In all honesty Kiyama hadn't expected him to come back to her so quickly. This mysterious young man who had leaped up in esper levels for no apparent reason. Rapidly, too rapidly to be believable without the use of the Level Upper. Yet she was quite sure that he hadn’t used it, after all she was the one who had distributed it and had access to certain methods to check who was… infected so to speak.
One might think that makes her a monster. Putting those kids into comas like that. Alluring them with the promise of power only to use them as a means to an end. Well, she didn't see it that way. She knew firsthand what this city was like, what it was capable of. Because, as a researcher, she had already committed something far worse.
She had forced other kids even younger than those who had used Level Upper into an experiment that had left them comatose with no apparent way to wake up. It wasn't her idea, of course. She opposed it on general principle. She had been assured it would be fine. Then they hadn’t woken up before essentially being abandoned by the city as a whole. After all, they were all nothing but orphans and others who had been abandoned by their parents for one reason or another. What did the governing body of Academy City care about, when there wasn’t even anyone willing or able to pay for their tuition anyway? Nobody who would miss them.
Nobody but her.
That was the aim of the Level Upper, actually. To develop the data and ability necessary to wake them up herself. The specifics aren't all that important for the time being. That was her plan, and that's all there is to it.
This boy, Daisuke, and his mysterious advancement could be a potential hindrance to her plan. Or it could benefit it. Either way, her scientific curiosity was whispering to her that she should absolutely make use of him, investigate what was going on with him, how he had advanced in level so quickly.
Who knows? Maybe she'll actually do him some good even if she gained nothing out of it. Wouldn't that be nice?
"Might I ask what changed your mind?" Kiyama asked the boy sitting opposite her in this makeshift office building she was using as a temporary workspace. "I would have thought you'd need at least a day or two to reconsider, rather than a few hours."
"My girlfriend's in a coma," Daisuke said. He gripped at his arm. Tension going through his body. That much was a genuine response. Likely used Level Upper. She would have to cross reference the name later on, when he'd given it. "I'm worried my new power is responsible. She's the one that's been most... exposed to it."
"Possibly," she honestly yet harshly replied. "Depending on the 'true' nature of your powers you might have accidentally caused something to go awry within her nervous system... or it could be something else. A coincidence. Either way, checking is the best approach. Why don't you start by telling me the true nature of your powers."
"I have an enormous hypnotic penis."
Kiyama nodded slowly, and then heavily considered packing up her books and walking out of the office. Maybe torching it to be safe. This was what they call 'trolling' wasn't it? Gaslighting, perhaps? Of course, hypnotic and suggestive abilities did exist in this city. Mental Out is one of the Level 5s, and her powers allow her something greater than mere hypnosis.
However, such a thing as a hypno-dick was the stuff of young teen fantasies. In fact, one might call it the ultimate male power fantasy. The potency of their genitals is so mighty it overrides the will and common sense of all who behold it.
In theory a hypnotic body part was possible, something using bioluminescence maybe. There was a certain clothing brand that had been experimenting with subliminals, pheromones and the like from what she remembered. But the chances of an Esper power to just happen to manifest in such a way was ridiculously low.
"That is a remarkable claim, and will require testing for me to properly understand it," Kiyama said. The boy reached for his belt. "No, not on me. When dealing with mental affecting Espers, it is crucial to wear protective gear at all times to ensure the data you're seeing is the real data. Exposure would make any assistance I could give you totally worthless."
"Good point," Daisuke said. "So... I guess you'll need some volunteers?"
"That's right," Kiyama said. "Please wait here while I bring one along. I know exactly who to contact." Once again, this was a situation where she could benefit no matter the outcome. If it worked (which she deemed unlikely) then she could study this curiosity more closely. If it did not, then the boy would be quickly taught a lesson on why not to mess around with a researcher working at Academy City. That is, if he survived the electroshock therapy he'd be receiving.
<hr>
The third most powerful Esper in Academy City was an electromaster named Misaka. One of seven Level 5s in the city, and she was the third strongest. She'd never actually met numbers one or two. Though... she had met one of the others a couple of times. They didn't get on. At all. They were as polar opposite as people could get.
