03x07 - Auribus oculi fideliores sunt. (The eyes are more trustworthy than the ears)

[bunniefuu]

You can hear me, right?

I avoided the communications system
when I smashed this thing.

From here on, if I ever see one of these

or one goes near one of my friends,

even for an instant,

then no matter where you are,
I swear I will find you...

...and crush you.

He ran away.

Well, any memories linked to Shokuho
are either erased or overwritten,

so it wouldn't matter.

There isn't much information
to speak of in the truck, either.

They are careful, anyway.

I could tell as soon
as they sent that robot out,

but this isn't the work of amateurs.

A vehicle this big would have
no choice but to take the main roads.

There are only so many
routes it could have taken.

If I trace back where it came
from using the security cameras,

I should be able to find
where they're holding her.

"A Certain Scientific Railgun T"

Have you still not picked
up Miss Misaka's trail?

No.

I guess that's that. Well, let's go
in teams of three again and search--

Sorry, but we have a
competition that's about to start.

And we can't really have
this many of us skip out.

Aw, man!

Well, those of us who are
left will start looking!

If only our Queen were here right now.
Has anyone been in contact with her?

Not since last night.

--Um, who's the "Queen"?
--Where could she be?

They mean Miss Shokuho
Misaki, from our school.

The girls in her clique
refer to her as their Queen.

Oh, yeah? Queen, huh?

Wasn't Shokuho Misaki someone
who could manipulate memories?

Those blue-blood girls really are unusual.

Thank you very much.

Miss Wannai, what is Miss Kongo's condition?

According to what the doctor said,

luckily, none of her trauma
should leave any permanent scars.

As for the nanodevice, they are sending it
to an agency that specializes in them.

So it's safe for us to breathe easy, then?

I believe so. There is one
other thing we can do...

I hate to keep troubling you about this.

Not at all.

So then, um,

are you able to speak to cats?

No. My ability is psychometry.

That's a completely
different class than telepathy,

so it's not as though
I can communicate with them.

All I can do is read the
fragments of an animal's qualia--

meaning their sensory experiences,
but it does have the benefit

of being able to pick up on information
that the cat itself may not be able to understand.

Oh...

You said yesterday around noon, right?

Yes, that is what we heard.

All right...

It was... at a construction
site or a stockyard.

"Development Permit Notice"

There was a tall man there.
Oh, and someone else--a girl, it looks like.

They started talking.

"One way or another, we have the initiative."

"We don't have time to bother with that now."

"What's happening with
Auribus oculi fideliores sunt?"

That's Latin. "The eyes are
more trustworthy than the ears."

Could that be some kind of cipher?

Um...

Hmm, I think anything beyond
that might be difficult.

The kitty seems to have
been pretty shaken up.

Oh, no, thank you very much.
While it might not mean anything to us,

it could prove to be useful
information to Miss Misaka.

Miss Saten, do you have your cell phone?

Oh, yes, right here.

The situation being what it is,

I think it's best if we
contact Miss Misaka right away.

Could we ask you to call her for us?

You bet.

All right, thanks for your assistance.

We will be in Miss Kongo's
hospital room if anything comes up.

Roger that! Now then...

Wait, I don't know Misaka's phone...

...num... ber...?

"Misaka Mikoto"

I have her saved?

It's taking too much time checking
the cameras at all key intersections.

They could make a run for it
before I even find them.

"Tokiwadai Middle School
takes 1st in Balloon Sandwich"

It looks like Mikoto is
doing pretty well. Nice, nice.

There, there, everything will be okay.

--You don't need to worry.
I'll stay with you.

--I know that head.
--You don't need to worry. I'll stay with you.

Uiharu!

Ms. Misuzu!

Who is that?

A lost boy.

Huh? In this crowd? That's a big deal.
Do you want some help?

Oh, no, I've already asked
his father to come to us.

You have?

Yes. Everyone's entrance pass is
equipped with GPS, including your own,

so our headquarters can
look up the location of any visitor.

It's Papa! Papa!

Please be careful, okay?

"Entrance pass"
"Misaka Misuzu"

You don't say.

I was wondering how you were able
to manage this many spectators.

You have everything under control, don't you?

Yes, but, if you hack into that system,

it makes it easy to locate
specific visitors...

Misaka Mikoto's mother.

I thought one hostage would be enough,

but this is the third-ranked
Level 5 I'm dealing with.

I think having one
other would be more reassuring.

So what is this urgent matter
you wanted to talk to me about?

Well, um...

I have many things to do.
Please make this quick.

Mm-hmm...

The thing is...

So what is her condition?

Her life isn't in any danger,

and Wannai and Awatsuki are watching her,
so I think she'll be okay.

I see. All of that happened
to Kongo Mitsuko...

Mm-hmm. Misaka seemed awfully angry about it.

I think maybe she feels responsible.

