Merry Christmas everyone! Thank all of you last week for giving me a special early Christmas present, by giving me my first ever day of 1000 hits! Let's keep up the success after you guys finish opening your presents, and catch up with the Railgun and the Vallière on their first day together. Read, review, and keep subscribed! Merry Christmas!

Also, I forgot to mention earlier, but I have a Forum that is linked on my profile. Please subscribe to keep appraised of later events, as I will be off for some weeks through January. Thank you!

- Ketchum Kid

Chapter 2: My Master is a Failure

Louise slowly came back to her senses. Her body felt like it had been hit by a boulder, and getting up from her sleeping location – which was the straw pile in her room – was very painful.

"O-Ow…" she groaned, using the wall to prop herself up. "W…Why am I in a straw pile…and why do I feel tingly all over…." She looked towards her bed. In the light of the early morning, someone appeared to be rolled up in the covers. When Louise realized this, she frowned.

"Don't tell me it's in there…" she muttered. The pinkette walked over to her bed, and forcibly took off the bed covers. Underneath, Misaka Mikoto was sleeping soundly, in a pair of Louise's night dresses. The brunette was a few inches taller than Louise, so the dress did not quite fit properly, leaving her stomach exposed to the air. When the covers were taken off, Misaka shuddered, and clutched a pillow she was sleeping with tightly.

"Nngh…" she groaned, trying to keep the warmth in. "Five more minutes, Kuroko…" The sight disgusted Louise.

"Five more minutes my foot!" she said angrily. The pinkette went over to her desk, and took out her wand. She pointed the wand at her bed. "Get up, you stupid Familiar!" Where there was a bed soon turned into a smoky mess, with a loudly coughing Misaka in the center of it.

"What's going on-KEH, COUGH!- a fire?" The smoke cleared, and Misaka turned to Louise. It took a second for the brunette's memory to jog back. "Oh right, you brought me here last night…wherever here is." Louise was irate at her new familiar.

"Get out of my bed, and get out of my clothes!" she ordered. "It is a disgrace for a familiar to be sleeping in those rights reserved to a member of nobility! And why was I sleeping in your bed anyway?"

"Ah, you kinda slipped as you were changing," Misaka said as she got out, trying to conceal the fact that she had accidentally electrocuted her last night. "You fell, and hit your head

"And yet you didn't go and place me in my bedvor anything like that?!" Louise asked, seemingly buying the story that Misaka had woven.

"Well, you looked fine sleeping in the straw," the Railgun said cheekily, "so I just left you there. I guess a bed good enough for a noble is good for a familiar, so both beds were equally ours. I could have woken you up if I tried to move you that distance, so I didn't bother." Louise was fuming. It was clear to her that, in the short time that her Familiar had been around her, she had somehow known how to push her buttons and annoy her.

"And I suppose you'll be satisfied with eating the slop they give to the horses for breakfast?" she stated. Misaka did not follow.

"You know, I could just walk into your dining hall and get breakfast myself," the brunette said nonchalantly. She headed into the closet in order to change into her Tokiwadai uniform, which was now hanging up on the closet rack. "I don't think that you need to babysit a Familiar that much."

"Not unless they've been granted special permission to enter the dining hall allowed to only nobles," Louise said smartly. Misaka was just about to pull the closet door shut behind her, but stuck her fingers out in order to stop it from doing so.

"Come again?" she asked, sticking her head out of the closet.

"Familiars are forbidden to have breakfast in the dining hall normally," the pinkette explained, raising her finger to emphasize her point. "Remember when Mr. Colbert came in before you began talking about the moons?"

"Oh, that half-bald man?" Misaka stated, recalling the past evening's events. It had been overshadowed by the electrocution incident later on, but it was still memorable nevertheless. "He kept asking strange questions about locations that I've never been to. Although I still say Germania sounds a lot like Germany…"

"Yes, well, after that question and answer session," continued Louise, "I pulled Mr. Colbert aside, and asked for special permission for you to come into the dining hall. He gave it to me, but that doesn't mean that I have to use it. I could just tell the maids to not serve you a scrap of food." As if on cue, Misaka's stomach began to gurgle. "And I haven't seen you eat since you've arrived, so that must be only the tip of the iceberg." Misaka quickly shut the door to the closet. Behind it, Louise could hear the brunette changing out of her sleepwear.

