A certain different story

by 1'mtryingmybestprobably

As a certain character decided to join the stage , the very cogs of fate started to turn awry , and as the changes were going to throw off the very balance of the world , the presence of heroes was necessary

2. Chapter 1 : Scoop

Arc 1:

Chapter 1: Scoop .

It was summer , to be precise it was June 5th . The sun glowed brightly and warmed the air , a gentle summer breeze was felt by Shirai Kuroko in her hospital room as she looked through the opened window , the wind was gently swaying her undone hair and played on her cheeks .

"I wonder what Onee-Sama is doing right now ?"

It was a simple question , she wanted to know what her prized Onee-Sama would be up to , she might've sounded clingy but an actual reason backed up this question . She hasn't actually received any visit from her even after 2 days from the incident at the underground mall , that fact toyed with the strings of her heart as she wondered if the Misaka Mikoto actually cared for this humble teleporter .

She looked at her right arm that had faced the blunt of a very dangerous hit that threatened the bones to which the flesh attached to . It was all better and she was already fine , today was her last day in the hospital and tomorrow she would return back to her dorm , she was conflicted as she didn't know if her Onee-Sama even actually cared , someone would normally visit their friend or perhaps maybe even an acquaintance who was in hospital , that's why Kuroko was judging the distance between her and her roommate…

Was she that annoying to her ? So annoying that she was happier with her gone ? Should she maybe try her hand at another roommate if she was that much of an annoyance to this one ?

Shirai Kuroko violently shook her head , she wasn't strong enough to face such a sensitive topic and resumed herself to keep away from it . But she still thought to herself …

"Even a text would be fine…"

She was stifling tears as she thought that to herself , although that trance was shook apart when she heard knocking on the door . She looked at her clock and realized that , yes , this was usually when the frog faced doctor comes in to check on her , and with that she only gave a "come in" to him .

The doorknob was slowly turned and a familiar figure got in , it was a girl with brown eyes and chestnut colored hair , it was a girl Shirai Kuroko respected and adored , it was Misaka Mikoto the roommate and friend of the girl from Judgement .

"O-Onee-sama…what are you…doing here ?"

Shirai Kuroko was stuttering as she tried asking her question , she should be happy at the sight of the hair and fair skin of the maiden that dazzled her , but she couldn't bring herself to do that…at least not now .

Was it the fact that she was late to visit ? No that wasn't it . Was it the fact that no message has rung her phone ? Not that either . Shirai Kuroko scrutinized the figure of Misaka Mikoto hard enough to pierce her with sight alone .

"I'm here to check on my best friend , come on isn't it obvious ? What else would I be doing in your hospital room if not that ? Ah , are you perhaps angry I didn't get you a get well gift ? I would've reaaally liked to bring you one with me but I was just a bit busy to do that ."

Those were the words that the chestnut haired girl gave the sorrowed teleporter , in hindsight this situation shouldn't be abnormal . Sometimes one could be really busy with personal stuff that just visiting a friend becomes a hard thing to do and getting them a gift becomes a bygone thought .

"That's not the problem Onee-Sama, have you taken a good look at yourself? You shouldn't even think of moving in that state , so why would you even think of coming here to check on me when I should be the one to check on you ?"

Shirai Kuroko spoke up with her shaky voice , what she saw was the figure of a mummified Misaka Mikoto in a white patient's shirt and pants . Bandages were heavily wrapped around Misaka Mikoto's head , her right hand was dealt with in the same way although this one had bandages covering it from the very tips of the fingers to the top of her shoulder . Her other arm from the elbow down was in a brace supported by her right shoulder , and although she could move her fingers in it , it looked like any action in it might hurt like hell , and lastly was her right thigh which was bandaged as well and stopped the leg from supporting the weight of the body , that function was replaced by a modern cane that she held in her right as she used it to walk here .

Although Misaka Mikoto was heavily injured she still only smiled at Kuroko in a reassuring way , she was playing it tough as if she wasn't even scratched .

"Is this the case of the pot calling the kettle black . You're also injured aren't you ?"

The girl spoke jokingly to her friend as she tried to lighten the mood , they were definitely both in the hospital , and the fact that she was moving about without supervision meant that her situation wasn't dire .

"Please don't joke around Onee-Sama , I am already fine and am getting discharged tomorrow . But you're visibly in a state way worse than I was when I just came here . Just what the hell happened when I wasn't looking ?"

Shirai Kuroko was visibly shaken , she stood up and slowly walked over to Misaka as she stretched her hand and lent it to her . Misaka hesitated when taking the outstretched hand of the girl and when she had she was quickly escorted to Kuroko's hospital bed where she was urged to sit down . Although at this motion Shirai Kuroko clearly felt that Misaka Mikoto tried her best not to burden her friend rather than not accepting her offer.

"Don't tell me you were hit by a truck or something ? Maybe I should start holding your hand whenever we cross the road from now on ."

Shirai attempted to lighten the mood as she gently gave a joke suggestion, but she wouldn't mind…no , she would actually love for Misaka to accept it , but now wasn't the time for these fantasies as Kuroko was awaiting Misaka's answer .

"It's really nothing serious . I really just got into a scuffle and ended up a bit hurt ,you really shouldn't worry yourself ."

Misaka tried dismissing the entire thing but Kuroko tightened her hold on their still connecting hands . It was always a hard thing to get the older girl to speak up , and while she wasn't proud of it , Shirai Kuroko usually accepted that as she left the girl to her own devices , but today was different , Shirai Kuroko will relentlessly chase down the person in front of her and get her answers .

"Just for your knowledge, seeing a level 5 this beaten up is not something to laugh off Onee-Sama. A simple scuffle isn't enough to leave you like this , no , no matter what kind of battle happen you can always swat it off with a flick of a finger , that's why this is so distressing . What really happened ? Please , just answer this one question ."

Shirai Kuroko pleaded Misaka one last time , the latter had her gentle reassuring smile wiped from her face as she donned an expression that Shirai Kuroko couldn't hope to understand . It wasn't quite sadness nor was it anger , it was a bit positive yet held a negative feeling to it .

"Who would've thought that getting the lights punched from you at twice the speed of sound would hurt this much ?"

The level 5 in question snorted as she recalled the happenings of three days ago , she was probably laughing at herself right now , and while she was probably doing that it seemed like she was remembering a good memory as her smile wasn't fake .

Shirai Kuroko didn't quite grasp what Misaka's expressions meant , nor was she sure she understood what her friend meant by her nonsensical words , that's the reason why she was silent and awaited the full explanation.

"You know back at the terrorist incident 3 days ago . After Anti-skill had evacuated everyone , I sneaked back in to help ."

Shirai Kuroko stopped herself as she was about to start criticizing her friend with their usual fiasco of not interfering with judgement's and Anti-skill's job . The situation wasn't one for bickering and Shirai Kuroko knew that this was her only chance to hear the story .

"You know , I was trying to help you and all to take down the terrorists . I was a tiny bit itching for some action myself and I guess I did get it , didn't I ?"

Misaka said almost mockingly to herself , it was a dumb reason to get wrapped up in dangerous stuff and a pathetic one to get beaten up for . It was as if you just started a fight all full of yourself only to get beaten to a pulp a few seconds later…no , that was exactly the situation and Shirai Kuroko couldn't see any comedic value in this one .

"Anyways , I had met that guy in the middle of my search and he seemed to be helping the terrorists , what with all the Anti-skill groups knocked right next to him and the damage the place had went through . So I went and challenged him , we fought and this was the result ."

Misaka Mikoto gave a snort as she recalled what had happened that day while resting her head on her bandaged right hand , again she wasn't pissed off nor was she sad but she was definitely mocking herself . Meanwhile , all Shirai Kuroko could do was tremble as she heard the recounted story and muttered a few hesitating words .

"But still , to end up this hurt from just a single guy means that your opponent is not a normal person . To defeat the 3rd ranked then you'd need to bring out either the 2nd or the 1st , if that's it then we'll need to contact Anti-skill right now ."

Shirai Kuroko's heart was squeezed tight as she thought of the enemy… A level 5…At the top of the hierarchy that the level system has imposed stood 7 people called the level 5s , they are rumored to be able to topple an entire country just through the use of their powers , that also means that standard security measures and protocols as well as weapons are useless in front of them , and the 1st and 2nd should be on a league of their own .

