August 20, 6:10 PM.
It was twilight at midsummer, and Kamijou Touma was walking home alone, worn out from his extra classes. Even though there was a reason for it, he still found that going back to school for extra classes during summer vacation was threatening his sanity.
Since those so-called "summer classes" usually started on the very first day of summer vacation, Kamijou probably was supposed to go to those classes from July 19th to July 28th as well.
Or at least, that was only the most likely case. Kamijou had no memories of events prior to July 28th, so he felt like he was being punished for lessons that he did not skip himself.
What was up with that?
Kamijou stood motionlessly in front of a lone juice vending machine that stood along a path with a shocked expression.
(No way, come on, please.)
He didn't want to give up on it so soon. Kamijou Touma was sure he had inserted a 2,000-yen bill into the vending machine. Yet why did the vending machine not respond in the slightest? Well, he knew very well that 2,000-yen bills were rare nowadays, but that was his hard-earned 2,000 yen. For a machine to take from him such a large amount of money and not respond… what machine empire was rebelling at the moment!? As Kamijou frantically jiggled the money return lever in vain, his heart screamed.
(Such misfortune!)
He knew without a doubt that if he, in a fit of rage, shook or kicked the vending machine, the alarm would go off.
Even in Academy City, a city opposed to the supernatural that had been built in western Tokyo, a skeptic who saw Kamijou could only possibly think "So there really are such supernaturally unlucky people in this world, huh." Kamijou was that luckless.
Crestfallen, Kamijou heard footsteps of a pair of loafers from behind him.
"Hold it… Don't stand so idiotically in front of the vending machine. If you're not buying anything, then get out of the way, move it. I need to rehydrate or else I won't be able to function anymore."
Just as Kamijou heard the sudden voice from behind him, he was gently pushed aside by a girl's soft hand on his arm.
Living in a city full of students, that would probably happen now and then, but even so the unlikely contact surprised Kamijou.
(What, what?) When Kamijou turned his head around, he saw a middle school girl. She had shoulder-length light-brown hair, good looks that didn't need make-up, a short-sleeved white blouse with a summer sweater, a gray pleated skirt… he guessed that it was the famous Tokiwadai Middle School uniform. But calling her "Ojou-sama" in front of her would be somewhat awkward. Complaining about the summer heat, she somehow resembled a shell-shocked salaryman getting off a fully-loaded train rather than a refined young lady.
(…Who is this person?)
Was she an acquaintance of his, or an overly familiar stranger? Kamijou was a bit worried. With memory loss, discerning acquaintances from strangers was the hardest thing of all. He didn't know just how far to step into someone's territory.
Kamijou's instinct told him that she was an acquaintance. Maybe, if she wasn't a stranger, he should just tread lightly.
(Ehh, let's just get this over with…) Kamijou gave up.
"…Then, who are you, girl?"
"It's me, my name's Misaka Mikoto! Try to remember, you total blockhead!!"
The instant the girl shouted, she unleashed a pale spark from her light-brown bangs.
(Shit, she has no sense of humor?)
The instant Kamijou instinctively put himself on guard, a pale lightning bolt jumped out from the girl's forehead, and quickly rushed at Kamijou.
Though he couldn't possibly have reacted fast enough by eyesight alone, Kamijou's body instinctively moved even before he was hit. It was as if his body, having been repeatedly attacked by lightning, knew from experience exactly how to respond.
As if shaking off a winged insect in front of his eyes, Kamijou swung his right hand horizontally like a backfist.
That alone totally repelled and dissipated the lightning bolt, which approached a billion volts, like it was a mere column of water.
Imagine Breaker.
No matter if he was facing espers, magicians, anyone wielding unknown powers, or even divine miracles, anything supernatural was negated when his right hand touched it. That was the Imagine Breaker's special power.
"???"
Kamijou looked at the scowling middle school girl, who he thought should be arrested for attempted homicide.
His body had moved on instinct and avoided the attack as if he had previous experience with this phenomenon. Against the flame sword unleashed by the person called Stiyl Magnus, Kamijou had also survived on instinct. But then…
Kamijou lost his memory.
However, despite losing his memories, his knowledge remained, and that was strange.
Sometime before, Stiyl must have tried to strike him with the sword, though he couldn't remember it anymore. That was probably why his body was able to move on its own.
(If that's true, then she, too, must be an acquaintance…? That's right, my acquaintance. Dammit, are these people only my acquaintances!?)
"What are you crying there for?" asked Misaka, her hand on her hip. "If you have no use for the machine, then move it. I'm gonna bust it up."
"Ah…"
Kamijou looked back and forth between the machine and the girl called Misaka Mikoto.
While he thought that not warning somebody that the machine gulps down money would be unforgivable, the girl had assaulted him. Wait, no, it would be worse to see her lower her head burst out in murderous rage… that would be scary.
"That vending machine somehow keeps on eating bills."
"I know that already," Mikoto replied.
"You know it eats bills, yet you're still gonna pay? Is that machine an offertory box or something?"
"You're such an idiot. There's a trick for this machine, an underhanded one that will have it spit out juice for free."