"I get it, I get it!" stated Misaka. She opened the door, and stepped out of the closet, fully decked in her Tokiwadai uniform. "I'm out of your bed, and now I'm out of your pajamas."

"Good," said Louise. "Now get me my clothes for today." Misaka facefaulted.

"Wha?!" she exclaimed.

"A noble will never do anything so long as a servant that can do the same is within reach," the pinkette stated. "Since you've shown nothing to me that qualifies as being any better than a servant, you will act like one." Misaka grunted. While she did not want to bow down and be commanded by Louise, the fact that her breakfast was on the line compelled her to act otherwise. Going back into the closet, the brunette fetched out a uniform, identical to the one worn yesterday by the pinkette, and tossed it to her.

"There," she grumbled.

"You forgot the underwear," Louise reminded her, as she began to undress. Misaka went red in the face, and swiftly turned around.

"W-Why do I have to get those?!" she protested, although she was more embarrassed at her changing.

"They're in the lower drawer," the pinkette demanded.

'Of all the lazy…' Misaka thought to herself. 'She's just using me as much as she can.' Regardless, she still fetched the underwear – which was a lacy pink design – and threw it over to the pinkette. 'At least Kuroko would approve of her choice…I think…' "Is there anything else you need?"

"Clothes," replied Louise. Misaka was confused.

"Eh? Is there a tear in the set I gave you?" she asked.

"Dress me," the noble replied.

"Are you that lazy-?!" Misaka turned around, and was surprised to see that Louise was standing by her bed, wearing nothing but the underwear that had been thrown to her. "R-Right, a servant can do the same job just as well…" The brunette had never dressed someone other than herself before, so it took some time before the outfit was on correctly. "Is that it?"

"Yes, that should be everything," Louise stated, nodding her head.

"Good, because I'm out of here," the Railgun declared. She walked quickly towards the door, and opened it with ease. "It's a good thing that I know where that dining hall is from your explanation." She walked out of the door, and made a turn towards the down staircase. "Although, do you think they would allow me in without-OOMPH!-!"

Unfortunately, Misaka had turned her head back towards Louise's room while she was talking, and was not looking where she was going. As a result, she had run into something that was in her way.

Something which had a pair of large, soft objects around which were now on Misaka's chin and chest.

"Ah!" Misaka exclaimed, and backed out of the object. The objects turned out to be a pair of very large breasts, which were owned by a girl with fiery red hair and very tanned skin. Her school uniform was purposely unbuttoned so as to expose as much of her massive cleavage as possible, and was complimented by a pair of golden-brown high-heeled boots, which acted as stockings up most of her legs. Still, some of her thighs were exposed, partially because of the girl's heightened skirt. "S-S-Sorry!"

"Ohoho?" the girl stated in a sultry voice. "Aren't we the careless today? You should watch where you're going in the presence of a noble."

"N-N-No I'm not!" Misaka replied nervously. She was more than a little shaken up over the run-in. "I doubt that you haven't walked into someone before."

"No, I have," the girl replied. "It's just that whenever I do, it's with a handsome man. After all…" she made a 360 twirl in place, and struck a pose that smelled of lewdness "…I'm well-endowed in the finest of arts. Not that you would know, from that sorry appearance." In that instance, Misaka's self-confidence was shattered. The brunette brought her hands to her chest, trying to cover what little esteem she had left.

'S-S-S-Sorry…appearance…?!' she thought. Before any more insinuations were thrown, Louise stepped out of her room. She looked over, and frowned when she made eye contact with the red haired girl.

"Oh, hello, Louise!" the buxomed girl greeted warmly. Louise had anything but a cheery greeting for the girl.

"Hello Kirche," she bluntly greeted.

"H-Hold on," Misaka interjected. "Louise, this is the Kirche that you were talking about before?"

"Unfortunately, yes," the pinkette sighed.

"Nobody here doesn't know about the one and only Kirche von Zerbest!" the red-haired girl declared. "Although you can call me by my runic name, Kirche the Flame, if you wish!"

"More like Kirche the Sleep, as in sleeping with any living thing that's not your gender," retorted Louise.

"Um, I-I'll just stick with Kirche for now," Misaka said meekly. Louise batted the brunette on the head. "Ow!"

"And you, don't go being so familiar with Kirche," the pinkette ordered. "After all, the Vallière family has been rivals with the Zerbest family for centuries." Kirche smiled.

"I told you, Louise, I cannot lose to a Vallière," the Zerbest stated. "And I'm all but certain that the statement applies to our Familiars as well." She looked again at Misaka. "I will give you congratulations though. At least your Familiar is breathing after the first day." Louise grunted at this remark.

"And what does that mean, if I may ask?" the girl asked dryly, her white cheeks turning the same shade of red as Kirche's hair.

"I mean, if you're going to call a Familiar, at least make sure it will be a proper one," Kirche answered. "Come here, Flame!" Out of one of the rooms on the floor slithered a large, dark red lizard, which was as long as Kirche was tall. On the end of its tail, a vibrant flame burned brightly.

"Woah!" exclaimed Misaka. Her shattered subconscious returned at the sight of the strange creature. "What is that?" Kirche chuckled.

"Don't tell me this is your first time seeing a fire lizard before, is it?" she asked.

"W-Well, I will admit that there is something similar to it where I come from…" the brunette admitted. 'Granted, though, that that lizard is a monster in a popular video game…' "…but ours isn't that big! Isn't it dangerous? I mean, if it sets down its tail, it can burn down a house." Kirche placed a hand on her chin.

"There's nothing to worry about," she stated. "After all, under the Familiar contract, a familiar will not accidentally or purpously damage property or life without the consent of the master. In other words, every order that I say, Flame follows."

"I…see…" the brunette replied nervously. Already, she could feel Louise's eyes locking on to the back of her head. "Don't you burn up when you're near it?"

"My affinity is Fire, so it's actually fairly cool to me. Even its tail, with a flame so vivid it could only be on a salamander from the Fire Dragon Mountains that is so sought after by collectors, is not that much warmer to the touch. It is a perfect match for Kirche the Ardent, the ardent of gently smoldering passion!" The girl puffed out her endowed chest proudly. Louise, in retaliation, did the same; however, with her flat figure, there was a stark contrast.

"Well, unlike you, I don't have the time to go around flirting with every male with two legs in order to get that passion," the pinkette countered.

"Don't hold your breath," the red-haired girl countered, smiling calmly. She turned her attention back to Misaka. "By the way, I wasn't able to catch your name, Familiar."

"U-Uh, Mikoto Misaka," the brunette responded. Kirche tilted her head.

"'Mikotomisaka?'" Kirche repeated curiously. "What an odd name." Misaka facefaulted.

"Don't confuse my first name with my last name," she groaned. Kirche released another chuckle.

"Well, I'm off now," the red-haired girl declared. She stroked her hair back, and turned to walk to the down staircase. "I can't have you two holding up breakfast any longer." Following behind her was Flame, with a curious shuffling movement that Misaka was unfamiliar with. "Goodbye, Louise the Zero, and the Familiar of Zero." She disappeared around the spiral staircase.

"That Kirche…" Louise grumbled.

"I can sympathize with you," Misaka stated. "I'm a bit self-conscious about my size as well." To this, Louise swatted at the brunette. This time, Misaka decided to dodge it. "Hey!"

"I-It's not about that!" she stated. "A mage's real power can be determined by the size of their familiar!" Misaka pondered this thought.

"Is that why you're called Louise the Zero?" the brunette wondered. "Is it like Kirche's title of Ardent?" To this, Misaka received another attempt at a slap, which was again dodged.

"That has nothing to concern you with," Louise declared. "It's just a nickname!" She then noticed that Misaka was staring at the pinkette's chest. Again, she tried to slap her familiar once, twice, several times in succession. All attempts were dodged. "Gah, stay still!"

Eventually, Louise gave up her attempt to leave a hand-shaped mark on Misaka's cheek, and the two proceeded to the dining hall. The dining hall was vast, with three very long red tables. On either side of each table were at least a hundred mahogany chairs. A balcony above the far side from the entrance sat another sitting area. Seeing Mr. Colbert and a few other older people sitting up there, Misaka deduced that the balcony was where the professors ate.

"You don't seem humbled by our dining hall," Louise said to Misaka. The brunette, while looking at the large dining hall in front of her with a keen eye, was not intimidated by it at all.

"No, it is impressive," Misaka stated. "It looks like something straight out a British novel. However, the Tokiwadai dining hall is not anything to sneeze at either." The two walked over to the middle set of tables. "Although, I don't think salmon or chicken is on our breakfast menu." Including those dishes were a trout-shaped pie, wine, and other delectable meals. "This is more like a dinner menu."

"Then it's a good thing you won't be eating any of this," Louise said dryly. Misaka blinked. She had been about to pull out a chair for herself.

"Eh?" she asked. Louise placed her hand on her hip.

"Even though I got you special permission to come in here, that doesn't give you permission to sit at the table with us nobles," she explained haughtily. "I would have gone to bat for you when we came in, but I thought against that after waking up on a straw bed to you in my clothing and on my bed." Misaka was stunned.

"You're still holding me to that?!" the brunette exclaimed. Louise pointed down to the floor. A bowl was placed there, and contained two items, the first of which being a thin soup with tiny scraps of meat, and the other being a half a loaf of a small, hard bread. Misaka's stomach rumbled at the sight of the measly meal. "You expect me to eat this? Starving children in Africa probably have better to eat than this." Louise ignored her.

"Enough of this nonsense," the pinkette declared. "Pull out my chair for me, will you? Otherwise, I'll have this taken out to another familiar instead." Reluctantly, Misaka complied. Soon, all of the students were sitting on the long tables, with Misaka sitting awkwardly on the floor, badly wanting to electrocute all of them.

"Bear with it," the Railgun muttered to herself. "Hopefully soon, I'll be back in Academy City, and I can eat a normal breakfast, and have a normal adventure with the others." The dining hall soon became quiet. On a balcony where the faculty ate, Osmond stepped forward and lead the students in prayer.

"Oh, Great Founder Brimir, and our lady, Queen Henrietta, we thank you for this humble meal that you have graciously provided us this morning." Misaka had to repeat this in her head after they stopped.

'Humble meal? It's a banquet there; I have the humble meal,' she thought. "Hey Louise, can't you spare me some of your food?" Louise did not reply, but she did strip a small piece of chicken skin from her drumstick, and dropped it into Misaka's bowl. The brunette looked up resentfully at the pinkette. "That's all?"

"I'm not going to help start a habit," Louise muttered. Misaka huffed, and turned to her meal.

"Thanks for the meal," she said, sounding overly enthused about the meal.

"By the way, you can take my empty dishes back to the kitchen as well as your bowl," Lousie told her. "I wouldn't want to trouble the maids when I could just have my familiar do it for me." Misaka groaned, which was inaudible to Louise because of the brunette's even louder stomach.

Misaka grumbled as she took the dishes and bowl away to the kitchen. "Honestly, you can't let the people in charge of this take it? You have to force me to take it? How low can you make me feel –oof!" Again, Misaka had not been looking where she was going in her rant, and ran into someone. The person was a maid, and her bump sent the plate of fish that was on the maid's trout pie onto the floor. The plate fortunately landed on its bottom, and remained in one piece. "Oh, I'm so sorry!"

"N-No, forgive me!" the maid hastily stated. She kneeled down to pick up the trout pie. Misaka did as well, and the two hands collided as they both tried to grab the pie. "Ah, don't worry!"