"Don't get all stiff like that Kuroko . Really nothing bad happened , it was just a fun spar between level 5s and that person is by no means a terrorist ."

Shirai Kuroko was beyond confused as she heard her prized Onee-Sama speak with a grin on her face , at that sight she almost conceded to the idea of nothing happened but quickly shook her head , she could tell that Misaka Mikoto has finally drew the line to the end of this conversation and so Kuroko had to man up as best as she could .

"But didn't you say that he knocked down those Anti-skill officers , that you both fought to the death and you almost lost your life ? A man like that needs to be jailed…No , he needs to be executed for having laid a single blemish on Onee-Sama's fair skin . Leeeaaaave it to this Shirai Kuroko to serve him justice on a cold dinner plate , I will be sure to make him into a splendid dish that will satisfy you Onee-Sama so be sure to leave a list of foods you'd like to eat ."

That was Kuroko's declaration as she stood up on top of the bed and acted as if divine retribution was hers to give , all while enunciating her adoration in every way possible . Her voice sounded both serious and joking , it also had a tint of perversion but Misaka did her best to ignore it .

"Wait wait wait wait , were you really hearing me ? There was no fight to the death , no helping terrorists and the Anti-skill officers sure were knocked out but it wasn't planned or anything of the sort ."

While Shirai Kuroko was more than exaggerating the story , Misaka did her best to keep it on the rails and started defending the man in question . All according to plan , thought Kuroko to herself as the conversation settled back into its rightful place , Kuroko opened her mouth once again and spoke .

"But Onee-Sama , if I don't know the reason why he attacked Anti-skill officers then I can only say that he was helping the enemy forces . It doesn't help that we don't know which level 5 it is but I'm sure we can pin him down before long ."

At Kuroko's words Misaka Mikoto could only sigh as she finally figured out that she was splendidly played , she sighed as she finally gave the other girl what she wanted .

"' A real man shouldn't rely on cheap toys like guns . A real man fights with only his fists and guts and as you can see , they all lost since no one listened to my advice .' Was what that man…Sogiita Gunha had said ."

Sogiita Gunha was a name that rang many bells in Shirai Kuroko's head , first was that it was the name of someone with unusual powers , second was that it was the name of a member of Judgement , third was that it was the name of a level 5 esper .

"Sogiita Gunha is the 7th ranked , isn't he ?"

That was what had puzzled Shirai Kuroko , she was expecting the 1st or maybe the 2nd to be the ones who did this . But the jump from those ranks to the last left the girl wide eyed as she wondered how faulty the rankings might be . At that moment , Shirai Kuroko finally understood the emotion that Misaka Mikoto had felt , it was frustration .

---

A small figure wearing a white nun habit was making a dash through the dark and damp alleyways of Academy City . Her clothes were as said before , a nun habit made out of white silk and golden embroidery , the one wearing said clothes was a petite girl of around 14 or 15 in age who had thigh length silver hair and green emerald eyes .

The name of the girl was Index Librorum Prohibitorum, a girl affiliated with a certain church from England . That's the reason why seeing her somewhere like Academy City was something beyond weird .

First is that Academy City is the city of science where most if not all religions are looked down upon as unscientific garbage , it was emphasized by the fact that the entire city of 23 districts only had one church in it .

Second is that she apparently hadn't triggered even the basic of alarms while sneaking through the borders of this heavily guarded city even as she ran around with the flimsiest of stealth capabilities .

The third was that she right now was being chased not by Anti-skill or Judgement who usually would be tailing someone who illegally entered the city but by two people who wore black robes to hide their identities .

The situation was way beyond weird , and not even the small Index knew about the answers to some of these questions , why would she go to a city that shunned a being of the religious…no , of the magic side wasn't an answer she could give as she felt herself being led there by something , no , it wasn't just a feeling as she was very sure of it , there was definitely a calling sound that brought her here .

Why would no security alarm be sounded when she illegally entered the borders was beyond her , although she was still thankful for it .

And why was she chased was something she wasn't sure of but she had a few educated guesses .

' They really have been chasing me through all of Japan for these grimoires , although this is still weird , that girly figure can move so fast so if she actually tried to catch me I wouldn't be able to do anything…Why wasn't I dealt with already is beyond fishy…fishy…I'd really like some fish right about now.'

Her stomach grumbled as she thought about a dish of fish with stuffing that she had tasted in a less than trustworthy shop in a back alley , the atmosphere here reminded her of the memory that she perfectly captured and is still etched in her mind…Although the spot where she ate such a dish wasn't the best , the food itself felt like a gift from god…

She shook her head , now wasn't the time for this , she resumed her first line of thought and affirmed that her guess was likely to be false , the puzzle didn't seem that easy to solve , something doesn't seem to fit in place no matter how much she thought about it , it seemed the figures weren't really after the grimoires .

'But if not that then what could it be ?'

This same chase scene wasn't unusual for the girl as it repeated itself many times this past year or so , although this one was a bit harder than the last ones , and weirder to say the least .

'That sound . It's calling us here isn't it ?'

Index stated in her mind , she remembered how this particular chase scene began . It was maybe a week ago that she started to hear ringing in her ears , and maybe 3 days ago that she could locate its origin , in that span of time she traveled to where she's now to unveil what it was . And it was today that she was being followed by these robed people with no signs of attacks or semblance of a chase .

This entire chase scene only started way later after Index spoke to the two figures which finally snapped them from their daze , she regretted doing that to say the least as they went back to their usual habits of playing hide and seek .

She shook her head to clear her thoughts as she continued her dash through the alleyways , she pushed a trash bin to the ground in hopes of shaking off her pursuers only for one to stop because of it and for the feminine one to jump over it .

Next , she would turn at a corner to hopefully lose them as she decided to hide somewhere dark . But her hopes were easily crushed as she ended up facing the exit of the alleyways rather than going in deeper , now that she was outside the safe confines of the dark space she would need to think on her feet .

She clearly saw that she was somewhere filled with apartments and she could even spot a park and convenience store in her peripheral vision , the place still had many people walking there even though it had started to get dark .

She quickly turned around and saw the figures of the two still chasing after her , they were around 12 feet away from her , that small distance almost made her heart sink as she desperately resumed her escape . This time her destination was an apartment complex , or rather the series of apartment complexes lined closely next to each other , she was getting tired so a place full of people would be perfect to get her breath back .

Crossing the street and then almost running into someone she finally reached the complex , if not for the many people walking about she would surely be caught . While the two couldn't attack her in the middle of the road , she herself can't just stand there and wait for someone to pick up the fact that she illegally got into the city with how out of place she was and the fact that she had no documents on her . If she's caught by the law enforcers of the city then she might find herself in juvie .

' I'll be stuck there in their military training program where you only eat a plate of rice and green peas . Oh Lord , please save me from such a cruel fate , I might not be able to survive a day there…'

"You really shouldn't be here . Come back right now or else you'll pay for it dearly ."

One of the two figures spoke with the hoarse deep voice of a middle-aged man , that voice shook Index from her yet another daze , now looking at him closely she could tell that he as well was struggling for breaths , maybe all this running around was going to pay off , or so she thought until she saw that the feminine figure was in no way tired . Index didn't heed the warning of the man in the robe as she headed towards the emergency staircase of the building .

"If that bastard catches sight of you here then even that Walking Church of yours would be useless ."

He continued to speak in a threatening manner and Index only looked at him suspiciously . She was sure he knew , she was physically and magically attacked by these people in more than one occasion , it was impossible that they didn't know… No , it was because they knew that they felt that it had been safe to attack her , if not for the Walking Church then maybe she'd be dead already…or maybe violent attacks wouldn't assail her as the figures would hate to hurt her .

Index once again shook off her thoughts as she darted through the stairs with the roof as her destination . The moment she reached it she turned around to find the two figures right behind her , she planned to jump from roof to roof but first she had to make things clear .

"What do you know about the Walking Church ? It's the perfect defense that the Lord blessed these robes with . No matter the attack this Walking Church will render it useless , that's why you don't get to speak ill of it no matter what ."

The small girl raised her voice in anger , she felt that looking down on these habits was the same as looking down on the Lord , to allow such a thing would be unspeakable for someone like Index who was a devout follower of Christianity and was a nun in training from the Anglican Church .

