Chapter 82: You're Pretty Nice!
Relying on her eyes alone wouldn't be fast enough, and Mikoto's body was only at the level of an ordinary human.
Even normal nerve transmission couldn't quite keep up.
Yet her superhuman brain and electromagnetic perception still gave her more than enough time to counterattack.
She could turn the iron sand around Makoto's arm into serrated blades and cut it off, or fire Lightning Spear directly through his chest.
Unless Makoto's body could somehow withstand a saw blade and one billion volts of electricity, the outcome was obvious.
Mikoto would be injured.
Makoto would die.
At least, that was what Mikoto believed.
In the end, however, she chose to do nothing.
This was only a spar.
How could she seriously injure her opponent during a simple match when the two of them didn't even have a grudge against each other?
As for being punched away or even knocked unconscious by Makoto...
Mikoto gritted her teeth and gathered one final layer of iron sand over her cheek.
She would simply take the punch.
'Consider it punishment for challenging him so casually.'
Just as Mikoto prepared to close her eyes and endure the impact, the fist moving hard enough to make the air scream suddenly stopped beside her ear.
At first, Mikoto didn't believe it.
She cautiously opened one eye.
The moment she saw a fist the size of a sandbag hovering right in front of her face, she yelped and squeezed her eyes shut again.
Her reaction made Makoto laugh.
Aside from not using his Tailed Beast chakra cloak, he'd already pushed his current physical ability about as far as it could go.
Even so, Makoto hadn't expected to actually hurt Mikoto.
At worst, he'd assumed the two of them would threaten each other into a draw.
Who would've expected Mikoto to deliberately stop at the last moment and risk taking his punch instead?
'As expected of Mikoto during her completely heroic phase.'
Her temper and personality weren't exactly aligned with Makoto's own tastes, but it was difficult to dislike someone with such a straightforward sense of justice.
Of course, that personality also meant she was destined to trap herself once she finally encountered genuine darkness.
Without someone pulling her back, she could easily become another sacrifice swallowed by Academy City's darkness.
Realizing Makoto hadn't moved, Mikoto cautiously opened her eyes again.
Makoto suddenly blew toward her.
The rush of air sounded almost like another punch.
Mikoto immediately squeezed her eyes shut again, and a tiny sound suspiciously resembling a "nya" escaped her lips.
Before Makoto could ask what that was about, Mikoto's face turned bright red on its own.
She snapped her eyes open and gave up on maintaining her composure.
"Are you going to hit me or not?! If you're not, then I'm fighting back!"
Makoto withdrew his fist and blew lightly over his bleeding knuckles.
"I'm done. You clearly don't dare attack me seriously anyway. If I keep going, it'll look like I'm bullying you."
"You are bullying me!"
Mikoto glared at him.
"This was supposed to be a spar, but you attacked like your life depended on it! Do you hate me that much?!"
Makoto shrugged.
"Not really. But if I don't go all out against someone stronger than me, one day I might die before I even understand what happened."
"This is Academy City!"
Mikoto immediately retorted, "A broken bone is about as bad as an ordinary fight should get. Where are all these life-or-death situations supposed to come from?"
Her voice sounded firm.
Her eyes didn't.
With Mikoto's hacking skills and her habit of wandering through Academy City's darker areas beating up delinquents, there was no way she'd never encountered hints of the city's hidden side.
She simply wasn't willing to truly accept what those hints meant.
Makoto didn't expose her.
"Let's call this one a draw. If there's nothing else, I'm going to get something to eat."
"Wait! Who said you could just leave?!"
Mikoto hurried after him.
"And I obviously lost just now. I'm not going to pretend otherwise!"
She pulled out a handkerchief and approached Makoto.
"Let me bandage that. You got hurt because of our fight."
"After that, I'm taking you to the hospital so they can disinfect it. Don't worry, I'll pay."
Makoto was about to refuse, but Mikoto had already taken hold of his wrist and started wrapping his hand.
When she finished, Makoto stared at the handkerchief tied around his hand in a neat little bow.
For some reason, Academy City's evening sunlight suddenly seemed a little warmer.
"Come on. There's a hospital nearby."
Mikoto started walking before glancing back at him.
"By the way, are you really Level 3? You're not secretly hiding your actual ability, are you?"