"No, it's my fault that you dropped your pie," Misaka apologized. She took hold of the pie, and placed it on the tray. "Here you go."

"Thank you," the maid said. The maid had short black hair, and was about the same height as Misaka. She was wearing a traditional black and white maid outfit, similar to Maika Tsuchimikado. "You don't look like the nobles here. Are you that Familiar that Miss Vallière summoned?" Misaka sighed.

"Yes, I am Louise's Familiar, if you are asking that," she said. "Am I really that much of a deal?" The girl's eyes widened.

"Are you kidding?" the maid told her. "Nobody's ever summoned a commoner as a Familiar before! You've become the talk of the academy!"

"I have?" the surprised brunette stated. "Not that I can say I'm not used to it…" The maid was confused.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Where I come from, I am considered to be the model of a proper lady," Misaka explained. "I am the top amongst my peers. Some people even had the notion that I was unapproachable." She then sighed. "And then I suddenly come here. The proper ladies are total witches, the peers are all of the riches, and it seems that I am unapproachable, if I have this label of commoner. Seriously, it's only a system to keep people in power that are uncaring for the public." The maid looked at Misaka strangely.

"Nobles are those who possess magic," she explained. "The rest of us like you and me are commoners, those with no magical affinity whatsoever."

"Hm…" Misaka thought about this. "So the difference is not of a simple status, but of ability…" 'This is sounding more and more of the Level System of Academy City.'

"But I would be surprised if a Familiar was told to take empty dishes away," the maid stated, looking at Misaka's dirty dishes. "That's our job, after all." Misaka groaned, remembering why she had bumped into the maid in the first place.

"Oh, you'd be surprised," the brunette groaned. "That Louise is certainly a handful to deal with."

"If you would like, I can take those dishes back if you'll take this pie," the maid offered. "I was going to Miss Louise just now anyway, so it would be fine."

"That would be nice, since I still don't know where to go for these dirty things," Misaka stated. "Thank you, uh…"

"My name's Siesta," the maid introduced. "I have the privilege and the honor to serve the nobility here." The two girls exchanged their dishes.

"I am Mikoto Misaka, but you can call me Misaka," the Railgun greeted. "I have the unwanted privilege of being Louise's Familiar." Siesta leaned in.

"'Mikotomisaka?'" the maid repeated. "That's a very strange name, you know."

"That's because you combined the first and last names," Misaka sighed. "Does nobody have a last name here?"

"I've never heard of any commoner having a last name before," Siesta stated. "Anyway, it was nice meeting you, Misaka. Goodbye!"

"Ah, goodbye Siesta!" Misaka said. She watched as her first friend in this strange world left to do her work, before she too left to rejoin her master.

The classrooms at the Tristain Academy of Magic were not like the classrooms at Tokiwadai. For one, the classrooms at Tristain were round to fit in the turrets of the school's stone spires. The teacher sat at the lowest level, with each row of seats being progressively higher. After that, the differences end. The same cliques and seating assignments similar to all school environments exist in this world as they do in Academy City.

Such as the laughter at the oddball in the class when Louise and Misaka walked in.

"Man, this doesn't let up, does it?" commented Misaka. "Don't you ever want to use magic at them?"

"You get used to it," Louise quietly said. She sat down at a desk, as did Misaka. "Hey, it's like the dining hall. You have to sit on the floor."

"Hell if I'm sitting on a classroom floor," Misaka replied. "I can't see that well from the ground." Before Louise could try and counter, the teacher, a rather plump middle-aged woman, entered the classroom. She looked around the classroom, gazing at the familiars that had accompanied their masters.

"I always love to see the different familiars that the second year students summon, and this year is no different," the teacher said with a satisfied smile. She then noticed Louise and Mikasa. "Oh, Miss Vallière! You've summoned…quite the familiar, it seems." The innocent comment sparked the quiet students, who returned to their laughing ways. One particular pair of students, a blonde pair of boy and girl, seemed to laugh louder than the others.

