Thanks for all the reviews, alerts, and favorites! Warning before the chapter starts: there are a lot of perspective shifts. I hope you guys don't mind.

…

In Academy City there were seven individuals who were worthy of being worshipped and feared like gods. They each possessed power so great that they could easily fight against an army. Every one of them had gone through many experiments in order to make them even stronger, constantly trying to push the boundaries of science.

A few of them were killers. The Meltdowner, the fourth strongest esper in Academy City was one of the seven who could be classified as a "murder."

Shizuri had seen many corpses throughout her life and almost all of them had been tied with experiments. She had used her Meltdowner indiscriminately, destroy and killing whatever and whoever stood in the way. After years of such wonton violence, she went on a rampage.

…

Beep

Beep Beep

Beep Beep Beep

The hand slammed down on the alarm clock, quickly deactivating the alarm. Shizuri grumbled as she opened her eyes, looking around her room. The Level 5 esper lay in bed for another five minutes, slipping in and out of sleep. Eventually sitting in bed got too annoying and Shizuri got out of bed, her feet landing on the soft carpet. She stretched and glanced out the window to catch a glimpse of the sun rising. Mugino could not stop the smile from appearing on her face. Another morning had come.

The Meltdowner yawned before heading across the room to open her closet. A variety of clothes hung inside and she quickly chose what to wear. That was when she noticed. She immediately turned around and scanned the entire room just to make sure it wasn't her imagination. The bedroom in the apartment she currently occupied contained a closet full of clothes and a bed. It wasn't a large room, but Mugino couldn't help but feel that her room was larger than it actually was because, well, it was rather empty.

"Well, better add furniture to the shopping list." murmured the Level 5 as she opened the door to her room.

Shizuri stopped at the bathroom next, brushing her teeth thoroughly and taking a quick shower. Afterwards, she changed into the clothes she had picked from her closet. The door to the bathroom opened and Shizuri stepped out, drying her hair with a towel.

Normally, breakfast would have been the next thing on the menu, but she wasn't feeling hungry. Instead, she walked into the kitchen and got a glass out of the dishwasher. She walked over to the fridge and it made a whirring noise as it poured water into the glass. Taking a sip from the glass as she walked, Mugino sat down in the living room. She closed her eyes and just drank from the glass.

Everything was silent and Mugino enjoyed it. The level of silence in the apartment would have been impossible to achieve where she had used to live.

Where I used to live…

It had been a while since she had last used her ability. It had also been a while since she had last taken a life, although she could still remember who her last kill had been. It was difficult to forget something like that. Mugino had long since forgotten how long it had been since she managed to escape the dark side, but she knew that she was incredibly lucky to be alive. She remembered feeling overjoyed.

But she also remembered feeling fear and doubt. She had immediately started to doubt the influence of her own actions. The questions full of doubt were like a storm, shaking her entire life to the core. And during the storm came the rain, falling heavy with fear. Fear penetrated the shaky defenses she had put up and drenched her and threatened to start a flood that would wash her away.

For a while, Mugino thought that "freedom" was even worse than the slavery-like condition she had just escaped. Eventually, the feelings of doubt and fear subsided and Mugino ventured outside, greeted with the sun smiling down at her. The lack of controlling scientists watching her every move disoriented her and she stumbled for several days, unable to adjust to the fact that she was now free to do whatever she wished.

A minor side effect of being freed was that Academy City no longer provided her with a ridiculous allowance, although monetary worries were quickly alleviated with a quick phone call to her family. She bought the apartment she was currently sitting in and began her life anew, although she frequently thought about her old life.

More specifically, she thought about a few people she had known when she had been involved with the dark side. She could no longer access underground sources, but she still heard rumors while going about her life as a normal citizen of Academy City. Her thoughts shifted to ITEM, the mercenary group she used to work with.

Almost all of the rumors she heard were about the group and the fate of the group did not vary with every instance. ITEM had simply faded away. According to rumors, Frenda had defected to SCHOOL and Shiage and Takitusbo disappeared together. Only Kinuhata had stayed with ITEM, becoming its leader. After some time, however, ITEM went completely under the radar and nothing else was heard. And that suited Shizuri just fine.

Fighting against those who she had once called comrades and maybe even friends was her worst nightmare and a confrontation against ITEM had been what she had feared most during the early days of her freedom.

But there was another person on her mind. While Shizuri's memory of ITEM consisted of several years and events that had shaped her, the memory of this certain person was made up of one single event.

On that fateful night, Kamijou Touma had stepped into the alleyway demanding justice. On that night, Shizuri's illusions had been broken. On that night, Kamijou Touma had defeated her, the fourth strongest Level 5, with a single punch.

To any observer, the outcome of the battle would have been a decisive defeat for Shizuri. But to Shizuri, the battle was the spark that ignited the fire that lit her path towards freedom.

Mugino set the finished glass of water on the coffee table in front of the couch and looked out the floor-to-ceiling windows that gave her a perfect view of Academy City. She smiled as she watched the cars drive on the roads and the people walk along the sidewalk.

