03x25 - My Dear Friends

[bunniefuu]

To your five o'clock!

That one is probably the main unit!

Wait! Your line of fire is...!

Why...

...did you miss?

So the Doppelganger's objective really is...

What's the matter?

Are you trying to get this city set ablaze?

Your bluffs won't work anymore.

You wouldn't do that.

Can't you just live the way you are now?

That's a cruel thing to ask.

If you suddenly learned one day...

...that you were just a counterfeit
covered with a layer of skin,

would you have the confidence
in yourself to maintain your identity?

If you think simply continuing
to operate is happiness for a machine,

then that's your human ego.

But,

--I mean, there are other--
--Continuing to exist in this form,

where I am reminded ad nauseum...

...that I do not possess a soul,
is torment all by itself.

Please...

All right.

"A Certain Scientific Railgun T"

I offer you my thanks,

Railgun.

You have to be kidding me!

Making me do this to you...

If you are troubled by this,
then you are an incredibly soft touch.

This is no worse than disposing
of a broken household appliance.

Your goal was to destroy yourself
and the airship with the repository of data

that would make it possible
to reconstruct yourself. As well as...

...getting rid of Miss Kuriba,
the one who could create them.

Your safeties prevent you
from committing su1c1de,

so you were trying to use those gas tanks

to activate Academy City's
intercept systems, weren't you?

Yeah.

There's something I need to tell you,
while I still can...

What the...?

Miss Kuriba... I was just about to tell her
that I could reason with her to--

You have the devil's own luck.

No way!

It can't be... It can't be...

K-K-Kuriba, we can fix her!

--Hurry and collect her parts!
--Hold on!

Just let the Doppelganger rest in peace!

This is what she wants!

What are you--

Chief, I can't take part
in this experiment any longer.

Wha--?

Actions that cause distress to the subject

for the sake of the
researcher's profit or fame...

...are not what I call medical care.

Just a second, now. Do you realize
the good this research will bring about--

What you want
isn't even in the Doppelganger!

Her soul doesn't exist.

It's just a fallacy,

born of wishful thinking in
getting the results you wanted.

Y--

You expect me to believe that?!

Huh?!

I'm taking her with me, no matter what!

This is ridiculous...

Shut up!

Turn around!

Do as I say, or else...!

I can tell roughly where
they are from their EM waves.

But if I'm not careful,
my att*ck could hit Miss Kuriba.

There's a good chance that
masked kid is watching what's going on,

but the airship has drifted pretty far away.

There's no telling how long
it would take her to get here by car.

What nonsense is this
about her not having a soul?

It's true!

The Doppelganger was
just using her artificial muscles

to make it look like soul possession!

You're lying!

No, I'm not! This whole time,

she's been suffering inside
her soulless, awkward self

and chose the route of shutting
her systems down herself!

No, it must be deeper inside!
Deeper than the artificial muscles!

It has to be!

Even if I have to dismantle her,
I can demonstrate...

Chief, stop it, already!

It's not right to trample on
the Doppelganger's dignity any further!

H-Hey!

You need this wake-up call, right now,

or we'll end up committing even more mistakes!

L-Let go--

N-No! You tugged at me!

I never meant to sh**t you!

Miss Kuriba!

Stay with me!

I'll call the hospital for you.

--Seike and Naru are headed to you--
--I'll take care of it myself.

Just contact the hospital, please.

All right.

This is not a good place to get sh*t.
As it stands...

--Kuro--
--What a lucky place to get sh*t.

She always did... have the devil's own luck...

There's a cyborg right here,

designed exclusively for her...

Even without administering miahilin...

...part of me could...

Honestly... I learned way too much--

Sissy--

Kuroko... I hate to ask,

but could you help me carry
these two to the hospital?

No soul? After everything
we went through, that can't be true.

I-I know! If I do it over again,
then someday, even without Kuriba,

I could use a Child Error
right away to save time--

So even a man who sought
for affordable ways to save the lives

of so-called medical refugees from all over,

can no longer apply his
own brakes once he goes astray.