But again, not the point..She had worked hard and become the third strongest Esper in the city. Despite that, she felt kinda... helpless right now. There were so many people out there who had obviously hit a brick wall, couldn't advance further, couldn't replicate the effort she'd put in, for whatever reason, and... Stopped. This led them to taking the desperate option. The stupid option. They take up the Level Upper and use that shortcut to gain the power they feel they deserve...
Then they wind up in a coma.
It's easy to think of them as bad people. On the other hand, Level 0s are often mistreated. Those whose Esper powers fail to manifest, for whatever reason. They go through the process, they go through the hard work - and nothing to show for it. That must breed resentment. Jealousy. Envy. Frustration. All kinds of insecurities...
Was it any wonder Saten had used one herself? She hadn't known about the side effects. It wasn't well known. Based on what she was seeing online, even now the accusations were flying that it was an attempt by those with higher levels to hold everyone down, because of course they would do that, right? Of course the powerful would hold down the weak for absolutely no reason. Ugh! That's why she hated conspiracy theories! The motivation behind them often makes no sense at all, especially when there's obviously easier ways to get what such people would want!
Anyway, that wasn't the only thing worrying her. Kuroko had been getting into rough fights lately due to this thing. She'd come home last night limping. It was taking its toll on her, and even the best medicine in Academy City can only do so much when you're pushing yourself too hard. Yet she wasn't willing to let Misaka get involved in this. Forcing her to stick to the sidelines when she could easily do so, so much more to help them out.
"Kyah!" she yelled, kicking a vending machine to make it spit out the yummy treat it had the audacity to deny her. After she'd put in her money, too!
"It's no wonder that machine is not working," a sleepy voice said, off behind her. Huh? That was... Kiyama Harumi. They'd met a couple of days ago. Talked a while about various things. "If you kick it like that regularly, of course it would break."
"Then the city should repair it before it eats everyone's money," Misaka sniffed. "Did you want something?"
"Actually, I could use your help with something," Kiyama said. Her help? "It's a small research matter. Nothing too big... though if my hypothesis is correct it could lead to a breakthrough in the Level Upper investigation."
"A breakthrough in that investigation...?" Misaka repeated, in that way fictional characters sometimes do for no apparent reason beyond making sure the audience is following the important details in the conversation. "Have you taken it to Judgement? Your hypothesis?"
"They won't listen to me, even though I'm an expert in this field," Kiyama shrugged. "Above my pay grade, or some such nonsense. Huh, politics! Even though I found someone with an abnormal level boost who claims he's not used Level Upper at all! Obviously, he has, but... he could be useful in figuring out how it works. With the right experiments."
Well, that sounded like it could be worthwhile. But still there was one question.
"Where do I come into this?"
"Calibration," Kiyama said. "The equipment I intend to use is very sensitive. While you're well known for how powerful your electromancer powers are, the finer element of that power is also within your grasp. Yes?"
Yes, indeed. If she wanted to she could quite easily use her electricity to manipulate machinery. It helped if she was more familiar with it, but...
This felt off. A little... convenient, maybe? Too convenient. Suspicious. This was very suspicious. Being approached out of nowhere by a researcher and asked to assist in some vague research? That was a big red flag. Especially in this city.
"So... you want me to make sure your delicate equipment is properly calibrated...?" Misaka asked.
"Yes, while I study his brainwaves," Kiyama said. "I believe that is where the Level Upper is affecting people. It would explain the recent news about users going into comas."
She accepted that a bit too uncritically as well. A researcher would question that data, if they weren't already sure of it. Misaka was pretty sure, this was a little too good to be true. Which meant only one thing.
"Sure, I'd be glad to help."
Go along with it. Definitely go along with it. Because, you see, Misaka was the third strongest Esper in the city. She could handle herself just fine by herself... not that she would be by herself. Because... you see, the thing about Misaka is that she has a passive electromagnetic sense around her. She knew when someone was nearby. Hiding. Like a certain sneaky teleporter.
