"You guys—"
Shirai Kuroko had just opened her mouth to answer Uiharu Kazari when a ripple of warped space suddenly blossomed in the centre of the office.
Every pair of eyes snapped toward it.
The air quivered like water, and the room's lighting bent at the distorted boundary, casting strange, rainbow‑coloured halos.
Five figures materialised out of nowhere.
At their head stood a red‑haired girl with twin tails—Musujime Awaki.
Behind her were four women and girls, each with a very different air about them.
"I've brought the members of Item."
"Sorry for interrupting your little lover's quarrel~"
Awaki winked impishly, twirling a strand of hair around one finger.
"Yup—Item is here."
Her tone was light, yet her eyes glittered with vigilance and her body remained poised to trigger her ability at a moment's notice.
Since they were personally escorted in by her, nothing was allowed to go wrong.
At the front stood a tall, mature woman.
Waist‑length chestnut hair; eyes sharp as a hunting raptor. Arms folded, she surveyed everyone in the room without the slightest pretense.
Mugino Shizuri – leader of the dark‑side team Item.
Level 5, ranked 4th. Ability: "Meltdowner" (atomic collapse).
A purple jacket hung from her shoulders; danger radiated from her entire being.
To her left was a petite girl with short, chestnut‑brown hair, dressed in a white tracksuit and watching the surroundings warily.
Kinuhata Saiai – Level 4. Ability: "Nitrogen Armor."
Though she looked relaxed, she could envelop herself in a nitrogen shield in an instant.
On the right stood a small blonde, blue‑eyed girl. She glanced about curiously, fingers unconsciously playing with the satchel of explosives at her waist.
Frenda Seivelun – Item's explosives expert, a non‑esper.
Her gaze lingered on the office's expensive décor, especially the pricey‑looking artwork.
"These things must be worth a lot, huh?"
Last was a sickly‑looking black‑haired girl, nodding off against Mugino's shoulder.
Takitsubo Rikō – Level 4. Ability: "AIM Stalker" (ability tracking).
Even here she wore loose pajama‑style outerwear, as if dragged straight from bed.
Misaka Mikoto and Shokuhō Misaki rose to their feet at the same time.
The atmosphere turned razor‑sharp. It felt a few degrees colder; invisible pressure thickened the air.
"Musujime Awaki, these are the 'reliable reinforcements' you mentioned?"
Electricity crackled around Mikoto; her light‑brown hair bristled with static. Her eyes fixed on Mugino—something about the woman rubbed her the wrong way.
Shokuhō sized up the quartet, pausing the longest on Mugino.
"My my, if it isn't the famous Meltdowner~☆
Fancy meeting you here."
Mugino's eyes opened fully, flicking between the three espers.
"Three espers in the same room, and you specially invite me …"
She laughed coldly; green points of energy gathered at her fingertips.
"Out with it. I don't have time to play house."
She assumed Musujime Awaki must be a newly minted Level 5—there was no public Level 5 teleporter, and anyone treated as an equal to two renowned Level 5s had to be formidable.
"Mugino…"
Takitsubo tugged weakly at her sleeve.
"Be careful… they feel… strange…"
As an ability tracker, Takitsubo's sense for AIM fields was razor‑sharp—and she couldn't detect the fields around Misaka or Shokuhō at all.
Warning bells blared in her mind.
Shokuhō stepped forward, starlit eyes flashing gold.
"Miss Mugino~ Before we get down to business, just a tiny question: What do you really think of me?"
Mugino opened her mouth to retort—only to find, horrified, that it moved on its own:
"You're just the pathetic fifth rank—"
Her voice came out stiff, her face twisting as she fought the mental control.
At the same time the other three Item members blurted out their real thoughts:
Takitsubo (hazy): "You're mysterious… and very pretty…"
Frenda (scowling, then clapping a hand over her mouth): "Tch, your boobs are way too big—annoying…"
Kinuhata (instantly armoured in nitrogen, yet still speaking): "Super dangerous person…"
All four froze the moment the words left their lips.
Mugino's face darkened; the light of Meltdowner flared violently.
"So this is your trick!"
She whipped up her hand, emerald energy converging on Shokuhō's chest.
"Don't move~☆"
Shokuhō sang sweetly; the gold in her eyes blazed brighter.
Mugino's body locked. The Meltdowner light winked out.
She couldn't move a finger—couldn't even access her power.
"Th-this… impossible…"
Her voice shook. Level 5s differed in rank, but total suppression like this shouldn't exist.
Frenda and Kinuhata snapped into fighting stances—
Musujime Awaki snapped her fingers, teleporting them to a corner ten metres away behind an invisible spatial barrier.
"Calm down, everyone," Awaki drawled, rolling a coordinate marker between her fingers.
"If we wanted to hurt you, we wouldn't need all this fuss."
Misaka Mikoto sighed and stepped forward.
"Shokuhō Misaki, that's enough."
She gestured for Awaki to drop the barrier and turned to Mugino.
"We're here to offer you a much more legitimate line of work."
The tension remained thick. The four members of Item stared at the three Level 5s in shock, unable to process what had just happened.
Sweat slid down Mugino's temple—
She had never imagined feeling this powerless in a direct confrontation.
~~~
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