( Answer review )
Guest : Yeah, Touma has a really important role in this story.
Notes : Remember that I'm italian and I'm looking for an english beta-reader, so I'm sorry for the bad grammar.
I do not own To Aru Majutsu No Index and To Aru Kagaku No Railgun, all rights belong to Kazuma Kamachi.
Chapter 2 :
Orphan by both mother and father, Accelerator, whose original name is still unknown, was left at the foot of a Catholic convent near Kanto in the early 2000s.
His first meeting with the law took place when he was eight years old.
Caught by police officers at the gin machine, in the back of the orphanage, he hit the cops with a plate of steaming food while they were bent over to inspect the alembic.
He ended up in the juvenile court on charges of smuggling. Later, he would have boasted that the first infraction was settled by the contacts of the director of the orphanage.
Later, he made friends with Sister Marie, the educator of the structure: to rectify the problematic child, the woman enrolled him in a school of Orthodox Catholics.
On his first day, after half an hour, Accelerator had already interrupted an assembly by turning the lights on and off, as well as punching another student in the face.
The parish priest sent him home that same day.
Then he called the orphanage, explaining that the child had been expelled and would not be readmitted. Shortly after this incident, he was caught with a crunchy peanut crate stolen from a factory next to the village grocery store.
As a punishment, the juvenile judge sent him to the Internal Special.
The reformatory was located near a gymnasium, with a wire mesh to separate the two courtyards.
At that point, law-abiding youths confronted the juvenile offenders, mocking each other.
Armed with a baseball bat, Accelerator was arrested for attempting to rob the Columbia ticket office, a downtown theater.
They sent him to an even more severe reformatory, near an old redwood building on top of Kyoto, far above the center.
It was there that he was picked up by an old man who called himself Kihara Gensei and was chosen together with many other children to participate in a research program in the city of Gakuen Toushi.
Nobody ever knew what the boy was forced to face in that structure.
The fact is that, about four years later, it came out with the title of Level 5 and equipped with its ability of vector manipulation.
Once free, he began his personal mission of conquest, taking control of the city's crime.
It took him three years to get where he was now.
With that thought in mind, Accelerator let himself be lulled by the music of the radio as he raced through the streets of Gakuen Toushi at full speed.
He was driving a red Mustang that looked like it had just left the factory, flanked on the right seat by a young blond boy. He had his hair shot upward and wore a funny Hawaiian green shirt, complete with little white flowers, and a pair of black sunglasses.
He was Tsuchimikado Motoharu, the right-hand man of Accelerator himself, his most trusted man and, in some ways, his only true friend.
His presence around the esper was as constant, like a pilot fish following a great white shark. They were almost always together and they were the lions of their territory.
" For God's sake, Accelerator, can you to turn off this shit ?!" the boy exclaimed, bringing both his hands to his head.
The albino stared at him from the corner of his eye.
" Shit? Watch your mouth, man, these are the Motörheads," he retorted coolly, before curling his lips in an amused grin. "But, in the end, what can you know? You, the person that can listen only Beyoncè, and only to masturbate during her performances"
" Go to hell! She's not just gorgeous, she's also really good. As if you could understand! You, that get excited by listening to the voice of this alcoholic mustache" the other said, causing a snort by the companion.
" See to bring respect to Lemmy, asshole! Do you know what the prophet said? It's not a matter of taste, if you do not like rock n roll: the problem is only yours"
" Yeah, yeah, whatever you want" Tsuchimikado muttered, slumping into the seat of the car.
The journey continued in relative silence for about ten minutes, with the exception of background music.
This until the blond took a deep breath, as if he wasn't sure to say his next words.
" You know, Accelerator ... sometimes I really struggle to understand you" he said suddenly, attracting the attention of the albino.
" You have the city in hand now. You took everything: the prestige, the swag ... and even all the women that any man would like to fuck" he continued, with a vaguely ironic tone " And now you try to put a finger in the eye to the Skill Out ... Why?"
