03x19 - Strange Coincidence

[bunniefuu]

I took your uniform to the cleaners.

I also picked up your winter uniform
that was left there while I was at it.

I am so sorry, Sissy,

for putting you to any trouble.

It's no trouble.

You stopped a traffic accident
before it happened, right?

That's quite the feat.

Yes, well...

What is it?

Did something happen?

Well, um, actually...

"Report"

Oh, yeah? A precognitive app?

Yes. All of the specifics are
yet to be understood, though.

So starting tomorrow,
things are likely to get a bit more hectic.

Got it.

Is there anything I can do to help?

Oh, Sissy! Just knowing you
feel that way is more than enough!

But whatever you do,

please do not stick your
nose in without asking first.

You are a civilian, after all.

Yeah, I know.

Incidentally, Sissy,

um, are you planning to use those cards
again tonight when you go to sleep?

Cards? You mean Indian Poker?
No, I've had enough of that for a while.

I had a rough time of it today.

I-Is that right?

Well then yes, of course.
I think that is for the best.

What, did you have something happen
to you with those cards, too?

Yes, a little spot of trauma...

"9/28: Sunny"

"School District 7"
"Sakugawa Middle School"

Huh?

Didn't you say you had the day off today?

I was scheduled to, but remember
we found out about that app yesterday

that would display the time of accidents?

Well now I have to be on
patrol because of them.

Oh, I see.

Oh, it's from Miss Shirai.

Wow, is she rushing me!
I'm sorry, and after you invited me out, too.

Mm-hmm, I get it. Good luck.

Right. See you later.

Hello? Yes, I'm hurrying there.

I was hoping we could eat
together for the first time in so long.

"A Certain Scientific Railgun T"

"Musashino Milk"

Oh, there they are!

"Mackerel"

"Checkout"
"Your total: ¥1,088"

That will be ¥1088.

Okay, here's ¥1100, so--

Aah!

They don't have it here, either...

I am so sorry about that.
We just sold our last one, stockroom and all.

"Sold out"
"Canned mackerel"

All told, how is it that no matter where
I go today, they're sold out everywhere?

Oh, there was a newsmagazine
show on yesterday

that had a segment saying
they were good for your looks.

That's how I came to buy mine...

Wh-What are you doing?!

Give... me...

Huh?

Give me that mackerel!

Ladies!

So, um...

...how long are you going to follow me?

Until you hand over that mackerel, of course!

Huh?

Naturally, I don't mean I won't pay you!

I'll buy them for ten
times the regular price...

All I have is plastic.

O-Okay, how about you trade me
for this shockingly cute doll?

No, it's kind of creepy, actually.

Then how about this Dangerous cr*cker,

which you can sh**t at people
who irritate you to blow off steam?

A party popper? My walls are thin, so...

Man! What do I have to
trade you to get them?!

You still assume you're getting them?
Do you really like mackerel that much?

"L-Like" doesn't even come close.

If I go too long without ingesting them,
I get awful palpitations,

my extremities start shaking,
and I hallucinate...

If that's true,
maybe you shouldn't be eating them.

You know, I've been eating them every day,
contributing to the canned mackerel industry,

but then one TV feature comes along,

and all the dingbats rush out and
buy up them all up! Well I don't accept it!

So give me yours!

Huh?

That's outrageous.

Oh, all right. I don't want
you hounding me anymore.

I'll give you one of my two cans.

You mean it?!

Wow, you seemed like such
a gullible pushover,

I was sure that if I kept
leaning on you, you'd cave,

and I was right on the money!

Okay, let's get right to it.

Huh? You're going to eat them here?

What are you... What are you...?!

I used one with too much
firepower by mistake!

Ah! W-Wait!

That was, all told,
just an unfortunate accident!

I need what's left for my own meal plan.

And I have no pity to offer
people who waste food.

Hmph, Japanese people so cold.

I just wanted taste of
my homeland to ease homesickness.

At the very least...

You know, ignoring me really hurts!

Oh, all right! Come on over to
my place for dinner. Will that do?

--Okay! Okay! Japan people
am so nice! Yay! Yay!

--What country are you supposed to be from?
--Okay! Okay! Japan people am so nice! Yay! Yay!

C--

Curry?!

Why are you putting
the prize mackerel in curry?!

Huh?

Curry is too bold a flavor,

and all the other ingredients
just end up tasting like curry!

All the flavor and zest
of the mackerel gets ruined!

There's no way this is gonna taste--

This is so good!

The spicy curry pairs nicely
with the rich taste of the mackerel...

...and far from canceling it out,
the synergy draws out both flavors,

which are dancing briskly atop my tongue!

Please don't talk while you're eating.

Mmm, deilig!

"Die lee"?

It means "delicious."

