Haratani Yabumi

Haratani Yabumi (原谷矢文) is a minor character in the Toaru Majutsu no Index series. Introduced as a victim of a mugging in progress, his colorful point-of-view serves as the basis introducing Sogiita Gunha who saves him.

Background
Yabumi is a young man whose chosen field of study in the Power Curriculum Program is psychokinesis, though it is unknown if he has psychokinetic powers. Regardless, even if he did, he is apparently too weak to use it to defend himself.

He is lower middle class. Prior to his debut, he apparently applied for the new phone that he bought to serve as a digital wallet.

The Third Friday of March
On March 15, 8:10 PM, the day after White Day, in the current year of the story timeline, Haratani Yabumi is minding his own business in the shopping district when 5–6 Skill-Out members attack and drag him into a back alley. After being beaten up by them, they take his wallet and his cellphone, the latter acts a digital wallet, which is the equivalent to a credit limit though without a credit limit.

As Yabumi wonders how to get out of this quagmire and a potential financial disaster, someone suddenly shouts at the Skill-Out members. He tells them that they lack guts. The thugs turn around and one of them merely shoot at him, and he collapses to the ground. With even Yabumi thinking the queer turn of events has passed, the figure rises up, seemingly unharmed. He lectures them about shooting someone without warning and that the shooter lack guts, telling the shooter that he’s just a kid that throws a tantrum, easily. The shooter, confused, just continues shooting at him, though he only merely shakes and is not felled by the firing. Unsurprisingly, the shooter becomes angry, asking why he won’t die, to which the person says that it is because of guts again. The thug still unsatisfied, has the person finally reveal himself—SogiIta Gunha, the 7th-ranked Level 5 of Academy City. As he shouts this, he spread his arms wide, and then suddenly multi-color explosions appear behind him. As Yabumi is dumbfounded by this spectacle, the Skill-Out whisper among themselves on what to do, and stupidly concluded that since Gunha is the seventh of the seven, then he must be the weakest, therefore, Level 0s can handle him.

Gunha interjects, saying that the rankings are all a boring digression and that the important thing is guts. Before he can finish they try gang on him and try to attack him a variety of weapons. Despite the fact that none of their actions is working against him they keep on attacking. However, Gunha, finally irritated, retaliates against them, and an explosion is formed, throwing his attackers off their feet. He berates them for doing whatever they wanted the entire time, and says that he will now show them what true guts are. Despite getting all worked up, Gunha has already defeated the thugs already.

Suddenly, from out of the darkness comes Yokosuka the Organ Crusher, the leader of the men Gunha just defeated. Yokosuka threatens Gunha for sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong, and says that he is an anti-esper battle. Before he can finish, Gunha farts, much to Yokosuka’s irritation. After remembering what he was trying to say, Yokosuka continues to threaten Gunha. However, before he can finish, Gunha once again interrupts and shouts Amazing Punch at him. As he protests his rudeness, the punch connects despite being more than 10 meters away from him. Still conscious, Yokosuka asks what Gunah did, to which Gunha replies that what he did was the true worth of him being the 7th-ranked level 5. He explains to him that he can create an unstable wall of psychokinesis in from of him and destroy it with a stimulus provided by his own fist, which then causes it to send an explosive after-effect from a long distance. He then says that he calls his ability Attack Crash.

Hearing all this, Yabumi finally speaks up, saying that what Gunha said is impossible. He tells him that applying a stimulus to a field of psychokinetic power shouldn’t have that kind of reaction. He tells Gunha that his chosen field of study is psychokinesis and backs up his claim by saying that he is chosen field of study is in psychokinesis. Both Gunha and Yokosuka are silenced by Yabumi’s claims. However, Gunha then lowers his gaze and clenched his fist, asking what he did and how he did it. Yokosuka says that what he is currently doing is a half-assed way of treating his special move, and that he should think about the people who were taken out by it feels. Yokosuka then complains but is silenced by Gunha using Amazing punch on him again, making him fly into the air.

Seeing this, Yabumi cannot feel happy about being saved. Yokosuka tries to stand up again to Gunha but his legs were shaking, though impressed by Gunha. Although Yokusukua doesn’t have the strength left to fight or even run away, he looks up to Gunha’s face and asks him, with a smile, that Gunha should at least finish the fight with some extraordinary attack unlike the boring sounding Amazing Punch, something that can be worth losing to. Despite this, Gunha just uses Amazing Punch on him again.

Toaru Jihanki no Fanfare
He ends up being a spectator to the fight between Gunha and Misaka Mikoto.

Trivia

 * There is an unnamed Level Upper user in Toaru Kagaku no Railgun that has the same background as Haratani, which is observing Gunha's fight with some delinquents. The fact that the character is left unnamed has created some speculation about him being Yabumi.