Chapter 248 - My SI Stash #48 - Base of Energy by Auvidence (ToAruMajutsuNoIndex)

-Recently published fic, the first Raildex SI fic in the stash~ SI as a Lvl 1 Student of Sakugawa Middle School with Energy Manipulation as his powers, seems to be going on the chill side and not going crazy canon derailment! yet?

Sypnosis: In a world of science and magic, beings of incomprehensible power and abilities roam the Earth. So it's only natural that when a completely average individual is burdened with such power, he would want nothing more than to relax in peace, right? (Self-Insert)

Rated: T

Words: 9K

Posted on: m.fanfiction.net/s/13538061/1/ (Auvidence)

PS: If you're not able to copy/paste the link, you have everything in here to find it, by simply searching the author and the story title. It sucks that you can't copy links on mobile (´ー｀)

-I'll be putting the chapter ones of all the fanfics mentioned, to give you guys a sample if you wan't more please do go to the website and support the author! (And maybe even convince them to start uploading chapters in here as well!)

Chapter 1-3 (exceptional)

The faint sound of beeping made its way through the layers of covering that I had over my cold body. A part of me was eager to get out of bed and turn off the alarm, while another said to just ignore it.

Making up my mind, I pushed myself into a sitting position, about to yawn and wipe the crust from my eyes. However, a certain set of details made themselves known to me, stopping me and making my heart leap.

This… isn't my room.

My mind was racing to find possible answers to the situation. Assuming the worst, I silently removed myself from the bed to take in the surroundings properly.

It was a small apartment room. Single bedroom connected to a kitchenette. Two doors were visible, likely leading outside and to a bathroom. The hallway to the entrance door had what looked to be a washer and dryer.

There was no sign of anyone else in the room. It was rather spartan and had little furniture, aside from a desk and chair. Whoever owned this place either had little money, or simply didn't spend much on this place.

Tip toeing to the other side, I opened the bathroom door to find it free of my potential kidnapper. Confirming that the apartment was empty, I began searching for mics, cameras, or anything else that could be recording me.

Once again, I came up empty. Racking my brain, I couldn't come up with a reason someone would do this. I wasn't particularly special or of high value.

I ran my hand through my hair before abruptly tensing. Tugging on the hair, I pulled it in front of my eyes.

What? How? My hair should barely go past half an inch.

Feeling around further, I realized that my hair was much longer than normal. Enough so that it dr.a.p.ed over my forehead.

Somehow, I didn't even notice the change until I consciously thought about it.

I ran to the nearest mirror which resided in the bathroom, forgoing all attempts at being quiet. Pushing aside the half open door, I stopped in front of the looking glass with hands resting on the sink.

Staring back at me was an unfamiliar face. Young, dark brown hair, and of Japanese descent. Moving my fingers across my face, the skin and bone structure was different, but it was as though these hands were familiar with it.

This- this is really real isn't it. I'm not going to delude myself with the 'I'm in a dream'. This is reality and I've just been torn from everything I know and stuck into a… twelve year old body?

It was at this point that I was able to recognize broken sensations and thoughts. Likely the remnants of this kid's mind.

'He was late for school. He was never late for school. He was trying really hard to stay unnoticed by those around him. Good grades, some of the best actually. But no friends or family. Hobbies or pastimes.'

Letting out a groan, I was about to crush the influx of invading feelings and thoughts before considering a different path.

I might be able to get more answers if I try to follow this like a 'normal' everyday. Not my wisest of choices, but I need to be proactive for once.

Foreign thoughts and habits guided my actions as I dressed into a school uniform, packed the bag, and pocketed a wallet and flip phone.

This phone. Don't tell me…

I examined the rest of the room, searching for any obvious clues on the time and place.

On the wall was a calendar. It was June 7th, 2004.

I pondered the implications of the date.

So I've not just been transmigrated into some kid's body, but displaced by sixteen years?! How could this get any worse.

Like a fool, I didn't take into account the ruthlessness of Murphy and his forsaken law.

Slipping on the shoes, I unlocked the door and pushed it open. With it, the sun's rays illuminated the apartment, along with myself. After my eyes grew used to the light, I was able to view the outside world for the 'first' time.

Tall, modern style skyscr.a.p.ers touched the sky whilst windmills could be found dotted throughout the cityscape.

It was an unusual spectacle. A city unlike anything I had ever seen before. Or at least, any real city.

So this is the twist. The punch to the gut. I don't even get the comfort of at least a guaranteed nonfictional reality. No, this could all just be made up. Because this is Academy city. A particular city that can only be found in a certain anime. Well, technically more than one anime and all the source material, but that's beside the point.

I pushed forward and tried to distract myself by absorbing the surroundings. The structures were smooth, curved, and sophisticated. Streets and sidewalks clean of all forms of trash, courtesy of the robots.

There were a few cars that occasionally passed by. Along with people doing what people do. The grass was green and the breeze was cool.

Finally reaching the destination, I came across an average looking school, at least by Academy city's standards. I dug through the fading memories for a name and I was rewarded.

'Sakugawa Middle School.'

The school sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite remember what made it so. Putting that aside, my legs continued to carry me to the classroom.

