novelA Certain Ojou's Railgun (1)
| ← Ch.035 | Ch.037 → |
Part 1
August 31, 8:00 AM.
Within the psychic powers development institution Academy City, which had 2. 3 million students, was Tokiwadai Middle School, a famous girls' school ranked among the top five schools in the city. Focusing on only raising elite students, the student numbers did not even reach two hundred. In the school, there were currently two Level 5 espers and forty-seven Level 4 espers. Also worthy of note was that one of the entry requirements for Tokiwadai Middle School was "Level 3 esper or above".
Even during summer vacation, the morning life didn't change in the Tokiwadai dorms: wake up at seven in the morning, clean up to the level of "it doesn't look too bad" within thirty minutes, roll call in the dining hall at seven-thirty, and finish breakfast by eight o'clock.
What was notable was the reason the dorms let students have until eight to finish breakfast: Tokiwadai Middle School encouraged students to take the school bus. The deadline before being late was 8:20 AM, so if one didn't take the bus, they would have to sprint full-speed to school.
Today was August 31st; because it was still summer vacation, after 8 AM and aside from dinner, curfew, and lights-out time, students had leisure time. All across the world, students were now hurrying to finish their summer homework, but at Tokiwadai Middle School, that feeling of anxiety couldn't be felt in the slightest.
Misaka Mikoto, one of the Level 5 espers, was sitting in the majestic and also ridiculously spacious dining room, spreading her arms out and yawning widely. Even though it was summer vacation, she was still in uniform. According to Tokiwadai's school rules, the dorms were still part of the school, so students were forbidden from wearing casual clothing inside the dorms. Mikoto had shoulder-length hair, a stubborn look, and a mouth that, once she started talking, wouldn't stop for twenty minutes, all of which were traits far from the "Ojou-sama" stereotype.
Then again, those weren't traits that belonged solely to Mikoto. The other female students around her had finished breakfast and were still sitting and chatting with each other; and, as a whole, they gave the same impression. Even though they had special circumstances, they were still middle school students in Japan. The classical Ojou-samas described in manga and novels with a hobby of equestrian riding and a specialty of the piano were extremely rare (on the other hand, those kind of people do still exist).
(Manga, manga... Oh, right, today's Monday. )
Mikoto suddenly remembered something, and stood up from her chair. Every Monday and Wednesday was when Mikoto stood at a corner store and read manga magazines. Though, she didn't know that her reading them left a lot of high school students able to buy only magazines with the edges messed up.
Normally, she went to the corner store and read manga only after school, but it was summer vacation, so she could go and do it right now. Mikoto wanted to know who the culprit was in a manga that had a closed-room murder, so she hurried and left early. Just when Mikoto was about to head off, a girl in a maid outfit who was gathering the cutlery realised her intentions. This girl was a middle school student for some home economics school who was working in the Tokiwadai Middle School girls' dorm for the purpose of gaining work experience. Practical work for the home economics school varied widely, and those that could get in to the Tokiwadai girl's dorms were supposedly the finest of the finest.
"Misaka, Misaka! Are you going to the corner store or the book shop?"
"Today's not the 10th, and it's a Monday, so it's the corner store. And Tsuchimikado, your role here is that of a practicing maid, after all; shouldn't you not be talking to me so familiarly?"[1]
"Misaka, Misaka! If you're going to the corner store, then buy a kinda strange manga for me—the kind of shoujo manga that's not R-18, but still has lurid descriptions."
"Ah, I remember, your interest is BL[2], right? And Tsuchimikado, your role here is that of a practicing maid, after all; shouldn't you not be making your patrons run errands for you?"
"Misaka, Misaka! Men pushing down other men isn't my hobby, but that of the head chef. I like the kind of manga where the brother and sister get into a messy relationship."
"Wouldn't that count as seinen manga and not shoujo, then? And, Tsuchimikado, your role here is that of a practicing maid, after all; shouldn't you not be admitting that you like your own brother?"
Misaka sighed, and walked out of the dining hall, past the excessively long corridor, and towards the main door. She came across no one else as most of the students were staying in the dining hall and chatting after eating breakfast.
Misaka went to the entrance hall, and opened the huge front doors.
From the student dorms and heading outside, the view changed from an old western-style building to the street in a near-future fashion. There were no power lines; replacing them were wind power generator propellers at the end of every corner. Barrel-shaped security robots that automatically patrolled the streets came and went everywhere. A zeppelin with giant screens on its belly floated across the sky. The views of that "city" were different from those of a normal city, but for the residents there, it was already very familiar, and they could no longer tell the difference between the two.
Right across the student dorms that looked like a western-style stone building was an "open 24 hours" general store. The difference between the two made Mikoto smile slightly. Just when Mikoto was about to take a step onto the road... suddenly a man's voice came from the side.
"Ah, aren't you Misaka-san? Good morning. Where would you be going? Eh, I remember that you're not in any clubs, right? If you don't mind, would you care to walk together with me for a while?"
"Uu!" Mikoto instantly stiffened, tried to hide the look of "met up with somebody extremely troublesome" on her face, and turned towards the direction of the voice.
In front of her was someone a year older than Mikoto, a tall and slim man. Though slightly thin, he had the body build of a sportsman. His hair was smooth and fine and, unlike a Japanese person, his skin was very white. A man that started exercising from the basics. That meant that even if he was holding a tennis racket or typing on a laptop keyboard, it would look fitting for him—really very advantageous. The sweat that came out of him almost seemed to sparkle, and his face nearly always had a warm smile... he was that kind of person.
Unabara Mitsuki.
