Prologue: A gemstone and the Railgun
"Damn it Ruiko! If this isn't your bad luck rubbing off on me then how can one explain this current misfortune!?" Those were the words, that even he himself realised sounded stupid, William Johnson yelled as he sprinted through the streets and back alleys of academy city.
Every few seconds or so he'd steal a glance behind him to see how his pursuers faired.
There were eight of them, each dressed in the recognisable style of a typical delinquent of baggy jeans and shirts.
It amazed Johnson slightly that even after running 2 kilometres all eight had managed to keep up with him.
Granted he wasn't moving at his full speed in order to allow them to keep up but still, usually by this time at least one of them would have given up had it been an ordinary situation.
Catching them flirting with one of the cities level 5's however wasn't an ordinary situation and to keep them from being beaten to a pulp he'd been a bit more aggressive in his approach at getting them to leave then usual.
Maybe that was why they hadn't given up yet?
Johnson shook the thoughts away, he could deal with that later. Right now his objective was to get them as far away from that particular level 5 as quickly as possible.
As he continued to run he moved his blame from a certain friend of his who possessed nothing but bad luck to the current date.
It was July 19th, the last day before the students awaited summer holiday; for the next six weeks it'd be nothing but fun and relaxation… after they finished their summer homework of course. Johnson himself had been in high spirits that day that he'd booked a table at a restaurant for three so he'd and his two girlfriends could have a nice, enjoyable evening meal with him entering a family restaurant down the street for a little snack beforehand.
When he'd entered the restaurant though he'd found a familiar middle school girl being harassed by a clearly drunk delinquent.
Knowing the girl and what she was capable of Johnson had made his way to getting the delinquent to leave when…
"Seriously, I thought only girls went to the bathroom in groups!" And so now here he was, on the run from a group of drunkards, thereby making him late and miss getting his table at the restaurant… how can that be called anything except misfortune!?
"Damn you guys! Because of you my girlfriends are going to be pissed! its either the sofa or the floor of me tonight because of you idiots!" If they even heard him or not mattered little to Johnson, he'd only shouted to vent his frustration so that he wouldn't just turn around and beat the crap out of them himself.
But he couldn't do that, his objective from the start was to prevent them from being beat up. To do it himself would make him a hypocrite… he silently cursed his own decision as he continued to move.
"G-get back here you damn punk!" as the chase continued through the city Johnson heard one of the delinquents yell in anger and exhaustion.
"Fat chance! You lot should be thanking me! That girl would have zapped your asses full of electricity if I hadn't stepped in!" Despite his yell he knew his words, in his situation anyway, were useless. Being both drunk and enraged the likelihood of them listening was the same as them becoming the next level 5
In other words zero.
The chase led them through a park where couples could be seen acting out their dreams and emitting their happiness for all single men to see. While Johnson himself wasn't single and in fact had two girlfriends his heart too sank for instead of being with them he was being chased by a group of eight drunken idiots.
This caused Johnson to get again yell out about his current misfortune… something that would cause anyone who knew him to tilt their heads in confusion as he was usually extremely lucky.
"Damn it punk! When I get my hands on you…!" After another kilometre was cleared the delinquent from before yelled out again, causing Johnson's anger to flare slightly; he was the only victim here after all.
"Quit your whining! If you want to stop then go ahead! No ones stopping you!"
After another kilometre was cleared Johnson had arrived at a large metal bridge. Unlike most others who'd would be sweating at the very least Johnson felt little aftereffects from the four kilometre run he'd just done… unless feeling slightly hungry counted of course.
"Huh, did I lose them?" long the way through that last kilometre the yelling had stopped and the only sounds he'd heard had been the sound of his own feet hitting the floor.
The fact that they'd stopped meant one of two things. Either they'd finally decided to give up, in which case the problem was solved and he could hopefully get back to the restaurant in time for some food, or-
"Just what was that? you working for Judgment now and decided to 'save' those level 0 delinquents? Hoping to get a pat on the back and a job well done from someone?"-or the level 5 from before had decided to take them out.
Johnson turned back towards where he came to find that same middle schooler standing before him, holding a bored expression on her face.
The girl had the appearance of a 14 year old wearing the uniform of the Tokiwadai middle school, one of the seven most prestigious school in the city.
The girl before him was Misaka Mikoto, otherwise known as the Railgun, and was third strongest of Academy city's seven level 5's.
She was also an old friend of Johnson's since his arrival in the city four years ago but they'd drifted apart after she'd reached level 5 status two years ago.
Now… they just butted heads whenever they met.
Johnson sighed as his gaze met hers, not only had his efforts of trying to protect the delinquents been wasted but now he had to deal with this immature brat.
"I take it that the delinquents are currently taken a nice electrified nap thanks to you?" a nod was the only thing he was given. "Great, just great"
Shaking his head Johnson walked past the strongest electromaster and prepared to make his jog back to the restaurant-
"Hey! don't ignore me Will!" Johnson turned his head just as the level 5 before him shot an electric spear at him.
