Academy City's Weather Report! (Toaru)

For a Kihara, treating test subjects as disposable equipment was practically a birthright.

So, Kihara Nayuta, who held reservations about this and advocated for so-called 'perfect experiments' that even considered the safety of the test subjects, naturally became a 'defective' and misfit within the Kihara.

Even though she possessed research talent and an inquisitive spirit surpassing that of an average Kihara, her miserable, isolated situation remained unchanged. This forged her somewhat eccentric yet intensely obsessive personality.

And now, this 'defective' young lady was diligently trying to aid a certain bun-girl who had fallen into a peculiar state, for this was her duty as a Judgment member.

'To think I aimed to rescue the #8... how arrogant of me.'

'Someone like the #8 must know exactly what she's doing. Forcing an esper's brain into high-intensity calculations can only happen if the individual herself desires it.'

She couldn't even measure the girl's skin temperature properly; even simple data collection was proving difficult.

The thermal layer enveloping Natsume Sonoko's body was instantly causing trouble for Kihara Nayuta.

Although this Kihara student currently had no interest in researching espers, even the basic measurements required for medical assistance were stretching her capabilities thin.

As many researchers in the Kihara family said, within the sphere of the #8's vigilance, not even Accelerator could deliver a decisive blow. In a stalemate between the two, things would most likely end inconclusively.

But in reality, by targeting psychological weaknesses, even an ordinary passerby could achieve a one-hit kill.

The collective atmosphere deliberately fostered by Academy City's environment, along with its overstated safety measures, could lull many lazy and naive individuals into a false sense of security.

However, to the immense frustration of many researchers, after the recent attack targeting Natsume Sonoko within the School Garden, obtaining any additional data on the #8 from that area had become significantly more challenging.

Unless the #8 was naively beyond hope, one could imagine she would inevitably increase her personal security.

A test subject like the #8 was an exceptionally rare find, even among the Kihara clan. Just the nature of her ability implied immense research value.

'Still, I never thought I'd get to meet the #8 so easily this time, during a simple patrol no less.'

'Compared to that Railgun big sister who loafs around blatantly destroying public property, actively finding the #8 is quite difficult, even if you wait on the route between the School Garden and Tokiwadai Dorm.'

Kihara Nayuta's thoughts drifted, recalling her own numerous failed attempts to find the #8.

She seemed to harbor rather complex feelings towards the #8.

Furthermore, it wasn't just isolated members of the Kihara family like herself; even Kiharas with higher clearance levels found it hard to track the #8's movements reliably unless they mobilized the Dark Side and someone like that Takitsubo, an AIM Stalker ability user.

Her own ability was, in a way, just an inferior version of that Takitsubo big sister's, useless for large-scale target searches.

'A Judgment member, an esper, and she worked with Kiyama-sensei to wake up Banri-chan and the others. She accomplished everyone's dream... my dream too.'

'She's the kind of person who makes you want to cry from envy. But I can't seem to cry. Because having someone like the #8 wake up Banri-chan and the others... that was the best possible outcome I could imagine.'

Gripping the seemingly unconscious #8 tighter, Kihara Nayuta, overwhelmed by these strange emotions, couldn't help but lose focus.

She belonged to the Advanced Education Department, the same school Edasaki Banri and the others had attended, one of the students of Kiyama-sensei back then.

But Kihara Nayuta hadn't participated in that experiment herself, because she was a researcher, not a test subject.

She had also chosen to respect Banri and the others' wishes, though at the time, none of them knew the experiment was doomed to fail.

[We're the 'Child Errors', abandoned by our parents. 'Retaining the essence, discarding the dross.' Academy City took us in.]

[If we become Level 4s or Level 5s, we can repay Kiyama-sensei and Academy City!]

[First, we should become Judgment members, right? To take down the bad guys in Academy City.]

[Then let's all become Level 5s, become Judgment members, and protect Academy City.]

[But... can we, the ones others call 'defectives', really do it?]

'Of course you can.'

Kihara Nayuta remembered the words she had spoken to Banri and the others back then, staring vacantly into the gradually hollowing distance.

"Nayuta-chan, is it okay to call you that?"

"Sonoko-chan seems to be in a lot of pain."

Index, standing nearby, spoke anxiously. She had no experience whatsoever in treating illnesses or injuries.

"It's fine. It's probably a stress reaction in her stomach muscles. Let's find a place for her to lie down flat, and I'll perform an emergency massage on her chest and abdomen."

