Right, Haru hid behind the corner as he tracked the retreating group of smugglers. This is a narrow alleyway... if I appear between them and knock some of them out, the resulting gunfire would hit some of their own. Hopefully, they've never experienced a fight against an esper.
"Hey, you're in the way! Move!"
Hmm?
There, suddenly appearing in the midst of the group, was Shirai Kuroko. It appeared that someone else had the same idea. And based on the fact that the group was unable to organize a proper attack against her, they were inexperienced in esper battles.
"Judgement desu no!"
Multiple sounds of bodies hitting the floor rang out as the entire fight was overrun by her teleportation ability. Attempting to find a chance to take the suitcase in question, Haru hid nearby, listening to the racket created by the combat. After some concentration, he transmigrated to the top of a building right next to them, and silently watched the occurring fight from above.
Should he retreat for now, or should he try to take it by force? Faced by the dilemma, he watched Shirai leisurely sitting on the suitcase, appearing to be within a phone conversation. If he engaged in one-on-one combat right there, there was a chance for him to obtain the remnant. On the other hand, he had to consider the fact that he no longer had the element of surprise, and that if she were to resort to telefragging in order to place an object within his body, the situation would quickly turn in her favor.
And then, quite unexpectedly, the suitcase she was sitting upon disappeared. After her abrupt fall to the ground she cast her gaze into the sky to right where he was hiding. Quickly he removed himself from the edge, wondering whether she caught a glimpse of him or not. Hearing a new voice ringing out in the air he hesitantly took another peek over the edge.
A short-haired girl with a long jacket was now sitting upon the suitcase in question, her arms crossed. Shirai had an object pierced through her shoulder, and now was standing up, her hands over her wound.
Who the heck is she? Where did she even come from? Don't tell me... another teleporter?
This threw a wrench within his strategy. Having multiple unpredictable factors within a plan led to drastically different results.
Think logically.
The object they are all pursuing for is that suitcase. In that case all I need to do is...
Contemplating the sudden idea that popped within his head, Haru took out his phone. Focusing on the suitcase the new girl was sitting upon, he took multiple pictures of the object.
The subsequent battle that occurred between the two took less than six minutes to reach its conclusion. Shirai Kuroko lay on the ground, bleeding profusely from the wounds she suffered from the combat.
"Can you walk?"
It was a simple question, really. But to an outsider it sounded like a mocking and uncaring comment. He was standing right in front of her, and she was glaring up at him in response.
"Why are you here?" she spat out, still lying on the ground. "Don't tell me... you are here to insult me while I am injured?"
Haru sighed. Apparently her defeat was still yet a fresh wound. "I am technically part of the Judgment, am I not?" taking out the green band from within his jacket he held it up. "And, a Judgment member was assaulted. I'm sure you know what I have to do."
"Don't make me laugh. You are the type of person who has a motive for everything. You don't care about others, you only care about what you want."
He silently reflected in her words, beginning to look over his own actions.
Do I really appear that way to others...?
It was pointless to persuade her as he hostility amplified her distrust. The other option was to give her some sort of incentive.
"Do you understand Misaka Mikoto's position over the situation of the Tree Diagram remnant?"
Her glare intensified.
"Because I do. And you won't be able to help her while you are lying on the ground. You have to toughen up and understand that the world you will enter while trying to help her is darker than anything you have observed before. The other option is to forget everything you saw here and go back to your quiet and peaceful life. I won't lie, I sometimes wish I could have had choice to that option."
"Onee-sama told you her secrets as opposed to myself? I do not believe that."
"No, she didn't. 'The truth is rarely pure and never simple.' I had no choice in my involvement with this, and if you wish to know the truth as well, only she has the right to explicitly tell anyone. If you wish to help her, you have to first regroup and recuperate. So, can you walk?"
A defiant glare was the only response he received.
"Well, I have no doubt that you would be able to drag yourself all the way to safety through sheer will." he continued. "But, it doesn't have to be that way."
She didn't grace him with any response.
Carrying a wounded girl within his arms was admittedly far less glamorous than he had previously thought. Despite her light frame and weight he still had to exert a good amount of force in order to carry her. As dangerous blood loss would occur otherwise, the objects that pierced her body were left untouched. Coppery smell of blood mixed in with her perfume created a weird scent that was definitely not pleasant.
There would have been riots in the streets had he carried her in an open area. He had to take secluded routes in order to reach the destination of her desire, which meant that he needed to carry her over longer distance. She did not wish to reach the hospital—much to his displeasure—but rather to her dorms.
Why was he even carrying her in the first place? Helping her wasn't a part of his plan, but rather it hindered his progress. Was it to prove her wrong in saying that he did not care for others? Was it to earn her trust and goodwill? Was it because he was a depraved degenerate who enjoyed tending to injured girls? What was the real reason?
Slowly but surely, he carried her to the destination little by little. Running would result in her wounds deepening, and his stamina depleting.
"I won't be able to intervene any more. I have my own battlefield to enter, and you have yours." he said. "If you cannot defeat her physically, then defeat her mentally."
"I don't need your advice." she snapped.
"Probably not," he admitted. "I'm sure you can defeat her with patience and effort, but it would be painstakingly long. On that note, we are at the front of your dorm. Now, I'm pretty sure I won't be allowed to enter—"
Instantly, she teleported away from him, not bothering to hear the rest of his sentence.
"... Hm."
So she was not injured to the point where she is unable to use her powers...
Taking little heed to the blood spattered onto his clothing, he took out his phone, examining his options.
Keeping track of a high level teleporter is a devil of a job. It would be easier and safer to tail one of the members of the smugglers back to their headquarters... however, I am assuming that the teleporter—whose name I do not yet know—is part of their operation. As of now, I have no other choice. Now, they are long gone, but...
Grinning, he began to concentrate, calculating necessary equations.
Time is of no concern to me.
And then, he was gone.