"You can say that but there is more than one way of taking down the Walking Church's defenses , either an Anti-Christian spell , the dragon of St. George or…"

"Something that can slay a god…"

The man in the black robe spoke as he took a pack of cigarettes from the inside of his garments , although he was cut off while speaking by Index the man didn't mind , part of it was that Index was the most knowledgeable about magic as she has memorized 103000 magical grimoires . The man only took his cigarette , put it in his mouth and it lit all by itself , he inhaled the smoke and latter puffed it out and then spoke .

"Yes , that man has that kind of thing in his hands…So if you know what's good for you , you'll come back right now ."

He had directed his eyes to the tallest building in the area , it was one made out of bluish metal plates and didn't own a single window or door to its name , the Windowless building , it was the heart of Academy City where its board chairman sat .

Index followed the line of sight of the man but quickly turned back , it seemed like she'd be swallowed up by the man's pace if she followed his line of thoughts .

"Safe you say , don't you get it airhead ? You are the last thing to be called safe to be around , what with you chasing me all through Japan for an entire year and the fact that you want to use the original grimoires by any means necessary . If I followed you right now then I'll be the greatest fool ."

Index pointed an accusatory finger at the man in front of her , she might not be the smartest person around but she at least isn't an idiot . To think that just because something was dangerous meant another choice isn't was the pinnacle of stupidity .

"I'll give you a loaf of bread ."

"I accept ."

The hooded man chuckled as he showed how easy it was to control the girl , all he needed was food , and neither quantity nor quality mattered much . If she was going to get her reward in food then she will follow your lead most of the time , that was why the man stifled a laugh as he spoke back .

"Sorry Miss greatest fool but I don't have food on me . After all I'm a magician , as long as it satisfies my end then any evil is necessary , that's why I'll be dragging you from here with force if I have to ."

Although Index had felt betrayed by the lack of bread , she wasn't dense enough to not know how much danger she was currently in , at that sight the magician only smiled as he grabbed his robe with his hand that had a ring on each finger , in a dramatic motion he removed the black robe to reveal another black robe , now with his face showing Index would etch it into her memories as someone to fear . Red hair , red eyes , a bar code was tattooed under his right eye , the magician was also tall…really , really tall compared to the puny Index , in his dramatic reveal he burned the previous robe and raised his voice .

"Yes , we are magicians who want to use those magical grimoires to attain power . If you know what's good for you then you'll do whatever we say ."

The man in front of her declared as he stepped closer , Index only shut her eyes for a moment to think and opened them again to peer into the man with her emerald green eyes .

"You actually don't want the grimoires , do you ?"

Index said as she alternated her sights between the man and the second figure , she felt as if she finally connected the dots and the man was surprised as he bit hard on his cigarette .

"What are you saying ? Are you finally going crazy from all those books in your head ? Aren't we the ones who chased you all over this country just to lay our hands on what you've got hidden in that skull of yours ."

The man screamed at Index as he reiterated the very year they had passed , Index only held a gentle smile in response as she spoke .

"It was weird . Being chased for an entire year I should've already been captured , you know when I'm having breakfast or lunch , or dinner , or my snack in the morning , the one in the afternoon , the one in the evening and the one before sleeping…Ah yes , sleeping as well , there should've been many opportunities to catch me so I shouldn't be free right now . Not to mention that I still don't know from where the allowance that falls from the sky comes from , I would've starved to death without it so I am pretty thankful for it . If I'm right then the one who leaves me money is you , you probably only chase me when I go somewhere dangerous just like now , and I'm sure we knew each other from before this year , since otherwise it wouldn't make much sense , would it ?"

Index softly spoke as she thought back to the entire year , or maybe the entire year safe for a month and a bit of days to spare , since that was the full extent of her memories of ever existing she could easily look back at them and draw the lines she needed .

She saw the man in the robe fighting his facial muscles as he didn't know how to react , although the other figure was the one to give its answer .

"Yes , we do know you Index . We knew you from before a year ago and we were really good friends . That's why we know some things that you don't ."

That was what the other figure said when it removed its robe to reveal a black haired beauty with her sword on her belt , she wore a white T-shirt that was tied at the waist and torn jeans .

"Yes , things like how you will die in a month and 22 days ."

The figure dropped this information onto the girl that didn't know how to process it .

"What do you mean ?"

Index's eyes wavered as she stared hard at her once were pursuers . Her lips quivered and a cold sweat crawled down her back , she felt her ears ringing and it definitely wasn't the calling sound , her heart was beating so fast it almost felt as if it would break through her chest .

"What do you mean ?"

She said once again , her brain stopped processing anything and everything and she was left staring at the figures of the magicians in front of her .

---

"Damn it , can't you leave me alone?...Courtesy of…the good old…days ?"

Dashing through the dark alleyways of district 7 was a high school delinquent of about 16 years old , he had dyed blond hair and brown eyes , he wore a hoodie in spite of the summer heat and a pair of jeans , this boy was Hamazura Shiage , a level 0 as well as a member of Skill-Out . He was panting really hard as he was looking behind him and was talking to his four pursuers , who like him were also gasping for breath as they chased him relentlessly , the leader of the pursuers spoke .

"There is no good that came...from meeting you…Now , give me back the wallet…and you can get away…with just a light beating…Courtesy of the good old days…"

The pursuer that followed him with around three other guys was panting hard while still threatening the running boy , he was wearing a chique hat that covered his bleached blonde hair , he was also wearing a really expensive pair of costume and jeans as well as leather shoes that one could only fear them getting sullied in the filth of the alleyways , but the man himself didn't mind nor did he seem to care .

The situation was weird to say the least , the fact that someone who looks so well off is running around chasing a delinquent while commanding three ruffians was something beyond bizarre .

Apparently , Hamazura had stolen his wallet which normally would've been a good reason to follow him around , but that wasn't the case as…

"How about you just report me to Anti-skill or something ?"

Hamazura looked back as he gave these words to the well dressed man , the reply he got was a soft chuckle and a few words that went along the lines of…

"What kind of Anti-skill officer will give me the wallet I stole back ?"

'That's a good question' Hamazura thought to himself as he chewed on the words of the man . He answered the man and rushed at top speed to escape .

' Your mom'

That was Hamazura's answer that echoed through the damp alleyways , the delinquents froze as their leader stopped moving , he was twitching in anger as those words kept echoing through his skull . When someone asked a question that started with a who ? , it was then the duty of someone to answer with your mom . Those were the laws of the delinquent world where these people lived and those same laws also declared that anyone that answered in that way was supposed to be served the death sentence .

The well dressed man looked at Hamazura's way too distant figure and then pushed all the air from his lungs as he shouted .

" F*CKING KILL HIIIIM."

A few minutes later Hamazura felt that he had finally shook them off , he was panting hard and was wiping his forehead with the back of his hand , he was beyond tired and just wanted to go home . He inhaled with all the strength of his lungs and then exhaled slowly , he looked back at where he came from and spoke slowly .

"Man…How should I know that wallet was yours ?...It was just there in the car of your new stupid rich girlfriend so I couldn't have known..."

He spoke aloud venting a bit of his anger , he could feel the wallet in his pocket and knew that he will later forget these happenings as he'd slowly splurge all this money .

"I also can't wait for that girlfriend of yours to dump you . To think that you'll just steal her wallet and car and waste away the entire day , you really are trash aren't you ?"

Hamazura spoke once again , he was a bit sad that the caring girlfriend had ended up with such an a*hole but he was still happy that justice will be served .

"Yes , justice…This time Hamazura isn't on the side of evil as he has helped serve judgement to a worthless piece of trash that litters the city . Yes , this time Hamazura Shiage is a hero who saves the city from…"

As Hamazura was praising himself while striking different poses in a corner of the backways of the city , he suddenly stiffened when he heard the voices of the pursuers growing closer by the second . At one point he even heard the leader of the ruffians scream his name and so Hamazura jumped from his spot and went back into a sprint .

"Damn it , they never let up do they ?"

He said to himself as he was making his way through the very alleyways that he knew as if in the back of his hand , his direction wasn't of escaping it and rather going back to the base of operations where his other Skill-Out members would be . He wasn't happy at this turn of event since if he went back then the money will be shared with his dear friends that will otherwise gut him in a battle over a cup of ramen's worth of money , but desperate times call for desperate measures .

Hamazura went back into running while mildly irritated , he swore that if he had a gun he might've just shot these people and got done with it .

"Damn my rotten luck ."

