Aritomi Haruki

Aritomi Haruki (有冨春樹) is an anime-original character introduced in the Toaru Kagaku no Railgun S anime series. A bespectacled student of an unspecified institution in Academy City, he is the leader of STUDY, a group that desires to show their power in their esper-obsessed city and is the primary antagonist of the Silent Party Arc.

Appearance
He is a tall and slender bespectacled male wearing his black hair short. He wears round-framed glasses, and is often seen wearing a lab coat over his uniform of sorts, which consists of a buttoned-up collared shirt and pants, both blue-green in color. Aritomi's physique seems appropriate to his interests — slim and lacking any muscle — that may suggest a lack of exposure to strenuous physical activity.

Personality
Cold and analytical, Haruki has shown to have some sort of detestation towards esper abilities to the point where he will try to demonstrate the bad effects of excessive reliance to esper abilities to the public if given a chance. He is also quite an eloquent speaker, capable of convincing a random crowd of his opinions. Like his comrades in STUDY, he has little regard for life other than their own, and is willing to put into harm innocent civilians just so he can have his way. However, he often makes his next move through majority vote among the members of STUDY.

His mannerism, which he shares with most of the members of STUDY, involves adjusting one's glasses with his finger.

Background
Aritomi is a student, a genius even Academy City's standards. Every year he participated in the Academy Research Exhibition Assembly, and at least for two years straight, have won the top awards for his research. And yet, he saw that despite his genius and the efforts he has put through, and though many saw his brilliance, this paled in comparison to the espers, of which the city pours all its attention to. None has yet come against that unfair system, where he thought, that despite how much effort one puts into their studies, how many papers one publishes, only espers are ever recognized by the city. And there, a thought came to mind, as espers are not a stable reference, for it is largely determined at birth, and the production of high-level espers are based purely on chance, he thought he could make his own from scratch. A new method of producing espers based on a completely different approach, a more reliable method to produce espers of a uniform quality, and as many as anyone could ever want, thus begins the Chemicaloid Project.

Haruki joins up with several like minds to come with the plan, and presented it to underground organizations to gain their support. However, they did not see its worth, and among them, Kihara Gensei, whose Level 6 Shift Project would have become a competitor against their project, called their plans a mere "summer school project." Dismayed by this, they determined to do the project on their own. Thus begins the STUDY Corporation, and with their technology supplied Anti-Skill of their tools, manufactured drugs and other chemicals of a wide spectrum. Most likely, these are fronts to fund their project. Moreover, Haruki himself quit school. Their company later buys an old factory for an insane price, for their project. Their actions and plans however are not unknown to the darkness, as exemplified by Therestina Kihara Lifeline, who is aware of their Chemicaloid Project and how they want to exhibit.

The first two products of their experiment later bore fruit, Janie the core of their plan, and Febrie the spare, and used the research of Nunotaba Shinobu as their "base program" to ensure that their automatic nervous functions keeps them alive. However, they made it so that their bodies produce a chemical that would kill them if not for a special lollipop that only they knew the recipe to.

Now, in the current year of the timeline, he and his comrades do not register to participate in the assembly, for they are preparing for the Silent Party that they believe shall shake the foundations of Academy City's esper program. They bought Shinobu herself after falling to the city's underworld, to aid them in their project. Little did they know that they'll be a spanner to their works. Regardless, he proceed with their plans, delivering the Powered Suits to be used to bring the Assembly into chaos legally, though every time one was delivered, they made it so that there would be a power outage, to hide information of it.

Silent Party Arc

 * Main article:Silent Party Arc

The shadow of his corporation is first felt when a power outage in one of his "deliveries" to the Assembly venue causes a traffic jam, that forces Judgment 177 Branch Office to bring it back to normal.

He has ITEM hired in an experiment to test out their Powered Suits filled with Janie's Diffusion Ghost. The experiment proceeds smoothly despite the team destroying all the Powered Suits, though making Mugino Shizuri bleed a bit. However, something unexpected happens, Febrie has escaped (through the machinations of Shinobu), and the warehouse where the experiment is being held goes into flames. Despite this, he is confident that it will sort it out soon.