"My ability is still getting stronger, so I don't actually know exactly how strong it is."
Makoto followed beside her.
"I'm supposed to undergo another ability test soon. I'll have to wait for the school to arrange it."
The two soon reached the hospital.
The result was exactly what Makoto expected.
When the nurse removed the handkerchief, everyone discovered that his injured knuckles had already healed completely.
Mikoto stared at his hand in disbelief.
"Okay, now I'm sure. You're definitely a Level 4 physical enhancement esper."
"Maybe."
After their fight, the atmosphere between them had become noticeably more relaxed.
They couldn't exactly be called friends yet, but neither of them was maintaining the same wariness created by the matter involving Misaki.
Perhaps this was what people meant by becoming acquainted through a fight.
"It's about time to eat. Want to grab something together?"
Mikoto asked casually, completely unaware of how much the invitation sounded like asking someone out.
Makoto was about to refuse.
Then her next sentence immediately caught his attention.
"Oh, right. You only recently came to Academy City, so you've probably never tried Tokiwadai's nutrition meals."
"I know a restaurant that sells the same kind. My treat."
If Makoto remembered correctly, one of Mikoto's meals could cost forty or fifty thousand yen.
He wasn't short on money anymore, but he'd never eaten something that expensive.
"What are we waiting for? Let's go."
"All right, I'll lead the way!"
It wasn't until Makoto had eaten his fill that he suddenly remembered Touma.
He checked his phone.
Touma had already called him several times.
Makoto sent him a message explaining that a rich young lady had treated him to a fifty-thousand-yen meal.
Touma's response was an uninterrupted chain of suffering emojis.
Makoto put his phone away and suddenly noticed that Mikoto's expression looked strange.
Before he could ask why, he spotted several girls in Tokiwadai uniforms watching them from a distance.
Obviously, they'd misunderstood the relationship between Makoto and Mikoto.
Only now did Mikoto realize how questionable the situation looked.
She'd merely wanted to make up for what happened earlier.
How was she supposed to know she'd run into classmates here?
Mikoto was practically a celebrity at school.
At this rate, rumors about her would probably spread across Tokiwadai by tomorrow.
Makoto noticed her embarrassment and immediately spoke loudly enough for the nearby girls to hear.
"Mikoto, where are you taking your cousin next? I finally came all the way to Academy City, so you need to show me around properly."
Mikoto froze for a moment before catching on.
She forced out two awkward laughs.
"Since we still have some time, I'll take you to an arcade next. Come on!"
She walked stiffly toward the exit.
Makoto followed close behind.
Before leaving, he glanced toward the Tokiwadai girls and saw disappointment on their faces.
Apparently, his improvised excuse had worked.
Once they were outside, Mikoto finally relaxed.
"Thanks. I didn't expect something like that to happen."
"It's fine. I shouldn't have let my appetite get the better of me either. Then I wouldn't have caused trouble for you."
Makoto had only intended it as a polite response.
For some reason, Mikoto raised an eyebrow.
She became unusually serious.
"Even if it was embarrassing to get spotted by my classmates, I don't regret treating you to dinner."
"And I already promised to take you to the arcade."
"Let's go."
"You're actually serious?"
Makoto stared at her.
Mikoto simply grabbed him by the wrist.
"I always keep my word. Besides, you helped me earlier."
"We're friends now, right? Stop acting so hesitant."
At this moment, Mikoto's tomboyish personality completely took over.
She seemed to have forgotten entirely that she was a girl.
Or perhaps she genuinely wanted Makoto as a friend.
It was, after all, the first time she'd ever befriended a boy.
Mikoto had attended girls' schools her entire life.
Making an opposite-sex friend was completely new territory for her.
She pushed open the arcade door first.
Neon signs, electronic music, and the clatter of game tokens immediately filled the air.
Makoto was slightly surprised.
The place lacked the strange smells and unbearably noisy customers he'd expected.
Apparently, this was a relatively upscale arcade, and most of the students who came here had money to spare.
"All right. What are we playing first?"
"You pick."
Makoto wasn't particularly familiar with arcades, especially when many of the games were unique to this world.
"Then fighting games first."
Mikoto immediately pointed toward a machine.
