Chapter 6: To Reacquaint

The bustling streets of District 7 had many students doing whatever students did before curfew. Windmills spun and robots cleaned.

My feet dragged along the sidewalk—bag in my left hand. With strained breaths, I made my way back to the apartment with detergent acquired.

A headache was steadily growing and my body protested any strenuous movements. With each step, I moved slower and slower.

Why did I think it was a good idea to leave the apartment? Who needs clean clothes anyway, what I need is a break…

Drops of water ran down my face. Due to the high humidity of Japan, there were plenty of water molecules in the air that I could use to cool down.

Speaking of water, I should really get something to drink.

I searched my surroundings for the nearest restaurant. After passing by the occasional park, student dorm, and delinquent riddled alleys; I found it.

The first restaurant I spotted was a surprise. Not one I would've expected to find in Academy city, but nonetheless it was there.

Pizza Hut

Sliding doors silently opened. The air conditioned building was welcoming and the lines were short.

With the menu in the corner of my eyes, I checked my wallet. The amount of yen I had was enough to buy a small cup of water and a side.

I don't even have enough on me for a pizza. And why is the salad so cheap?

Ordering a cup of water along with a salad, I made my way to the nearest empty two person table.

My arm and legs loosened as I leaned into the cushioned chair. For a brief moment, I closed my eyes and considered sleeping right then and there.

Knowing better, I sat back up and ate some of the salad. It was crunchy and bitter. Probably the healthiest thing I'd had in a while.

Just as I was taking a sip of water, my somewhat decent mood was cut in two by an unwanted interruption.

"You!" The owner of the exclamation sounded slightly vexed. I tilted the cup down to see what the commotion was.

It was a familiar sight. Brown hair, hard gaze, and a Tokiwadai uniform.

Misaka Mikoto didn't look particularly happy.

"Do you need something?" My voice was muffled as the cup still obstructed a portion of my face. I had no intention of making any sudden movements.

"Don't play dumb with me. It's obviously you who's been creating the weird electrical distortion." Her eyes were narrowed and held little room for discretion.

I, on the other hand, had every reason to handle this as carefully as possible.

Setting the cup down, I folded my fingers and leaned into the chair. "Why don't you sit down. We can clear this up without disrupting the other patrons' meals."

She opened her mouth to protest, but then considered the validity of my words. With a frown, she pulled out a chair and sat across from me.

This was less than ideal. While I may have thrown the premise of adhering to canon out the window; dealing with an actual level 5 was going to have consequences if I didn't leave soon.

"Let's start from the beginning. How might I be causing a problem?" I chose my words carefully, trying to come across as diplomatic as possible.

Surprised by the development, Misaka Mikoto stumbled over her words before forming a proper sentence. "Ah—I mean! There's a strange EM field emitting from this building and it feels like you're the source."

'Feels like the source'. What's that supposed to- right. She's an electromaster. If I had to guess, this EM field is a result of my use of electricity on my muscles.

Either way, she must've noticed a disturbance and tracked me. Somehow.

Level 5s are too powerful.

"Mind telling me how strong these EM waves might be?" I needed something to work with. Hopefully, she'd answer the question and let me steer this conversation elsewhere.

"The strength of the EM waves…" She mulled over the question before shooting one back. "Why should I answer that?"

She wasn't too fazed by my avoidance of her question, but it gave me enough information on her perspective.

"Judging from your response, I surmise that the waves aren't that strong, barely even noticeable." I looked her straight in the eyes. "So why are you so interested in the source?"

Misaka didn't break contact, her gaze far more piercing than my own.

She isn't buying it. I won't be able to deflect any more questions without being called out for it. Maybe I can use curfew as an excuse to leave.

Bringing myself back to the present, I examined Misaka's features to see if I could find an opening. If anything, her glare was much fiercer and her face a few shades darker.

Then her face morphed into a look that definitely wasn't anger.

Don't tell me it actually worked…

Eyes darting to the ground, the girl responded with a mumbled whisper.

"I felt a disturbance while I was at the arcade—it broke my concentration during something important…"

I wasn't sure what was more impressive, the sheer quietness of her voice or that I was able to pick it up.

What did she mess up on, the crane game? I don't recall seeing any arcades, but it might've been in that mall I passed a while ago.

With the Railgun distracted, I decided this would be my best chance at getting out of here. "Would you look at that, it's getting pretty late. Might want to avoid breaking the curfew."