He was one of the people that Mikoto found hard to handle, and also the grandson of the director of Tokiwadai Middle School. In Academy City, where the main goal was psychic powers development, the power of that position was like that of the ruling family of a major corporation. Tokiwadai Middle School was a girls' school, so Unabara Mitsuki couldn't enter the school grounds or the dorms, but he was free to roam around everywhere else.
The reason Mikoto labeled him as a troublesome person wasn't because he was someone that liked to show off his influence, though.
"Hmm, even though you're not in a club, focusing on personal hobbies isn't bad. Misaka-san, what kind of sports do you like? If you're interested in tennis, equestrian riding, squash, or golf, you can tell me; in these areas, I may be able to give some pointers... eh? Are you alright? Are you feeling well?"
"Ah... It's... it's nothing."
From Unabara's tone, he really seemed to be worried; Mikoto couldn't help but give a small sigh.
Unabara Mitsuki understood clearly what kind of enormous influence he could bring about, yet he never flaunted it. He always deliberately matched Mikoto's values, talking to Mikoto as an equal. To Mikoto, the kind of "mature" personality that gauged the situation between the two made her feel rather uncomfortable. But since the other party was using a "mature" way to get close to her, she couldn't just deal with him the same way she does with the usual high school student and fire off a bolt of electricity as a response, because that would have made her feel like an immature child.
What made Mikoto feel like Unabara was hard to handle was that, whenever she met him, she always had to be careful and prudent. It didn't feel like a meeting between friends, but rather like fawning to a senpai at a school club.
(Then again, this guy wasn't so bothersome a week ago, but recently, he comes to me on a daily basis... They say summer changes men... What a disagreeable way to change. )
Thinking about it carefully, in the past, they were only at a level where they would greet each other if they walked past each other. They might have stood together and chatted, but they wouldn't have interfered with each other's plans. Now was different; he had become very aggressive—almost like he was tracking Mikoto's every move...
"Misaka-san?"
"Uu..." After Unabara called out, Mikoto had involuntarily shrunk back her upper body slightly. While Mikoto was deep in thought, Unabara had closed in, and bent down to stare up at Mikoto's face.
"Don't be so deep in thought; where were you going to go?"
"Ah... Uh... (Honestly, I'm one that laughs out loud while reading manga even if I'm in the store, so I try not to have people I know around me when I go read manga, but if it's Shirai Kuroko, that idiot, it wouldn't really matter. )"
"What?"
"Ah, nothing! Nothing, nothing! I didn't just accidentally say what I was thinking out loud."
"So there isn't anything that urgently needs to be done? Ah, if so, there's a restaurant around here whose seafood is quite delicious; do I have the pleasure of inviting you to there?"
(At this time, right after breakfast?) Mikoto thought, but she didn't let it show on her face.
"Ah... but... but... Thank you for your invitation, but I have some private business to take care of..."
"Then take care of it now. I'll come with you, too."
"Uu... ah... I do have some things to do, but..."
"... ?" Unabara involuntarily frowned and said, "Is it somewhere that's inconvenient for me to go?"
"Ah, that's right, that's right!" Mikoto clapped and said, "I... I'm (uh... ) right, right, going to the lingerie section of the department store now; boys would be uncomfortable there, right?"
"Don't worry, I wouldn't mind."
Without the slightest hesitation, Unabara unthinkingly answered with a dazzling smile.
(The excuse got broken so easily?!) the Mikoto in her heart cried out in anguish.
(Uu, uu, what to do, what to do? Ah, right, I'll just pretend I already have a date with some other guy! In that case, no matter what he says, he can't really stick to me like this. Even though it's old-fashioned, fine, I'll just grab a guy, say something like "Sorry, did you wait long?", and improvise something to fake it through. Even though it'll give that unlucky guy some trouble, I'll treat him to a canned drink later, and that'll do!)
Mikoto looked around, trying to find a guy to play along with her act. However, today just had to be August 31st. In Academy City where 80% of the residents were students, today was a day to stay at home and rush to complete the rest of the remaining summer homework.
In other words, there wasn't anyone in sight.
(Uwah... Is there no hope left?) the Mikoto in her heart once again cried out in anguish. At that instant, almost like a gift from the heavens, three boys walked out from a corner and towards them.
Part 2
August 31, 8:25 AM.
Tsuchimikado Motoharu, Aogami Pierce.
The two that had met up this morning seemed to be classmates of Kamijou Touma; the key word being "seem", because Kamijou had lost his memories, and had no recollection of going to class.
For the Kamijou now, he shouldn't have had the time to wander around on the streets. Before today, August 31st, his summer homework had been a complete blank. The him right now could be said to be in a state in which every second was of the utmost importance.
Kamijou, in the depths of homework hell, had reasoned that it would be a long-term battle that would last to tomorrow morning, so he had gone to the corner store buy some canned coffee. But today, the brand he normally bought had just gotten sold out, with not a single can left. Just when Kamijou had been thinking about which bastard had taken all the stickers that could be traded in for free stuff for himself, he got caught by Aogami and Tsuchimikado. The two classmates who had already finished all their homework wanted to play hard on the last day of summer vacation and make some good memories.
"Aaaaaaaaah! Today's already the last day of summer vacation, Kami-yan! Sigh, and this year, there's been no encounters with any girls that fell from the sky, no finding of a catgirl in a cardboard box on a rainy day, nor even a meeting with a beautiful fiancée behind our doors that we never knew was engaged to us. It's been an incredibly normal summer vacation, the kind that novels describe with only one line: 'That high school student had a summer vacation. '"
Aogami Pierce, being a pessimist, said that in a fake Kansai accent.
"Ah, I so want to be in love! Even though we're in a co-ed school, I still want the new semester to be like one of those enviable love comedies where senpai, kouhai, teacher, students, class rep, childhood friends, and dorm manager are all girls who have no experience with boys!"