"One round. I'll use the strongest character and teach you the true meaning of fighting games!"
"Sure."
Makoto had originally intended to humor her.
Then Mikoto selected a high-performance, low-health character and repeatedly destroyed him before he could properly respond.
Makoto gradually became irritated.
After experimenting with the roster, he found a low-tier but high-damage gimmick character built around dirty tricks.
After a little practice, Makoto relied on shameless chip damage and repeatedly interrupted Mikoto's ultimate whenever his character raised both hands toward the sky.
He finally secured his first victory.
Makoto jumped up and clenched his fist in celebration.
Mikoto's face went pale with rage.
She was naturally competitive.
Losing to a complete beginner was unacceptable.
"Again!"
Mikoto slammed another token into the machine.
Makoto naturally accepted.
The more they played, however, the higher Makoto's win rate became.
By the end, merely seeing Makoto's character raise both hands toward the sky was enough to make Mikoto let out an unconscious scream.
When she looked one loss away from producing actual lightning, Makoto wisely suggested switching games.
Only then did Mikoto calm down.
Afterward, the two played shooting games and several cooperative arcade titles.
They kept going until eight in the evening.
Mikoto finally stretched.
"I need to head back to Tokiwadai. The dorm closes at nine."
"Sure."
Makoto had only been accompanying her anyway, so naturally he had no objection.
Mikoto gave him a meaningful look.
Before Makoto could figure out what she meant by it, she spoke first.
"You know... you're actually pretty nice."
She hesitated.
"No wonder... well, you know who I mean."
Obviously, she meant Misaki.
Since it was a compliment, Makoto accepted it without the slightest humility.
"Of course. I'm exceptionally charming."
Mikoto pretended to scoff and shook the remaining game tokens in her hand.
Then she started toward the counter with Makoto.
Just as they approached the exit, Mikoto's eyes suddenly transformed into the shape of Gekota.
One second earlier, she'd still looked like a reasonably composed young lady.
The next, she had rushed straight toward a claw machine and was staring intensely at a fist-sized black Gekota hidden inside.
Gekota was Academy City's popular frog mascot franchise, along with all kinds of related merchandise.
Why Mikoto loved the thing so much was something Makoto felt deserved a place among Academy City's greatest unsolved mysteries.
"Wait here. I'm getting that secret-edition Night King Gekota out right now!"
Before Makoto could warn her, Mikoto pulled out a pile of tokens and began operating the claw machine.
Unfortunately, the fist-sized Gekota was much smaller than the watermelon-sized plushies surrounding it.
It was obviously bait specifically designed for big spenders like Mikoto.
The machine had been made deliberately difficult.
And Mikoto had swallowed the bait completely.
Half an hour later, a pile of assorted plush toys had accumulated beside her.
The black Gekota, meanwhile, had somehow sunk all the way to the bottom of the machine.
Makoto, now thoroughly bored, looked around the arcade.
Then he noticed a punching machine nearby.
Unlike ordinary machines, this one was enormous and reinforced entirely with steel.
A sign beside it stated that espers were welcome to attempt the challenge.
The current record was a punching force of 99 tons.
Anyone who broke the record could choose any single souvenir in the arcade as a prize.
Makoto's eyes immediately lit up.
After speaking briefly with an employee, he took his position in front of the machine.
He mobilized a small amount of Tailed Beast chakra and circulated it rapidly through his body without allowing any to appear on his skin.
Then, under the employee's stunned gaze, Makoto threw a heavy punch.
Boom!
The entire arcade seemed to shake three times.
That wasn't an exaggeration.
Dust actually fell from the wall connected to the punching machine.
Fortunately, the machine survived.
Its display finally settled on a number.
102 tons.
Makoto had barely broken the record.
Triumphant music immediately filled the arcade.
Several employees rushed over to congratulate him.
Mikoto, whose eyes had practically turned red after half an hour of fighting the claw machine, finally looked over in confusion.
She had no idea what had happened.
Then her entire face lit up.
Makoto was pointing toward the black Gekota inside her machine.
An employee politely opened the machine, removed the plush from directly in front of Mikoto, and carried it over to Makoto.
For one long moment, Makoto felt as though Mikoto's very soul had left her body and followed the Gekota into his hands.
…