Guess who's back? I have to say, working on this story has been nothing but a joy. I never would have expected to get so much support for this story in the short amount of time I have been working on it. I guess the key was to pick a series that was a little popular enough to be seen, but not so popular that my story is lost in the constantly growing pages of series such as Harry Potter and Naruto. For that, I want to take a moment to thank all of you for the support.

Now, before I get to the QA, there are some things I need to address that pertain to all of you. First, congratulations, you all got at least extreme close to guessing the identity of Yuri Suzushina. As many of you guessed, his true identity is Accelerator. If you've read my other "A Certain" fanfics, you know that I strongly believe in the theory that Touma and Accelerator knew each other as children, but grew apart due to circumstances. Most of you guessed Accelerator, some variant of Accelerator, or just called me out on being a cheeky bastard, so for that, I congratulate you.

Also, many of you have noted that the power outage in chapter 3 should have coincided with the one at the start of the Index Arc. However, I am following the order of events as presented in the anime and explained by Youtube Channel, "Misty Chronexia", which places the Level Upper Arc before the events of the Index Arc, rather than coinciding.

I also want to make a shout-out to Epidemic Bear, who helped me with some extra Judo research to enhance Touma's fight correagraphy.

Now that that is out of the way, QA time!

Awareness Bringer: Thanks for bringing up all of the errors. I'll be sure to pay more attention in the future.

MrQuestionMark: I'm glad you like how I'm handling dialogue. I make sure to change a few lines of text when I feel different context is necessary, so it's nice to know it's working well. I'm a little disappointed you found the nicknames a bit off putting, but it's understandable. Don't worry, they're not a constant thing, just something Touma uses as greetings and for jokes in catual conversation. I was hoping you would notice the shout-out I made to you with 'Headband'. It was from your story 'The Interrogation' in your work 'Between The Lines', all I did was drop the honorific.

I have to say I liked creating parallels between Touma and other characters. I feel like he was designed that way. For example, boy meets sister, boy accidentally strips sister, boy feeds sister, boy leaves sister, boy learns sister is in danger, boy gets help from an adult who at one point wanted to be a teacher, boy uses his power to save sister, boy gets life changing brain injury for his troubles, boy starts living with sister. Now tell me, did I describe the Index Arc or the Three Stories Arc?

Why, thank you! I pride myself in my cheeky bastard side.

Bluejack222: Close enough. Might want to pay attention to the gender of the name next time.

The Whole Horse: Yeah, maybe that was a bit on the nose. Of course there will be magic side shenanigans. I just need to come up with more ways for the girls to get involved. The biggest hurdle would have to be that a lot of the magic side events drag Touma out of Acadamy City. It's Touma, what do you think when it comes to him and girls? Actually, I might tone it down a little bit and have him notice. Just a little. Sorry, but talking about IT is spoiler territory, as is reactions to his right hand.

GoshujisamaZ: I'm glad you like the story! Good to know that I've cleared up your confusion.

jeancampos147: Good guess! Glad you enjoyed the chapter.

AriaTheLostMelody: Good guess! (I'm starting to sound like a broken record.)

fencer29: As I explained above, the anime timeline has most of these events happen with mostly very little overlap, so I will still cover all the magic side events. How I implement the other characters will be seen when the time comes.

omegazero2718: Good guess! (The broken record is back!)

Yourfellowwriter: Nice to know I grabbed you attention, and the knowledge that my story is the only one you have currently Favorited is an honor that words can't describe. I'll try to go for longer chapters. Nice to know I inspired you!

Guest (1): Good guess! (Some one help me!)

RedSS: I felt like there weren't enough of these. I'll keep it going for as long as I can!

DeiLucem: I'll keep it going for as long as I can! (Dang it! I broke another record!)

RPGPersona: Glad to see you have plenty to say as always. I'm glad you liked the comedy, I always saw myself as a bit of a comedian. Like I said, I'm working with the anime timeline, so very little overlap with events. Trust me, this chapter is going to be interesting.

Well, that took a while. Anyway, on to the disclaimer! (Dang it! how many of these records have I broken at some point?!)

