School District 7
The city was silent—silent to an almost abnormal degree. It was in this hushed city that our story's heroine found herself. The streets were deserted, illuminated not only by the street lamps but also by the light escaping from the buildings. This combination created a sort of blue filter. There wasn't a trace of wind, only an occasional gentle breeze, and not a single cloud marred the sky; the moon shone imposing and full.
It was along these empty streets that Uiharu Kazari, with flowers adorning her hair and standing out in the city's darkness, hurried to her dormitory.
She had missed the last bus after getting distracted while helping an elderly man carry his shopping bags, and now here she was, alone in the midst of District 7's unnerving silence—everything seemed normal.
Then, she saw something out of the ordinary.
"Is that a little boy?" she wondered aloud, scarcely believing the scene before her.
Across the street, casually walking under the city lights, was a boy who appeared to be about seven or eight years old.
Small and slight, he should have evoked sympathy—but what truly froze Uiharu's heart was not his innocent appearance but the fact that he was covered in blood.
His face was smeared with dirt, his school uniform torn in several places, and grotesque, viscous red droplets dripped from his tiny hands.
She panted, her eyes widening in shock; the scene was surreal beyond belief. The sight was so bizarre and unsettling that Uiharu lost focus on the path ahead, failing to notice the obstacle before her.
CLANG!
"Ow!"
She collided headfirst with a streetlight pole. A sharp pain shot across her forehead, and when, dazed, she turned to look again...
the boy had vanished.
There wasn't any sign of him—nothing. It was as if he were a ghost, but Uiharu knew ghosts didn't exist. So, where had the boy gone?
Her heart began to race. A small boy, wandering about bleeding? At this late hour, she couldn't just walk away. The boy clearly needed help. Despite the risk of being late for her dormitory, she couldn't forgive herself if he got hurt because she left him behind.
Determined, she began searching for the boy—combing through adjacent streets and alleys, peeking under parked cars—yet there were no footprints, no bloodstains, no sounds. It was as if he had evaporated into thin air.
Then, a voice shattered the silence.
"I did what you wanted, now leave me alone!"
The desperate tone, clearly that of an adult man, came from a nearby parking lot.
Quietly, Uiharu moved toward the source of the voice and, taking care, hid behind a metal trash can to watch. There she saw three teenagers surrounding a man in a lab coat, probably a scientist. His face was etched with fear and sweat; his eyes pleaded desperately for help.
"You know too much, old man," one of the thugs sneered with a sadistic smile.
Before Uiharu could react, what appeared to be the leader of the group raised his hand. Small strands emerged from his clothing—likely manipulated by esper powers—and shot out like needles toward the scientist. The impact was both precise and brutal: the strands pierced the man's heart, splattering blood across the parking lot. The sound of his collapsing body echoed along the deserted street.
"N-no..." Uiharu whispered in horror.
Unfortunately, her slight sound did not go unnoticed.
Abruptly, the three delinquents turned toward her. "Who's there?!"
Her blood ran cold. Rising quickly, Uiharu bolted with all her might; her heart pounded so fiercely it seemed ready to burst. Behind her, she heard mocking laughter and hurried footsteps.
"Catch her!" shouted the leader.
"Don't let her escape!" added one of the others.
She ran, darting into a narrow alley before slipping inside an apartment complex. Then she sprinted toward the nearest Judgment headquarters; she needed to find a safe haven, fast.
Was this the beginning of a nightmare—or perhaps, a dream?
That night, two monumental events would occur—events that would change Academy City in ways even its founder had never anticipated:
The birth of a heroine.
The start of a romance.
In the Alleyways
Uiharu ran as though her life depended on it—and indeed, it did. The streets were cold and empty; the city now felt like an endless labyrinth. After what seemed like an eternity of running, she hid in a narrow alley. Covering her mouth with her hand to stifle her breath, she strained to listen for any following footsteps. Then… silence.
Slowly, she slid down to the ground and leaned her back against the cold, grimy wall. Exhausted, her whole body trembled with fear and adrenaline.
Maybe… maybe they had given up. Perhaps they had lost sight of her.
"Idiot… I should have just minded my own business. What did I think I could do?" she muttered to herself.
