Haruue Erii

During the night the rooms that Joule and GV stayed in shook, Joule barely noticed as she was focusing hard on her current project and GV wasn't even in the building, where the was the shaking was much worse. As it went on Joule looked up as she heard a voice, it was calling for someone but it quickly faded with the end of the earthquake.

[ACSR: Chiisana Nozomi]

The next morning Joule got a text from Uiharu, apparently she had been selected as a roommate for a transfer student. She met up with the rest of her friends on the way there as she had asked them all to help get the new roommate to feel at home.

Misaka was a bit confused about another transfer student in the middle of the term. Joule pointed out that "I wasn't at a normal time either, it's not too strange."

Meanwhile Saten was humming happily, Kuroko looked over to her and asked "You seem really happy about this?"

"Well of course I am, she will be Uiharu's roommate after all, that means she will be our friend too!" Saten was smiling brightly at those words.

Joule looked ahead of their small group to see Uiharu and a girl she took to be the new roommate, Uiharu was raising her hand and she called out "Hey girls!"

Everyone looked towards the pair now the roommate politely bowed as the rest of the friends approached. Uiharu suggested they all go upstairs before introducing themselves so the climbed the steps to Uiharu's rooms. Joule had only been to here once or twice but the need to guess was prevented by the piles of moving boxes infront of the door.

They all stood in a small group as Uiharu introduced the girl as Haruue Erii and introduced the rest of the friends to Haruue.

Saten asked about the moving boxes and Uiharu explained that she got the call about them while she was at the train station. Apparently the movers had just left them here.

Misaka spoke quietly "That isn't very considerate of the movers to just drop them here and go."

"Well we can't just leave them sitting here." Saten looked at the boxes as if trying to figure out how heavy they were.

Kuroko sighed "I can take care of them simply enough." she touched one of the boxes and teleported about half of them into Uiharu's rooms.

Uiharu opened the door to check and Harue murmured "Amazing." before speaking more normally "I have never seen teleporting before!"

Kuroko let out a light brag about her level of ability in response. At the end of it Misaka suggested they all help put it away.

Joule lifted some clothes out of a box and asked Uiharu where Haruue would be keeping her clothes. She quickly brought them to there destination as she heard a quiet complaint from Saten.

"What's wrong Saten?" Uiharu asked worriedly.

Saten just sighed "Nothing important, I was just wondering how much easier this would be with an ability."

Joule looked over "Is Kongou's method not working?" Saten just sighed "I really don't know, I must have thrown two dozen airplanes by now but nothing, she said not to expect the results quickly but it still isn't hopeful."

Haruue looked over from where she was getting out small toys of various sorts and she looked over "What is this about?"

So Saten explained about her being a level 0 with the potential to learn an Air-controlling esper power, Haruue nodded at that.

"What is your ability Haruue?" Uiharu asked curiously. She just looked up as if thinking how to respond before quietly saying "Level 2, passive receiver Telepath."

"Really?" Joule looked over as Haruue answered. As Haruue nodded Saten said "Joule's a Telepath too, maybe she can help you!"

Haruee looked at Joule who nodded "I'll try."

When they got the boxes finally emptied and flatfolded near the door they all sighed in relief. Haruue performed a small bow to all of them while thanking them for there help.

Misaka smiled and looked around the room "We finished much sooner than expected, lets have some fun."

As Uiharu agreed excitedly Kuroko looked like she was thinking about something. Uiharu looked over to her as she muttered "There is that conference we have to be at soon, we should probably go to it Uiharu."

At Saten asking what conference, Kuroko explained that it was being held by Judgement and Anti-skill to discuss the earthquakes going on recently.

As Uiharu looked crushed by the reminder, Saten suggested that she, Misaka and Joule could show Haruue around the area.

Haruue looked a bit worried but Uiharu looked over, a similar expression on her face but a much calmer voice except for the occasional stammered word "It'll be okay, Saten can be a bit too much to handle sometimes but you won't have a problem with the other two. We will also join you when we're finished."

As Saten pointed out the "To hard to handle" used in what she said Haruue glanced around the room and got a smile from Misaka and a smaller but no less real one from Joule.

The four of them walked down the street, at first they didn't know what to do so Saten suggested daytrip plan number 1; crepes. They all got one and sat on some benches together.

Saten pointed out how many friendships began on this bench and Joule reflected that the bench where she had met the others wasn't too far from here.

Misaka agreed "It is isn't it? This is the bench we used when we first met."

Haruue's face had been covered in cream even though only a few seconds had passed. As Saten saw that she asked "Is it good?"

With her mouth full all Haruue could answer with was a happy grunt.

Misaka looked down at her crepe as she muttered out loud "It's too bad the others couldn't be here, what is the conference about do you think?"

An evil-looking smile appeared on Saten's face as she laughed "I didn't want to get into it earlier but there is a hot rumour going round about that!"

"A rumour?" Haruue echoed "Is it really going to be accurate then?"

Joule looked away as Misaka let out a nervous laugh "Saten's rumours are never the whole truth but they are usually quite accurate."

Saten raised her hand dramatically before speaking one word "Poltergeists!"

