Unlucky Child

"Are you really that comfortable admitting it?" Shokuhou Misaki asked, quite surprised by how frankly Jiu Ming had admitted that he had "died."

"I'm a realist. I'll tell you, after I died, I even saw my own body being roasted like jerky in a furnace. Tsk, tsk."

Even while discussing something so gruesome, Jiu Ming didn't pull his arm away. "Speaking of which, you didn't find Accelerator. Are you messing with me?"

"Of course not. My people couldn't find him when they went looking. Maybe he went somewhere, but he should be home by now. Want to go check?" Shokuhou Misaki blinked her bright eyes at Jiu Ming. Not understanding why he'd suddenly gone quiet, she asked, "What's wrong?"

"Huh? Looks like I was a little late?" Jiu Ming waved a hand somewhat helplessly and tapped his arm. "Give me his address. By the way, what do you think about clones?"

"Huh!?" Shokuhou Misaki's expression froze for a moment. As if she'd thought of something, she asked in surprise, "Why are you asking that?"

"Never mind, it's nothing." Jiu Ming shook his head. "Just give me his address..."

"Wait, don't tell me you have some kind of special fetish for Accelerator?" What was this, a woman's instinct for gossip?

"Huh? That's right, that's right. I'm very interested in his sex, so I plan to take advantage of him while he's taking a bath... Interested in hearing what happens next?"

"Gross." As if she'd touched something filthy, Shokuhou Misaki forgot all about "feeling him up" and quickly let go of Jiu Ming's arm. "I'll write down the address for you in a bit. I'm going to take a bath now."

"...Oh? Are you trying to hint at something?" Jiu Ming raised an eyebrow slightly and glanced at her.

"Taking a bath every day is normal, isn't it? Don't you...?"

"Anyway, there's no need to sound so disdainful. Do you think a ghost like me needs to go through the hassle that you humans do?" Jiu Ming said casually, waving her off. "Go on, go on. I'll rest for a while."

Tsk, she hadn't given him the address right away, so he couldn't leave for the time being. But... was it too late today?

Did that experiment happen once in a while, or was it carried out every day...? He hoped it was the former.

Seeing Jiu Ming leaning back on the sofa, lost in thought and with no desire to talk, Shokuhou Misaki set her handbag aside. With her abilities, she could live in a house outside school at night instead of the dorms, and ordinary people would never find out if she wanted to keep it secret.

Clones...? Accelerator.

One of her subordinates had also reported that there was a patient in one of the rooms at Netherworld Soul Chaser's hospital who seemed to be the third-ranked esper's identical twin sister, Misaka Mikoto.

Huh? Did she have some unknown younger or older sister?

Jiu Ming had very sharp ears. Before long, she heard the sound of running water from the shower. Judging from how the sound carried, was the bathroom door open? Or maybe it hadn't been shut properly? This girl—she was only in middle school, so how had she already come up with so many naughty ideas? Was he getting old?

Well, barring any surprises, as long as he wasn't beaten until his soul scattered and he was utterly annihilated, he'd keep the appearance of an eighteen-year-old forever. They said your apparent age affected your mental age, and that really wasn't an empty saying. After being sealed inside the Mysterious Shop and undergoing constant training for a while, Jiu Ming hadn't felt that he'd changed much.

He still acted silly when the mood struck and got sentimental when the mood struck. Aside from that, nothing much had changed.

"Are you really a man?" After her bath, Shokuhou Misaki stood in front of Jiu Ming, her hair still wet and a fresh scent surrounding her. Looking down at him, she spoke with utter disdain.

"Isn't that obvious? If only I had the ability, huh?" Jiu Ming yawned, his tone even more disdainful. Ability or not...? Did she believe that?

"Oh? I forgot you weren't human." Shokuhou Misaki covered her mouth lightly and teased Jiu Ming relentlessly. Maybe that was the only way she could feel so at ease around him.

"Girl, you haven't read enough of Little Notebook. Don't you know what men are like when they get carried away...? Tsk, tsk."

Seeing Shokuhou Misaki's expression change, Jiu Ming grinned. "Relax, I still have some self-control. Besides, whether you close the door or not makes no difference to me."

"You took almost three whole hours to wash up! You did that on purpose, didn't you!!" After their lighthearted conversation, Jiu Ming's tone abruptly changed, full of exasperation. "Aren't you worried your skin will get wrinkly?"

It was ten o'clock now...

"It was only three hours. Here." Seeing the faintly impatient look on Jiu Ming's face, Shokuhou Misaki decided she'd teased him enough and handed him a slip of paper.

"Okay, see you. It's late, so hurry up and get some sleep." Jiu Ming quickly took the paper without any hesitation, stood up, waved to her, and left without another word.

That guy! Shokuhou Misaki clenched her teeth slightly and stared at Jiu Ming's retreating back. Had her charms really fallen to such an absurdly low level? Was she actually less appealing than a flat-chested girl?