Hamazura Shiage heard someone shout these words at the top of their lungs , and before he could've turned his head to the origin of the sound he had already bumped into it .

"Damn it , watch where you are going , you dumba…"

Hamazura silenced his curse midway after he had bumped into another high school student , he had spiky black hair and blue eyes , he was also wearing his summer uniform t-shirt , if not for his hair then he would be just your average high school boy who shouldn't trail down these alleyways . Although the reason was painfully understood by Hamazura when he looked behind the boy's figure .

The black haired boy clicked his tongue after he looked back to the same place where Hamazura's eyes had darted , next he moved it to where Hamazura came from and found a group of ruffians running towards them . Quickly , he had grabbed Hamazura's hand and went into a full sprint to avoid what was following him .

"Such misfortune ."

The boy screamed once again at the top of his lungs and Hamazura finally snapped from his daze as he finally had started to fear the situation he was in .

"Oi ,oi ,oi what the hell have you done to have this many people after you ?"

Hamazura exclaimed after seeing around twenty armed men following the dude around , some had metal pipes and others had bats with nails on them , one of them even had a flame flowing from his palm and Hamazura could only gulp at the sight . After they suddenly turned a corner , Hamazura could see the place where they stood before had been charred by flames .

"Oh , sh*t…"

He muttered under his breath as he picked up his pace and started running on his own .

After another solid 3 minutes of running around the two high-school boys finally relaxed their shoulders . They were in a park that settled in the 7th district of Academy City , dusk was in front of them and rather than absorb the scene of lights converging in front of them , they only wanted to absorb oxygen as they were panting hard enough to be mistaken for dogs .

Hamazura fell down on the cobble tiles as he looked at the sky while trying to catch his breath . He had filled his quota of running for the next month or so and was awaiting energy to course back through him .

The spiky haired boy dragged his feet towards a bench that was next to a vending machine , he was exhaling quite heavily while muttering something under his breath .

Hamazura didn't know how to act in that situation , he thought it was best to play it casual so he stood up and headed towards the vending machine . He felt around for the stolen wallet that he had in his pocket and pulled it out , after opening it he could clearly see cash lining the many spaces inside the wallet , he also instinctually gulped as he noticed a debit card and a student ID .

He forcefully removed from his mind the idea of using the debit card as he otherwise would be tracked and served bitter justice . He pulled from the wallet a single paper , the moment he had done so he could clearly see that it was a 10000 yen bill , he gulped once again as he dramatically approached the vending machine to use it .

He hadn't searched within the wallet for any other kind of bill since he knew…no , he feared the chance that all of those bills would be a 10000 yen one . That was why he faced the vending machine with that much hesitation , in his head was this kind of thought .

' The cans here are barely over 100 yen each , to be exact it's a 106 yen for each juice can and 128 for coffee , canned Oden is about 134 yen , not to forget that three different flavors for the Oden are available , four for the coffee and the rest are juices which number around 23 different flavors for it . The stock of each flavor is about 15 cans so that amounts to 36570 yen for the juice (345 cans) , 7680 yen for the coffee (60 cans) and 6030 yen for the Oden (45 cans) .'

He was sure the wallet had enough money inside to buy all the contents of the vending machine , and that thought had Hamazura terrified at the sheer power he held in his fingers .

' If I buy the entirety of the canned Oden here and wait for it to restock then I'll be sure to be able to survive the entire year on this wallet alone, wait , no…Canned Oden doesn't have enough calories in it to survive the restock period on it alone , that's why I should search for better canned foods to live on , canned meats apparently are high on calories so that's the first step , then I can buy canned milk since it too seem to hold decent amounts of calories . Or maybe I should look at the wider picture and go for a more balanced meal which can be stocked for a while , and what can be stocked for a while ? Canned foods .'

Hamazura Shiage lost all semblance of reason as his brain was deep fried by the amount of money in his hands , what he could do with it was awfully restrained within his mind as he never dreamed of getting this much money at once .

'Maybe I can even invest with this much money to be able to buy even more cans . Wait , I know what this is… These are those complex calculations espers do when using their abilities , so…is this finally time . Have I finally awakened my esper ability Can Hand , the ability to create unlimited cans , should I call it Unlimited Can works . Have I finally reached it ? Level 5 .'

Hamazura was obviously blabbering nonsense in the heat of the moment , he instinctually fought his sense of reason as he escaped to the other side of the world where dreams come true . If he hadn't , then the weight of the money in the wallet would easily crush him .

The 10000 yen bill was making its way toward the red vending machine , the moment when he was about to actually slot it inside was the moment he heard shattering glass and saw the right hand of the black haired boy stopping his arm . He shifted his sight towards the other high school boy wondering why he was stopped , only to find that the boy was looking a bit confused himself .

"Wait , what did I break right now ?"

He said to himself as he kept his sight on his own hand , after a few moments of turning the useless gears of his head he finally looked at Hamazura and spoke up .

"Let me warn you right now . This vending machine eats bills like nobody's business , this very Kamijou Touma-san had an unfortunate accident with it a few months back ."

Hamazura swallowed as he heard the boy's explanation , he was about to lose 10000 yen which would amount to 74 cans of Oden , he could probably live an entire week on it alone and that scared him a lot .

"If you're really that thirsty then there should be a convenience store around ."

"Bee…"

The boy Kamijou heard Hamazura mutter something under his breath and leaned in closer to hear .

" BEEEEEER . That's it , I'm getting myself a beer to clench this thirst ."

"Wait , wait wait wait wait…Beer , did you just say getting a beer . Are you serious ? We are just a couple of high-schoolers , we can't get our hands on anything like that ."

At Hamazura's screaming Kamijou mustered the most rational reaction of screaming back to his dumb companion . At this response Hamazura only stifled a smile .

"I see , I see . So you've never had a beer in your life have you ? Well then , let your man Hamazura Shiage handle this as professionally as possible ."

Hamazura proudly stated as he hit his chest with his palm , he started marching slowly towards the closest convenience store while rummaging and fighting to get something out of the shirt he wore under the orange hoodie . After moments of struggle he got what looked like a Fedora , although a bit worn out he wore it on his head and started searching again inside of his clothes .

"Mr. Doraemon , I would like to ask for the legal repercussions of such an act ."

The spiky haired boy spoke up in fear of getting severely punished for following the guy in front of him . Hamazura only took out his hand from his clothes , a certain plastic container in his right , and so put his left hand on Kamijou's shoulder as he spoke .

"Kamijou-san was it ? I will let you in on a secret for saving that 10000 yen , listen well since professionals don't want you to know this but…people really don't give a sh*t about the legal procedures if you actually look the part ."

Those were the words Hamazura had left Kamijou Touma as he made his way to the convenience store . He opened the container and looked inside to find some sort of grey matter in it , he approached an empty car and started applying the grey powder to his chin and cheeks in front of the car's mirror , a few seconds later he closed the container , put it back into his clothes and gave one last look at the mirror , satisfied with the result he hunched forward to try and hide his real height and finally entered the store .

The bright lights illuminated the many shelves of the multipurpose convenience store , he quickly scanned the area to see if there were people that might see through him and actually report him but when the result was negative he quickly headed to a cooling shelve . Grabbing the first two cans of beer he saw he headed towards the counter where no one stood in line before him .

He put the cans in front of the already tired cashier who was probably here for many hours without a break and would trade anything for one . That situation made it easier for Hamazura as he scratched his powder covered chin that tried to replicate a 'five o'clock shadow' and used the gruffest tone he could muster as he brought out his personal wallet .

"How much would that be ?"

He said with as few words as he could , and the cashier responded in kind in his tired out voice as he put both cans in a plastic bag .

"650 yen ."

That was all the exchange amounted to and both parties were pleased with that , Hamazura used his personal wallet since slapping a 10000 yen bill for two cans of beer was probably overkill and would lead to a longer interaction with the man in front of him . Although that was his plan , he did notice something in the edge of his sights and approached it .

"Hey how much is this one for ?"

"I don't know . There should be labels there so you should be able to check it yourself ."

Those were the words the cashier gave to Hamazura , while Hamazura wasn't exactly pissed at the tone of speech he was rather dissatisfied , so he grabbed two of the same item in front of him and went to check out .

Anyways , now with his shopping done Hamazura headed out of the store and onto the warm streets of Academy City's night . He walked towards the park which was only a few steps away from where he stood and encountered a nervous high school boy with black spiky hair .

