A/N: For all intents and purposes, please just accept the setting and situation for what they are: an exaggeration. If you find any errors or inconsistencies, it can be explained with the phrase 'it's all a dream'. In any case, don't look too much into it.
Chapter One: The Introduction Chapter
Stage Select
In Academy City, there exists a certain arcade cabinet...
Once every minute or so, the initials of those who have claimed the highest scores can be seen scrolling up its screen.
The order as they fly up the display:
1. ACC
2. DKM
3. RGN
4. MLD
5. MTO
6. XXX
7. ATK
The identities of these people remain a mystery to the public, but ultimately they have been dubbed as 'The Legendary Seven'.
This story follows the person who holds the number three spot.
RGN
Overlooking a certain all-girl school...
The sun was bright. The skies: overcast. It seemed like light was returning after a late-afternoon shower.
On these dampened streets, two girls wearing Tokiwadai uniforms were looking up.
"Looks like the rain stopped. I guess sharing an umbrella won't be necessary."
"AAAAAAAGGGGHHHHH!"
The second girl smashed her head against a nearby wall. Immediately recovering, she made a proposition.
"O-Onee-sama! L-Let's not be too hasty! It might start up again so we should-!"
"If that happens, you can just teleport us out. In fact, why didn't we do that in the first place...?"
Blood dripped down from younger girl's forehead.
"..."
Blood continued to pour across her frozen expression.
"Y-Yeah... But that's... abusing our abilities..."
"...You don't look too good."
Beloved Tomboyish Girl
Misaka Mikoto was walking away from school by herself.
I was a bit worried when Kuroko said she wanted to walk me home... But it looks like things turned out for the best...
Images of the other girl having her self-inflicted wounds treated by the school nurse hovered over her head.
…
And after a moment...
A dark grin appeared on her face.
"...heh."
The people around her started to take notice.
Without her watching over my shoulder, I'll be free to read manga and play games all I want!
And a powerfully useless aura radiated from the girl!
( "What's with her...?" )
( "Shh! Don't look...!" )
Catcher In The Sky
Arriving at an arcade, Misaka Mikoto found two others who looked similar to herself already there. One was wearing an ao dai. The other was a small girl with blush stickers.
Vrrrrmmmm...
The two stared through the window of a UFO catcher and watched the claw drop onto a stuffed animal.
As soon as the claw picked itself up, the doll fell out of its grip.
"Tch. Misaka doesn't have any more cash on hand..."
The taller girl pouted, but the smaller girl was quick to come up with a solution.
"'Misaka Misaka thinks she's small enough to climb through the collection hatch,' says Misaka as Misaka takes her shoes off."
"Ohh! As expected from Onee-chan!"
As the smaller girl was going through headfirst, Misaka Mikoto started panicking.
What the hell are they doing...!
Makings of a Good Older Sister
"Stop that! The owners will get mad if they find you doing that!"
The two covered their ears as their older sister scolded them.
( WORST: Misaka doesn't want to hear that from someone who regularly vandalizes vending machines. )
( Mikoto: This and that have nothing to do with each other...! )
( Last Order: 'But it's the exact same thing...' says Misaka as Misaka starts getting confused )
"..."
After finishing her lecture, the girl let out a breath.
"Alright. Well, since I've got some free time, I guess 'Crane Crasher' Mikoto might be willing to lend a hand here."
Makings of a Useless Older Sister
The small girl with blush stickers held up a yellow chick plushie over her head.
"'Success!' says Misaka as Misaka jumps up and down with glee!"
"Hmm? Onee-tama is unexpectedly good at this."
The taller girl seemed slightly impressed.
( WORST: Misaka bets Onee-tama gets all the girls with this method. )
( Mikoto: Don't even joke about that... )
The girl said in reply:
"As someone who knows the ins and outs of every machine an arcade has to offer, it's no big deal. You might even say it's unfair."
She continued.
"Not to brag or anything, but I've actually built up quite the reputation around these parts."
"..."
Last Order and Misaka Worst both stared blankly.
"'It's not good to always spend time and money at arcades,' says Misaka as Misaka starts to worry."