"Hey Zero!" the girl called out. "Don't go grabbing random commoners off of the street!" Louise stood up, and turned to face the girl.

"I did not!" she protested. "I did everything properly!"

"Don't lie, Zero!" the boy stated. "I bet you had to pay someone to do the Summon Servant spell for you!" The other students chuckled. Louise turned to the teacher.

"Mrs. Chevreuse! Guiche the Vain has insulted me!" The boy, Guiche, seemed to be taken aback by this statement.

"Hey!" the girl exclaimed. "My Guiche's name is Guiche the Bronze!"

"Stop it, the three of you!" the teacher shouted at them. "Calling people names is uncalled for in my classroom."

"I apologize, Mrs. Chevreuse," Guiche stated. "However, for Louise, Zero is not a nickname; it is a fact of life." There was a little bit of laughter from a few students, but it quickly became choked off. Misaka looked, and saw that something appeared in these students mouths. The brunette then turned towards Chevreuse, who had her wand pointed towards the students that had laughed.

"Then I suppose I should call you all 'Red Clay' since that is what will be in your mouths until the end of the class if you make fun of Louise and her familiar," Chevreuse stated sternly. She then turned towards Misaka. "I'm terribly sorry about that. I would like to know what Miss Vallière's familiar's name is, please." Misaka stood up.

"My name is Misaka Mikoto," she introduced, bowing her head. "I am not from anywhere near here, so I do not know much about this part of the world." Had the threat of clay in the mouth not been looming, a few of the students would have laughed.

"Way to be discreet," Louise muttered.

"A pleasure to meet you, Misakamikoto," Chevreuse stated.

"U-Um, please, just call me Misaka," the brunette asked. 'I'm done with correcting people. That's the last time I say my full name.' The professer nodded.

Well, Misaka, my name is Chevreuse the Red Clay, an Earth element mage. I assume that since you are a familiar, you do not know much about magic, so I'll go over a quick crash course for you." She began walking around her teacher's floor. "Have you noticed that Tristain Academy is built in the shape of a pentagram?" Misaka thought for a second. She had not seen what the academy buildings as a whole, but she had noticed that the building layout was at a series of angles, with walls connecting the angles to the central building.

"I had a hunch it was in a shape," the brunette stated. "However, I was not sure what shape it was in." Chevreuse smiled.

"The shape of the buildings represents the five elements of magic," she explained. "Four of the points are connected to the center by interior walls. This represents the four great elements. Can anyone tell me which elements these are?" Nobody answered. "Malicorne?" A plump blond boy stood up.

"Y-Yes, Mrs. Chevreuse," he answered. "They are Fire, Water, Earth and Wind."

"Excellent," Chevreuse stated. "The fifth corner is not connected to the main building. This represents the lost element, Void. Of these five elements, I will be focusing on Earth. Now, I consider Earth to be one of the most important of the great elements, and not just because I am an Earth mage. The magic of Earth is very important magic that governs the creation of all matter. If it wasn't for Earth magic, we wouldn't be able to produce or process necessary metals. Raising buildings from large boulders and harvesting crops would also involve much more manual work. In this manner, the magic of the Earth element is intimately related to everyone's life. "

'So in place of science, there is magic,' Misaka thought. 'No wonder Louise acts so proudly of her status as being a mage.'

"Now, everyone, please recall that the basic magic of the Earth element is 'transmutation,'" Chevreuse continued. "While there will be people here who have already learned this in their first year, basics build foundations, so let's review it once more." The mage turned her attention to a group of pebbles that were on her desk. She twirled her wand over them and whispered a spell. Suddenly, the pebbles began to glow brightly. When the light dimmed away, the pebbles had been changed into sparkling lumps of metal.

"G-G-Gold?!" Misaka exclaimed in surprise. Some of the other students, including Kirche, were leaning forward.

