,

He looked bashful for some reason.

"What's this about?" I asked,

My brother sighed and showed me his phone.

There was a wall of text and it was towards Kongou. The girl kept thanking my brother for saving her and my brother took it in stride. The last message was Kongou asking if they can go on a date. Ichiroku personally saved Kongou from Baba's warped retribution. It was only natural for Kongou to be interested in her savior. I wondered if Wannai and Awatsuki helped fueled Kongou's desire to see my brother.

"Ah you want to reject her politely?" I chuckled in amusement,

"Actually, I wish to see her." he replied with his face turning redder,

?

My mind went blank.

"Nee-san?" my brother waved his hand in front of my face,

Ichiroku and Kongou together?! What did she see in him?! Why was he interested in her? I want my brother to be happy, but this was just too sudden!

Was this how an older sibling worries about their younger silbing's love life?!

"So little brother when did she strike your fancy?" I asked him,

"When I first saw her." he muttered in a daze,

Love at first sight?

When it came to romance my experience was lacking. Touma will always be someone I looked up to. I kissed him before, but I couldn't really tell if he recuperated the feeling. Something, in the back of my head, told me I was one of the more aggressive or daring girls. He saved people in a normal basis, majority of the people he saved were females.

Then there's Ruiko, who I considered my best friend. We both shared the same room and enjoyed our time with Febrie. We played the parents to the young adorable girl. Uiharu hinted something about us, but it's just constant teasing.

Arisa was an unexpected surprise, not that it was terrible or anything. I did bodyguard her from plenty of people and there was that incident in the bath.

My face heated up.

"Nee-san?" Ichiroku called me again,

"I'm not the best one to ask for advice when it's about love." I replied, "I'd suggest Maya since her and Awaki are a thing, I think."

Those two seemed very close for friends.

"No!" he shook his head rapidly, "If Maya knew then I wouldn't hear the end of it!"

He had a point. Since he's the sole male of the group, my brother was constantly teased by everyone. I teased him occasionally, but not as much as Proto and Maya. To him, I was the older sister he looked up to.

"Fair enough." I chuckled,

Giving my new body a stare, my dark electricity was drawn into it again.

"Interesting reaction." Ichiroku pointed out,

This black lightning belonged to me now. It felt familiar like an old friend I have forgotten, but it also felt foreign. There was something odd about it, like a being attempting to whisper words constantly.

Was this the magical aspect of it like that voice? Maybe it was that damn voice again?

I had so many questions about this power.

This wasn't just a power up for me, it was something more.

"We should go." I suggested,

Ichiroku agreed and we left the storage room. We went our separate ways and I ended up with Maya, who was on a tablet.

"Let's see STUDY's debt." she muttered to herself,

I gave the tablet a glance and saw a lot of a zeroes.

"Is that with interest?" I asked my field leader,

"You got it!" grinned Maya, "With all powersuits they purchased from us, they got into so much debt. STUDY group had a solid funding from their products but, ever since they got arrested and all their assets taken, the liabilities all went above their budget."

That sucks for them.

"So instead of killing them off, various groups decided to make STUDY work with off their debt." she continued, "Each member is assigned to different groups and BAD has Aritomi!"

Perhaps STUDY wished they perished from their failed revolution. Then again, only Aritomi was willing to kill himself at that time. This was a fate worse than death.

"To be fair, they were so pathetic killing them wouldn't make any of the Dark Side groups feel satisfied." Maya finished,

I simply shook my head.

Then I realized something.

"The Daihasei Festival isn't over, so how did you girls get away?" I asked, "Your school Kirigaoka is one of the best schools, so how did they let you leave?"

"Thank Rina for that." Maya simply answered, "Officially Kayo, Mio and I are done with our respective events. So we got the rest of the week off."

That made sense.

"Unofficially, you guys have been assigned to safeguard MVPs." I added,

Maya simply smirked and gave me a nod.

"The flight is only a few hours, but I suggest you get some rest." Maya told me, "With your condition, you're gonna need it."

...

I took her advice and went to the rest section. I saw Sherry fast asleep along with Febrie and Janie. Shinobu was on her tablet checking over some data.

"Feeling tired?" asked Shinobu,

Looking at the sleeping girls made me fatigued. Due to what happened yesterday and how early I woke up, my body didn't get enough sleep. All the caffeine I drank had worn out and I felt the aftermath.

"A bit." I answered,

Shinobu approached me and patted my shoulder.

"Alright, don't let the bed bugs bite." she chuckled and walked away,

Going to a bed, I felt my eyes closing.

For some reason, I hoped there was a beach at our destination.

END AN: So yea new arc, new crew, new chapter. What do you think? Was it too much or not enough?

Otomi's magic name was fun to come up with. I had to look up what's the purpose and what it mean and such! By the way the number 614 is when the story was posted, June 2014. It's been 6 years since I made this story, dang I feel old(er).

Power level wise, I'm going to use a meme format. It's the one that goes "The Final Boss when you fight it" (so that's level 6 shift Mikoto) to "The Final when you unlock it was a playable character" (plain old Mikoto). So Otomi's black lightning is not as strong and potent as Mikoto's (duh), but it's still powerful in it's own right.

Enjoy your day/night!