Then, she heard it again
CLANG!
The sound of metal striking the wall froze her with fear. A shadow appeared at the alley's entrance—a boy had found her.
He held a metal pipe in his hand and smirked disdainfully. It seemed the group had split up.
"Sweet little girls shouldn't be out running alone at night… it's dangerous, you know?"
Stumbling to her feet, Uiharu raised her hands in surrender. "P-please… let me go… I didn't see anything..."
The thug laughed. "Oh… you think I'll believe that? Give me a kiss, and I'll let you go. I'll tell the others that another group caught you."
That infuriated Uiharu, but knowing she couldn't win a fight, she tried to run—big mistake.
Before she could react, a glass bottle fell from the sky and struck her head directly. Shards cut into her, becoming lodged in her head and face. Stunned, her frail knees buckled, and her vision blurred.
The boy advanced slowly, lifting the metal pipe to finish her off quickly.
"Wrong choice. Good night, little flower."
The blow came, and Uiharu instinctively raised her arm to defend herself. As soon as the pipe touched her skin, an intense heat surged through it.
The thug screamed and dropped his weapon.
"AAH! What the hell is this?!"
Confused, Uiharu stared at him and then at her own arm—it too was burned. Could this be her power? But hadn't it been supposed to work only in her hands? Uiharu decided to save her questions for later.
She didn't know exactly what she had done, nor did she wish to risk trying again.
Without wasting another moment, she turned and ran once more. She needed to escape—she was not a fighter like Shirai Kuroko or Misaka Mikoto.
"You're not going to escape!" the thug bellowed, his plans undeterred.
She heard the clatter of stones shifting. Suddenly, a stone fell from the sky, striking her leg and sending her stumbling. When she looked up, what she saw took her breath away: the sky above was laden with floating debris—trash, broken bottles, stones, old boxes—all suspended by an esper ability.
"Ah… that's his power," she murmured, losing hope of surviving. Thoughts of Kuroko, Saten, and Misaka—her dearest friends—filled her mind. She would never see them again. She wouldn't see her family again.
This was the end…
No.
"I can't give up. They'd never forgive me," she whispered to herself.
Gathering her courage, she turned to face her enemy. Though her body trembled, she took a step forward, then another, and charged at him.
Fear gripped her, but she knew her only chance of escaping was to defeat him. Sprinting fast in his direction, the falling debris rained down around her. Despite being struck by many objects, she pressed on—she was going to survive, she had to.
Uiharu grabbed the metal pipe lying on the ground and swung it with all her might at the attacker. Raising it high above her head, she spun it, pouring every ounce of strength into her strike.
But.
She missed, however.
The thug seized the opportunity and grabbed her hand.
Uiharu's body began to float as if gravity itself had forgotten her his power was lifting her.
"You were pretty cute… what a pity. This fall is going to be ugly," the thug mocked.
At that moment, shards of glass flew directly into his face, one even striking his eye, He screamed in pain, clutching his face.
Uiharu had improvised, using the broken glass from the bottle that had hit her head as makeshift weapons, she knew a direct fight was not in her favor.
In the world of espers, power is calculated, if one cannot concentrate, failure is inevitable and that was exactly what had happened.
It was exactly what Uiharu wanted.
All the objects in the air trash, stones, bottles, even Uiharu herself, began to fall onto the thug.
The impact was brutal, dust and debris flew everywhere.
Moments later.
Uiharu slowly rose from the wreckage, limping. Her body trembled and bled; she was dirty, injured, and her heart pounded fiercely in her chest. Yet, she was alive.
She began leaving the alley, already searching for the nearest hospital.
However, amidst it all, she failed to notice a third figure in the scene—positioned nearby, high atop a building.
There, a little boy stood with a knife in his left hand, ready to intervene if Uiharu couldn't save herself. But when he saw the Judgment bracelet on her arm, he decided only to watch.
"She's so cool," the little boy murmured admiringly. Anyone observing closely would have noticed his rosy cheeks and heart-filled eyes.
Then the boy yawned, he was sleepy, and his dormitory was very far away. Lacking any sense of self-preservation, he decided to sleep right there on the unknown rooftop.
That night marked the true beginning of the story for our two fragile heroes.