In response, the Level 5 just stared at the road.
" More. I want more Tsuchimikado" he whispered in a low voice, surprising his right arm.
" Do you want to whine for Hebitani? Do it, I don'tt give a fuck. We toast to Hebitani, one who died creating a new way to cheat at cards, "he said, raising his right hand in a vaguely mocking gesture," I'm sorry, but he will not be there when I cut the inaugural ribbon. But what happened to Hebitani is nothing. It was not a murder. It was progress. I am progress"
And, with this said, the boy's eyes seemed to light up with his own light, shining in the morning's rays.
" Do you really want to know what I want, Tsu? The world, my friend. And all that's inside".
"You know, last week they discovered a couple, in California, who rented rooms to old men, then killed them, buried them in the garden, and pocketed their pensions
Aogami Pierce, Level 0 and member of the anti-crime organization Judgment, pronounced those words on a hot summer day, comfortably seated inside a black Cadilliac.
He had the typical face of oriental people, with eyes so thin that they looked closed, his hair dyed blue and a jovial smile. Next to him sat a boy, probably no older than 18, with dark hair shot up and his face in a bored expression.
Both boys sported a green band with white stripes, attached to clothes with a pin.
"Ah, and first they tortured them, I do not know why, maybe the TV had broken down. And the thing went on until, using the words of the newspaper, "the neighbors were alarmed when they saw a man running away wearing only a dog collar"," Pierce continued, receiving an uneasy grunt from his partner.
" It is impossible to invent such news, try it, you can not. This is what was wanted to attract someone's attention: digging in the garden had gone unnoticed" Aogami chuckled, with a carefree tone.
Next to him, Kamijou Touma, a high school student and Level 0, released a loud snort.
In reality, the news did not surprise him at all. In his five years of service as a member of the Judgment, after all, he had seen things on the streets of Gakuen Toushi that many would call absolutely impossible. And he had come to a single conclusion on the reality that surrounded him.
At the moment, the human world was based on the suffering and destruction of millions of non-human and human creatures. Understanding it and starting to react, in the private and public sphere, involved a change in perspective similar to religious conversion. Nothing would have seemed more like before, because when we recognized the terror and pain of others we remained forever aware of the infinite transformations of suffering on which contemporary society was based.
A suffering that was also shared by almost all members of the human race.
In short, the world had teeth ... and at any moment it could bite you. Just like now.
Touma noticed a young blonde girl making contact with the target they were stalking.
Hicoichi Tetsu was a middle-aged teenager, looking rather ordinary, dressed in a white T-shirt and jeans, and a purple cap covering his head.
He approached the stranger with a friendly smile and began conversing with her. Touma could not read his lips, but he had a vague idea of what approach the criminal would use to be followed.
Probably some bullshit like "the possibility of increasing your power". It almost always worked.
"That bastard does not waste any time" he commented coldly, attracting the attention of Aogami.
The partner also stared at the scene and his smile soon turned into a frown.
Then, when the couple entered a decadent palace on the other side of the street, Touma tore off the Judgment band, put it in his pocket, and escaped from the car.
"Oi, where are you going?" Aogami asked, with a hint of panic.
The Level 0 did not even turn around.
" What do you say? He will certainly not caress her in there"
"Touma, for God's sake, that place belongs to Kakine Teitoku, the leader of SCHOOL. Nobody can enter!"
"Then go to get yourself an ice cream" coldly replied the young officer, approaching the building that did little to hide what it was actually: a house of prostitution, better known as a "house behind closed doors".
In most of the world, this type of buildings had been banned not only by law, but also by the shift in demand that no longer demanded sexual exchange, but the buying and selling of the imaginary.
In large cities, prostitutes had been replaced almost entirely by sex slaves from Asia, or mostly Brazilian transvestites, imported for a season and then sent back to their country. A sign that what was sold on the streets was no longer sex, and not even the sexual exchange, but the representation of sex and the sparkle of the images it produced.
