02x05 - Project Level 6 Shift

[bunniefuu]

It came from somewhere around here...

Wh-Who...

Who are you?

"Meow."

Huh?

Meow?

Wh-What does she mean?

Is that her name?

Or her organization?

Or did I mishear what she said?

Maybe she's not speaking Japanese?

"A quadrupedal animal that cries in such a manner is in trouble."

A cat?

"When I walked by earlier,"

"I saw a parked car with a baby left inside."

"There was a high risk of developing heat stroke,"

"so I used my ability to unlock the car and open the window."

"In doing so however, I startled the creature, which climbed up the tree."

"And now, it can't come down,"

says MISAKA, explaining the details of the situation.

Wait, that's not even the issue here!

I asked who you were!

"It appears to be in an even more dangerous predicament."

"Do you not plan on helping it?"

I-It might be small, but it's still a cat.

Falling from that height won't hurt it!

Alternative ,Besides—

"I see."

"So Onee-sama does not mind if that creature crashes onto the ground?"

"Even if it may suffer heavy injuries that hinder its operation,"

"or that result in the cessation of its life functions,"

"you aren't concerned?"

Fine...

What should we do then?

"If one of us stood on the other's back, we may just be able to reach it,"

says MISAKA, offering her suggestion.

Well, there's nothing else around here that we could stand on...

Why am I on the bottom?

"Onee-sama, a little more to the left."

Give me a break!

What the hell?!

"I've managed to secure it," says MISAKA—

H-Hey! Why are you lifting up your skirt?!

Y-You're a g-girl, you should...

I mean, y-you've got the same face as me, so...

Y-You know, this kitten's actually kind of cute...

"Kitten?"

Young cats are called kittens.

But it's probably scared of me.

It can sense the weak electromagnetic waves radiating from me.

The same applies to MISAKA as well.

Wait, that's not the issue!

What's with all this "Onee-sama" and "MISAKA"?

A-Are you really my...

...c-clone?

"Yes."

Just like that?

But that project was supposed to be frozen.

Why do you even exist?

"ZXCASDQWE',"

says MISAKA, asking for the confirmation passcode.

Huh?

"It appears that you are not a part of the experiment, Onee-sama."

"As such, I cannot answer your previous question."

Who's leading the project?

"That information is confidential."

What were you made for?

"That information is restricted."

Do you want me to hurt you?

I can draw it out of you by force if I have to.

Whatever, just go. (split)

I'm gonna tail you anyway.

Eventually, you're going to go back to some facility or lab, right?

I'll catch your creator there and ask them directly.

Sisters...

If I hadn't seen her with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it at all.

No...

Deep down, for some time now, I've been scared that a clone who resembled me would suddenly show up.

But...

is this really it?

This isn't the image I had in mind...

I thought it'd be something darker, like...

trying to dispose of the original and taking my place or something...

How am I suppose to react to this?

Wait...

Sister?!(plural)

W-Wait!

Hey, wait up!

Don't tell me there's like, five or ten more of you out there?

"Hahaha." (hehehe/tehehe)

"'Was it a cat I saw?' is the same forward and backward."

"Hahaha."

What? Who cares about that?!

"Hahaha. Was it a cat I saw?"

Listen to me! (removed goodness sake line)

Sheesh!

Hey, you twins there.

Siblings shouldn't fight.

She isn't my sister!

C'mon, don't even joke about that.

Hang on.

Here you go.

World's best ice cream!

It's on me, just stop fighting.

I'm sorry, but this isn't really a time to eat ice cream...

"Rich, yet not overbearing, and the aftertaste has a fresh sweetness to it."

"While good milk is essential for this,"

"it also requires the best refined sugar."

"The cone was made to imitate cookie pie crust."

"Good job,"

says MISAKA, offering her admiration.

Thanks a bunch.

If a married couple divorce, they become total strangers,

but the bond between siblings lasts a lifetime.

If I don't start making more money, Mom might decide to become a total stranger.(The way he says it, it sounds like he's still living single with his mother.)(who can blame him in this economy)

I couldn't care less.

Anyway, make sure you two get along!

You've got it all wrong!

Well, I guess it's understandable...

We don't just share the same blood, we have the same DNA...

Huh?

Hey, you!

"What is it?"

asks MISAKA as she feigns innocence, enjoying the refreshing aftertaste of the choco-mint ice cream.

C'mon, if you're my clone, you shouldn't be that greed—

Alternative ,"It's cooled my body, so I'd like some warm black tea,"

Alternative ,says MISAKA as she shamelessly pesters.

"I am actually quite fussy when it comes to the taste of black tea,"

says MISAKA, raising the stakes.

"By the way, I'll have milk tea,"

says MISAKA, stating her order.

Give me a break!

"The milk tea was quite good."

"So was the strawberry shortcake,"

says MISAKA, stating her sincere opinion.

So, when are you gonna go home?

