Monday - Sleepiness and running out of time

One fact shall be clear, Mikoto school was located in special area called Garden of education, with strict restrictions on who can enter that place. It was a sanctuary for females only, mostly girls from influencing and rich families, in need of education. In order to protect them from influence of males, this area had everything that a small town need to its function. It even had a different architecture style, full of aesthetic, resembling an old city downtown with narrow streets and dimer orange street lighting, compare to blue modern effective style of the Academy city. It contain five schools and other institutions and elegantly utilize every space it had. So shops and living rooms are smaller that they counterparts across the garden wall. Especially utilized are the underground supply routes, (and supposed dark corners), (plus the privacy against curiously eyes), resulted in many urban legends. For reasons (or other reasons), presence of this special area in city is one of the mayor pillars, that keeps the city alive.

Especially big impact is through connections that Tokiwadai middle school generate. And word is that for its student, the actual education is only a secondary, as the connections between daughters of politicians, rich, wealthy, influential ones, or talented, are more important. No wonder that Tokiwadai having a special privilege position, that its left to its own business, most of time. Don't let you be fooled by dumb flower appearance of some girls like Hokaze Junko. Most of girls are not just under a pressure to become an asset to they families. But are overflowing with determination, as they mus be smart, clever and foxy, to archive anything in this crazy competitive environment. This settings leads into a pressure, that boosting (education and real experience gaining?). Don't mind the spilled blood, brawlers, riots and annual team battle royal between espers. That's why, this special area got its another name: The forbidden garden of flowers and foxes.

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After an extremely busy weekend she had, Mikoto hoped that the following Monday would bring her a slower pace and room to rest. However, she didn't even think that Tokiwadai would be excited/hungry for another sensational experience right after the weekend. The social pressure that came down on her was more tiring than high physical activity. Not only there were groups of curious girls waiting for her at every step, but the curiosity to learn something more about her Imoto oozed from them.

At last the presence of Kuroko, as a werewolf on guard duty, discouraged all the brave ones from a more personal or sophisticated approach. Especially when the redhead proudly escorted her Onee-sama right to her senpai class, even if she was a grade below. She only decided to disappear, just before the school bell rang for beginning of the first class, so no one got a chance to do more than say hello to the hero.

During the next break between classes, the classmates from her class were very creative and managed to drag her into a conversation, which then innocently turned to the topic of her sister. Her easy hints to (let it go and not ask anything) didn't help, so Mikoto looked for another option. But her number one escape route (door to the corridor) has been already blocked by curious faces from other classes peeking from the edge of the door into her classroom. Also, escape strategies such as (She has to run to the toilet) or (She needs some fresh air) by jumping out of the window and heading either to the roof or to the gazebos in the garden, failed just because she thought, that somebody would be there as a precaution already waiting for her. She know that running around will only trigger a hunt, so she keep siting on her place. She had to smile in her mind at the paradox that in this direction, the Tokiwadai girls had perfectly mastered the ability to divide tasks. She also feigned/pretend sleepiness enough to drag herself out of the conversation until the next break.

But the sleepiness proved to be more real than Mikoto had originally thought in the following class, when she inadvertently dozed off while sitting with her arms folded, so much so that the teacher had to wake her up by shaking her shoulder. Of course, even the stirred blood accompanied by the blushing from the embarrassing moment, did not prevent her from being caught by the nap again.

Also, the hitherto/(to this moment) neutral class president, came forward and offered to take the sleeper to the infirmary, saying that (unless Misaka gets a good rest after her big day yesterday, she won't be of any use today). The girl in question was Hitomi Aika, Esper: This exemplary (happy ball), friendly, warm blonde with a relative big round eye glasses, prefers a looser vest that a little bit hide/distort her (advanced) body curves. She having a long fluffy hair down to her waist with curly waves at the ends of perhaps modeled thick locks. She also happened to be the current president of the student council. There were various rumors about her (not-so-secret) romantic relationship with the vice president, who was a year older. With her irresistible charisma as a slightly clumsy young lady, she managed to win the affections of many people. It was such a powerful force that it was enough to penetrate the hard shell of Railgun and Teleporter. It is said, that with her smile and fox tongue, she gets so deep under the skin, that only few people are able to say (No!) to her when she slyly asks them for something. If it weren't for a certain honey-haired girl, she might have been the one to acquire the nickname: 'Queen of Tokiwadai', or 'Smiling/Sunny Fox of Tokiwadai'.

