Shirai Kuroko and Uiharu Kazari were in Judgment's 177th Branch Office.
It had a fancy name, but it was nothing more than a room in Uiharu's middle school.
A number of desks were lined up, but they were not the ones made of plywood and metal pipes usually seen in classrooms. The area looked more like an office. Work computers were lined up on the desks, but that delicate equipment was being ignored in favor of a potato chip bag on one desk.
Uiharu Kazari was rummaging through a plastic bag with both hands.
"Shirai-saaan. Do you want the chukadon or the fish bento for dinner?"
"I don't care about that!!"
"Eh? Then I will take the chukadon."
"I will eat the chukadon! Uuh… Right now, onee-sama is walking through the city at night with that rotten ape… Gwaaaahhhhhh!!"
The twintailed girl slammed her hands against the desk.
Only their two voices could be heard in the room. The room was equipped with a large radio, but it remained silent. Normally, Judgment's work ended when the curfew arrived because their primary mission was to handle disputes within the school. It was unusual for students to remain in the office this late.
And one of those girls working late, Uiharu Kazari, pulled out her cell phone and said, "Oh, it's time for the variety show I always watch!"
"Do your work, Uiharu!!"
"You are not one to talk, Shirai-san. And I can work while I watch TV."
Her phone would have had TV functionality, but Uiharu must have really liked that variety show. She went out of her way to turn on the large television in the room.
"Hmph!!"
Shirai swiped the remote in annoyance and changed the channel randomly. It ended up on an uninteresting news program.
"Dahh! What are you doing, Shirai-san!!" shouted Uiharu as the two girls began fighting over the remote control.
The woman on the TV who was a cross between an announcer and a performer read her script.
"Next up is, let's see…news about A-Academy City."
"Hm?"
Shirai and Uiharu stopped struggling and looked towards the TV.
That station was a national station located outside Academy City. Information about Academy City did not often make it to a station located outside. That may have been why the announcer seemed confused.
"Currently, Academy City is experiencing an uproar over an intruder. This has led to spreading damage within the city. We have footage of the scene. Issako-san?"
The image changed.
It was a grainy shot taken from a great distance. The camera was likely outside of Academy City. A woman wearing yellow could be indistinctly seen walking along a road as the rain fell.
The woman had an unsteady gait and shoved collapsed people out of the way with her feet. She was sticking her tongue out and a long chain attached to it swayed back and forth.
Before the reporter on the scene could say anything, the camera wobbled. After the sound of some sort of impact, the screen was filled with gray static. The studio announcer called out a name a few times, but received no response. It was unclear if the reporter was there or not.
The footage of the studio quickly returned.
It was the perfect timing to just barely prevent a broadcasting accident.
"W-was that the intruder?" asked the announcer.
The commentator sitting next to her replied in a calm voice.
"Given the level of Academy City's defenses, it is highly unlikely this is the work of some pervert who is simply after the children."
"I see."
"It may be a terrorist attack against perceived science worship or someone after their cutting edge technology."
"I am sure our viewers are most concerned about the safety of the children. Will this affect that?"
"Of course." The commentator shook his head in a theatrical sign of disapproval. "They have gotten the children wrapped up in the adults' issues. This is even worse than a simple attacker on the street. Honestly, who is that woman in the footage? People will occasionally neglect the lives of children, but letting ridiculous social nonconformists like that run free is-…"
A thud was then heard.
It was the sound of the commentator's forehead hitting the table as he suddenly collapsed forward.
"?"
Shirai frowned.
She thought it was part of a performance, but then the commentator's body shifted to the side and collapsed below the table. The announcer screamed, the camera shook, and some lightly dressed youths who appeared to be ADs dashed into the studio.
A deep voice of someone not shown on camera shouted several instructions and a commercial started playing. Some form of trouble had clearly occurred.
As a female star known for her small face was shown being deeply moved by how wonderful a face washing foam was, Uiharu turned toward Shirai.
"Have we received a report about that footage? I have been dealing with handwritten paperwork all day, so I did not notice. If this intruder really did defeat Anti-Skill alone, she must be quite dangerous. How did someone so creepy get in?"
"Judgment is rarely called for activities outside of the schools during the day, much less at night. If the situation is bad enough, Anti-Skill will request our help. We need to focus on this paperwork until-…"
"…"
Uiharu Kazari did not reply to Shirai's words.
Her body leaned backwards unsteadily and then she collapsed onto the floor without providing any resistance. Shirai heard a surprisingly loud thud after which Uiharu showed no sign of moving.
Shirai ran over to Uiharu in shock.
"Uiharu!!"
She called Uiharu's name in her ear and slapped her cheek, but received no response.
Shirai still had no idea what was happening when she heard a voice from the TV.
The commercials were over, but the news program did not return. The screen only displayed scrolling text saying "Please wait a moment."