Disclaimer: All characters and plotlines of the "A Certain" franchise are credited to Kazuma Kamachi.

Chapter 4: Espers' Dreams

"Hot, hot, it is so hot in here," Kuroko complained as she fanned herself.

Sitting next to Kuroko was a sleeping Mikoto. Across from the, was Touma, who had elected to take off his white button-down shirt, leaving him in his orange tee shirt. The three students were sitting in a waiting room at a hospital, waiting for a certain doctor to return.

"Well, we have Zapper to thank for that. She did overload that power plant last night," Touma commented.

"You know, we could have prevented this if you were there to keep her in check with your right hand," Kuroko argued.

"Cut me some slack, my shirt was still in the wash! I had to air dry it last night after Zapper fried the power plant," Touma defended.

Their argument didn't last long, as their target, Dr. Kiyama was approaching the group after having checked on all the comatose patients.

"Come on, wake up! Please open your eyes, Sissy!" Kuroko begged, shaking the sleeping girl.

"Man, this girl can sleep," Touma said in exasperation, rubbing his head.

"Sissy, wake up already," Kuroko continued before getting a perverse look in her eyes and starting to drool.

Kuroko focused on the sleeping Mikoto's lips, perfectly still and slightly opened. It was the perfect opportunity for anyone with a crush. Touma noticed this too and decided to give the fantasizing girl a fair warning.

"Don't even think about it," Touma warned his teacher and field partner.

"Okay, I won't think about it. I'll just go for it and see if a kiss will help," Kuroko said, leaning for the kill.

"You know she's just going to punch you just before you can do it," Touma added.

Just before Kuroko could land the kiss, Mikoto's eyes fluttered open. In the single second she was awake, she took in a mountain load of information. In the first half of the second, she saw Touma sitting across from her. He was leaning back into his seat and had his white shirt off, making his decently built chest partially visible through the sweaty orange shirt. As much as she would have loved to deny enjoying the view, it was his face that earned her attention. He had a smug look on his face and seemed to be waiting for some inevitable outcome. This was a red flag in Mikoto's book.

In the second half of the second, she noticed that Kuroko was extremely close. Her eyes were closed, and her lips were puckered up. Touma's smug look suddenly made sense, and she reacted accordingly. She quickly got out of her seat, now wide awake, and pounded her fist into the top of Kuroko's head with a loud bang.

"This isn't a fairy tale, you know," Mikoto reprimanded her roommate.

"I warned you," Touma said as he got up, his white shirt hanging over his shoulder.

"But it did work. You're awake now, aren't you?" Kuroko reasoned.

"That's unexpected. Why are you three still here?" Kiyama asked.

Touma turned around in order to look her in the eyes with a serious fire behind his own.

"There's somethings we need to ask you," Touma answered.

"I suppose I can spare you the time, but I find it unbelievably hot in here," Kiyama noted, "It's the middle of summer, shouldn't they at least turn on the air conditioning for us?"

"You do make a good point," Kuroko agreed.

"I'm very sorry, but we had a power outage last night," a passing nurse said, "Things haven't been resorted to normal quite yet."

"Anything you'd like to say for yourself, Zapper," Touma asked sarcastically.

"Oh, let it go, idiot!" Mikoto began to argue, but stopped when she noticed Kiyama do something with her necktie.

"Alright then, they're using emergency power for basic operations and critical patients," Kiyama concluded as she pulled off her tie.

The two girls could only watch in shock as Kiyama began to take off all her clothes. As for Touma, he had quickly turned around and shielded his eyes as to not see anything forbidden for a teenage boy.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Touma yelled in exasperation.

"Again? Seriously?" Mikoto asked in shock.

"Your solution to this is to take off all you're clothing?!" Kuroko yelled.

"Well, it's really hot in here, you know," the half-naked researcher reasoned.

"We're not alone, there are people everywhere! Heck, there's a guy within a meter of you!" Kuroko argued.

"What if I just leave my underwear on?" Kiyama negotiated, "Besides, this boy here also removed an article of clothing."

"No! That's not going to work!" Kuroko yelled as she began to button up the doctor's shirt.

