Astral Buddy Manga Chapter 009

"Does Your Head Hurt?" (あたま痛いのぉ?) is the ninth chapter of Toaru Kagaku no Railgun Gaiden: Astral Buddy, released on February 27th 2018.

Synopsis
Junko relates the events Kobayashi Shimanaka and other members of the clique, that Misaki has been abducted and that she was challenged to get her back. The other clique members apologize for not being there on time as well as they also ran into the enemy and was delayed. They assume Komaki wasn't targeted like the other clique members because she was invisible. Shimanaka says that she would treat Junko's injuries, but then Junko starts lamenting her failure to save the Queen and leaving Komaki's efforts in vain.

But then Shimanaka slaps both of Junko's cheeks and reprimands her for thinking that way. She says that it isn't like Junko to act this way, and tells her that the Queen is still safe since she was told by the enemy to go after them. Shimanaka tells Junko that she should pull herself together. she is now the center of the Clique of the Queen of Tokiwadai. Shimanaka praises Junko for saving Komaki and that it's not time to give up.

Rubbing away her tears, Junko thanks Shimanaka and apologizes for how she acted. With that, Junko takes control of the clique and begins instructing the girls what they should do to get the Queen back by any means necessary.

While the girls do their duties, like searching for Misaki through searching the Bank and taking Komaki away to an ambulance, Junko recalls the time when she was competing with Yumiya Iruka, and that she has viewed Junko with hostility and wonders if she did anything to anger her in some way. Suddenly, Junko gets a call and finds out that it's the Queen, much to everyone's surprise. On the line, she finds out that it is actually the Ghost Girl taking possession. Junko asks where she is though she doesn't say anything useful, and later gropes Misaki's breasts after noticing them.

Junko later uses the GPS to track Misaki's phone down, and races to School District 10 where she is apparently being held.

Junko earlier explains away the Ghost Girl to the clique members, saying that she was able to find Misaki thanks to the avatar that Misaki made known as Ghost that she uses in emergencies. The other girls wonder if it was a laboratory in District 10, why Tokiwadai girls would risk their lives fighting Judgment, or if they are being mentally controlled. Anyway, not knowing anything other than the two girls have abducted Misaki, Shimanaka says that they will have to play it by the ear and prepare for anything. Shimanaka gives Junko a school bag, and tells her to rescue the Queen.

Back with the Ghost Girl, she stays put and does nothing reckless as instructed by Junko. She notes that Misaki's body is hard to control and can't even uses Misaki's powers. She tries to stand up but falls, taking down a box containing Indian Poker cards. Hearing the noise, Iruka and her accomplice coms into the room and finds nothing suspicious as the Ghost Girl goes back into position. The two argue on how the box could have fell, leading to each of them teasing the other during the previous battle. Iruka then says that the girl's bodysuit is too revealing of her bodylines. She asks where her track suit was, to which the girl says that it was too bloody and the zipper broke so she threw it away. Hearing this, Iruka says the girl is careless and calls her a mess looking at her. She wipes off the blood from her nose and then starts combing her hair.

With that the girl starts moving the boxes to prevent it from falling. Iruka asks what the girl intends to do with all the cards though she doesn't get a straight answer. Not questioning her further, Iruka crouches down to where Misaki's body is and touches her face, noting how not too long ago how "little" she was and wonders how she got her boobs. Iruka apologizes to Misaki for getting her involved but it was the only way to get Junko serious, and that she will release her once she completes her goal. Iruka however notices that the Indian Poker card on Misaki is not on her forehead, just as Iruka says she doesn't like Level 5s and kisses Misaki on her cheeks.

At that moment, Ghost Girl is pulled into a memory of a time long ago, and sees a young Junko meet a young Misaki, where the latter asks the former if head hurts.

Major Events

 * Junko assumes control of the clique to find Misaki and defeat the enemy who took her, later finding out where she is thanks to the ghost.
 * While in possession of Misaki, the ghost sees a memory of when Misaki and Junko first met.

Characters
By order of appearance:
 * Hokaze Junko
 * Kobayashi Shimanaka
 * Makigami Komaki
 * Ghost Girl
 * Shokuhou Misaki
 * Houjou Arei (unnamed)
 * Yumiya Iruka

Abilities

 * Ghost powers - Ghost Girl
 * Rampage Dress - Level 4, Hokaze Junko

Locations

 * Academy City
 * School District 7
 * Tokiwadai Middle School
 * School District 10

Referbacks

 * Junko wonders if she has done something that would make Iruka angry at her back at the esper power examination, referring to the archery competition against Iruka and Shirai Kuroko.
 * The flashback to Junko and Misaki's past shows that Junko went to the same facility as Misaki where Exterior was being developed.
 * Misaki wearing gloves in the flashback implies that Junko met her after Misaki has already taken over the facility and that Dolly has already died.

Cultural References
No culture references were featured in this chapter

Unanswered Questions

 * What is Iruka doing with Misaki's body in School District 10?
 * What is inside the school bag Shimanaka gave to Junko?
 * What does Iruka's accomplice intend to do with the Indian Poker cards?
 * What is the past between Iruka and Junko and what does she want from her?
 * Why does Iruka hate Level 5s?
 * What happened between Shokuhou Misaki and Hokaze Junko in the past?

Quotes

 * Kobayashi Shimanaka (to Hokaze Junko): "The Queen has been captured, so you are now the center of our clique, Hokaze-san! Pull yourself together!"
 * Hokaze Junko (to the clique): "Find the Queen. Defeat the enemy. Those are our two tasks. And we will... do them thoroughly. We will show the enemy... just how far we will go."