Once again with Misaka Mikoto.

I think I have a handle on the situation.

But the part about Misaka Mikoto
possibly being one of our friends

is a bit of a leap, is it not?

"Misaka Mikoto"

Yeah, I'm just saying, "possibly."

There's an esper at Tokiwadai
who can manipulate memories, right?

You think that Shokuho Misaki
tampered with our memories?

For what reason?

Moreover, if you believe that,
why did you not contact Uiharu?

Because if my guess is correct,

telling Uiharu about it might not be...

I-In any case,

I have a message for Misaka,
so why don't we ask her directly?

Well, I suppose you leave me no choice.
As a member of Judgment,

this does not appear to be
a situation I can ignore.

Who would be calling me now?

Miss Saten?

H-Hello?

Oh, um,

is this Miss Misaka? My name is Saten Ruiko.

Oh, mm-hmm. Thanks for
everything at the hospital.

I appreciate you telling me what happened.

--Oh, well, um, I heard from Wannai...
--Why is she so nervous?

...that you're looking
for your sister, right?

Anyhow, we had someone who can
do psychometry check out her cat.

I see.

Still, I'm sorry. I appreciate
you investigating,

but I have no idea what
this girl who could be Shokuho

and the man who was with
her were talking about.

Yeah, well, about that, they did mention
a name I'm quite familiar with.

Huh? Really?

I'd like to find out more about
our relationship with you, too.

Is there someplace where we could meet up?

Mm-hmm, all right.

Where are you right now?

The plaza in front of the terminal station
building in School District 15,

on the upper level.

Oh, we're pretty close to there.

Okay, you wait there, and I'll have
Shirai pick you up and bring you here.

Hey, I am not a taxi!

Kuroko is there with you?!

I-I told you, please do not
use my name so casually!

Miss Misaka?

There is a little something
I was hoping you might tell me.

I'm a little busy right now.

I don't have time to be
chatting with strangers.

However, if you have something to do
with the people who hurt my friend,

then that's another matter.

Whoa, just like that,
you're in combat mode. But then,

what do you say to this?

"#7 Auribus oculi fideliores sunt.
[The eyes are more trustworthy than the ears]"

Miss Uiharu?!

Now, now, let's start with having you
hang up the phone you're holding

and getting rid of it.

Good, good.

I don't need to introduce myself, do I?

I mean, you att*cked so many of
our villas and made off with our data.

Villas? att*cked?

What are you talking about?

Non, non, you can't play dumb.
You've been sniffing around,

so you know what I'm about to ask, don't you?

The clones of you that
are known as "Sisters"--

where exactly are they hiding?
I've done a thorough investigation

into how you interfered
with Project Level 6 Shift.

It's not like you wouldn't know
what happened to your "Sisters"

once the project went belly up.

Where are the clones who are
still in Academy City being kept?

What's going on here?

Is she not working together with Shokuho?

We're scouring dark side
intelligence networks in high gear,

but whenever we search for "Sisters,"
our leads always come up empty.

Which organization has
the souped-up security to keep them?

I don't know who you people are,

but what is it you want to do
so badly that you'd as*ault my friends?

Oh, dear, after everything else,
you can ask something like that?

If you ask me, you're the one who's messed up

if you can just blithely
live here in the city like this.

I mean, you know, after
everything you've seen.

The inhuman atrocities that
were carried out to achieve Level 6;

the human experimentation
that went on using Child Errors;

using negotiators to swindle
people out of their DNA maps--

It's not like activities such as these
were carried on by only one organization.

If you trace them backward,
they all lead back to Academy City's higher-ups.

You are aware that this whole city
is one big proving ground.

No, you aren't like the other
students who know nothing about this.

And yet you turn a blind eye to the truth
and live your non-committal life here.

I'm impressed that you
could be so nonchalant.

You know, I...

Never mind.

That has nothing to do with this.

It's unrelated to the fact that
you brought harm upon my friends.

I have nothing to tell you.

Now let Miss Uiharu go.

My shocks will go through
you much faster than that Kn*fe.

"Miss Uiharu," huh?

So you do know her!
She was pretty chummy with your mother,

so I suspected as much.

My mother...?

Is that...? Mama!

A second hostage!

Not even you can take out
two people at once, can you?

The lives of these two far outweigh
the location of the clones, right?

So I'll ask you again, where are the Sisters?

And I'll say this one more time, too.
I have nothing to tell you.

Oh, my, you don't think I'm bluffing, do you?

Or are you willing to abandon both of them?

I...

...am going to save Miss Uiharu.

Even if it costs me my life.

I swear it.

Does that mean you don't
need your mother? How mean--

Oh, seriously?

Oh, dear, negotiations have broken down.
Sorry about this, Mom.