"…"
He had a bad feeling—a really bad feeling. That "underhanded trick"… He thought about this trick that she has been using every day. He also thought about his feeding 2,000-yen bills into the machine.
It couldn't be that this vending machine was broken!
"Legendary amongst Tokiwadai Middle School students, a granny-like oblique kick at a 45-degree angle will restart any malfunctioning machine!"
"Choi-sa—!" With that yell, she sent a skirt-level kick into the side of the machine.
*Bang!* A painful clatter of something falling reverberated inside the machine, and then a can popped out.
"You know, since it's worn down, the springs holding the juices have loosened. You can't choose which juice comes out, though—Hey, what's the matter?"
"Nothing," Kamijou monotoned.
Underneath her skirt were gym shorts. He felt that some of his dreams had just been destroyed.
"This Tokiwadai legend, does every young lady from Tokiwadai do it?"
"Most of the girls can't do that! Most girls wouldn't even dream of doing it…"
"…" Kamijou thought. "That's not what I mean! I'm asking if you brats have been joining forces daily to destroy vending machines with that technique!"
"It's fine, isn't it!? What are you angry for? We didn't directly harm you, did we?"
"…"
"Eh? Oh, speaking of which, you look like you keep losing money against this machine—" Stopping midway, Mikoto went silent. "…By any chance, did you already buy something?"
"…"
"Hey, did you drink something? Did you really get something? Hey, answer truthfully, or I'll shake you down; is it that you're dumbfounded because you've been robbed blind by this vending machine?"
"…And if I answer that question?"
"Of course, I'd send a cell phone pic of your stupid face to the entire world—I'm kidding! Just kidding! Don't drag your feet like that, you look really scary!"
Kamijou sighed, letting out all his tension from his body.
No matter how angry he'd get, he'd never get the 2,000 yen back. He had meant to use the money to buy fireworks for that freeloader of a white-clothed nun waiting in his dorm room. In fact, he should have saved it instead of buying anything with it, but it was no use worrying about it now.
(I guess now I should act like the loser I am—) thought Kamijou as he drooped his shoulders and turned away from Mikoto.
While looking at Kamijou's slouched back, Mikoto gave off a disinterested sigh with her hands on her hips.
"You, hold it! Tell me, how much money did you put in it?"
"…Shan't say, can't say, won't say."
Kamijou looked at her. He may have just met her, but he already realized that telling her "I lost 2,000 yen" wouldn't lead to her saying "Well, that's too bad!" It would be more like a "Gahahawahahah!!!" like a commanders from the Sengoku era.
Mikoto took on a more serious look for a bit, as if she felt a sense of responsibility for losing him the money.
"I won't laugh, I promise. While you're at it, I'll take back your lost money!"
(What's with her being this kind!?) thought Kamijou. This wouldn't have happened in the beginning had Mikoto not kicked the vending machine; Kamijou hadn't thought of this in the first place.
He was a bit scared, though, of being labeled "The Idiot Who Lost 2,000 Yen to a Machine", but Mikoto's words of "I won't laugh, I really won't laugh, I really, really won't laugh" assured him it was alright to confess.
"...2,000 yen."
"2,000 yen? You put in so much?" Mikoto asked.
"Wait, '2,000 yen'? Did you mean a 2,000-yen bill? Wow, I wanna see, I really wanna see it! A not-yet-destroyed 2,000-yen bill! Heheheh, ahahahahahahaha! So that's the vending machine's bug! Not even convenience stores accept 2,000-yen bills anymore, hahahahahahaha!"
Watching Mikoto heat up to ridiculous levels, he shouted at wit's end, "Liar!!!" He shouldn't have told her about that 2,000-yen bill. He should have exchanged it earlier. Who knows, he even might have, just for a moment, gotten a nice smile from the department store clerk, though more likely just an "Ooh."
"Hohoh. Well, then, let's hope that it'll spit that 2,000-yen bill back out. I won't accept it if this piece of junk spits out two 1,000-yen bills."
While standing in front of the vending machine, Mikoto slowly placed her right palm over the coin slot.
Suddenly, Kamijou thought of a question.
"Hey, you, how are you going to get the money back from this machine?"
"'How', you say?"
Mikoto gave him a blank look, and then,
"Like this..."
A pale lightning-like spark jumped from her right palm and instantly struck the vending machine.
*Bam!* The heavy vending machine shook from side to side like a sumo wrestler. Black smoke from the machine's inner workings billowed out through the seams like those clouds of smoke seen in manga.
Kamijou paled.
"Huh…? That's strange, I didn't want to strike it that hard. Ah, lots of juice cans came out somehow. Hey, your 2,000-yen bill didn't come out, but at least 2,000 yen's worth of juice came out; is this okay-? Hey, why are you running away!? Oi!"
Kamijou didn't dare turn around. He ran at full speed to get even just one millimeter farther away from the vending machine. Kamijou could usually tell when misfortune would strike; he'd get a feeling about a second before whenever something was about to go wrong. But not this time.
(Sh, shit!! Somehow, I didn't expect this, but I should have at least noticed it sooner...!!!)
Usually, even kicking the vending machine would only yield a silent alarm, but instead it screamed out at full power, as if letting out all of its pent-up energy.