On that note, I stood up, letting my hands rest on the table to keep myself stable. I masked a wince; my legs were more tired than I anticipated.

"Wha-" Misaka, startled by the sudden change of pace, didn't consider the table when standing up. With a small thud, her knees impacted the plastic surface. "Ow!"

Confident that my escape was assured, I quickly leaned down to grab my shopping bag.

However, it was in moments like these that having 'twice the pride' only led to one outcome.

My legs buckled beneath the shift in balance, sending me falling forwards. I threw my arms in front of me, hoping that neither would break.

…

Yet no pain invaded my senses. Cracking open my eyelids, I was greeted with a close up of the floor along with two arms just below my chest.

Misaka was able to catch me just before the collision. It must have been an impressive feat, considering the distance she had to travel after knocking the underside of the table.

I took a couple deep breaths to steady my heartbeat and calm myself down.

"Uh—thanks". I tried to stand up and distance myself only to find that I was unable to leave the Railgun's grasp. "You can let go now."

"What makes you think you're in any condition for me to do that?" Due to my position, I was unable to see Misaka's face. But there was a certain edge in her voice that gave me a picture of what expression she was wearing.

I pushed back the chilling sensation and fruitlessly moved my tired body in an attempt to get away. "Don't know what you're talking about."

"Really… then why are you using the vapor in the air to cool down your abnormally high body temperature?" Through an impressive deduction, she made a valid point. I deemed it pointless to try and refute it.

Rather, I focused on finding out what she intended to do next. "Then how am I supposed to get home now?"

The Railgun raised herself from the ground with my arm now over her shoulder. I wasn't very thrilled at the prospect of my feet dragging across the ground, so I did my best to match her steps.

"Go home? You don't just get over this kind of sickness, you need to see a doctor." My heart dropped to my stomach.

X X X

The smell of disinfectants filled my nostrils. Light filtered into my eyes as I pushed against the mattress of an unfamiliar bed.

Just had to fall asleep on the way, huh.

Wiping my eyes, the first thing I noticed was the fabric of bandages where skin usually would be. Covered in white cloth, my left hand was tightly wrapped. Enough so to feel slightly uncomfortable.

I stared at the limb. This was followed by moving each digit—and not through my power.

Clenching into a fist, there was still a numbed sensation. But it was working and that's what mattered.

Putting that aside, I scanned the room. It was the standard hospital room. White walls, window with blue curtains, cabinet, a couple chairs, unidentifiable medical equipment, and a small coffee table beside the bed.

On said table was my phone, wallet, and clothes. I was wearing a sea green hospital gown.

Before I could observe anything else, there was a knock at the door. With a quiet click an elderly doctor entered the room.

The doctor wore the standard white coat and a noticeable case of balding. Along with that was an odd facial structure, but I ignored that in favor of listening to him.

"Ah, I see you've awoken. How are you feeling." The doctor put up a gentle smile.

I responded with a simple 'good'. He seemed pleased to hear this.

The doctor let out a small chuckle. "It was quite the sight to see that young girl drag you in through the front. You'll have to be sure to thank her. Had you arrived any later, the radiation poisoning would have been far worse."

She carried me all the way here without getting any help? That's- "Radiation poisoning?"

"Indeed—it was shocking to see the symptoms without any sign of skin damage. The internal damage was a monster in of itself. It's not my job to pry into my patient's personal lives, but I recommend you be more careful."

A faint buzzing could be heard from the bedside table. With the doctor assuring me that I could answer it, I grabbed the device.

Flipping it open, I saw it was receiving a call from a newly added contact. In pixelated letters, it read 'Uiharu Kazari'.

Hitting the call button, I held the phone up to my ear. "Hello."

"Minamoto-san, is that you?" Her voice came through full of worry and uncertainty.

I stifled a yawn and sat up straighter. "This is he."

The phone's receiver picked up a faint sigh before the flowered girl resumed. "Are you okay? Saten and I were worried when you didn't show up to school.

"Yeah, I'm good. Just at the hospital." I waved my hand in dismissal, as though that would make it fine.

There was a fair amount of sputtering and coughing from the phone's speaker. From the sounds of it, Saten was trying to listen in as well.

Eventually, the noise from the other side died down. "Erm, I thought you said you were okay. What are you doing there?"

"Just a small case of radiation poisoning."

Uiharu hummed in acknowledgement. "I see… You have wha-?!" Her shout subsequently led to more fumbling and an abrupt ending to the call.

