Within the 7th School District of the Academy City one can observe a tall white structure which stood out conspicuously compared to other surrounding buildings. It had no windows, no doors, nor any kind of opening, essentially making it impossible for one to simply walk in. There within was a room, and within, there was a cylinder, and within, there was a man.
An average mind cannot perceive this person's gender by sight; this man could pose as a woman and no one would bat an eye in response. He was the puppet master of the Academy City, the true controller. All others were just pawns for his plans, no more. And this man at this moment was focused upon this one specific individual.
Numerous screens independent of physical monitors were scattered all across the large room; they each displayed a different video. This man was too much of a monster just to be relying on surveillance cameras and satellites.
This man was Aleister Crowley.
Every screen, save for a few for overall surveillance, focused upon this one teenager engaged in various activities. Battling Magicians with his glowing blue sword, battling the Number One, battling the Skill-Out... the list went on.
Normally, if any outsider breached into this City, they would be quickly and quietly taken care of. However, in the context of the situation this "Esper" entering this city at this critical stage was fortuitous. While he was not truly essential to the Imaginary Number District nor Fuse=KAZAKIRI, his mere presence within the City practically doubled, no, tripled Aleister's options. Truly, despite lacking in combat capabilities compared to the Level 5's, that individual's power potentially made anything possible.
What even was his level? In Aleister's opinion, his power went beyond the concept of "level"s. If they cannot measure the power of the Imagine Breaker, how could they measure this power?
Several magicians were lured in to personally see his powers in action. It was as expected of someone who fled from Magic Cabals his entire life; it only took this individual seconds to recognize the types of magic used and adequately counteract against them. This Esper geared himself toward disappearing and escaping.
Haru Tachyon.
Bane of all magicians. The epitome of the very "talent" magic was created to defend against. Magical societies around the world were pursuing for his head purely because of the destructive damage he would be able to achieve with his powers. And he somehow shook them all off, hiding in one place and appearing in another. And now, he was within Academy City.
The possibilities were endless.
Haru received many curious glances from other people as he walked across the street.
As the year marched toward the winter the amount of people expressing surprise in regard to his choice of attire gradually lessened. Rather, they stared at the pink handbag he was carrying; it contrasted bit too much from his overall appearance. Now, he wasn't carrying the bag over his shoulder—which would have been more unusual—he was merely clutching it within his hands while traveling to his destination. He himself paid no heed—either that or he didn't even notice—to the stares he gathered from the rubberneckers.
He was walking toward the 177 Branch Office of Judgment in order to return the lost handbag as he was told to. It took him several hours of scavenging, digging through trash, underground sewer adventure, and other degrading tasks, but he finally achieved his goal. Adrenalin pumped through within his body after achieving the seemingly impossible mission.
During the night, as per the visiting hours, the Judgment offices were closed. However, merely flashing his armband allowed him to get in—perhaps he'll keep the band after all. After some inquiries using the piece of paper he was given in order to find the object, he was promptly directed to the correct floor.
Haru approached the door, knocked twice, and waited for a few moments before entering.
Within the office was a woman with short black hair and glasses whom he did not know. On the other side of the room was... Uiharu Kazari, was it?
"Kazari-san," Haru immediately approached the girl working on a computer, praying that he got the name right. "Surprised to see you here."
The flowerhead stared at him curiously for a few moments before recalling his appearance. "Oh, Haru, was it?" Pushing her chair back, she stood up. "Do you need any help from Judgment?"
"Ah, well, you see, Shirai asked for my help in finding this handbag." He held up the pink-colored handbag in all its glory.
"She isn't supposed to ask other civilians to help her with Judgement duties..." The short-haired woman spoke up, gaining the attention of the duo. Haru briefly contemplated on placing Shirai in trouble using this situation, but he decided against it, considering the blackmail she had on him.
"Well, she looked like she had more important stuff to do, as I believe she had her hands full in chasing after one of the unruly citizens." He shrugged. "I'm sure she had a good reason to ask for my help, only for once."
"Hmm, well, Shirai-san herself has to fill out appropriate forms for returned items, and she just went out a while ago for something, so I think she'll be back soon." Kazari began to sort through some files. "You can just leave that here. Thank you for finding it."
After placing the handbag down Haru made his way out from the Judgment offices all the while contemplating upon his first examination of the suspected area. In agreement to the reports made within the hacking communities, the Goalkeeper resided within this very building according to the analysis of the online unique signatures.
The Goalkeeper... that girl possibly could not be the legendary computer genius who put away many proficient hackers within the city. Yet, he could not judge a book by its cover. Was that her disguise? Pretending to be a moe while the entire security system of the Judgment was within her grasp? What was her motive?
And in order to find that out, he needed to prepare.