He is later seen in broad daylight wearing his uniform. After witnessing Kongou Mitsuko stop a purse snatcher using her powers, he arrives to admonish her for using her powers, making an appeal to probability fallacy to support his claims, convincing the bystanders who were previously impressed by Mitsuko and making her feel bad. Wannai Kinuho and Awatsuki Maaya arrive after finishing their errand of summoning Anti-Skill to collect the snatcher, but Haruki simply gives out a smug smile and quickly leaves before they can make a case against him. He is later seen again with a meeting with his fellow STUDY members, telling them that despite the unexpected event that had happened during the experiment, he is confident that it will sort itself out soon. He states that all preparations have now been completed, and that it is now time to show the city that is obsessed with espers their power. He asks to make a vote if they wish to proceed to the next step, and all of their members raise their hands in agreement.

He later shows up in the assembly, and had Kosako Shunichi temporarily take over as leader of STUDY. Here, he also finds out another of hsi deliveries has arrived in the venue and tells Shunichi of it. In the end, he says that he'll call back when he has found the target, Febrie. He later sees her, and contachs Shunichi again that he has found her and that he will proceed in her elimination. He then activates the security robots filled with Janie's Diffusion Ghost to attack her, but much to his surprise they are easily defeated by Misaka Mikoto, the 3rd-ranked Level 5. Looking from a very short distance, he contacts Shunichi again to report to him of what had transpired, and that Misaka Mikoto herself was involved. He has a conference call with the other members of STUDY detailing his enthusiasm for having Mikoto as a test subject, as what they have done with Mugino Shizuri. Shunichi then calls for a vote on whether or not they should experiment with the Railgun, to which all, including Haruki agrees to it. Later that day, he witnesses Febrie leaving with Mikoto, staring intently for an extended period of time, to the point that it allows Mituko and her friends to see and recognize him. Wanting to settle the unfinished business with him, the girls decide to tail him. There, he discusses his plan with the rest of STUDY on his cellphone in the public space, unaware that just right behind him Mitsuko and the others are listening. He tells them that the target is on the move, and though he failed to reclaim Febrie, fortune smiles upon them. He then orders them to send something to the exhibit venue, and that they'll soon see some interesting results. He and Shunichi later had a Powered Suit kept in an old warehouse, while they try and manipulate the routes Mikoto and her friends are taking, as well as interfering with cellphone signals to stop them from making any calls. They are successful, and they in a black van, monitor their actions. There, they come upon the old warehouse and soon after attacked by their Powered Suit. Ruiko, Kuroko and Uiharu stand back as Mikoto takes on the mechanical unit alone. To Mikoto's surprise, the machine was unharmed by her electrical attacks, and she suspects that this machine has no electronic components, leaving her confused about how it is able to move without those parts inside. Mikoto is forced to use another application of her ability — the manipulation of iron sand — to deal with the mechanical threat.