But the situation in Japan was very different, especially in places like Gakuen Toushi where, in modern times, the era of Prohibition re-adapted to the twenty-first century seemed to be raging.
Here, in the Academy City, for high-level espers it was not difficult to kidnap poor and young girls naive from the streets and use them as a commodity just leaving the factory to feed potential customers.
And Touma knew that well.
Assuming a casual expression, he entered the building and headed for the reception a few meters from the door.
He was welcomed by a stocky-looking boy, probably twenty years old.
He wore a purple short-sleeved T-shirt, a yellow cap that covered part of his bald head and a pair of sunglasses. Touma didn't not why he needed them inside the palace, but he assumed they were for making him looks "cool".
"Do you need something?" The receptionist asked, looking up from the magazine he was reading.
Kamijou simulated an embarrassed look and began scratching his head.
"I'm looking for a person," he said in a friendly tone.
In front of him, the boy raised an eyebrow.
" Is that so? What's her name ?"
"I do not know, I thought you could help me find her," the Level 0 whispered conspiratorially.
Almost as if he understood the subtext of those words, the teenager curled both lips in an amused grin.
" I have a soft spot for blondes" Touma added, giving the blow of grace to the conversation.
The receptionist nodded sympathetically and motioned for him to follow him.
They came up to a rather shabby elevator and began to climb to the third floor.
The interior of the machine was dirty, with rusty and worn bars, to testify to how the conditions of the building were reprehensible.
Originally, the palace was a recovery center for high-level espers, before a demolition order was issued. Two years had passed, yet that thing was still standing and ready to welcome the plumes delivered by the men of Kakine Teitoku, head of the SCHOOL organization and the second most powrful Level 5 of Gakuen Toshi.
In an attempt to maintain his own cover, Touma decided to continue the comedy of a young horny teenager in search of the pleasures of meat.
" Er ... Did I mention that I have a soft spot for blondes?" he asked with an embarrassed smile.
The receptionist released a sigh, imagining he had to deal with a newbie.
" Yes, but now it's better that you shut up, or ..."
He stopped suddenly, his eyes focused on Touma's pants. The Level 0 followed him.
Mentally, he found himself cursing. Part of his armband came out of his pocket.
" But you're from Judgment! Christ, what's your brain?" the boy next to him asked, looking incredulous.
Touma laughed nervously ... and then proceeded to hit the criminal's face with an elbow.
The impact was strong enough to knock the boy against the elevator wall, breaking his glasses in the process.
It was instantaneous and his body fell heavily to the ground.
Above him, the Level 0 merely cracked his neck and waited for the elevator to reach its destination.
Once the doors opened, he stepped out of the machine and strained his ears. At the end of the corridor, shouts were echoing.
Without wasting time, the teenager ran to the point where the screams were louder and stopped in front of the door. He could hear a total of four people, but maybe there were more. Three males and one female.
"No problem," he thought angrily.
He turned his face in a determined expression and kicked the door open.
The scene in front of him made the blood boil in his veins.
The blond girl was lying on top of a bed, turned back, topped by the figure of Tetsu.
His arms and legs were firmly held by a slightly older boy, his face covered with piercing, and a young man with crusty hair, dyed green.
Fortunately, she was still dressed and seemed mostly unharmed.
The kidnappers got up and snapped, freeing the victim and aiming towards the intruder.
" Hands up!" Touma exclaimed, putting his right hand under the jacket like a gun. He hoped they would belive it. After all, members of the Judgment were not allowed to carry firearms.
The trio of criminals, however, did limit himself to staring at him with amusement.
"I do not think so. I bet 1000 yen that does not have the iron, "said Tetsu, receiving nods of agreement by the comrades.
Touma squeezed both eyelids.
"Why don't you come here and find out," he whispered coldly.
