There were a lot of good comments since last chapter and I can tell people are eagerly waiting for the tournament. Wait no longer and I hope you all enjoy it.
I want to give special thanks to Bandit, as he gave me a lot of great ideas.
Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters.
Touma woke up that morning feeling pretty conflicted. Yesterday, he had a lot of fun with everyone but it seemed near the end of the shopping trip, Ruiko was a little distant with him. She still talked with him, smiled, and laughed a lot but there was less of the closeness he felt when being around her. He didn't know if he did something wrong but part of him felt like he probably did. In the end, he and Ruiko had some time to talk alone without everyone else around. They decided to keep it casual for now and if something happened later they would cross that bridge when it came. At least she was still his friend and they decided to keep using each other's first name. Part of him felt relieved, as if he didn't think a serious relationship with her was right at this time. As he got up, he tried to sort everything out in his head until he realized it was Monday. The tournament he was forced into was going to start today and his spirits sunk. He did his morning routine, prepared food for index, and headed to school.
"Kami-yan," Motoharu called out when Touma arrived. "How are you feeling?" He said the last line with a huge grin on his face.
"I hate you guys so much right now," Touma said. "I can't believe everyone wants me to fight."
"Think of the positives," Motoharu said. "If you win, even more girls will fall for you."
"Kamijou!" Pierce yelled. "Stop trying to get even more girls for your harem. I bet you asked Accelerator to pick you beforehand knowing full well he would do all the work."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Touma yelled back. "You think I want to make a fool of myself?"
Accelerator opened an eye as he leaned back in his chair. "He did ask," Accelerator lied. "I didn't care either way." Normally, he would never have sunk that low as to join these idiots in a conversation, but Worst had been bothering him constantly since the party and he felt like the hero needed some annoyances in his life too. It made him feel slightly better watching the aftermath.
"KAMIJOU," Pierce roared and tackled him. "I knew it. You pretend to not be interested in getting girls but you secretly work at it constantly. Who's next in your harem? Goths? Maids?"
Motoharu joined Pierce beating up Touma. "Don't you dare go after maids. If you do anything to my sister I will make you regret it."
"I never wanted to be in any of this!" Touma grunted loudly as he fought off the two attackers. "Damn it Accelerator." He thought he heard a small laugh at this. "I don't want to die at this tournament."
"You probably won't die," Jason said seriously. "Lots of Judgment and Anti-Skill will be there to help make sure matches don't get out of hand. I got forced into it too." He looked slightly disappointed he had to do actual work. "Though, you may be hospitalized for awhile if you are unlucky." He smirked.
"Why does everyone think me going to the hospital is funny?" Touma asked.
"Because you keep picking up the nurses," Motoharu said elbowing him in the back and knocking him to the ground.
"All of you idiots shut up," Seiri said stomping over. "Kamijou and Accelerator are going to represent us, stop beating one of them up before the match." However, her words were slower than her actions and Touma, Pierce and Motoharu were all beaten violently.
"Settle down," Komoe said entering the room. "I know everyone is excited about the tournament this afternoon but we still have classes until lunch. Kamijou-chan, do your best. Sensei will be so sad if you get hurt that she would have to help nurse you back to health…." She trailed off red. "Because, sensei got you into this tournament."
"Curse you Kamijou," Pierce yelled. "Even the teacher."
"Arg," Touma sighed. "I'm going to regret this."
The morning passed to quickly for Touma and all too soon it was lunch time, his last violence free hour. Everyone in class was wishing Touma and Accelerator luck including Seiri.
"Don't give up Kamijou," she said. "If you persevere, I know you will win."
"Awww," Motoharu commented. "She's so into you Kami-yan. You finally broke the Iron Wall." This got him a switch kick in between his legs by Seiri and he fell to the ground.
"Ignore the idiot," she said. "Accelerator, good luck to you too." He waved his hand dismissively as thanks.
"Um, good luck to both of you," a very quiet voice said from a girl who seemed to appear out of nowhere.