She swore that the next time she saw the high school boy named Kamijou Touma she would repay her debt to him.

Nothing in the fridge and don't want to cook. Well, I guess I'll be eating out today. Maybe pick up some groceries and shop around for furniture as well.

And with that thought, Mugino Shizuri headed out the door of her apartment.

…

"Such misfortune…"

The high school boy known as Kamijou Touma sighed as he walked out of his school, his bag in hand. Today's misfortune had been much stronger than usual. Touma walked away from the school, recapping the day's unfortunate events.

The alarm clock had failed to go off this morning so he was awoken by the sharp bites of Index, the freeloading nun who lived with him. As a result of the broken alarm clock, Touma had to quickly make breakfast but soon found out that he had forgotten to buy groceries and could only afford to make breakfast for Index. As a result, the high school boy had been forced to go hungry until lunch.

In fact he was still hungry.

"And just to make things worse, I forgot about the math homework and the pop quiz. My misfortune never lets up, does it?" lamented the boy as he walked home, sullenly.

"Wait right there!"

Touma turned around to see who had called after him and his heart sank when he saw who it was. The city's third strongest esper, Misaka Mikoto, was standing behind him, electricity already crackling around her. The high school boy immediately checked his surroundings. Nobody was around and there were no buildings aside from a large bridge in the background, a wide river running quietly underneath it.

It was the perfect spot for a confrontation.

Touma sighed as the middle school esper ran up to him, pointing her finger at him.

"What do you want, biribiri?" asked Touma as Mikoto grinned.

"I think it's time we settled who's stronger once and for all. I won't let you weasel your way out of this one!" she said as electricity shot towards him in an arc of destruction.

Instinctively, Touma raised his hand, the electricity disappearing on contact. Mikoto did not look concerned by this and reached into her skirt pocket for a coin. Touma gulped as Mikoto held it up for him to see.

"Hey, do you know what a railgun is?"

She flipped the coin and Touma watched it fly through the air, wondering why he was the only one who was forced to undergo such trials.

She always asks me what a railgun is… Well, let's just get this over with and go home.

There was a deafening roar and a flash of orange light as the coin blasted towards him at incredible speed. Touma barely had enough time to move his hand into position to block the coin.

The heat and pressure against his hand was incredible and Touma almost had to take a step back.

Whoa…she's a lot stronger than I remember. The sound of breaking glass was heard and the coin fell to the ground, no real harm done to Touma. Or maybe I've gotten weaker?

Mikoto was speechless as Touma examined his right hand. The skin on his palm was scratched and bleeding slightly, but it was nothing serious. His fingers curled into a fist and he grinned as he looked at the third strongest esper in Academy City.

"This time it's my turn!" he shouted as he ran towards her, fist flying towards her.

Misaka Mikoto, the Railgun and third strongest, could only hold up her hands in defense.

…

It was nighttime in Academy City. Streetlamps and store signs lit up the roads and sidewalks and Kamijou Touma found himself walking to a supermarket in order to buy ingredients for dinner. The high school boy sighed as he walked on the sidewalk.

The duel had ended in what Mikoto had described as a "tie" although Touma was more than happy to throw the victory to her. He glanced down at his palm. He knew that it was most likely his imagination, but he felt like something had changed. He shook his head and sighed. He didn't have time to be contemplating something as insignificant as a tiny wound on his right hand.

He currently had two choices: make dinner or die.

His stomach growled and Touma was reminded that the task at hand was not to satisfy the freeloading nun known as Index. It was also to satisfy his own hunger that ate away at his very being. He arrived at the large square where the supermarket was and moved through the crowd of people in order to get inside. He bumped into several people while doing so and just as he was about to get into the store, a boy not much older than him bumped into him.

"Sorry about that, dude."

The teenager quickly disappeared into the crowd and Touma shrugged it off. He reached into his pocket to make sure he had the correct amount of money and he found…nothing.

The money was gone.

What?! It was just there! Damn, did I just get pickpocketed by that guy? Touma thought frantically as he tried to locate the boy who had bumped into him. I-I need that money! I don't want to starve!

Touma took off running, wanting to find the boy who had stolen his money. It didn't take long for Touma to realize that the pickpocket had made his escape. The high school boy sat down on a nearby bench in despair.

"I can't get dinner now…Index is going to kill me. Such misfortune…" said Touma, resigning to his fate.

The high school boy was about to head home in defeat when he heard an offer he could not refuse.

"How about I buy you dinner?"

…

Mugino was out walking around looking at clothes when she saw the familiar boy run past. Her eyes widened and her eyes followed the boy as he ran through a crowd of people to get to a supermarket close to the clothing store she was standing in front of.

She saw the money slip out of his pocket and knelt down to grab it. She looked up and saw the boy running wildly around the square, looking for something. She smiled.

Well, well, well. This is damn good opportunity to maybe start repaying my debt…this is a rather interesting situation…

And with that, she extended her generosity to the boy who had changed her life.