The room was silent and no new calls came in after.

Maybe I could've handled that better.

Rather than calling back, I settled with sending a text to Uiharu regarding the hospital's location.

After asking the good doctor where I was, of course.

So much for avoiding debt. I wonder if students have any sort of insurance for this kind of stuff.

X X X

The sound of birds chirping and leaves shaking barely made it through the closed window. The sun's rays lit up the room, contrasting the white fluorescent lights.

In my hand was a manga. Or more accurately: a compilation of strip comics. I was only a couple pages in, but it was a light hearted and fun read so far.

How long has it been since I've been able to enjoy actual entertainment? Far too long, that's what.

And to think the doctor would recommend something like this when he so closely resembles its star character. Heaven Canceller certainly has a sense of humor, I can say that much.

There was a knock at the door, so I set the book face down on the table. "Come in."

Entering the room was Saten and Uiharu. Interestingly enough, they still wore their school uniforms.

"See, Minamoto's fine, just like he said." Saten waltzed in and took one of the chairs on the left side of the bed. "You are fine, right?"

"Doctor mentioned I should be out of here by tomorrow."

Uiharu set a chair next to Saten. "I'm sorry about not calling back earlier, Judgement work came up."

I shrugged, turning to the flowered girl. "No need to apologize, certain things take precedence over others."

Uiharu furrowed her brows, displeased with how I worded my statement. But before she could comment on it, Saten cut in with a question. "Why're you here anyway, Minamoto? All I heard was something about poisoning. Was it food poisoning—did you go to a shady fast food restaurant?"

"Uh." I blinked, caught off guard by the questionable leap in logic. Not responding to her question only prompted Saten to speculate further.

"So it was a shady restaurant! I've heard rumors that suspicious stuff happens in places like that. Did you find a secret underground drug business?" Her eyes sparkled with far too much passion. It was hard to tell if she was lightening the mood or just curious.

Odd theory. Not a big fan of where you went with it. Might have to be careful next time I eat out. "No, it was radiation poisoning."

"Ah…" Caught off guard by my honest and blunt response, Saten took a moment to process my words.

Uiharu leaned forward, tentatively grasping at her skirt. "Could you please explain, Minamoto-san? I don't want to misunderstand what you're saying."

Was that still too blunt? I'll keep that in mind then.

I gestured towards my bandaged arm. Both girls only now noticing it. "Radiation hit my arm. Nothing major; I was lucky enough to have avoided any skin damage."

And to my luck, before the girls could pry any further into just how I got into such a situation, there was yet another knock on the door.

Without waiting for a response, a certain individual pushed the door open. Shattering any hope for a quiet evening, the Railgun decided this to be the best time to enter.

With a plastic bag in hand, Misaka glanced at her future friends before eyeing me.

I could hear Uiharu murmur 'Ojou-sama' under her breath while Saten stared in shock.

"You left this at the restaurant." She set the bag down on the bed to reveal a particular item I had misplaced.

Grabbing the detergent, I set it on the table. "Huh, forgot about that. Thanks."

The Railgun rested her hand on her hip. "It was nothing. We need to talk, but if you're busy I can come back later." She was dismissive of my lackluster gratitude, wanting to get straight to the point.

A weight pressed down on the bed. Uiharu attempted to whisper to me and failed miserably. "Minamoto-san, how do you know this ojou-sama!?"

Should I answer? Hm… I doubt it would hurt to introduce a couple characters earlier than before. If I'm lucky, Misaka will lose focus on me and talk with these two.

With this running through my head, I concluded that I could only benefit from this. Such an event was bound to happen anyway.

I gestured with my hand for the Railgun to stop.

"That reminds me, I've yet to introduce anyone." This garnered the attention of the room's occupants. "Uiharu Kazari, Saten Ruiko—this is Misaka Mikoto."

It took a couple seconds for the trio to fully realize the significance of my words.

Misaka had the most exaggerated reaction of the three. Mouth agape, she tried to say something. However, I could barely hear her over the shouts of two other participants.

"You know who I am?!"

"How do you know the Railgun?!"

"You know the level 5 Misaka Mikoto?!"

Clapping my hands together, I addressed the crowd. "Why don't we go one at a time." Despite my impassive countenance, amusement leaked into my voice.

The three girls awkwardly looked at me as though I had to pick someone. Not wanting to continue, I opted to allow someone else to start.

Saten took initiative and raised her hand. "How do you know the Railgun, Misaka Mikoto?"

