The wind was particularly unruly today, its restless gusts making it hard for pedestrians to keep their eyes open.
After a rather calm conversation with the still-hovering-in-mid-air Juufuku Miho, Natsume Sonoko felt her job here was pretty much done.
"Um, could I... write letters to you in the future?" Miho's voice drifted down hesitantly. She adjusted her head with both hands, as if it felt unusually heavy.
"It's the 21st century, you know," Natsume Sonoko replied, entirely missing the point of the question.
Bored, she conjured two miniature tornadoes in her palm before finally looking up at Miho.
"Especially here in Academy City, where the tech is decades ahead of the outside world. You should learn to use a phone. Or a tablet, or a computer works too."
Having declined the troublesome letter-writing proposal, Natsume Sonoko, out of habit and a lack of anything better to do, swapped phone numbers with Miho for future contact.
Kuroko's arrival was, as always, completely without warning. Just as Sonoko dropped the two mini-tornadoes to the ground to stage a spinning top battle, Kuroko materialized abruptly, successfully stomping one of the mini-twisters out of existence.
"Shirai-san, next time, please watch your step," Sonoko said, a hint of displeasure on her face as she looked at the newly arrived Shirai Kuroko.
She casually dismissed the ability maintaining the remaining mini-tornado.
The surviving mini-tornado skittered across the ground for a moment before quickly dissipating into the air.
"My, my, color me surprised, Natsume-san. Using tornadoes to hang someone mid-air," Kuroko remarked, sounding as if she had an exclamation mark hovering over her head as she gazed at the suspended Miho.
"Well, she's such a good runner, and I can't keep up," Sonoko defended herself, seemingly completely forgetting she could use her ability to accelerate.
"Hanging her up was the only option."
"Natsume-san, according to your report, this Juufuku Miho is the perpetrator behind the recent attacks," Kuroko said, hands on her hips. "But her ability is only Level 2. A Level 2 shouldn't be capable of interfering with human vision like that."
"I can't really explain it either," Sonoko said, putting on a serious face.
"But the stun gun is right there. I only acted in self-defense after being attacked." She seemed a bit put off by Shirai Kuroko's skepticism.
It took Shirai Kuroko about a minute to confirm Juufuku Miho was indeed the culprit.
No security footage was pulled, and Natsume Sonoko's testimony wasn't even needed. Juufuku Miho voluntarily admitted to being the one responsible for the incidents.
The Anti-Skill armored truck arrived on the scene quickly, and the teacher, Tessou Tsuzuri, led Miho away into the vehicle.
The whole incident hadn't lasted very long, and considering the circumstances, it wasn't particularly severe. Sonoko guessed the punishment for Juufuku Miho would probably be over in a week or two.
Shirai Kuroko would have to write another statement of repentance after returning to the branch. Sonoko felt a little apologetic about that.
--+--
"Wow, that's amazing! I heard you single-handedly caught the culprit attacking Tokiwadai a few days ago, Natsume!" Saten exclaimed, her eyes wide with curiosity and excitement.
Faced with an inquisitive Saten Ruiko, the habitually low-key Natsume Sonoko just waved a hand dismissively, indicating it was no big deal and nothing to make a fuss about.
The four of them—Sonoko, Misaka, Uiharu, and Saten—had met up on the shopping street of District 7. Sonoko handed out the drinks she'd bought to the other three.
"It's so nice having you around, Natsume. The drinks are still nice and cold," Uiharu Kazari said with a smile, accepting a bottle of pumpkin juice. She rolled the cool bottle against her cheek, savoring the chill, her eyes closing slightly in contentment.
"Whoa, mine is a carrot and chocolate flavored drink? That's a rare combo," Saten said, examining the packaging.
She seemed very interested in the myriad of strange beverages found in Academy City.
"Is Kuroko still busy with Judgment duties?" Misaka asked after taking a sip of her red bean soup, turning to Uiharu with a questioning tone.
"Not exactly. The regular patrol ended already. But Shirai-san said she had something to take care of, mentioned she needed to go reserve something important," Uiharu explained.
"Shirai's always so busy, isn't she? Never seems to sit still," Sonoko remarked, tossing her empty can into a nearby trash bin.
Although she knew she'd been adding to Kuroko's workload lately, she absolutely didn't think of her as some sort of tool. After all, she was just doing her part for Academy City's safety.
"Natsume, how did you actually find the culprit?" Uiharu continued, picking up Saten's earlier thread.
"According to the information, she shouldn't have been visible to the naked eye."
To be honest, she was very curious too; Natsume had caught the culprit barely an hour after checking the files at Judgment Branch 177.
"It really wasn't anything special," Sonoko felt a bit of pressure. It was such a small matter, why was everyone so interested?
After briefly explaining her method and satisfying Uiharu's curiosity, the group had already arrived at the entrance of a chain supermarket.
"Do you have a lot to buy, Natsume?" Misaka asked, noticing Sonoko pushing a shopping cart. Misaka seemed somewhat preoccupied.
"Yep, need to restock two whole boxes of snacks," Sonoko replied, glancing back at Misaka.
Much like before her... level up, Sonoko still kept her habit of saving money. It wasn't quite scholarship day yet, but she had more than enough to cover some snack expenses.
"Natsume, do you believe there really are people in this world who can nullify abilities?"
Feeling troubled, Misaka casually tossed a bag of potato chips into Sonoko's cart before asking.
"He looks so weak, but just with his right hand, he can block my full-power attacks," Misaka continued absently, adding a bottle of soy sauce to the cart.
"A city legend? I think I've seen rumors about that," Sonoko responded, crouching in front of a shelf to select the latest flavor of weird-tasting candy.
She tossed a few packs into the cart. "But if someone like that really exists, why not just attack from behind or above?"
Sonoko's knowledge of A Certain Magical Index was limited; she hadn't even watched more than a few episodes of the first season.
She knew the main characters mostly thanks to A Certain Scientific Railgun and the various city legends that played a big part in it.
As for the owner of the right hand Misaka was talking about, Sonoko was, of course, well aware of his reputation.
"It's no use. No matter the direction of attack, he seems to anticipate it beforehand," Misaka shook her head, dismissing Sonoko's suggestion.
"That does sound tricky," Sonoko said, quietly filling the cart while pondering Misaka's problem.
If it were her, she probably couldn't directly inflict damage on someone like that with her ability either.
The moment she tried to change the temperature of the air or something else, that right hand, exposed to the air, would probably nullify the ability automatically, wiping it away like it wipes away any bit of good fortune.
Who knew the range of that right hand's negation was, anyway? It definitely couldn't be the entire Academy City, otherwise there wouldn't be any Espers at all.
"This is such a headache. Why not just hit him with a rock?" Finding it too mentally taxing, Sonoko decisively stopped thinking about it.
Even if a rock controlled by her ability was useless against him, surely there was no problem if she just threw one by hand, right?
To Sonoko, there wasn't much difference between a rock and her ability.
Leaving the supermarket, all four of them were carrying several bags, most of which belonged to Sonoko.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, Sonoko created some upward air currents around the bags to help lighten the load.
These updrafts acted like little upward thrusters attached to the bottom of the bags, the air flowing upwards along the sides of the packages without disturbing anyone's skirts.
Glancing at Saten Ruiko, who seemed very interested in the updrafts, Sonoko suddenly felt a bit like she was 'showing off air in front of the Air Master'.
"Updrafts made by your ability? That seems so fun. It must be nice to have an ability," Saten said curiously, playfully poking at the air currents, feeling the movement around the bags. Her eyes widened unconsciously, filled with yearning.
"Saten..." Uiharu turned to look at Saten, her face showing a trace of vague concern.
"What are you worried about? Even though I'm just a Level 0, as long as I'm happy every day, that's what matters, right?" Saten flashed a bright, cheerful smile, unconsciously rubbing the back of her head.
"Speaking of abilities, there's a city legend going around lately."
"It appeared on some website two days ago. Rumor has it there's an item circulating online that can boost your ability if you use it. Quite a few people have already gotten it and improved their levels."
When it came to city legends, Saten Ruiko was instantly full of energy. She spent the whole walk recounting all the known information about this mysterious item.
"An item that can boost abilities?" Misaka said, sounding intrigued after listening.
Natsume Sonoko listened intently too. She'd have to check the forums when she got back. She strongly suspected Saten and she used the same website. One moment you're not paying attention, and the next, a new city legend starts making the rounds.
Speaking of which, a certain someone still hadn't officially started her city legend investigation.
Wasn't she worried about being kicked out of the club for being the laziest of the lazy?
"Saten, do you want to use this item to boost your ability?" Uiharu asked, concern evident in her voice.
"Not at all!" Saten declared, clenching one fist in front of her chest, her eyes shining with determination. "An ability is only precious if you earn it through your own hard work!"
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.