章 24: Chapter 24 - Power Fist

Inside a small bathroom, two people observed each other with very different gazes. The young man's purple eyes remained calm, but he shifted his weight uncomfortably due to the strange situation. The young lady with short brown hair and brown eyes glared back and hummed to herself. A few scorch marks on the tile floor indicated small arcs of electricity had sparked between them only seconds earlier.

"You don't have a big, white, poofy beard?"

"Well, nice to meet you, too."

"And you aren't old and wrinkly."

"...Obviously not."

"How in the world are you a Sage, then? I thought you were a kind old grandpa or something."

"Guh," Jin grunted while flinching slightly. Then, he retorted, "What does it matter? Can we please leave this bathroom? Standing in here alone with you is super awkward. Really wish there was a better place for me to teleport over."

Railgun, or Misaka Mikoto, looked at the bathroom for a moment, then looked back at Jin. Face blushing slightly, she stormed out through the open door leading into her dorm room without saying anything.

Sighing, Jin dematerialized the thin barrier separating his feet from the floor. He casually followed her out. In the actual dorm room itself, he briefly observed the setup. Looked more like a hotel room with two separate beds than any dorm room he used in the past, but it certainly beat military barracks.

At the end of one of the beds, Railgun sat on the floor next to a portable kotatsu. She completely avoided his gaze yet showed stiff posture as though waiting for him to sit on the cushion across from her.

"Did you shut down all your electronics and everything?" Jin asked while nonchalantly sitting down across from her.

"Obviously. You think I want someone to find out I've got a guy in my dorm room?"

"That's what you focus on?"

"Well, I guess an illegal entry isn't great, either."

"Right? Well, my plan here is to finish the mission as quickly as possible and then disappear. I don't want to deal with Saints or Magic Gods today."

"Magic whozzawhatnow?"

"Hmm. Do you know, uh, what was the kid's name again? Kimi joe… Kamijou? Yeah, Kamijou Touma."

Instantly, Mikoto's expression soured, and she replied, "You know about that stupid bedhead? Well, yeah. One day, I'll kick his ass."

Raising a brow, Jin asked, "When did you two meet?"

"Not too long ago. Why?"

Jin frowned. Rubbing his chin, he asked, "You already know about magicians and whatnot?"

Mikoto tilted her head slightly and answered, "Yeah. I used to think magic and stuff was just fairy tales, but a bunch of magic stuff popped up the last couple weeks, which made me change my mind."

"Hmm. Weird. I think your universe might have taken a slightly different direction than what I last observed."

"Uh… Is that a problem?"

"Maybe. Dunno yet. Anyway…" Jin trailed off and materialized his phone. Mikoto widened her eyes upon seeing him summon it out of thin air.

"How did you do that?"

Reading through the tutorial mission details that just popped up, Jin inadvertently answered, "Just imagine wanting to hide your phone and make it appear again."

"...That isn't magic, right?"

"Even if it is, I doubt it'll kill you."

"I'd rather not test that," Mikoto grumbled, crossing her arms.

Shrugging, Jin glanced up from reading the mission details which differed somewhat from the last tutorial and offhandedly commented, "Either way, read the mission details so we can quickly finish."

"Alright. Whatever you say, ol- uh… Jin, I guess."

Jin ignored her and focused on reading.

{Tutorial Mission #2 will now begin. Mission requirements are as follows:}

{1. Subdue and cleanse a Corrupted Being in the vicinity. Location: 1698m West}

{2. Admin must use his energy to cleanse the Corrupted area generated by the Corrupted Being.}

{Mission Duration: 48 Hours}

{Mission Rewards: 100 RP, Bronze Lottery Ticket}

{Additional Notes: Admin must return to homeworld within 7 days after mission completion. Next Tutorial Mission will begin 24 hours after return.}

Jin rubbed his chin and mumbled, "This is different."

"You and Wizard mentioned some sort of Reality Crack when explaining what you guys did, so what's this corrupted being?"

"Dunno, but I've seen the concept of corruption in different universes. It varies in scope and whatnot, so we'll find out exactly what it is when we get there."

