Episode 04 - Urban Legends
Saten is regaling Uiharu, Mikoto and Kuroko with the terrifying urban legend of... a woman who took her blouse off in public. The others are somewhat less than impressed by the tale's creepy quotient, but Saten insists that the legend of the "Undresstress" note is true.
The girls are reading up on Academy City's many urban legends. Among other tales to astonish: uncanny things happening whenever wind turbines are seen rotating backwards; people getting trapped in a district of Imaginary Numbers; a mysterious technique known as "Level Upper"; and a boy with the power to nullify any ability.
Upon hearing that last one, Mikoto looks thoughtful and remembers an enounter she had not long ago. She was out at night when several delinquents surrounded her and acted threatening. Before she could deal with them, a spiky-haired high school boy came up and tried to 'rescue' her by pretending to be her friend. Mikoto refused to play along, so the boy gave up and started scolding the delinquents for harassing a kid who didn't know any better. Understandably riled, Mikoto ended up shocking all of them... and was surprised when the boy simply blocked her ability with his right hand.
Shortly after recalling this, Mikoto is walking along the street when she happens to run across the very boy in question. He's talking to a tired-looking woman who seems lost. Noticing Mikoto, the boy greets her as Biri-Biri note , and asks if she's free right now. She angrily tells him her name and says she's perfectly free if he wants to fight her. Instead, he asks her to help the woman (who's lost track of where she parked her car) because he has to go and take care of something. While they're arguing about this, the woman complains that it's hot, and un-self-consciously takes her blouse off. Both Mikoto and the boy are horrified; he tries to tell her to put it back on, but starts drawing attention from passers-by. He hastily excuses himself and scurries off, leaving Mikoto to deal with the woman.
Eventually the woman is persuaded to make herself decent again, and goes to buy them some drinks from a vending machine. While this is happening, Kuroko phones and asks Mikoto to join her, Uiharu and Saten for tea, but Mikoto tells her she's busy dealing with a strange undressing woman. Saten, eavesdropping, guesses that Mikoto has encountered the Undresstress. Just then, the woman comes back, and Mikoto hangs up the phone.
It seems the woman is a scientist studying AIM diffusion fields: the imperceptible energy signatures emitted by all espers. Since the woman is an expert on espers, Mikoto asks if someone could potentially have the power to nullify other people's abilities. The woman seems interested in the idea, but isn't able to provide a definitive answer. As they are chatting, a couple of rambunctious kids run past and one of them accidentally drops his ice cream onto the woman's skirt. The woman remarks that she'd better clean her skirt straight away, and starts taking it off on the spot before Mikoto frantically stops her.
Meanwhile, Kuroko is in a cafe with Saten and Uiharu as they wonder what's happened to Mikoto. Uiharu and Saten joke that Mikoto has fallen victim to the fabled Undresstress, and will now be cursed to transform into one herself. This notion does not go over well with Kuroko.
Mikoto and the woman have ducked into a store washroom where they are cleaning the skirt. The woman asks if the spiky-haired boy is a friend of Mikoto's; she denies it, but the woman thinks Mikoto is acting very Tsundere, and says so. This notion does not go over well with Mikoto.
Once the woman is properly dressed, Mikoto eventually helps her find her car, and she drives off. No sooner has Mikoto started heading home than she runs into the spiky-haired boy again, on his way back from buying groceries. Angry at him for running off earlier, she again challenges him to a fight, and he eventually gives in and agrees.
Finding a deserted spot by the river, Mikoto and the boy face off. She throws electricity at him and, again, he simply blocks it with his hand. Figuring he's immune to shocks, she next uses electromagnetism to create first a sword, then a whip, out of iron sand she pulls from the ground. He's alarmed, but manages to disperse the impromptu weapons before she can land a hit on him. Mikoto jumps in close and grabs his right hand, figuring to shock him at point-blank range... but, to her bafflement, she is suddenly unable to produce electricty. The boy raises his other hand into a fist, and Mikoto flinches; bemused, he pauses for a moment and then falls to the ground, pretending to be beaten in over-the-top fashion. Unfortunately, Mikoto doesn't react well to being mocked, especially when he rubs it in by imitating her reaction. He ends up having to make a strategic retreat as Mikoto chases him into the night.
Mikoto eventually returns to the dormitory where she discovers that Kuroko is under the impression she's been cursed by the Undresstress. Meanwhile, the woman she met earlier is looking at a computer screen, seemingly very interested in the famous Mikoto Misaka...
Tropes
- All Myths Are True: Every single one of the urban legends discussed will eventually turn out to be true after some fashion — either in this series or in A Certain Magical Index. Some of them double as Chekhov's Gun in that they tie into critically important future plot points in one or both series.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: The woman, Kiyama, is clearly an expert in her field, and just as clearly very eccentric on a social level. She herself admits she spends so much of her time in scientific research that she tends to see everything in terms of pure logic.
- Continuity Nod: Volume 1 of A Certain Magical Index mentions that Touma once tried to fake losing to Mikoto, only to end up with her chasing him around all night. That's exactly what happens here note .
- Cool Car: Kiyama's car is clearly a Lamborghini.
- Foreshadowing: Kiyama mentions that she's studying ways to harness the power of AIM diffusion fields. As we will find out, she's already developed a few.
- Innocent Fan Service Girl: Kiyama thinks nothing of taking her clothes off in public if they get wet or dirty, or if she's simply feeling hot. She also doesn't seem to understand why other people are freaked out by it.
- Luminescent Blush: Mikoto does this a couple of times when talking to (or about) Touma.
- No Name Given: Neither Kiyama nor Touma's names are revealed in this episode.
- Sanity Slippage: Kuroko has a comedic version when she thinks Mikoto may be turning into the Undresstress.