Kihara Nayuta spoke with serious determination.

It wasn't just her duty as a Judgment member. She held almost no ill will towards the #8, just a deep-seated frustration. This person before her had realized all the dreams she and Banri and the others had shared.

The reason she had previously tried to make contact was probably just to see what kind of person this fortunate individual really was.

Meanwhile, the majority of Natsume-san's attention had shifted over to Reiko's side. In this state, she couldn't even properly control her own body.

However, under the coverage of Natsume-san's observation, events on both sides couldn't escape her 'eyes'.

It's just that her focus was completely occupied with Kazakiri-san and organizing the data, so she didn't pay much mind to the Judgment member who had suddenly appeared.

Ultimately, she still trusted Index and the Judgment members.

'What a strange person. Most of her body is actually made of mechanical prosthetics.'

'The last one similar to her was probably that Kihara Gensei. Plus, her name also has Kihara in it... could they be relatives?'

Sound is a form of vibration, and thus falls within the range of what she could observe.

Natsume Sonoko felt a slight sense of oddity, but didn't feel any hostility rise up. Maintaining necessary caution, however, was inevitable.

No matter what the other party intended to do, she was confident she could instantly return to her original body. But doing so would mean completely abandoning the data changes concerning Kazakiri-san here.

And based on the observation of the opponent's leaking AIM diffusion field, she was probably around Level 3. But confident in her power as a Level 5, suppressing the other would be the work of a moment.

Maybe they could trade blows evenly in terms of flashy effects, but the moment she got serious, she could defeat her opponent instantly.

The 145-centimeter-tall girl lay flat on the soft lawn. The gauze tightly wrapped around her face concealed the dense bloodshot lines in her eyes and the bulging blue veins around them.

The muscles on both sides of her eye sockets also swelled up high, instantly ruining the gentle beauty of her entire face.

Every time she tried to maintain the connection with Reiko with all her might, she would immediately end up looking this ugly and frightening.

But if you considered this transformation the price for obtaining power, it seemed cheap and useful in comparison.

As a gentle, persistent force applied pressure to various parts of Natsume Sonoko's body, the increasingly strong physical reflex was gradually suppressed. At least she was spared the utter loss of face for a Tokiwadai lady—things like actually throwing up stomach acid or vomiting.

For someone Natsume Sonoko's age, maintaining a shining image was probably paramount, especially when friends were around.

'Sonoko-chan looks much better.'

Index plopped down loosely on the grass, watching the Judgment member's series of actions with worry until Sonoko's body gradually returned to normal, at which point she showed a lovely smile.

Even Kihara Nayuta herself couldn't help but sigh in relief.

She was just following the methods taught in Judgment training; she hadn't expected it to be so effective. In the work of rescuing classmates and protecting Academy City, the Judgment members' efforts were no less than those of the Anti-Skill teachers.

It's just like the difference symbolized by their armbands—Judgment represents the shield, while Anti-Skill represents the trident—this also represents Academy City's different attitude towards the two groups.

In any case, being able to help others out of difficult situations filled Kihara Nayuta's heart with a sense of pleasure.

This feeling was probably different from the overflowing sense of justice someone like Shirai Kuroko possessed, but both were aimed at protecting Academy City.

"Mm. But I can't guarantee the situation won't deteriorate further."

'It all depends on this student's own choices. Although I don't know exactly what she's calculating, if you can't make a choice between some things, in the end, you'll only hurt yourself.'

Distractedly talking with Index, a pensive expression surfaced on Kihara Nayuta's face.

If she had sufficient instruments and time, she could naturally find a way to analyze the cause of the #8's abnormal behavior. But she lacked the means and the desire to do so, simply staying quietly by the side, silently observing the changes in the #8's body.

Seeming to remember something, she casually took a strawberry-flavored hard lollipop from her red backpack and offered it to Index, seemingly wanting to comfort this somewhat strange little nun.

Despite being the younger one, this Judgment member always seemed to act more mature.

"By the way, I still don't know your name."

Sitting side-by-side with Index, the small red backpack resting by her feet, the #8 lay incapacitated a meter away.

The girl named Kihara Nayuta spoke almost without thinking, her golden twin tails swaying gently in the breeze.

The #8 and this little nun seemed to be very good friends. How typical of the most common kind of friendship found in Academy City.

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T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL