Hey guys, this is my first fanfic, I hope you like it. English is not my first language, so I apologize for the grammar mistakes.

Chapter 1 - Back to the darkness

Academy City has always been known for two things. For its scientific and technological advancements, which put the entire city 30 years in the future compared to the rest of the world, and of course the main attraction: esper powers. All Academy city students were subjected to the power curriculum program, where most would become a level 0. However, this was not the case for Mugino Shizuri, #4. She belonged to the select group of those who represented the pinnacle of esper development: Level 5.

"This is a total waste of time," said Mugino straightening her hair. "When was the last time that bitch gave us a decent job?"

At that moment, Meltdowner was in a black vehicle that resembled a van, along with her fellow members of the Item. She wore a violet dress with shorts, along with black stockings and white boots. Her face was one of complete boredom. The Vehicle moved lazily through the dark streets of the city, trying to attract as little attention as possible.

"You're super right. I'm tired of all these simple services. I wanted a little more excitement," that was Kinuhata Saiai, a level 4 with the Offense Armor.

"Basically, what are you guys complaining about? Easy money once in a while is all I need." The blonde, Frenda Seiveilum, entered the conversation without taking her eyes off her smartphone.

Mugino gave an irritated sigh at the blonde's comment, but decided it wasn't worth her time to try to retort. Today would be just another ordinary day in the life of the #4. Or so she imagined. Little did she know that tonight would be the kickoff to a major change in her life.

xx-xx

In a dark alley, a person was walking hurriedly, as if he were late for an appointment. The young man looked quite plain, with a face that would blend easily into a crowd. He had dark blue eyes, almost black, and his relaxed, casual posture contrasted with his haste. Wearing simple clothes, almost entirely in black, the only thing that could stand out about the boy was his spiky black hair.

"I'm here, finally," said the boy, a little breathless from the intense walk, he didn't seem to be talking to anyone in particular.

He looked across the street, more specifically at a house, or more precisely a mansion. It had a different architecture than the normal one in Academy City, much like the kind a famous actor or idol would choose.

"This place is pretty isolated, so you better go soon before you start drawing attention," the young, female voice sounded in his ear, startling him briefly.

"Can't you give this Kamijou-san some time to get ready?"

Yes, the name of our suspect today was none other than Kamijou Touma. He complained softly once again to the voice in his ear, like a ritual to build up courage or something.

"It's not the first time you've done something like this, why are you so nervous today?" insisted the female voice.

"That's all my luck's fault. Today, the day was relatively quiet, which means something bad is about to happen."

Before he even heard the voice response in his earpiece, the boy moved to the back of the mansion. With extreme caution, he jumped up and climbed the six-foot high fence. Luckily it was not electrified. Now with his feet on the grass, he ducked behind a nearby bush, trying to blend into the darkness.

"I'm on the lawn. I don't see any guards. Looks like you were right about the shift change."

"You're welcome," the girl promptly replied "By the way, I'm watching you on the outside security cameras. Do you need assistance?"

Kamijou nodded silently. He was sure he heard the young woman smile. At this point, you must be wondering what our young man with spiky hair is doing sneaking around a mansion like he's in a spy movie. The answer to this was complicated to say the least. In fact, things kept getting more and more complicated since the day Kamijou Touma discovered the existence of the so-called "Dark Side of Academy City".

"You better watch out, one is coming your way," The voice in his earpiece warned as he snuck into the next bush.

Kamijou lay down on the ground, reducing his visibility as much as possible, taking care not to drop the riot shield he was carrying.

"I wonder if this thing is bulletproof?" He thought, a little worried.

Just then, a man coming from the left carrying an assault rifle stopped about four meters away from where Kamijou was lying on the grass. This was his chance. As soon as the man in black clothes turned his back, the young man with spiky hair stood up. Carefully, the boy hit the poor guard in the back of the head with his transparent shield. With a deafening thud, the man's limp body touched the ground.

"Don't relax yet, there are two more near you," the voice announced calmly

"Where?"

"One is coming from behind, the second is standing just beyond the wooden wall."

Without wasting a single second, Kamijou Touma shot toward a nearby wall. The instant the guard passed Kamijou, he was knocked out without a hitch, courtesy of his riot shield. The next guard ended up having the same fate, falling coldly to the hard floor of the small brick garden road.

