Disclaimer: I own nothing. If I did, I would be drinking tea with Kazuma Kamachi in this very moment.

Before proceeding to the prologue of the story, I would like to make some recommendations.

Please visit my profile. It will explain everything about how I work my stories. Also, it will feature the links that will take you to the profile that corresponds to the story you will read. There, you will have access to all images and recommended songs for each published chapter.

The cover of ANROM can be seen in the profile of the story too.

You won't be disappointed. Thanks to "Tomonee," "Major Major Major Major," for their previous work as my betas. I'm happy to let you all know that "NirvanaFrk97" has taken over as my new beta for this story as well, I'm sure some of you guys recognize him. Check their stories as they are good!

- Frank

A New Road of Misfortune

Prologue: The New Tale of The Illusion Killer Boy: The_Imagine-Breaker

PART 1

"White…Yes… It's white. The ceiling's white. Who would have thought…?"

A certain spiky-haired boy was lying on the ground with a surprised look on his face. It seemed his sleep was interrupted by a little case of falling from the bed. That weird dream he had must have been the reason for it, but he just decided to shrug it off. His head still hurt like hell, though.

"Now I'm just being silly." The boy mumbled to himself as he slowly stood up. He rubbed the aching part of his head and looked around his dorm room.

It was rather spacious, at least for a student like him. All the necessary accommodations were present: A single bed, a coffee table in the centre and a small kitchenette. Adjacent to it was the door that led to the laundry room and bathroom. He also had some bookshelves on the opposite side of his bed with a TV on top of a stout wooden stand.

The first rays of the rising sun began to enter through the curtains covering the balcony's glass door.

"What time is it?" The boy glanced at the wall in front of him hoping to clear that doubt, only to remember that he accidentally broke the only clock he had two days ago when he stupidly tested his misfortune when he tried to play with a basketball inside his dorm. Fortunately, that was the only thing damaged.

The young boy sighed and grabbed his cell from the nearby shelf, opening it.

"5:58, huh? I guess I can take a walk before heading to school."

He opened the curtains to finally let the sun engulf the room and headed to the bathroom. After brushing his teeth, taking a quick shower, and preparing a simple bento, the boy quickly dressed himself and grabbed all the stuff needed for today's class, putting them in his book bag. Wearing his school uniform for summer and his favourite orange T-shirt underneath it, the young student walked towards the entrance door.

"Let's make this day a good one, Kamijou-san," The spiky-haired boy said as he smiled playfully to himself. Even the unfortunate events that tended to happen in his daily life were not going to stop him from enjoying his youth.

Kamijou opened the door and walked outside his dorm, a confident smile spread on his face; one that quickly disappeared a few seconds later when he tripped on a tin can and fell to the ground. All the books and pencils from his book bag spilled out, spreading all over the passageway.

"Fukou da…"

As always, misfortune got in his way.

PART 2

Go to profile, LISTEN: Link in A New Road Of Misfortune: Prologue Section: Song 01

The sun shone brightly upon Academy City. A city filled with educational facilities, research laboratories, and the like; all of them with single purpose: The development of psychic powers and advanced technology. As such, Academy City was considered to be the most advanced city in the world, with technology as far as 30 years ahead of the rest of the globe.

The city was composed of 23 districts, each one having a different purpose.

Among the most important districts within the city was District 7, filled with middle and high schools, hospitals, boarding houses, and dormitories, one of them occupied by a certain unfortunate student.

Said unfortunate student walked down an open street as he observed the tall distant buildings that covered the north side of the city. The boy presumed those belonged to District 1, where most of the city's administration was located.

Kamijou reached the corner of the block and stopped, turning his head to the left and couldn't help but notice the three girls that overtook him, joining the street on his right side.

Now, like many guys his age, he could appreciate the beauty of the opposite sex. That being said, he had, at the core, a very gentlemanly personality due to both the respect he was taught to have for women and the knowledge of what would happen if the fairer sex were angered, knowledge which he happened to learn first-hand due to his misfortune. Leering at girls or harassing them in front of him was a good way of pissing him off and earning a knuckle sandwich to the face.

Plus, looks weren't everything. No matter how delicious an apple looked, if it was rotten inside, then it was a bad apple; and he applied this concept in his appreciation for women. Kamijou would never be attracted to someone that could be considered as evil; but at the very least, he would admit and accept her beauty.

The girl in the middle had long black hair and a prominent forehead, the one at her left side had short wavy light-brown hair and the last one dark-bluish long hair. While they were all well-endowed, the one in the middle stood out in particular.

"Wait…That uniform…Where have I seen it?" Kamijou asked himself. "Maybe…Maybe I should go that way."

It was still early, so a little detour wouldn't really affect his schedule. In fact, he was looking for something different to spice up his routine, so why not this? His misfortune followed him everywhere he went anyway; so the chosen route would make no difference in the end. It would take longer no doubt, but he had time to spare.

Having decided on his course of action, Kamijou started walking again and soon reached the trio, who seemed to be discussing serious matters. He paid their discussion no mind and slowed his pace, content on just trailing behind them.

But as Kamijou continued down the street, he did manage to hear the word 'exams' and his positive disposition for the day crumbled.

'Wait, it's exam time, isn't it…' Kamijou's brow furrowed as he remembered the reason for his lack of sleep for the past few days.

"Exams… Hahhh…"

It wasn't as if he was really worried about them. Kamijou usually had low-average albeit acceptable grades so the exams weren't the real problem. What actually bothered him was the Power Curriculum Program itself.

Academy City's goal was the development of physic powers and technology, the first one being the main reason for its establishment, the latter being a requirement needed to achieve the first goal. The Power Curriculum Program was the result of intensive research, designed to unlock a student's potential in gaining, controlling, and improving supernatural abilities. Any student that had gone through it was given a new label: Esper.

These espers were ranked from level 0 to level 5, depending on the progress of the individual student in the program. While most espers usually began at level 1 and improved to become higher ranked espers, there were those that were level 0.

Level 0 espers were a majority in Academy City, comprising 60% of the student populace. These espers were people that had weak powers, or did not show any sign of having one. Although they still had the potential to unlock them, it seemed very unlikely to happen and most failed the program.

The spiky-haired boy by the name of Kamijou Touma was one of those said level 0 espers, who always failed the program. The remedial classes and tests he was forced into as a result had less effect on him than most, since he was a bit different. He possessed an ability despite being a Zero; one that couldn't be detected or measured, one that was unique and most likely the bane of all others.

It was called the 'Imagine Breaker'.

This power resides entirely in his right hand. As far as he could tell, it allowed him to negate other esper abilities and completely neutralize them. He'd had plenty of opportunities to test it, in the many, MANY troublesome situations he found himself in.

Kamijou Touma was the kind of guy who couldn't stand anyone who used his or her powers to hurt people. This often led him into trouble for the sake of helping the helpless and innocent. Ironically, he himself often became the one needing help the most.

Kamijou wasn't sure why he had this ability, but he couldn't help complaining about it still. Sure, his right hand could negate supernatural powers, but it also negated the "blessings of god". All the good fortune that should have made his life better never arrived, and the result was an endless stream of bad luck that he had endured since he was born.

'The child of misfortune…'

There were many reasons on why he moved to Academy city and they weren't very pleasant events. But he recalled the day he was supposed to move to the city, the day that gave him the impression that his misfortune was truly trying to stop him.

'Geez…' He could remember the girl with long dark blue hair, asking him to get her cat from the roof of her house. He accepted, despite the taxi waiting to take him to the airport. Kamijou could have just ignored the pleas of the little girl, but he couldn't. After all, who would have thought that agreeing to help her would have caused him to miss his plane?

Flashback:

Kamijou climbed the tree closest to the tall house and jumped from one of the thick branches onto the roof. After examining his surroundings, he quickly made his way to the scared cat that strangely enough, had blue fur, but only managed to grab it after chasing it around the roof for more than 5 minutes. When he headed back to the thick branch of the tall tree, a white cat with a dress(?) appeared in the yard of the next house, causing the one he was holding to react and jump out of his embrace. He lost his balance from its sudden movement and tumbled to the ground below.

Kamijou woke three days later in a hospital and only managed to take the plane to AC four days after that.

End of Flashback

But eventually, he arrived at a place where he thought he could live 'peacefully'.

Although his misfortune would follow him all the way to the city of science, here no one would blame him, wouldn't spread superstitions about a child who only brought chaos. This city was the perfect place to start anew and he was grateful for the chance.

"What am I thinking now? Geez… this is not the time," Kamijou closed his eyes and breathed deeply before resuming his study of the girls in front of him.