"Besides, I only did that because I'm wearing something perfectly acceptable under the first shirt! Now put your clothes back on before I get accused of assaulting you like last time!" Touma begged.

"Oh, alright," Kiyama conceded.

"Dr. Kiyama, we're really interested in your opinion on these patients as a specialist," Mikoto requested.

"I'd be happy to help you," Kiyama said in a monotone voice, "It's so hot in here."

A little while later, the three students had taken Dr. Kiyama to their usual hang out, Joseph's Coffee and Restaurant, to discuss the coma patients. The four of them were all seated at a booth with a few drinks of their choice to help ease the heat and focus. Unfortunately, was focused on another topic.

"I'd like to continue where we left off, it it's okay. Why are swimsuits acceptable, and underwear is not when they both expose the same amount of skin?"

"No, that isn't the point," the two girls answered flatly.

"Hmm, she brings up a good question," Touma whispered to himself, holding his chin.

"You can't be serious," the middle schoolers responded in mild shock.

"Sorry, ignore that," Touma said, waving off the topic, "Tsuchimokado and Aogami dragged me into one of their debates the other day."

Heeding Touma's advice, the group got straight to the point and explained to Kiyama the rumor of the Level Upper. The explanation itself didn't last very long as they themselves knew very little about the device.

"This… Level Upper… can you tell me what kind of thing it is?" Kiyama asked, "What does it do? How is it used?"

"Unfortunately, we don't know." Kuroko admitted.

"Have anything you'd like to say for yourself?" Mikoto asked, turning her attention to Touma.

"Is now really the time to get back at me for the jab I made earlier?" Touma responded in exasperation.

"No details so far, but it might have something to do with who have fallen into comas recently," Kiyama concluded, "That's what you think, yes?"

"Pretty much," Touma confirmed.

"Why bring this problem to me," Kiyama continued.

"We've been giving it some serious thought lately," Kuroko explained, "It seems that elevating one's ability might well disrupt normal brain function. If that's the case, then I think we'll need help when we find this thing, and I think your professional experience could be invaluable."

"This is something I'd be happy to help with. I am a cerebral physiologist, it's my area. Aside from that, there is something else that's been bothering me," the baggy eyed researcher said as she looked out the window, "Who are those girls?"

Much to the students' surprise, Uiharu and Saten could be seen just outside the window, smiling at them. This normally wouldn't be such a strange sight, were it not for the fact that Saten was pressed against the glass, wearing a much larger grin then one would expect from someone who was happy to see her friends.

After letting themselves in the restaurant, Uiharu and Saten joined their friends at the booth and order a few things for themselves. The two were quickly caught up on the situation, making sure everyone was on the same page.

"Oh, so you're a brain doctor?" Uiharu asked for confirmation.

"Are you here to look at Shirai's brain?" Saten joked.

"We're conferring with her about the Level Upper matter," Kuroko explained.

"Well, if that's the case…" Saten said cheerfully as she reached into her pocket.

"This is serious. Anybody found in possession of it will be taken into custody," Mikoto said seriously.

As Mikoto said this, Saten stopped in her tracks. She had just pulled out a music player, but didn't seem to do anything further with it, something Touma took notice of.

"Isn't that a bit extreme?" Uiharu asked.

"The investigation is ongoing, so I can't tell you everything," Kuroko explained, "It does seem that its users suffer some side effects."

Saten tightened her grip on the music player, again, not escaping Touma's notice.

"Anyway, I find the users of any drug usually turn to crime," Kuroko admitted.

"Hey, Saten, something bothering you?" Touma asked in concern.

"Oh, nothing! Nothing at all," Saten insisted, hastily putting away the music player and accidentally spilling a glass of tea onto Kiyama's stockings.

"Ah! I'm so sorry!" Saten apologized.

"Please don't worry about it. It just got on my stockings, so once I take them off…" Kiyama explained as she got out of her seat and did her usually routine.