"Anyone else?" asked Touma, crouching down on the small wooden bench.

"I suggest avoiding the two who are walking together to your right. Follow them to the back door and up the stairs. Your goal is ..."

"I know," he replied categorically "You made me study plans remember?"

"Which means a lot coming from you."

"Hey, are you trying to say that this Kamijou-san doesn't pay attention to your warnings?

"Just stating a fact."

This time he was sure she was laughing.

With no further complaints to make, Kamijou used the back door to enter the gigantic house. According to his contact, the house belonged to a scientist involved in the dark side of Academy City. He had left tonight for an important meeting, so it was the best possible time for Touma to sneak in.

"This must be it." He turned the doorknob. "Still around? I'm not going to get blown up by some trap or something am I?"

"Unlikely. It would be stupid to have traps inside the mansion."

"Knowing my luck..."

Entering the room, he realizes that the office was much simpler than he imagined. The room itself was quite large, but the decor was simplistic. There was a large wooden desk with a computer and a comfortable chair, as well as some bookshelves with books and documents and nothing else worth mentioning. Before he goes to the computer, he slowly opens the window, giving the outside a last check.

"Just put this 'flash drive' in and you do the rest, right? I'm not very good with computers."

"You seem more nervous than when you were violently taking down those guards."

"It's not what it looks like." He shrugged and plugged the flash drive(or whatever it was) into the USB port. "I mean, the security in this place is not the best. Don't you think that's strange?"

"It's a personal residence, I think the security is adequate. Paranoid as usual." She gave another one of her giggles. "OK, I'm getting the data, just a few more minutes and..."

There was a great pause in the communication. That would make anyone worried, so imagine what our boy known for his misfortune was thinking at that very moment.

"Something wrong?" his voice came out almost in a whisper.

"You could say we have a little problem"

xx-xx

"OK, let's make this quick," Mugino spoke, getting out of the car and looking at the mansion in front of her. "Kinuhata, you go with Frenda, Takitsubo comes with me from the back."

With a quick nod, the other girls followed orders without saying a single word. Mugino was never known for being a patient person. She just wanted to finish this boring job, go home, get paid, and get on with her life.

Mugino Shizuri's life was anything but modest. Accustomed to the best, her jobs for the dark side helped to bankroll her fancy and expensive lifestyle. The big problem was that lately, she was no longer feeling the same excitement that she used to. The work was boring, her life of shopping and luxury was getting more and more monotonous, and she honestly didn't consider her teammates as friends. 'Helpers' at best.

"Hey, hold it right there." A man wearing black pointed his assault rifle in Mugino's direction, who looked at him with an expression that was a mixture of boredom and disgust.

The poor bastard didn't even have time to react when a greenish electron beam pierced him in the chest. Seeing the commotion, other guards tried uselessly to shoot Mugino. What number 4 did was very simple, she just used her ability, which caused the electrons to be in an ambiguous state between wave and particle, to make a shield of pure energy. The three men discharged the entire comb, only to be eliminated with no problem by the level 5 Meltdowner who didn't even bother to leave the place.

"Is that all you guys can do? Worthless pieces of shit!" cursed the number 4, making light of the collateral damage caused.

xxx-xxx

"Hey, what the hell is going on down there?" Kamijou asked, a little louder than he should have been.

"Trouble, a lot of it." The girl sounded a little desperate.

"How's the progress with the files?" Touma was starting to break out in a cold sweat, but he wasn't going to leave there empty-handed.

"Have you gone crazy? You better get out of there now. Your luck really is the worst."

All Kamijou could do was smile wryly at the inevitable. His misfortune indeed knew no bounds.

xxx-xxx

"Where are the others?" Meltdowner asked, walking up the stairs toward the office.

"They have already finished eliminating the remaining ones. They should be reunited soon."

"Good, stay here and wait for them" Mugino ordered.

Going ahead, the Level 5 walked to the office door and turned the knob. What she found there was not surprising.

"There really isn't anyone." She almost shrugged.

However, there was something that was bothering her. On the way here she found something puzzling. For a moment she thought it was just some guards who were knocked out by one of her teammates, but something didn't add up.

"Maybe I'm wrong," she said it strangely loud, almost as if she wasn't talking to herself.