"Ah, a ghost!" Jason yelled and jumped back tripping over a chair and even Accelerator looked around in surprise. The girls name was Aisa Himegami. She had long black hair, a necklace with a cross around her neck, and a very neutral expression on her face. She would have looked perfect in a shrine maiden's outfit. Even though she looked like a very average girl, she held a very big secret within her. Within her was Deep Blood, the power to kill vampires. The cross necklace was made of a piece of the Walking Church to seal it. Only Touma and Motoharu in the class knew about her power. She is also very quiet and has a very weak presence which is why Jason and Accelerator haven't noticed her before.
"Don't be mean," Seiri said bopping Jason hard on the head. "It's rude to Himegami."
Komoe stuck her head in the class, "Excuse me," she called out happily. "Kamijou-chan, Accelerator-chan, you both need to come with me to get ready for your first match." Both of them stand up and walk after her with the class clapping and cheering behind them.
"We will come visit you in the hospital Touma," Jason called out while Pierce and Motoharu laughed.
Accelerator and Touma followed Komoe through the school and out to the sport fields in the back, occasionally passing other teams being escorted by teachers. Komoe was explaining the rules one last time for them. "Because these are qualifying matches there are time limits of 30 minutes each. A winner is declared when one side is unable to continue or forfeits. In rare situations, if deemed dangerous, judges can rule in favor of one side to prevent serious injuries. Each field has am outer ring, if you land outside the ring you will lose. This rule will not apply to the main tournament, only these qualifiers. We do have Judgment and Anti-Skill watching each match to help if it gets out of hand. We are looking at three rounds today and two tomorrow, any questions?"
"No sensei," Touma said shaking his head wearily. He still did not want to do this. Accelerator didn't seem too bothered by the rules or he just didn't show it on his face.
"Good luck to both of you," Komoe said softly. "We will all be rooting for you."
Touma and Accelerator went to the registration booth and finished the registration with their information and signed some waivers. They were then directed to field four to meet the judge who would be supervising their match. When they arrived the other team had not arrived yet, and there wasn't a judge either, the only person there was Jason who waved to them. Touma looked at him in shock.
"Please tell me you aren't the judge," Touma pleaded.
"Nah," Jason said. "I am the Judgment representative member overlooking the fight. Not a lot of high levels here so they placed me as a level four to watch the fight of the highest ability user here." He nodded to Accelerator. "But I'm sure both of you won't kill anyone today."
"No promises," Accelerator smirked.
"You're planning to let me get hospitalized," Touma said glaring at him.
"Of course not," Jason said dismissively. "Though our class has a pool going on how long you will last before going to the hospital." Touma groaned and Accelerator laughed.
They noticed more students exiting the school to come to watch the class matches. Touma was busy looking for his class and didn't notice the other team show up till they were right on top of him. Touma turned and looked at his two opponents. Both were male, one was about half a foot shorter then Touma with brown hair and a really nervous expression on his face. The taller one was about two inches taller than Touma with long jet black hair in a pony tail. His expression was a lot more intense but it was focused purely on Accelerator who appeared indifferent to the new comers. Eventually the judge walked up to get the match started.
"Ok both teams to their side of the field," the judge said pointing. "The match will begin in a minute. I will signal the start, do not go before my signal." Everyone nods and heads to their side of the field.
"So what do you think of the other team?" Touma asked Accelerator.
"Weaklings," Accelerator said bored. "It will take about five seconds to wipe them out."
"Try not to go overboard," Touma warned.
"Pssh," Accelerator replied with a very slight smirk. "When do I go overboard?" Before Touma could respond, the judge signaled the start of the match and both of them entered the ring. The ring was about 400 feet in diameter and flat with a thin layer of grass. They didn't have to worry about destroying the field as an earth ability user would fix the ground after each match. Touma watched the other team move towards them, the taller one was stretching his arms and the smaller one had some rocks levitating around him. He must have telekinesis. Touma opened his mouth to ask Accelerator what he wanted to do.