I knew that the previous owner of this body didn't have any close relationsh.i.p.s, so I didn't have to worry about being outed for acting strange. But it didn't stop the steadily increasing beat of my heart. Nor the cold sweat that came across me when I finally reached the class door.

Taking a deep breath, I entered the room with a confidence I barely felt. To no surprise, every head turned to my direction. Quickly pinpointing 'my' seat, I apologized to the teacher and made my way to the desk.

Once I finally sat down, the rest of the students lost interest and the teacher continued his lecture. A sense of relief washed over me. Not just because I made it to the right class, but that I was able to unconsciously use Japanese. From the looks of it, everything is being crudely translated into English. Something to investigate later, for sure.

Unpacking my bag, I grabbed a notebook, pencil, and got to writing. The teacher droned on about Quantum Physics and its overall connectedness to AIM and personal realities. The topic was fascinating, but it was difficult to concentrate when the medium for the notes was a chalkboard.

You would think that Academy city would have a more advanced method of teaching, but then again, Toaru was written in 2004.

No, that's not exactly true. While the light novel was written in 2004, I should consider that this reality isn't completely reliant on the writings of a 23 volume series in an alternate universe. My existence is proof that any future knowledge I possess can be rendered useless.

I continued to take notes, knowing that it wouldn't do for me to slack behind on studies. After all, I didn't need to gain any unwanted attention.

X X X

The rest of class passed by smoothly. Very similar to a college class if I had to compare it to anything. It was heavily focused on lecturing and note taking, so it'll be a bit of a hassle to catch up.

My thoughts would constantly turn towards the scientifically supernatural. If this kid was a student at Academy city, chances are that he also went through the power curriculum.

When the bell rang the teacher didn't call me to stay behind, so I took that as my cue to leave. I wanted to take my time heading home as the sights were exhilarating, but I had more important things to focus on.

Reaching my hand into my right pocket, the familiar feeling of a wallet and key were there. Unlocking the door, I kicked off my shoes and went straight for the desk sitting in the right corner of the room.

Okay, system scan. Should be around here somewhere.

I dug through various papers, in the desk's drawer. Homework, worksheets, and other uninformative scratch paper was shoved aside.

Sticking my arm in, I felt for the paper. It was then that a small rectangular slip of paper graced the tips of my fingers.

Feeling the excitement well up in me, I snatched the paper, bumping my forearm on the desk. Grimacing, I slowly pulled out the paper, a small throb of pain making itself known.

With my arm and paper free from the desk, I gazed at the information that showed little, yet gave me so much.

Level- 1

Power- Energy Manipulation

Other than that, the card was a mess of crease lines and a bad case of an exploded pen. Even though the level was only one, I couldn't help but be grateful.

Level 1 huh. That's one away from having no power at all, so it could've been worse. But more importantly, I've never heard of an esper ability called 'energy manipulation'. At least it's self explanatory.

I know I'm jumping the gun already, but energy is a scalar, right? Doesn't that mean that I can potentially set up counter defenses for Accelerator? Since, you know, Vector Manipulation. Well, that's if I can find out how to use this power. Heh, imagine having scalar manipulation. That would be overpowered.

Rather than continue to haphazardly dig through the desk, I organized the papers and looked for anything that explained the ESP ability. Luckily, I came across some essay work that looked fairly promising. After ordering the pages from first to last, I skimmed through and took notes on anything important.

After jotting down the last of the important facts, I leaned back in my chair and let out a sigh.

That took way too long. And these essays were really disappointing to read. I mean, who starts an essay with, 'What is Energy?'. Either way, I was able to find out a lot about how Energy Manipulation works.

Alright, I've listed most of the things I could gather about the ability into five bullet points.

First, Energy Manipulation is the ability to change the amount of energy matter has. And when I say matter, I mean all forms of matter. For example, the boy whose body I currently reside in could increase the kinetic energy water molecules, resulting in water vapor. And theoretically, if he was at a higher level, he'd be able to affect the energy in elementary particles.

Second, the biggest reason the boy wasn't at a higher level was because of his personal reality. In other words, he's not delusional enough to be a strong esper. Well, I guess that's one problem I don't have to worry about.

Third, due to his less than adequate personal reality, Energy Manipulation did little on the macroscopic scale. He couldn't just kick a can and increase the amount of energy it has. He had to consider each and every atom, bond, structure, and component in order for the can to actually do what he wants. Think of it like this. You increase the kinetic energy of a single atom that you push north and naturally, it will travel north. But when you kick a can, your foot has an uneven surface area. And due to the nature of Energy Manipulation, that will cause the atoms to travel in different directions. In short, the can would heat up at best, explode at worst.

Fourth, it isn't specifically stated how well the kid could calculate, but it was good. No, it was genius levels of calculating. Such a level of calculating would be necessary to handle such a power. It's this aspect of the ability that I'm the most worried about. Because I'm, well, not a genius.

The fifth point has to be the most important. His esper ability isn't actually Energy Manipulation. Well, I think so at least. You see, in all the material I read, the kid never mentions where he gets the energy from. It just appears, manifests from thin air. So either I'm missing something, or he isn't actually 'manipulating' the energy.