Tetsu was not intimidated and pulled a pocket knife from his trouser pocket, taking a few steps towards the young officer.
Kamijou raised his hand and said: " Bang!"
In front of him, the criminal stared at him in disbelief, before bursting out laughing. Then, he lunged forward with the knife.
Touma winced and proceeded to dodge the blow. The criminal, however, curled his lips in a grin.
He reached out a hand and it began to shine with a faint blue glow.
Snowflakes began to whirl through his fingers like a miniature blizzard.
" Cryokinesis" Touma muttered, putting himself in a defensive position.
Then, like from nowhere, a thick ice road began to protrude from Testu limb, pointing straight in the direction of the young officer.
To the surprise of the criminals, however, Kamijou kept a determined expression ... and raised his right hand to protect himself.
As if it had encountered an invisible barrier, the ice projectile collided with the adolescent's palm, dispersing in a shapeless heap of frost and sleet.
Tetsu stared at the scene in shock.
" Er…Yeah" Touma commented, with a provocative grin.
He had just blocked a powerful esper attack with the simple use of his right hand.
Because, despite being officially classified as Level 0, Kamijou Touma, an eighteen-year-old high school student and a member of the anti-crime organization Judgment ... possessed the ability to undo Esper's powers through his right hand.
No Gakuen Toushi scientist had managed to understand how this was possible. According to the perpetrators of the AIM fields issued by the esper, in fact, the boy was a person without any power.
So what was that mysterious skill? And why was it limited to his right hand?
Questions that no one, not even Touma himself, had been able to answer in ten years of analysis and research.
The so-called Imagine Breaker, as it was called by the scientific community, was still considered an impossible power. And, for this reason, it was perfect to counter the scum of Gakuen Toushi.
With those thoughts in mind, the esper turned his head slightly from side to side of the room and stretched her right hand a second time, signaling the three teenagers to come forward.
The delinquents didn't need a second advise and they pointed their knifes and pistols forward.
After hearing the shots, the young officer lowered his body slightly and avoided the attack, being in front of the figure of Tetsu. And then, he raised his left leg.
The kicks sank along the boy's belly, forcing him to jump back.
He took cover with one arm, but Touma hit him at the elbow and broke it, then to his head, sending him crashing into the wall.
He lunged forward, using his knee to deflect another delinquent's knife, the one with a pierced face.
However, the criminal did not intend to lose ground so easily and punched him.
Touma slammed violently against the plasterboard of the building, with the taste of the blood that filled his mouth and throat, but he remained standing. With unexpected speed, he grabbed the gun that the criminal held in his belt, and then pointed it in the direction of the adversary.
He fired a shot and the teenager was hit in the shoulder.
The delinquent gave a cry of pain, while his companion fired.
Kaimjou heard the bullet whistle an inch from his ear, but he did not retreat. He too had a sentinel of survival, who had served him with extreme devotion for years, and now he was telling him that if he backed away he would be hit.
He fired again.
The criminal screamed a second time, while the bullet ripped open his belly.
A splash of blood hit the face of the young officer, projected by what he hoped with devotion was not a fatal blow.
The esper pushed the teenager backwards. Then, like from nowhere, he felt a stabbing pain in his leg, where a bullet had just touched him.
Taking advantage of the situation, the third delinquent hit him with a fist to the breastbone, before grabbing him, to prevent him from moving.
He grabbed the gun and aimed at Level 0's front, ready to put an end to his suffering.
Kamijou kept cool and pulled a head on the boy's nose, making him stumble backwards.
The criminal raised the gun again to counter, but he was promptly interrupted by the esper, who grabbed the delinquent's arm and bent him to the ground, before he could pull the trigger.
Then, a quick fist on his face by Touma put him K.O.
The young esper stood still, admiring his work.
Then, he glanced quickly at the girl, who had stood in the corner looking at the scene in disbelief.
The Level 0 stared at her, embarrassed.
"So, uh ... do you need a hand?"
