Toaru Kagaku no Railgun Manga Chapter 047

"Encounter" (遭遇) is the 47th chapter of the Toaru Kagaku no Railgun manga series.

Synopsis
During the Daihaseisai, Mikoto meets up with her mother Misuzu in a restaurant and enjoys a short lunch that her mother prepared — a large bowl of cheese fondue. Mikoto leaves to buy drinks. The drinks centre has a large line, so she heads outside the restaurant. She meets Kamijou Touma and they briefly talk about the long lines (though Touma initially thinks Mikoto is complaining about the lines to the bathroom). Touma decides to buy Mikoto's share as well. After Touma leaves, Misaki arrives. The second Level 5 explains that she used her ability to have her afternoon events cancelled. Touma returns with the drinks and Mikoto introduces Misaki to him as one of her classmates. Misaki addresses Touma by name (despite him not being introduced to her), claims to be Mikoto's friend and briefly links arms with her, then runs over to Touma and links arms with him.

Meanwhile, Saten Ruiko is still searching for the mysterious "Shadow Metal". Uiharu decides to help her out. Saten flips Uiharu's skirt out of joy, only to be disappointed that Uiharu is wearing her sports uniform under her normal clothes. Using Uiharu's information, Saten heads to a stadium in School District 18 where a battle between espers occurred. She asks (via her phone) if there's any information on the colour or shape of Shadow Metal, and Uiharu replies that there's no definite information. Uiharu goes on to say that she couldn't find the site where Saten found out about the legend. Saten believes that the information is being covered up by a mysterious organisation. Mysterious men in full-body suits approach Saten from behind and the call is suddenly cut off. Uiharu believes that Saten was attacked and tells Mikoto and Kuroko. The two go to the scene via Kuroko's teleportation and see Saten being held down by the mysterious men. Enraged, Mikoto attacks them, but Kuroko tells her to wait. Afterwards, she and Saten apologise. It turns out that the men were simply staff who have the job of cleaning up after events. They attempted to apprehend Saten because they thought she was trying to steal the DNA of espers, something that has happened in the past. The three girls leave. It turns out that the Shadow Metal rumour spread because of the sports grounds being heavily guarded to avoid DNA theft, which some people found suspicious. Kuroko scolds Saten and Mikoto for their actions.

Uiharu is relieved when she learns that Saten is safe, but she's also suspicious of the information she saw earlier. She thinks that someone is trying to hide something by releasing lots of fake information and decides to investigate further. She manages to restore the urban legends site that Saten found earlier. Here she sees rumours about a "Very Valuable Orange", "Guidance by Punishment" and a DNA computer that can make espers. She looks at the third of these and sees a photo of someone she recognises. At that moment her friends return. Saten asks if Uiharu found any information, but Uiharu claims that she didn't. Moreover, her computer screen shows the message "File Deleted".

The first day of the Daihaseisai ends with a night parade. The next morning, Mikoto wakes up and Wannai Kinuho asks her when she'll return the PE outfit that Kinuho lent her (since she doesn't know about Mikoto's clones). This makes Mikoto worried over Misaka 10032.

Adapted From

 * Although this chapter is an original story, it coincides with Volume 10 of the light novels, which features the hearty lunch between the mother-and-daughter pair of Misaka Mikoto and Misuzu.

Characters
In order of appearance:
 * Misaka Mikoto
 * Misaka Misuzu
 * Index (cameo)
 * Kamijou Touma
 * Shokuhou Misaki
 * Saten Ruiko
 * Uiharu Kazari
 * Shirai Kuroko
 * Kongou Mitsuko (cameo)
 * Wannai Kinuho

Locations

 * Academy City
 * School District 18
 * Judgment 177 Branch Office

Referbacks

 * The "Very Valuable Orange" and "Guidance by Punishment" refer to terms used in Toaru Kagaku no Railgun Light Novel Volume SS2 and the Toaru Kagaku no Railgun PSP Game.