Oh, it's a foreign word?
Well, anyhow, I'm glad you like it...

Mohr pweeze.

No restraint at all, huh?

Wow, you really are something else.

Next time we meet, it'll be my treat.

Mackerel in miso,
or mackerel in soy sauce, or something.

Always with the mackerel.

Oh, that reminds me. Are you on FUKIDASHI?

You mean the messaging app?
Yeah, I do it some with my friends...

Here's my ID. Take it down.

Huh? Oh, okay.

And, with that taken care of...

Ha det bra!

"Haday"? "Bra"? What does that one mean?

It means goodbye!

See you!

She played it her way, right up to the end.

Well, even so, I guess that was kind of fun.

Oh...

So, the app I told you about

has led to you being able
to prevent accidents from happening?

Yes. I can't tell you all the details,
but at any rate, it has.

Amazing. That's my Uiharu for you.

It's more Miss Shirai's doing than mine.
But anyway, thank you very much.

It's fine, it's fine.
As far as thanking me goes,

you already did,
with those adorable little pugs.

I-I didn't think you flipped my skirt today!
When did you manage that?!

Hmm-hmm, you still have
much to learn, Kazari.

F-Fine, have it your way!

Good luck with your Judgment work!

"Everywhere is stocked up
to the gills with mackerel"

That girl from yesterday...

"It was just a passing craze, huh?"

"It was just a passing craze, huh?"
"Read"

"All told, we're the only ones
with a true love for mackerel"

And before I knew it, we became friends.

"I messed up a little and
got pounded on by my associate"
"Gave me a huge lump"

"You mean the one who's a major jock?"

"Nothing as easygoing as that"

"The one I always goof around
with is really nice. Cute, too."

"Mine is pretty, too,
but she's a power-mad gorilla"

"Do you know about Indian Poker?"

"My colleague has done it"

"My colleague has done it"

"I did it and built a giant
house of cards using two decks"

"I did it and built a giant
house of cards using two decks"

"...All told, is there any point to that?"

"After it collapsed, it was a
huge pain getting the two decks sorted."

For heaven's sake, what was she thinking?

Hi there.

Any good cards in?

One that you would like?

This one is from an
American cr*cker champion.

This one is from a
coin-stacking record holder.

And this one is a card from
a super-skillful chopstick handler.

Oh, yeah? Chopstick handling...

"I just got the Indian Poker card of
an expert who can pick up anything
with chopsticks, no matter how small!"

Indian Poker?

Yeah.

Cards that can pass along
a person's experiences or skill to another.

So what about them?

There's been a movement
around Academy City lately

where scientists have been using these cards

to leave behind their essence
as a means of insurance.

Oh, yeah?

Of course, it's a gamble whether or not
the data you want gets recorded.

But word is that there are quite
a few of them who are attempting it.

There's much about what's inside
scientists' heads that can't be codified.

I get you. You're talking about that...

Yes.

The nanoparticle object
interference adsorption manipulator,

better known as the tweezers.

A leak of that knowledge
in card form has been spotted.

Is your information about this reliable?

Who knows? But if there's any truth
at all to it, we have to investigate.

I'll let you handle the "how," so get on it.

Extract all conversations presumed
to be related to Indian Poker and tweezers

from security ranks A through D.

Thirteen items returned.

Thirteen, huh?

Some of them seem to be
just idle conversation,

"I just got the Indian Poker card of
an expert who can pick up anything
with chopsticks, no matter how small!"

but even if there's a one-in-a-thousand,
or one-in-a-billion chance,

"#19: Strange Coincidence"

I'll have to snatch them up to find out.

This one? No, this one would be more...

Those people...

...are no amateurs.
They're not any big deal, though.

Are they from an opposing
organization? Or maybe...

F Team. Yes,

we'll reach the source soon.

I can't wait for tonight.
Oh, right, I should tell Uiharu, too.

Aw, what are they doing?
I'm not one to work for free...

But, I do owe her for dinner, and all.

Ah, Hamazura? Bring the car.

Indian Poker. Is this it?

Get rid of the cell phone.

Right. What do we do with the girl?

They said she might have more information,

so we're to bring her with us.

Wow, t*rture?

Aw, man...

That's right. You're new,
so you wouldn't know.

--Huh?
--There's supposedly someone
above us who has the ability

to make a person spill all
their secrets with no trouble at all.

If you or I think anything out of line,
she'll know it immediately.

You should be careful how you complain.

Huh? I-I'm not hiding anything.

Come on, get the lead out!

All told, we got split up
because you're too slow!

It wasn't even five minutes after you
called me that I got the car and arrived.

If you're going to be a capable man,
you have to do it in under a minute!

Yeah, yeah.

Ah, we're just about caught up to them.

Now just turn left...

Hey! They're down there!
What are you doing, Hamazura?!