Ruiko barely leaves unharmed as Mikoto hurls the machine into several steel beams and almost fell down on her and Febri. Kuroko manages to teleport her and Febri away in time, but with Uiharu unable to contact Anti-skill due to a lack of signal coverage. Then, Febri suddenly runs towards the Gekota she dropped in the chaos. Mikoto goes to take her to safety, but the mechanical enemy quickly approaches them for the kill. Suddenly, their enemy suddenly stops through Febrie's power. Then, a steel beam comes flying towards the machine, throwing it far away from Mikoto and Febri. Meanwhile, Kongou Mitsuko shows up and brags about her timely entrance. As the girls discover that Febrie has fallen ill, Haruki and Shunichi later leave in their van, and removes their surpression over the cellphone signals, allowing the girls to contact Anti-Skill. Once again gathered in their poorly lit room, Shunichi concludes that their research also applies to Railgun despite the interruption of their little experiment. And all of his peers agree as well, enthustiastic of the experiment's results with their research. Haruki then tells them that they once again proved that those who rely on their powers are powerless. There, the once again hold a vote on how to dispose of Febrie. Here, they later voted to leave Febrie to her own fortune, as she will eventually die before the Assembly without the lollipops needed to stay the toxins in her body. They later exert their influence over Anti-Skill as so not to have them meddle in their affairs. With the Assembly soon coming, they discuss their priorities on Janie. Haruki asks if the preparations are going well. To which Madarame Kenji replies that it is and turns to Nunotaba Shinobu for confirmation, to which she says that she will do what she can. Later, in the core of Study Corporation, Aritomi discovers that their first lab has been breached by ITEM as vengeance for their usage of them under false pretenses, although he is rather calm about it because it was a mere trap that entices those who has enough knowhow to break through its security. He then tells his colleagues that the lab only contained data for a particular poison neutralizer. Shinobu soon stands up and decides to visit the laboratory, to make sure that there are no variables left unchecked for their plan. However, Aritomi become suspicious of Shinobu's actions. He later follows her into the first lab after ITEM had left, and comes upon Shinobu conspiring with Mikoto to save Febrie, handing out data on her in a console room. Here, he reveals himself to them, revealing that the data now in Mikoto's hands is a dummy, a part of his additional safety measures to keep vital information from leaking out. Now, Haruki has discovered that Shinobu is a traitor, and he forces her to make a painful decision. Haruki throws an injector filled with a paralyzing drug and tells Shinobu to administer the drug to Mikoto in exchange for keeping the safety of the true recipe for the poison neutralizing agent used for Febri's lollipops. Although Shinobu is hesitant to do it, Mikoto tells her to push on for Febri's sake. Shinobu stabs Mikoto with the injector as she requested, despite having the strength and numbers to overpower Haruki, and thus Mikoto instantly collapses due to the effects of the drug. However, much to the shock of the two girls, Haruki destroys the precious data in front of them.

There, Haruki tells them that Febri's well-being is not important as she was just a spare for the greatest invention of Study Corporation, which they call "Janie". Aritomi relates to Mikoto his life story. He remembers as his acceptance speech during the Academic Assembly Awards Ceremony was applauded by the few people who attended his speech. He realizes that his idea that all people have equal chances of success was not true at all, and only the littlest of efforts by espers are recognized as opposed to the greatest achievements he, as part of the scientific community of Acadmy City, has been trying to push on. Aritomi decides that the only way to gain the attention he has been longing for is to create an esper entirely from scratch, eliminating the factor of chance in the production of powerful espers for Academy City... thus, the birth of the Chemicaloid Project. Unfortunately, the start of the project was nothing but smooth — even the "darkness" of Academy City had refused to aid them in their research, and even the renowned scientist Kihara Gensei calls their work as a mere "summer break project". Aritomi felt pushed to bring results, and he eventually did, with the successful production of their prototype, "Febrie". Mikoto, despite her paralysis, seeks to know more about Aritomi's plans, but he refuses to divulge any more information aside. Eventually, Mikoto succumbs to the drug injected into her by Shinobu and passes out. He later has her and Shinobu transferred to an open space, without bonds to withhold them. He is later with his comrades when they discover that the alarms have been ticked off, and Misaka Mikoto is rescued. Here, he later comes with Madarame Kenji and Kosaka Shunichi to the office space where Shinobu is being held, and puts handcuffs at her. Aritomi expresses surprise on how Mikoto is still able to move around despite the drug injected into her. He then asks why Shinobu is still with them, to which she says that since she was sold to them that if she ran every underground organization would be after her, a sentence equal to death. Haruki mocks her, and says that if she didn't stay then they'd be forced to have Janie to do their bidding. A slight twitch comes from Shinobu's brow after hearing Haruki say that. And then he says that she can only live in the darkness now, and that she should repeat that thought as she works for them. Now then, the long night ends and the Academy Research Exhibition Assembly is only a few hours away. Ten minutes before sunrise. STUDY anticipates the start of a revolution. All systems are go, and all it needs for everything to begin is a press of a button and a majority vote. Meanwhile, Mikoto prepares herself as well alongside Febri, who now wears the clothes she received from Mitsuko. Shortly, thousands of Powered Suits are mobilized across the four venues of the Academic Assembly. There, Uiharu and Ruiko, Mii, Kuroko, Mitsuko, Kinuho and Maaya prepare their stand as Mikoto and Febri head straight into Janie's whereabouts. Seeing this, STUDY confidently marches on despite the presence of a few "gatecrashers" in their party only to be shocked at the presence of hundreds of Judgment operatives, parading their green armbands and their will to fight those who seek to disturb the peace of Academy City. Soon a multitude of people have gathered to withstand their will, and its working. STUDY decides to increase the power output on Janie from 2% to a much higher value, however, Mikoto has already found Janie's whereabouts, causing STUDY to set their sights on the traitor amongst them, Nunotaba Shinobu. Later, Aritomi "welcomes" Mikoto to their main headquarters and prepares hundreds of Powered Suits to take her on, confident that Mikoto would succumb to fatigue after long periods of fighting alone. To Aritomi's shock, however, Mikoto was able to destroy a large number of Aritomi's units using her abilities, including the Railgun.