Human avarice is a frightening thing.

I'll reset you to help you remember
what your original intentions were.

If you have the spirit to do it all over again,
then crawl your way back

"#25 My Dear Friends"

from behind square one.

Sissy?

Did you get some good news or something?

Hmm? You know that girl
I had you take to the hospital?

It says she's out of intensive care.

Sounds like she's recovering nicely.

That is the best news.

And it's all because of you.

Thanks.

Oh, no, I simply wanted to see
that joyful look on your face.

However, if you insist on displaying
your feelings of gratitu-u-ude...

No, that's okay.

Oh my word...

I see you two are as close as ever.

Shokuho...

How do you do, Miss Misaka, Miss Shirai?

Hi there.

How do you do?

Oh yeah...

If this is about Miss Kuriba, I heard.

It's great that she pulled through.
That was good, hard work, Miss Misaka.

Yeah, yeah. "Hard" is right.

What is this, now?

Huh?

That business the other night--

by any chance, was it Shokuho Misaki
with whom you were having dealings?

Oh, uh, well...

For that matter, Sissy, did you two not
use to have more friction between you?

When did you start being so chummy?!

We haven't started being especially anything.

Then why were you keeping it a secret?!

You must be feeling guilty about something!

What would I have done to feel guilty about?!

That is not a satisfactory answer!

You have nothing to worry about, Miss Shirai.

I'm not going to take your Sissy away from you.

I-Is that so?

However...

I may decide to come and take you.

--Huh?
--Or not.

Hello!

--Huh?
--Ah!

Hi there, Hokaze!

Hello, Miss Uiharu, Miss Saten.

How do you do?

H-How do you do?!

Uiharu...

Huh? You know each other?

Yes. We met the other day at the 177th Branch.

You are every bit "The Lovely
Young Lady of Tokiwadai" as ever.

Especially those ringlets in your hair.

Thank you very much.
Oh, allow me to introduce you.

This is Miss Shokuho Misaki, our Queen.

--Qu-Queen?!
--Qu-Queen?!

Uiharu, it's really her, it's really her!

Wh-What do we do, Miss Saten?!

Oh my goodness. Nice to meet you.

--Pl-Pleased to meet you!
--Pl-Pleased to meet you!

It's my pleasure.

You're so shameless.

Oh? What was that, Miss Misaka?

Nothing at all.

Sissy!

--Now listen, you two.
--I just felt the greatest thr*at
to my virtue that I have ever felt!

--When speaking to the Queen,
there are rules that must be observed.
--I just felt the greatest thr*at to my virtue that I have ever felt!

There really never is a
dull moment in this city, huh?

Huh? Hold on, Shokuho!

Okay, so now that we are coming up
against more difficult missions,

are there any ideas as to how
we can raise Team Scavenger's standards?

Ooh, ooh!

Does anyone else have any ideas?

Huh?! How come you're ignoring me?!

Yeah, well... Okay, Naru?

Simply put, we should take on a new member!

Someone who can make up for what we're missing!

Naru actually has a decent idea.

So what is it we're missing?

A Yellow!

A Yellow?

What do you mean?

The name "Scavenger"...

...sounds like a tokusatsu team, doesn't it?

We start with me, the Pink one,
and Leader, you'd be Red, right?

Seike, I was thinking maybe
you'd be Black, but no, you're Blue.

And Yakkun, you're the White one,

so the only one we're missing is a Yellow!

Y-Yeah,

w-well, if we used your ability
to make paper outfits for all of us,

we could maybe all do some
sort of transformation together.

Not a chance in hell.

--I'm just saying...
--Nice! Let's start doing that!

--We should focus on polishing our skills first.
--Okay, let's get started!
Take your clothes off!

--We should focus on polishing our skills first.
--Huh? Hold on a second!
Why me?! Try it out on yourself!

--Mm-hmm, you're right about that.
--Huh? Hold on a second!
Why me?! Try it out on yourself!

