Toaru Kagaku no Railgun Manga Chapter 017 special 1

"A Certain Pair's Job Training [First Half]" (とある二人の[前篇]) is a special prequel chapter of the Toaru Kagaku no Railgun manga series, released on October 27, 2008.

Synopsis
A young Shirai Kuroko is at the Judgment Training Center, training next to non-Judgment students, one of whom is Uiharu Kazari. The unfit Uiharu has trouble completing the training. Kuroko offers Uiharu her drink during one of the breaks and encourages Uiharu to do her best, telling her to "Believe your feelings and follow what you feel... The results will come afterwards". Kuroko then reveals that she is already a member of Judgment, something which impresses Uiharu. What Kuroko doesn't tell her is that even though she has been a member for a year, she has yet to be involved in a major incident.

Later, Kuroko is working together with Konori Mii on a patrolling job. Kuroko asks why she only gets patrolling and odd jobs. Konori answers that it's more important to prevent the incident than dealing with the consequences afterwards. She then asks Kuroko if she wants to be treated better because she's a honor student. Kuroko answers that she only thought she was treated differently because she is in elementary school. Konori tells her that age isn't important, and that she wants to act on her own because of her potential, to which Kuroko answers that she is being treated like a kid.

Shortly afterwards, Uiharu is walking around looking for a post office. When she finds it, she walks inside and meets Kuroko on the inside. Uiharu tells Kuroko that she has been looking at the dorms since she'll be in junior high school starting next year. Kuroko tells Uiharu that she is starting at Tokiwadai Middle School, which also impresses Uiharu. Kuroko responds that she thinks that school will be quite bad, since the students will believe they are superior because they are level 3 or higher. She specifically mentions a Level 5 called the 'Railgun', who she expects to have a horrid personality. Kuroko and Uiharu then part ways as Kuroko meets up with Konori.

Kuroko tries to apologize for getting distracted while on duty, but Konori cuts her off because she has seen a man acting suspicious. Using Clairvoyance, Konori is able to see that he has got some tools in his bag and a gun in his right pocket, so he is probably planning to rob the post office. As she goes to inform the people who work there, Konori tells Kuroko to prioritize protecting the civilians if anything happens, saying that incidents outside of school should be left to Anti-Skill. Kuroko thinks that this way of thinking is too passive. However, the man fires his gun in the air just as Konori tries to warn a worker. He warns everyone to stay quiet and not try anything. When a worker tries to press the alarm, the robber notices and considers killing him to set an example, but before he makes the decision Kuroko has teleports behind him and attacks him. Kuroko succeeds in subduing the robber, only for the robber's accomplice to reveal himself and take Uiharu hostage.

Adapted To

 * Toaru Kagaku no Railgun Episode 05

Characters

 * Shirai Kuroko
 * Uiharu Kazari
 * Konori Mii
 * Misaka Mikoto (referenced)

New Characters
No new characters were introduced in this chapter.

Abilities

 * Teleport - Shirai Kuroko, Level 4

New Abilities

 * Clairvoyance - Konori Mii, Level 3

New Locations

 * Judgment Training Center