Hello Everyone, Reader Here! Leaving the notes at the bottom, so enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN A CERTAIN MAGIC INDEX

Entrance

It was late at night in the futuristic Academy City, specifically in District sixteen. The street lights illuminated the streets though few people were out at this hour. Many of the students were enrolled with many schools and academies which usually enforced a strict curfew, leading to the streets being very desolate during the late night and early morning.

The steady beat of footsteps walking down the sidewalk interrupted the heavy silence. A lone boy with spiky black hair and blue eyes held his hands in his pockets while he lazily gazed at the ground, his features hidden under the shadows. Around his neck was the strap of an over the shoulder bag that rested against his lower back.

After walking for a short while, he stopped in front of a small convenience store, reaching down to pull a piece of black fabric over his mouth and nose while also putting on a pair of shaded sunglasses. The door automatically opened and he cautiously entered the establishment.

As he expected the place was empty besides himself. There wasn't even a cashier, only an automatic register and a small cylinder shaped security robot sitting in the corner of the store. For a few minutes, he walked up and down the few isles to make absolutely sure that the store was entirely empty. Seeing that he was the only living person there, he walked up to the security robot and pulled out a beaten up black rectangular device.

Pressing a red button on the side, the device let out a small electrical discharge, incapacitating the robot and the nearby cameras as well. Working quickly the teen ran to the cash register and inserted a small USB drive into an open port. The USB lit up for a second before the cash drawer opened and he went to work. He greedily grabbed wads of cash and stuffed them into his bag before turning his attention to where the stores main safe would be located.

He rushed to the door that he assumed would lead to the stores backroom. Opening it, he spotted a sleeping security guard with a small tablet in his lap and his head positioned downward. In front of him was a series of monitors that had a message displayed saying "DISCONNECTED" on them. Stealthily he walked up to the man and slowly edged past him to get to the safe. Once he reached the safe the thief repeated what he had done to the register and its small door opened. Grabbing as much cash as the teen could handle, he heard the sounds of a moving chair and loud yawning. The thief and the security guard locked eyes for a second before the security guard took action.

"Stop! Put your-" he said while attempting to grab his stun baton. The guard stopped when the teen reached into his bag and pulled out a small pistol and took aim directly at him.

"I suggest you don't make any sudden movements or I'll shoot. Understand?" spoke the boy. The man retracted his arms and held them in the air while furiously nodding. The thief slowly moved to the guard and sent a heavy hitting punch to the man's gut that knocked him out before he hit the table. However, in doing so, caused the man's hand to accidentally hit the alarm button as he collapsed.

"Warning: Local Judgement and Anti-Skill forces have been notified. Estimated arrival time: 5 Minutes." spoke the autonomous female voice.

"Such Misfortune!" whined the boy as he threw the pistol into his bag and ran straight out of the store and into the streets outside. Already he could hear the sirens of an Anti-Skill car in the distance. He doubled his pace and ran into a nearby alleyway to throw them off his scent.

An Anti-Skill car with its sirens blaring pulled up to a convenience store and stopped. Pressing open the door, one of the officers stepped out of the car and pulled her pistol from its holster. She had short reddish hair and wore an armored Anti-Skill uniform and was armed with a heavy duty pistol. While she cautiously approached the entrance of the store, her partner held a more relaxed posture and didn't even pull out her gun when she exited the vehicle. She herself had long, snow-like hair and a pale complexion, wearing a simple officers uniform. In her holster was a standard issue firearm that most Anti-Skill officers carried.

"Why are you so on edge all the time, Mika? It's probably just another false alarm, you know?" she said lazily while she caught up with the other female officer. The girl sighed loudly before the two walked up to the store's entrance.

"I know. But you can never be too careful when on duty. You should be on alert more often. Your laziness might be your own downfall Yuki." she said while the door opened and she entered carefully. The energetic girl rolled her eyes before following her partner into the convenience store.

As she entered the place, everything appeared as if everything was normal, until she spotted that the various electronics around the store had been tampered with. Spotting the clearly damaged security bot, turned off cameras and open door to the backroom, she pulled out her gun and turned to Mika.

"Cover for me while I enter the back room," she said, turning on her serious mode. The girl nodded and took position beside the door and took aim with her pistol while peering through the door crack. The red-haired girl motioned for Yuki to enter and she kicked open the door, rushing into the room with haste.

She quickly scanned the room, seeing the safe opened and empty but spotted no intruder. The officer noted the unconscious security guard with his face planted on the desk She bent down and pulled him over, checking his pulse and any signs of wounds. Other than a few bruises, and to her guess, a few broken bones, he would most likely be fine.

"Mika, call for backup and an ambulance for him and search the premise. I'll look around the area to see if our thief is still in the area," she yelled while she ran out of the store. The more professional police officer looked as if she was going to say something but instead did what she was told.