Johnson's response was to throw one of the silver knife he'd kept in his sleeve towards it.
A millisecond before it hit Johnson the lightning hit the thrown knife and was shot out through the tip past Misaka's head.
Johnson sighed once again. "We've been through this before Railgun, I know all your tricks therefore you can't beat me." It was true, despite the Railgun being a level 5 and Johnson (officially) being a level 0 one could ask anyone in the city and they would say the level 5 would win every time.
That was not the case with the Railgun and Johnson however, in its simplest terms the Railgun's powers is the control of electricity. With that being the case all one needed was the reflex to place a specially made conductor that would reflect the electricity back through its entry point toward the user. An insulator in this case wouldn't work as the Railgun can send in millions of volts through her strikes, therefore it needs to be something the electricity can easily get through.
There were two problems with this plan, one being that it wouldn't work against her signature move the Railgun but that sorted itself out with that she wasn't a killer, she would never use the Railgun against an actual person… she'd use it against someone in a vehicle sure but not a person on their own.
The second problem, the only real one that mattered, was that a normal person wouldn't have the reflexes or the speed to be able to get the conductor between them and the electricity.
William Johnson wasn't a regular person though. Excluding the fact he was a natural born esper (known as a gemstone) he had always had an unnatural amount of strength, speed and luck that an ordinary person couldn't possibly have and while he had one theory on how it was possible he always dismissed it as it was impossible.
In any case, due to this unnatural speed of his (as well as his own esper power) he could fulfil this needed reflex and effectively block the Railgun's electric spears and other such attacks.
It had been thanks to this that he'd managed to beat the Railgun a year prior… on this very bridge now that he thought of it.
Misaka glared at the high schooler before her. She hated it, she hated that every time they fought in the last year he'd beaten her every time, without even using his power even!
"Stop playing around and fight me seriously!" she was tired of it, she'd had enough of losing to him and today she was going to set things straight!
Johnson however sighed and just looked at her. "All i've ever done is go all out against you Railgun. Being a level 0 This is the only thing I can-"
"Quit lying about that!" Johnson's words were cut off by the strongest electromasters cry. "We both know you can still use your power! I don't know why your record states you lost them after that accident two years ago but I damn well know you still have them!" In response to her words the self proclaimed level 0 bit back a remark he would have regretted. The 'accident' as she so put it had been anything but… not that he could tell her that considering what had been involved.
Still though, if he stayed here any longer then he'd be guaranteed to miss his evening with his girls.
"…Do you really want me to go all out on you Railgun?" his tone was casual enough but his eyes sent a message that sent a shiver down her spine.
It was a look that promised pain, it was a look that promised utter defeat, it was a look that made her realise that she could never beat him. She found her body frozen at the intensity of his gaze, harmful intent was leaking from him at this point and it causing her knees to buckle.
Make no mistake, Misaka Mikoto was a girl that, if anything else, was strong and dependable; especially in a fight. As an example she was called an 'Onee-sama' within Tokiwadai by its students, in particular a certain level 4 teleporter held her in an exceptional high regard but, behind all that, she was only a second year middle schooler who had never been in a serious fight before.
In other words she'd never had to fight for her life before.
And now, as she stood before someone who could release true killing intent, she could see the difference between them as well as a glimpse of what he's been through since his arrival in the city.
And then as quickly as it came into existence the intent vanished from the air. For a few tense, to Mikoto anyway, moments all was silence between the two… until a sigh from Johnson brought them back into reality.
"…Maybe that was a little too far." despite his voice being only a mutter the Railgun still heard his voice louder than any bell. "Damn it, i've missed the dinner entirely."
It took Misaka a few moments to notice he was looking at his phone with a small frown. Before she could say anything however.
"I'm going to cut this short Railgun I have to go, enjoy your summer." With that the boy that could bring a level 5 to a grinding halt fled the scene.
Inwardly Johnson counted down in his head.
3
2
1
"…GET BACK HERE!" the Railgun's shout echoed throughout the area as a bolt of lightning shook the city, hitting a power plant some miles away and causing a power outage throughout the city.
And as he ran to escape the angered electromasters wrath as she began to give chase he let out a final sigh with the thought:
'I'm gonna get blamed for this by someone… I just know it.'
And with that, for William Johnson and MIsaka Mikoto, July 19th ended.
Hello guys and welcome my newest story. Yep, this ones a To aru with our favourite OC somewhat taking the place of Touma.
For those wondering what I mean by that you probably noticed that he's missing a certain important aspect of our favourite misfortunate hero.
…Yep, Will does not possess the Imagine breaker in this fanfic. Not saying the imagine breaker isn't in this its just that neither Touma, who won't be in this fic at all, nor Will will possess it. I've already given a hint as to who has it but if you can't figure it out it'll be revealed later on anyway.
In any case, I hope you enjoy this fic and please look forward to the next chapter, until then please R&R and i'll see you next time!