Chapter 4: A Certain Freeloading Forbidden Index. Arrow_Made_of_AZUSA.[Part 10]

August 31, 9:21 PM.

He had wasted a lot of time with the distraction the stupid cat had made.

Kamijou grabbed the stupid cat's neck as he continued to sprint wildly in the night street. As it was past dinner time, the students who had been outside had disappeared like a low tide. The only sounds that could be heard on this empty street came from a cable broadcast and a row of television sets in the front of an electronics shop. In a customer-less convenience store, a man who looked like a student was just standing about at the cashier.

(This is bad. It's been so long, things have probably gotten bad by now.)

Kamijou exhaled, hoping that he could ease his anxiety.

The burly man who took Index away probably didn't want to kill her...probably. If that was the case, he shouldn't cause any harm to her. But that didn't mean that the situation was looking good.

Right now, the most troublesome thing was that Kamijou didn't even have any clues. No matter how he continued to run forward, he had a feeling that he was running further and further away. No matter what he did, it would just add on to his anxiety.

(And the problem is that I can't stand around at the same place! Damn it, is my method of running to make up for the lack of information not enough!?)

That white nun really gives so many problems! Kamijou cursed as he turned around the corner with such momentum.

A girl who was coming around the corner nearly knocked into him.

"AHHH!! Wha, what are you doing here!?"

The girl who didn't sound like a girl had shoulder length tea-colored hair and a look that didn't want to admit defeat. She had a grey pleated skirt, a short-sleeved shirt and a thin summer jacket.

"I finally found you! Why did you leave me behind and run off with that fake Unabara!? What happened to you during the day? It seems like you got involved in the tower collapse incident. Are you hurt? Really, if you're alright, you should have called me to tell me that you're alright...eh? Don't you know my cell phone number?"

Misaka Mikoto.

An elite student in the famed esper development school Tokiwadai Middle School, and one of the 7 Level 5 espers in Academy City. She was a girl with the Electromaster ability, and the electric shocks she released from her bangs could reach 1 billion volts. Kamijou and her were more rivals than friends, but right now, Kamijou didn't have time to bother with her as he turned around the corner.

Completely ignored, Mikoto shouted,

"E, EH!? OI, WAIT UP! WHY ARE YOU IGNORING ME!?"

Kamijou heard Mikoto shout at him, but he ignored her.

He continued to run.

"OI! THAT'S TOO MUCH ALREADY!!"

Kamijou decided to ignore her completely.

There was no reason for her to get involved in this.

"You, better pay attention—always making people angry..."

Pa! Kamijou could hear sparks from behind.

Shocked, he turned back to see Mikoto's bangs let out bluish-white sparks. Like what was just described, Mikoto's shocks could reach 1 billion volts. If the title 'Railgun' wasn't legendary enough, perhaps a natural electric shock could be understood more easily.

Kamijou stretched his right hand out.

Any supernatural power, whether esper or magic could be negated by this right hand on contact. Though Kamijou knew that his right hand could negate Mikoto's railgun, he still found it terrifying. Besides, if he didn't negate it completely, the aftermath couldn't even be imagined.

PAM! Mikoto's bangs let out some bluish-white electrical flashes.

BOOM! The sparks instantly ripped through the air.

"!?"

But the sparks weren't aimed at Kamijou, instead they hit a nearby cleaning robot which just so happened to be cleaning up some chewing gum on the ground.

In a moment, the sound generator of the cleaning robot started to explode from inside. BAM! The shockwave-like impact destroyed the sound generator, causing the glass doors of the nearby department stores to tremble.

Of course Kamijou, who was just within the vicinity of this ear-deafening power, was severely affected. The shockwave went through his ears and into his body, robbing him of his balance and causing him to stumble about. He could only stop and shake his head that was in chaos thoroughly. Even the stupid cat in Kamijou's hand went from a cute 'nyanya' cry of complaint to an agitated 'KYAKYA!' that was like a scream.

And this time, Mikoto seemed to be satisfied that Kamijou stopped and said,

"Humph you finally stopped. Really, almost knocking into me, and you didn't even say sorry. Really, you...eh? What's wrong? Why do you look like you're about to cry!?"

"I'M REALLY IN A HURRY, YOU KNOW!! I HAVE TO SETTLE MY HOMEWORK AND A KIDNAPPING AND A RESTAURANT INCIDENT WHERE I ENDED UP EATING A FREE MEAL!!! PLEASE TRY AND UNDERSTAND FOR NOW, WILL YOU!!?"

Almost giving up, Kamijou roared, causing Mikoto to be taken aback.

But he didn't care, and continued,

"WHAT IS IT? DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING YOU WANT WITH ME!? IF THERE IS, PLEASE ANSWER WITHIN 40 SECONDS AFTER THE BEEP! BEEP—!!"

"Eh? Ah? What.? It's nothing, it's just that I'm a little angry that you ignored me. It's nothing much...nothing much at all..."

"EXCUSE ME!!!"

Kamijou turned around and sprinted away from Mikoto.

If he calmly analyzed this, he could have gotten hints that she seemed to have feelings for him, but right now, Kamijou didn't have time to calmly analyze.

"Ah...wait! YOU'RE GOING OFF LIKE THIS? OI!!"

Kamijou heard Mikoto shouting at him, but he ignored it.

And he continued to run.