I hate to have to end this
with her taking me so lightly,

so if you must blame someone,
blame Mikoto for letting you die--

She had a friend lurking nearby?!

Her breathing, pulse,
and body temperature are normal.

From what I can see, she is not injured.

She ran away.

I would like to go after her,
but the safety of the hostage comes first.

Besides, I can ask her what happened.

Miss Uiharu is all right.
She doesn't appear to be hurt.

Please back away!

Huh? Hold on...

Judgment!

You are under arrest
for kidnapping and as*ault--

Kuroko! Get away from her!

That girl... isn't human?!

My bolts have no effect.

Kuroko, teleport these two someplace safe.

My shocks didn't work, either.

Can I blow her away with my railgun?

Huh?

She melted?

Is that...

some kind of liquid metal?

It looked like she was controlling
it remotely like a puppet.

So why did she suddenly stop?

I don't know.

If this is that girl's ability,
then maybe she fled out of range.

Well, having Mikoto die
wouldn't work for us anyhow.

I have to admit,

negotiating with her head-on is difficult.

Can't help it, though. She can do lots
of stuff on the other end of the camera.

Still, I should be glad
I got anything at all out of this.

Villas? att*cked?

What are you talking about?

I brushed it off back there,
but she would gain nothing by denying it.

Eyewitness reports had me
convinced that it was Mikoto,

but maybe it's possible that
the testimony was false. Meaning...

it's also possible that the
witnesses' memories were altered.

Maybe I'd better reconsider this. Besides...

You know, I...

...there may still be some hope for her.

So, would you mind explaining
to me what happened here?

Sorry, but I don't know
who that was, either--

I am bothered by that, as well,

but first, tell me about what just happened.

You were acting as though
you were sure I would be there.

When you said that you were going
to save Uiharu and not your mother.

That was a declaration to me, was it not?

Well, um, after I hung up on our call,

I could sense the EM signal of
an incoming call to Miss Uiharu's cell,

and figured that Miss Saten was calling
her to check on what was happening.

I had already told you where I was,

and knowing you, you could
be here in less than ten seconds,

so I assumed you were
hiding somewhere nearby...

Thank you...

...for letting me take care
of rescuing your friend.

Uiharu is with Judgment.
It is only natural to give priority

to a civilian over a colleague.

How could you leave your
own mother's life up to a stranger?

If I had put Mama ahead of a friend,
that would have made her angry at me.

Besides...

...I had faith in you, Kuroko,
and was sure that you would save her.

W-Well, that is my job,
after all, so naturally--

Are you okay?!

I'm sorry. I must have overexerted
you when you're still injured.

Huh? I-I am all right!
I do not require your unwelcome concern!

What are you talking about?

Come on, hold on to me tight.

L-Let go of me, please!

My tastes do not run that way!

It sounds like neither of them were hurt.

They said they should
both wake up in no time.

Thank goodness.

So? You said you needed to speak with us?

Oh, mm-hmm.

Um, the person who kidnapped your
sister--the girl in that kitten's memory...

You're sure it's Shokuho Misaki, then?

Mm-hmm.

I don't think there can be any question.

So anyway,

that Auribus-whatever-it-was Latin
that we heard from the psychometry

is the same name as the
urban legend site that I browsed.

Urban legend site?

Why would Shokuho Misaki be
concerned with something like that?

The site doesn't just
collect different rumors;

its lure is that it actually goes
around validating their details.

And yesterday, when I was off
trying to find Shadow Metal,

Uiharu was searching that site for me,

but said she couldn't find it.

So a little earlier, I tried
searching for it again,

and sure enough, the results
are plastered with similar pages,

but I can't find the
original site in there anywhere.

It's impossible to completely erase
any data once it's uploaded on the net.

So I was thinking that
somebody must have distributed

a bunch of dummy data
with much higher search rankings

to keep people from actually
reaching the site.

Or put another way,

there was something on that site
that this somebody considers problematic.

Right.

Knowing Uiharu, she would
sense something out of place

and try to hunt down the cause of it.

She also has the skill to find it.

But this somebody detected
Miss Uiharu's actions on this end

and att*cked her.

Assuming it was Shokuho,
she would have had Uiharu erase the data,

and then, after searching her memories,

she would also learn that she is my friend.

It all fits together.

This sounds like a crazy conclusion
to draw from connecting the dots,

but if it is true, then that computer...

...is worth checking out, isn't it?

The erased data has been reconstructed!

There it is!

"A secret technique lying behind fortified lines?!
Track down the cutting-edge
DNA computer that generates abilities!"

Shokuho...!

"Next episode preview"

The Railgun of Tokiwadai,

"Next episode preview"
"#8 Railgun ✕ Mental Out"

the disagreeable girl who
brags about being a Level 5!

Or so I thought, but what
is the deal with her smile?!

Why is my heart churning so much inside me?!

Maybe because you're a degenerate?