Being an optimist, Tsuchimikado Motoharu said that in a peculiar tone.
Facing the two and their completely unrealistic views, Kamijou held his head with his hands, and cried out in anguish.
"Oi, oi, you two, don't tell me you guys knew that I, Kamijou Touma, am putting my life on the line rushing to do my summer homework, and came to disturb me because of that? Please don't disturb me today! If you guys are my friends, then help me with my summer homework!"
"Isn't this good, Kami-yan? If you don't finish your homework, then you can get Komoe-sensei's special personal tutoring. Ah, then why did I finish my summer homework? Of course it's to get praised by Komoe-sensei. No, no, I've followed Kami-yan's example, and have an ulterior motive, too!"
"Even if we help Kami-yan, it's not like it'll get me into a love comedy, right? If the math problems can make a mysterious beauty fall from the sky, I'll definitely help!"
Facing the two classmates who obviously viewed someone else's misfortune as a joke, Kamijou involuntarily revealed a dark smile.
"You two, you have no right to call yourselves friends! What's this 'beauty that falls from the sky'? Do the girls you like all belong to an aviators' group or something!?"
Hearing Kamijou so loudly objecting, Tsuchimikado said, as if muttering to himself, "No, no, no, in this day and age, girls who fall from the sky end up on verandas, you know."
Kamijou didn't understand his reply though, since he had lost his memories.
Aogami Pierce on the other side even started to state loudly, "Ha, you're too naïve, Kami-yan. I have a wide range of acceptance when it comes to women: not just heroines that fall from the sky, but also step sisters both younger and older, step mothers, step daughters, twins, widows, upperclassmen, underclassmen, classmates, female teachers, childhood friends, rich girls, blonde hair, black hair, brown hair, silver hair, long hair, semi-long hair, short hair, bobs, drill hair, straight hair, pigtails, ponytails, braided hair, wavy hair, messy hair, ahoges, sailor uniforms, blazer uniforms, PE uniforms, judo uniforms, archery uniforms, kindergarten teachers, nurses, maids, policewomen, shrine maidens, nuns, military officers, secretaries, lolis, shotas, tsunderes, cheerleaders, stewardesses, waitresses, white gothic, black gothic, china dresses, weak albinos, crazy day dreamers, girls with multiple personalities, dominatrices, princesses, kneesocks, garterbelts, crossdressing beauties, glasses, eyepatches, bandages, school swimsuits, one piece swimsuits, bikini swimsuits, slingshot swimsuits, ridiculous swimsuits, non-human girls, ghosts, animal ears, etc. - any female is within my area of acceptance."
"At least one of them isn't a female, right?"
Kamijou said with his last ounce of strength; he couldn't take much more of this.
Then, Tsuchimikado, with a peculiar smile on his face, asked, "Then again, what kind of girls does Kami-yan like?"
"... Dorm manager oneesans[3]- even temporary ones will do."
"We're in a boys' dorm; even the manager's an old geezer, you know?!"
"Shut up! Even I know that's impossible in reality! I'm an only child, so of course I'd admire oneesan-type girls! Get off my case, you two!"
"Hm, so you like manager 'oneesans', huh? Does that mean you have no feelings for imouto[4]-type girls, then? Seriously, basic characters like imouto-types are the best ones."
Tsuchimikado, who had an actual younger stepsister, nodded enthusiastically. At that point, both Kamijou and Aogami Pierce looked at him with pity.
Kamijou, as the representative for his friends, stated, "I say, as your friend, for the stepsibling relationship between the two of you to last, there's something you need to know."
"Wh... What?"
"Your younger stepsister is someone that calls anyone she meets 'Oniichan'[5]."
"WHAT did you say?!" Tsuchimikado raged, and lifted both hands up high.
"Im... impossible! My younger sister, no matter the time, place, or reason, would never call any man other than me 'Oniichan'!"
"Really? The day before yesterday, in front of the station at the underground department store, I treated her to a meal at a restaurant there, and she said to me 'Thank you, Oniichan'."
"Yesterday, I met her on that street back there, and she said to me 'Good afternoon, Oniichan', too."
Along with the sound of something being snapped, Tsuchimikado's mouth made a sound as if something was being bitten apart.
"I'll kill you both! How dare you try to get your hands on my younger sister!"
Like that, the fiery fist of an older brother struck at Kamijou and Aogami Pierce.
Part 3
August 31, 8:35 AM.
In the ten whole minutes between her first seeing the three and now, Misaka Mikoto had been frozen solid. In that time, the three of them had continued to play out a crazy brawl worthy of something from the last fifteen minutes of a Hollywood movie. Unabara at times would carefully wave his hands in front of Mikoto's eyes while saying "Hellooo?". But Mikoto didn't notice, her lips were stuck on saying the "S" of "Sorry, did you wait long?", gaping at the chaos between the three of them.
(Wait, wait, wait! Are those the only people that can act as a couple with me? Would Unabara really believe that one of them could be my boyfriend... ? Uwaa, they're actually talking about real-life younger stepsister issues!)
Mikoto finally unfroze, and held her head in despair. At her side, Unabara asked "Are you alright?", and Mikoto quickly turned around and squeezed out a smile before starting to look around again. No, apart from those three, there wasn't anyone else in sight. And even those three in their fighting were gradually moving away from where Mikoto was. If she didn't ditch Unabara now, she'd be stuck with him for the whole day.
There was no other choice. Even though they were still fighting a red-hot battle which didn't look like they were just playing or messing around, Mikoto still decided to choose one of those three.
So, who to choose?
(The first one, with blue hair and piercings... No way! This guy spouts jargon that even someone that reads a lot of manga like me can't understand, and seems to use two-dimensional logic on three-dimensional girls!)
