The dorms at Tokiwadai school. In one of the rooms a pig tailed girl was laying down on the bed wearing a cervical collar, her roommate had one leg in a cast and one arm with another, at least she didn't have to go in a wheel chair like her companion. Both didn't have the mood to go outside, it wasn't something to blame, the one who did this to them was walking in the school freely, the bureaucracy at Academy City even lifted the charges. It was all a misunderstanding.
They heard a knock at the door, it wasn't a question it was a warning. Teachers did that from time to time to make sure anything improper was being done. This time however the teacher was not who they expected. Homeroom physics teacher of Class A first grade, Usami Sumireko. She walked inside holding a few papers and sat down in front of both beds.
–Your performance has gone down considerably. Is there anything you would like to say about it? –Misaka hid under her blankets. Kuroko spoke for both –Miss Usami you know exactly why… –Sumireko sighed and took off her glasses to massage her face a bit with her hand, she put them back on. –Let me tell you a small story please.
Around 50 years ago, there was an ESPer. She was the first level 5 known in history, and one of the strongest ones too. Anyone could stop her, according to many she could stop entire armies. All of those things made her into someone not very different from you two. She thought herself powerful, important, unbeatable. She could get anything she wanted. One day she heard about a dark ancient land, a place where humans feared to go. Sealed long ago, still connected to this world by a shrine in the mountains.
The girl thought it would be a good idea to get to know if that world was real, if indeed there were monsters in crowds as it was said. She, could become a hero, she could get one of those monsters and show people they were safe, even investigate them and become famous. So she decided to go search for that world. It was easy since she was a powerful psychic. It was even easy getting inside of that sealed realm. However what she found there changed her forever.
She thought herself close to the gods. Still she was closer to humans than to gods, in fact there she found humans who surpassed her power by much. She would have been dead within hours if she didn't escape soon, but she still didn't know that, she even taunted the monsters! Luckily not all of them were cruel. The little ESPer met a kind tanuki-monster who gave her a piece of advice that saved her life, and later on made her into a better person.
Mankind can have lots of knowledge. We can have lots of power, but there has to be will to work, and more importantly humility. –by this time Misaka was peeking outside of the blankets –What happened to the ESPer girl? –She got defeated several times! But that taught her by experience to be humble. That is what I wanted to tell you. Do not let this defeat turn you down. Misaka there are things a hero can't do. There will be times you won't win by any chance, and that is what will leave you the most, that is what will teach you humility and encourage you to work harder. I know you can.
–Kuuroko was curious now –How do you know all of this? –when you become old you learn stuff, when you speak to many ESPers they speak back to you. Maybe I will be mentioning your story and add a morale to it to future generations. –she got up from the chair and moved the wheelchair closer to the bed –Come on girls, let's get something to drink. –Misaka looked at the teacher –Why was she a tanuki monster? –Because they are wise old creatures, and yet humble enough to speak to humans as equals. –She got the students out and invited them to dinner that night.