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As the sleepiness turned out to be more serious than anyone thought at first and maybe Railgun refused to admit it, Aika dragged the napper out of the classroom like some wounded comrade from the battlefield as she draped the Tokiwadai Ace arm over her own shoulder to support her classmate with her own body.

For now, they walked in silence side by side down the corridor at a slow pace. Mikoto was a little nervous because of how firmly she was supported by the other girl, who she wouldn't say had such strength. However, what made her nervous the most, was the miss president's excessively endowed bust, hidden behind that loose vest. Even if she shared half of her bust-volume with someone (in need for a bust-volume), she would still have more than enough left over. It was all the more embarrassing for the brunette, when the aforementioned bust was so intrusive, that it too far extended beyond the torso of its owner. More precisely, as the duo of humans were body to body close to each other, it went to the side, directly to the neighboring chest, where its protruding volume, bullied a certain modest bust. Almost as if it wanted to settle there, or to prove that, although thought in a completely different sense, it itself should be honored as a fifth level.

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When the blonde felt a careful stare on her face from her classmate, to break the silent situation, she suddenly began to speak to herself with a gentle smile and tone. She wondered aloud if Misaka would like to ask, when her current entourage/companion would also join the rest of the school to inquire about a certain mysterious Imoto icon of their school: Whom everyone probably knew or suspected about, but until recently they only had her for an urban legend, shared mostly by spoken tale. She immediately laughed at how it sounded to her, when she said it out loud. But after a while she added, referring to her own experience, that she too, was seriously not prepared for what popularity (among the girls at Tokiwadai) actually means. In contrast to the sympathy expressed for Railgun, she very emphatically assured the brunette not to try to talk herself into escaping, pointing out that the weakness of the body she is supporting is a real problem that should be looked at by an expert. But suddenly she started thinking out loud again, that when she proposed the trip to visit a nurse with a local hero; she was tempted to start an auction in the classroom; for who wants to exchange with her, to accompany Miss Misaka to the infirmary. She laughed that she would definitely raise a nice amount of money from the auction, which of course would go to the student council fund.

The brunette laughed weakly at that, thanking Aika for her kindness, but they were already walking through the door to the local richly equipped infirmary, which could compete with even a small luxury hospital. All in the name of the best for the ladies and talented one. Of course, the government here was under the thumb of an experienced doctor and not just a nurse, as is the case in many schools. Which, among other things, trained selected female students in the field of nursing who had suitable esper skills for this direction.

Placing the slumbrous/sleepy person on the bed was the work of a moment. Although, they were going to ask a few questions and run a few tests, they were met with a lack of cooperation when the potential patient almost immediately fell asleep.

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And so, by one sleep later.

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Mikoto woke up in a hospital bed at the Tokiwadai Infirmary. Even those bed were nearly like a luxury item. As is customary, each bed had its personal space curtained for privacy. For Tokiwadai the curtain colors was in Luxury Burgundy (Violet Red). There was still enough space above the bed for natural light to pass in for her to look whats around. But not enough for the solar radiation to erode the sleep cycle and force the sleeper to wake up. From the first moment she opened her eyes, Misaka had an uneasy feeling that something was amiss. She quickly found that her movement was severely restricted by the blanket. That stretched up fabric acted like some kind of band-aid that was meant to hold her in place. At first she thought it was some kind of sleeping bag. But she quickly realized that the blanket was almost sewn to the edges of the mattress, so it was really a makeshift sleeping bag. It's almost fell, as exaggerated solution for a person with such vivid sleep, that certain sleeper would restlessly toss and turn itself energetically. So in order, that they wouldn't have to periodically, to pick him up from the ground and return him back from where it fall from, they tied him to the bed. On airless, during a long flights, where the upper-class seats are slim pod beds, they just use bandages and straps to look a person legs in a place.

Getting out of such a sock, or rather a sleeping bag, so that she could sit down was no problem for now awake Mikoto.