She turned toward the exit. Her hair blew in the cold wind from the open window.

"I mean, what was I expecting anyway?"

At that instant, she smiled. It was not a smile of happiness. That smile was imbued with murderous intent. Turning slowly, a greenish ball of electrons appeared and without warning shot out.

"You think I'm dumb?" She shouted as the greenish beam was aimed at the giant curtain beside the window. A strangely suspicious one, by the way. "Die like the piece of trash you are."

It was at this moment that time seemed to stop. Mugino instinctively took a step back when her "target," hidden behind the curtain, did not turn into a charred piece of meat.

"What?" Doubt filled the tea-colored girl's voice.

A characteristic high-pitched sound was heard as a right hand was raised. The person Mugino had shot quickly came out of his "hiding place" and looked straight into her brown eyes. The first thing she noticed in that dimly lit office was the open window, then the clearly suspicious curtain. All that talking to herself out loud was just an act. She wanted to play with her prey a little, to make him believe he was safe in his obvious hiding place, only to see him crumble surprised into a pool of his own blood. But this didn't happen, and Mugino didn't exactly understand the reason behind this turn of events.

"Mugino, we..." A voice sounded at that moment, snapping Meldowner out of her little trance. It was Takitsubo.

It all happened very quickly. In the moment of distraction, the mysterious young man who had just miraculously escaped unharmed from a direct attack by the most destructive ability in the entire academy city, simply slipped out of Mugino's sight, throwing himself through the open window.

"Huh?" Level 5 was still a bit stunned by what had happened.

As soon as she broke free from her initial shock, the girl walked toward the window. There was no more sign of the boy.

"Who was that?" Takitsubo asked, completely lost.

She didn't answer, not immediately. Mugino thought for a moment, her eyes turned to the computer on the desk, then to the other two girls who had just arrived.

"As you may have noticed, there was a rat hiding here." She shrugged, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Any idea who he is?" Takitsubo insisted.

"And how the hell would I know? Didn't you record his AIM field?"

Now it was Takitsubo's turn to freeze. With her AIM Stalker ability, she could easily track someone after seeing their AIM field once, but there was a problem in this case. Perhaps because the target's field was too weak or simply didn't exist, Takitsubo was unable to track him down.

"Are you sure he was an esper?" The stoic girl asked an innocent question, but Mugino didn't seem to take it very well.

"Of fucking course." The irritation was evident "Either that or he had some weird technology, which I highly doubt. What, don't tell me you're getting rusty?"

The expressionless young woman cringed, which made Mugino narrow her eyes.

"Well, no way then. Our work here is done."

Announcing the end of the mission with one last beam of Meltdowner fired at the computer, the beautiful young woman turned and headed for the door, taking one last look over her shoulder.

xxxx-xxxx

"That was close."

Kamijou was completely out of breath. They say that adrenaline makes the human body perform miraculous feats. After denying whatever it was that crazy girl shot at him, he simply grabbed the flash drive as fast as he could and then threw himself out the second-floor window. It wasn't much of a fall, but even if it was, the boy couldn't even think of anything but running. He had been discovered and almost died for it. Besides, there was a good chance that she would recognize his face. At this moment he could only pray that his face was as forgettable as he was told.

"Kamijou," there was that voice again, this time with pure concern "Kamijou, are you okay?"

"Yes, I think so," he said between heavy breaths. He couldn't resist the temptation to look back, just to be sure.

"Great, you gave me quite a scare there," the voice was more relieved. "That was reckless, you know that right?"

"I hope it was worth it."

He examined the device in his hand. With a tired sigh, he looked up at the sky. His evening had not been a complete success, but honestly, he had been in worse situations.

xx-xx

Mugino Shizuri rolled her eyes for what seemed like the thousandth time since that "connection" had begun. After explaining the situation to the Item liaison, she decided to take a long shower. That day had been... strange. Nothing seemed out of place until "it" happened.

'Maybe I missed the target?' She shook her head at the thought. There was no way she could have missed a static target. As an assassin of the dark side, she would be in trouble if she made such a silly mistake.

'What did he do then?'

Wrapping a towel around her body and another around her head, she couldn't stop thinking about that boy as she wandered aimlessly around the room. Mugino was not the kind of person who liked to leave loose ends. She was the kind of player who would only be satisfied with a perfect score, so letting that spiky-haired young man slip through her fingers left a bad taste in her mouth.