Based on the information she'd collected, Jiu Ming's "mysterious" client was very likely the person at the hospital.

Was he a flat-chest fan...?

No, no. Maybe he was playing hard to get?

A woman's heart...!

Did Jiu Ming have no interest at all?

Of course he did. Even as a ghost, he was still a man. He just didn't hope for too much. They'd "known" each other for less than a day; how could he make her follow him wholeheartedly already? Damn it, he wasn't surnamed Long, and he didn't have a handsome face and a powerful build, let alone the ability to make his whole body tremble with a commanding presence. If he shook, it definitely wouldn't be impressive—it'd be the "Ghost Qi" that made ordinary people feel an oppressive chill.

He was destined not to belong in this world, so he shouldn't go thinking about messing up some young girl's life.

"I'm already in a bad mood... Why did I have to run into you again!?" Walking down the street like a ghostly shadow, Jiu Ming's eye twitched as he watched Hedgehog Head Boy scratch his hair and look around while approaching. "Why are you wandering around in the middle of the night? What are you up to?"

"You're... Oh, it's you!" Kamijo Touma looked at Jiu Ming with just as much curiosity. After taking a closer look, he recognized the "doctor" he'd run into during the day—the one who'd kicked him flying afterward.

"Stop! Stay away from me, and keep your right hand to yourself!" Jiu Ming was very wary of the unlucky-looking boy, especially his right hand. "Just stand there and talk to me!"

"Um, could you move aside if you're not busy? I'm in a hurry." Kamijo Touma sounded very anxious. His eyes kept darting around, as if he were searching for something.

"Are you looking for a pretty girl sneaking around in the middle of the night?"

"I... Huh!? What are you talking about? Kamijo-san won't stand for that kind of slander." Give me a break. Heaven and earth could bear witness—he was only looking for something he'd lost. He'd already accepted that he probably wouldn't find it, but... not looking would make him feel even worse!

"Is that so? I'm calling the police... Stop! I was just joking." Seeing Kamijo Touma about to pounce on him and hug his leg, Jiu Ming's eye twitched and he quickly stopped him. No joke—he absolutely didn't want to know what would happen if that right hand touched him.

"Tell me what you're trying to do. Maybe I can help." It was already late, so wasting a little more time didn't matter. Looking at the boy's miserable, broke-and-unlucky expression, Jiu Ming couldn't help feeling sorry for him.

"Thank you so much. I lost my Savings Card, and I think my phone fell somewhere around the same time..."

Jiu Ming stared blankly at Kamijo Touma as he rattled off a string of misfortunes, then took a step back. Wait, had this whole chain of bad luck started with a Savings Card he didn't even know when he'd lost?

"Wait! If you don't even know when you lost your Savings Card, how do you know the whole sequence of events in such detail?" In any case, he'd better keep his distance.

"I've been through it so many times, of course I know what happens."

Oh! Jiu Ming nodded. So that was it. He'd been through it so many times... Oh ho ho ho, that really was tragic, kid.

"You're really unlucky... Anyway, let's keep at least five meters between us. I'll help you look." Jiu Ming waved at him sympathetically, setting a fairly safe distance.

"I really appreciate the offer, but the way you say it makes it sound like you despise me. That hurts!" Scratching his head, Kamijo Touma was speechless at Jiu Ming's contradictory behavior. In the end, he decided Jiu Ming was a Weird Good Samaritan wandering around with nothing to do in the middle of the night.

Though maybe he was the sort who went around "looking for" pretty girls sneaking around at night... Should he call the police?

"You don't need to think twice about anything I say. I'm not that depraved."

"Huh?" What was that about?

"Next time you're thinking something, watch your expression. People can read you pretty easily."

"Huh!?" Was he really that easy to read?

"Where did you lose your things?"

"It should be around here. I've already searched all the other places I went today. This is the last one." Kamijo Touma hurriedly explained.

The last place. No wonder he was still wandering around so late. He'd searched every place he'd walked through, but after all this time, wasn't it possible someone had already picked it up?

"Fine, I've got nothing to do right now anyway." Jiu Ming shook his head, deeply sympathizing with the poor, unlucky guy.

"Thank you so much!"

"It's no trouble. Don't just stand there. Even if we've got time to kill, there's no point wasting it."

Under the streetlight, Kamijo Touma glanced down at Jiu Ming's feet... The sight made his heart clench. Holy crap, he didn't have a shadow! Had Mr. Kamijo, who was always accompanied by bad luck, run into something supernatural!?

But Jiu Ming stepped beyond the streetlight's reach in an instant. He must have seen it wrong, right? Kamijo Touma rubbed his eyes, still unsure... Probably?

"Why are you standing there frozen? If you're not looking anymore, I'm leaving." What was that unlucky kid staring at?