Mikoto shook her head wildly.
(Then the second one, with blonde hair and sunglasses... Not this guy either! From what they just said, this guy's a dangerous character that has issues with a real-life younger stepsister!)
Mikoto shook her head even more, to the point where she was starting to get dizzy.
(Then the third one... eh? Is this guy... N-no way! Definitely not this guy! Ah, but... if I don't choose him, then I'd have to choose the blue-haired one or the guy in sunglasses... Uu... This... Uwaaaaaaaaaa!)
"Ah, wait up! Where are you going, Misaka-san?"
From behind came Unabara's voice, but there was no time for him now. Distance from the target was about twenty meters. The boy was focused on the final battle and had yet to notice the incoming attack.
Part 4
August 31, 8:40 AM.
"Sorry, did you wait long?"
A girl's voice from behind made Kamijou and the other two stop their battle right before the climax, with their faces showing impatience from the interruption. Of course none of them had promised to meet up with a girl, so they were all bitterly thinking, (Oh, is there a pretty boy idol around here or something? Either way, it has nothing to do with us, bastard!)
But after thinking about it, today was August 31st, and there was nobody else around here...
"?"
Just as Kamijou tilted his head in uncertainty...
"I asked you if you waited long; did you not hear me!?"
Kamijou's back, around the level of his waist, was slammed by a girl charging at full speed. After a loud boom, Kamijou and the girl both went rolling along the footpath.
"D-dammit, who the hell did this to me... eh? Why does it have to be you, Misaka?"
"... (What do you mean by why does it have to be me!? Ah... no, anyway, please play along!)"
Mikoto's whisper made Kamijou's eyes spread wide open, and he said something like "Ah?". On the other hand, Aogami Pierce and Tsuchimikado's reply was...
"What? K-Kami-yan got hugged by a Tokiwadai student! After a miko, a nun, and Komoe-sensei, there's another new Kamijou legend!?"
"... Kami-yan, just how many hidden female characters do you have in your route?"[6]
The two's comments made Mikoto shake in anger. But she didn't reply; her actions were completely different from her usual demeanour. As a Level 5 Electromaster, she normally would send off many bolts of electricity when she got mad, regardless of where she was.
"Ah, uh... Misaka-sama, what's going on?"
"... (Shh! Don't talk... Oh, dammit! The distance is too far, so he didn't hear the talking over here. So these three weren't actually that loud? Fine... )"
Mikoto stared off somewhere, and softly clenched her fists. A puzzled Kamijou followed her line of sight. Standing further down the footpath and looking slightly lonely was a cool-type boy. He didn't know how to react to Mikoto's sudden and mysterious act, and had frozen.
"Get off already!" said Kamijou; he looked impatient on the outside, but his heart was pounding furiously.
After a deep breath, Mikoto yelled, "Ahaha! Sorry I'm late! Did you wait long? To pay you back, I'll treat you to something, so please forgive me!"
"... Wha?"
Mikoto was speaking loudly. Kamijou, was speechless. For Tsuchimikado and Aogami Pierce, time stopped. And the cool-type boy embarrassingly shifted his gaze away.
Suddenly, *Bang*, all the windows of the Tokiwadai Girls' Middle School Dorm opened simultaneously.
"Ah..."
Mikoto's smile froze. The students standing next to the windows were whispering excitedly to each other. The girl with twin ponytails, Shirai Kuroko, was in a state of shock, her mouth opening and closing but with nothing coming out. After a while, a mature woman's silhouette showed up in one of the windows—apparently the dorm's highest manager.
The mature woman seemed to be saying something, though her voice was too quiet and far away for Kamijou and Mikoto to hear her. But the two could imagine what the frightful statement was:
"Interesting, you dare to rendezvous in front of the dorm with a boy. That's some courage, Misaka."
"Ah... ahaha!" Mikoto's face was scarily contorted."Ahahahaha! Uhuhuhuhu!"
Mikoto let out a strangled laughter, grabbed Kamijou's hand, and left the scene at a speed that was literally equal to that of flight. Kamijou, who had no idea what was going on, was dragged further and further away.
Part 5
August 31, 9:45 AM.
Just like that, Kamijou and Mikoto had run through the streets for an hour.
"Wait a sec! Isn't this setting a bit strange!? Why did we have to run nonstop for an hour?"
"Shut up! Be quiet! Give me some time to think this through!"
Mikoto cried out as she shook her head vigorously.
Kamijou looked around. They were apparently on a side road, tall buildings all around them, with another smaller building seeming to be another student dorm.
Mikoto took several deep breaths before finally calming down.
"Whoo... Sorry, I kind of lost control back there. Let's find some place to sit, and I'll tell you the current situation."
"Ah? What current situation? Hey, did you just drag me into something troublesome again?"
"Ah, it's almost 10; the stores are about to open now, right? Though we just had breakfast, how about we go for a hotdog?"
"Wait, wait! Don't just ignore my question! Did you drag me into something troublesome again? I haven't finished my summer homework yet! Not to mention you gave me so much trouble; do you think you can buy me off with one hotdog?"
"Hmm?" Mikoto put her index finger to her chin and said, "Then that'll do."
"What?"
"We'll go for the most expensive hotdog in the world; that way, you won't have any objections, right?"
"Uh, that wasn't the point... Ahh, you're not even listening to me!"
Kamijou didn't even have time to complain before being dragged off by Mikoto.
Part 6
August 31, 10:15 AM.
One for ¥2000.
After seeing the price, Kamijou was speechless. Standing in a converted caravan, the vendor smiled half-heartedly after seeing the look on Kamijou's face; he probably saw that look on his customers' faces a lot.
"Two thousand yen... Just what do they put in it that makes it this expensive?"