As Yuki ran outside she stood in place outside the automatic doors. She activated her esper ability, Sight Break, which allowed her to look for clues that would ordinarily be missed by the naked human eye. Seeing a faint trail of footprints on the ground she quickly began to follow them into a nearby alley. She raced around every turn and corner while dodging over trash and debris scattered about. The farther she ran the clearer the footprints became

'They must be close!' she yelled in her mind. However, soon the more the footprints became hazy and eventually she felt as if her ability had been entirely shut off.

"What... the hell...?" she questioned. She shook her head and refocused herself on tracking the criminal. The young officer heard nearby what sounded like the panting of a male. The officer pressed her back against the wall and peered around the corner. There standing was probably a teenager, who was heavily breathing while pressing his arm on a nearby wall. Blood stained his gloves and his duffel bag visibly loading him down. He must be the criminal she was looking for!

"Stop right there!" she yelled as she drew her gun. The teen quickly turned to meet her with his body giving off a look of surprise. His face was covered in a mask and a pair of sunglasses hid his eyes, and his hair hidden under a beanie. Instead of raising his hands in surrender, he reached into his duffel bag for what she assumed was a gun. Wanting to get the first shot, she pressed the trigger.

Thief P.O.V

He rolled behind a nearby dumpster to avoid the gunshot. He heard the pang and saw the sparks of the bullet hitting the metal side. Looking around, he saw that his bag was too far away to try to grab his gun, so he would have to use something else. The boy saw a small broken metal pipe and grabbed it, waiting until she was close enough to attack. When she was in position, the thief jumped from cover and threw the pipe directly at her. The pipe smashed into her face and she stumbled back a few steps while she tried to recover her footing. The boy charged at her and slapped the gun out of her hand, landing in a pool of water and mud nearby.

"This guy's good..." he heard her mutter while she raised her fists. She sent a swift punch at his chest that he barely managed to dodge by pushing himself backward. The two stood in place for a moment, neither attacking or even speaking out. They just stood like two hunters, waiting for the other to make the first move.

"Dammit! I don't have time for this!" he yelled internally. The boy needed to end the fight in one swift attack, for he knew for every second he remained in that place, the more ant-skill officers would swarm the area like ants. Then he would definitely be screwed.

She took the initiative by sending a punch at his neck. He dodged right of the attack and threw his fist directly into the woman's face. He nearly cringed as he heard what sounded like twigs snapping as he felt the bones in her face be crushed. The force of the attack sent her back as her body crashed to the ground with a loud thud, blood mixing with the dirt underneath. The woman tried to pull herself up, but she winced in pain each time she tried before giving up.

He didn't waste time, reaching down and grabbing his large duffel bag, hastily draping the strap over his neck and running like a mad man away from the scene. At the other end of the alley, he heard multiple footsteps of people entering the scene.

"Don't let him escape!" yelled one of them. Peering backward, he saw a small group of anti-skill officers and a member of Judgement at the end of the alley, circling around the defeated woman. One of them, a teen girl, stood at the front of the group with her right arm extended. In her hand, a small swirling ball was being formed while the others pulled out their guns. He gulped as he nearly reached the end of the alley, hoping he would be able to escape mostly unscathed. Then he heard the sounds of wind slashing behind him and the sounds of bullets being shot.

Not even turning, he simply raised his right arm when the wind attack was about to reach him. As the attacked connected, a loud noise blared as the ball disappeared in a flash. The bullets whipped past him as he escaped from the alley and continued to be chased around the city. He ran until the sounds of footsteps behind him died out and he reached a more familiar area, where he steadily made his way back to where he lived.

Yuki P.O.V

The first thing Yuki felt was the odd feeling of cold metal and a massive headache when she woke up. Her fluttering amethyst eyes gazed at the cieling of the assumed ambulance while her senses slowly returned to her. The sounds of a police siren and the footsteps nearby nauseated her even more than she already was. As she tried to pull herself up, a wave of pain came over her as she was forced back onto the floor of the ambulance.

"You should stay still Yuki, that thug got you pretty good." said the high pitched voice of her partner. She merely groaned while closing her pain filled eyes.

"What's the damage report?" responded the wounded officer.

"If you're talking about yourself, you got a fractured nose, a nasty bruise and some swelling around your face. If you mean the store, then..." the girl was interrupted when Yuki raised her hand.

"It's fine, Mika. I'll read the rest in the report when, you know, my head stops pounding like I'm having a hangover..." she responded with a small smile.

"How did you let the suspect escape?!" the pair heard nearby, interrupting their conversation.

"I-I don't k-know sir, I made sure my attack was perfect..." spoke another, more timid voice. She recognized the voice as the girl who appeared on the scene when the thief knocked her out in the alley. She opened her eyes to see that the Judgement officer in question was being interrogated by their Anti-Skill commander known as Jinjii Ryuko. He was known to be a total hardass with little tolerance towards failure.

"Then how the hell did they escape, if you attack was 'perfect'?"

