Episode 02 - Critical
Dreaming about her childhood, Mikoto remembers being in a hospital, watching a young man with muscular dystrophy struggle to walk. The doctor with her says there is no cure for the disease... but that her ability might be able to provide one. He asks if she'd be willing to donate her DNA map to help people like him. Mikoto smiles and agrees. Nearby, another young girl with intensely penetrating eyes glances over at her... and Mikoto wakes up. She realizes this memory was stirred up by her recent visit to the hospital, but before she can dwell on it further, she realizes that Kuroko has crawled into her bed.
That afternoon, Kuroko is still apologizing as they head downtown to do some shopping. Mikoto says there's an overseas school trip coming up in September, and wants to buy some necessities. Ostentatiously helpful, Kuroko shows off a shortcut to the mall; to their surprise, however, several are people wandering around the normally-empty alleyway. Then, by chance, they stumble upon a small envelope hidden away, with a 'money card' — an electronic cash card — inside.
When they bring it to the Judgement office, Uiharu and Konori tell them that many people have recently been finding these money cards hidden around the district. It's clear somebody is hiding them on purpose, but Konori says it causes problems when people get into fights over them. Kuroko stays at the office to help investigate, but Mikoto heads off to continue shopping.
Back on the street, Mikoto notices other people wandering around side streets and alleys looking for the cards. She also runs into Saten, who has actually found several cards already, and is having fun searching for more. As they talk, Saten mentions seeing Mikoto near Seventh Mist earlier, and asks why she didn't answer her greeting. Mikoto says she's been with Kuroko all day and hasn't gone near Seventh Mist. Saten is confused to hear this, but shrugs it off and then drags Mikoto off to search for more cards. Eventually the curfew announcement broadcasts, and they go their separate ways.
Mikoto reflects that she's ended up wasting the entire day. As she starts to head home, she passes another alleyway and notices a few Skill Out delinquents talking about the money cards. One of them says he spotted a girl planting the cards, and tracked her to a nearby abandoned building. The group are making plans to go and shake her down. Deciding to follow after them, Mikoto quickly phones Kuroko to let her know she'll be late.
Meanwhile, Saten calls Uiharu and says she has some money cards to turn in. Uiharu says she'll pick them up later, then says she'll be working late tonight and asks Saten if she'd mind keeping Haruue company. Saten takes the opportunity to ask if Mikoto was at the Judgement office earlier. Uiharu confirms that Mikoto was with Kuroko all afternoon, leaving Saten to wonder who it was she saw earlier.
In an empty building, a young woman with short dark hair and intense eyes is packing some things into a briefcase. The delinquents from before abruptly barge inside, demanding that she hand over all her money cards. She only has a couple on her, so they decide to search for more. She appears unconcerned, simply watching them impassively, which makes them wonder if she's confident because she has some kind of powerful ability. One of them stays to guard her while the others move into the next room. Thinking to himself that she's creepy, her guard notes she's wearing the uniform of Nagatenjouki Academy, the most elite school in Academy City. The girl tells him he seems nervous, then moves in close and whispers something that unnerves him even more. In the next room, his friends suddenly hear him scream — rushing back in, they find him lying unmoving on the floor.
The girl calmly tells them she has an ability called 'Critical', which allows her to instantly kill anyone she's previously touched, no matter where they are. The leader is skeptical, but the remaining two are unnerved. As they debate what to do, she quietly moves over and touches one of them, causing him to start panicking. While his friends try to calm him down, she goes and turns off the light in the room. A moment later, there are two brief screams; the light comes back on for a moment, revealing two of the three remaining delinquents lying motionless on the floor. Then the light goes off again, sending the last thug into a panic. After flailing around in the dark, he feels a touch on his face, and the girl's voice says it'll be over in a moment. Then he collapses.
The dark-haired girl turns the light back on, only to hear clapping from the doorway. Mikoto comes in and says it was a good show, deducing that the girl was actually injecting them with an anaesthetic from a concealed needle when she touched them. The girl stares quizzically at Mikoto for a moment.
Then she says: "You're the original, aren't you?"
Tropes
- Foreshadowing: Saten saw someone who apparently looked exactly like Mikoto, but wasn't. Then the episode ends with Nunotaba calling Mikoto "the original"...
- Money to Throw Away: Nunotaba has been scattering cash cards of varying denominations, up to and including tens of thousands of yen note per card, around Academy City with seeming abandon.
- The Nose Knows: Saten claims to be able to locate hidden money cards by scent. Mikoto is clearly skeptical, but on the other hand, Saten has managed to find a remarkable number of them.
- The Power of Acting: Shinobu Nunotaba is capable of terrifying her enemies into submission using psychological warfare.
- Touch of Death: Nunotaba claims to be using this ability, although it turns out to be a bluff. Whether or not she actually has this or any other ability is never revealed.
- The Unreveal: Nunotaba whispers something to the first delinquent which freaks him out. We don't find out what she said.
- Verbal Tic: Combined with Gratuitous English: Nunotaba has a habit of using English words as interjections, or to lead into sentences.