After that, she was finally able to look around. From the coat handler, on a string, hung down an almost meter-long paper fringe consisting of a good hundred, if not more, paper crane birds, folded from colored square papers in the neat rules of Origami. If she remembered correctly, Origami cranes used to be given to the sick person as a wish for a speedy recovery. But the very number she saw caused concern in her mind if entire school participated in that creation. On the table next to the bed, in addition to a flower in a vase, bottled water, there was also a decorated smaller notebook, which by its appearance directly encouraged her to look into it. To decide what to do, It take her a single button click on the near controller and a lamp delivered enough of light for a reading.

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The notebook was something like a record, or a message left directly for her, but from the first look inside, Mikoto was taken aback by the extremely polished writing of the text.

*"Dear Misaka-san, since the time has advanced, it's better to leave you a message like this, that you can read when you wake up. I have no idea what extra hassles you had to go through, to use up your vitality for a few days ahead. However, you can breathe a sigh of relief, because this you'll survive this fatigue of you without a longstanding consequences. Just take as much rest you need.

While you were out, they probably put you through every possible test they could think of. Even though they kept mentioning the 'frog doctor' as if he was a celebrity, you don't need to worry. They didn't find any webs between your fingers, or gills on you ribs, feathered wings on back, a tail above but, or a sex change.

Although Shirai would certainly welcome the latter one."*

A drop of condensed dew/sweat settled on the brunette's cheek. (("Yesterday was so hectic that I didn't though slightest about such a thing as side effects for my actions. When I look back at the meteors incidents, and at some clear examples of (taking bullet for the team); I can understand that people will worried about what kind of (punishment) I received. At last Inoue don't seem to have any symptoms and she dint mentioned anything about sisters. Yet what happened through weekend was a crazy ride of contradictions. A casual viewer, who doesn't even have hunches about science, like the mysteries of 'Personal Reality of Espers' and 'supernatural phenomena', that person would think it quite real that a magic lamp could be found washed up on the beach with a mystical genie who uses his spells to turn fairy-tale wishes into reality.")) At once she recalled a certain (big mouth platinum haired nun in white) who when runs her mouth around, everybody listening as if it was a forecasting. Suddenly something like an alternative to that girl come to her mind and it was #2 'Dark matter', for a second acting like an angel.

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(("What I am thinking?")) She shook her head dismissively before looking into that notebook again. A certain mark at the bottom of the page told the reader that the thought or story continued on the next page. Or it's simply a reminder that the other page also contains something for read. And so, curiosity win and she turned the page.

*"Dear Misaka-san, sleepwalking should have its limits. What I witnessed could not be described as funny at all, but it still left me in awe.

Not only were you tossing you body, from side to side like in a delirium, you were also threatening the people around you in a low voice who were trying to reach you. It was such a fitting choice of wording, that one by one they turned pale for a moment. For a moment they considered calling in an exorcist, but in the end they agreed that you had returned to the battlefield in your dream. You can breathe a sigh of relief, because there were no injuries and no one will be left with any bruises. But in the end they got your overly vivid dream under control enough, that they didn't have to worry about the MRI machine or any other sensitive equipment to be accidental fried by you.

When they were done with you, they were still worried that the moment they took their eyes off you, you would start moon walking around the school like a sleepwalker from ghost-stories and shooting lightning everywhere. You're lucky that instead of the leather straps and straitjacket, they intended to use on you, they were persuaded to tie you to the bed with just the blanket. That's why your cute birdcage is there, if you're interested. Its a better name that a sock.

They were really amused when they keep mentioning Thunder-Bird, again and again, and giggling about memes and gossips. Its a good to see a mood rise, but I think that you received a new nickname."*

The bead/drop of sweat on Mikoto's cheek looked like it would soon run down to her chin. She vividly imagined her nickname 'Railgun' being changed to something you'd expect from a masked comic book hero. (("What kind of nonsense had been going on while I was sleeping?"))

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She turned to the next page.