I can't be an objective observer
if I do that! It will just take a second!

Why won't you?!
You've seen me naked plenty of times!

But you get naked without anyone asking you to!

Teammates don't keep secrets from
each other! They disclose everything!

How can you have such a radical take on that?!

My chemical stock is way down, too.

"Two minutes later"

Would you just...

...stop, already?

Heh, when you use your ability continuously,

you can only hold it for three minutes, right?

You're getting pretty close, aren't you?

She was out to run down
the clock from the start?!

As dumb as she is?!

Well if you just wait for 30 minutes,
Naru will take an interest in something else.

I just have to k*ll time outside until then.

When did she paper the door?!
She's been waiting since we started

for the moment when I lowered
my ability to grab the doorknob!

Come on now, Seike, Seike, let me see!

No!

Whew!

Sure enough, Seike, you're
more of a Blue than a Black!

What kind of idiocy was that?

Now Scavenger has been
brought that much closer togeth--

Both of you, be quiet.

I'll start by saying good work on your mission.

It sounds like it was a
bigger deal than anticipated, huh?

Now, as I'm sure you already know,

our client's business went bankrupt.

They've bilked us out of our fee. But,

just consider it a stroke of bad luck and--

Just a moment.

Do you expect us to just say "Yes, ma'am"?

What can I say? We no longer
have a client. What else can we do?

I don't get paid my commission, either.
I'm a victim, too.

We risked our lives out in the field.

That's a little different than your situation.

I'd appreciate it if you
didn't get cute with us.

Wow,

that's some pretty fierce bite,
coming from a dark side farm team.

It's not a matter of being in the big leagues,

or the minor leagues,
or even a matter of the money.

When we take on a mission,

we take on the heavy risk of being
put on ice, demoted, or even liquidated.

When our mission contract is nonetheless broken

and you try to dismiss it with a
"well, that's that," it's not right.

What I'm saying is, it isn't reasonable.

And we won't accept it until
we're shown some proper good faith.

Ugh, all right.

In return for zero reward,
I'll restore your rank to its original level.

Normally, you would have had to
carry out several more missions for this,

so it's a real bargain.

Original level?
You could give us a team name, too--

Don't press your luck, kid.

Now get to sleep so you're ready
for your next assignment!

We did it!

That's our Leader!

This means our reward will
increase starting with our next job.

--We can buy new equipment
to replace our old stuff!

--What are they talking about?
--We can buy new equipment
to replace our old stuff!

Our night-vision gear is an older model.

And our rations are past their expiration date.

Plus our communicators are just toys.

No, not this one.

It still works. And besides,

I've taken quite a liking to this character.

So, how are you feeling?

"Misaka's test numbers are satisfactory.

However, since she was told
to refrain from going outside,

she is craving some out-of-doors
stimulation," replies Misaka,

taking the opportunity to express
her dissatisfaction at her situation.

What other choice is there?

--Here, I bought you the kind of cake
you like, so this should cheer you--

--Big Sister,
--Here, I bought you the kind of cake
you like, so this should cheer you--

what is en vogue changes on a daily basis.

The most popular item at
that shop is another product now.

Huh?

But Misaka will still take those.

Listen, you...

...just accept them gracefully.

Ah, hey!

Oh, my.

Are you not that cat from once upon a time?

Miss Kongo?

Oh, Miss Misaka! Fancy meeting you here!

What are you doing here?
Don't tell me you're still being hospitalized.

No, I am here today to finish
the last of the remaining paperwork.

But never mind me, would that happen to be...?

Huh? Oh...

Mm-hmm,

this is my sister.

Oh, I knew it!

This is Miss Kongo. I told you
about her before, remember?

How when you went missing,
she stepped up and went all-out for you?

Yes, and how you were injured for Misaka's sake.

Thank you so very much for doing so.

Oh, please do not give it another thought.

I really am glad that you are safe.

Could I get a name, if you do not mind?

Name, you say?

On Hold.

Miss On Hold...? Th-That is quite a unique name.

He seems to like you.