The girls, save for Kuroko, could only respond with a surprised blush as Kiyama took off her skirt and began to roll down her stained stockings. Touma desperately turned away for the as to not see anything he shouldn't as Kiyama stripped in front of him for the second time that day. Kuroko, unlike the other girls, could only respond in anger at this point.

"How many times do we have to tell you not to take you're clothing off while you're in public!" Kuroko yelled.

"Look at me for a second. I'm not particularly special. No man in here is going to care about seeing my body," Kiyama calmly reasoned.

"Everyone has different tastes, so you can't really know! Besides which, it's not only men you should be thinking about, you know!" Kuroko argued.

"Seriously, just keep your clothes on!" Touma begged, "This is the third time you've done this in front of me, and something tells me third times the bad luck charm in this case!"

"I can't believe it," a familiar boy's voice said nearby.

"Kami was telling the truth," a second voice added, using a nickname only a single person ever used.

Looking in the direction of the voices, the group saw Tsuchimokado and Aogami standing not too far away. They were looking straight at the group with low jaws and, in Tsuchimokado's case, eyes wide. Such a reaction was expected from two of the most open perverts and girl enthusiasts you'd be likely to meet.

"What are you two doing here?!" Touma yelled in terror.

"We were just stopping by for lunch," Aogami explained.

"We didn't expect to see you here with your middle school girls and the fabled stripping lady you told us you ran into," Tsuchimokado added.

"You told them about that?!" Mikoto yelled, demanding answers.

"It was a rough day! I was accused for assaulting someone, nearly missed an important sale, lost my weekly supply of eggs when they broke, forced to fight you, and then chased through the city with electricity aimed at my back! I needed to vent the next day!" Touma defended.

"You do realize we need to punish you for this, right Kami?" Tsuchimokado said darkly, adjusting his sunglasses.

"How dare you keep such a woman to yourself," Aogami threatened as he cracked his knuckles.

"Rotten Luck!" Touma yelled as he was dragged into another one of the Delta Force's pointless fistfights.

By some miracle, Touma was able to fend off his friends and get them to leave him alone for a little bit. It didn't necessarily mean he was going to hear the end of the topic, but he would take what he could get. By the time he had taken care of Tsuchimokado and Aogami, the sun was starting to go down and everyone decided it was time to head out.

"I know you're busy, so thank you for giving us this information," Kuroko said to the researcher.

"No, I thank you," Kiyama insisted, "This has reminded me of the time when I was a teacher. I have enjoyed it."

"I didn't realize you were a teacher before," Kuroko admitted.

"I was once," Kiyama explained before walking off, "Good bye."

"I don't know what to say. She's a little different, huh?" Kuroko mused as they watched the researcher leave.

"Aren't you a little different too?" Uiharu joked.

"Alright then," Kuroko said, ignoring the jab at her own perverse habits, "I think it's time we head back to the office now."

"That's a good idea, and we should gather whatever data we have for Dr. Kiyama," Uiharu agreed.

"Yes, your right. Okay then guys, so we're all ready to head back to the branch then, yeah?" Kuroko asked the rest of her friends, only to realize Touma, Mikoto, and Saten were all missing, "Where'd everyone go?"

'I don't want to give this up,' Saten thought as she ran through the streets of Academy City, 'It's not like I've used it yet, so I don't have to tell anyone.'

She stopped under a bridge to catch her breath, clutching the music player in her left hand.

"But I worked so hard to find it," Saten said to herself, clutching the music player tighter.

"Are you okay?" a familiar voice said not too far away.

Turning towards the voice, Saten saw Mikoto and Touma approach her with comforting looks on their faces.

"Misaka, Kamijou, why are you here?" Saten asked in confusion.

"You ran off so quickly, we thought something was wrong," Touma explained casually.

"Oh, it's nothing, really," Saten replied.

"Are you sure?" Mikoto asked in concern.

"It's just that everyone is involved in this case other than me," Saten explained as she stowed the music player into her pocket, before striking a cute pose, "I'm not Judgement or anything."

As she struck a pose, her good luck charm fell out of her pocket and landed on the ground. Noticing this, Mikoto picked up the charm and handed it back to her friend.

"Thanks, you didn't have to do that," Saten said.