Instead, I believe the energy is being created and destroyed. What do you mean energy can't be created or destroyed? Ah, allow me to explain. Think of that one esper, Dark Matter. He creates matter that doesn't previously exist and drops it in this plane of existence. Energy manipulation is probably something like that. Energy pulled from another dimension and utilized in this one. The biggest difference between Dark Matter and Energy Manipulation (besides being matter vs energy) would be that with Energy Manipulation, the energy can be shoved back into that alternate dimension. Hence being 'created' and 'destroyed'.

I clasped my fingers together and splayed them outward. To my disappointment, there was no satisfying crack.

So in other words, the probability of me being capable of using Energy Manipulation is nil.

I held up the paper with my notes and decided this would be a good test. I realized that in order to conceptualize the atoms, I'd need to know what atoms actually make up paper. Before I could get up and pull open a textbook, the information suddenly flooded my mind.

'This specific paper is made up of a majority Carbon, Oxygen, and Hydrogen. There were also traces of Calcium, Silicon, and Titanium.'

It was strange. It was like I was remembering the info and being told it at the same time. Pushing aside my confusion, I began to visualize what the structure of the paper would look like on a microscopic scale.

Within my mind, I was staring at a photo realistic recreation of the atoms. There were no weird blue protons and red neutrons. Just a black and white landscape of orbs vibrating at a very slow rate.

For a moment I was stupefied. Unable to come to grasps with how natural, yet unnatural this felt.

Is this what it is to be an esper? The capability to break down the truth of the world and warp it to your will?

After a moment, I moved onto the next stage. In order for this to succeed I needed to consider the directions each atom is moving and what would be the optimal time to increase the atoms' energies.

Numbers and formulas floated in the corner of my vision. The instructions that lead to the greatest path to success were in front of me. All I had to do was make it a reality.

Atoms started to vibrate faster, pushing into each other, pushing away, Waves formed, rippling across like a massive gray ocean.

Then a few particles became so agitated that they loosened from their previous bonds. It was so abrupt that it caught me off guard, but I kept at it. Soon, the oxygen would start reacting, hungry for the free electrons for the taking.

The smell of smoke reached my noise, breaking my concentration.

The paper in my hand was relatively intact, but in the center was a small hole. The edges were slightly blackened, a trail barely visible rose upwards.

Despite myself, I wore the biggest grin. The exhilaration of achieving something so small, yet so large. Incomprehensible, yet completely possible.

I was correct to assume that I wouldn't get any sleep that night.

Chapter 2

"No! You've got to be kidding me…"

A few days had passed since my entrance into this world. At the moment, I was in the middle of cooking noodles for dinner. To my frustration, trying to boil water using energy manipulation wasn't my greatest of successes.

In my hand was a warped metal pan, steaming water leaking from the bottom. Before any more of the scalding liquid could make a bigger mess, I rushed to the kitchenette's sink. A perfectly good pack of noodles wasted.

Ugh, how did this even happen? The only way the pan could've gotten hot enough to melt is through directly affecting the aluminum atoms. I swear I was just heating up the air beneath it.

Sighing in defeat, I cleaned up the water after cooling it down. Grabbing another pot, I made sure to turn on the stove to boil the water. I reached into the pantry and felt around for another pack of noodles. Low and behold, there was in fact no more noodles.

Disregarding my dinner preparations, I stuck everything in the sink. After about a minute of deliberation, I decided that if I wasn't going to make anything the least I could do was restock.

It's official, Thursdays are the worst day of the week.

Checking the wallet, I saw it had about twenty dollars worth of Yen, the apartment key, and an ID.

It was odd to see another person's face in 'my' wallet. I read the name listed under the picture.

Minamoto Ken.

It's a cool name, but I doubt that alone will help me remember it.

Shoving the wallet into my pocket, I made my way to the nearest convenience store.

The sun was blazing, a bit away till it reached the horizon. I personally enjoyed eating dinner earlier in the day while the sun was still up.

The sliding doors opened with a swoosh and I swiftly entered. After a quick search, I came across what I was looking for. The noodles were cheap and would take little from my current funds.

Granted, they weren't healthy; but it was a small price to pay. Literally.

After browsing a few other items, I made my way to the cashier and purchased the items. My wallet was ever so slightly lighter.

It was strange just how little cash I had. Aside from the contents of my wallet, there was just a few spare yen at the apartment. I had searched for receipts regarding where most of the money went. It was a fruitless endeavor as it simply didn't add up.

I mean, the city pays students once a month and the kid apparently stocked up on most necessities at the beginning of June. However, the amount spent isn't nearly as much as the amount he usually receives. Not that it was much in the first place, being a level 1.

Before I could continue the thought, my stomach grumbled. I decided that if I wasn't going to eat until I got back, the least I could do was keep hydrated.

There happened to be a red vending machine across the street. Each drink was only about ¥100, so I checked out the options.

I was baffled at the sheer strangeness of the flavors and drinks. Examples being 'Viennese Sausage Coffee' or the 'Habanero Pineapple Juice'.

After a bit of searching, I went with 'Mist'. Which was just water.

I stuck in the 100 yen bill and selected the purple canned drink. The machine made a series of whirs and clicks.

Then silence.

Uh, where's the drink?

Without much thought, I hit the 'give me change' button.