I raised my hand to my chin and feigned contemplation. "I just happened to meet her. Saying that I know the Railgun is a stretch."

For whatever reason, Misaka also raised her hand. "When did you find out who I was?"

"The vending machine."

She stared, not quite believing what I claimed.

"You're the shogun guy?!"

I let out a quiet sigh. This was the third time this had happened. Was Minamoto that uncommon of a name? "Yes, I am 'the shogun guy'."

Tokiwadai's ace went silent. Probably recalling the event.

Slamming her hands on the bedding, Saten triumphantly faced Uiharu. "See, even the Railgun thinks so!"

Uiharu could only smile awkwardly while Misaka let out a small "Huh?"

Being against a derailment of the conversation, I quickly cut in. "Uiharu, did you want to say anything?"

"Ah, sorry. My question was already answered." The flowered girl glanced between me and the Railgun before settling with the latter. "Misaka-san—is it fine if I call you that?" Broken from her musing, the Tokiwadai student simply nodded. "Misaka-san, do you happen to know Shirai Kuroko-san?"

The Railgun adopted a thoughtful look. "Shirai-san? I've seen her around and we've hung out a few times. What about her?"

"Shirai-san is a friend of mine; we both work in Judgement together. She has mentioned you quite a few times." Uiharu seemed to relax at Misaka's more laidback tone.

Glancing at Saten, I wondered if she could provide some insight on the topic. She returned the sentiment, leaving us nowhere.

Misaka took one of the spare seats and leaned in; any disinterest in idle conversation having dispersed. "Small world, huh. What does she say about me?"

Uiharu gave a small chuckle. "Nice things mostly. Don't tell her I said this, but she admires you greatly."

"I'll be sure not to." Misaka humorously promised with a nod. With that, she put on an easy going smile. "I should properly introduce myself. I'm Misaka Mikoto. Nice to meet you two."

X X X

The streets were empty and devoid of life. Sidewalks were faintly lit by the morning cyan lights. One would think there would be at least a few people out at this time, but apparently not. Perhaps it's just one of those days.

I snapped the phone shut, having just sent a group message that I was let out of the hospital. With the plastic bag in my hand, I reached in and felt around. There were a few different things to be found, ranging from prescribed medicine to the manga from the hospital.

It was generous of the doctor to let me keep the book. Well, more like he felt bad when I said I had no forms of entertainment outside of esper practice.

Just if I had a monitor. Can't believe I have a computer, but no way to use it…

Flipping back to the page where I left off, I relished in the cool air and the lack of any potential people to interact with.

There was a faint clacking in the distance.

The sun was just barely over the horizon, the sky was a bright orange.

Footsteps grew louder behind me.

I continued to relax in the non-existent presence of individuals. The peace of having alone time was truly the best.

"Hey, wait up!"

And like an alarm hitting 7 AM, I had to face the new day. Or in this case, a persistent middle schooler.

"Why did you send that group message so late? You were nowhere near the hospital when I got it." Reaching me, she matched my pace.

I'll have you know, it's not my fault it takes forever to type on this archaic phone.

Closing the book, I was ready to give a prepared excuse for my late message when Misaka burst into a fit of coughs. Being slightly concerned, I looked to my left.

The Railgun's face was red—likely from the brief lack of air. Clearing her throat, she pretended to not have just choked on absolutely nothing.

Differing from her usual confident demeanor, Misaka sounded meek and not angry at me. "Is that a Gekota 4koma manga…?"

This reaction most definitely caught my attention. "Maybe it is. What's so important about it?"

"How are you able to read it so openly in public?!" She wore a mixture of embarrassment, hope, and… jealousy?

"Should I not?"

"N-no! It's just, you know… Gekota is for kids." Misaka muttered the rest of the sentence; she seemed to disagree with the statement.

I hid a smirk as an idea formed in my head. "So you're saying that Gekota is only for kids?"

"Well, I'm not saying it's just for kids." Her face scrunched up before her eyes widened. "I-uh- know a friend of a friend who happens to like Gekota. She's just too embarrassed to let others find out."

All too easy.

I nodded, letting her know I was following along.

"People say that Gekota is just a kids thing. It makes it difficult for her to enjoy her passion."

Slowly, her rant about this 'friend of a friend' devolved into praising the green mascot.

"And of course, there's this irresistible charm to Gekota products that really draws you in. You get what I'm saying, right?"