"You always have that thing hanging on your bag," Mikoto observed.

"Yeah, I guess I do," Saten responded as she held up the charm, "I got if from my mom."

"You too, huh?" Touma said with a warm smile.

"I guess, but it seems silly, huh?" Saten replied, "It's not like good luck charms are scientific. At the end of the day, my mom is just superstitious. It's not like something like this can actually protect me anyway, right? It's not like it's magic."

"Your mom sounds like she's really nice. She cared enough to give you that charm," Mikoto observed.

"Yeah, she's a great mom. But I feel like I haven't been living up to expectations. It's been years and I'm still only a Level 0," Saten said longingly.

"Come on Saten, does your level really matter that much?" Touma asked.

"Not to be rude, but that's rich coming from you, Kamijou," Saten responded sadly, "You may be a Level 0, but you have a power."

"Maybe, but it's only really useful for dealing with other powers. It doesn't really do me any good outside of that," Touma countered, holding out his left hand, "Mind if I see your charm?"

"Sure, I guess," Saten responded, placing the charm in Touma's hand.

Touma examined the charm for a second before smiling and giving it back to Saten.

"Your mom has a good eye," Touma said, "This one's an especially strong one. You better keep it away from my right hand. We wouldn't want me to negate any supernatural powers it might have."

"How can you tell?" Saten asked, eyeing the charm.

"Like I said, my dad got me a lot of good luck charms as a kid. I know a thing or two about them. If it does have some sort of supernatural power to it, I'm sure you'll get some luck with your power soon. Just don't let my right hand touch it," Touma explained with a smile.

At that moment, Saten couldn't help but appreciate just how lucky she was to have such great friends. Touma and Mikoto's kind words and concerns made her feel an awful lot better. While she still didn't want to give up the Level Upper, she was going to put a bit more thought into it. She was lucky enough to have these people as friends and to have found the Level Upper. Maybe Touma was right about her good luck charm.

Now feeling much better, Saten realized she had the perfect opportunity for some teasing. Touma and Mikoto were both there alone with her to comfort her. The chance was just too good to pass up.

"You know, you two sound like a couple of parents comforting their kid right now," Saten laughed, feigning innocence.

"As if!" Mikoto denied, turning away so to keep her blush hidden.

"Of course we sound like that," Touma said obliviously, "We're worried about you. Who wouldn't sound like that when worried about someone?"

"Shut up, idiot!" Mikoto yelled, "Don't you have a sale you should be heading to or something?"

"Oh crap, I actually do!" Touma realized.

In all the excitement, he had completely forgotten that he had to restock his fridge to make up for what little food he lost in the power outage and his normal eating habits. Without saying another word, he ran off towards the nearest grocery store.

"I'll see you guys later!" Touma yelled as he ran, leaving the two girls dumbfound.

The next day, Saten was once again out on the town by herself. She did nothing but stare at the screen of her music player and its current selection. The song had no image attached to it, nor an artist listed. The only piece of information available to identify it was its title, 'Level Upper'. She contemplated playing the song that could potentially increase her ability level, but stopped when she heard a familiar voice call out to her with a very unique nickname.

"Hey, Flipper," Touma called out as he walked towards her, his Judgement armband visible, "What do you have there, some new song you downloaded?"

"Oh, hi Kamijou," Saten responded, quickly putting away the device, "Just some stupid girly song. Nothing you would like. Why are you here anyway?"

"Uiharu found some potential Level Upper distribution sites, so Shirai and I decided to split up and check all of them, though I'm sure she's found one already. One of those spots just so happens to be nearby," Touma explained with a small laugh, "What about you? You're not here to get a Level Upper, are you?"

"No, of course not. Just out for some fresh air," Saten answered, not wanting to reveal her possession of a Level Upper, "I didn't even know you could get one from here."

Touma gave her a warm smile in response, but his expression suddenly changed to a very serious one.

"Listen, Saten," Touma said in a tone that matched his expression, "I know how you think and that you have issues with being a Level 0, but I need you to promise me something. If you know anything about the Level Upper, or if you've managed to get your hands on one, I need you to tell me. I know Judgement is supposed to arrest anyone in possession of one, but it's for your own safety. I need you to promise me this."

