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Wait—did Ethan just call Misaka Mikoto a crossdresser? What, seriously? No way. Misaka Mikoto—the Railgun, third-ranked among Academy City's seven Level 5 espers—there's no chance she's a guy. There has to be some misunderstanding here, right?
At that moment, Saten Ruiko felt her brain short-circuiting. But instead of confusion, she actually found herself… kind of entertained. Like she was watching a live-action movie."Man, if only I had some popcorn right now…"
"AAAAH! You damn pervert! Go to hell!"Sparks crackled around Misaka as she launched a lightning storm straight at Ethan.
Ethan swayed left and right, casually dodging every bolt. It looked effortless—almost lazy—but the fact that he could avoid Misaka's attacks at all was impressive.
"Whoa whoa, calm down, trap-chan! Cut it out already, or I'll stop holding back!" Ethan's tone was still as lazy as ever. He was talking, dodging, and eating a crepe all at once. The sight screamed: I don't even take you seriously.
"Y-you… you're looking down on me?!" Misaka's anger spiked even higher at his attitude.
"Ah, sorry," Ethan drawled. "You've got it wrong. I'm not looking down on you—I just never thought you were worth looking at in the first place."
"You bastard! I'll kill you!"Misaka roared, summoning an enormous bolt of lightning that crashed down toward him. The area lit up like noon under her electric rage.
"Hey, hey! You trying to kill someone?! We're in the middle of a city! You're gonna fry half the population at this rate!" Ethan frowned. Sure, he could dodge it easily, but the same couldn't be said for everyone else—especially the long-haired girl nearby, Saten Ruiko, who was absolutely not fast enough to get out of the way.
Misaka froze. Realization hit her like a bucket of cold water. She hadn't meant to go that far—it was just rage, pure and simple. Now, seeing the terrified crowd around her, her face went pale.
She tried desperately to stop the lightning, but it was too late. Lightning's fast. Too fast.
"Tch. What a brainless kid." Ethan clicked his tongue, waved his hand, and—smack!—the entire thunderbolt just… vanished. Snuffed out like a candle.
Misaka just stood there, dumbstruck. She knew Ethan was strong, but to swat away her lightning like that? Even if she hadn't gone all out, that level of power was terrifying.
Somewhere in Academy City, a certain upside-down boy murmured in surprise. But since he's basically a background character, we'll skip him.
"Miss Misaka! Onee-sama! Are you alright?! What happened just now? Kuroko was so worried about you!"Suddenly, a twin-tailed girl appeared out of thin air, throwing herself into Misaka's arms—her head nuzzling furiously against Misaka's chest.
Ethan blinked. He stared at the newly arrived girl. Flat chest. Twin tails. Overly affectionate. His expression turned complicated.
"Two traps? Seriously? Just… what the hell am I even looking at…"
"Kuroko! Cut it out already!" Misaka snapped, shoving Shirai Kuroko away, clutching her chest protectively as angry sparks lashed through the air.
"Ahhh! This—this is Onee-sama's whip of love!" Kuroko moaned with bliss, face flushed with ecstasy. Every hair on Ethan's body stood on end.
"Officer! Officer! There's a pervert here! Someone arrest this girl!" he shouted.
"Shut up! You—you're the real pervert here!" Misaka yelled back, face bright red.
"Pretty sure the evidence says otherwise." Ethan shrugged. "I mean, just look around."
Sure enough, the onlookers did just that. Their eyes shifted between the handsome, unruffled Ethan … the twitching, blissed-out Kuroko on the ground… and Misaka, who looked like she'd just electrocuted someone mid-make-out.
Their collective gaze was merciless. Misaka's cheeks turned scarlet.
"You! You're Onee-sama's enemy, aren't you?!" Kuroko suddenly jumped up, pointing at Ethan dramatically. "What did you do to her? Why did she call you a pervert? Don't tell me—you've already defiled Onee-sama! No! Onee-sama belongs to Kuroko! Only Kuroko!"
"…Officer. Officer! The pervert's right here! Right here!" Ethan said, pointing straight at her.
"Will you just shut up already?!" Misaka finally snapped, grabbing Kuroko with one hand and Ethan with the other before bolting out of there at lightning speed.
Saten Ruiko and Uiharu Kazari exchanged a wide-eyed look, then hurried after them.
Later, Ethan sat lazily on a park bench, hands behind his head. Misaka stood in front of him, glaring down.
"Talk. Who the hell are you? No one that strong could possibly be some random nobody."
"Name's Ethan," he said with a yawn. "Owner of the Time-Space Odd Jobs Agency. And if I'm not mistaken—you're my client. So hurry up and tell me what you hired me for, so I can get back already."
"..."
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