Hm? Oh, that is the cat's name.

All right then, what is your name?

"Misaka's name? This Misaka is Misaka 10032,"
answers Misaka succinctly.

One... um... All right, would
you mind if I called you "Ichi"?

--Yeah...
--No, Misaka does not mind.

You don't mind?!

Ichi, is that a Tokiwadai uniform?

Yes. This is cosplay.

Cos... play...?

"That being said, what should Misaka call you?"

asks Misaka, brilliantly changing the subject.

Wh-Who, me? A-All right,
since I am calling you "Ichi,"

you can call me "Mi."

Incredible! Is this the ocean?

Hmm, yeah, close enough.

Hey! Don't tell her that!
It's bad for her education, you know.

I told you, remember?

This is an aquarium.

These are bigger versions of that thing
you used to make in your bottle!

No, not really--

You know, I wonder if this is
really the best place to take her.

You have to go through a lot
of trouble to leave Academy City,

but if I use my ability,
I know I can swing something.

Well, if we go too far away right off,

I'd be worried about her physical wellbeing.
Why don't we take it slow?

If you think that's best,
that's good enough for me.

Mi! Misaki! Look! Is that a dolphin?!

Huh? That's probably a tuna.

A tuna? I know that one!
I read about them in my book!

They're yummy fish that dissolve on your tongue!

What kind of books are you reading?

H-Hey...

Ow!

Doppel...

...ganger.

Is this a dream? Or is this a hallucination,

brought on by my own guilty feelings
as I cross the river Acheron--

It's a dream.

Is this my chance to apologize?

Apologize?

I didn't try to k*ll you out of resentment.

It was simply a requisite condition.

But then, maybe having requisite
conditions that include a tolerance

for the number of casualties
that accompany them is itself

a thought pattern that
I picked up because of you.

You knew that introducing
Indian Poker into the world

would bring about chaos, right?

All the same, you pushed forward,
with the goal of saving your mother.

You can't even separate
your own life from your objective.

You are the kind of person

who by your very nature can't
accomplish anything unless you do so.

But even if you are,
there's no need to deny yourself.

Not if it means becoming someone

who never creates anything
in return for never hurting anyone.

Because if you do,

it will be so dull to coexist with you.

Coexist?

So first off,

I took a run at touching up the
cyborg you completed for your mother,

and I found three points that should be fixed.

Huh?

--These designs are fine at first,
but there will be concerns after ten years.
--Huh? Huh? Huh?

--I have a better knack for simulations
than you do, you know. First off...
--Huh? Huh? Huh?

So, um...

...the Doppelganger came to you in your dream?

Yeah. It's the strangest thing.

I just swapped out a portion of my organs,

but that kind of phenomenon
shouldn't be happening.

So it's...

I thought it was my own guilt
causing me to hallucinate at first...

That matches perfectly
with the records from our fight.

Yeah, and what's more,
she went on and on finding fault

with a lot of the research
I've done up to this point...

So, um, what can we do to let you cross over?

Ha-ha! I have no soul, so I can't cross over.

I've finished bringing up those problems.

--Next, we'll spend all night on your dark past--

--S-Stop!
--Next, we'll spend all night on your dark past--

Honestly, I'm afraid to go to sleep.

Well, even so...

...it's kind of a relief.

I'm sorry.

I ended up dumping all of my
responsibilities onto you during all this.

Still,

normally, I might not be permitted
to say something like this,

but throughout all of the
Doppelganger's operational runtime,

her fight against you was the
only time she seemed to feel fulfilled.

Well, if you see her in your dreams again,

tell her that she was pretty formidable, too.

We have been waiting for you, Sissy.

How about we all go out again
and get something good to eat?

Ah, in that case, there's a café around here

--that's the scene of an urban legend...

--Saten!
--that's the scene of an urban legend...

You never learn, do you, Miss Saten?

I-I'm kidding!

Oh, no! You are always like this, Saten--

Anywhere is fine, as long as we're all together.

Okay, let's go!