The trio whispered indecipherable words, glancing back at him. Kamijou wondered what they were talking about now. He would get his answer when they suddenly stopped in their tracks and turned towards him a short while later.

"Huh?" Was the only thing that came out of Kamijou's mouth at the sudden attention.

"Please, could you stop stalking us?" The girl in the middle spoke as she covered the lower part of her face with a green fan.

Kamijou stared at the girl with the fan. She, like the other two, was wearing a school uniform seemingly composed of a short-sleeve shirt under a light brown vest and a really short dark tan skirt.

"Hmph! This is what we get for going for a walk out of the school grounds," The girl with the fan looked offended, even if her mouth was covered, her tone easily displayed her annoyance.

"What? What are you talking about? I'm not stalking you."

"W-well… I think you began to follow us when we passed behind you in that corner. It seemed you were going up the street when you abruptly began to walk behind us, so…" The girl with dark-bluish hair explained, her voice trailing off when Kamijou directed his eyes towards her.

"Do not try to deny it! Those perverted eyes of yours are proof enough!" The black-haired girl spoke with a strong voice. "I suggest that you stop at once before I call Judgment."

"Hey! I'm not doing anything!" He tried to defend himself, but he was pretty sure it all would be useless, "And I don't have perverted eyes."

The third girl stood in front of the boy and locked stares with him. Kamijou stared right back because he genuinely wasn't stalking them.

'What's with this girl?!'

"Maybe he wasn't stalking us, Kongou-san. He doesn't look like a bad guy," Kamijou was startled by her comment; this girl was defending him and that honestly made him kind of glad.

"Wannai-san! He IS stalking us; have you forgotten how he had stared at us just a few minutes ago?"

Kamijou sighed, he did glance at them but it wasn't like he was the only one doing so, other male students were as guilty as him, plus THEY were the ones staring.

"Liste-," Kamijou's eyes widened a bit when he noticed the emblem that was located in the vest of the girl closest to him. He recognized it, finally placing their familiar outfits. It was a discovery he would rather not have made.

"Where are you looking at, you pervert!?" The girl called Kongou shouted, catching him off guard and almost making his book bag slip from his grasp. He managed to choke back a yelp as well.

"Sorry! I didn't mean…" Kamijou averted his gaze to the ground and sighed again. "Look, you three are from Tokiwadai Middle School, right?"

"Yes, we are. Why do you ask?" Asked Wannai.

"I see. I just wanted to confirm somethi-"

"Do not try to change the subject! You were looking at Wannai-san's chest, I saw it with my own eyes! Do you not have any shame?" Kongou crossed her arms, looking even more disgusted.

"I was just looking at the emblem on her ves—"

"Do not try to make excuses," Kongou interrupted him again and grabbed Wannai by the arm, pulling her behind her. "I will not let you do anything to my friends."

A moment passed as both Kamijou and the girl accusing him looked at each other in the eyes when suddenly, Kamijou smiled.

"You know, it's nice to see people protecting their friends like you do," He briefly glanced at the girl with wavy-hair, who turned slightly red. "Even if I was a real stalker, which I'm not by the way, you confronted me to protect them and I admire that."

The three girls blinked in surprise. Apparently, they did not expect such an answer, but Kamijou truly felt that way.

"W-we-well, of course I do! I-I would do anything to keep them safe from the likes of you. Hmph!" The black-haired Tokiwadai student responded hastily and turned her head to the side.

"Kongou-san…" Both girls at her side said in unison.

Kamijou thought for a second that he saw her cheeks getting red, but she covered them quickly with the fan. It must have just been his imagination.

Go to profile, SEE: Link in A New Road Of Misfortune: Prologue Section: Picture 01

"Ok, fine… Sorry for whatever I did. This poor Kamijou-san will just go away," The unfortunate boy said as he scratched the back of his head. The girls were too much trouble, not to mention that they belonged to that certain school he would rather avoid, "There's no need to call Judgment."

"Fine, but let me clarify something before you go. I was only going to call Judgment after dealing with you myself," A smug smile was painted on Kongou's face, irritating him more than just a bit.

"…Is that so? Huh…" Kamijou said with an equally smug expression, "I wouldn't be so sure."

The girl with short-wavy hair seemed surprised by his response; on the other side, the forehead-girl looked pissed and was glaring daggers at him.

"What!? Do you know who you are talking to?" A tense atmosphere formed around them, and her intense stare made Kamijou question his own actions for a moment.

"I don't know but I guess-"

"I'm Kongou Mitsuko! One of the most promising espers in Academy City! I'm a level 4 esper if you must know;" She began to laugh for some reason." I bet you are just a low level esper, maybe even a useless level 0 for all I know."

"K-Kongou-san! Don't talk like that…" The blue-haired girl said with a weak voice.

Kamijou's tired eyes became sharp in an instant, but Kongou failed to notice it.

"Y-yeah… that was a bit uncalled for…" Wannai did however, and looked very troubled for the sudden change of atmosphere. She glanced at him and turned to her friend, "We should go, Kongou-san…"

"To think I wasted my time with you," Kongou finally said.

Kamijou closed his eyes for a couple of seconds, struggling to contain his anger. Her cruel words stewed inside him, but he took a breath, forcing himself to calm down before he did anything he would regret.

"I may have misjudged you," Kamijou's expression became deathly serious. "You're just one of those spoiled ojous that always look down on people. You think that being a higher level esper makes you better?"

"No, I meant-"

Kamijou spoke in a stronger, more authoritative tone.

"Level 0 espers work hard to acquire their abilities and improve, it's not their fault that they lack the advantage most of you have when beginning at level 1 or more," He took a step forward, making her flinch slightly, "Do you have any idea of how useless most of them feel when they can't even become a level 1 esper?"

"I-I…I never said anything of the sort…" Her eyes fell to the ground, unable to meet his hard gaze.

By her reaction, she at least seemed regretful of what she just said. No one spoke a word for a moment.

Kamijou's face softened, now sporting a bored look on his face.

"I just can't stand people like you," The spiky-haired guy retorted as he walked past them, hiding his persisting annoyance, "Think before you talk, Forehead-san."

He knew it was probably uncalled for, but Kamijou couldn't help it. He didn't want to call her by her name, so the only thing that came to his head to refer to her was…

"F-Forehead…!?" She sounded surprised but he just ignored her and continued to walk away. He couldn't have cared less if that nickname offended her. 'Conceited brats' and 'irritation' usually came in a package deal, and Kongou proved it's validity once more.

Then, Kamijou felt a deathly glare being directed at the back of his head and a cold tingle ran down his spine. A strong wind pushed him from behind but he held his balance; he didn't look back at the source of the unexpected gust… until his highly experienced perceptions screamed danger.

His honed reflexes allowed him to duck just in time as a trash can sailed over his head at incredible speed, impacting the mailbox behind him with a crash.

"Kongou-san! Calm down!" The girl with blue hair screamed loudly. She sounded scared and Kamijou didn't wonder why. That Ojou did something to throw that trash can with enough force to dent metal. He could have easily died if he hadn't dodged in time.

Kamijou stood up and got ready for her next move. He could almost feel the wind concentrating around her fan. The other two girls stepped back unable to do anything to stop the incoming fight.

'Me and my big mouth. Once again, I've managed to pick a fight with a powerful and violent ojou-sama.'

"Listen! I'm sorry! I was just joking," Kamijou tried to apologise though his voice lacked sincerity considering his panicked state, "Are you the kind that can't take jokes? Is resorting to violence what Tokiwadai teaches their students?"

"Silence! My name is Kongou Mitsuko! How dare you address me like that!?" She was really angry, too angry to calm down. Kamijou could only wonder if she had some kind of trauma in the past concerning her forehead. Maybe other people made fun of her regarding the subject, noting it was an easy target like he just did.

"You know, I could have died with that," Kamijou cleared his throat. It was kind of funny to think how much things could change in a matter of seconds. He was just scolding her one minute ago and now he was apologizing for something ridiculous, "But I…Eh…I shouldn't have said that, I'm sorry."

"He's apologizing, Kongou-san. Please forgive him and let him go, everyone is looking at us," Wannai tried to convince her but Kamijou suspected she would not let him off the hook so easily. Ojous were too prideful for that.

But unexpectedly, Kongou's glare lost its intensity and the gust of wind surrounding her fan ceased. She looked around her, finally noticing the stares they were drawing, and her eyes widened at the realization. She then turned her face to Kamijou, the scary expression on her face finally gone.

