"An explosion? Just another peaceful day. But don't worry, the safest place in the world is supposedly Academy City. The citizens here are completely used to these kinds of sudden detonations."
Takahashi Yuuya was entirely unfazed by the distant boom. Street fights between Espers were incredibly common here. Even if someone covered in blood was actively chasing a rival down the street, average passersby would merely gasp in surprise before calmly continuing with their own daily business.
He still vividly remembered the last time Suzushina Yuriko and Kakine Teitoku had violently clashed and demolished the buildings on an entire street; the pedestrians had skillfully dodged the falling debris as if it were a routine weather hazard.
However, a sudden spike in the local electromagnetic field caught Yuuya's attention.
'Such strong, erratic electromagnetic waves... it must be her,' he thought.
Misaka Mikoto. Given what had happened last night at Tokyo Bay, she probably wanted nothing more than to fire a Railgun directly into his face—but there was absolutely nothing she could do about it.
Thinking back to Mikoto's frustrated, teary-eyed expression yesterday—desperately wanting to teach him a lesson but being utterly powerless to do so—Yuuya couldn't help but feel a wicked sense of satisfaction. However, he didn't sense any genuine malice or killing intent from her; at most, she just wanted to violently beat him up.
"Let's go, Index. We're going to get some breakfast," Yuuya said with a slight smile, turning away from the distant smoke.
"Isn't Yuuya cooking today?" Index asked, tilting her head.
"It's too much trouble this morning, and I don't really feel like cooking. Let's just eat out," Yuuya said casually.
"Mmm!" Index nodded happily. Her stomach had been completely empty since she woke up, and she was perfectly happy as long as she could eat something to fill the void.
"Another explosion. This makes the fourth one this week."
The juice vending machine next to a convenience store in District 7 had been violently blown into blackened, twisted fragments. Dark char marks scarred the surrounding pavement and the brick walls of the alleyway.
The immediate area had been cordoned off with yellow tape. Shirai Kuroko frowned deeply as she surveyed the destruction with a heavy sigh.
"Another explosion? I heard there was a massive blast nearby last night, and it was incredibly loud. Some civilian reports even claimed they saw a blinding red light coming from an apartment building. Is there any connection between these incidents?"
Misaka Mikoto stepped past the tape, one hand resting on her hip and the other holding her school bag.
"I don't know about last night's incident, but the modus operandi for these specific bombings is identical. They all utilize localized Graviton acceleration to trigger the blasts, and each subsequent explosion yields a much higher destructive yield than the last one," Kuroko said solemnly, tapping on her Judgment armband.
"So, have you managed to track down the culprit yet? It should be relatively easy to find an Esper with the specific ability to cause a Graviton acceleration explosion, since Judgment can cross-reference the System Scan Data Bank," Mikoto pointed out.
"The culprit has not been identified yet. According to the Data Bank, there are exactly 14 registered Espers in Academy City capable of causing a Graviton explosion. Of those, 13 are classified as Level 2 or below, which means their maximum output is, at most, the equivalent of setting off a small firecracker. To generate a localized bomb of this magnitude, the Esper must be a Level 4. However, the only registered Level 4 Graviton manipulator in Academy City was found unconscious in his apartment two nights ago and is currently comatose in the emergency room. He has an ironclad alibi."
Kuroko pinched the bridge of her nose in distress. "We thought we had already found the culprit, but the very next moment, the prime suspect turns out to have a perfect medical alibi."
Moreover, the subsequent explosions genuinely had no forensic connection to anyone else in the database.
"So, could it be that the Esper responsible hasn't had their true output registered in the System Scan yet? That's really a mystery. Though I suppose there are quite a few dangerous Espers hiding their true abilities in Academy City... just like that guy."
Mikoto crossed her arms, her teeth grinding together as she finished speaking. Her heart instantly filled with boiling anger, and a look of shame and rage flashed across her face.
'That pervert!' she thought furiously. 'His powers are rule-breaking enough, but his personality is completely perverted too! He actually... he actually pinched my...!'