"I forgot to mention it,"

"but I will be heading to the experiment now,"

"so I will not be returning to the facility."

"You are free to follow me, but you will not meet MISAKA's creator."

Why didn't you say so?

"Because you didn't ask."

What now?

Decoding that passcode and looking for information that way might be quicker.

I've got my PDA too...

What is that?

This? It's just a prize from a toy vendor.

What is it?

Just stay still.

Yep.

Now I don't need to use a mirror to see how it looks.

It looks pretty good too.

"No, no. Not a chance,"

says MISAKA, astounded by the overwhelming childishness of her original.

Wh-What?!

I-I was just joking!

Even my own clone questions my taste...

Alternative ,I just wanted to try it out—

What're you doing?!

"I assert that the ownership of this badge was granted to me the moment you attached it."

"I claim that your actions are oppressive," complains MISAKA.

Drop that nonsense!

"It is not nonsense."

"Besides..."

"this is the first present I've received from Onee-sama."

"Couldn't you have made it something less lame?"

is what MISAKA would actually say, but she just sighs instead.

Give it back!

I got caught up in her pace again...

We're getting nowhere like this.

I should just use the net instead.

Whatever.

I'll take my leave for today.

Hm? Is there something else?

"No."

"Farewell, Onee-sama."

Yeah. See you.

Seriously, what was that all about?

She completely messed up my rhythm...

We saved that kitten together,

ate ice cream together,

even fought over a badge...

It's almost like we really are—

First, I gotta find their creator!

(halftime)

Thanks a lot, Haruue-san!

Don't worry.

You help me all the time,

so I'm really happy I can help you with your summer homework.

I thought I was done for when I lost two hours because of Judgement's summer recruitment...

I'm done!

Is this okay?

Oh, hello?

Uiharu-san, sorry for calling so late.

I'll cut to the chase.

"ZXCASDQWE'..."

Do you have any idea what this is?

I think I've seen this kind of sequence somewhere before...

It looks like a clearance code for information that's ranked at security level A or higher.

I've tried cracking it before, but—

Thanks, that helps a bunch!

Huh? Misaka-san?

Is something wrong with Misaka-san?

I'm not sure...

"The current time is ."

"There are two minutes left until the nd experiment commences."

What...(split)
...is this?

"The time is now ."

"The nd experiment will now commence."

"Methodology for Using the Sisters to Achieve a Level Shift."

There are a total of seven Level espers in Academy City,

but based on the results from the Tree Diagram's simulations,

it has become clear that only one of them holds the potential to reach the as-yet unseen Level .

Through the standard curriculum,

it would require years for the subject to reach Level .

We thus abandoned this course of action

and considered advancing his ability growth through live combat.

By preparing certain b*ttlefield situations and progressing the fight following given scenarios,

we may manipulate the direction of advancement.

Based on the simulations, we have concluded that by preparing kinds of battlefields,

and k*lling the Railgun times, the subject would shift to Level .

However, as it proved impossible to procure multiple Railguns...

we have decided to use the Sisters, originally from the suspended Radio Noise Project, as replacements.

What's wrong?

That all you got?

By deploying a large number of armed Sisters, and accounting for variance in the production process...

What is this?

This isn't even funny anymore....

k*ll me? Use my clones instead?

"Farewell, Onee-sama."

Damn it!

Just keep running!

You'll get to live that much longer.

This is a game of tag with your life on the line.

Once I catch you, it's game over.

Too slow.

Come on...

You don't have time to take a nap.

C'mon, are you broken already?

So boring.

Will I really become Level like this?

Very good!

You're pretty tough.

Just how I like it!

I knew it...

There's no way that crazy plan could actually—

C'mon, what's wrong?

Outta gas now?

Or did you give up already?

"I... could not accurately ascertain the target's abilities,"

"but..."

"judging from the results of other experiments so far,"

"I have concluded that he has some sort of barrier around himself."

"Furthermore, from the fact that the target walks in direct contact with the ground,"

"I can assume that the barrier is not applied downwards, or at least, not under his feet."

"Thus, I have concluded that a surprise att*ck from that direction would be the most effective."

What're you mumbling about?

If you're not gonna run anymore, I'll just end it.

"I am not running away."

"I have lured you to the target area as planned,"

says MISAKA, requesting he correct his statement.

The target lies in complete silen—

Too bad!

Your reasoning was completely wrong!

"Sto—"

So much for playing tag.

You'd probably die if I just left you here,

but waiting's a pain in the ass.

Huh?

You're still running away?

That's a dead end, just saying.

Or do you have something else up your sleeve?

I've had enough of you.

I'll just end your suffering.

No!

No way...

That can't be...

No—!

And that concludes tonight's experiment.

We made quite a mess.

I wonder if they can clean it up.

Not like I care.

I'll just drop by a convenience store and—
Hey, what's this all about?


I thought there was only one experiment tonight!

Oh wait, I see now!

You must be...