'What Takitsubo said was strange. I've never seen her fail once. But at the same time, I'm sure that guy is an esper, and with a powerful defensive ability, considering he was able to go against my Meltdowner.'

Lost in thought, she walked over to her gigantic closet. Changing into something comfortable, she threw herself on her bed. She wouldn't be sleeping anytime soon.

'Luckily I saw his face. But what are the chances of finding him again walking around?'

Little did Mugino Shizuri know that the person intriguing her was basically a magnet for dangerous and powerful people like her.

xx-xx

The next morning, Kamijou Touma awoke to the abrupt sound of someone knocking violently on his door. Getting up, still sleepy, he slipped on his own sheet, falling face down on the hard floor. He didn't even bother to complain with his characteristic phrase, since he knew very well that even more misfortune awaited him that day.

"Yomikawa-san?" said Kamijou, looking at his teacher standing in the doorway.

"What's up Kamijou-chan, I heard you had a rough night."

The busty woman cracked a smile as she invited herself in without the slightest concern for the opinion of the owner of the house.

"Yes, you can come in sensei, don't stand on ceremony," he said with his tongue leaking sarcasm.

Yomikawa was the physical education teacher at the school Kamijou used to attend. Emphasis on "used to". In fact, Touma had not been to school for about two months in a row, making his chances of being held back for a year overwhelming.

"You didn't come to practice yesterday," spoke the teacher with a demanding tone.

The woman crossed her arms, accentuating her breasts that stood out in that green gym uniform. She gave him a sharp look, which had the desired effect.

"I... was busy," he stammered, looking away.

"Yes, I know. Busy trying to kill yourself."

"How do you always know what I'm doing? You didn't interrogate her again, did you?

Sighing, Yomikawa shook her head negatively. The worry was clear on his face.

"I have my methods, but that's beside the point. Back to business, I expect to see you today at the anti-skill training center, without fail."

The fact was that Kamijou Touma did not feel comfortable having to receive private self-defense lessons. Yomikawa was one of the few people who knew about his "nocturnal endeavors". She tried to convince him to stop at first, but realizing that the effort was futile, she volunteered to train him properly. The problem was that Kamijou was not the most diligent student. To be fair to the poor unfortunate boy, Yomikawa was not the "kindest" teacher, at least not when it came to trying to turn her idiotic student into a decent fighter. Most training sessions came down to Touma being practically a punching bag. She really didn't hold back. Kamijou was not exactly a bad fighter. In the past, he used to walk through dangerous areas and wander down alleys at night, come to think of it this habit had not gone away. This made him a relatively decent street fighter, but he still lacked refinement since he never had formal training.

"I have to meet a friend today -" Kamijou started to speak but stopped abruptly when Yomikawa pierced him with her sharp gaze. "Come to think of it, I think I have some free time."

The pointy-haired boy put his right hand on the back of his head. He only relaxed when his amazon teacher changed her expression to something more pleasant.

"That's better. I want you there as soon as possible. Then you'd better hurry."

Turning away with a nod, the woman left the dormitory. In that instant, the young man let out a breath he had not even known he was holding. It seemed that this day would be just as long as the last. And the one before that ...

xx-xx

Mugino Shizuri's morning had not been the best. She hadn't slept properly that night, so she felt like blowing up the first person who dared to look at her funny. Her group had not received any assignments, so the four girls decided to have lunch at a familiar restaurant known throughout district 7: "Joseph's". This was a classic meeting place. The food was not the best, but it was decent, and its location was excellent for their needs.

"Basically, you're crazy. I understood absolutely nothing about that mediocre movie," Frenda said, looking irritated at the short girl in the white dress.

"You want to repeat that? I will super break your back if you call that masterpiece 'mediocre'."

Mugino completely ignored the pointless arguing between her two teammates. The blonde and the short brown-haired girl were walking side by side, leading the group, while she and Takitsubo were further back. As usual, Kinuhata insisted on trying to spread her peculiar tastes to the rest of the team. She was once a victim of one of his "amazing" low-budget movies. Honestly, she thought it all sucked, but she didn't have the energy to spend on stupid things, so she gave up criticizing them around the eighth or ninth time. Besides, today her mind was even further away than it used to be. Whenever she tried to concentrate on something important, her thoughts would go back to the last night.

