"Telekinesis?" The little girl wanted to confirm.
"Yes, telekinesis, it means you can move objects."
"But, why should I be a level 2? can't I be a level 5?" She asked and wondered, how can the adults here be sure that her power was only level 5. She's secretly hoping that the adults were wrong and that she is a level 5.
"Now Meiko, it's not that you will only be a level 2 for the rest of your life, if you work hard enough, you can reach level 5 in no time!"
The examination was over, and the results were in. The little girl, Tanaka Meiko's ability was telekinesis. Considering her age, the scientist considered her a one in a hundred esper. The scientist truly believed that she could reach level 5.
The breeze inside the chilling air-conditioned room was warmer, the door to the room had been opened.
"Meiko, are you done dear?" A mature voice of a woman, it was Tanaka's mother.
"Yes, Mom," she briefly answered as she got up from the chair.
The door to the room swung back to its original position as a small smile appeared on the person behind the door. The duo of the mother and daughter walks through a hospital-like hallway. The sound of the surrounding ambiance really was just too weak to bother Tanaka's thoughts. For a third grader, Tanaka's a calculating person, though she herself acknowledged that she can be dumb sometimes. She really (really) wanted to try her ability, even though she already caught a glimpse of it at home, all before she came to this place, it's the whole reason she and her mother were there after all.
Those memories just randomly popped into Tanaka's mind. It was the time when she first discovered her power, it was when she was just a third grader when her dark childhood had began.
'I know there's an extent to my ability, but why bother using it?' she thought to herself. Tanaka had gone past those dark years and had been studying in middle school.
She'd always wonder, were all the level 5 the same as her, did they go through what she went through? She looks around her class, trying to look for someone. Her eyes caught a glimpse of that someone, she quickly retraced her eyes, and her eyes were met with the 3rd ranked level 5 of Academy City, the Railgun. There are 3 level 5 enrolled in her school, Misaka Mikoto, Shokuhou Misaki, and then… there's Tanaka Meiko, the sometimes apathetic dark brown-haired girl who also happens to be the 6th ranked level 5 in Academy City. Though she's a level 5, she chose to remain anonymous, Tanaka believes that it would just be a bother if she were to stand out. Yes, the identity of the 6th ranked of the 8 level 5 in Academy City remained undisclosed.
Looking around, Tanaka's class was decorated with light brown vests, and students wearing them. It was a class that you'd only see in a castle hallway. The hallway, the class, everything, it was obvious that she was enrolled in a high-class school, it's the famous Tokiwadai Middle School, home to rich, talented, and powerful young ladies.
It's not that Tanaka was insecure, but she didn't really want to belong there.
"TANAKA MEIKO! Why don't you stop daydreaming and answer the question," the teacher points at the board.
'How fast would the potential energy be if the gravity constant was 10 m/s^2 with a mass of 7, at a height of- the answer is 70.' It's a simple equation really, in fact, she knows she can calculate it instantly just by looking at the numbers shown.
"I'm sorry ma'am, I don't know."
"And that's why you should've paid attention while in class!" the teacher shows clear signs of disappointment.
Tokiwadai Middle School is not the same as any regular middle school. The students here are taught university-level study.
'It's the start of the semester and we're diving straight into a grade 10 physics material, this school is something else.'
Today was nothing like an uneventful day for Tanaka, it was July 16 and system scan day. It's the day when every school in Academy City simultaneously conducts tests on each and every student to determine their ability.
Tanaka had expected the system scan day would just be like the previous ones, but the scientist just had to intervene.
"Tanaka, please follow me," An examiner said to Tanaka.
"What? I thought this is where psychokinesis abilities are tested?"
"Yes, but we need to conduct more tests." Tanaka had grown suspicious of the examiner. For the last 3 years, she'd been limiting herself on every system scan day, though last year was a bit different. Last year's test was conducted indoors, unlike her elementary school's testing site.
"Fine," Tanaka replied.
Tanaka found herself being guided into an open field, next to the other test area, though, there was a fence separating them. The testing area was bordered and with white lines, it was a square. Although she still had her suspicions on the examiner, it has now calmed down a bit. She was a bit worried about them determining the extent of her ability, but she realized there was no other instrument that could help determine her power.
'There's only a single object here, so I should be fine.'
"Well then, please conduct the test."
'It should be fine.' The iron beam in the middle of the area was lifted, it floats exactly three meters above ground, exactly half a meter off from what she was asked to do.
"Recording height 3 meters, margin of errors from determined location is 0.5 meters, overall rating, level 3."
"Alright, may I go no- WHAT THE HECK?!" Her suspicion was true, the scientist had intervened. It was so sudden, but the giant crane next to the school had moved and dropped its cargo, roughly 10 tons of steel came down from the sky straight into the testing site.
'GOD DAMMIT,' she thought. She spaced out, can she calculate it fast enough to stop the thing?