The button was jammed.

I should have known. Bright red vending machine with one two many dents on its right side. The area looks exactly like it did from the anime as well. What a waste. Do you know how many noodles I could've purchased with that single bill? A lot, that's how much.

I tried to keep myself from getting too down. It wasn't that much, and the next city payment was in about three weeks.

"Hey, is something wrong?"

I stopped myself from jerking in surprise. Calming down, I slowly turned my head to see who was addressing me.

It was a young girl, light brown hair and about two inches shorter than me. Her most notable feature would probably be the Tokiwadai uniform.

A Tokiwadai student huh. From what I recall in Railgun T, most of them were a bit overconfident, but hardly bad people.

I debated on responding honestly to the girl. Against my compulsion to dismiss her, I decided I had nothing to lose.

Turning around fully, I spoke to the middle schooler. "Yeah, the machine isn't giving me my drink."

The girl wore an inquisitive expression. "Really? That sucks. How much did this piece of junk eat?"

More conversation? I could be doing more important things. Waving away the thought, I answered her question. "Just ¥100. Not a huge amount or anything."

Scrunching up her eyebrows, the girl thought for a moment before coming to a conclusion. Motioning me to back away, she walked up to the machine.

Skipping from one foot to another, she suddenly spun 360 degrees and slammed her leg against the vending machine. Metal rang and was soon followed by the clunk of a can loosening.

Reaching into the dispenser, she grabbed what looked to be a single green can. "Here you go. This particular money eater can be a bit of a hassle, but there are ways around that."

I took the can from her grasp and looked at the type. Watermelon flavored tea. Could be worse.

Gathering my thoughts, I thanked her for the help. The girl laughed and scratched the back of her head in an embarrassed fashion. "It was nothing, really. Just doing what anyone would do."

No, I think this is just you.

Silence filled the area once she stopped talking.

Recalling that we were engaging in social interaction, I realized I hadn't introduced myself.

"Still, I appreciate the help. My name is-" Hold up… What was this kids name again? Quick, fading memories, give me the answer!

…

Fine, I'll do it myself. Oh, wait. I looked at the ID card earlier today.

I coughed into my mouth, trying to cover up the awkward pause. "Sorry about that, I'm Minamoto Ken."

The girl seemed to hesitate for a moment before responding. "Nice to meet you Minamoto-san. My name is Mi-" The ringing of a phone cut her off.

Her gaze shifted as though she were asking for permission to answer the call. I responded to her apologetic look with a simple nod of affirmation.

Taking out a green phone, she flipped it open and pressed it against her ear. A garbled mess erupted from the other side. Wincing, she pulled away the receiver and waited a couple seconds for the noise to die down.

After that, the speaker wasn't particularly loud, so I couldn't make out what was being said. It must have been important, because the girl stiffened at the words.

Apologizing, she bid me farewell and ran off.

Around me, the sidewalks were slowly lit up by the cyan hue of the LED lamps. Contrary to most cities around this time, barely any of the street lights were sodium based. The lack of orange light reminded me of just how different Academy city was to the rest of the world.

Alright, I'll be perfectly honest. I recognized the Railgun the moment I heard her voice. Or well, I was familiar with her 'voice actress'.

We parted on terms of mere acquaintances, so I'm sure that I haven't made any changes to canon. I'll just have to stay vigilant and avoid and cast members.

I mean, out of the point-whatever million students in the city, what are the chances I'll meet any other characters?

X X X

The final bell went off and I made my way to the school's entrance. There was a certain blissful energy among the student body due to this particular day.

Friday. After enduring a long boring week of lectures, hand cramping notes, and PE; the weekend was finally here.

A weekend of sleeping in, lazing around, and playing with ESP. It was only a few steps away. The gates of salvation within reach, begging to be passed.

A hand grasped my shoulder, stopping me in my tracks. "Now what do we have here? Buddy, pal, friendo. We really need to catch up!"

Pushing down my irritation, I glanced at the person who dared impede me from my well deserved break. Or rather, the people who were hindering me.

The one who had the gall to touch me stood a couple inches taller with bleached hair. To his right was a fairly well built individual with a crew cut. To the left was a short guy, standing at around 5 feet.

"Do you need something?" My voice came out monotone, uncaring for what business they had with me.

Tightly surrounding me, the group led me away from my freedom. Tall and lanky answered my question. "How could you forget Ken-chan? So cruel…" His voice was full of sarcasm. "It's obviously because you're behind on our little deal."

So this is the reason I'm so low on money. That's just depressing.

We reached the backside of one of the taller school buildings. Its shadow hung over us like an umbrella on a rainy day, leaving us in darkness. The sound of cheerful students was dampened and the atmosphere had a drastic shift.

I would call for Judgement or Anti-Skill, but I don't actually know their numbers. Maybe if I stall for time, I can come up with something.

"Mind reminding me what our 'deal' was? I forgot it." My words unfortunately came out more snarkily than I intended. The shortest of the delinquents wasn't too pleased.

"Who do you think you're talking to! With an attitude like that I oughta-" Tall and lanky put a hand on his shoulder, stopping Shorty's little tirade.

