Matsuoka Raita

Matsuoka Raita
Japanese	松陸 頼太
Rōmaji	Matsuoka Raita
Epithet	Fire Bug (ファイアバグ, Faiabagu?)
Personal Info
Status	Alive
Gender	Male
Professional Status
Classification	Esper
Abilities
Esper Power	Ion Trade (電解取引（イオントレード）, Denkai Torihiki (Iontorēdo)?)
Power Level	3 or 4
Media
Appears In	Novel
Debuts
Novel	Toaru Kagaku no Railgun: Cold Game

Matsuoka Raita (松陸 頼太, Matsuoka Raita^?) is a character who appears in Toaru Kagaku no Railgun: Cold Game.

Appearance

Matsuoka Raita's current appearance hasn't been described, though he has been noted to have had plastic surgery to change it from his original appearance.

Personality

Most of his personality isn't known, though he apparently received psychological wounds as a result of the Fireball Case and was later quite willing to distribute videos to teach people how to commit arson-related crimes, as well as accepting money and doing similar jobs for others.

Background

In the past, in what would later be called the Fireball Case (火の玉事件, Hinotama Jiken^?), surveillance drones kept bursting into flames or crashing. The electronics company involved, not wanting to conduct a recall which would cost them billions, falsely accused Matsuoka Raita of being the culprit responsible for the incidents. It was eventually discovered that they had fabricated the charges and they ended up having a rough time with the Civil Rehabilitation Law. However this wasn't enough to heal the psychological wounds dealt to Raita, who subsequently posted dangerous 'how to' videos online to teach people how to trigger fires and explosions without using an esper power, leading to various people committing crimes based on his instructions.

He was later arrested but due to Tsujinaka Kyouka, he wasn't indicted. He then got plastic surgery and slipped through Judgment and Anti-Skill's surveillance. Having trouble getting by without an ID, he was bought over by Tsujinaka.

Chronology

Toaru Kagaku no Railgun: Cold Game

Main article: Toaru Kagaku no Railgun: Cold Game

Tsujinaka Kyouka made use of Fire Bug's services during Innai Chigiri's trial to set a fire going in the courthouse's evidence room in an attempt to destroy the evidence connected to the Loophole cases or render them unusable. After stopping the fire, Misaka Mikoto, Shirai Kuroko and Uiharu Kazari tracked him down, with the former two pursuing him as he tried to flee in a work van. He ended up driving into a hydrogen plant, where Mikoto made a waste tank release its contents as the van was passing and cause him crash. He confessed within a few hours of being apprehended.

Abilities

His ability is Ion Trade (電解取引（イオントレード）, Denkai Torihiki (Iontorēdo)^?), which allows him to freely manipulate microscopic ion exchange. He can use it to heat up batteries to start fires. He can also apparently use it to cause myocardial infractions or instant aging just by touching the human body.