"The place seems kind of crowded today," Takitsubo said, drawing Mugino out of her thoughts.

She was so distracted that she didn't even notice that they had already reached their destination. The two arguing girls had already entered the establishment, so Mugino decided to turn her mind back to planet Earth and follow them to a vacant table. But that's when it happened, before she could even take the first step into the restaurant, a familiar figure passed through the crowd. His appearance was nothing special, and his only relatively unique feature was that spiky hair. He wore an orange T-shirt and simple blue pants. That guy, walking nonchalantly with one hand in his pocket, was the kind of person who would never catch Mugino Shizuri's eye. He was the total opposite of her, who always wore expensive, designer clothes, and possessed an appearance that would make many models envious, of course, she knew that it could all be a facade, a way to avoid attracting attention.

"Looks like it's my lucky day." She couldn't help but smile.

What were the chances of her meeting the same person so soon? She had no way of knowing that they were actually quite high, considering who we were talking about. Taking advantage of her co-workers' distraction, she instinctively started following the boy who caught her attention. Losing track of him was almost impossible since that hair stood out like a sore thumb. After only a few seconds, she noticed that the boy began to pick up his pace, practically pushing through the stream of people coming in her direction.

'Did he see me?" It wouldn't be surprising, she wasn't exactly caring about keeping up appearances. He was not a target of her work, at least not anymore, this was something more... personal.

She kept following him, rudely pushing people out of her way. If she had been in doubt, now she was sure that the mysterious young man knew he was being followed. In a turn of events that surprised her, the boy made a quick right turn, entering an alley. For a moment she thought he was trying to lose her, until she found him standing with his back to her in the middle of the wide alley.

"Look at that, if you're not exactly the person I most wanted to meet," said Meltdowner, with a disturbing grin on her face.

The boy didn't react immediately. Slowly turning around, he took a good look at the girl a few meters away. He still looked very relaxed.

"Such misfortune," he muttered softly, but enough for her to hear.

Mugino frowned upon hearing that, but she soon returned to her usual self.

"I don't think I need to tell you what comes next, do I?"

The smile on her face widened as she raised her right hand and a ball of electrons appeared at her side.

"Hey, wait. Isn't this going a little too fast?" said the spiky-haired boy, sounding a little desperate "I mean, you're not the first esper with the quick trigger finger I've encountered, but you're not even going to bother trying to talk first? This Kamijou-san doesn't like it when people even try to listen to what he has to say." He raised his arms and made an "X", trying futilely to avoid a tragedy.

'Kamijou? So that's his name'

"Very well." She shook her head positively, making the boy relax a little "Survive this and I will listen to what you have to say."

And then he immediately tensed up again when a Meltdowner beam was fired without warning in his direction. Mugino had high expectations for what came next, and she certainly wasn't disappointed when the boy raised his right hand. In an instinctive move, the young man shook his arm, slapping the back of his hand against the green beam that was pointing at his face. With the sharp sound of breaking glass, the laser was dispelled in an instant.

'There you go, it was the same as last time'

Mugino was a person that many would consider proud. Coming from a wealthy family, she was used to always having everything she wanted. Obviously, her pride also extended to her skills as an esper. Seeing someone dissipate her ability like they were swatting away a fly would surely be something that would make her a little angry. But the strange thing was that the expression on her face was more puzzlement than irritation. She didn't know why, but the boy in front of her didn't arouse her anger. Mugino had indeed attacked him, and he surely would have died if he hadn't done... whatever he had just done. The fact that he remained unharmed was certainly something worthy of her interest, even if it was the second time she had seen something like this.

"Who the hell are you anyway? What is your esper ability? What is the level of it?"

The Level 5 waited patiently for the answer to her flurry of questions. The boy made a unique expression, if she had to guess, probably many people had asked him the same question.

"Well... "he began, putting his hand behind his head as if searching for the right words "Would you believe me if I said I don't have an esper power?"

"Huh?" she really didn't expect an answer like that "You're fucking with me, aren't you?" she smiled again, but that smile surely had murderous intentions "Who the hell do you think you're talking to? You think you can just sneer at me like I'm some little bitch?