"I…" She hesitated. "…Accept your apology…" The esper level-4 spoke with a nervous voice, eyes darting around the crowd.

"Huh? Really…?" 'That was surprisingly easy… Almost anticlimactic even.'

"Yes…" Kongou closed her eyes, her fan covering her mouth again, "As long as you understand that you did wrong."

Kamijou was surprised and relieved at the same time. The girl in front of him that almost killed him apparently returned to her ojou-sama self. Though he did find it funny how he had to admit his "wrongdoings" when she still hadn't.

"Your name," Kongou pointed her fan at him, staring at him intently.

"What?" Kamijou blinked.

"I said 'your name'. Tell me your name," Her tone became a bit bossy, the default tone for ojous.

"Why?" Kamijou inquired, gaze narrowing, "Is it…Necessary?"

Kongou glared at him, confirming that she was serious about it. Kamijou wanted to leave and just forget about this absurd event. If she learned his name, he strongly suspected it would end up bringing him trouble in the future.

However, considering her spoiled and stuck-up personality, Kamijou concluded that failing to comply would only make things worse right now.

"Kamijou Touma, that's my name…" He answered with a sigh.

"I see…" Kongou turned around and walked to where her fellow classmates were, "I will remember your name so you better remember my own. Let's go Wannai-san, Awatsuki-san."

"Y-yes!" The girl with the name of Awatsuki quickly followed after her.

"K-Kamijou-san…?" Wannai called out with a shaky voice as he directed his attention to her, "You…You are a level 0, right?"

At that moment, Kongou stopped but did not turn around.

"Yeah… quite a misfortunate one, if I may add," He answered easily, a sincere smile spread across his lips.

Wannai stared at him for a couple of seconds with a neutral expression, which was replaced by an odd smile. She then walked to her friends, the boy looking at her departing form, perplexed.

The Tokiwadai group left, returning the direction they came.

That aside, Kamijou was in thought. The smile this girl called Wannai gave him made Kamijou feel a little embarrassed, but also left him with an uneasy feeling. That was the first time he saw someone looking at him the way she had.

"Argh!" He grabbed his head and began to scratch it like a mad man, "Stop thinking about stuff you don't understand, idiot! You probably imagined that."

But no matter what he said to himself, the spiky-haired boy was confused. What was with that smile? It showed kindness, but there was something else hidden within it.

His thoughts were interrupted by a blue armoured vehicle, passing at great speeds down the street beside him. He was relieved to see that truck didn't stop: after all, a mailbox had just been destroyed in what was probably a crime. Normally they would stop for something like this, because Kamijou recognized the emblem located at upper left side of it.

"Anti-Skill? There must be some trouble around."

Anti-Skill was Academy City's police force. From what he knew, it consisted of normal, non-esper adults. He had seen them a couple of times taking down thugs and troublesome espers with non-lethal weapons, admiring their dedication and skill.

Any kind of crime committed inside the walls that surrounded the city was handled by Anti-Skill. The more petty complaints were dealt with by Judgment, the student based disciplinary committee of espers that he had just been threatened with. Together, these two organizations maintained order in Academy City.

"I hope they can handle whatever it is that's happening."

Kamijou took his cell phone from one of the pockets of his pants and opened it. He eyed the upper right corner of the screen and then pocketed it back.

"6:43. I guess I still have some time to kill."

The young student approached the destroyed mailbox and examined it as other students got closer to take a look as well. It was totally deformed due to the impact with the trash can, and would definitely need to be replaced.

'Damn… That girl is crazy. What the hell did she do? Was she actually controlling the wind?'

Kongou Mitsuko was indeed a high level esper with amazing abilities. The proof of what she was capable of doing was laid right in front of him after all. She was a dangerous esper to mess with and he just made her mad a moment ago. The usual rotten luck of his was to blame of course.

More people began to gather around him, so he quickly made his way out of the crowd and ran in the opposite direction of the Tokiwadai trio. He needed to get out of there before the authorities noticed the damaged property and inevitably blamed him for it.

Kamijou ran to an alley located in the next block between two tall buildings and disappeared into the shadows.

PART 3

The temperature rose along the sun, and it was quickly becoming quite bothersome for the student sitting on a certain park's central bench. It was only 7:01 A.M. but the boy with the mysterious power called Imagine Breaker was already resting, a bit winded after the run to avoid trouble.

"Damn! This place is too hot," Kamijou commented, and yet he still didn't move from where he was sitting due to his laziness having the control over his body at the moment.

So he chose to stay like this despite his complaints, observing his surroundings. Nothing out of the ordinary was happening around the park, just the usual group of students passing by, two cylindrical coloured-beige cleaning robots taking care of any trash on the ground, and then…

Kamijou stared at a girl coming from the left, eyes filling with interest. She had long black hair pinned with a small flower accessory, and was wearing a school uniform composed of a sailor shirt, a red-coloured scarf, and a dark blue medium-sized skirt.

But what caught his attention was the bag she was carrying. Huge compared to her size, it seemed to be stuffed with food, most notably three long sticks of French loaves that protruded out. The girl sported a prideful smile for some reason as she skipped lightly in the dawn.

"Good morning!" She noticed Kamijou on the bench and spoke cheerfully to him as she passed by.

"G-good morning…" He replied with uncertainty on his tone, surprised that she bothered greeting him.

The girl smiled brightly at him as she walked away, leaving Kamijou thoughtful for the second time during this day. Another girl had made him a bit nervous.

"Well, that was something… But why so much food at this hour?"

The young boy stood up, grabbing his book bag.

"Well, this Kamijou-san has nothing do around here," The boy turned his head towards the direction that would take him to school. He hoped nothing more like his meeting with those ojou girls would occur, at least not for today.

With that, he left the park.

PART 4

Kamijou finally stood before the main entrance of his school. Located on a hill, reaching it was always tiresome. Only after climbing an inclination and several more flights of steps could one finally reach the school's entrance, making an already demoralizing journey even more difficult.

Kamijou Touma, however, had good stamina from the countless times he had to run to escape from trouble. So it went without saying that he would not be tired because of a little climbing.

"Geez…It's still early," The pointy-haired teen commented, as it was only 7:23 A.M. Since classes started at 8:45 A.M., while entrance onto the school's grounds was not allowed until 8:30 A.M., he was more or less one hour early.

"This early? You? Kamijou…?"

A voice came from behind, which he recognized immediately. That voice belonged to the only student in his school that could unnerve him. It did not take long for Kamijou to decide his next course of action.

The boy quickly spun around, raising both hands in a protective manner.

The person was actually a girl from his class, named Fukiyose Seiri. She had long black hair, a pretty face, and a well-endowed body although she lacked the sex appeal that she would otherwise have. To Kamijou, she was just a girl with the strength of a monster. Fukiyose wore the uniform to his school with prim perfection, a dark blue sailor fuku and a pleated skirt of the same colour.

Kamijou looked at her stoically before clapping both hands together, tilting his head forward.

"My apologies, Fukiyose-sama! This Kamijou-san is very sorry for anything I might have done!"

The girl in question raised an eyebrow as she crossed her arms.

"What are you doing!?" Her voice had an edge that clearly displayed her growing irritation.

"Well… I'm apologizing, Fukiyose-sama," He made a dumb expression as if he didn't understand why she was asking, "Does it look like anything else?"

"Don't call me Fukiyose-sama or I'm going to hit you," Fukiyose sighed, hands on her hip, "Why do you keep apologizing?"

Kamijou blinked twice, realizing he was acting like an idiot again.

"Well… I… Uh, don't really know, I guess…"

Fukiyose sighed again, having both hands on her hips now. She looked annoyed, which he knew wasn't a good sign. Several times she had knocked him unconscious when in this state, so he had come to be very wary of her.

"Think harder," She glared at him, "And then explain it to me."

Kamijou didn't usually give much thought to his actions, so he folded his arms and thought a bit. He guessed that saying what he felt would do, and so for lack of a better option, he went with his gut.

"I… thought you were going to hit me, like you always do," He answered sincerely.

"Was there a reason for me to do so?"

"…No…?"

The big-breasted girl sighed once more as the boy waited for her next words.

"Listen Kamijou, I don't hit you because I want to, I only do so because you act like an irresponsible, hopeless, idiotic, casual, lazy ass!"

"Do I act like that all the time?" He raised an eyebrow, "You punch me almost every day and even I can tell that I act reasonably…sometimes…"

"Sometimes it's you causing the ruckus, other times your friends are doing it, but you always butt in regardless, and it happens every day!" Fukiyose said with a scolding tone. Kamijou had to accept that she had a point, yet could only shrug his shoulders in response, "Anyway, don't just stand there, Kamijou. Let's just walk around and wait for class."