"Now, we have'ta be civil here Hotaru-kun. Our poor friend just forgot our arrangement and it's up to us to remind him of his place." Lanky's expression contorted into an oddly curved smile. It would've been more unnerving if said smile wasn't coming from a middle schooler.

I get that these are the big bad upperclassmen, but man is this cliché. What's next, is he going to go mafia on me and talk about the family business?

Walking into my personal space, ignorant of my internal rant, he arched forward to look me in the eyes. His guttural voice rang in my ears as he explained my predicament.

"Ya see, you pay us weekly for protection. There're a lotta gangs around here. We, being your only friends, decided to keep you safe. But it seems your memory needs a bit-of-a jump start. So why don't we make this memory unforgettable!"

Before I could safely set up my defenses, his knee came up fast. It was a devastating blow with lots of blood and pain.

For him, that is.

"ARHG!" Lanky let out a cry of pain as his knee was put through something akin to an invisible shredder. I grimaced at the sight as Lanky fell over, clutching his leg with tears in his eyes.

That was my bad… If it wasn't so sudden, I would've been able to evenly remove the kinetic energy from his kick. Note to self, find an easier way to inhibit the human body through less potentially damaging methods.

His two lackeys were flabbergasted, staring at the spectacle with little thought. The muscles of the group—being far braver than his smaller compatriot—moved to attack me.

Reeling his fist back, he let it fly albeit clumsily. I capitalized on the confusion and easily dodged the blow. With little wind-up, I threw my hand forward and amplified the amount of energy of the gaseous molecules, creating a jet of air.

Muscles lost his balance and gained some air before falling on his back. With more time to prepare for that attack, it should've resulted in minor bruising this time.

That left only one combatant.

With eyes rapidly moving from his two fallen compatriots, Shorty shook and whimpered at the sight.

"How?! Where did you get this power?! Was it level upper- it has to be!" Clearly not able to take the pressure, the lone delinquent pulled out a knife. Holding the weapon with both hands, he was getting ready to charge before a voice made him falter.

"This is Judgement! Stop all aggression immediately!" The statement cut through the atmosphere like butter.

Both Shorty and I turned towards the Judgement member. It was a single girl wearing our school uniform, pulling on the armband to validate the authority of her claim. She also happened to have a familiar flowered headband.

Much to my relief, the thought of fighting an unequal battle greatly demoralized Shorty. The knife slipped out of his hands, falling with a thud. He in turn fell onto his knees in despair.

If only he knew the Judgement girl was only a level 1. And no, I cannot remember her name whatsoever.

While the Judgement girl called for an ambulance and reinforcements, it gave me some time to reflect on my current position. You know, I was joking about blaming Murphy's law when I woke up in this world. I'm having second thoughts about that.

Either way, I didn't expect to run into any more canon characters. This looks like an unavoidable confrontation as well. Then again there's always the possibility that the butterfly effect has already wiped out future arcs, so this particular interaction shouldn't matter too much.

Having finished discussing with the other Judgement members who arrived on scene, Flower Band girl walked up to me. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm unharmed." I glanced at the delinquents being carted away, and Shorty in handcuffs.

"I would like to ask you about what happened here. And you're not in trouble for anything; a student reported seeing you being pulled back here against your will." I couldn't tell if she was trying to placate me or simply being forthright.

I proceeded to explain what occurred—from when I was leaving school to the girl's arrival. My throat was feeling a bit dry, considering this was the longest I had talked since arriving in this world.

"So they were extorting you through physical means. In return, you acted in self defense?" The Judgement girl was going over my story to make sure she understood my side of the fight. I nodded to confirm her inquiry.

She held her phone up to her ear before asking another question. "And you're currently a level 1 with the ability Energy manipulation, yes?"

"Mhm." My answers were getting shorter every time she spoke. It was only a matter of time until I'd get to leave, but my patience was waning.

"Okay, I just need to confirm a few more things and then I'll be able to let you go." It was as though she was reading my current state of mind. That or I was being obvious about my eagerness to move on.

"Do you happen to know what 'level upper' is?" Under most circ.u.mstances, I wouldn't have noticed the subtle change in tone, but this girl didn't seem like the overly serious type.

Level Upper, isn't that one of the arcs in Railgun? Had something to do with brain waves and something-thesia. Oh yeah, and Shorty mentioned it earlier as well too. Let's go with that.

I shook my head. "I know the short delinquent guy mentioned something about it, but I've never heard of it before then." Never heard of it in this reality, that is.

"Alright, if you hear anything about it, let Judgement or Anti-skill know. We'd appre-" Before the girl could finish, she was abruptly cut off by… What?

"U~i~haru!"

Having spotted the long haired girl moments before the inevitable, I made sure to keep my eyes level with Judgem- no, Uiharu's face. Her complexion rapidly shifted to a bright red; eye's were wide and her face bore an incredulous expression.

The long haired girl had black hair and blue eyes, sporting a huge grin. "Green stripes today! I almost forgot to check today, good thing I found you."

Having just endured the pinnacle of embarrassment, Uiharu began batting the long haired girl with eyes shut tightly. "Saten-san! Why would you do that in the middle of a conversation with a boy! This'll ruin my competent Judgement appearance…"

Saten rested her index finger on her chin. "So you mean you didn't ditch me to meet up with your secret boyfriend?" This clearly caught Uiharu off guard, having realized all the other Judgement members had left already.