I'm just driving where you tell me to!

Aw, man, what's the use?

Watch it! Watch it! Wah!

Grab my legs to prop me up.

Also, don't jerk the wheel;
it'll throw my aim off.

Who are you, the king?!

Wind speed 2 from ahead;
range roughly 80; I'm not aiming for the car...

What was that?! What happened?!

The rubble is blocking the road!

Another one?!

The back, too!

Yes! Bullseye! Leave it to me!

--Oh, Hamazura, you can go now.
--I'm the leader of Skill Out,
so how did I end up like this?

Oh, I got it.

I must be dreaming. Though if I'm dreaming,

--I'd rather be surrounded by bunny girls,
getting hot and heavy...

--Hamazura, you're gross.
--I'd rather be surrounded by bunny girls,
getting hot and heavy...

How is it coming along?

The prototype is a no-go.

We'll have to make do
with a video for the presentation.

And last time, too, right? Everything okay?

Oh, we could be in trouble pretty soon.

What's wrong?

Just now, for a second,
there was something...

All this exhaustion must be
playing tricks on my eyes.

Delete all the ambient sounds...

In here, huh?

It's good and airtight, all right.
Cracking it will be difficult.

Ignoring the alarms and
overpowering the security would be easy,

but I'd like to not leave behind
any trace that I'm after the tweezers.

This is an unused Indian Poker card
with nothing written to it.

Skimming the vault's card data.

Not airtight enough.

I guess they didn't count on an esper

with the ability to duplicate scent
components to come sneaking in.

What is it?

Stuffed animals...
The stuffed animals exploded...!

Stuffed animals?

We're surrounded by smoke...
Can't determine our status...

Requesting you send backup!

F Team is in charge of that
unsubstantiated Indian Poker business.

If someone's striking back at them,

we must have hit an
unexpectedly serious jackpot.

No choice but to send that woman in.

I won't flip your skirt anymore...

Hey, wake up. Hey!

Huh? Where am I?! Why am I handcuffed?!

I'll burn those handcuffs off of you.
Lie down on your stomach.

Move and you'll lose your
wrists, so hold still.

"Garden of Learning"
"Shidarezakura Academy"

Miss Yumiya!

Miss Yumiya!

Y-Y-Yes?!

We would like to go venture outside
of the Garden of Learning now.

Would you like to come with us?

Um...

Y-Y-You mean me?

--Yes.
--Yes.

G-G-Gladly...

I-I-I'm sorry. Excuse me a moment.

Ah, Mr. Yobou... Yes... Huh? Right now?

I, um... was going out with
some friends at school, and... No...

Yes... Yes... Yes, indeed.

Um...

I am terribly sorry about this,
but something just came up.

Well, that's too bad.

All right, some other time, then.

Judging by the traces on the b*ttlefield,
there are two in the quarry.

One of them is the target that was taken,
so there's one attacker.

Loafers and high heels. They're both female.

Going by their strides,
one is 150cm tall, the other one 153. Also,

from what I see of the
communications log and debris,

the weapons were bombs disguised as dolls.

For the first time in a year and a half,
I had classmates reach out to me...

I was breaking away from loneliness
to be one of the popular girls in class.

I was set to become the school's idol,

but now that my brilliant
future is crushed...

...at least...

"Yumiya Rakko, sn*per,
dark side organization SCHOOL"

...let this hunt be something I can enjoy.

Oh, I've lost my cell phone.

All told, you're lucky
that's all that happened to you.

Huh?

Those weren't a couple of
rowdy boys out for a bit of mischief.

Any idea why they might have been after you?

N-No, nothing like that!

But shouldn't we contact Antiskill?!

Yeah, I already took care of that.

Huh? You did?

Sure did.

Aw, that card I just bought is gone, too.

Kiss that goodbye.

Then again, it's only natural for you
to thank me for saving you, right?

R-Right.

And with that in mind,

let's go to the supermarket and buy us
a whole bunch of canned mackerel!

Mackerel again?

The blond Barbie still has on her...

...the scent of blood from the capture team.

A guide leading me to my quarry.

My, my,

I had to turn down an invitation
with my school friends because of you,

and don't you look chummy?

That really pisses me off.

My orders are to capture the brunette alive,

but I'm free to hunt the other one, aren't I?

What should I have you make for me?
Curry is, all told, a sure winner,

but as far as other dishes that are good
with mackerel, there's, let's see...

"Next episode preview"

Canned mackerel curry, 10-second cooking!

"Next episode preview"
"#20 Ha det bra"

Empty the can of mackerel
into a pot, water and all.

Add grated ginger and anything else you like.

Add a reasonable amount of water.
Bring to a reasonable boil.

Dissolve in a reasonable
amount of roux. That's it!

For being just thrown
together, this is yum-my!