Saten could only remain silent as Touma stared her down with pleading eyes. She knew the Level Upper was dangerous, but she wanted it so badly. Touma looked like he would be understanding, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. Yes, they were both Level 0s and they should be able to relate, but Touma had a power in his right hand while she had nothing. She had the higher scores on her System Scans, but she was the one that was powerless. He had the lowest in all the city, but he had the potential to take on every Esper in the city and the Gemstones that formed naturally outside city limits. He claimed to be a normal Level 0, but he was in fact the most unique and puzzling one in the city. How could he possibly relate to her when he was in such a position?

The two Level 0s stood there for what felt like an eternity, waiting for Saten to answer. However, she never got the chance, since someone let out a scream not too far away from them.

"You said you would give it to me! Where's the Level Upper?!" the voice cried out.

Breaking form their silent conversation, Touma quickly rushed to the corner of the street where he heard the voice, with Saten following close behind out of curiosity. Upon reaching the corner, Touma recognized it as one of the potential locations for Level Upper distribution. Leaning against one of buildings, he peaked around the corner to see three guys ganging up on a fourth guy. From what he could tell, the first three guys had already used the Level Upper, and could potentially be high level Espers. That could only mean bad news for Touma.

"Damn it, this is bad," Touma whispered as he pulled out his phone, "I need to call Shirai and Anti-Skill for backup."

"Can't you deal with them?" Saten asked.

"I'm not sure I can," Touma admitted as he made his calls.

While Touma was pretty confident in his fighting abilities, he was not sure he could take on three potentially high level Espers by himself. It was not like when he saved Kuroko during his first day as a Judgement officers. This time, while the odds were three against one, all three of could have a powerful ability up their sleeves. Touma could only negate so many abilities at one time with his right hand, and is any of them had an ability to keep him from being able to touch them, he had no way to fight back. All he could do was call for backup and hope it arrived soon.

Unfortunately, while Touma was making his calls, Saten decided to come out from around the corner and try to help. By the time Touma had noticed she was gone, the most unhinged looking thug already had a grip on her head.

"Rotten luck," Touma yelled as he came out from behind the corner.

It looked like Touma had no choice. One way or another, he was going to have to fight, right at that moment.

"Hold it right there! I'm with Judgement, and your all under arrest for aggravated assault, so leave those two alone and come quietly!" Touma demanded, presenting his armband.

"You think you're something special, punk?" one of the thugs asked, as if Touma was telling some sort of joke.

"Nah, just an everyday Level 0, but I'm not going to stand by while you go around hurting others just because you have power that's nothing but illusions," Touma said, taking a fighting stance, "especially when the people you're hurting happen to be my friends."

"I couldn't agree more," a familiar voice said from the side of the thugs opposite from Touma.

Coming down the street was none other than Kuroko, someone that Touma was very glad to see.

"Nice of you to show up, partner," Touma commented with a smirk.

"Good thing I did. It looks like your bad luck put you in quite the pickle. No wonder you needed backup," Kuroko quipped.

"Seriously, another one?" one of the delinquents asked in annoyance.

"Relax, these guys will be easy," the unhinged thug said, letting go of Saten's head, "the girl is a kid, and the guy admitted to being a Level 0."

"That's right," one of the thugs yelled as he charged at Touma, "We don't even need to use our powers on this one!"

As soon as he was in range, the thug through a right straight aimed at Touma's head. However, Touma dodged to his right, letting the fist fly over his shoulder. Touma then grabbed his opponent's right arm and threw him up and over his shoulder, slamming him into the ground, incapacitating him.

"I may be a Level 0, but I'm far from powerless," Touma said as stood over the fallen thug, "Unlike you, I don't need a power to help me hold my own."

"Whatever, maybe you can hold your own, but the kid can't!" the other thug yelled as he used his power to pick up some of the surrounding metal.

He threw the metal right a Kuroko, but she teleported out of the way of the attack and reappeared right in front of him. Using her opponent's shock to her advantage, she swung her school bag at his face and knocked him to the ground with a single strike.