...Geh!
Dark Stalkers
"What are you doing here anyway...! Starting trouble again…?-!"
Misaka Mikoto snapped to being defensive.
"Wah! So unfriendly!"
"I have no reason to be friendly with you...!"
"'What about Misaka Misaka?' asks Misaka as Misaka raises her hand."
"...Hah? Oh… we've met before, haven't we?"
...
"Misaka Misaka wants to..."
…
"Onee-tama's getting embarr..."
…
"Stop tha..."
…
Their conversation slid into the background as the point of view changed...
Another person was listening in on them...
A Challenger Appears
After seeing off the girl wearing the ao dai and the girl with blush stickers, Misaka Mikoto breathed a sigh of relief.
"They're gone… Finally..."
She then started pulling at her hair.
"But I'm still so damn frustrated...!"
And then a pleasant aura radiated..
"Well, it's a good thing that I'm at an arcade then. Time to let off some steam!"
Digging into her pockets, she reached for a coin to start playing...
However...
"...E-Excuse me?"
…
The girl turned around to face a stranger.
Hug
What stood before Misaka Mikoto was a small girl with a timid expression.
"Would you like to… Not that you have too… If you don't want to, you don't have to… But..."
Her clothes suggested that she was at a young age, at least elementary school level.
"Can I… Play with you?"
To combat the recent rain, she was wearing a pair of yellow rain boots and a bright green raincoat that reached down to her knees.
"E-Everyone else here looks a little scary... So I wanted to... "
There were also two bumps on her hood that somewhat resembled frog eyes.
"It's... okay if you don't want to..."
"..."
Kneeling down, Misaka Mikoto proceeded to embrace her. If she were a man, she would be escorted to the nearest police box.
Soapbox Moment
Misaka Mikoto took it upon herself to take care of the little raincoat girl.
"I know your situation well!"
She seemed to be getting worked up..
"Gamer girls are a rare breed, so of course you're not going to find many of them to hang out with...!"
"T-That's not what I-"
"Of course, when I say 'gamer girl', I don't mean those 'fake girls' on television that serve as eye candy to companies! Or any of those other types that only play casual games! No! That's not what a real 'gamer' is...!"
She continued.
"There's needs to be passion! There needs to be thirst! It's love and hate, ecstasy and rage, fun and frustration! A 'gamer' is someone who embraces all of these emotions just simply by holding a controller! It's not someone who feigns an interest in order to get noticed...! Honestly...! When those types of people are referred to as 'gamers', it just makes me sick...! It's ruining the purity of the word...!"
And went on...
"A gamer is someone who's experienced the horrors of passwords, knows the best way to clean a cartridge, knows how to pirate but chooses not to… unless the game deserves it! A gamer is open to all sorts of games and doesn't bash any genre, including eroge…! A gamer knows that the PC is the master race but doesn't let-"
The small girl looked like she was about to cry.
Only a Game
"Sorry, I got a bit carried away there!"
Misaka Mikoto nervously tried to laugh it off.
"So, uh... is there something in particular you wanted to play?"
"..."
The little raincoat girl pointed silently.
"That one, huh..."
After a moment, the older girl realized...
"But that one is..."
But she quickly brushed it off.
"Well... I suppose there's no harm..."
Misaka Mikoto walked ahead of the little raincoat girl.
"It's been a long time since I've played that one there, but I'm sure it'll come back to me."
…
Had she looked back, she would've noticed. The screens of every other arcade machine flickered with static.
"A Promise To Keep, No Matter What"
"Ah, man. The paint's pretty worn out. I'm surprised no one's tried renewing some of these parts yet."
Out of habit, Misaka Mikoto brushed her fingers over the panel. Next to her, the small girl propped a chair to stand on.
Once she was ready, the Number 3 bent over to put in a few tokens...
But before she could even do that...
…
A voice suddenly shouted.
[ CHOOSE YOUR CHARACTER! ]
Huh...? It's starting...? Whoa, lucky…!
The raincoat girl's lips curled.
"I found you."
Her expression changed.
"I found you, RGN."