Their eyes met and Hamazura reached onto the plastic bag as he grabbed one of the two cans and threw it at the nervous Kamijou .

"Here , I said earlier that the information was payment so you can say this is a tip . Now chug it down and tell me how does your first beer taste like ."

Hamazura spoke enthusiastically as he made his way back to the park followed by the black haired boy . When they reached the park the younger of the two sat on the bench and Hamazura leaned on the vending machine as he felt the power of the canned goods further his strength .

He opened his own beer and chugged a mouthful at once , after swallowing it as a whole he let out the same satisfied sounds drunkards made as they chugged their favorite alcohol .

Kamijou looked at Hamazura with distrust in his eyes , he wasn't sure if he could just follow the lead of this obvious delinquent , although Kamijou was skeptical he couldn't lie about wanting to try something only the adults could , that was why he opened his own can and controlled his breathing .

Kamijou Touma finally chugged the beer…only to spit it out in a desperate attempt to forget the taste , he looked at Hamazura in betrayal as he shouted .

"What the hell did you give me you piece of sh*t . I end up breaking the law only to get this crappy bitter as hell drink , I demand a refund , give me back the time I wasted on you ."

Kamijou Touma shoved an accusatory finger at Hamazura as he shouted , meanwhile the other high schooler only put his plastic bag on the bench and brought out something that just by looking at it a high-schooler would shiver , Kamijou could only be dumbfounded at the development .

"I knew you would say that so I brought something just right for your baby tastes . This might be alcohol but you have my guarantee , it's sweet as hell , now come on let's show you what the adults actually enjoy in this city ."

Those were the words Hamazura gave Kamijou Touma as he brought out a 2 liter alcohol bottle made out of glass , it probably wasn't the best kind of alcohol since it was just sitting there in a convenience store shelve , but Kamijou knew that at least it would be worlds apart from the cheap beer can he held in his hand .

Would Kamijou Touma aim to try out such a thing ? Or will he reject it saying it's wrong to break such laws ?

Kamijou Touma made his mind to try it out with the thought of ' What's the worst that can happen ?' inside his head . And as he approached to grab the bottle from Hamazura he was hit by something dashing at top speed .

"Move out of the way dumbasses ."

A guy of about 18 years just smashed right in between Touma and Hamazura as he made his way running away from the park . This encounter was followed by the sound of shattering glass , while dumbfounded , Kamijou Touma turned his head to see Hamazura on his knees with the broken alcohol bottle in front of him , it might've been knocked down by the man that was running just now .

"No wait… I still have a second one over there…"

Hamazura said as he quickly stood up to face the bench were his other bottle sat inside the plastic bag , he was heading towards it only to be surprised 2 seconds afterwards .

"Uooooohhh…"

The dumb voice of the spiky haired boy screaming echoed through the park which was followed by the sound of shattering glass .

"You dumbass! What the hell are you doing ?"

Hamazura screamed at Touma who flew over to the bench , slammed into it and tried to grab the seat to prevent his fall , only to end up grabbing the bottle and applying enough pressure to crack it , it was followed by it breaking after it fell to the ground with him . Hamazura was about to shout again but ended up stopping as he heard someone else shout and turned towards them .

"GIVE ME THAT LEVEL UPPER YOU BASTARD!..."

After directing his eyes to the origin of the voice he saw another man running after the previous one , Hamazura thought that maybe this one had pushed Touma strong enough for that entire fiasco to happen .

"Such misfortune…"

"Haaaah…"

Those were the words of the black haired boy who still now was left on the ground , it was also followed by the dumb voice of Hamazura Shiage who couldn't quite process the whole scene in front of him .

" GIVE ME BACK MY ALCOHOL YOU A*SHOLES…"

Hamazura shouted as he ran after the two guys and Kamijou Touma only spread out his self on the floor not knowing how to react .

---

"Well then , I guess it's time I go out for a walk ."

The chestnut haired girl in bandages spoke to herself as she watched the scenery from her window , she knew that no doctor or nurse had any business with her now that the sun had already set and with her otherwise stable condition .

That's the reason why she chose to start going outside at night in her going to be short stay at the hospital , in a week's time she should be discharged , but to stay put in her bed for a week was an impossible request , so the girl picked her modern cane with her bandaged arm and leaned on it .

She then went closer to the opened window of her room that showed the beautiful view of Academy City at night . She proceeded to climb the small altitude between the window and the floor , after that the sound of electricity could be heard as it coursed through the girl .

The next moment she was already standing on the wall outside the hospital's window . It was at a height of 3 floors since she was situated on the very top one , but that distance meant nothing to this level 5 as she slowly walked down like it was the most normal thing to do .

A few seconds later and here she was on the ground , and her destination was known , she would go to a certain phone booth after passing through her dorm room first and foremost . And so she started to make her way to the dorm of Tokiwadai middle school situated a small distance away from the Garden of learning .

Her trip to her dormitory was successful to say the least , walking down the streets and such proved to be nigh impossible as her situation would easily be discovered by people who knew her and she most likely will be sent back to the hospital , that was why the walls as well as roofs proved to be her best bet for going around and after a dozen roofs from where she had started she was now successfully inside her dorm room after getting in through the window .

"Thank goodness Kuroko isn't here . I'd probably have to fry her before she even sees me just to get in ."

She spoke to herself as she got down from on top of her desk situated right outside of the window , after removing the hospital sandals that she was given in her stay she turned around and opened a shelf from her desk , she started searching inside as she threw all the other stuff around to find her objective . She pulled out a white handheld device from her shelf and put back whatever she threw earlier inside .

Now with her first objective out of the way the girl moved to the second one as she headed towards her closet , clothing seemed to be her next target as she opened the many shelves and searched for the darkest clothes she could find .

Although someone on a cane and with a brace and mummified with bandages wasn't normal , it still wasn't weird enough to push someone to call help for you since it seemed that you had already received treatment . But on the other hand , if you saw someone with the same description walking down the roads but this time in patient's clothes and without supervision , then one might end up calling a hospital or maybe Judgement or Anti-skill to help .

Those were the reasons that pushed her to her now open closet as she took out a black shirt that had three yellow hearts on it , she also took out shorts short enough to not press on the wound on her right thigh and a pair of sneakers .

"Ah , changing with injuries is the worst , isn't it ?"

She said to herself as she battled her clothes to wear them . 5 minutes later , Misaka Mikoto had finished changing and was panting really hard , it was apparently easier to sneak into the guarded dormitory than to actually change alone . She quickly put her handheld device in the back pocket of her shorts and took hold of her cane , she stepped on the desk that faced the window and jumped from it .

Rather than walk the entire way it was easier for her to jump out distances and then pull herself with her magnetism , the sky didn't offer much resistance against her leg like how the ground does .

A few rooftops later , as well as a few cameras sabotaged by the girl who could manipulate electricity with pinpoint accuracy and she was out of the woods , she as easily escaped as she had gotten in and quickly made her way to a certain phone booth not far away from her current position .

---

After soaring the skies and identifying the phone booth she landed spectacularly right next to it as if she was doing acrobatics .

She faced the door and deliberated about the means of opening it , she grabbed it with the fingers of her left arm that were within the brace , and instead of moving the arm she slowly moved her body to open the booth .

Now that it was open she headed inside , leaned on the glass wall and put her cane to the side . Next she brought out her handheld device from her back pocket and pulled on its plug with her mouth . Why she didn't use magnetism was because the device's insides were fragile and pulling those insides hard enough to get the plug out might break it .

"This is getting really annoying right now . This week is going to be tough isn't it ?"

She spoke to herself with irritation in her voice , to her the battle with the 7th wasn't a bad thing . To lose was frustrating but to be stuck like this was infuriating , she didn't regret the battle as she thought it was a breath of fresh air to fight someone stronger than you , but the results weren't the ones she'd like .

"Like what do you mean by ' I can stand back up as long as I'm gutsy enough to fight' ? You seriously took a railgun to the side of the head and shook it off a few seconds later ."

Misaka directed her frustration towards her previous opponent who apparently stood back up every time she thought that she took him down .

"And don't get me started me on that nonsensical power of yours . What the hell is 'I hold sound by using telekinesis to form a wall and by kicking it hard enough I can surpass the sound barrier.'? That's not how the world works , you don't literally break the sound barrier . What are you a dumbass ?"