*"As for your very wild dreams, I can imagine why Shirai never mentioned them. She probably found 'benefits' in this side of you, that even you probably have no idea about. I can't believe, that even it was just for a slight moment, I'm was jealous of her. On the other side of the coin, it's probably clear to me why she's so obsessed with you, when her devotion is seems only one-sided. In any case, you should remind yourself that you should set aside time exclusively for her in the future. Although she doesn't show it, she's exhausted to the point where she had to rest on one of the beds too. If she keeps this up, the stress could wear her down. Keep that in mind! The funny thing is, that she ironically didn't look to see who was lying on the next bed before she hurriedly went back to her classroom."*

The aforementioned teardrop on Mikoto cheek was already running down. (("Was Kuroko here before me? I assume, staying in bed wasn't an option for her ego. I wonder how much she knows about the incident."))

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Sighing, she turned onto another page.

*"Shirai ran away after the first second she entered. It irritated me off again..."*

Mikoto gave a puzzled expression. Not only did she have to read that first sentence again in her mind, but the second sentence was scratched out as if the writer had inadvertently added it there when he was thinking of the scene. The author was covering the text by lines again and again, to the point where the text could not be read at all. Or somebody else scratched that out, when there was a chance.

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She didn't pay too much attention to this short note, because the mark at the end of the page encouraged her to turn to the next page.

*"Shirai is here again, and this time she brought something mystical. We were forced to call in reinforcements to drive her out of here. She's probably so fed up with your long sleep that she's turned to the occult so she can at least hear your voice again."*

The brunette widened her eyes fully wide open. (("What?"))

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A little derailed by such a sudden change in data that she had to double-check that this handwriting matched the one on the previous pages, as if she couldn't believe it was written by the same person. Then she turned onto new page.

*"At late evening, I caught Shirai sitting by your bed, gibberishly embellishing her experiences from some adventure she had. She's so energetic, so excited when she talks to you, that one would say they heard you reply to her. I didn't have the heart to kick her out of here, but after the curfew, she finally submit to be escorted to her dormitory."*

A little moment of panic hit her, quickly exchanged by confusion. (("Are you kidding me? A curfew? Did I oversleep an entire day?"))

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For a moment, she thought that she would finally close the notebook with notes like a diary, but through the mark at the end of the page, curiosity got the better of her and she moved to the next page.

*"Shirai is relentless…she came in the morning to enhance your bed to (feel like home). The argument reportedly lasted for hours, but in the end, she submitted to the doctor's rules. She's seriously like an angry wasp when it comes to her days off. Who would have thought we'd ever consider assigning a separate person to look after Shirai."*

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She didn't even stop to think and turned over the next page straight away.

*"No more concessions to Shirai!! Never ever!!"*

Mikoto was taken aback for a moment before continuing to read.

*"The incident with the gifts to the goddess has been brought under control and everything that doesn't belong in the infirmary has been ordered to disappear, but keep in mind that they have been moved to, a not a small one shrine, built in your honor."*

For a moment, Misaka imagined a traditional Shinto temple at the top of some sacred hill surrounded by a thick forest. From under the hill, to its peak at up a steep staircase going like a snake, marked by the red double T spiritual gates on set checkpoints. A long line of people traveling up there and back to pay tribute, convey a prayer, do thanking, or utter wishing.

*"It was extremely strange for me, to see Shirai kneeling in prayer position backed by a whole crowd, in front of Miko shrine maiden, who performed the ceremony at the altar. I don't even know where they fetched the priestess off, but we suspected that the EMO long black-haired girl had been kidnapped so we looked into it. After a very short period of investigation, I have the feeling that they are bribing her with an absurdly large amount of high-quality meat. Just who eats a thirty hamburgers in a row?"*

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She turned the page with a doubtful expression at the growing nonsense.

*"It's no longer embarrassing, but it's downright sad.

Misaka-san…

Shirai… is having a hard time without you, as she's about to enroll onto university. We haven't found out, how she managed to do it, or how she could have any academic credit, when she still spends every free moment with you. It's almost as if her cultural and social life doesn't exist at all outside of you."*

Mikoto, no matter how hard she tried to deny it, the presented thought was becoming extremely real.

*"How long do you intent to sleep? We all miss you, so finally come back to us, Misaka-san!"*

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It was a time for next page.

*"And so here we are again… I can't decide which is less believable:

On the one hand, we have our princess, who hibernates so perfectly that she really hasn't aged a year over the years.