"Teleportation, huh?" the last thug, unhinged looking one, said with mild interest, "While it's an interesting skill, it won't do you much good against me. You Judgement types used to scare us, but now that we're stronger, those days are over!"

The thug charged at Kuroko, but she teleported behind him before he could grab her. When she reappeared, she was surprised to see that she was not behind him. Rather, he somehow got behind her and attempted to kick her. Luckily, Kuroko as able to block the attack with her bag, but was still knocked back. Realizing the situation was escalating, Kuroko attempted to use one of her needles, but found that she had completely missed him. At this point, Kuroko was at complete lose for what was happening.

However, Touma could see everything clearly from where he was. When Kuroko tried to teleport, the image of the thug seemed to bend and reposition himself behind her. The same thing happened when Kuroko tried to use her needles, except his image seemed to move forward faster than how his feet were moving. It was as if light itself was bending it an unnatural way.

"Shirai, I got it!" Touma yelled in realization, "He's using his ability to bend the light and project the image of himself somewhere else to distract and sneak up on you!"

"A literal illusion, huh?" Kuroko mused.

"I'll admit, your partner is smart. He honestly seemed a bit stupid," the thug said, "but knowing my power, Trick Heart, isn't going to help you. You can't hit me if you don't even know where I really am."

"Kamijou, get Saten and the victim to safety!" Kuroko ordered, "I'll take care of this guy! you're no good against a guy you can't punch!"

"Are you sure?" Touma asked.

"Don't worry. I just need to find some way to shatter this guy's illusions," Kuroko relied, borrowing Touma's catch phrase.

"Alright then, good luck," Touma said as he picked up the original victim and ushered Saten around the corner.

"It will defiantly be better than yours," Kuroko quipped before taking a defensive stance.

While escorting the victim and Saten away from the fight, Touma had run into the Anti-Skill officers that he called in. He left the victim in the care of one of the Anti-Skill armored vehicles, but Saten had once again run off while he wasn't looking. Not having time to worry about her at the moment, Touma guided the rest of the Anti-Skill officers towards the scene of the crime. By the time they had gotten there, the building had collapsed, and Kuroko had the thug on his knees in fear.

"I see you took care of things neatly," Touma said sarcastically as he approached his partner, noting the enormous mess she made of the building.

"Save the attitude for later. Now," Kuroko replied before turning her attention to her convict, "what's with the music player? Surely you can do better than that."

"But, the Level Upper," the thug said uneasily, "it's a song."

"What?" the two Judgement officers asked in confusion, completely unaware that Saten was watching from around the corner.

Now knowing that Kuroko was safe and the thugs were in custody, Saten had distanced herself form the crime scene. Even though this knowledge put her at ease, she was not proud, not in the slightest. The two of them were similar in so many ways, but Kuroko's status as a Level 4 made all the difference. Kuroko was able to fight and collapse entire buildings, but Saten was nothing but a burden, a liability.

'How could a Level 0 relate to an Esper? And how could a Level 0 with no power relate to one with a power as legendary as Kamijou's right hand?' Saten thought to herself, 'I wish I knew.'

While wandering the city, Saten ran into a couple of her friends from school. Like her, they were also Level 0s and struggled with the reality that they had to keep their grades up but had no power to show for it. Eventually, the conversation turned to the topic of the rumored Level Upper, something sought by many, but unattainable to most without paying a hefty price on the black market. In that moment, Saten did something that she would have never done in front of her friends from Judgement.

She revealed she had a Level Upper.

Well, that was fun.

Ya see what I did with the chapter title? Ya know, since Espers are in comas and ever student in Academy City (save for Touma) dreams of having a high level ability and something like the Level Upper to help them level-up faster. Ya get it? Ah, I'm sure you got it.

Looking at the footnote and the headnote now, I wondering if I should do a little more down here. Maybe something like "Taiga Dojo" from Fate/Stay Night VN and Carnival Phantasm. Eh, I'll sleep on it.

I hope you all liked the chapter. Leave a review and tell me what you thought.