Misaka was scratching her head hard and fast until she got a headache because of her wounds , if she was going to complain then she might end up taking the entire day , that's why she shook those thoughts aside as she settled the device on top of her brace , she took the plug with her now empty right hand and slotted it into the machine .

This phone booth is for some reason connected to the internet , that meant hacking into the machine meant hacking a normal computer with the added benefit of complete discretion . Even if one tried to track back whoever was hacking from here meant that they will only find a phone booth , and with all the security cameras around the girl hiding her with the use of her powers there was no way to be traced back even if they look at the security feed around this area .

Misaka Mikoto was adept at hacking and only few could rival or surpass her , that was why safeguarding that fact was a big deal , not many knew of it and she always kept it that way .

She opened her device and ran an electrical charge through it , by controlling her discharges she could control the inputs she made , which meant that all she needed was the knowledge to bypass the many anti-hacking defenses and the ones needed for extracting information , that which she does already own and she knew that no firewall could stop her and the only things the newest kinds of encryption as well as safety measures could do in front of her is buy time until she cracks their formulas .

Now that she got in she would search for answers to her questions , which were…

"What were the terrorists up-to in the mall ? Even if I was taken out that doesn't mean that the job I took was finished , you better believe that I will be chasing you down . Now let's see what we've got here ."

That was what Misaka Mikoto said to herself as she was going through the many files in front of her , some were available to the public and some were not . Those that were only showed general stuff such as the date , the location , as well as the number of injured which amounted to about 22 members of Anti-skill , one person from Judgement and two civilians .

"Two civilians , if I count myself then that means someone was unlucky enough to be caught up in that stuff ."

At those low rates of damage from a supposed group of terrorists Misaka Mikoto gave a relieved sigh . She knew that most of the injured Anti-skill officers were injured against the 7th so damage was really at a minimum kind of low .

"They apparently hid the fight between me and that Sogiita guy . I really don't know how to feel about this one , do I ?"

Misaka said to herself as she finished checking up on the events that had happened that day , after a few seconds of deliberating she switched off gears and erased whatever the expression on her face was .

"Now onto finding out what they were after ."

Misaka Mikoto directed her sights towards the much compiled information that wasn't let out to the public , a few electrical discharges later and she had already obtained access to those kinds of files , and at the sight of it Misaka Mikoto only widened her eyes as she quietly spoke to herself .

"What do you mean by 500 confirmed cases of illegal entry into Academy City ?…491 of them are already arrested…How the hell didn't the public catch on to this already ? There's no way Anti-skill could do all of this without leaving a trace behind ."

This might and might have not being related to the case that she was after , but at this hit that came from left field , one could only look in awe as their world was flipped upside down .

The entire situation seemed almost absurd to the girl , she could even feel her bandaged head throb as she was thinking about the happening , she continued browsing the many shady sites as well as messages she could get her hands on that were between important people from within the city .

"Two of the terrorists that attacked that day are from those outsiders , no photo nor voice have been recorded of them so all I can go from here are reports from Anti-skill and such ."

She continued digging and digging but all of her efforts were met with the same results .

"Nothing at all . Am I looking at this wrong or should I broaden my sights ? I mean there's no way there can't be any single piece of information about them over here ."

She apparently hit a road block as all information about the attackers from that day only turned with negative results . She tried to see if there was anything that was erased but that line of thought didn't give any results , next she tried to check on the camera feeds herself but it seemed like there really was nothing recorded of them , if they broke a wall then the wall broke as if by itself , if they fought Anti-skill it seemed like Anti-skill was shooting at nothing but air . No audio feed could be found and Misaka wondered if thoroughly erasing such information was even a possible feat .

The lack of anything other than the Anti-skill report from 3 days ago was a major blow to Misaka's enthusiasm , now that nothing had turned a lead to follow the girl was wondering what she should do .

Although she was slumped , Misaka Mikoto quickly switched gears as she felt something distinct approaching her . The level 5 in question had the peculiar ability that sends microwaves and constructs the shape of terrain in her mind based on the data she gathers from their reflection , it gave her the additional ability to trace whatever is in that terrain and form its shape in her head , to put it simply she could use her powers as a sonar or as a radar that can collect everything from the presence to the distance as well as the dimensions of whatever was in the range of 30 meters , and if she tries to she can even broaden that range to the triple digits .

This sonar of hers usually works unconsciously and it only picks up unusual things…Yes , unusual stuff like a person slowly and sneakily making its way towards her . Her suspicions were rising , was she found out hacking highly protected information and had someone sent to dispose of her ? Had it been an already planned assassination that only seemed to be executed now ?

Honestly , she didn't know . But what should be done in this situation is to observe and act accordingly , she couldn't let herself jump to conclusions just now and so waited for the figure to make its move first .

' Ok , show me what you've got .'

All while turning her back on the approaching person , Misaka was already deep within her calculations , she easily found out that it was most likely a girl from the figure she shaped in her head , as for equipment she had some sort of headset and a box strapped to her chest…

'Wait a minute…Is that a…?'

After noticing the box , Misaka imagined the worst possible situation . She took hold of her magnetism which itself held onto the massive phone in front of her , after the girl took another step forward Misaka swung the giant phone through the window next to her and shattered it .

She quickly stepped outside grabbed hold of whatever particles of iron sand that were around and quickly formed an iron sand whip , if her calculations were right then the strap that tied the box with the girl had nothing to do with its inner workings . That was why she would take off the strap and she would throw the box…no, the bomb as far away as she could through her magnetism . Obviously if she only wanted to save herself then all she'd have to do is to run away , but Misaka Mikoto isn't the kind of person to leave someone to a fate of death and would fight against it no matter what .

Now that the suicide bomber was right in front of her eyes staring at her while stunned and speechless she would execute her plan and save them…Or so was the plan until she saw the actual shape of the box in front of her .

"…A camcorder…!"

Misaka Mikoto was confused to say the least , or maybe she was confused and had finally woken up to reality . The girl in the headset seemed to finally shake off her daze as she started checking her portable camera for damage , after that she looked back into the records she had in it and breathed a sigh of relief .

"Ah , this is enough to hit trending on social media for days ."

The headset wearing girl who appeared to be in a summer sailor uniform spoke in relief , she had her bluish dark hair tied into a ponytail and with little in the ways of ornaments to pretty it up , her chest was modest just like her height which seemed to indicate that she might've been in her second year of middle school as she was around 158cm (5'2") .

Misaka wondered what meaning did the words spoken by the girl hold as she approached the small figure .

"This is…amazing?!"

Was Misaka's genuine reaction as she looked into the camcorder's screen . What she saw was the footage of her sudden outburst as she broke the phone booth and wielded her iron sand whip . But what caught the eye was the quality of the video , the quality was high enough to rival reality or maybe even surpass it , it looked like someone edited the footage to add the perfect angle and lighting as well as removing any blur that might appear because of fast movements .

"I can give you a copy of the footage if you'd like ."

The small girl spoke to the girl that examined the video in front of her , the chestnut haired girl only silently nodded as she continued watching the video on repeat , although sound wasn't available for some reason she was still mesmerized by what's in front of her .

"Well then , cool video aside I have to say…"

Although the girl's reaction earlier was of relief her facial expression tensed as she changed the subject , she was mulling some words in her head and finally turned towards Misaka to speak condescendingly .

"I guess I shouldn't expect any less from a level 5 , it seems that picking fights for no reason might be a prerequisite to increase your level to that of the top . Or maybe not ? Since I had reached the rank of 5 with no such barbaric means ."

Upon hearing these words Misaka Mikoto tensed up , a level 5 was supposed to be in front of her , she was the same as her and the 7th , and if they fought here the results might not be ideal . This wasn't like the 5th that Misaka knew to be reliant on others when fighting , the fights between level 5s could probably change the very topography of Academy City if there was no holding back between them . Misaka pursed her lips and spoke with a bit of hesitation .

"So I guess you are either the 4th or the 6th . Although I probably am not in the best shape to take you on , if a challenge is what you'd like then you should visit me later , maybe in a week's time I'll be up for it ?"

Misaka said to the level 5 in front of her , she at least knew the 5th and 7th personally as well as the fact that the 1st and 2nd were both males , that's why if anything then this person is supposed to be either the Meltdowner or the still shrouded in mystery Aihana Etsu . Misaka scratched her head as she made her suggestion , if she fought in this state then her chances would be abysmal , that was why buying time was a necessity right this moment .

