-----
-----
Saturday!
Jasper stuffed a bunch of coins into his backpack—training ammo. His goal today was to hit Shadow-Spider with one of them. So far, he hadn't landed a single hit. Not because his aim was off, but because she'd gotten way too fast. At her speed, Jasper had to basically predict where she'd be.
He could hit targets at normal human speed with 100% accuracy. But when he flicked a coin, Shadow-Spider would just vanish.
Jasper had learned from Raiden Shogun how to "see" his opponent with his heart, and he'd combined that technique with his Spidey-sense. That gave him a kind of 360-degree awareness, even without looking. The only catch? He still wasn't good at it yet. It'd take a lot more training.
He liked to imagine someday casually walking down the street when a helicopter starts destroying the city. Then, totally calm, he'd flick a coin and fire off a railgun shot that blasts the chopper out of the sky.
Then he'd walk off like it was no big deal. Tch, so cool, no matter how you look at it.
"Hehehe~!" Jasper grinned as he arrived at his usual training spot by a lake—spacious, remote, and tucked deep in the mountains.
He dropped his backpack by his feet.
"Shadow-Spider, time to work," he called out.
A moment later, she emerged from his shadow, holding a book. Jasper glanced at her and said, "Never mind, you can keep reading."
Shadow-Spider gave him a quick look, then went to sit on a nearby dead tree trunk—probably carried here by the water.
So, what now?
Jasper pulled out a coin and aimed at a bird flying in the sky.
Zzt!
He flicked the coin.
Thanks to his sharp vision, he clearly saw the coin pierce right through the bird.
Whoa—nice! His power had definitely increased. Maybe… a little too much.
A second later, he picked up what was left of the bird's leg to eat later.
Why just the leg? Because that's all that was left. The rest of the bird had exploded into a pile of meat mush.
Jasper set the leg aside. At this rate, he'd be going home with a pile of bird legs.
Zzt!
Another flick, and he nailed a hawk this time. The aim was on point. Jasper wasn't just practicing coin flicking, though. He was working on combining the "heart-seeing" technique with his Spidey-sense for real combat.
Time passed, but Jasper still hadn't entered the zone.
He started to feel a tightness in his chest—like something needed to break. He knew he was getting frustrated, which was the last thing you wanted during training. Frustration made you sloppy.
He took a deep breath and recalled Raiden Shogun's teachings.
Slowly, his emotions settled. He pulled a coin from his bag, closed his eyes, and began focusing.
Gradually, he became aware of everything around him—as if everything was wrapped in a thin, gray sheet.
This was Raiden Shogun's technique. Now it was time to activate his Spidey-sense.
Carefully… let the two feelings merge.
Don't rush. Don't rush.
Suddenly, the world exploded with color. Everything slowed down.
The wind. Falling leaves. Birds in flight.
Not that they slowed down—he had gotten faster at sensing.
Jasper opened his eyes and flicked the coin.
In that instant, a thick orange beam of energy shot upward. The coin disintegrated from the friction with the air.
That was powerful.
He grinned. From now on, let's call this move The Thoughtless Railgun.
After all, it was the perfect blend of Raiden Shogun's wisdom and Misaka Mikoto's signature move. Can't wait to show Raiden Shogun—she's gonna flip!
"Shadow-Spider, time to head home," Jasper said, looking over at her still reading.
Without a word, Shadow-Spider melted back into his shadow. Jasper sighed and slung his half-full backpack over his shoulder.
He took off running.
And he just kept going faster and faster. Suddenly—a wild wolf appeared!
Jasper leapt lightly over it, grabbed a tree branch, and launched himself forward again. His jumping power was ridiculous—each jump covering hundreds of meters.
By the time Jasper got back to the city, his hair looked like a total disaster.
Honestly, he looked like one of those edgy mall goths.
Trying to fix his hair, he used a tiny electric current—and accidentally zapped a nearby girl's hair, which flew up and stuck to his hand and his head.
"…!"
Panicking, Jasper shut off the current and carefully peeled her hair off. Then he looked at her and said, "Sorry! I seriously don't know what just happened."
The girl stared at him for a second, touched her hair, then walked off without saying a word.
Jasper breathed a sigh of relief and left too. He'd nearly been labeled a creep.
After a few more minutes, Jasper made it home. In the living room, he saw Mom sitting on the couch with Mari. When she saw him, Mari gave him a little smirk.
Jasper always felt like her smiles were kind of mocking.
Kobayashi got up and said, "Welcome back. Your parents invited me over for dinner today."
"Oh," Jasper replied, nodding and heading toward his room. Mari followed right behind him.
He put his coins away and noticed her standing behind him.
Without turning around, Jasper said flatly, "Why are you in my room?"
He didn't like Mari coming into his space. She was always poking around in his stuff, and it made him super uncomfortable.
Mari smiled and said, "Just came to ask what you were up to today."
Then she plopped down on his bed. "Comfy! Mind if I take a nap?"
"Yes, I do," Jasper said immediately—but she was already closing her eyes.
This girl never listened. That was exactly what he didn't like about her—she always did things that rubbed people the wrong way.
Jasper gave her a look, then turned and walked out. Whatever. There was nothing weird in his room anyway. If she wanted to snoop, let her snoop.
He went downstairs and sat near Kobayashi, who was chatting with his parents.
Jasper stayed a few minutes but eventually left again—his mom was talking about Mari, and he really didn't want to hear it.
Back in his room, he found Mari… taking photos.
Jasper frowned. "What are you doing?"
Mari tilted her head and said, "People wanted to know what your room looks like. Five bucks a photo. Lots of takers."
"Oh! And a photo of you when you were little sold for a hundred bucks. Tsk tsk, you're basically a walking cash machine."
Jasper: "…"
He stared at her for a moment, then coughed and said, "I want half."
Mari: "…"
"You trying to cash in without lifting a finger?" she said, raising an eyebrow. She'd expected him to yell at her—not try to go into business together.
"....."