Not wanting this to drag on any further, I stepped in. "Yeah, just Judgement stuff. Nothing more, nothing less." Saten's expression seemed to drop a fraction.

"Ah, that's too bad. I was hoping to see something exciting today. I'm Saten Ruiko, by the way." Presented before me was yet another cast member of Railgun. She was in the Index movie too, right? I remember less from the movie than I do the first season of Railgun.

"I completely forgot! I'm Uiharu Kazari." Having recovered from earlier, Uiharu came back into the conversation.

"Minamoto Ken, nice to meet you two." After saying my name, Saten looked as though she just realized something.

"Minamoto, you mean like the first shogun Minamoto?" The first what now?

Uiharu cut in. "Well, it doesn't have to just be derived from the first shogun. Remember that the Minamoto clan was very prominent between the 12th and 13th century."

Having completely lost me, the two girls continued to discuss about Japan's brutal history of assassination and rebellions.

Once Uiharu realized the previous conversation was completely derailed, she turned back to me and apologized. "There are a few more things I'd like to talk about, but I'd hate to keep you any longer." Finally, I want to go home. "Would you mind continuing this after school on Monday, if you're free?"

"Sure, I don't have any plans that day." I said as though I ever actually made plans.

I said farewell to both the girls and made my way back to the apartment. Just as I closed the door behind me, I heard my neighbor open his door.

I lived on the third floor in room 310, so I had a pretty good view of the city. My next door neighbor seemed to always leave his apartment around this time. And on the few nights where I stayed up till one, I noticed he never comes back before the morning.

A bit weird, but who knows. The guy might just be nocturnal. It's Academy city after all.

Anyway, I have a fair share of weekend homework. Well, more like Monday morning homework. It's time to stay in and practice some more Energy manipulation.

Chapter 3

I stood next to my bed with the warped pan sitting on the covers. My palm steadily hovered over it.

Now, after about a week's work of experimentation and observation, I've made a couple new hypotheses regarding my capabilities as an esper.

For starters, everything that is within my AIM diffusion field is subject to my personal reality. Contrary to an ability like Vector manipulation, I can affect matter without touching it. Similar to how a telekinetic can apply pressure to objects a distance away from them.

From what I've gathered, my AIM field spreads about two inches—5.2 centimeters to be exact—away from my body before becoming uninfluenced by my will.

This brings me to two important discoveries I've made regarding the strengths and weaknesses of Energy manipulation.

First, the further away an object is from my body, the less control I have over it. You would think that means I have less power over the object, but not quite.

For example, let's take a look at this warped metal pan. The reason it warped so significantly is because I increased its total kinetic energy with too much power. When I was cooking the noodles, the pan was about two inches away from my hand, so my precision was hampered when I accidentally used my esper power on it.

Think of it like this. You're using a computer mouse to manually change the volume slider. Controlling the energy of an object in contact with my body is like using said mouse at the lowest sensitivity. Controlling the energy of an object 2 inches away from me is like trying to use a mouse at the highest sensitivity using one finger.

In other words, a recipe for disaster.

Second, the size of matter also affects the amount of control I have. When making physical contact with my body, the most complex thing I can manipulate is probably water. I could technically go larger, but the amount of ways that could go wrong is the reason why Energy manipulation isn't considered very useful.

Anyway, so I thought, 'what if I try to go smaller rather than bigger?' This is what I'm testing right now.

I closed my eyes and pictured the gray ocean of atoms once more. Rather than a solid object, I focused on the seemingly random movements of the air molecules. Specifically, dioxygen.

I 'enhanced' the image so I could view the subatomic particles. For every oxygen atom, there were 8 protons and 8 neutrons.

While it would be cool to mess with the energy of protons or create some isotopes, I was more focused on the third component of the atom.

I turned my attention towards the electrons. When 'observing' the atom, there was a wobbly cloud surrounding the nucleus that gave me an idea for where the electrons were.

The equations were forming and the numbers were being crunched. I moved the formulas to the forefront of my mind, in hopes that they would make more sense if I examined them.

I gave up the moment I started seeing an influx of Greek letters and numbers times 10 to the 32nd power.

In order to create the reaction that I desired, I would need to know both the electron's real time position and its current momentum. This should be impossible due to the Uncertainty theory, but as stated by my fifth period teacher, 'personal reality enables the user to ignore that principle'.

I couldn't just shove energy into the general area of the electrons unless I wanted unforeseen consequences. Instead, I worked my way towards finding the probability of an electron's position. After that, I considered how it was affected by light, other atoms, etc.

It reminded me of how the Tree Diagram would predict the weather by calculating the position of every particle in the atmosphere.

In this case, I was able to predict the electrons current course, meaning that I could now change its energy and manipulate the direction it will go.

I began increasing the energy of the electrons in the oxygen's outermost shell. As a result, the electrons flowed free of the atoms' pull and created an electric charge.

The abrupt shift in charge from neutral to negative caused the like-charge electrons in the aluminum pan to be pushed away. This left positive ions eager to stabilize themselves.