Misaka parroted her quickly but disbelieving "Poltergeists, your kidding?"

Saten's pumped her fist as she went on "No I really think this one is true!"

Misaka still looked completely disbelieving "So what are you talking about, furniture moving on it's own and stuff?"

"No P-waves or S-Waves have been observed," Saten was really excited about it "It must be paranormal!"

Joule looked up from her Crepe "What stops it being an Esper power, you do know that most 'Poltergeists' outside academy city is just moody teenagers throwing things in the middle of the night," she looked around "Espers are just supernatrual moody teens."

Saten stopped at that and put her hand to her head as if thinking. She then pulled out a phone to look at something before saying "Well... if it is an Esper then they are advertising the day they destroy the city."

She showed her phone to the others and it had a website up about how the earthquakes could destroy the city in a few days if the kept increasing.

Misaka looked at it and asked "Is there actually any proof that they are getting stronger though?"

Saten didn't answer that one. Instead she changed the subject "Hey Haruue, you're from district 19 right? Were there Polergeisting events over there too? What was it like?"

Haruue still had a mouthful of Crepe so she just hummed a "I don't really know."

Misaka told her to hold up "You really shouldn't be as excited as you are about this sort of thing. It could be really serious"

Saten's phone rang and she answered, she listened for a moment before saying "We near the crepe stand where we all became friends." The call ended and Saten looked to the others "Uiharu and Kuroko are-" but she got cut off as the very two she mentioned suddenly appeared beside them.

The six of them went to an arcade and played games together, they also tooks some pictures of them as a group. Haruue walked into a glass wall while trying to get closer to a poster for a fireworks show tonight. Everyone agreed to dress up for it and go.

[ACMI: Odayaka na You]

By the time Joule was home to find the Yukata she had bought with her friends in the past she realised that she didn't actually know how to put one on properly. Lumen pointed out her friends had help put it on when she first bought it.

Joule's Yukata was dark blue, a colour normally reserved for older people but it was decorated with flowers and butterflys of many diffrent colours, With a quick search of the internet she found a way it could be put on by yourself but it still took a while.

She met up with her friends just outside the fireworks festival. They had all gotten there first and were complementing how each other's Yukatas looked.

After extending the complements to Joule's, Saten noticed the stands set up by the river's side. As she and Misaka ran down the hill, Kuroko teleported after them leaving Uiharu, Haruue and Joule at the top of the hill.

They all got food and played various games and the stalls; Haruue discovered the paddles in the fishing for balls game were edible, Kuroko discovered Teleporting is cheating in ring toss, Saten ate a candied apple, Misaka found a Gekota mask, Uiharu learned the pain of being handed a piece of cotten candy and getting your fingers sticky. Joule got worried about the noise and spent part of the evening sitting at the top of the hill away from the stalls.

In the end a good night.

later they all went to the top of the hill to see the fireworks better. Some of the louder ones caused Joule and Haruue to jump.

Saten and Uiharu yelled out there joy as some more went up before turning to see Haruue looking at them, "Is something wrong?" Uiharu asked.

Haruue looked away smiling "I was just remembering," at the other two's questioning looks she continued "I had a friend once, we were super close just like the two of you are."

Her face then fell as if remembering something sad. Uiharu and Saten asked if she was okay but she just turned and began to walk away.

Uiharu and Saten called out for her to wait for them but she didn't respond and they followed.

Kuroko noticed it was only her, Misaka and Joule so she looked at Joule and asked "Do you want to go see what's wrong with them." Joule shrugged and walked after her friends, hearing cries of love from Kuroko to Misaka behind her.

[ACMI: Aseri]

Joule managed to catch up to the others just as Haruue stopped walking. Joule glanced at her friends before Haruee spoke.

"Where are you?" Haruue's voice was quiet "Where have you gone?"

Uiharu looked worriedly towards her new friend "What's wrong?"

All Haruue did was repeat her earlier question again, Then the earthquake began.

Joule heard the telepathic voice louder than ever. "Where are you? I'm here! What happened to me?"

The voice repeated and it looked like Haruue was in a trance of sorts.

The earthquake shook more than ever before and Joule fell over and hurt her hands. Saten hung on to the banister rail to hold herself stable but Uiharu had gone over to Haruue to shield her.

The street lamp beside the two girls began to topple over and Uiharu closed her eyes.

Saten and Joule could hear fireworks but both had their eyes closed, after a few seconds they both looked towards their friend.

A large robotic suit had saved them.

[ACMI: Yami he no Iriguchi]

Kuroko and Misaka teleported to them to see if they were okay

After the woman inside the suit confirmed they were all okay she moved the lamp post, leaning it back where it was before.

Haruue was still kneeling on the ground, Joule listened to what she was saying. She was still asking the same questions as before.

Nearby a woman walked, she looked up at the damaged area as everyone spoke of how something might have collapsed.

The women sent a text message to her hired help, he would ask about what had happened.

Dr. Kiyama didn't think they would talk to her about it.

End of Chapter

And thus the Polergeist arc begins properly

Regardless I never found a good place to put it but Joule has been growing her hair out and using the blue butterfly pin to keep control of it.