Another sphere of pure energy was generated beside her, shooting unceremoniously in the direction of the unfortunate boy. But this time, the beam ability was not cancelled.

xx-xx

Kamijou Touma was indeed unlucky. That was an undeniable fact, but the last few days had been pushing the limits of what was acceptable even for him. All he wanted was to go to one of the Judgment offices to find out what his friend had discovered after analyzing the data he had sent last night, until he started being chased by a crazy girl with tea-colored hair. And she was not just another crazed esper that he used to face almost every day, she was the same girl who tried to kill him the night before, and here she was, trying again.

'Her ability is indeed powerful, but only seems to move in a straight line. If I can predict the timing of the shot, I should have no problem dodging it.'

As soon as he thought of it, his body practically moved on its own out of the path of the laser thrown in his direction. He had already proven that the skill in his right hand, Imagine Breaker, was effective against any esper skill, but he knew that relying on it alone was not always ideal. You never know what tricks your enemy might have up his sleeve, so keeping your opponent always thinking about what he can and cannot do was essential in a battle.

'Here it comes again'

The girl didn't wait for him to recover, more green balls appeared around her, totaling four. The beams flew toward him. He denied the first two, moving his hand in an arc, keeping his fingers spread wide to cover as much area as possible, while at the same time, he rolled to his left, dodging the two remaining attacks.

"No power at all isn't it?" The girl was shouting now "You must think you're pretty smart, don't you? Piece of garbage."

"You said you would listen to me if I survived your attack. Don't you think you're being a little unfair here?"

"Oh? You're right I said I would listen to you, but I don't remember specifying that you had to survive one attack only."

Laughing hysterically, she fired three more beams of lightning in the boy's direction. This time he twisted his body downward and slid forward. One of the strikes narrowly missed his left side, leaving a burn mark on his clothes.

"Don't give me that, you're the kind of person who refuses to lose an argument aren't you?"

"Actually, you are partially correct. And I'm also the type who hates liars."

The next burst of attacks was more unpredictable than the other. Kamijou had noticed that she probably wasn't capable of shooting consecutively in quick succession, which gave him enough of a gap to handle in that wide alley. Of course, that didn't help all that much when a single blow that didn't hit his right hand had the potential to end the fight instantly.

He rolled behind a pile of trash, causing a bunch of debris to fly as the green lasers hit. On instinct, his right hand negated a beam that came precisely toward his head. The rain of trash was supposed to serve as a distraction, but the girl was a better fighter than he had expected. She was certainly not like the other espers.

xx-xx

"That, throw yourself in the trash like the rat you are," cursed Meltdowner, carving a wall with her destructive skill.

That alley was already very different from what it used to be. Level 5 had already done considerable damage to its surroundings. This was no time to worry about collateral damage, not when the enemy kept blocking and dodging attacks.

'He doesn't seem to have any form of long-distance attack. If he did he would have already attacked me and I doubt he is holding back.'

An unpredictable action brought Mugino out of her thoughts. Emerging from the curtain of dirt, the spiky-haired boy shot toward Level 5. His "ranged attack" came, but in a completely unexpected way. The Meltdowner almost had a fit of laughter when her opponent picked up a garbage bag from the ground and hurled it in her direction.

"Ok, now I know you are joking, what the hell do you intend to accomplish with this pathetic attack?"

Obviously, Meltdowner ignored the "attack" of the boy, who now looked like a desperate amateur. Mugino had to give him a little credit because at least this had given the boy a small opportunity to advance toward her. She saw him pull back his right fist, and at that moment she almost laughed. Her response to this feeble attack was simple, she used her ability to generate a shield made purely of electrons. She didn't know what the boy's ability was. If she had to guess, she would say that he can generate a kind of shield that protects him from damage, but of course that was only what she could understand from their two encounters. But that mattered little now. That fight would be over the moment that fist crashed into her energy shield.

'Idiot, attacking me like that without thinking. Show me at least a good look of pain when your arm is burned to a bone.'

The smile that Mugino had displayed was shattered in an instant. To be precise, it fell apart as fast as her shield when that right fist crashed into him. In her vision, the impossible had happened. That fist of flesh and blood had completely destroyed the shield that could stop bullets without any effort. By instinct, the tea-colored girl took a step backward, which was probably enough to ruin her attacker's aim.