Not even close to hitting the ground, the heavy loads of iron stopped mid-air. It was scattered throughout the sky, but it had stopped and gathered like a giant ball of steel, and the ground, the dirt from the ground had been raised into the sky, just like an iron near a magnetic field. The scene would look terrifying if there were any bystanders, but there was just Tanaka, the examiners, and a teacher.
"Recording reaction time 0.7 second, weights moved 10,400 kilograms out of 10,000 kilograms, height 59 meters above ground, overall rating, level 5." She was now worried. The examiners almost killed everyone there just to trap her.
"WHAT'S THE MEANING OF THIS?" She had turned around, now facing the examiners. The dirt behind her began to move, all going up in a wave-like motion, up and down until it reached below the giant iron ball and shot straight up, touching the giant iron ball, in a matter of seconds, the steel beams separated, now forming half a circle and pointing right onto the examiners' faces.
"Ah! Magnificent! One of my finest subjects! That is 10.4 tons you are lifting, and not even a single sweat!" An old man entered the room. The man was wearing a coat, presumably a scientist.
"KIHARA, YOU OLD GEEZER!" one of the steel beams launches straight into Kihara, Tanaka had the intent to finish the old geezer's life.
"STOP!" The teacher stepped in front of Kihara. The steel beam fell down.
"Ah well, I was just here to see how you are doing, nice to see you too." And he's gone.
"What's the meaning of this teach?" Tanaka, still fuming.
"It's your ability. You have the right to remain anonymous as one of the level 5, but the school certainly has the right to know the true extent of its student's ability, and you are one of the students here," the teacher explained.
"This school is crazy, how will I remain anonymous when the whole school has seen it?"
"That's why she's here," the teacher faced towards the door, revealing Misaki Shokuhou, the 5th ranked level 5.
"Hey there, oh, don't worry, they won't know a thing about this," the 5th ranked exclaimed.
"You will remain a level 3 publicly, but the school will have you as a level 5 in your documents."
"Fine," Tanaka gave up, more people now knew her true ability, the ability to control potential energy.
"So, what do you want?" Tanaka sat down. She was now in an outdoor area, sitting with the Queen of Tokiwadai.
"I just want to hang out, that's all"
"Two level 5 sitting next to each other? That's some trouble you know."
"But, it's one level 5 and one level 3, what could you have possibly meant."
"Tch, those examiners have gone too far, the school too for agreeing to do it," Tanaka just can't let yesterday go. One moment she was in her classroom, the next she was subtly being experimented on. She who was just barely liking the school has now come to even hate it.
Why'd she even bother meeting her? It was a bothersome morning from her cliques just to get her to meet Shokuhou. From a pleasant morning into a very weird one.
"Is Tanaka here?" The purple-haired girl, often seen with Shokuhou asked Tanaka's classmate by the door.
"Yes, She's here."
"What is it?" Tanaka approached both of them.
"Well hello, Tanaka. I'd hate to interrupt your activity, but Miss Shokuhou has requested to meet you."
"Well hello, miss Shokuhou's friend, but no thank you."
"W- wai-"
"Please Miss Tanaka, would you please grant Miss Shokuhou's wish to meet you." The whole classroom turned freaky. All of her classmates had stood up and requested her in unison.
"What the hell is this?"
As to not escalate things further. She eventually obliged, knowing the freak accident earlier was Shokuhou's doing.
"Well, why did you do that?" Tanaka asked Shokuhou about the earlier scene.
"It was a quick way to get you to meet me, that's all"
"So anyway, what's up with you hiding your real ability? You could've gone and become someone popular you know?" Shokuhou continued.
"I don't want to stand out, that's all."
"You know, I could just see into your memories, just to check if there's something more to it." Shokuhou teased, she didn't have any intention to look more.
"Well, I dare you."
"Oh?" Shokuhou was surprised. She thought Tanaka was also like her, enrolled in some science experiment, but figures she's just any other esper.
"See if you can do it." Of course, Tanaka had no intention of allowing a person she just met yesterday to know about her past. She just wants to test if she can deflect Shokuhou's ability, which she's 100% confident in.
"Here it goes." Shokuhou pulled her remote. and then… nothing.
"Figures, you used your ability to deflect my remote's IR, isn't it?" Shokuhou asked.
"Well, why should I tell you?"
"You're a fascinating one, Tanaka. I'm confident that you disrupted my remote's infrared, I guess it's the best choice to not tell me, after all, what you did was just to disrupt my remote itself, not my ability. I could theoretically use my ability on you while you're not looking."
"You seem confident," Tanaka replied, she's completely calm and not panicking deep down.
"Tanaka, theoretically, if you were to strengthen my remote's IR, I could control an even larger amount of people you know."
"That's one crazy idea, but yes, theoretically."
"I guess that's all for today. Hey, why don't exchange our contact?"
"Sure, I guess."