Riko, like many goth-punks before her, lived in a very nice neighborhood. It was there that she now shambled, with Aimi’s psychokinetic assistance. Her recent battle with an apparition in the subway station left her in a drained state.

She did her best not to worry her mom when she called in to warn her she had a guest coming home with her. “Yes, I’m just a little tired, it was a long day,” she replied, in regard to her strained speech. It had truthfully been a trying day, what with all they had to do to get the parapsychology club up and running. She certainly had reasons to be exhausted, that didn’t involve beating down an urban legend. But that happened too.

One thing that helped right now was that Riko always recovered quickly, whenever she got hurt or sick. Whatever it was the creature had stolen from her, whether it was something metaphysical like spiritual essence, or something physical like blood or electrolytes, she was able to mostly walk on her own by the time her house was visible. Along the way, they had the chance to pick up a sports drink from a vending machine, which seemed to be helping her.

“Aimi-chan…” Riko rasped out, eager to get some conversation in before she had to talk to her parents.

“Save your energy.” Well, it was nicer than telling her to shut up. But there was something that needed addressing. 

“Do you have any ideas how I was able to touch that thing?”

Aimi went quiet, though unlike her responses to Riko so far today, she seemed more contemplative than annoyed. “You may have a hidden ability.”

Riko tilted her head. “How would I know? I’ve never done anything like that before.” Aimi could know this was the truth. She searched her head while she was unconscious for anything like that, without Riko putting up any tawdry scenes in her head to make Aimi blush.

Aimi shrugged, and the two of them walked in silence. Riko had an alternative hypothesis: it was an ability that only the two of them could use together. It might sound a bit too convenient to your average observer, but it made perfect sense to Riko, who believed Aimi had been delivered to her by destiny.

Riko hoped it wasn’t her own ability. She was the parapsychology club’s token normal person, after all. She also kind of hoped she did have an ability, as it might bring her closer to Aimi. Before she could decide which hope was stronger, they arrived at her house.

Opening the door, Riko didn’t feel it was too heavy. It looked as though she and Aimi could keep the encounter snake-ghost-thing to themselves for now, without elaborate excuses for why she was feeling weak. Hopefully mom had a big dinner planned, that would speed up her recuperation even more.

“Mom, I’m home,” Riko shouted inside, and then began taking off her shoes. When Aimi looked around and saw no one watching, she floated gently into the air, allowing her shoes to remove themselves and place themselves on the handy nearby rack. Riko had just finished setting her own down next to them when her mom arrived in the doorway.

Riko watched with anticipation and a little dread as her mother looked Aimi over. Aimi certainly wasn’t like the friends she had at her previous school; mostly delinquents and bad girls, the roughest young ladies Japanese high society had to offer. Aimi, comparatively, was not like them, but Aimi was odd in her own way, with her long, messy hair, and an expression that was always slightly menacing, even now.

If Riko’s mom had a negative impression of Aimi, however, she hid it gracefully. She gave the young esper a bright smile. 

“Mom, this is Aimi Aoki. We’re in the parapsychology club together. Could you please make her some tea? She’s been very helpful to me today.”

Aimi gave the older Nomura woman an awkward bow. Riko’s mother opened the door wider, gesturing for them both to come inside.

“Of course,” she replied, pointing Aimi to the living room so the two schoolmates could sit.

“I don’t-” Aimi began, and then stopped. Riko guessed that she, through telepathy, figured out she probably couldn’t refuse the tea without looking rude. Well, that was a different side of her, Riko though. She usually employed her telepathy to be ruder.

As soon as they were alone, seated on the living room couch, Aimi showed her usual self to Riko. “It was my fault the apparition hurt you, so I helped you home. I want to be back in my own room as soon as possible. Don’t drag this out. Please.”

Riko, only the slightest bit faint now, gently nodded. If she was feeling great, she would be trying to think up every angle possible to try to get Aimi to come see her room. As it stood, well… she’d see how she felt once she had some tea.

“I don’t blame you for getting hurt, Aimi-chan. Something had to be done about that snake. It would have attacked someone. I was happy to have your help.”

Aimi shook her head. “You don’t understand. There are countless creatures like that, as common as stray cats. Almost all of them are harmless, serving some ecological function. Like bees, or earthworms. Those that prey on humans, target the weak, or people that won’t be missed. It gets written off as sudden illness, or a heart attack, or an unsolved missing person case. You would have been better off not knowing about them.” Aimi rubbed her throat. Riko guessed it was probably the most talking she had done at once in a long time.

Up until now, Riko thought she could never be upset with Aimi. But even she, with her questionable intelligence, saw a flaw in Aimi’s logic that filled her with ire. “What if one of those snakes targeted your grandmother? Some old woman dying in her home would never be investigated by the police, right? Just like you said. Who would take care of you then? You’d be all alone.”

The dismissive glare that Aimi gave her in response was enough to make Riko want to give her a good, open-palm smack. She’d try it, even if Aimi’s psychokinesis caught her hand long before her palm connected. But just then, something happened that provided a much needed distraction, though it probably didn’t make the situation any better.

“I’m home,” announced the loud baritone voice of Dr. Yori Nomura from the entryway of the house. Just then, Riko’s mother had finished making the tea, which she set down on the table before the now silent girls, on the way to the door to greet her Riko's father. A few moments later, the man stepped into the living room, flanked by her. He was a  tall, somewhat gracefully aging man, dressed sharply for his work in public office and adorned with thick spectacles. His eyes fell over Aimi in appraisal, recognition quickly flashing in his eyes. “Aimi Aoki, correct?”