At the same time, the positively charged oxygen atoms were pulling the electrons in my negatively charged hand-

"Ow!" A jolt of pain traveled down my fingers, hair standing on end. Along with it was a bright release of light and heat.

Overlooking the slightly warmer pan, I held on to the twitching hand and checked the damage. The tips of my fingers were a bit red, but the injury looked minimal.

I let out a deep breath and relaxed my posture. Ozone was present in the air, so I moved to open up the window.

Note to self, be more careful when trying something new. Good thing I didn't experiment on the energy of an active current…

While the room was airing out, I stuck my fingers under cold water. It didn't feel much better, but the throbbing lessened.

Aside from hurting myself, this was a triumph. Since I can create electric charges like I just did, I might eventually be capable of controlling magnetic fields.

Not to mention how much potential this opens up. If I can manipulate electrons, then what's stopping me from changing protons and neutrons? Can I also influence light? What if I go smaller than that?

I let my mind run on the possibilities and a small grin appeared on my face. A whole new world made itself known. Not only could I manipulate the domain of the atomic, I could now touch reality on the quantum level.

X X X

The warmth of the outside breeze brushed against my face as I exited the library. I fortunately had the foresight to bring along my school bag in order to hold all the books I borrowed.

Ranging from quantum chromodynamics to an AP biology textbook, I now had plenty of material to work with.

There was a sort of eagerness that rivaled the first time I used my esper ability. Once more, the capabilities for Energy manipulation seemed limitless.

I found myself walking home during the evening again. Not that I was complaining. Were it any earlier, the sun would be beating down heavily.

Being so in deep thought, it was only natural that I would be distracted from the mountain of misfortune heading my direction.

A heavy force suddenly collided with my body. Gravity took its hold and I felt the brunt of it. My back stung, but I ignored it in favor of finding out what happened.

A boy quickly got off my body and helped me off the ground. "Are you okay?"

I looked at his face and saw he was older than me by a couple years, at least a high schooler. Spiky black hair and- he bolted off as soon as I said I was fine.

Breaking off in the middle of a conversation is a bit rude. At least end the exchange. Why was he in such a hurry anyways?

The sound of footsteps filled the area. Sliding out from around a corner was a group of no less than a dozen guys looking very pissed.

The gang saw the direction the boy went and began running. They weren't slowing down even though I happened to be right in their path.

I looked to my right and saw it was all closed shops. To my left was a busy street. And to my displeasure, after weighing my options, I decided to run after the boy.

This is one of the few situations where I felt thankful for taking PE. Without the daily physical exercise, I likely would've been trampled.

I soon caught up to the black haired boy and matched his pace.

"Why are these guys chasing you!" I shouted over to Spiky hair.

He looked over and his eyes widened, "WHAT?"

Grumbling, I took in a deep breath and yelled. "WHY ARE YOU RUNNING?"

That time, he was able to hear me as clear as day. Along with everyone within a 50 yard radius.

"It's a long story!" His response was short in order to focus on breathing.

Despite the consistent distance we kept with the group, they weren't letting up.

Formulating a few ideas on how to get out of this position, I almost missed the spiky haired boy skidding to a stop.

I cut my momentum and turned to the boy. "Why are you stopping, we need to move!" My legs felt heavy and my feet were sore.

Without a glance, the boy quickly responded. "You go on ahead! They're not after you, so the moment you're gone I can lose them myself."

With resolve in his voice, he distanced his legs and raised his fists.

I turned to run, but an uneasy feeling settled over me.

Why am I stopping? He's right, this has nothing to do with me. It's only logical to leave him behind now.

I could be doing something else right now. Like practicing my abilities or learning new concepts.

It'd be so much easier just to leave.

…

I planted my foot down and let out a tired sigh.

Spiky hair wore a bewildered expression. "What are you doing? I said to run!"

I scoffed, resisting the desire to roll my eyes. "What am I doing? What do you think you're doing?" I shoved my hand into my pocket, "Stalling this many targets is unrealistic. The least I could do is even the odds."

He was quick to rebuke. "It was my bad luck that caused this situation, so it's my problem to deal with. You shouldn't have been dragged into this mess."

"A bit too late for that now, isn't it?" I turned to look forward, dropping my bag.

It was likely that he was frustrated with my answer; but as soon as he followed my gaze his priorities shifted.

The mob had finally caught up.

It was bigger than I initially thought.

With around twenty individuals, they began to encircle us, blocking any potential escape. Their supposed leader took a step forward.

"What's this? The bastard's got some guts thinking that one more pair of fists is going to get you out of the beating we have in store for you." Numerous chuckles emanated from the crowd.

The group advanced slowly, dragging metal pipes across the ground or playing with knives.

A majority of these guys are wielding hand held weapons. Chances are this is a level zero gang.

Spiky haired moved behind me so that we would be back-to-back. Judging from his stance, he had some knowledge regarding martial arts. Might be a level zero as well.

It was then that the fighting started.

The first thug ran forward in hopes of taking out the 'weakest' opponent. Before he could even reach my AIM field, a burst of air erupted in front of him. Launching backwards, the thug was caught by his fellow members.

"Watch it! That one's an esper!" With surprising coordination, the more dangerously armed men moved to my side of the fight.

