NOVEL NEXT Chapter 2.2 - Kamishiro Mikoyuki: A Boy - 02
Initially, Mikoyuki had planned to make a dramatic entrance like in a low-budget movie—show up coolly and leave just as quickly. It would be impressive and he wouldn’t have to introduce himself.
However, reality was different. He had knocked out two of the thugs behind him. So far, so good. But now, he was facing a man forcibly grabbing a girl’s arm.
(Oh… it’s just a pick-up attempt.)
Understanding the situation, Mikoyuki realized the police wouldn’t be much help in such cases. If the man claimed it was consensual, the police couldn’t intervene. However, the girl looked like she was about to cry.
As Mikoyuki reached for his phone, he dropped a card. A silver, metallic card. The thug picked it up before Mikoyuki could.
“Y-you… this rank…”
The thug’s eyes changed as he read the card.
He spoke with trembling lips.
“F…!? No way, F… ‘F-rank’!!”
The thug grinned with both surprise and amusement.
In this world, ranks existed to indicate strength. The highest was SSS-rank, and the lowest was F-rank.
In other words, the boy before him was the weakest of the weak, the trash among trash.
Mikoyuki quietly said, “Give it back,” but the thug didn’t hear him. Giving up, Mikoyuki turned his attention to the girl.
“So… is this consensual?”
“N-no! Please run away! That man is B-rank!”
F-rank was the lowest tier for ability users, no different from non-users.
Hearing the girl’s plea, Mikoyuki simply said,
“I see.”
He turned to face the man.
“Haha, you must be joking! An F-rank, acting tough!?”
“Yes, I am F-rank. But—I’m confident I’m stronger than you.”
The man’s jaw clenched at Mikoyuki’s attitude.
“Playing hero? How cool—except you need a reality check! ‘Black Flame Ball, Bloody Fire!'”
He threw a ball made of black flames. Its destructive power was enough to be lethal. Mikoyuki understood the danger of the man who could throw it so casually.
“Haha! My ‘Black Flame Ball, Bloody Fire’ is B-rank… it’s like having a firearm!”
Rank definitions were standardized globally. A B-rank was akin to an ordinary person having firearms.
Seeing Mikoyuki remain unfazed, the man assumed he had surrendered and boasted about his ability.
Mikoyuki, faced with the approaching fireball, simply said,
“…Huh?”
With a light tap of his finger, he extinguished the flame. The man couldn’t comprehend what had just happened.
The girl, however, understood the phenomenon.
(Compressed air at his fingertip, colliding with the fireball for mutual annihilation… adjusting output in that instant to avoid backlash…)
“Damn it!”
The man released the girl’s hand and generated fireballs in both hands, throwing them successively. Sparks flew dangerously around.
“Hey, that’s dangerous. Using B-rank or higher abilities in public is a crime.”
Mikoyuki swatted the fireballs away with one hand. His ability extinguished them. He closed the distance before the man could create more, and swept his leg out from under him.
The man, lacking combat training, nearly fell on his backside. Mikoyuki used the opportunity to restrain him.
“Who… who the hell are you!?”
As he pocketed his card, Mikoyuki replied,
“Like you said, I’m just a wannabe hero.”
In the distance, sirens wailed. Mikoyuki had called them just in case. The man, losing his will to fight, slumped down. Seeing no need to restrain him further, Mikoyuki turned to the girl.
“Hey… you’re pretty good.”
“……”
“What? Did you think I was a helpless girl attacked in an alley?”
The girl, with bluish-purple hair, brushed the dust off her skirt and faced Mikoyuki.
“If I could’ve used my abilities, I would’ve beaten them easily… but using abilities in the city is forbidden. Haha, I’m surprised someone didn’t recognize me.”
Her previous helplessness was gone. Her crimson eyes pierced straight into Mikoyuki’s gray ones.
“But, it was dangerous for sure. Thanks for helping me.”
A few police officers arrived, securing the unconscious thugs and cuffing the ringleader. They bowed and thanked the girl.
“Hey, you too.”
“…Huh?”
“You’re really lucky. This guy’s ability was B-rank. An ordinary student couldn’t have handled it…”
A young officer patted Mikoyuki on the shoulder and pointed to the girl.
“She’s Shia Shinozaki, the third rank of the ‘Top Ten.’ Without her, it could’ve been dangerous.”
Mikoyuki looked at the girl again—Shia Shinozaki. Her hair, eyes, and overwhelming presence…
(I’ve heard of her. The third rank of the ‘Top Ten.’ Also known as—)
“The ‘Queen of Thorns.'”
“Please don’t call me that. It’s embarrassing.”
Shia looked a bit shy at Mikoyuki’s words. Then she turned to the officer.
“No, I didn’t do anything… if anything, I was the one saved.”
“What?… What do you mean?”
“Because—”
“He’s the hero who saved me.”
Shia said, clinging to Mikoyuki’s arm, leaving the two police officers dumbfounded.
Mikoyuki came out of the alleyway again after lunchtime had already passed.
His face was slightly gaunt, and sweat was seeping out on his hands and neck.
“Your name and school? Although, if you’re that strong, I think I would have heard of you…”
“My name is Kamishiro Mikoyuki. School… I don’t have any obligation to tell you.”
“Hmm, Kamishiro Mikoyuki… huh. I’ll remember that. Thank you, Mikoyuki.”
The conversation from a few minutes ago crossed his mind. After that, he had bowed his head to two police officers, and they had almost seen his card. He had dealt with the girl—Shia—and then managed to escape.
After all, his opponent was the third-ranked of the ‘Top Ten’ of the Third City. His ability rank was SS. Mikoyuki understood well what that meant.
“I’m… hungry…”
Having wasted time, Mikoyuki’s stomach was now demanding food.
If possible, he wanted something heavy. Ignoring health, he craved junk food.
Given the situation, even a regular beef bowl seemed light. With that thought, Mikoyuki was about to enter a shop when—
*Purururu… Purururu…*
At that moment, he heard a faint vibration from his pocket.
Sensing something unpleasant, he took out his smartphone.
The contact was ‘Alicia Edelhart.’
“What do you want?”
He asked cautiously.
“…A mission. Come to headquarters immediately.”
“…A mission? From whom?”
Grinding his teeth and suppressing his hunger, Mikoyuki hurried towards headquarters. Despite his voracious appetite, the mission took precedence.
It was about a ten-minute walk to headquarters.
He weaved through the crowd.
“From the police… You know about ‘Collad Bomb,’ right?”
“‘Collad Bomb’… the big criminal organization? What about it?”
‘Collad Bomb’ was the name of a terrorist organization that had been around for a few years.
Their trademark, an eerie illustration of a bomb switch on a clown’s nose, combined ‘Corydon Clown’ and ‘Bomb Bomb’ to form ‘Collad Bomb.’
A few years ago, they had devastated part of the Second City in Hokkaido and severely injured the sixth-ranked ‘Heat Conductor’ Kongou Hibiya of the ‘Top Ten,’ causing him to lose his right arm. They were an extremely dangerous organization.
“We found the organization’s location. It got caught on the network, and we narrowed it down with GPS, so the accuracy is quite high.”
“Got it. So, Alicia, aren’t you going?”
“…”
In the long silence, Mikoyuki sensed an unspoken agreement not to delve further.
“Hey… are you still mad? About the other day. It wasn’t a big deal. Don’t worry about it.”
“Wha!? I-I’m not mad at all!”
*Click*… The phone call ended.
As soon as the call ended, the headquarters building came into view.
Having been on the phone, he hadn’t noticed, but his home screen showed a considerable number of unread emails.
Most were trivial, but among them was a PDF containing the information Alicia had just mentioned.
“…Meet at the designated location, huh?”
Mikoyuki turned around and headed back once again.
—————————
Tips:
About Ranks
The danger level generally indicates how much of a threat a person’s ability poses to the current government. It ranges from F to SSS. Ranks F to D can be considered nearly the same as ordinary people, depending on the situation. However, the highest rank, SSS, is so dangerous that the state must manage them immediately or, if too dangerous, eliminate them through assassination. Currently, there are hundreds of confirmed SS ranks in Japan alone. However, there are still overwhelmingly many unconfirmed ability users.
About the ‘Top Ten’
The ‘Top Ten’ is a title given to those with exceptionally strong abilities. To be included in the ‘Top Ten,’ a minimum rank of ‘SS’ is required. The benefits are tremendous, including permission to operate outside the city and travel abroad.