Yeah, no… The only reason I'm reading this Gekota manga is because I'm starved of my usual entertainment. Well, at least this conversation has been making up for that.

"I see. You're frustrated with being judged over liking Gekota by those around you. Not only that, but you're called childish by your peers, so you keep this to yourself." I responded with an accurate analysis.

"Exactly! It's just so-" She stopped, having run into the equivalent of a Window's blue screen. Processing what I said, she sputtered out some excuse for her answer.

"No! I was talking about a friend. Yeah, a friend. Not me. Not me at all." Misaka shook her hands rapidly in denial.

Before she could dig herself into a deeper hole, the girl scowled at me. "That's not what I'm here to talk about. I want to know what that arm injury is."

There was a brief period of silence as I adjusted to the abrupt change of pace. Considering my response, I decided against dodging the question.

"Nerve damage."

Contrary to my expectations, the girl brushed over my answer. "Thought so."

Bringing her curled fingers to her chin, Misaka wore a contemplative expression. "Confirms that it was you who was behind the strange EM waves. Manipulating the electrical signals of the nerves is pretty impressive, I'll give you that."

Turning her attention back to me, she asked yet another question. "But was the nerve damage self inflicted, or a result of a fight?"

Her eyes bored deep into mine. "Because it would certainly take a lot of skill to fry the nerves without damaging the skin."

Maybe I should've just lied, this isn't saving me any time.

Thoughts formed and gears turned. Misaka had stopped walking and so had I; neither of us broke eye contact.

In this case, I didn't want to answer at all. It wasn't what she asked that bothered me, but how she posed it. Almost like she was eager for something.

She knows about the nerve damage. How she came up with all this information is currently beyond me, so I'll ignore it for now. But it's important to note that she considered it skillful to damage the nerves without doing anything to the skin.

Another thing to consider is where I currently am in the timeline. While the canon timeline is fairly ruined, there's some use for my admittedly limited foreknowledge. As of now, Misaka isn't good friends with Shirai Kuroko. At least that's what I gathered from yesterday.

Chances are, Misaka hasn't met Kamijou Touma yet.

"So that's what it is." I compiled what I knew into a single theory and ran with it.

"Sorry to disappoint, but I've only ever fought level 0s. Not to mention that I'm registered as a level 1 myself. If you're looking for a powerful individual, you're out of luck." Shrugging, I stuffed my hands into my pockets, careful not to ruin my arm's bandages.

The girl didn't respond immediately, choosing to fold her arms. "It's not like I'm trying to find strong opponents or anything."

Her poor lie all but confirmed it for me.

Misaka then quirked an eyebrow; a smug grin followed shortly after. "And there's no way you're just a level 1. You had precise control of your nerves and condensed the water in the atmosphere to cool down. All while dealing with 'radiation poisoning'. Don't think I forgot about yesterday."

What's with that look? Yeah it sounds impressive, but not as much as you're insinuating. Well, if a level 5 is saying this, I guess I'm closer to levelling up than I first thought.

"The system designates me as such, so I can't claim otherwise until the next system scan… Is that all?" Before the girl could object, I resumed my walk home.

At last, fortune smiled upon me and Misaka didn't pursue the topic any further. But she did give some concerning parting words.

"You still haven't answered my question and I'm not giving up on this. I'm expecting some proper answers next time." She stomped away in the opposite direction.

I was once again left to my own thoughts and I couldn't help but wonder what Misaka meant by 'next time'.

I could only wish her meeting with Touma would still occur, despite my mild meddling. Last thing I needed was the attention of Academy city's third strongest esper.

V V V

A/N: This chapter got me thinking; do electromasters have to deal with stuff like radiation and electric burns? A lot of thugs have been struck by Misaka and I can't see them getting away perfectly fine. That aside, I'll be responding to a few reviews.

Argo Devilian: Energy Manipulation at its core is just increasing and decreasing kinetic energy. When I say kinetic energy, I mean all and only types of kinetic energy. Potential energy—on the other hand—would not only be overpowered, but make no sense. Mostly because I'd have no idea how to realistically explain such a power. Which is unfortunate, because messing with gravitational energy sounds like a cool ability.

Zentari2238: I appreciate the feedback. Could you elaborate on what you mean by 'cardboard'? Specific examples of lacking character depth would help in seeing where I could improve. Also, further explanation on what you mean by 'focusing on grinding' would be great. I personally don't enjoy lots of grinding in stories, so I'd hate to do it myself.