"I'm sorry to disappoint," Chevreuse explained, "but that's only plain brass. Only Square-class mages are able to transmute to gold. I'm just..." Chevreuse gave a self-important cough. "A Triangle mage, after all." The students who leaned forward slumped back into their seats. "Now, can anyone demonstrate this spell for me?" Nobody raised their hands. None of the students wanted to volunteer, so Chevreuse was forced to draft a choice from the student body. "Ah, Miss Louise." Louise seemed surprised.

"Eh?" the pinkette wondered. She seemed surprised. "Me?"

"Yes, dear," the professor stated. "Try changing these pebbles here into a metal of your choice." Louise did not stand up. She simply sat there, looking troubled and fidgety.

"Oi, Louise, she's talking to you!" Misaka hissed. She was concerned about the unwanted attention, but there was also another thing bothering the Railgun. Since Louise had been called, the quiet silence had turned strangely awkward. There were uncomfortable shifts in the student's behavior, with eyes shifting around the room nervously.

"U-Um, I think it would be better if you didn't let her..." spoke up Kirche, who stood up.

"And why is that?" Chevreuse asked. Like Misaka, she was confused by the classroom's sudden shift in mood.

"It's dangerous," Kirche answered plainly. The majority of the students in the room nodded in agreement. Chevreuse frowned.

"Dangerous?" the professor repeated. "How so?" Kirche sighed.

"This is your first time teaching Louise, right?" she asked.

"It is," Chevreuse stated. "However, I hear she's a hard worker, so nothing should be the matter." The professor turned back to the pinkette. "Now, Miss Vallière. Don't you worry, just try it. You won't be able to do anything if you dread making mistakes." Kirche's face paled.

"Don't, Louise!" the Ardent cried, now trying to appeal to her peer. Louise stood up. Her face showed nervousness, but her eyes showed confidence.

"I'll do it," she declared. The class erupted into surprised commotion as Louise walked briskly up to the front of the room.

Chevreuse stood next to Louise and smiled. "Miss Vallière, you have to visualize vividly the metal that you wish to transmute them into."

Giving a little nod, Louise waved her wand, and began quietly speaking. As she did so, the students in front and behind Misaka had begun to hide under their desks. A blue haired girl stood up, and took her leave from the room. This completely confused the brunette, and even scared her a little.

"Hey, you!" she hissed over towards the plump Malicorne boy. "What's going on? Why's everyone hiding?" The blonde nervously showed his head.

"Y-You don't know about Zero's magical ability?!" Malicorne hissed. The brunette glared at him.

"Would I be asking you if I don't?!" she retorted.

Suddenly, Misaka's radar sense kicked in. Something bad was about to happen

Closing her eyes, Louise uttered a short word and flourished her wand.

Misaka dove for the desk, getting underneath just in time to miss a large explosion sail overhead.

The classroom turned into complete pandemonium overhead. Misaka jolted her head up as soon as she could. What greeted her was the chaos as a panicked snake Familiar slithered over the desk by her. "Owah!" She fell back down onto the ground in surprise. Overhead, the classmates were hurling angry words at Louise.

"That's why I told you not to let her do it!"

"Jeez, Vallière! Save us some grief and just quit school already!"

"My Lucky got eaten by a snake! Luckiiiiieee!"

Misaka finally stood up. She saw the professor Chevreluse on the ground, out cold. She was twitching slightly, so she had life still in her, even if it would not be clearly evident for a while. Next to her was a soot-blackened Louise, who stood slowly off the ground. The uniform that she had fussed about earlier this morning was now a tattered mess. The torn blouse revealed her slender shoulder, and the ripped skirt showed a bit of her panties. Despite this, she appeared unfazed by the terror of students and Familiars around the room.

"Looks like I messed up a little..." she said weakly, as she moved for a handkerchief in her pocket in order to clean up the soot. However, this statement elicited a vehement response from the other students.

"That wasn't 'a little!' mistake, Louise the Zero!"

"Your success rate is always Zero!"

"Go back home, Zero!"

Misaka finally understood why Louise had gained her notorious nickname. It was not because of her breast size, or for any physical reason.

And with that understanding came the sympathy from having dealt with a situation like this before.

To Be Continued…