At the same time, in the center of Gakuen Toshi, the situation had become critical.
What began as a simple robbery soon turned into a full-blown shooting.
The sergeant Yomikawa Aiho, a thirty-five-year-old woman with a dense bluish hair gathered in a ponytail, was fighting against the group of criminals led by the extravagant ringleader Okahara Ryouta. She was the head of the city's public security department, the Anti-Skill.
A few feet away from her, a big white man gave up his backpack.
Aiho's partner, Tessou Tsuzuri, saw the machine gun and fired a harmless snort of lead dust from her rifle. She tried to recharge, but she did not have time.
The big man exploded a gust that hit her across the groin, under the bulletproof vest, then arched the barrel towards Yomikawa, who brought her hand to the holster and shot him twice in the middle of his shirt.
Gunshots rang from behind the woman.
One of the robbers dropped the raincoat that hid his weapon and jumped into the bank, while a blow like a violent fist in the back threw the policewoman forward, taking her breath away. She turned around and saw a Berlina with two men sitting cheyenne-style on the edge of the windows on the other side of the car, firing from above the roof, and a third from the back seat.
Yomikawa cursed, dived between two parked cars, and saw Tsuzuri trying to wrap the wound.
Another policeman was motionless, with streams of blood dripping from under his helmet.
Ryouta and his right arm were firing hidden among the cars somewhere on the other side of the road, and over there the window panes were smashed and shattered on the asphalt.
A tire exploded, while the automatic weapons fire coming from the Berlina nailed the remaining agents to the ground.
Yomikawa, one foot planted in the drainage channel of the sidewalk, leaned forward to look.
The two men sitting on the edge of the windows shot from above the roof, while the driver clutched the gun in his free hand. The woman repeatedly replied to the fire and the car exploded, throwing the trio against the bank wall.
Then, out of nowhere, a minute figure appeared beside her, forcing her to turn around.
"A girl?" she whispered surprised, receiving the attention of the newcomer.
It was a young girl who could not be older than fourteen, one meter and a half taller. She had brown hair gathered in a pair of tails and her face seemed perpetually closed in an amused smirk. She wore a uniform of the Tokiwadai Academy, whose right sleeve was occupied by a green and white striped band.
"Miss, please stay back. Keeping security in the city is the job of Judgment, after all"
And, with that said, the girl began to walk in the direction of the robbers, crossing the battlefield as if nothing was happening.
She stopped just a couple of feet away from them, before taking a deep breath
"My name is Shirai Kuroko ... and I'm a member of the Judgment. You are under arrest for armed robbery and damage to public property!" she exclaimed, attracting the attention of the group.
They were staring at her for about one minute, before bursting into a roar of laughter.
" What does this brat want? "
" Is Judgment short of staff? "
"Hey, girl ... If you do not go right away you'll get hurt!" a member of the trio replied, raising his right hand in a fist, ready to hit the newcomer.
Kuroko did not let herself be intimidated and made a rapid rotation, avoiding the attack
"A phrase like that ..." she began, and then she launch a powerful kick in the stomach of the criminal
" It's like asking for death" she chuckled, throwing a fist to the man's head.
The robber fainted instantly, arousing a look of pure surprise from Ryouta. He turned his attention to his goons.
" OK, I hold her back, you bring the money safe" he ordered, receiving a nod by the group.
That said, the robber held his hand forward and it began to glow with a faint red light.
Kuroko squeezed both eyelids.
" Pirokinesi?" she asked, arousing an arrogant smile from the adversary.
" I will reduce you to ashes!"
As soon as Ryouta finished that mumble, the orange line exploded.
A sword of fire appeared, giving the impression that someone had opened a hydrant loaded with gasoline.
Then it began to change color gradually, like a burned picture with a lighter.
Kuroko was not touching the flames, but only looking at them, she felt her eyes burn.