"Are we going right now?"

"Do you want to try using that Power Fist first?"

"Oh, right. Why not?"

The girl fumbled through her inventory screen and eventually figured out how to take the item out of her inventory. A large armored arm materialized and slammed down on the kotatsu, smashing it to bits. Mikoto jumped away and used her electricity to magnetize the soles of her indoor shoes to a metal beam within the ceiling. On the other hand, Jin formed a hasty barrier in front of himself. The floor cracked under the weight of the mechanical armor piece. Several screams echoed from other rooms nearby after the loud crash.

"Uh… what do I do? Do I hide it?" Mikoto anxiously asked, dropping from the ceiling.

"Wait 'til somebody shows up. I want to look at it."

"...If you say so."

Jin released his barrier and grabbed the Power Fist. For some reason, it looked smaller than he expected. It also came with armored parts that could fully cover the right arm and shoulder. Out of curiosity, he tried lifting it. He grunted because of its weight, but managed to roll it over the pieces of the broken kotatsu. As he thought, the part where a person might put their arm inside actually looked too small for himself.

'It's also not as heavy as I expected… or did I get stronger? Now that I think about it, I might have just gotten stronger.'

"I think it's custom made for you," Jin offhandedly mentioned while continuing to inspect it.

"Uh, alright, but can I even use such a heavy thing?"

"If I remember correctly, it should enhance your physical strength, but I can't recall if you need a full armor set or not. In terms of power supply… I don't think it's powered right now, but your electricity powers should be able to power it."

"It's kinda ugly, though…"

Jin stopped in his tracks and looked at her as if she just insulted his past sixty-nine generations.

"What's with that look?"

"...Thou wouldst not understand. 'Tis the romance of a man, yonder wastes… erm, I give up on that old-timey speak. Not very good at it. Anyway, function over fashion when it comes to combat gear. Even though you're already strong, you might be able to increase your firepower with this thing. It should be able to handle a massive beating before needing any repairs or maintenance. Then again, testing it inside Academy City might bring a lot of unwanted attention."

"I really can't see myself using this either way. I keep getting things that are hard or impossible to use from those tickets. When will I get something good like the rest of you?"

"Ah, right. Forgot about that. I think you might actually be able to use that grimoire since the magic isn't the same as here, but it is probably pointless since it is a lightning one. This, on the other hand," Jin pointed at the Power Fist, "at least test it somewhere. If not here, then when we start getting other missions."

"Uh… I guess I'll try it, then. Wish it looked less… bulky, though."

Jin sighed, but then sensed something approaching as though with a fourth sense despite his lack of practice in doing so. Turning his gaze to the door, Jin mumbled, "You should put it away now."

"Already on it. My roommate is coming back early…"

After returning the Power Fist to her chat group inventory, she suddenly froze.

"Oh no… My roommate is back early! Quick! Jump out the window or something! Don't let her see you!"

"Ah, that girl, eh?" Jin replied, grimacing. He didn't want to go out into Academy City without Railgun at his side, so he simply wondered aloud, "Should I just stay here and risk angering her? She wouldn't actually try to kill me or something, right?"

A bead of sweat formed on Mikoto's brow. She didn't answer, which made him uneasy.

"Right?"

"I mean… She's a law-abiding citizen… for the most part."

Moments later, the dorm room door swung open, and a short girl with brown hair styled in twin-tails burst into the room. Aside from her school uniform, she wore a unique black band on one arm.

"My Misaka senses are tingling! Wha-!"

The girl halted. Her brain malfunctioned for several seconds. She saw her beloved Misaka… an unknown man… and a broken table.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!!! DEAR GOD, NOOO!!! What have you done here?! MY MISAKA HAS ASCENDED THE STAIRS TO ADULTHOOD!"

Several gasps echoed in the hallway behind the girl.

Mikoto facepalmed, and electricity sparked around her. Meanwhile, Jin groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. He wondered if he already needed to use the memory-erasing lighter he received from Urahara only hours earlier.