But Misaka didn't even think of rejecting the challenge as she herself was the kind to jump at them , that was why the answer she got was a bit disappointing to say the least .

"Don't lump me in with your flimsy ranking system , the level 5 in front of you is Aina Machiko herself . I am Academy City's top reporter , and no I am not looking for a fight , as I said earlier I am not one for barbaric means ."

Misaka Mikoto felt herself being dumbed down by the nonsensical declaration of the girl who was puffing out her chest in pride as she spoke with the camera dangling from her neck .

"I see…"

That was the full extent of the conversation that Misaka was trying to have , she didn't have time nor the energy to go along with someone's delusions as her job was still not wrapped up , that's why she silently grabbed her modern cane and decided to leave . But as Misaka made her retreat , she couldn't see the wicked smile that Aina Machiko had worn as she slowly opened her mouth .

"Which headline would you like to circle around ? ' The 3rd rank level 5 sent to the hospital after a pathetic loss to the 7th' or maybe 'Tokiwadai's Railgun attacks a random civilian in the middle of the night' ?"

The girl said threateningly as she spoke to the girl that had her back turned away from her enemy , Aina Machiko could tell that she had hit a nerve when the girl in front of her froze in place . Misaka Mikoto slowly turned her head in terror as she looked the middle schooler right in the eyes .

"You wouldn't dare , would you…?"

The chestnut haired girl asked in fear to which the response she got was a grin accompanied by words .

"Try me Ms.3rd . I would have no qualms about dragging your reputation through the ground just for a bit of recognition as a reporter , that's why you should weigh your words carefully around me ."

That was the declaration of the self proclaimed level 5 , it was nothing if not pure malice and Misaka the actual level 5 here felt as if she was being hunted . Mulling what she should say , Misaka Mikoto realized that she still hasn't asked any important questions .

"Who are you really ?"

"I believe I just introduced myself but a professional should always have multiple business cards at the ready . Although we can ignore the fact that I don't have any actual business cards so I'll only redo the introduction part , that's why you should carefully pay attention ."

At Misaka's question , the girl only gave the most pompous answer she could muster as she readied herself to redo her introduction .

"I am Aina Machiko a 2nd year from Sakugawa Middle school and the president of the newspaper club , if going by Academy City's analysis then I should be a level 3 photonic editor , although my actual ability as a reporter is that of a level 5 so you shouldn't underestimate me ."

Was what she said , this whole situation wasn't something Misaka wanted to deal with , she felt that if she picked on anything in that introduction then she would be opening a can of warms that she'd rather not have to face .

"Well then , what do you actually want from me ?"

The chestnut haired girl asked as she looked threateningly at the girl with the camera , she was suspicious to say the least with how haphazard her approach was .

"If you really wanted to drag down my reputation then you'd already have spread the story about the 7th . It seems that your goal is something else so what is it ?"

"Don't go and assume that you can turn the tables on me if you know my goals . I still have more scoops in stock and they are all about you , that's why you should watch your tone when speaking to the most dangerous of all level 5s ."

Misaka chocked upon hearing those words . If she had more of these news then her entire social standing will crumble away , she would be a disgrace to the name of the level 5s and will be known as the ' Failure of Tokiwadai' rather than its ace , she probably won't be able to look her few friends in the eyes after that .

Fearing the worst , Misaka Mikoto lowered the tone of her voice , the person in front of her had her wrapped around her fingers and Misaka could only abide by whatever the girl wants .

"What do you want from me ?"

Misaka asked once again , although this time with the tone of her voice lowered in fear , if there was a way to avoid the worst possible scenario then she will take it . And in front of that determination , Aina Machiko only smiled as she spoke .

"I want the greatest scoop . I would like a story that will shake Academy City as a whole and would push them to acknowledge me . For I am after all a level 5 , I can't be sidelined when I hold the greatest potential could I ?"

The middle schooler declared as she puffed out her modest chest . The girl believed that she could make it to the center of attention if she simply had something to her name , and in this case it would be dominating the news business of Academy City with a story centered around the 3rd ranked level 5 .

"So ? What kind of story would you like ?"

"Something that can take the world by fire ."

At Misaka's question the girl only gave the shortest and vaguest reply possible . At this exchange Mikoto face palmed hard enough to shake the insides of her head…which had hurt like hell with her injuries , she tried to shake off the pain as she spoke .

"Again , what about my battle with the 7th ? That should already be a good enough story to shake Academy City , what with all the ranking system not ranking the level 5s by ability and all of that . It should end up as the greatest scandal of this city ."

Misaka said to the girl , she herself didn't know why she suggested that battle to be published but her feelings weren't important right now , it was the girl's reaction as she only gave a disappointed smile , not to Misaka but rather to the very city they were in .

"Trust me , there's nothing that I'd like more than to do just that . The problem is that I'm bound to get in trouble for showing something that the city's higher-ups had hid from the public ."

The girl said with a bit of sadness in her voice , she felt her talent being oppressed by the very city she tried to impress , although she quickly shook her head after remembering something important .

"But that doesn't mean that I can't drag you down to the depths of hell with me if necessary , so don't get your hopes up since you'll only be disappointed ."

The girl couldn't let her upper hand slip because of something so simple like disappointment , if she lost the Railgun's help then she well and truly will face the sidelines , Misaka sighed at the answer that was presented and asked another question .

"Well then , what plans do you have prepared for that scoop of yours ? I believe I was still not told what I'm supposed to help you with and I'm sure you aren't searching for just an interview am I right ?"

Misaka asked the important question once again , it turned out that the girl in front of her wasn't actually any good at getting to the point , Misaka even started doubting the girl's ability as a reporter with how bad she was at this .

"Well then , I'm about to spill the beans so you should listen carefully ."

The girl turned her back in a dramatic fashion as if she was hiding the greatest mystery of all , again with her inability to get to the point she brought out her index finger and slowly opened her mouth .

"Have you ever heard of the Level Upper ?"

"Can't say I have ."

Misaka answered the question as simply as she could while awaiting the actual explanation , while the girl was still turning around herself Misaka was trying to speed up the conversation . While Misaka Mikoto might've never heard of the Level Upper , she could still make some educated guesses on what it was , and what she had imagined was something that she wasn't sure could even be true .

"Can't say I'm surprised , after all this Level Upper should only be a fishy rumor surfing through the various troll news of the internet . That's why one would only be dubious about it's truth , but it truly exists , that I can guarantee at least ."

Aina Machiko prepared the chestnut haired girl to drop the actual information , she might've thought that if she just said it so nonchalantly then it will only be brushed aside by the same amount of effort it took to say it .

"The Level Upper is a tool that can instantly raise one's level , in that case it's similar to a drug and it has just started to circle around . Not many have their hands on it but some dangerous people seem to be after it and some even took hold of it . Yes , just like those terrorists from three days ago ."

The girl said as she grabbed her camcorder , she started to scroll through its memory as she landed on what she had filmed three days ago . Misaka Mikoto slowly approached on her modern cane and looked over the girl's shoulder , she could see glimpses of her fight with the 7th as well as a fight between Anti-skill and one of the terrorists , and although there was no footage of Shirai Kuroko's fight it had also happened that very same day .

But the thing that caught Misaka Mikoto off-guard was the video feed that showed how an upperclassman from her school engaged in a battle with a monstrous being made out of stone , as well as that upperclassman being swiped off by the aftermath of Misaka's and Sogiita Gunha's fight .

Misaka slowly bit her lip as she felt guilt pierce her heart , she knew that apparently no casualties happened that day but there was another injured person she didn't know off .

That was her mistake wasn't it ? She shouldn't have snuck in , did she ? Those thoughts clouded her mind as she realized that her attempt to help only caused trouble to others . But could she still turn a blind eye now ? Could she just sit and pray that everything will be solved by itself ? Could she even let the chance for that day to repeat ?

Those were questions not worth asking , she would stop it no matter what . Even if the girl in front of her wasn't holding the proverbial collar , she would still dash headfirst into that battle and stop it .

"If you had made your mind then let's head out . Show us , you the one who climbed from the very bottom how much you dislike cheating , that will make for the greatest SCOOP. Don't you think so ? "

Said the small girl as she led the monster known as the 3rd ranked Tokiwadai's Railgun . Their goal was to stop those terrorists and the Level Upper was their lead towards them , and so they made their way to the battlefield .