Spiky haired, on the other hand seemed to be handling himself fine. I didn't dare take my eyes off the enemies in front of me, but it sounded like the gang members were having a hard time with the boy.

Seven of the gang members rushed me all at once. The two who reached me first were wielding batons.

As they swung down, I brought up my guard and let the weapons land on my forearms. I was able to remove the kinetic energy from the swings and amplify my own push on the batons.

The sticks launched from the thug's hands and hit their stomach and face respectively.

A slight throbbing on both of my arms made itself known to me. It started bruising shortly after.

There was more strength in those attacks than I anticipated. I shouldn't underestimate these guys.

Stopping a pipe from impacting my head, I made sure to decrease the energy of the air around the weapon as extra insurance.

Just as that thug backed off, another took his place and thrusted a knife forward.

It barely grazed my check as I shoved the gang member forward. He was flung back but, like the first thug, was caught by his compatriots.

As soon as he was gone, a metal bat came swinging at my side.

This dragged on for the next thirty seconds. I would block or dodge a weapon, then catapult the assailant back into the safety of the crowd. It was becoming more difficult concentrating due to the cuts and bruises forming on my body.

The sweat was starting to get in my eyes. Wiping my forehead, I only managed to smear blood across it. I was gasping for air at this point.

This isn't enough… I need something that'll stop them in their tracks. Something that'll end this arduous cycle of strikes.

Wait… Maybe that might work.

I waited for a break in the attacks—when the gang members were switching out in order to rest.

Now!

The calculations were quick and I made sure that neither me nor the thugs would be permanently wounded.

I held out my left hand with fingers spread apart. I had predicted the electrons, memorized the needed energy inputs, and set up a protective 'shield' to stop any rebound.

I was ready to bring this fighting to its finale. Or at least give the spiky haired boy and myself a short break.

Just as the next group of gang members rushed me, the boy behind me was hit with a blow and knocked into my left side.

I could faintly hear the sound of glass breaking.

For a second, my AIM field disappeared completely. It was as though it flickered off and on like a light switch.

Fear struck my body as the preparations and calculations were completely wiped out; the next group of thugs would overwhelm me if I used simple air jets and kinetic dampeners.

In a panic, I haphazardly reset my calculations and made sure that the attack would be non-lethal. In order to do it in such a short time, I had to cut out some of the previous precautions.

Blue lightning erupted from my fingers and impacted four of the group. They yelped in surprise as their muscles spasmed due to the electric impulses.

Random bursts of electricity streaked up my arm as the hastily prepared attack was missing the components needed to prevent the current from harming myself.

It was as though liquid nitrogen was traveling through my veins, rupturing the tissue and nerves within my limb.

Tears threatened to break through and my mind was clouded by the sheer amount of agony that was pulsating through my arm.

I bit the inside of my lip, not willing to show weakness, lest I break the image of power.

The fighting abruptly stopped, only to be filled with the sound of cars in the distance, heavy breathing, and the muted crackling of electricity dying down.

All eyes were on me. I could feel the immense pressure of every persons' gaze; their expressions filled with a mixture of awe and fright.

Before anyone could make a move, two black vans and a patrol car screeched to a stop at the sidewalk. The clacking of boots soon followed.

"This is Anti-Skill, freeze and put your hands behind your head!"

The silence was broken and the tense atmosphere dissipated.

The gang members scattered with the least injured able to get past the officers. "You've signed a death warrant picking a fight with Big Spider you unnatural freak! We'll crush you damn espers to a pulp!" The head of the gang spat out his last words before slipping into the shadows.

I let out a sigh. Adrenaline was still high, but it would wear off eventually. As Anti-Skill went around cuffing the 'Big Spider' members, I checked over my person. The cuts from the knives were rather shallow, the bruises would probably heal in a few days. My flip phone awkwardly pressed against my thigh, having been left open after calling Anti-Skill earlier.

But that wasn't my concern.

My arm was still twitching slightly and felt numb from fingertips to elbow. Looking at it, the skin somehow remained fairly undamaged, if not a bit burnt. It was the internal effects that I was worried about.

I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"You doing alright?" It was the Spiky haired boy. Also known as the lead protagonist of the series, Kamijou Touma.

I turned to look at Kamijou, seeing him for the first time since the beginning of the fight. Like me, he was covered in bruises and cuts. However, his were far more extensive and deep; blood covered his arms.

"I'm fine. How about you?" I could hear an ambulance in the distance, likely coming to pick up the more heavily injured individuals from the fight.

Kamijou was sweating profusely and his breathing was ragged. "It's just a couple cuts. A bit of blood loss is nothing." Taking a step forward, he stumbled and I moved to catch him on my right side.

"Yeah, 'it's nothing'. Sure looks that way." While my response was filled with sarcasm, I couldn't help but smile a bit. "Minamoto Ken."

"Kamijou Touma." He wore a similarly weary grin. "A pleasure, Shogun-san."

An Anti-Skill officer took Kamijou's other shoulder and led him to a stretcher. Soon after, the ambulance left for the hospital.

"Pleasure's all mine, Hero-san…"

Picking up my school bag from the ground, I turned my attention to the nearest Anti-Skill officer hoping that I wasn't going to be detained.

This better not take all night.