She stopped suddenly and put her hands in front of face to protect herself. The fireball flew through the air at the speed of a gunshot, and then exploded like an erupting volcano.
Heat waves, flashes of light, black smoke and the sound of the explosion spread in all directions.
"Perhaps I exaggerated" the pyromaniac esper murmured.
Ryouta scratched his head at what appeared to be the result of a bombing. For security, he looked around, to make sure no one was coming. It was the first day of the summer holidays, so most of the residents were still sleeping. He did not need any other obstacles.
The esper could not see well in front of it because of the flames and the smoke.
However, he did not need to check. That blow had generated some terrible 3000 degree Celsius flames. At temperatures above 2000 degrees the human body melts before burning, so the girl was probably in the same state of the road, melted like a sugar sculpture. Surely, now she was lying on the asphalt, like a piece of chewing gum used.
Then, like from nowhere, the figure of Kuroko appeared before his eyes, completely unharmed.
The man did not even have time to express his surprise.
" What the ... "
The girl's fist sent him to the opposite wall, knocking him to the ground.
He tried to get up, but soon realized that he had the edges of his clothes glued to the asphalt. A long series of nails had been stuck in the tissue.
He looked up, turning his attention to Kuroko. She had remained still and motionless and she had both hands occupied by ten iron nails.
"A teleporter?" he asked resigned, receiving a grin from the girl.
" If you oppose resistance ... I will teleport the next one directly into your body" she whispered, the face turned into a scary smile.
With that said, she aimed his eyes at the fleeing robbers, before disappearing in a blur.
The first member of the group just had time to enter the driveway, before being hit in the back by a mighty flying kick.
Kuroko landed on top of him, placing a foot on the hand holding the gun
" Hey, be calm" she murmured, getting a curse from the man.
" Damn !"
"If you don't, I'll break your arm" she continued, before putting him K.O with a quick blow to the head.
She stood up and continued running, past the corner of the alley.
Just before she could go on, however, she stopped suddenly.
The remaining two criminals, in fact, were lying on the ground, prey to a series of convulsions due to electrical discharges.
At the center of the road there was a female figure turned from behind.
Kuroko took a step forward
"Miss, are you okay?" she asked, getting the girl's attention.
She turned around, giving the esper a perfect vision of her appearance.
The Teleporter arched an eyebrow
" Onee-sama ?!" she exclaimed, shocked.
Misaka Mikoto, Gakuen Toshi's third most powerful Level 5, dilated her pupils like a deer hit by the headlights of a car.
" Oh, uh ... hello, Kuroko" she said embarrassed, receiving a visibly angry expression from her friend.
" No "hello Kuroko", Onee-sama! It's your first day of work" the Teleporter replied, in an exasperated tone "You should be in your office, not in the field!"
"Well, I was in the neighborhood, so I thought to lend a hand" the electromaster said, receiving a visibly irritated look from the schoolmate.
" It's not your job!" she exclaimed, waving her hands in midair.
The older female just chuckled and glanced quickly at the crooks at her feet.
"Academy City is not really worthy of its name"
"Eh?" the other girl asked, apparently confused.
The Level 5 shrugged.
"Even with all its surveillance technology, not to mention the patrolling robots, criminals like those will never completely disappear," she said casually.
Next to her, the Teleporter nodded in acceptance.
"No matter how much technology can improve, there will always be someone who will end up giving themselves to crime, after all. This is precisely the reason why the organization Judgment exists" she proclaimed with pride.
Then, she released a sighed sigh.
"Anyway, it's better to go back to the station, or Konori-Senpai might decide to punish you for your transgression," she said angrily.
Mikoto rolled her eyes.
"Oh, come on, what could she do? Suspend me after my first day?"
Every Review is appreciated.
I hope you enjoyed this new version of Touma. Mikoto is practically the same Level 5 that we all love, but in this story she will be a member of the Judgment and this will affect her psychological evolution. In the next chapter two new Level 5 will appear .