Riko was surprised. “You know Aimi-chan, dad?” She knew his work occasionally involved espers, but that was no reason to assume he met any of them personally.

“Only by reputation,” he replied flatly. “I happen to have clearance on information regarding every telepath known to the JSDF. I also know about every esper Joshi Kagaku-Gijutsu Koko has claimed as part of their application for Harbor High School status. Her name has passed my desk twice. At least.”

Riko’s mother turned to Aimi. “She’s one of them? Oh! How rude of me, I apologize.” She gave her a hasty bow.

Aimi wasn’t really paying attention to her. Her malevolent gaze was fixed on the doctor, threatening to strip all of those juicy government secrets right out of his cranium. And he gave her a stern look right back, daring her to. He soon broke that moment of silence by dictating just what might happen if she tried, “Aoki-san’s case is one of professional pride for me, actually. Most telepaths in Japan have isolated themselves to the countryside, for fear of what they might learn. To have one here in Tokyo, going to a good school, it lets everyone know that a better future is possible. If this pans out well for everyone involved, I have a good shot at running for office with the Minister of the MEXT retires this month.”

Aimi jumped up right then and there, dipping into whatever miniscule reserves of tact she had as she attempted to make an exit. “Nomura-sensei, Nomura-sama, thank you for the tea but I should not stay. I told my grandmother I was with a new friend, but she will still worry as long as I’m not home.”

Riko’s father had a cunning smile on his face, as unnerving to her as Aimi’s eyes. “Oh, I could place a call to your grandmother and assure her you’re at a responsible household. We have more than enough food if you’d like to stay for dinner. I'll even give you a ride home afterwards so you don’t have to walk to and from the train station after dark.”

Aimi’s hair was starting to stand in the air, as if static electricity was coursing all around her. Having no reason to hide her nature now, she was floating in the air, looking down at Riko's parents with great annoyance. “I’m not hungry. I don’t like tea. I want to go home.” A nearby houseplant began to flap around, as if there was a strong indoors breeze. The teapot which Aimi had shown no interest was now shaking and bouncing around, threatening to shatter like a tea-filled water balloon. Riko moved away from it warily as she watched the unfolding scene in horror.

Riko's mother was starting to cower a little, but her father  remained unmoved. He merely cleared his throat. “Well. You’re welcome here anytime.. A pleasure meeting you, Aoki-san." That semed enough to calm things down, and Aimi drifted down to the floor. The teapot and houseplant ceased their movements.

"Riko-chan.”

“Y- yes dad?”

“You should walk your friend to the station. Your mother will prepare dinner while you do so, I’m sure.”

“Yes. dad.”

She quietly got up and moved to Aimi’s side to accompany her out the door. Riko’s parents both gave Aimi a little bow as they existed.”

Once they were outside and out of earshot, apologies came bursting out of Riko. “I’m so sorry! He’s always like that. Butting in on other people’s business. Judging them. Getting involved with their lives without ever really asking them if that’s what they want.”

Aimi simply shrugged as she walked a bit ahead of Riko. “It could be genetic.” Riko’s eyes grew big and confused, assuming that comment was just some science talk, the implication lost on her.

“Um…” Riko went, wracking her brain for things that needed to be said before they parted ways. “You can call me about stuff not related to school, you know. Like if you need help at home…”

“Your father had you experimented on as a child,” Aimi interrupted, bluntly.

Riko gasped, “What? Did you look in his head? You’ll get in trouble!”

Aimi looked ahead as they continued to walk. “I only looked for anything that had to do with you possibly having an ability. Only things you might remember. No one can claim I used telepathy unless you tell them.”

Riko began to pump her legs to move herself closer to Aimi, and meet her properly eye to eye. “What did you see?”

“An experiment conducted by the JSDF. You and a few hundred other children. Seeing if they could assess the potential for the young to develop into espers. A few tests, nothing invasive. Running an electroencephalogram…”

Aimi looked at Riko’s eyes growing bewildered again.

“The test where you have sticky electrode pads on your head. All while exposed to sequences of flashing lights and sounds, and asked to perform various tests. Guessing games. Logic puzzles. Results compared to the brain activity of known espers and numerous controls.”

“Oh yeah, I remember now. I was so confused by the lights. But some of the games with the researchers were fun. Do you know what they said about me?”

Aimi’s gaze intensified as she looked to Riko, her eyes expanding and irises shrinking.

“Latent Potential Rating F.”

There was a long quiet hanging in the air. They had reached downtown now, and were almost to the station. Luckily the fast lines were still running, so Aimi would have less than an hour’s commute home. Finally, Riko asked the obvious followup question.

“What does that mean?”

“Don’t know. Don’t ask your father. The other parents weren’t told anything. The children weren't told anything. The results of the experiment were classified, but he was part of a medical research team in the same division. If you ask him he’ll know I told you.”

“You must have learned something,” Riko accused her. He wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of finding out and then not interpret the results, she figured.

“Latent Potential Rating F is rare. Rarer than being an esper. Estimated less than five people on the planet with that rating. You and Professor Edgar J. Brinsfield are the only known cases.”

“Wow.”

Riko had a lot to think about, but Aimi’s train would be here any second, so she had to put it off.

"Aimi-chan… I'm really glad we met-"

The station's PA system suddenly let out a blare, and an announcer's voice rang out through the speakers. "All lines running to Ebisu Station and Naka-Meguro Station have currently been halted due to a human hazard in the area." The announcement was marked by the sound of an explosion in the distance, and the whirring of helicopter rotors approaching.

'Human hazard' meant an esper with dangerous abilities, actively being pursued by the police and/or JSDF. There was another explosion, louder this time.

Whatever it was, it was moving towards the station.