"If they told you, could they keep the business going? Ah, two hotdogs, please, " said Mikoto.
While ordering the food, Kamijou looked at the movements of the vendor. The bread and the ingredients didn't differ much from normal ones, and he couldn't see anything especially strange added in. To be brutally honest, if the hotdogs here were to be compared to another vendor's, there probably wouldn't be any difference. The slightly small hotdog couldn't even be called a proper meal—at most, it was a small snack.
(Something like this can actually cost two thousand yen?) Kamijou thought while feeling fatigued, not knowing what to say.
Mikoto took the two hotdogs, and paid for the both of them.
"Ah, hey... The money..."
"Don't be so shocked, alright? Even hotdogs have difference in quality. Some vendors in Los Angeles actually have movie stars go to them in limos. Why are you scared half to death by the difference in price?"
"That's not what I mean. I'll pay for my own share."
"Ah? Don't mind the small change; besides, taking out your wallet can be troublesome, right?"
Mikoto said that lightly, so the short-in-cash student Kamijou could only laugh hollowly. Apparently, Misaka Mikoto, who attended Tokiwadai Middle School, was an authentic ojousama after all.
The hotdog seller, when choosing where to set up shop, probably had considered "places to eat" as there were benches nearby. The trees near the footpath stood against the sunlight like shields and the shade looked cool enough... but in reality, it was still hot; the heat wave of the Kanto district should not be looked down upon. Faint sounds of construction could be heard from afar.
"Here, take it."
Kamijou took the hotdog out of Mikoto's hand, carefully observed it, and then took a bite. Though he was somewhat unhappy about the situation, it was still fairly delicious. What made him even more unhappy, however, was that he couldn't really taste the difference between this one and one from any other store.
Mikoto bit into the hotdog, carefully making sure that the mustard didn't get on her nose, and started explaining the events to Kamijou. Unabara Mitsuki, that cool-type guy, had been sticking to her, and she had difficulty getting rid of him. She had been subjected to his invitations every single day for the past week, and to get rid of him, she needed someone to pretend to be her boyfriend—and the only choice available was Kamijou.
Kamijou looked around, and of course didn't see Unabara anywhere. After all, he couldn't be hiding behind trees twenty-four hours a day, spying...
"Though, now that we've lost that Unabara, there should be no need to act now, right? Even if we act in a place where he can't see us, it'd be meaningless."
With Kamijou's summer homework piled sky-high, he really didn't have time to get into other people's problems today.
"Hmm... though we've only lost him temporarily for now, I'd definitely be stuck with him next time, so I better use this chance to make sure he'll never come bothering me again."
"... Oi."
"So if I be with you for the whole day today, let as many people see us as possible—even better if Unabara sees us a few times—just so the impression would be more reinforced. If we can make Unabara stay away from me, then it'll be all good... What, why are you holding your head like that?"
"Nothing." Kamijou held his head, and sighed.
In other words, Mikoto was asking Kamijou to pretend to be her boyfriend for the day. Kamijou was very worried though, since if the plan succeeded, he would become "a total bastard that goes after middle school students." Though, since Kamijou was living together with Index at this point, he really didn't have to put up a self-righteous façade like that—but at least he didn't know how old Index was. Even a female teacher could look only twelve; a woman's age was unfathomable.
And most importantly, he still had his summer homework to do. Due to those various reasons, Kamijou really wanted to refuse to help Mikoto, but he noticed that Mikoto's eyes were starting to show some impatience, and that somewhat alarmed Kamijou. If she really got annoyed over that, he wouldn't only not have time to do his homework, but would also be forced into a 24-hour Ironman endurance battle (though for some reason, Kamijou was only worried about the fight dragging on and not the possibility that he would lose).
Seeing Kamijou keeping silent, Mikoto felt discontented, and said, "Oi, if you have any questions or thoughts, then say them already."
"Thoughts, huh... ? Do you want to rub the mustard off your nose first?"
"What?!" Mikoto blushed bright-red. She wrapped up the hotdog with a paper towel, put it on the bench, turned away from Kamijou, and took out her handkerchief, hastily trying to rub the mustard off the tip of her nose.
"Uu~~?!"
Then Mikoto held her nose, and kicked her legs furiously. Apparently, she had rubbed too quickly and accidentally got mustard inside.
"Ah... are you alright?"
Kamijou imitated Mikoto, wrapping up his hotdog in the same way and putting it down on the bench, before using his now-free hands to search his pockets, looking for tissues or handkerchiefs.
At that point, Mikoto strained a smile, and said, "I'm... I'm alright. Actually, nothing happened."
It looked like she wanted to hide at all costs the fact that she made a mess of herself with the mustard. Mikoto turned back to Kamijou, trying to fake as if nothing were out of the ordinary, but the mustard was still apparently affecting her nose. She was not only blushing, but her lips were also tightly pressed, as if she were suppressing the urge to let tears flow. Even her eyebrows were quivering.
"Get... get on with it already, any questions or thoughts?"
"Eh, are you really alright? Then again, this is so like you, crying over something this small. You actually cry a lot, don't you... ?"
"Shut up! I said nothing happened, so nothing happened! Oi, don't put up a resigned face and approach me with that tissue!"
Mikoto shot vicious look at Kamijou, so he hurriedly retrieved his hands.
(Fine, if she wants me to forget this, I'll just pretend this never happened. )
"Eh?"
Kamijou involuntarily let out a slight sound.
In the small space between Kamijou and Mikoto were two tidily wrapped hotdogs. Needless to say, they were their hotdogs, but which one belonging to who couldn't be distinguished.
Mikoto also noticed.
"Eh... Do you remember which one was yours?"
"I forgot; it's probably the one on the right."