Steadying herself on her two feet, the Level 5 was surprised when the boy stopped his attack. Instead of using his fist to strike her in the face, he opened his hand and held her by the left wrist. Out of reflex, she tried to raise her right arm, but the boy also held it firmly using his free hand. He then tried to pull her closer, but Mugino wasn't going to let him do what he wanted.

"Get off me, you piece of shit," she vociferated, with hate-filled eyes.

"What the hell is with that strength? Are you a gorilla by any chance?"

Something snapped at the attempted insult from the spiky-haired imbecile. She didn't care what happened, she was going to fry him with her ability until there wasn't enough left to put in a matchbox.

"You are fucking dead, do you hear me? DEAD!"

But something was wrong, and it took her about a second to realize it. Her angry face was changed to confusion.

"What? Are you the one doing this?" she almost screamed as she tried to use her ability, finding that she was unable to do "What have you done to my Meldowner?"

Driven by pure undiluted rage, she landed a knee to the belly of her enemy, who shuddered at the blow. She practically licked her lips when she heard him groan in pain. Of course, she expected the counterattack to follow, so she ignored what the hell was going on with her ability and focused on the enemy in front of her. She would finish it with her own fists if she had to. It might not be the most efficient way, but at least it had the advantage that he would be alive in the end, so maybe she would get the answers she wanted.

"Mugino?" a female voice coming from the alley entrance made the two opponents turn their eyes in the direction of the sound.

Standing there was Takitsubo Rikou. And she was not alone. Kinuhata Saiai and Frenda Seiveilum looked on in utter disbelief at the scene before them.

"Basically, what's going on here." The blonde looked at the boy standing there, still holding her boss's arms.

Noticing the attention on him, the boy instantly released the wrists of Meltdowner, who seemed a bit distant. She turned in the direction of the alley entrance, turning her back on her enemy. It was strange, but she was sure that the boy would not attack her while she was showing an opening. They say that people are able to understand each other very well while fighting, whether that was true or not was irrelevant here.

"As you can see, I'm settling the score with the rat from yesterday." She gestured with her head, but without turning in the boy's direction.

"Settling the score?" Takitsubou spoke those words slowly, almost as if he were savoring them.

The three girls had a good look around that alley. Trash was strewn everywhere, and there were several holes in the walls, obviously caused by the level 5's ability. But most interesting of all, was that one person who was apparently unharmed after what was clearly a fight against one of the only 7 level 5s in the entire city.

"He's super leaving," Kinuhata warned, lazily pointing her finger.

Turning in the opposite direction from the girls, Meltdowner saw the spiky-haired boy escaping in hurried steps. He wasn't running, but he was certainly in a hurry. Number 4 didn't bother to speak, much less shout, she just casually raised her right hand. Her ability was activated at the same instant, which somehow caused a certain relief. Whatever that boy had done, it was not permanent. All she had to do was shoot and it would all be over. Mugino was not someone who would feel remorse in attacking someone behind their back, she was a killer, and methods considered "dishonorable" didn't mean shit in the world she lived in. So what was her reason for not shooting?

"Consider yourself lucky," she said, smoothing her hair with her right hand, as the boy disappeared around the corner.

The three other girls looked at each other in confusion. Had she hesitated? Maybe having to hide a corpse in broad daylight was too much trouble and so she just let it go? They couldn't have been more wrong.

"Kamijou...who are you anyway?" this came out in a whisper, only to herself.

Mugino Shizuri was once again lost in thought. Never had someone managed to attract her attention as much as this simple-looking boy with no notable features other than that spiky hair (which was clearly not natural). She walked past her teammates without saying a word, heading back toward the restaurant that was her original destination. Mugino decided to let it go for now. It was strange to think about, but she was sure she would meet him again soon. Was that a smile on her face?

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Hello again. Thank you for reading this fanfic of dubious quality. Feel free to correct any mistakes I made.

Now, about the idea of this story. It all started when me and a friend were discussing some SS. Biohacker and Skill out uprising are my favorites. I reread them recently and couldn't stop thinking how cool it would be if Touma got more involved with the dark side of Academy City (even more). Mugino was the obvious choice to share screen time with our beloved protagonist. She is in my opinion a poorly explored character with great potential. And ToumaxMugino is my favorite crackship.

I think that's it for now. Until next time. Nio leaving.