Kamijou opened his mouth to respond, but his voice was lost within the noise of an explosion that just occurred a few blocks away. Both students turned in the direction of a thick plume of rising smoke.

"What was that?" The girl asked, yet got no response.

For without wasting any time, Kamijou was already gone, running towards the site of the blast. His female classmate called out for him but he ignored her and focused instead on what his heart was saying.

'Damn it! People might be hurt, I have to help.'

Kamijou ran as fast as he could.

PART 5

Fire erupted from the upper windows of the burning building in front of Kamijou. People were running chaotically from its entrance and screams could be heard all around him. Some officials were helping the people affected by the smoke, choking as they fled the scene.

"How many are left in the final floor?" One of the officers asked to a person dressed in a long white coat.

The man coughed twice before directing his attention to the officer that talked to him. Kamijou got closer to them; he had to know what was going on.

"There are about 20 people or so in the last floor. We need to get them out of there now!" With Kamijou being close enough to hear them, he noticed the victim was likely a scientist of some kind.

"You don't have to tell us that, sir. Fire response units are on their way to deal with the fire and we are evacuating all the people we can," The officer was clearly troubled, face showing unease. "The only setback is that we can't actually get to the top. The chemicals in one of the labs created an explosion, destroying the elevator as well as the stairs that lead to it. But we-"

"What started the fire? What was that explosion?" The spiky-haired boy could not hold back anymore and stepped forward to them, eyes sharp and focused.

The officer looked at the teen with a startled expression, "What's a student doing here?" He asked seriously, "Can't you see this area is now off limits?"

"I suppose, but still… I want to know what's happening," His eyes glanced at the burning building, before returning to the officer. "Who did this?"

"No more questions. You need to leave, now. Officer Kishimoto here will lead you to safety," Said official motioned for the man with the coat and the student to follow him while the first headed to the building's entrance.

"What's gonna happen to the people in the last floor?" Kamijou asked, truly concerned about their safety. The scientist looked expectant at the response as well.

"Two rescue choppers should be arriving soon. We're going to get them out of there from the roof," Kishimoto informed them. "Don't worry; no one is going to die today."

The officer's smile relieved both Kamijou and the scientist. Everything was under control and Kamijou was grateful for that. A few seconds passed before Kishimoto's walkie-talkie made a sound, drawing his attention. The officer took the device to his ear and spoke.

"What is it…? She's here? …Alright, this will make things easier," The man turned off the device and smirked. "Good news! The choppers are not going to be needed; an esper from Judgment with teleporting abilities will take them out."

"Thank goodness…" The man with the coat said weakly.

Ambulances and more Anti-Skill vans pulled up to the incident as paramedics began to attend to people injured with burns. To Kamijou's relief, none of them looked life-threatening.

It seemed he really was worried for nothing.

The official, Kishimoto, left both Kamijou and the scientist near an ambulance. Soon, paramedics brought to them two breathing masks, the coated man accepted it but Kamijou shook his head.

"I'm fine. Use it one someone else," The paramedic gave him a look and nodded.

"I guess you weren't inside then. Stay here though, I need to check on everyone else," The man with a dark blue uniform said before he left them.

Kamijou nodded. To see someone so focused on helping those in need always gave him hope for this messed-up world. Paramedics, firemen, officers and all who risked their lives to save people were always an inspiration to him. They were heroes, with or without powers.

Kamijou directed his eyes to the man dressed as a scientist, who had taken a seat on the ambulance's back. He removed his mask to cough a couple of times before putting it back again. The teen was relieved that everyone was being evacuated, but his mind still held some worry.

"You work in there, mister?" Kamijou addressed the man, who in turn did not bother to look back at him.

"Yes, but what's it to you?" His response was rude but Kamijou didn't care. He had questions and he was not going to let a rude response stop him from getting answers.

"That explosion… How did it happen?"

The man remained silent, only breathing deeply into the mask. Kamijou waited patiently for his answer but none came, so he asked again.

"Mister, wha-"

Kamijou was cut off when the man finally spoke, staring at him. The man's face showed tired eyes and a dark expression.

"Shouldn't you be in school at this hour?" The man stood up, leaving the breathing mask on the ambulance. "Don't tell me you are one of those delinquents who miss school classes intentionally."

"It's still kind of early… And I… I have an uncle that works in that building so… I was worried, I haven't seen him yet." Kamijou hated lying, but now that this man was dismissing him, it seemed to be the only way he could get some answers about what caused this mess.

"Hmm… I see. Your uncle must be one of those in the last floor, but you'll just have to wait," The scientist-looking man looked towards the top of the building. "My wife works here, too… On the last floor."

Kamijou blinked in realization. No wonder this man was so moody: Who wouldn't be worried about their wife being in danger? He felt a momentary pang of guilt for misleading someone so obviously upset, but having come so far, he just couldn't back down now.

"That explosion was an accident, right?" The young student asked, hoping for the affirmative answer that never came.

"Accident? This was not an accident!" The man's voice became a bit louder, "Those bastards did it!" With greeted teeth, he answered, looking obviously pissed.

Though hearing it aloud was disheartening, Kamijou had suspected as much, knowing well that accidents were very uncommon in AC. With such advanced technology, the security measures in labs and places alike were always top of the line. Only people with ill intentions could have caused this.

"Why did they do this? Who were they?"

"What, so now you're a cop and a delinquent?" The man led out an exasperated sigh.

"I need to know," Kamijou's serious gaze bored at the startled man, who finally cracked under its pressure.

"…I don't know… They were using masks…" He informed hesitantly, "They stole some components from the labs. One of them was an esper with pyrokinetic abilities, so you can imagine who caused that explosion."

"Where are they?" Kamijou pushed, "Were they caught?"

"I think Anti-Skill caught two of them with the help of a student, the others esca…ped…" His eyes widened, the man raised his hand and pointed his index behind Kamijou, "That car! That's the car I saw in the parking lot! It's theirs, it must be!"

The man ran to the closest official to deliver his warning as Kamijou spun around. Two Anti-Skill trucks moved quickly, and the chase was on.

Go to profile, LISTEN: Link in A New Road Of Misfortune: Prologue Section: Song 02

The boy wasted mere seconds before running to where the vehicle was heading. He was acting on instinct, not really thinking about what he was doing. He knew he could do nothing to stop them but he could not ignore the fact that more people might get hurt without him. He veered away from the street to an alley, knowing full well he couldn't catch the speeding vehicle. But Kamijou's constant escapes from trouble gave him an impeccable memory of Academy City's shortcuts and he had the experience to guess where they were going.

The odds of guessing right were low, but he was determined to at least try. Kamijou ran with all his might, focused only on his destination when a loud noise sounded to the left and ahead.

"Damn it!" Kamijou cursed as he entered another alley, dreading the source of the bang. He turned left at the first chance and continued down the new path.

Just before reaching the end of the alley, Kamijou heard another explosion. Back out in the streets he ran across the block and noticed smoke coming from an Anti-Skill truck whereas the robber's vehicle had apparently crashed into an unsuspecting vehicle. All three law enforcers were incapacitated, but the criminals were nowhere to be found except for the unconscious driver.

Kamijou wasted no time and pressed on, avoiding the students in his way. Most of them were visibly stunned, not moving from where they stood, while others ran like hell to escape the danger.

"The driver's unconscious, go after the other four! Get medics to tend to the others!" A newly arrived member of Anti-Skill shouted to a group of six heavily armed colleagues. He noted in surprise that they all had rifles and grenades attached to their belts: it was the first time he had seen them carrying such weaponry.

The Anti-Skill unit moved without delay.

Kamijou scanned his surroundings, sighing in relief that no one looked like they were hurt. The bus's passengers were safe despite the crash and all Anti-Skill members seemed fine.

He could not say the same for the car's driver.

At this point, there was only one way these bastards could have gone to escape, and that was through District 10's maze of abandoned buildings that ended in the only cemetery in AC. Kamijou moved forward.

"Hey you!" A voice called, making Kamijou stop on his tracks as he observed a member of Anti-Skill approaching. "You shouldn't be here, it's dangerous!"

'Crap! I don't need this right now!'

Kamijou sprinted to the left, quickly passing between the abandoned vehicle and the truck.

"W-wait! You can't go that way!" The same voice shouted.

'That voice… Wasn't that…?'

It was then that he recalled what he was doing and discarded the thought; he had no time to be distracted by nonsense. Kamijou suspected he was going to be followed by one or more of the law enforcement agents, so he entered another dark alley to lose them.

One question popped into his head in the moment he entered the alley.

Why was he even doing this? Those guys crashed their car and now they were escaping on foot with a team of armed Anti-Skill units hot on their heels. Was he really necessary? He was just an unfortunate student with a strange power in his right hand. He had no obligation to get involved, and yet he could not just stand by while they threatened innocent people.

He just couldn't. He never did, and he wasn't about to start now.

With newfound determination, Kamijou Touma took his first step towards the unknown.

PART 6

A plan was what Kamijou needed when he finally found the group that attacked that building. He was observing them carefully while hiding behind some crates. There were four of them and from what he could see, they were arguing loudly.

All of them were of short stature with the exception of a man leaning casually against a wall. They all had the same outfits composed of black pants and dark brown jackets, as well as those black masks the scientist mentioned.

"That was not supposed to happen!" Suddenly one of them shouted again, making another in front of him visibly flinch.

"I know! These Anti-Skill bastards are a pain in the ass! What the fuck are we going to do now?"

The man leaning to the wall stood still, crossing his arms. "There's no use bitching now," He said dryly, "Let's just keep moving."

The other three nodded and followed him into a street on their left. The abandoned tall buildings on this part of the city blocked all light, making the area a suitable place for thugs to hide or use as a getaway. A certain spiky-haired boy knew this area quite well, using these dark streets and alleys several times to escape from gangs. He could guess where they were heading.

'Hmm… That way is… Heh… This could work…'

Kamijou smirked.

"Heh, I must be going crazy!" He ventured a short distance before going down an obscure street; he knew very well it would take him to a narrow alley where he could intercept his quarry.

The boy knew equally well that he was putting life in danger by doing this, but Anti-Skill was nowhere to be seen and just letting the criminals go was not an option. He had to do something to stop them, and he would do it no matter what.

Though panting lightly, Kamijou kept up his pace, keeping track of the thugs from a safe distance. In his left hand he grasped the lid of a trash can that he found on the way, it was a large round metal top with a handle and was surprisingly easy to handle as a shield. It must have been made of some resilient Academy City alloy, to look so sturdy despite its thinness.

'Now if only this was imbued with godly heroic power…'

Kamijou had never fought an esper capable of pyrokinesis before. His makeshift defense could increase his chances of surviving, in case his right hand was unable to negate that power in time.

Having finally reached an intersection that connected three narrow alleys together, Kamijou realized that this was the perfect place for a surprise attack. Even if it was four against one, he had the advantage in a dark, constricted place like this.

He noticed something moving far away down the alley. As he suspected, the thugs were coming quickly, and all Kamijou could do was wait patiently for them to arrive. He pressed himself behind a wall and closed his eyes, focusing on the echoing sounds of their footsteps.

Nearly a minute passed, and with each passing second their steps echoed louder and louder. The moment of confrontation was at hand and Kamijou found himself getting nervous. Yet it was not the time to have second thoughts, and he could not back out now even if he wanted to.

The sound of a steps passing the corner where he hid was the signal to act.

Kamijou swung his entire body like a pendulum with his right fist out, putting his body weight into the blow and launching it forward to slam into the face of the first passing thug. The thug's own momentum and the force put into the blow meant that they stood no chance. A painful crunching sound rang out, indicating the thug's nose was broken and the criminal fell backwards to the ground and remained still.

"What the-" The second man registered in shock as Kamijou continued his assault, stepping over the first criminal. The unfortunate boy had misjudged the distance between him and the enemy, giving the man time to level a gun. But Kamijou didn't hesitate and pressed on.

Putting his newly acquired 'shield' in front of him, Kamijou blocked the incoming gun shots, each bullet impacting with the piece of metal with a loud clang. Either the metal lid was truly tough or the gun had low enough caliber to not pierce the makeshift shield, he wasn't going to question it.

The teen reached the man in mere seconds and bashed the man with the trash can lid, knocking the two behind him down like a tangled mess of dominoes. The gun fell from the thug's grip and Kamijou kicked it away from his grasp. Two savage stomps to the face put the second man out of commission.

Kamijou then quickly picked up the pistol, careful to not touch the trigger and stood on his feet, steadily aiming the pistol at the two remaining thieves with his right hand while lifting his 'shield' in his left. He blinked in mild surprise upon seeing their faces, guessing these two must have removed their masks at some point before they came here. The taller man had long black hair tied back firmly while the one behind him had short dark red hair and was wearing a black bandana. They were unexpectedly young.

"Who the fuck are you?" The closer man asked aggressively, though in contrast Kamijou remained impassively silent. A few tense seconds passed without any sort of response coming from him as the thug looked at him closely. "Wait, you've gotta be just a student… One of those shitty Judgment agents."

"It doesn't matter who am I, you hurt people and I won't let you get away with it," Kamijou said menacingly, taking one step forward, "That's all you need to know."

Both thugs grit their teeth, and Kamijou knew why. He had complete control of the situation.

"We shouldn't have let that dickhead bring a pistol. Now we're screwed," The thug behind the tall one commented, clearly annoyed.

Unexpectedly for the thugs, the young boy aimed the handgun to the sky and shot every last bullet in the clip. The thug stood dumbfounded for a few seconds before they reacted.

"Why would you... That pistol was your only chance of taking us down, and you just wasted it," The tall man smirked darkly, cracking his knuckles in anticipation.

"I would never shoot someone, so no," Kamijou replied easily. "I never even expected a gun in the first place when I decided to chase after you."

"Really?" A tone of incredulity adorned the thug's voice, "Well, that shield you used makes me think otherwise, but it doesn't matter now."

"I actually was planning to use it against the esper in your group," Kamijou replied uncaringly.

For being in such a dangerous situation, Kamijou felt oddly calm, if only because everything was going smoothly. However, the taller man of the two began to laugh.

"You know we have an esper among us? You really have been following us," The man turned to his companion with a twisted expression. "You heard? He was going to use that against you, can you believe it?"

'This guy…'

This was the second time this day he had misjudged someone. The man that seemed to be their leader looked level-headed when Kamijou saw him a while ago. Now he was acting psychotic. At least he now knew who the esper among those two was.

"Now that you have mentioned it, I guess it won't work then."

"What a dumbass. You really shouldn't have wasted the ammo of that pistol," The black-haired thug whispered, his voice taking on a creepy lilt.

"I haven't wasted it. The noise will help Anti-Skill get here. Although your friend may have already done that, I was just making sure they could find their way here," Kamijou punctuated his bold plan by letting the emptied gun slip from his grip, clattering to the ground while still holding the lid up.

Once again, both thugs were shocked. However, Kamijou was as surprised as the criminal to see that his plan worked so well.

It was only a matter of time now before the criminals would be caught, now. And they knew it.

"You bastard, piece of shit! I'll kill you!" The man in front of him roared, lunging towards him like some sort of wild animal.

Kamijou did not falter and moved to meet him head on. The crazy thug threw a punch at his face, Kamijou just lifted his makeshift shield and blocked the blow. A painful sounding crack rang out as fist met with metal and the thug backpedalled, yelling in pain while trying to nurse his broken hand.

Kamijou wasn't done, though.

As the man stumbled backwards, Kamijou charged forwards with his shield up like a battering ram. The man, still occupied by his broken hand didn't manage to dodge in time and was hit with a right hook to the face, breaking his nose. And yet the man didn't fall over and continued standing, if barely.

'I guess I can't hold back with this one.'

Now blinded by pain, the man lashed out wildly, trying to catch the bastard who did this to him. Kamijou easily dodged the wild swings and bashed forward once again. This time, the man knelt due to pain and his lack of breath, and Kamijou took full advantage of it by kicking his opponent square in the face with a forward kick. The blow knocked him backwards and he hit the ground hard. He finally lay still, groaning weakly.

'Three down, one more to go.'

With this done, Kamijou took a step back and readied his shield for the final confrontation. To his surprise, the last thug was smiling.

"I gotta admit that was impressive," A voice echoed in the alleyway, "You took him out in just seconds, and all three of them in less than a minute."

"Why are you smiling? Isn't he your friend?" Kamijou questioned.

"Friend?" The last thug shook his head slightly and closed his eyes. "None of them are. I only did this for the money… although the girl you punched first was pretty cute."

Kamijou's eyes widened, not expecting a girl in the group. 'Those damn masks… Maybe I shouldn't have used that much strength in the first hit…' He turned around to see her body lying prone on the ground and upon closer inspection could clearly recognize her slender build.

"You're good, I guess. You took us by surprise, planned an ambush in a place like this, and now I'm the only one left," The thug resumed talking, looking amused, "This is very troublesome, you know?"

"Troublesome is what you did in that building! People could have died!" Kamijou shouted furiously.

"Could have?" The red-haired esper blinked. "So no one died? Lame…"

He yawned, seemingly not bothered by the thought of taking a life. Kamijou couldn't believe the words coming from the bastard's mouth; even a petty reason like causing a distraction would be understandable, but the lack of empathy his enemy seemed proud of was horrible to witness.

"Why?" Kamijou's voice betrayed the deep rage he began to feel.

"What can I say? I have this awesome ability, you know?" The redhead raised a hand as a tiny ball of fire materialized on it, "I'm just a level 2 and I can blow anything away with it! Imagine what I could do if I became a level 5! I would be like…"

That had crossed a line. Kamijou was really pissed, and though the irksome blabbering continued, his ears became deaf to the thug's senseless speech. In that instant, his mind only held one thought.

He wanted to knock some sense into such a stupid world view.

Go to profile, LISTEN: Link in A New Road Of Misfortune: Prologue Section: Song 03

"You hold such power and yet you use it for that!?" He yelled angrily, "Who the hell do you think you are, lowlife!?" Kamijou stepped forward in fury, continuing his tirade, "Do you really think that you can do this kind of crap and get away with it?"

Kamijou glared at the thug who flinched and retreated several steps back. His face registered fear for a second before he returned the glare, regaining his confidence.

"You… you're dead," The red-haired esper promised bluntly as the ball of fire in his hand expanded, its twin appearing in the other.

Kamijou expected it, but the concentrated sphere of fire remained menacing, illuminating the dismal alleyway.

The esper threw both balls of fire as one and Kamijou moved to meet them head on. He raised the hand that held the shield while also readying the Imagine Breaker and prepared himself for impact.

It was at that moment that his bad luck presented itself in the form of a soda can. Kamijou tripped on it, falling on his back abruptly. The balls of fire passed above him and impacted on the far wall, dispersing harmlessly and dissipating in the air.

Kamijou picked up the shield and rose to his feet quickly and glanced at the unconscious girl; he was relieved to see her fine. For a moment he thought the fire could have spread to where she was.

"That's what I call luck," The esper thug commented as another ball of fire blazed in his hand. "Seriously… what were you thinking by going directly towards the fire, huh? You're nuts, dude, nuts."

"Maybe… Yeah, maybe I'm crazy… But I can assure you I'm not lucky, not in the slightest." He smiled to himself as if recalling something before his gaze hardened again. "That's not going to stop me though."

To some, the narrow save his fall provided would have indeed been lucky, but the only thing that Kamijou got from this fall was the pain he now had in his back. There remained the chance that his hand could have failed to negate the fiery attack but he didn't even care now, he only wanted to hit the thug real hard.

"I have wasted too much time with you. I still have to deliver this, you know?" The fire esper said, eyeing the bag hanging from his shoulder.

Kamijou raised the shield while looking at his right hand, furious eyes boring holes into his enemy, "This world doesn't need people that hurt others, much less those that only do it for entertainment. If you ever though for a mere second that you're just gonna walk away from this like nothing ever happened…"

Kamijou formed a tight fist and bellowed.

"Then I'll destroy that screwed-up illusion of yours!"

Kamijou sprinted towards him again as the pyro esper motioned his left hand and threw a fireball while readying his right. This time, his shield met with the esper's projectile, and Kamijou threw away the now too hot to be useful shield as he continued sprinting towards the esper. Another fireball soon followed and the moment it connected with his upraised right hand, a high pitched noise rang out followed by the sound of broken glass.

In that instant the fire in front of him just evaporated, like it never existed.

Go to profile, SEE: Link in A New Road Of Misfortune: Prologue Section: Picture 02

The boy with the Imagine Breaker smirked while the fire esper's eyes widened, the shocked expression on his face was all Kamijou needed to see. This was the part he liked the most, the look his opponents sported upon seeing the power they depended so much on simply disappear before their eyes. It would never get old, this feeling of humbling the cruel.

"What the fuck!?" His voice broke, but he still stood where he was. More fireballs blazed into life to be thrown at the spiky-haired boy coming for him but it was useless. Like the first one, they all disappeared upon reaching his mysterious hand.

"This…!? This is bullshit! Bulls-"

The thug's vulgar words were cut off when Kamijou's fist impacted with his face, sending him backwards and onto the ground. Kamijou stood ready for a possible counterattack but it did not come, his one blow knocking the esper completely unconscious.

Kamijou scanned the area around him. The four thugs were lying on the ground; he had taken them out by himself. He had done it, despite his own doubts.

The young hero sighed and relaxed his body, glad it was over.

"All of them by yourself…? Amazing… But still pretty reckless."

Kamijou froze, a new voice came from behind him, and it was quite close.

'Was there another one?'

Not wasting a moment, he turned around and threw a wild punch towards the new enemy, which was stopped with two hands.

"Hey, wait! Why are you attacking me?"

Kamijou held back from delivering another blow as he finally got a good view of the person who had startled him. It was a female Anti-Skill officer wearing an armoured uniform. Said woman had long dark-bluish hair tied into a ponytail.

"Y-Yo-Yomikawa-sensei?"

The Anti-Skill member called Yomikawa Aiho, was also the PE teacher in Kamijou's school. He blinked as she crossed her arms over her chest. She stepped closer and observed him before a smile spread across her face.

"Aren't you from Komoe's class?" The busty woman asked.

'Shit! Could this get any worse?'

"Well… I think I am…" Kamijou replied with a nervous tone, aware that his troubles had just begun. A teacher from his school saw him brawling with thugs after all.

"You think?" Her gaze narrowed.

Kamijou looked away from her as his brain began to formulate a good excuse for what happened regarding the four unconscious persons on the ground. None came to mind unfortunately.

"…Y-Yeah, I'm from Komoe-sensei's class…"

"Hmmm?" She made a humming sound, as if amused, "Are you hurt? I heard some gunshots…" The woman asked, her voice conveying a worried tone.

"I'm fine."

She stared at him for a minute, her eyes making her doubt clear.

"Are you sure?" Yomikawa asked as she motioned her face towards his. Her eyes were pretty but they still held a serious look in them, which made them very intimidating. He reflected on the nice contrast it made.

"Yeah…"

Kamijou didn't move from where he was standing.

"If you don't mind…" Yomikawa eyed the space behind him with a raised brow.

Kamijou hurriedly nodded as he got the message, squeezing his body against the wall to give the woman enough space to pass. If nothing else, this narrow alley would give him yet another experience he would not forget in the days to come.

Yomikawa pressed her back to the opposite wall, slowly walking sideways. As she did so, her large breasts rubbed against Kamijou's chest. Though certainly awkward it also felt nice, even if they were safely protected behind armour. For her part, Yomikawa didn't show any sign of noticing what just happened.

When the woman finally passed to the other side of the alley, much to Kamijou's relief, she stood there and observed the scene before her. The young boy shook his head slightly, clearing his mind as his worries increased. The woman's continuing silence only worsened his paranoia.

"You did manage to beat them all. Not bad, kid," Yomikawa finally turned her head to the side, her only visible eye focused on him. "Can I ask you something?"

"…What is it?"

"How did you stop his fire attacks? I'm pretty sure that I saw him using his esper abilities against you. There's no way you could have avoided them in a place like this."

"Well…" At this point, Kamijou could only tell her the truth.

Kamijou did avoid the first by falling to the ground, so in a way, it was possible, as for the rest however… Suddenly, the woman turned around and looked at him, obviously waiting for his answer.

"So?" She urged.

"I'm not sure if I can explain it, and I don't even know how it happens," He hesitated, albeit shortly, "My right hand can negate other esper abilities," He revealed finally, eyes darting, "That much I can tell you."

"You're telling me that you stopped his fire attacks with your bare hand?" With a tone dripping in disbelief, she gazed at him intently, "What is your level as an esper?" Yomikawa questioned, visibly not convinced.

"…I'm a level 0."

Her eyes narrowed, face showing irritation. Kamijou couldn't blame her really, for not believing him that is. Most of the time, he couldn't even believe it himself. This strange power was there, stuck in his hand, but it could not be detected by anything.

"Do you expect me to believe that?" She sighed, Kamijou gulped, "Why are you here anyway? Facing a group of thugs who are obviously dangerous and you did it by yourself," Yomikawa frowned. "Are you from Judgment?"

"Judgment?" He repeated, slightly surprised, "No! No… I'm not," The interrogation had begun, and he dreaded having to go through it at all one more time, like every other time he got mixed up in Anti-Skill's work.

"So why did you get involved in this?" Yomikawa inquired, putting a hand on her hip, "Those gunshots… Who fired them?"

"Ehh… Well… One of them shot first… Then I did."

The woman blinked several times before sighing again, troubled.

'My rotten luck!'

Kamijou cursed in his mind as he wondered why of all the Anti-Skill members, his sensei had to be the one to find him in this situation.

"Explain yourself."

Kamijou directed his eyes to the ground and scratched the back of his head; this was going to be difficult.

"…Well… I took it fr-"

"Hold on, this is not the time or the place to talk. Give me your cell phone," Yomikawa interrupted him as she extended her hand to him.

"Wha… Why?" Kamijou twitched slightly.

"My team is coming soon," The woman answered, "You should leave now before they arrive if you want to save yourself some trouble. Maybe you haven't noticed but it's 9:04 already, and you still have to attend to your classes, don't you?" Yomikawa took Kamijou's phone from his hand when he pocketed it out, "I want your contact information so I can reach you later and ask some more questions in detail."

"But, eh… Do you really need it sensei?" Kamijou asked, confused, "I mean, we could just talk at school, right?"

"I won't be able to go today due to my work in Anti-Skill," She responded, keeping her expression gentle, "I'll call you before curfew to meet up, okay? The sooner we talk, the better so… Don't make any plans."

Yomikawa fiddled with both his cell and hers, transferring his phone number to her contact list and vice-versa. She returned him his phone and he stared at the new contact, wondering why she wanted to meet him so badly today. They could just talk tomorrow, so why the rush...?

"Now, go! Your worried friend's waiting for you," The woman urged. "Hurry!"

Kamijou could only nod before leaving, running as fast as his legs would take him to escape the scene.

'…Wait… did she say someone was waiting for me? Nah… I don't think so… Who would? Maybe those gunshots messed up my hearing…'

Kamijou tried to convince himself that he must have heard wrong. Seriously, who could be waiting for him anyway? And why would they in the first place? He was the kind of guy with few friends, and those he did have weren't so fond of him that they'd worry for him. In the end the teen decided to put those thoughts aside and finally left the abandoned alley maze.

"I bet no one's going to believe me back at school," He whined, slumping his shoulders upon reaching his school, "I'm so screwed… Fukou da…"

"You're right, Kamijou… No one would..." The boy froze, this was the second time in this day he have heard that voice, and it belonged to a certain scary classmate, "But I do…"

"Wha!?"

Kamijou recalled what his sensei said to him before leaving. She was apparently referring to Fukiyose.

'A friend, she said? Is that so?' Despite being classmates, Kamijou couldn't really tell what she was to him. By the way she acted and reacted during classes, Kamijou had come to the understanding that she hated him. Could he really consider Fukiyose a friend?

"F-Fukiyose!?" He stammered, getting rather nervous, "What are you doing here? You should be in class, you know."

"I could say the same thing," The busty girl's tone was cold and dry. "So… This is what you do…"

"Do…? Do what?" Kamijou rubbed the back of his neck, trying to feign ignorance. Eventually, he averted his eyes from hers as he now scratched his left cheek.

"Don't play dumb with me, Kamijou," Fukiyose fumed, narrowing her eyes. "I saw it all."

This was bad. This time he felt he was going to get killed by her for sure, but what could he possibly do now? He left her at the entrance of his school and missed homeroom, not to mention that she probably saw his encounter with the thugs, which was honestly much worse than anything else.

"By 'all' you mean…?" He tried to gain some time before the inevitable end.

Fukiyose bit her lip and asked, "Why did you risk your life doing something like that? They could have killed you… Why not let Anti-Skill deal with them?"

He couldn't answer.

Suddenly, she stepped forward towards him. Kamijou knew what was going to happen and his body reacted on instinct. He shut his eyes and raised his arms defensively. He could only wait for the ass-kicking Fukiyose was going to give him, but something unexpected happened.

No pain came, so she didn't hit him yet, but he felt something… To be more precise, his hands felt it. It was something soft and bouncy… 'The texture… Was this…? Some kind of fabric?' He still had his eyes closed and didn't dare to open them yet. Kamijou moved his hands to sense a bit more, whatever he was touching was big and… round…? Each hand was grabbing something that had the same form and size.

'What is this…? Wait… This… T-this is…!'

Kamijou suddenly opened his eyes as he realized just what he was touching. Now he knew that he was a dead man for certain. The fact that he was grabbing Fukiyose's chest registered on his mind, while the girl just stared at his hands with a blank expression. It did not take long for her to react.

An uppercut connected with Kamijou's chin, the force behind it making him fall backwards, roughly landing on his back and butt.

"Kamijou… Why do you always…?" Fukiyose's voice trailed off, looking incredibly disgusted.

It took a couple of seconds for Kamijou to move, but when he did he massaged his face and sat up on the ground.

He was kind of used to this kind of treatment when dealing with her, but it didn't mean that it didn't hurt. No matter how familiar, it still hurt like hell. Though he had to admit that most of the time, it was his fault, or the fault of his two friends, creating a ruckus in class for one reason or another.

Jokes about his daily beatings aside, Kamijou considered his experiences in class as one of the sources of his great endurance, so it had unexpected benefits despite the pain. But that thinking would remain safely inside his own mind, because it sounded a bit weird even in his rattled state.

"I guess there's no use denying it anymore," Kamijou gazed back at her without blinking, "I wanted to do it… Ah, stopping those guys, I mean…" He immediately backpedalled on his words as he realised how he could be misunderstood, "Not about touching your… Eh…"

"Just shut up and listen!" Fukiyose yelled.

Still sitting on the ground, Kamijou nodded and gave her his full attention. He noticed his book bag hanging on her left hand. He must have dropped it when he ran off from school.

"You're reckless! First, you run away from school, and then you decide to go check that explosion!? What if others occurred after the first and you were caught in them?"

"But-" He tried to give an excuse, but his classmate spoke even louder.

"Not to mention that fight you had with those delinquents! What were you thinking, seriously?" She folded her arms in ire, "No! You weren't thinking at all! You are so irresponsible! Argh!" Fukiyose glared at him, her hands now gripped her skirt, "You are going to drive me crazy, Kamijou!"

The annoyed teen sighed as the lecture continued. She was right about everything but alas, that's how he was. Kamijou hated getting into trouble, yet he always ended neck deep in it.

He reflected on it for a moment, and realized how serious he was when it came to helping somebody, to stopping those who harmed them. His own terrible experiences in the past made his resolve firm; he could never stand for others enduring more of the same.

Mind cleared, Kamijou decided to tell her how he truly felt about his actions, confronting her once and for all. He breathed deeply and stood up, ignoring her continued rant.

"Listen!" Kamijou's sharp voice cut through Fukiyose's speech, his tone startling the school girl who was universally feared. Strangely, he felt none of the usual dread that her presence usually created, "Those bastards behind the mess in that building almost killed some people. Who knows what more they could have done if they had escaped."

Fukiyose's eyes narrowed as she crossed her arms, not saying anything in return. Kamijou took that as a cue to continue.

"I know it's not my business. The authorities are here to take care of those situations, after all. But… I just can't look away when someone gets hurt," Kamijou's determination to say it all was taking hold, "Sure, I could have died, but if I had allowed them to escape and cause more suffering, maybe even the possible death of others in the future, I would never forgive myself."

Kamijou looked directly at her eyes as she stared back at him. She looked annoyed, and he knew his argument wasn't over. It was time to take a stand.

Go to profile, LISTEN: Link in A New Road Of Misfortune: Prologue Section: Song 04

"I don't regret doing this and I never will," Kamijou raised his right hand and formed a fist. "I'll continue to help people, even if it costs me my life," His resolute voice made her blink in surprise, if only because he had never spoken to her in that way before. "If you want to stop me, then hit me so hard that I will never wake up again. That's the only way you'll keep me from doing it all again next time, because I assure you, today won't be the last."

"Don't you care about your own life at all?" Fukiyose asked, dropping her gaze and taking a step closer to him, although hesitantly.

"I do, and I'll do anything in my power to stay alive… While helping other people. I may be reckless, stupid, irresponsible, an idiot and all that, but I will never be someone who turns his back on people when they need help."

Fukiyose's eyes widened, the focus they often held faltering against the fierce light of his own.

"This is my way of living," The unfortunate student known as Kamijou Touma finally stated, a sincere smile spread across his face.