---

Between the lines :

A week ago :

It was already night-time in Academy City , while yes , most workers would already be back home after a long day of work , some people would still work to the very ends of the night and begin their next day with work as well .

"This is going nowhere is it ?"

Although , only few would pull 5 consecutive all nighters for nothing more than personal research . Those kinds of people aren't working for their status , nor is it for money , no , they are working because of a sense of responsibility…or maybe guilt , they are the kind to give up everything for their goals and wouldn't settle for anything less .

"I was sure that this time it wouldn't be a screw up . I was extra sure I had the math nailed down and I was sure that the audio file was produced perfectly ."

Kiyama Harumi a scientist and researcher was leaning back on her chair in the darkness of a hospital room , or rather under the small light of a lamp on the desk she worked on . She was muttering to herself as she was tapping with her pen on a paper , she apparently hit a roadblock in her research as she was double checking stuff in her head .

"Maybe I should switch the auditory synesthesia theory and go for something more reasonable . Maybe an implant or…No , that won't work since I'll need to spread it far and quick , so I guess I should revise my calculations ."

Even through the many all nighters she pulled , her goal only looked more and more distant . And truth be spoken , this project of hers was only a means to another end , and it seemed like it was an impossible one to accomplish no matter how hard she tried .

"No , you're just tired Kiyama Harumi . No matter what you do , you have to save those kids , yes…no matter what…"

She shook aside the thoughts of a dead end , since after all , no scientific findings would have been achieved through giving up . Although , now that those thoughts were gone , her head felt light as a feather , even as she recounted her goal and no matter the amount of coffee that she pumped in her vains , dreams were unescapable as her mind slowly drifted into sleep .

"'Don't stop now , Kiyama Harumi , your research is of great importance to us .' Is what a Kihara like Zero-chan would say ."

From the entrance to her dark room entered the small figure of a girl , she was looking at her mobile phone as a 1seg TV and a handheld device dangled from a strap around her neck . Although the entrance of the small figure wasn't enough to shake Kiyama out of her drowsiness , the simple mention of that family name did .

"Ki-Kihara…you said a…Kihara ?"

Kiyama's breathing grew erratic as her voice stuttered while repeating the name . Fear had paralyzed her and she could only wait for the girl to speak .

"Yes , a Kihara like Zero-chan had taken a liking to your human brain network you call the Level Upper . And so wants to have a bargain with you , do you plan on accepting it or will you reject her for carrying that name ?"

The probable middle school girl spoke as she let go of her phone and left it to dangle off her strap . She peered with her eyes at the brown wavy haired scientist with baggy eyes and awaited her answer .

"What do you mean by wanting the Level Upper . This is nothing more than a ticking bomb , it won't do you any good as it just strains the brains functions , to speak honestly there is nothing to gain from it if you'll end up comatose later ."

Kiyama Harumi warned as she pushed the girl's bargain away . It wasn't the side effects that made her reject the offer since she simply didn't care if a Kihara would die or not , what pushed her to do this was the hate for the Kiharas that ran through her blood and the unwillingness to help them .

"I see , so this is what Zero-chan would say .'I have no use for the Level Upper myself , I only want the brain made network for personal use . If anything I welcome such a set back , to have your subordinates fall left and right is a huge drawback and a real pain so I prefer it that way .'"

The small girl said as she replicated what a certain someone would say in such a situation , and although the reasoning for accepting the drawbacks was nonsensical enough to make someone face palm at it , Kiyama Harumi didn't care one bit about it .

"So what do I get from this bargain ? If it's a trade then I'd like to get something of equal , if not of greater value ."

Yes , that was what Kiyama should care about now , her goal wasn't the Level Upper itself but it was to save those children . The chances were high that a Kihara would be able to get access to treatment methods not available to her…or maybe even access to the Three Diagram itself as its computational abilities are what Kiyama was after through this whole level Upper situation , that was why Kiyama was expectant , although still ready for the wicked injustice that a Kihara would like to serve .

"'I will personally guarantee the recovery of your students . How is that for a trade Kiyama Harumi-san ?'"

The girl didn't use her usual manner of speech to indicate the speaker , and yet the scientist knew its owner , and in front of such a trade Kiyama could only look suspiciously at how easy this all seemed to be . ' There must be a catch .' Kiyama thought to herself as she bit her lip .

"The Level Upper is still not complete . If you'd give me a month's amount of time then I can get it to…"

Kiyama Harumi agreed to the trade , if she didn't then she will lose that lifeline to which she clung to and had called hope , even as she feared the backstabbing nature of a Kihara she still had to take the risk .

But as she offered the still incomplete Level Upper with her guarantee of completing it , she was only cut off mid sentence as the other spoke .

"'I see , well then let's work at completing it together , Kiyama-san , I have all the time to myself so let's aim to finish it before the day ends .' Is what a Kihara like Zero-chan would say ."

Those were the words that the middle school girl left , although still nonsensical in nature Kiyama Harumi could only plummet back to her chair , her goal was finally in sight and sleep finally took hold of the woman who had no more strength to battle exhaustion .

"'Now then , let's finish off this product , shall we ?'"

Is what the middle school girl said as she copied the words of Kihara Minami(Zero) . She headed towards the desk of the now asleep woman as she rummaged through the many files and papers that were haphazardly spread over it , she took the pen that Kiyama was using earlier and started correcting whatever mistakes that could be found in them .

"This should take about 7 hours to finish ."

The girl spoke without imitating anyone this time , although her work speed was impressive as she solved all of which Kiyama couldn't in the matter of minutes , she couldn't help but feel inferior to other Kiharas that in her eyes would do this much faster and better .

That feeling of inferiority only increased inside the girl called Kihara Enshuu when her phone started ringing , she paused and looked at it only to find an unknown caller , she quickly opened the line and put the phone next to her ear .

"Let's take our time and get this done in 2 hours ."

Was what the caller said with no greetings whatsoever , the voice of a girl was the only identifiable thing from the call but Enshuu didn't mind as she knew the nonsensical caller personally .

"That's a very Kihara-like result isn't it ?"

Was the middle schooler's answer as she compared hers and Kihara Minami's efficiency , the girl on the phone didn't comment as she only hang up . Enshuu took the phone off from her ear and looked at it to see many graphs in it , although not just graphs but codes and texts as well , these were likely the instructions to finish the Level Upper and Kihara Enshuu blindly followed them .

True to Kihara Minami's words , the Level Upper was finished in under those 2 hours .

---

Footnotes :

Well then , a special thanks to everyone who took their time to read the prologue as well as this first chapter , and a bigger thanks to the people that have marked it for follow and to the one person that put it as a favorite . Thank you so much since this means a lot to me .

And also another thanks to elementalgaming30 for leaving a review the same day the prologue was posted . And to answer your questions :

-Why did I put Hokaze and Shirai on the tags was because they were the main characters of the Prologue , I didn't want to put characters we still haven't seen over there so I'msorry for the confusion .

Although now it's Misaka , Index and my man Hamazura , with Touma being a recurring side character in all the parts of the story be it magical or scientific .

-Wasn't Sherry's attack on her own ? Well in canon yes , but in this fic as mentioned above , both she and Xochitl snuck into the city like many others and were later scouted by Zero(Kihara Minami) .

I also tried to fix the spacing problem so I hope everything is better now .

Ok now with that out of the way let's talk a bit about the OCs , so in this Arc which is the Level Upper Arc with a twist , we will have a grand total of 7 OCs although most of them will be minor characters (like the well dressed dude) and only 1 (will come later )who will be important to the plot with Aina Machiko being a side character most of the time.

Also yes , the Level Upper stuff is happening way too early because of Zero's interference so again , the main timeline will be changed .

And yes , there is a reason for Sogiita Gunha to be in the mall at that time since I have plans for the dude

If anyone is interested by the next Arcs then I might drop their names in the next chapter .

And with that I will leave you to start on Chapter 2 where I finish the setup of both the Index and Hamazura plotlines with a bit of a glimpse into the Misaka one .

Goodbye and until I finish Chapter 2 , hopefully before next Monday .

Thank you all once again very much and if anyone would like to see their favorite character or something then drop it down in the reviews and I'll try my best to incorporate them .

Also I edited this because of typos , so if anyone finds any other ones they can leave it down and I'll edit it again .