…

An unmarked van drove down the streets of Academy City, completely unassuming. Inside the van, however, sinister plots were being hatched. In the back of the van sat Kihara Byouri, a golden retriever, and a Hound Dog operative. The golden retriever had several wires attached to his body and glanced at Kihara Byouri.

"You look sort of anxious, Byouri. Relax." said the golden retriever.

The golden retriever's human speech brought Byouri out of her own thoughts and back into reality. She glanced at the dog and thought about how absurd the situation was. She was riding in a van with a talking dog. Still, she maintained her composure.

"Thank you for your concern, but I'm fine." replied the handicapped woman before changing the subject. "Just what are you planning, Noukan? You haven't told me anything yet."

"Well, we're almost at the destination so I'll tell you. We both heard the Elder give his speech at the gathering and I couldn't help but want to learn more about the boy we are out to get rid of." said the dog. "He's a rather fascinating boy and I have decided to use lesser peers in order to minimize the losses and to maximize the profit."

Lesser peers? Ah, right… thought Byouri as she listened to the dog speak.

Lesser peers were members of Faction Kihara who had not yet proven themselves to be worthy of the honor of calling themselves a "true Kihara." The majority of Faction Kihara was referred to as lesser peers and Byouri herself had once been a lesser peer, although some still considered her one due to her disability. Noukan's snickering reminded her that she was still supposed to be listening.

"We're going to picking up a rather remarkable lesser peer today, Byouri. The son of Kihara Amata, one of the greatest Kiharas to ever live!" marveled Noukan, Byouri raising her eyebrow.

The son of the Cruel Tiger? She hadn't even been aware that he had ever fathered a son.

"Unfortunately, his father's legacy isn't enough to show him the error of his ways. He insists on wasting his life being a delinquent." The van lurched to a stop and Noukan's tail began wagging quickly. "Ah, we're here!"

…

"Tch, does nobody carry money around with them anymore?"

The teenage boy walked on the sidewalk towards the slums of Academy City, his hands in his pockets. The boy was wearing a black hoodie, tight jeans, and a grey beanie on his head. A cigarette stuck out of his mouth and his eyes revealed his lack of sleep.

The boy had been hoping to be able to lift some money of people, but he had to leave empty handed after failing to grab even a cent. He didn't notice the van coming up behind him and stopped walking to look at the white, unmarked van with curiosity.

"The hell?" asked the teenager as the back door of the van burst open, a man in full military gear grabbing him and throwing him in the back.

"Goddamn it! What the hell is going on?!" shouted the teenager as he looked up to see a golden retriever looking down at him, the dog's tail wagging rapidly from side to side.

"Hello, Kihara Zankinsen. We've come to make you a deal."

…

"I can get anything I want?" asked Touma, a look of disbelief on his face.

"For god's sake I've said yes at least four damn times!" responded Mugino, a look of annoyance on her face.

The events of dinner had taken a completely new direction. Mugino had first approached Touma with dinner and the high schooler had been surprised to see her. There had been no hostility in his voice although there was an understandable level of suspicion. It had taken quite a lot of persuasion to get the high school boy to come to the underground shopping center with her.

She watched the high school boy tell the waitress what he wanted for dinner with a smile on his face.

"I'll have the cheeseburger, the steak, the pancakes, the chicken noodle soup, the fried chicken, the ribs…" said Touma, listing off just about everything on the menu. "…all to go please."

"Wait just a damn minute! You're seriously going to get all of that shit to go?!" demanded Mugino as Touma scratched his chin.

"Oh, right! I forgot to order something for myself! I'll have a plate of sesame chicken, please." said Touma as the waitress took the order.

"What do you mean, you didn't order anything for yourself?! You just ordered the entire damn menu!" said Mugino as Touma sighed.

"Yeah, I currently live with a freeloader who pretty much eats all the food. It's difficult to keep her satisfied." explained Touma.

Mugino and Touma talked for a bit until the food came out. Most of the food ordered was put away to the side and Mugino was the first to finish her meal. She watched Touma eat and couldn't help but smile.

"Hey, listen. About that night…" started Mugino, Touma looking up.

At exactly that moment all the lights in the underground mall went out and alarms started blaring.

…

Cliffhanger ending, but I needed to wrap this chapter up. This was actually quite long and I originally had trouble getting this chapter started. I apologize for the wait. I wanted to get this chapter out but I didn't have enough time to actually write it. So, this chapter just floated around in my head for a very long time.

Touma might seem OOC but that's just how I see him. I've obviously changed a lot about Mugino too. Kihara Zankinsen is an OC of mine and will be the "field boss" of this little arc. Pretty much all of the field bosses will be OCs so I hope you guys don't mind. Kihara Noukan also made his appearance and I honestly enjoy working with a weird character like Noukan. I don't get to use talking dogs very often.

To those waiting for the next chapter of Let Us Live, I don't know when the new chapter will be out. I have to think real hard about what needs to happen next.

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Please leave a review!