---
The apartment smelled like smoked regret.
Half the floor was scorched, the curtains were ash, and what remained of the fan looked like it had been flash-roasted in a microwave.
Touma stared at the carnage.
Kazuki stood beside him, arms crossed, face blank.
Index was on the couch chewing crackers like nothing had happened.
"I think," Touma said slowly, "we're going to need a new everything."
Kazuki nudged what used to be a rice cooker with his toe. "The rice is... extra crispy."
"Stiyl doesn't just attack your apartment. He attacks your budget."
Touma reached for his wallet, opened it, and stared into the abyss.
One 500 yen coin.
Two 10s.
And lint.
Kazuki took out his own.
Slightly better.
Still tragic.
"We can afford a fan or food. Pick one."
"We'll survive the heat," Touma sighed. "Let's go shopping."
---
The city was bright and too hot for comfort. People moved around them with summer energy—students with umbrellas, vending machines buzzing in the heat, stores pushing seasonal drinks like salvation.
Kazuki followed Touma as they wandered through a discount aisle in a back-alley home goods shop.
Secondhand fans. Knock-off towels. A suspiciously cheap rice cooker.
"This one doesn't even have a plug," Kazuki said, holding it up.
"Maybe it runs on hopes and prayers," Touma muttered, tossing it back.
They were just about to give up when someone called out,
"Hey, you!"
Kazuki turned.
A girl in a Tokiwadai uniform stood with her arms crossed, hair short and wild like she hadn't brushed it since physics class, eyes narrowed like she was sizing up a rival.
Behind her were a few sparks of static.
Literal sparks.
"You again!" she snapped.
Touma sighed.
"Oh no."
Kazuki arched an eyebrow. "You know her?"
"Unfortunately."
The girl marched over, full of energy and indignation.
"Bastard! You've been avoiding me."
"I've been recovering. From my house being on fire."
"Excuses! You still haven't proved that 'right hand' of yours actually cancels esper powers."
Kazuki blinked. "Wait. That's what this is about?"
Touma looked like he wanted to melt into the pavement. "She won't let it go."
The girl jabbed a thumb at herself.
"Misaka Mikoto. Level 5. The Railgun."
Kazuki raised his eyebrows. "Oh."
She glanced at him. Sharp, suspicious.
"Who's this?"
"Kazuki Ranvil," he said calmly. "I live with him. We share a fan budget."
Misaka's eyes narrowed. "Where you from?."
"Who knows"
"Esper?"
"Nope."
She stepped closer, clearly trying to size him up.
Kazuki didn't flinch.
"You don't react like someone who's scared of powers."
"I don't react to much."
Touma groaned. "Please don't start dragging him into your one-sided duel thing."
"He's friends with you. That makes him suspicious by association."
Kazuki looked between them.
"Do you two have a thing?"
They both turned red at the same time.
"NO!" they shouted in unison.
Kazuki held up his hands. "Okay. Not touching that."
Mikoto stomped closer to Touma.
"One spark. Just one. Let me test it!"
"I told you, I'm not frying myself for your science fair obsession."
"Coward!"
"Correct!"
She sighed dramatically and shoved her hands into her skirt pockets, glaring.
Then, as if defeated but still defiant, she muttered:
"Fine. But I'm not leaving."
Touma froze. "What?"
"I'll just follow you. You're clearly up to something. You always are."
Kazuki tilted his head. "So she's just joining our budget fan hunt now?"
"Apparently," Touma groaned.
Mikoto grinned smugly.
Kazuki gave her a sideways glance.
There was power in her. Obvious, sharp, barely restrained.
But the way she looked at Touma?
It wasn't hatred.
It was curiosity.
Almost like she couldn't figure out why someone so ordinary could stand up to someone like her.
Kazuki didn't say anything.
But he took note.
"Let's just buy the stupid fan," Touma muttered.
"And jam," Kazuki added.
"And one of those terrible discount curry packs."
"You're an animal."
Misaka followed a few steps behind them, sparks dancing lightly at her fingertips.
Touma groaned again.
Kazuki smiled, just a little.
For now, things were normal.
But the tension under the surface?
Still growing.
---