Kamijou went for one without much thought. However, Mikoto grabbed Kamijou's wrist with surprising speed.
Kamijou stopped and looked over at Mikoto.
"Wait... wait a minute, let me check."
"What?"
Mikoto grabbed the one in Kamijou's hand and compared the two of them. She peeled the paper towel away and looked carefully at the bitten parts.
To Kamijou's eyes, there wasn't much difference between the two. Both hotdogs were half-eaten, so there was no difference in size. The ingredients for both were the same too.
Then again, it was the exact same hotdog; Kamijou didn't understand why it should matter which one was which.
"Did you figure it out?"
"..."
"Did you figure it out?"
"..."
"Did you—"
"Ahh, I don't know! Fine, as you said, you take the right and I'll take the left! Seriously, you should at least care about this a little, idiot!"
Kamijou took the hotdog from a babbling Mikoto, tilting his head in puzzlement.
"Sigh, I don't know what you are so uptight about; didn't we order the same thing?"
He then bit into the hotdog as if nothing was wrong. Of course, there wasn't any change in the taste either.
Mikoto, who until a moment ago was still making a fuss, suddenly became quiet. For some reason, even her movements froze up.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, " Mikoto answered.
Then after staring at her hotdog for a while, she finally nibbled into it like a small animal. Her face seemed to blush slightly.
"... Back to the original topic, I need your help to 'act' with me to fool Unabara. Do you have any questions or thoughts?"
"I say, just what is wrong with you? You suddenly became so timid, does that means getting mustard on the nose actually has this kind of power?"
"Shut up! It wasn't because of that reason... Wait, just what am I saying!? Anyway, say any question or thoughts you have already!"
Mikoto, with a red face, leaned over and shouted, their faces almost touching. Kamijou hurriedly leaned backwards.
"Uwaa! Uh... Uh... my thoughts are 'are you kidding me!?', and my question is 'just what do we have to do to act like a couple?'"
"Eh? What do you mean doing what... ?"
"What I mean is, what do we have to do so that we appear as a couple to everyone?"
"..."
"..."
Neither Mikoto and Kamijou had any idea what to do next.
It wasn't just by doing an activity that two people became a couple. A true couple, no matter what they were doing, would always appear as a true couple; the inexperienced duo here had no idea how to portray that.
Part 7
August 31, 10:45 AM.
In the end, Kamijou and Mikoto decided to sit there and chat.
However, most students were focused on finishing their summer homework, so the place was empty of people. The only one that could see the two of them talking was probably the hotdog vendor. The "let as many people see us as possible" part of the plan was failing miserably from what Kamijou could see.
"So yeah, after the experiment, there's less than ten Sisters left in Academy City; the rest of them got sent off to 'outside' facilities to adjust their bodies."
"What? Sent to outside facilities, is that alright? If the people outside examine the Sisters, wouldn't the contents of the psychic powers development program be leaked out?"
"Some of the other companies and research facilities outside are also on the side of Academy City. Academy City can't survive by itself; things such as allocating resources, obtaining various information, dealing with legal issues... there are plenty of links that aren't seen on the surface."
"Oh, so I guess that means they should be doing alright. That's good, that's good."
At this point, Mikoto went silent for a moment, as if displeased with something, with a somewhat unhappy look on her face. Kamijou didn't know the reason for that, but he followed suit and also fell silent.
"Wait, this doesn't seem like what couples talk about, right?"
"Hmm, you're right. Research facilities, Academy City's influences, body adjustments, the things we're talking about are pretty weird."
"... (I meant we shouldn't be talking about other girls. )"
"What?"
Kamijou didn't quite hear her, but Mikoto only replied with a "Nothing".
Mikoto snuck a glance at Kamijou, only to see Kamijou take out a pile of folded paper from his pockets with a bored look on his face. On closer inspection, it seemed to be a paper on old Japanese. Kamijou then took out an automatic pencil and started doing the questions.
"... Oi, do you understand the situation right now? How do we look like a couple right now? Just studying and leaving the girl at the side, do you think this is male-dominant medieval Europe or something?"
"Sigh, alright, alright, the Irewa Mikoto's so moe~"[7]
"So by Irewa, you mean you never took me as a human?!"
"Uwaa! Alright, treat this as a study session between couples, then! Honestly speaking, I haven't even finished one section of my summer homework, this next 24-hour period is like a homework hell for me!"
"What's summer homework?"
"... Eh, Misaka Mikoto ojou-sama, you don't know what summer homework is?"
"Ah... come to think of it, I think I've heard of it before; it's something for students so that they won't slack off during the holidays and end up doing worse in their studies, right? Though even without these things, people shouldn't slack off or get worse in their studies, right?"
Kamijou was speechless. Tokiwadai Middle School actually didn't have a thing like summer homework?
"Uu, that's not fair, why does Tokiwadai have such freedom?"
"How should I know?" Mikoto shrugged off all responsibility with that one sentence.
"What kind of stuff do you get for summer homework?"
"Eh? You can have a look if you want, but these are questions for a high school student; a middle school student like you won't understand it."
"Just let me see already!"
Kamijou offhandedly looked to the side at Mikoto before hurriedly leaning back from her. Mikoto, who had leaned over to try and see his homework, was almost touching him cheek-to-cheek.
"Oh, is this for old Japanese? Though it looks like it's only simple revision."
Mikoto didn't seem to realise this. She then took the pencil from Kamijou and started writing down the answers, almost completely leaning on Kamijou while doing so. Kamijou could smell a slight faint scent of shampoo from her.
(Uwaa... Not... Not good! I don't know why, but this isn't good!)
No matter which part of his body he moved, he'd end up in contact with Mikoto's body. Kamijou stiffened up to the point where he couldn't move. After a while, he finally noticed something.