Aritomi quickly changes plans upon seeing Mikoto's display of might. As he jams the signals of all electronic devices at the four Academic Assemly venues, he deploys larger mechanical units, piloted by two of Aritomi's associates, to take care of the Judgment forces. Chaos quickly throws the Judgment forces into disarray, while Mikoto is already feeling the effects of fatigue as more and more of Aritomi's Powered Suits arrive to slow down her advance. To make things worse, Aritomi has also deployed three advanced Powered Suits which imitate the ability of the Meltdowner, Mugino Shizuri.

Uiharu and Ruiko are forced to retreat in the midst of STUDY's new units, and Uiharu became close to becoming a casualty in the chaos. Suddenly, a much larger unit that dwarfs those of STUDY arrives on the scene, where Yomikawa Aiho and Haruue Erii are onboard. Erii then tells everyone that a telepathic connection is being set up to compensate for the lack of communications devices, care of Edasaki Banri and the telepaths of Judgment.

Ruiko and Uiharu soon enter the large vehicle that came earlier and Ruiko accustoms herself to the controls, which she had well prepared the night before. Soon, as Mitsuko proudly introduces Kongou Airlines' all-purpose transforming robot she calls "Ekaterina II-S", Ruiko and Uiharu join forces in swiftly taking down STUDY's advanced mechanical vehicles. In Mikoto's front, the Rank Three Level 5 is surprised upon seeing another Level 5 in the battlefield: the Meltdowner herself, Mugino Shizuri, instantly destroying her copycats using her ability. Soon enough, ITEM regroups and Frenda and Kinuhata Saiai help turn Aritomi's robots into scrap metal while allowing Mugino to unleash her fury upon realizing that she was used as a data source by STUDY. As ITEM destroys what's left of Aritomi's forces, Mikoto takes the opportunity to sneak into STUDY's main headquarters. STUDY's plans are slowly breaking apart. And to make things worse for them, Mikoto has arrived to confront Aritomi. However, Aritomi has decided to resort to drastic measures, shutting down Janie's link with the many Powered Suits outside to turn Janie into an unstable entity. Then, Aritomi prepares to end his life, leaving behind Janie in her unstable state and Febri without the neutralizer that would prolong her life. But, Mikoto refuses to let Aritomi do what he wants. Using her electricity, she stops Aritomi from shooting his head and slaps him with her left hand, injured by her sudden contact with the pistol while firing. There, Mikoto points out that she knows a lot more about the darkness than him, and despite that, she would still save everyone, even the man in front of her who has just attempted to cause widespread chaos just to make a point. Aritomi is frozen stiff as Mikoto demands the commands needed to reverse his "last resort", but Aritomi's colleague, Sakurai Jun, explains to her that they are in a grave situation, as Aritomi's last resort involves releasing thousands of filaments from a missile fired 35,000 kilometers above the Earth, and the rampaging Diffusion Ghost will cause widespread AIM diffusion field interference that will affect each and every esper in Academy City.

Mikoto in her friends later stop the AIM bomb, and thus all he and his comrades had ever wrought with their hands have been made asunder. Presumably, they are later taken into custody.

Quotes

 * (To STUDY, from episode 18): "All preparations are complete. Now it's time to show this esper-power-obsessed city our own power!"
 * (To his peers in an awards ceremony, from episode 23): "The idealist says, everyone is born equal.We are all of equal worth. The sportsman screams, no effort goes unrewarded. Work hard for your dreams! It's about how you play the game."
 * (To STUDY, ibid): "Let's get this Silent Party started, then."