Kuroko was tailing Kiyama. To be honest, that was the real reason Misaka was suspicious about her motives. Kuroko must have found some kind of lead, and was keeping an eye on this woman. As such, Misaka was going to go along. See what this was all about. Then, if Kiyama was responsible for all of this...
Well, she'd at least survive the electroshock therapy she'd receive. Misaka had a pretty good handle on what lethal doses looked like. It would hurt like hell, though not nearly as much as Saten's condition must be hurting her friends and family!
<hr>
Was he doing the right thing? Was he overreacting? No, Daisuke couldn't think that way. He had to know more about the effects of this cock. He couldn't go around with it and whip it out, using it to resolve this or that problem... Not until he fully understood the effects of this power on others. That was the responsible thing to do.
Though it was troubling him that they were letting him wander free without any understanding of how it actually functioned. The way they'd said it, they didn't get it fully themselves. Some hypothesis or other, but nothing really concrete about how it functioned. That was kind of weird, huh? Were they hiding something from him on purpose? Some ulterior motive?
He really hoped Kiyama could give him a second opinion. She'd been gone for a while now. Probably out trying to find that 'volunteer' she'd mentioned. Who did she have in mind?
"I'm back," Kiyama said. She looked around the office. "Good, you didn't touch anything. It would have been a nasty fine if you had. Tampering with a researcher's equipment isn't very clever."
"So why did you leave me unsupervised?" Daisuke asked. He peered around her. There was a girl standing there. Orange hair, a bit short. Fairly flat chested, but kinda cute. Glowering at him with great suspicion.
"This is the girl I was talking about, she'll be assisting us," Kiyama said. "Those diodes on the desk, if you would please put them on your heads?" This wasn't all that unusual. Brainwave measurement was a regular occurrence for those new to the Esper program.
Tinkering a little with the small piece of electronics, the girl frowned before finally fastening them properly. “Right, so are we starting this?” She asked, standing still and glancing at him. There was a short silence before she continued. “Come on, do your worst.”
Well, okay. If she insisted. Daisuke flicked at his belt and let his trousers drop to the ground. The girl stared for a moment. Shock passed over her face. Then passed into the air around her for good measure.
"Wha-" she muttered out, eyes fixated upon his cock. "What the hell is..."
Then she sank to her knees, eyes at crotch height, with a familiar glazed over look in her eyes.
"Phew, that's quite potent," Kiyama said from behind him "Do not turn around no matter what. I am protecting myself with various pieces of equipment you cannot see, but would prefer it if you didn't put those to the test."
"R-Right!" Daisuke said. "Uh, what now?"
"Order her to do something she wouldn't normally do," Kiyama replied. "Nothing too dirty, remember that I'm here too."
Uh... okay? Well, if only his boner wasn’t so distracting… it had been getting harder to deal with the arousal after his ‘girlfriend’ had become unavailable. And the empty eyed gaze full of worshipful hunger didn’t help in the slightest. “Ehhh… how about, give me your panties please?”
"Okay," the girl said, but Kiyama smacked him across the back of the head.
"Ah, okay, fine! Fine! You don't have to give me your panties!" Daisuke said. He honestly felt like he might die! Though he could not see her, Kiyama was probably glaring a hole in the back of his head! "Um, how about you just tell me something embarrassing about yourself that you would never normally admit to?"
"I think that Gekota is the cutest thing in existence," Misaka said. "I will gladly spend money on merchandise at every opportunity."
Gekota? The frog thing? Really? Wasn’t that thing popular among elementary schoolers? How old was this girl meant to be again?!
"Incredible..." Kiyama said behind him in a quiet voice. "To put her under so thoroughly and convincingly... So fast as well. Even Mental Out is supposed to struggle against her. Give her another command. Nothing lewd." Wait… what did she say, something about struggling against her?
Nothing lewd? That almost wasn't fun... Ah, stop thinking like that! Alright, fine. What sort of thing should he ask her to do then...? He didn't even know who this girl was so this was quite a hard thing to figure out.
"Is there a guy you like?" he asked, little realising the can of worms he was opening wide. Or the knock on effects that her answer to that question would have.
No comments:
Post a Comment