"... Eh? How come you know how to do this?"
"How come you don't?"
Mikoto answered as if it was only natural, without any negative overtones in her comment. Kamijou had a sudden urge to run away from her.
Mikoto put her hands on Kamijou's shoulders, smiled gently and said, "Don't worry, everyone has something they're not good at. Ah, right, I'll finish these questions for you in return for dragging you into this."
"As a high school student, I'm getting tutored by a middle school student..."
"Ah... ahaha, uwa, you're looking really sad about it. Do you want a drink to change the pace? I'll go get some, and after that, we can keep going with the homework."
"Ah? If we're going to buy some drinks, shouldn't I be the one that goes? Let me go walk around a bit to change the pace—not to mention I still owe you two thousand yen."
"If I said I'll go, then I'll go; if these small matters get refused, it gets kind of awkward, right?"
Mikoto smiled half-heartedly while getting up from the bench, and ran off, leaving Kamijou alone. It didn't look like there were vending machines nearby, so maybe she was going to the nearest general store or something.
(We're basically just eating and drinking constantly, huh... ?)
Kamijou looked in the direction Mikoto had ran off to before lowering his head and staring at the old Japanese homework again. To be honest, in Kamijou's eyes, the Japanese on the paper looked no different from English.
"... Sigh..."
Kamijou shook his head tiredly, and moved his gaze away from the paper.
All of a sudden, a small dog ran past Kamijou, and on its collar was a leash. Apparently, it had just ran away from its owner.
Kamijou was slightly surprised, looking at the escaping dog. At this point, a cool-type boy ran across Kamijou's view and went chasing after the dog. Kamijou still remembered that face; that person was Unabara Mitsuki. Not long after, he caught up with the dog, and held onto the leash.
A few moments later, a boy who looked to be still in primary school caught up to Unabara. Apparently, this boy was the dog's owner. Unabara handed the leash over to the boy, and also said a few things to him. This sight was almost like the cliché where one returned a balloon that was stuck in a tree to a child.
(That was so cool, so elegant. So these people actually exist. In terms of rarity, it should be as rare as a girl that runs away from home and ends up sitting on the swings at a park while crying. )
Kamijou thought, half-amazed and half-impressed. Truth be told, he was also one of those extremely rare people, the kind who saved girls being harassed from delinquents.
Kamijou and Unabara's eyes met.
Unabara apparently remembered Kamijou's face, too. After showing a slight amount of surprise, he smiled something that appeared similar to a grimace.
"Hello, may I ask what your name is?"
"Ah? I'm Kamijou Touma. You're Unabara Mitsuki right?"
"Eh? I am Unabara Mitsuki, indeed, but how did you know my name?"
Unabara showed an astonished look. He didn't know that Kamijou had already heard about him from Mikoto. Truth be told, Kamijou, who was busy with his homework, had been dragged into this mess because of him.
"Does Unabara Mitsuki have any business with me, Kamijou Touma?"
"Ah, no, there isn't really anything urgent." Unabara seemed a bit unbalanced, and said, "Uh, if you don't mind, can you tell me what your relationship with Misaka-san is?"
"Does it bother you?"
"... Yes; when a guy appears next to a girl I like, it obviously bothers me."
"Ooh..." Kamijou had a better opinion of Unabara after that.
That man was indeed really likable. Surprisingly, he was someone who spoke his mind. Kamijou respected that kind of person.
(Hmm... )
Kamijou thought a bit more, as he only just got asked by Mikoto to act out a scenario to make Unabara completely give up.
"What kind of answer do you want to hear: the answer that's expected or the answer that's unexpected?"
"No answer you give would change what I have decided, " Unabara said without any hesitation.
From this, Unabara's resolve could be seen. He planned to increase his own worth in Misaka's eyes to gain the advantage rather than defeat his opponent. Maybe this perspective held some amount of stubbornness and recklessness, but Unabara amazingly did not give off the negative feelings normally associated with that kind of act; maybe this was because he didn't act hostilely to Kamijou or hold resentment towards Mikoto.
Part 8
August 31, 11:02 AM.
After chatting with each other for a bit, Kamijou discovered that Unabara Mitsuki's personality wasn't that bad.
Kamijou had originally thought he was just another rich guy since he was the grandson of the director of Tokiwadai Middle School, so he must be one of those unlikable upper-class people- though Kamijou turned out to be mistaken on that.
"So I feel Misaka-san should be clearer when saying whether she likes or dislikes someone. Ah, the answer to that question is (3)."
"It's (3)... (3)... Is it? But I feel she's fairly direct when it comes to her feelings. Once, I forgot her name before, and I got attacked by her thunderbolts because of that."
"I think for her being 'direct' here, it probably involved a certain amount of shyness and acting. To be honest, I don't think I ever heard what she truly thinks, not even once. Ah, the answer to that question should be (4); (2) is probably a trap."
"Thanks. Hmm, after you said that, it seems to be the case."
"Yeah, it's like that. She doesn't say what she thinks clearly, so someone like me is forced to go chasing after her continuously. I'm being direct, so why can't she be direct as well and give me a clear-cut answer? Ah, that question's (1)."
"Ah, it's not (4)? Though you sure are brave. What you're doing right now is like getting a pistol while not knowing how many bullets are in it and playing Russian roulette with it. Even though there are only two outcomes, it's not like the chances are exactly 50% each way."
"I understand. I'm afraid that if I hear refusal from her mouth, I myself wouldn't know how sad I would be. But..."
"But?"
"... I still can't. I can't do something that I know would make her cry, and still forcibly take possession of her. If I can't let her obtain happiness, then there would be no point."
Kamijou suddenly wanted to root for him in his endeavour, but unfortunately, he already knew the outcome.