Fukiyose stood in front of him speechless, not even blinking. Kamijou readied himself as he was sure she was going to hit him again, but being truthful to her lifted a weight off of his shoulders. A whole minute passed, her silence began trouble him.

'Why hasn't she punched me yet?'

Many things occurred during the morning, most of them bad and sudden, but the smirk that unexpectedly emerged in Fukiyose's face showed him that even in unfortunate days like this, the most minute of things could make one happy.

"Well…" She tilted her head to the side, smiling sweetly, "That's some attitude, Kamijou… But..." She breathed, as if relieved. "That's what I wanted to hear. I'm… I'm proud of you."

"R-really?" He could not believe it.

"Yes. Despite all your whining about your 'misfortune' in school, you've shown me today that nothing stops you from doing what you think is right, not even your bad luck," She made an unexpectedly cute expression that caught him off guard, making him scratch his cheek.

"Th-thanks…" Kamijou replied with a nervous tone while averting his gaze.

When his eyes finally returned to her, he noticed she was staring at him from head to toe, making Kamijou feel even more uncomfortable than before.

"You're not hurt, are you? Those shots…"

"Huh? No, no. I'm fine."

"Is your back okay? I saw you falling to the ground and I thought that you…" Fukiyose sounded awfully concerned, which was honestly a bit confusing to him.

Two questions sprang to Kamijou's mind at that moment, but decided he would addressed them later.

"As you can see, I'm perfectly fine," He spoke reassuringly, "Don't worry about this Kamijou-san."

Fukiyose looked at him with eyes of suspicion, but only until she extended her hand holding his book bag. The boy glanced at his bag and then at her, confused.

"Then… C'mon. Let's go."

Some seconds passed before Kamijou sighed, a resigned smile forming slowly. She remained silent until he finally nodded and received his bag gratefully.

"Yeah."

Both students walked back to their school, chatting about school stuff, healthy food and the loli tastes of a certain perverted classmate. Nothing about Kamijou's incident was mentioned, which was odd and more than a little unnerving.

He honestly had expected her to be a little more inquisitive about today's events in that alley. Maybe she didn't see him dispelling the fire with his hand; maybe she was saving these questions for another time. Kamijou could only guess.

PART 7

It was 9:38 A.M. Kamijou and Fukiyose were waiting in the hallway outside their class. To his relief, they didn't have any problem entering school thanks to his homeroom teacher, Tsukiyome Komoe, who told them that Yomikawa called on their behalf and asked them to not be punished for their late arrival.

"I guess we were lucky," Fukiyose commented, watching some students through the windows that extended along the hallway.

'Me, lucky… Hah!' Kamijou always thought it was hilarious whenever someone would say that to him, that makes twice today.

"I certainly don't think so," A chuckle escaped from Kamijou's lips as he rested his back on a wall, "Anyway Fukiyose, can I ask you something… about what happened earlier?"

The busty dark-haired girl glanced at him before returning her eyes to the window.

"Go ahead," She simply said.

"Ok…" He cleared his throat, "You followed me all the way since I left the school, right?" Kamijou felt the need to ask, he was getting more and more curious about why she hasn't asked more questions about his escapade.

"Yes, I did. You have a problem with that?" Fukiyose twitched an eyebrow.

"No, of course not. But… Why did you follow me? You almost got yourself into trouble for doing it. You could have stopped me anytime."

Fukiyose did not say a word, so he assumed she wasn't going to answer his question despite the fact that she allowed him to ask it.

'This girl is really troublesome…' But his train of thought was interrupted when her voice reached his ear shot.

"I could have… But I chose not to do it," Fukiyose admitted. "I just needed to see with my own eyes what you planned to do. I mean, you always give incredibly far fetched excuses when you come late to class, so when the chance to discover the truth behind them presented itself, I took it."

"You needed to see…?" There was a flicker of uncertainty on his eyes. Hers in contrast displayed conviction, "Why?"

"I was worried about you, of course!" She exclaimed, lowering her head slightly, "As your classmate and friend, to see you don't deviate from the good road is my obligation."

The busty girl folded her arms over her notable chest and approached him, standing face to face. Her serious demeanour showed him that she wasn't joking about it. She truly considered him a friend, and from this day onward, he would do the same.

"I see…" Kamijou muttered, and finally looked at her directly in the eyes. "Thanks and… Sorry for making you worry."

Odd as it may have been, they both stared into each other's eyes after he said that in silence. This was the first time Kamijou had the chance to appreciate her cute face. He had to admit that he might be getting carried away with the pleasant atmosphere.

"S-so…" The spiky-haired boy averted his eyes away from hers and scratched his head, "I imagine you met Yomikawa-sensei along the way."

"Yeah, when I saw you chasing after those guys, I ran to find some help… Then I heard the gunshots…" Fukiyose's voice trailed off.

Kamijou raised an eyebrow as Fukiyose's gaze fell to the floor. She looked depressed; this was the first time he saw her like that and he didn't like it. Before he could ask what was wrong, she continued.

"I feared the worst… So I returned to where I last saw you. That's when I met with Yomikawa-sensei," Fukiyose's face became serious, yet he could still tell that she looked sad. "I told her everything I knew and-

"You heard more gunshots," Kamijou added.

The girl was startled by Kamijou's interruption, but then nodded.

"Yomikawa-sensei told me to wait there and left, running to where those gunshots came…" Fukiyose elaborated, "I couldn't wait, so I ran after her."

"What happened then?"

Kamijou never heard her reply as the door of his class was opened. A little girl with pink hair and matching eyes appeared from it.

"Kamijou-chan, Fukiyose-chan… You may enter-desu," The little girl said to them.

Kamijou glanced at her and nodded. It was still difficult to believe that this little kawaii girl was actually his homeroom teacher. Tsukuyomi Komoe was considered to be one of the seven wonders in his school due to her appearance.

"Komoe-sensei," Fukiyose addressed her as she entered the class. "I'm really sorry for coming this late. It won't happen again."

"I already told you it's fine. Aiho-chan explained me everything so don't worry-desu."

Kamijou did not move as he was hesitant to enter the class. He could already imagine all the crap his two friends were going to bring up from his late arrival.

"Don't just stand in there, Kamijou-chan. Come in," Komoe motioned him to enter.

"Right…" He muttered slowly.

As he did so, the expected reactions from his classmates occurred.

"Kami-yan! What were you doing, eh? Hitting on girls again before coming to school? Really, you don't know when to stop-nya!"

Kamijou directed his eyes to a blond-haired boy sitting, where else, on the unfortunate boy's own desk. The idiot was Tsuchimikado Motoharu, and sadly one of Kamijou's few friends. He was wearing his usual sunglasses and the school uniform for summer.

"I would say the same if not for the fact that ya came together with Fukiyose. I can't believe it! Fukiyose has succumbed to the Kami-yan disease," Another student spoke with a fake Kansai accent. He was sadly another friend of Kamijou's.

Aogami Pierce was his name; he had blue hair and wore a non-regulation yellow shirt under his uniform. He, together with Tsuchimikado and the good-looking Kamijou, were regarded as the Idiot Trio by some people who knew them, or the Delta Force as they preferred to be called. The unfortunate boy chose for once to ignore their comments, while Fukiyose did the usual.

Only two minutes passed before Tsuchimikado and Aogami were punished for their usual stupidity and insinuations by none other than Fukiyose, who was known among her peers as 'The Iron Wall Girl'. The two idiots were lying unconscious on the ground with huge lumps on their heads.

"Everyone! Stop messing around and get in your seats or I'll call a telepath and expose all your dirty secrets." Komoe announced with a cold smile.

With haste, every student in the class took their respective seats with the exception of two unconscious idiots.

"As you all must remember, exams are coming soon before the summer break so all of you, do your best to get good grades, okay?" The little teacher directed her eyes to one unlucky spiky-haired boy looking aimlessly through the window at his left side, "Kamijou-chan! Pay attention or I'll make you stay all night-desu!"

"W-wait Komoe-sensei, I was listening! You just said something about the upcoming exams, right?" He hastily said, barely recalling Komoe's words.

"…Alright, let's continue with the class then-desu."

Kamijou sighed. To think that all the crazy stuff happened in just a few hours, he hoped that nothing more would occur. Still, the dreaded feeling remained as he knew it was going to be a long day.

Author notes: I hope you all had enjoyed the start of the new road of misfortune of the Imagine Breaker Boy. Always support the original series. Reviews, inquiries or any comments are always welcomed. Thanks for giving this story some of your time. I truly appreciate it.

- Frank