At the second one, Shirai showed up with all the pomp like a celebrity and even brought her baby with her to introduce it to you. I have no idea when she managed to do it. However, I suspect that she is pulling very questionable strings when she claims to have that baby with you. However, seeing how the little one took an instant liking to you, I consider that exchange, for only a circumstantial evidence."*

Railgun had a stony expression. (("This nonsense should end soon."))

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But yet, she turned to the next page.

*"We've welcomed the new century…"*

Notes moaned under the pressure of her burnout, when she squeeze him. She already wanted to harshly brush aside the innocent herald of words, but despite her irritated expression and twitching eyebrows, she decided to finish this reading journey and continue reading.

*"To celebrate the anniversary of world peace, the 'Tokiwadai Lower Middle school' was rebuilt on its original site, according to the original plans. The Prime Minister himself showed up, to pay his respects, and delivered an uplifting speech. The Minister of Internal Affairs came with him, and you can guess once, who worked his way up, from the position of Herald to the world-recognized political elite.

Despite Shirai's perfect 'poker face',-- the moment we left the two of you relatively alone, she fell to her knees in tears. She thanked you for everything you did and for being there for her all this time, crying crocodile tears for you.

Therefore, my dear Misaka-san, I have a suggestion for you: Wake up! Wake up from your slumber and return among us. You deserve it."*

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Her gaze fell to the bottom of the page, where instead of a mark revealing that the document continued on the next page, there was a note, written in small print: "Story Concept: Sleeping Princess from the Garden of Education. (Working name.)" The brunette in question finally closed the notebook and put her palm to her face. [Face-Palm] (("Although... it was more or less clear to me from beginning... just by looking at the notebook... that it was going to be a joke. But still, this is extremely disturbing. It's almost as if the author of that mysterious web page with those fan-girl stories about me, never wavered in her writing passion and was closer to me than I thought. How long did it take her to write this? I have to admit that she made a smart move, by not giving any initials. But letting it here unguarded, for me to saw it, nearly feels like she pulling a prank on me. On the other hand, reading this story is a small price to pay someone watched me while I was out. Especially after what Aika hinted.")) Moving that notebook on the night table, she give it one last though. (("A simple sleepy trap?... A clear strategy on how to put a sleepy person back to dreams, by reading a short episode stories. Just how much elaborate they plan to keep me in bed, muss be?"))

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Finally, the brunette smiled at how stupid it all must have sounded. She made preparations to leave, but the silence in room revealed that there was no one else in the infirmary besides her. She also checked the next bed, as if she expected to see a certain blonde there in that empty space, lying down, with a stupid expression on her face and saliva dropping on the corner of her mouth. (Resting from fatigue.) Or fall asleep from waiting so long for the brunette; to wake up, read the story, get into the climax; so that the blonde could pull away the curtain at the last sentence, and enter the scene with a big (innocent smile) in a singing voice saying: (Guess (Who?)! ♪).

Yet that bed was empty and ready for a next patient.

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Mikoto left the empty infirmary.

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As she wandered down the equally empty and silent corridor, she was overcome with uncertainty. She had no way to check the time and especially the date, since the certain thought about 'Snow white' level of sleep/nap had not yet disappeared from her mind. She assumed that her phone had probably not yet returned from a trip to a tropical island, and it was questionable whether that would ever happen. But for now, the main problem for her was the suspicious silence that spread around her like an unpleasant night veil even though it was still day.

She headed to her classroom to get her bag. At least that was the goal she was sticking to. But even before entering the classroom, she made sure to secretly check if anyone was there. The room was empty, like on the weekend. Walking over to her seat, she was dismayed to find that her desk looked like a temple, with her own framed photo in the center and a bunch of paper crane birds around as symbols of a speedy recovery. A drop of sweat settled on her cheek as she realized that it somewhat resembled an altar for the dead. Of course, her school bag was nowhere to see. Not that she needed it for anything at all.

After looking out the window, Mikoto finally learned that the school was in its afternoon mode and the students were spending their time in clubs, they 'Clique', or elsewhere. Without her phone, she couldn't let Kuroko know that she was out of the infirmary. Yet, she rather decided that this was a good opportunity to take a closer look at the whole incident.