(Ahh, youth. )
Kamijou sighed. To be blunt, Kamijou couldn't help at all when it comes to a thing like this. And after hearing the words from the bottom of Unabara's heart, Kamijou didn't know whether he should still put on the act to try and fool him.
Suddenly, from the side came the sounds of footsteps.
Kamijou turned and looked. Mikoto, who was holding two plastic bottled drinks, was standing right in front of him, staring with a shocked expression.
"Hmm? What's wrong with you... ?"
Before Kamijou finished asking, Mikoto strode out towards him, gesturing for him to stand up with her chin, as if to drag him away from Unabara.
"Come with me for a moment!"
"Ah... Oi!"
Kamijou looked over at Unabara. Unabara seemed to be hurt from Mikoto's actions, but he still maintained his smile. His expression became forced, though.
Mikoto looked at Unabara and said, "Sorry, I have some business with this guy today."
"Ah, is that so?"
"Yeah, sorry. Goodbye."
Mikoto said that with a smile. To Kamijou who understood her to some extent, Mikoto's actions were unnatural to say the least. Unabara also seemed to notice, and didn't try to argue with her. Then, Mikoto turned and walked away.
Kamijou was troubled as to which side he should stay with, not knowing who to choose. Unabara smiled and said, "Please stay with her."
Part 9
August 31, 11:20 AM.
After wordlessly walking for a while and ending up at a deserted side street, Mikoto finally stopped. Kamijou almost walked into her at her sudden stop.
She turned forcibly and, with an expression filled with amazement and anger, said, "What the hell is wrong with you? Don't you know the reason why you have to act along? If you and Unabara became friends, wouldn't it all have been meaningless?"
"..."
"Listen, right now, you're now my... my... 'lover'! All this is for Unabara Mitsuki to no longer come harassing me! Could you please not forget this basic goal?"
"..."
"What, why aren't you saying anything?"
"I can't, " Kamijou honestly said."Because that guy's serious. He already knows that doing so would only get him hurt in the end, yet he still honestly came out and stated his feelings for you. And he already decided that even if he's hurt because of it, he won't end up resenting you. I can't trick someone like him, nor do I want to."
"What... ?"
Mikoto seemed surprised, looking stunned at Kamijou.
Kamijou didn't realize Mikoto was slightly trembling.
"On the other hand, I want to ask you: what don't you like about Unabara Mitsuki? Does he have some sort of serious flaw? Of course, if you don't like him, it's not right to force you to go out with him, either, though I do want to know the reason behind this."
"..."
Mikoto stared at Kamijou, as if she wanted to say something. But her lips were tightly pressed; not a word was able to be emitted from them—even her breathing seemed to stop.
Kamijou and Mikoto prolonged the silence.
After some time, Mikoto finally said, "You..."
"?"
"... Mm, nothing."
Mid-sentence, Mikoto seemed to change her mind and didn't continue. She put up a smile that said there was nothing wrong, but her eyes showed a bit of loneliness—at least that was the feeling Kamijou got.
Part 10
August 31, 11:45 AM.
In the side street, there were only Mikoto and the boy.
From the words that had come out of the boy's mouth, even from what was seen on the surface, what the impact of those words do to Mikoto was clear. She didn't know what "that feeling" that pulsed through her heart was. But, she subconsciously felt that "that feeling" shouldn't be shown—no, it could even be said that there was a force inside her that absolutely could not let "that feeling" out.
On the other hand, this also meant "that feeling" was so powerful that if she was not careful, it would erupt from inside her. Mikoto was trying with all her might to suppress "that feeling", which was running around inside her like steam in a kettle.
It was unbelievable.
Even though she knew "that feeling" shouldn't be shown, suppressing it was making Mikoto feel painful beyond her belief. Did that mean that deep down, Mikoto wanted to let out "that feeling"? No, that was not it either. Just thinking about the aftermath of letting "that feeling" out made her blush bright red.
In such complicated confusion, Mikoto didn't even know what "that feeling" was.
Mikoto herself didn't know what was going on, and could only suppress all thoughts before they left her mouth.
Mikoto now dimly realized something.
Mikoto had always thought she was someone special. She believed that her distance with this boy was closer than that of anyone else around him. If the boy had had a list with the names of a thousand people and, while he was browsing through it, came across the name "Misaka", he should have been slightly interested in that instant and looked at that name a bit longer.
However, in reality, that was not the case.
It was such a small realization, but it gave Mikoto's heart a large shock. Why something this small hurt her so much, Mikoto didn't know—nor did she have a way to solve it. If possible, she really wanted to run away. Mikoto wanted to run away from this inexplicable pain so much.
But Mikoto couldn't do that.
She didn't know why, but she couldn't turn her back on him; she couldn't leave the boy and not come back.
That would be very painful.
Compared to the pain now, it would be a lot more painful.
(... Ahh, I'm such an idiot. )
Mikoto sighed in her heart.
The boy seemed to not notice the internal struggle of Mikoto, only asking with a puzzled voice, "What are you smiling about?"
Part 11
August 31, 12:00 PM.
Kamijou and Mikoto walked to the main road, discussing what to do next about Unabara.
"Alright, what do you plan to do now? Do you want to continue the act? Or do you want to give it up?"
"... Sigh, what do you think we should do?"
"I'm planning to withdraw from the act. There's really no point in continuing. And anyway, Unabara's not the kind of person you think he is, right? Even if he's rejected, he wouldn't be angry at you."
"Maybe so, but recently he changed; it's like he's a different person... Anyway, why are you helping him? What happened?"
"Nothing much, just asked him for some help on my homework."
Mikoto frowned, so Kamijou passed the old Japanese homework over for her to have a look. After Unabara's help, most of them were correctly answered.
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