'Why would he dare to do something so incredibly shameless?!'
"That guy...?" Kuroko's heart pounded wildly as she looked up at her Onee-sama's flustered appearance and the deep, burning blush spreading across her cheeks. She stared at Mikoto in sheer horror, slowly covering her head with her hands and crouching down onto the pavement.
"Could it be... could it be that you, my dear Onee-sama... really, truly... have developed romantic feelings for that filthy ape...?" Kuroko looked up, large, melodramatic tears welling in her eyes.
Mikoto's lips twitched violently. She slowly clenched her right hand into a fist and drove it directly down onto the top of Kuroko's head.
Bonk!
"How could that possibly be true?! How could I ever possibly like that kind of arrogant pervert?! I hate him so much! Honestly, Kuroko, I really want to crack open your skull just to see what kind of garbage is floating around in there!"
"I was wrong, Onee-sama! I shouldn't have doubted your pure maiden heart! I, Kuroko, will always stand firmly by Onee-sama's side!" Kuroko immediately bought Mikoto's denial, rubbing her bruised head. It was impossible for her elegant Onee-sama to actually like that kind of ape.
She saw absolutely no redeeming qualities in the guy whatsoever, and firmly believed that the ape was a walking collection of all humanity's worst flaws.
"Damn it... if I could actually beat him in a fight, I'd give him a good, thoroughly violent beating!" Mikoto stomped her leather loafer against the pavement defiantly, dangerous blue electricity crackling around her bangs.
"That's right! If that damn ape were standing here right now, I would personally use my teleportation to smash his smug head directly into the cement!" Kuroko agreed through gritted teeth, white puffs of angry breath coming out of her nostrils like a mad bull. "I also need to personally escort him to a high-security juvenile detention center for proper "re-education" on charges of severe indecent assault!"
'How dare that ape mess with my Onee-sama's body!' Kuroko raged internally. 'He deserves to be torn to pieces!'
"Oh? So Shirai-san really is that brave. I'm curious—exactly how are you planning to fill my head with cement? And how are you going to send me to a juvenile detention center? As a Level 5 Teleporter, I'm really, truly terrified."
A smooth, playful voice suddenly drifted over from right behind Kuroko.
Kuroko's expression instantly froze. That voice was far too familiar. Wasn't that the voice of the damned ape himself?
She quickly whipped around and glared at him fiercely. Mikoto's face flushed a violent red the second she heard the voice, and she looked over with uncontrollable, crackling rage.
Yuuya was standing just beyond the police tape, leisurely eating a breakfast sandwich and sipping from a milk carton, while Index stood happily beside him carrying a crinkling paper bag full of even more sandwiches.
"I've missed you dearly after just one night apart, Misaka," Yuuya smiled brightly, looking directly at Mikoto, who was glaring at him as if she wanted him dead.
"You actually dare to show your face in front of me?! You pervert!" Mikoto shouted angrily.
"Eh~ I don't really mind Misaka calling me a pervert. After all, what's wrong with a guy being a little perverted? Men are biologically wired to be perverts," Yuuya stated with a shameless smirk.
"You... you...!" Mikoto gritted her teeth in anger, but she knew she was completely helpless against this anomaly. She couldn't beat him in a fight, and she certainly couldn't beat him in a battle of shamelessness.
"Don't be so angry, Misaka. I'll properly apologize," Yuuya suddenly said, dropping his smirk and looking at Mikoto with a dead-serious, straight face.
"What...?" Mikoto was stunned by the sudden shift in tone.
"Since I was the one who pinched your chest yesterday, the damage is already done. So, in order to ensure that Misaka doesn't suffer any unfair losses, I'll generously let you pinch my chest in return. Then, we'll be completely even."
Yuuya reached down and grabbed the hem of his shirt, lifting it up to reveal his perfectly toned, athletic physique, a wicked glint of light flashing in his half-closed eyes.
Mikoto's cheeks instantly flushed an explosive, nuclear red, and her eyes welled up with hot tears of pure, unadulterated frustration.
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Give me powerstones.
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