Episode 04 - Tampering
Visiting some festival food stalls with Kuroko, Mikoto wonders if Misaka 10032 used her coupons to get something nice. Kuroko, meanwhile, is gloomy about being separated from Mikoto overnight, as students will be staying in hotels with their families.
Meanwhile, Saten goes to one of the event grounds to see if she can find any trace of the rumoured Shadow Metal. Uiharu, who is guiding her over the phone, says her online searches are turning up nothing but a lot of meaningless gibberish. As Saten starts searching the ground, several figures in hazmat suits appear and surround her. Mikoto and Kuroko come into the Judgement office just in time to hear Saten cry out over the phone. They quickly teleport to the scene and find her being pinned to the ground. Mikoto zaps the assailants before they can explain themselves — but it turns out they were a cleanup crew tasked with preventing the theft of esper DNA. Once the facts come out, Mikoto and Saten both apologize and are released with a caution.
Back at the office, Uiharu is increasingly curious about the search results she's getting. It seems as though someone is deliberately spamming the Internet with junk data in order to throw off searches. After digging deeper, she eventually finds the original page where Saten found the rumour, a site called "Auribus oculi fideliores sunt"... and, elsewhere in the city, an alert appears on Keitz Nokleben's computer screen. The website discusses various rumours, and Uiharu wonders if one of them was sensitive enough to make someone want to hide it. Scanning through it, she finds mention of a "DNA Computer", alongside a photo of someone she seems to recognize. As she reads, the office door quietly opens behind her...
Mikoto, Saten and Kuroko come into the Judgement office. After apologizing again for the trouble, Saten asks Uiharu if she found any more information. Uiharu says she didn't find anything meaningful... and, on the computer screen behind her, a window is showing the message "File Deleted".
That evening, the girls go out to watch the Daihasei Night Parade festivities. As they watch the fireworks, the four girls agree to do this again the following night.
The next morning, Mikoto runs into Kinuho Wannai, who politely asks if she'll be getting her gym uniform back soon. Surprised and worried that Misaka 10032 hasn't returned it yet, Mikoto goes out looking for her. From checking security cameras near where they last met, she finds footage of her sister being loaded unconscious into an ambulance. She notes the ambulance's ID and manages to track it down to a local rescue station. The paramedics there direct her to a nearby hospital, but when Mikoto investigates, they have no record of Misaka 10032 being brought in.
Mikoto goes back to the rescue station, where the paramedics continue to insist they took Misaka 10032 to the hospital. Suspicious, Mikoto checks the ambulance's logs, which reveal that it actually delivered the Sister to an isolated underground garage. Confronted with this, the paramedics suddenly become confused and forgetful, and Mikoto realizes this has all the hallmarks of Misaki Shokuhou's mental tampering ability. Before she can investigate further, however, the paramedics report her to Tokiwadai for harrassing them, and a teacher arrives to take her away.
Elsewhere, Uiharu and Kuroko go out on patrol along with Saten. As they chat, they suddenly notice that they've somehow wandered off their usual route. Just then, a man comes up and says he wants to report a robbery. As they ask him what was taken, Misaki Shokuhou steps out of the shadows behind them and points a remote control in their direction. All three girls freeze, unable to move, as the man — Keitz — replies that what was "taken" was their memories of Mikoto Misaka...
Mikoto's teacher scolds her for causing trouble during a public event. Mikoto shares her suspicions about Shokuhou; but, unwilling to bring up the Misaka Sisters, cannot back this up with any details. The teacher leaves Mikoto with a group of other Tokiwadai students and asks them to keep an eye on her. To her dismay, Mikoto recognizes them all as members of Shokuhou's clique... and the teacher, as she leaves, is revealed to have Shokuhou's trademark Mind-Control Eyes. One of the students, a mental-type esper, warns Mikoto she can track her down telepathically if she tries to escape.
As Mikoto tries to figure out what to do next, she spots Kuroko, Uiharu and Saten walking past nearby. She goes over and starts to ask for their help — and is stunned when none of them seems to know her.
Tropes
- Continuity Nod: Misuzu is seen seductively muttering "Tabigake" in her sleep; per the light novels, this is her husband's name.
- First-Name Basis: Saten somewhat playfully addresses Uiharu as "Kazari-kun"; this is the first time we've seen her (or anyone, for that matter) use Uiharu's given name.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus:
- A very brief shot during the Night Parade medley shows Saten apparently introducing Uiharu to her parents and younger brother. Another shot shows Kongou in a fancy car talking with her father.
- Shortly after Uiharu finds the hidden website, there's a sinister shot of someone coming up to the door of the Judgement office while she's alone inside. We see a gloved hand opening the door from the outside... then it cuts to the inside of the office, and Mikoto, Kuroko and Saten come in. At first glance, it seems like a fakeout — except that none of the three is wearing gloves...
- Male Gaze: This episode features a number of closeup shots of Mikoto and Saten's rear ends.
- Mind-Control Eyes: People who are explicitly being controlled by Shokuhou are drawn with the same stars in their eyes as the Level 5... but only after The Reveal.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: Mikoto once again tries to disguise herself with a baseball cap. It actually seems to work, at least on the paramedics.
- Rewatch Bonus: After the reveal several episodes later that Uiharu was mind-controlled by Shokuhou right after finding the website, certain of her actions are cast in a new light — in particular, it is she who leads them off the patrol route to where they meet Keitz and Shokuhou.
- Techno Babble: The method Uiharu describes using to 'reconstruct' the missing website is phrased in vaguely technical-sounding terms, but makes no actual sense.