"I-It just disappeared! When the ball reached his right arm, it just sorta vanished into thin air!"

The stringent commander seemed unimpressed with her explanation, as he maintained his neutral face while holding his head in his hands. Sighing loudly, he shook his head and walked away to talk with another officer on the scene. The other officers who first responded to the area seem too huddle together in a small group with the dejected officer.

"You say it just disappeared? How can that be...?" spoke one.

"You know, I've heard of somebody with a power like that. Apparently, another squad of Anti-Skill in District 19 had a run in with someone with a similar, if not, the same power." spoke another nervously.

Yuki recalled her fight with the suspect just a few minutes prior. Although on the surface he seemed like your average thug, the power behind his punch and his fast thinking showed that he was at least competent fighter. That, or he was very lucky. Either way, the thought of someone having the ability to cancel out other esper powers was quite a terrifying prospect. Considering that many Anti-SKill, Judgement and almost all espers mainly relied on their esper powers for combat, having their powers be useless would be greatly detrimental to their performance.

"It's just a pointless rumor... I should just sleep this headache away..." she thought while laying her head back on the ambulance floor. Although she could've sworn she heard the concerned voice of her partner, it didn't matter to the exhausted mind as she fell asleep again.

The unfortunate criminal pressed his back against the cold concrete wall as he heavily breathed in and out. His bag filled with stolen cash sat next to him, while he pulled down his face mask and took off his glasses, placing them in his pocket while dropping himself to the ground. The thief reached over and pulled the large bag and opened its contents, counting through the stacks of Yen he had managed to steal. After counting through the entire bag, he managed to estimate that he had around 23,000 yen from the combined register and safe.

He sighed while throwing the bag to the side, pressing his back against the wall while looking up at the night sky. He felt the cool summer evening breeze press against his face while various thoughts raced through his mind. This night was like many other nights for the most unfortunate resident of Academy City. He had entered into cities dark underbelly just after he was sent to the city by his father. He had seen some of the darkest things the city had to offer, and after years of dealing with the same criminal activities over and over again, had become absolutely sick of it.

When he had arrived in Academy City, he had few friends and due to his unlucky nature, had a very difficult time making them. Being in such a vulnerable state, his young mind was easily swayed to things that he would come to later regret, under the guise of helping him. Although at school he had made a few good friends, which gave him insight into his own life, even after a few years had got him to reconsider his criminal life as a whole. Though he was sure no one at his school knew of his nightly adventures.

Feeling something vibrate in his pocket, he reached down and pulled out his cellphone then scrolled through his messages. He had a message from the famed 'Iron Wall Girl' of his class, a certain busty Fukiyose Seiri, who had sent a long message reminding him to study for a test they would take the next day. Or should he say today, as it was almost four in the morning and he would need to be in school by 9 A.M.

Sighing loudly, he closed the phone and shoved it into his pocket and pulled himself up from the ground. Picking up the bag full of cash, he heaved it over his back and made his way to his student dorm. Although many would call him a hopeless moron, the one thing he felt he was good at, other than his criminal skills and his special right arm, was his ability to work with technology. Due to many complicated locks and security systems he had to go through during his time as a thief, he had become very acquainted with the art of hacking and manipulating technology. And so, he had easily hacked into the dorms camera systems to replay old footage on nights when he would go out on his jobs or heists. Though he certainly was not on the level of some electrokinesis users or expert hackers.

Reaching the door to his room, he swiped his student card and the door unlocked, pressing it open and dropping the heavy sack in a nearby closet. He put his criminal gear away as well, dressing in his signature orange shirt and a pair of shorts. He decided to eat a small sandwich to satisfy his hunger before he went to bed. With his sandwich in hand and himself sitting on the hastily made bed, he turned on the T.V and surfed through the various channels to see if anything interesting was on while eating his food.

"...In other news, just less than an hour ago, a convenience store in District 16 was attacked by a thief, who managed to make away with over 20,000 Yen. If you happen to run into any suspicious individuals, please note that they are considered armed and dangerous. Please report any sightings to your local Anti-Sk-" he turned off the T.V with the remote. Touma looks down at his right hand and squeezed into a ball, closing his eyes while laying back against the soft mattress.

"Never again..." he spoke quietly. He looked at the ceiling with a serious expression on his face. He swore in his mind that he would give up this lifestyle of being a criminal. Never would he steal, hurt or... kill.

He grimaced at the idea of killing again. That period had been the absolute darkest point that he had fallen into during his time in the dark side of Academy City. Climbing out of that hole was likely the toughest part of his entire experience of being a criminal. He shook his head and pushed those nasty thoughts aside as he closed his eyes and drifted to sleep with the sound of the howling wind outside.

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! This was an idea that stemmed from my recent obsession with the series. I've been writing these criminal fics for a few different series so I thought I might try it with this one as well. As for those other series I write, they will be updated... soon... so don't worry. As always, thanks for reading, and have a good one!

Next Chapter: Dawn's Shadow I