Morning light crept through the thin curtains of my dorm room, stabbing at my eyelids. I groaned, rolling over in bed, body still sore from yesterday's humiliation. My arms ached, and a dull throb lingered where Kaede's kick had landed. But the ache wasn't just physical, it was in my chest too. The way the crowd had stared. The way no one had lifted a finger.
"...Tch." I sat up, rubbing my eyes. No point dragging myself through that again. Today had to be different.
Almost on instinct, I reached over to the desk where I had left my ID card. My gaze lingered on the words etched under my name. Esper Level 2. Temporal Friction.
Right. That was supposed to be me. My ability. The one I hadn't managed to get working yesterday.
I picked up the small desk clock beside me, its second hand ticking away. Heart hammering, I pressed my fingers against the cool metal. Slow down, I thought. Just slow down, even a little.
For a moment, nothing happened. The second hand ticked once… twice… and then
My breath caught. The ticking stretched, elongated, as if each second were being pulled apart. The clock's hand dragged forward sluggishly before snapping back to normal speed.
I jerked my hand away, staring. "...It worked?" My voice was shaky, half in disbelief.
It hadn't been much, but it was undeniable. The alarm clock had slowed, even if just for a heartbeat. Yesterday, I'd thought maybe the power was a fluke or a mistake. But no. It was real.
I let out a shaky laugh. "Guess I'm not completely hopeless."
Still, the why gnawed at me. Why did it fail one day and work the next? Was it me? Or… was it something about this body?
I shook my head, forcing myself to stand. Answers could wait. I had class.
Walking to campus, the air felt different. Yesterday, every corner I turned had been lined with glares, whispers, and smirks. Today, the glares were fewer. People still looked at me, yes eyes flicking to the ID clipped to my chest but most turned away just as quickly.
It wasn't forgiveness. It was a dismissal. They already had their fun, I thought bitterly. No need to kick the dog twice.
Still, the weight of their judgment hung heavy on my shoulders. A Level 2 among prodigies. A nobody in a city of miracles.
The classroom was brighter than I expected, sunlight spilling across neat rows of desks. A tall woman in her thirties stood at the front, sharp glasses balanced on his nose, his posture so straight it could snap.
"Good morning, students, I am your Instructor Ayanami Rei. My role is to ensure that each of you not only understands your abilities but learns how to apply them responsibly."
He scanned the room, his eyes narrowing slightly when they landed on me.
Ayanami Rei tapped a holographic projector. A diagram appeared above the desk a graph, showing lines of energy and time curves. "Today's topic is control thresholds. Even the weakest esper has a range of influence. Those of higher levels simply expand that range. But strength without control is meaningless. Remember that."
Control thresholds… My fingers tightened around my pen. That explained something. Maybe I had triggered my ability by accident before. Maybe yesterday's failure was because I didn't know where my threshold began or ended.
I scribbled notes furiously, the words barely making sense but feeling important.
As I wrote, my eyes flicked to the side. Sitting near the window was a familiar face auburn hair tied into neat twin-tails, Tokiwadai uniform perfectly pressed. Judgment officer. The same one who had returned my belongings days ago.
And then, three rows back, lounging as if the world belonged to Kaede and her little entourage. Her piercing gaze locked with mine for a split second, a smirk curling her lips. It didn't look like she had any intention of messing with me. The bell finally rang. Students shuffled out in groups, voices buzzing with chatter. I packed my bag slowly, waiting for the crowd to thin. As I stood, I caught snippets of the judgement officer mentioning Judgment patrols, Kaede laughing too loudly with her friends.
I slipped out quietly.
But I didn't go straight back to the dorm. My feet carried me elsewhere.
The alley.
The place where I'd woken up in this body.
The shadows stretched long as I stepped into the narrow passageway. The air was damp, the walls stained with graffiti and old grime. I hesitated, then crouched near the spot where I remembered first opening my eyes.
That's when I saw it.
Blackened scraps of paper scattered against the wall, brittle edges curling from fire. I picked one up carefully. Ash smeared my fingertips.
A notebook page. Or what was left of one.
Most of it was gone, eaten by flame. But one line still clung stubbornly to life.
Phase Two: Observation.
"Phase Two Observation of what?"
I gathered more scraps, but the rest were too charred to read half-sentences, broken sketches, meaningless scribbles. The notebook had been deliberately destroyed.
Whoever had owned this notebook had been careful to make sure phase two Observation note wasn't destroyed and had been protected by someone, maybe Haru?
But why here? Why in this alley?
I hugged the papers to my chest, heart pounding. The original Haru… she had been up to something. Something secret.
The mystery gnawed at me, the burned pages crackling faintly in my grip.