BOOM! The ground next to Touma exploded as Accelerator flipped the switch on his choker and lunged forward like a bullet covering over 300 feet in about 10 seconds. The other team jumped in surprise and started to scatter but they were both only about five feet away from Accelerator who stopped between them. He tapped his foot on the ground and half of the field virtually exploded. It was if someone had placed a large bomb under the field. The rocks and dirt around Accelerator flew at the two opponents pelting them while large cracks spread throughout the field separating the ring into about 10 different segments. Some of the segments started to rotate on their axis upwards, forming small makeshift hills on the field with a deep ditch surrounding them. The smaller opponent was blown away by the rocks and dirt and landed near the edge of the ring, but the larger guy was made of sterner stuff. He got knocked back and crashed into one of the makeshift hills but manage to stand back up. Touma had once been on the receiving end of Accelerator's earth blasts before and it was like being hit by a shotgun.
"Is that all you got?" Accelerator sneered, and Touma saw a hint of the old Accelerator.
"I won't give up," the guy yelled and he charged at Accelerator while swinging his arm back in a punching motion. Touma had to admire his courage. The guy's charge, though useless, was full of determination but Accelerator just tapped the ground again and another shotgun blast of dirt and rock pelted his opponent forcing him to stop. Accelerator then took a single step forward and lightly flicked the large guy in the chest. His ability caused his opponent to fly backwards, crashing though one of the makeshift hills, and flying outside of the ring then rolled on the ground unconscious.
"Tsk," Accelerator said more to himself than anyone else. "He just had physical strengthening, how boring."
The smaller guy just now manages to stand up in time to see his teammate get thrown out of the ring with a mere flick from Accelerator. He shakily raised his hand and several rocks floated up behind Accelerator and flew toward him like cannon balls. When they connected with Accelerator they just immediately went the exact opposite direction they were going, as if they had just bounced off of him. Touma knew this was Accelerator's deflect vector ability where he just automatically changed the direction of a vector a full 180 degrees. The smaller kid gasped and raised his hands to quickly pick up a few more rocks.
"Sorry," Touma apologized "But it's over." Everyone's attention was on Accelerator and Touma just snuck up behind the other opponent. The kid jumped and started to turn toward Touma but was knocked out by a single punch. The judge blew his whistle and the crowd cheered. Touma and Accelerator saw their class was cheering the loudest from the nearby stands as several medics rushed onto the field and were checking the conditions of their opponents. They left to talk to their class.
"Great job Accelerator," Seiri said. "Touma, good job staying in the game even if you let Accelerator do all the work."
"Ha," Touma laughed weekly. "He definitely took center stage."
Accelerator briefly acknowledged his classmates praise with his hand. A couple things were bothering him. Normally, when Accelerator fought an opponent, he just let them attack him and he would reflect everything back at them. The stronger the opponent, the faster they lost, and the more wounds they received. By charging forward and simply knocking them around, they usually only received minor bruising and losing consciousness unless Accelerator wanted to hurt them. Usually he went with option one and just let his opponent beat himself. He wasn't sure why he wanted to do it the second way, maybe a part of him just wanted to get it done quickly. His opponents didn't have any combat experience and he immediately thought of the similarities between them and himself before he met the hero. The smaller kid had revealed his power right at the binning which was a terrible tactical choice. Everyone knew his power by now but he never bothered to learn anyone else's besides the other level fives. If his opponents kept the power hidden, they still wouldn't have had a chance, but at least they could have put up a greater challenge. When he first attacked them he purposely hit the telekinesis kid with less force then the larger stronger kid. When he found out the larger kid had a body strengthen ability he decided to flick him out of bounds knowing he could withstand the impact.
Blah, I wonder when I changed, he thought and found himself subconsciously glaring at Touma. It's his fault, ever since I met him, the brat, and even the bigger brat. I need to hold back even more so the Hero will have to show off his ability.
"Ah Kamijou," Pierce cried in disappointment throwing his arm over Touma's shoulder. "I lost already. I thought for sure you would end up hospitalized after the first match."
"What do you mean you lost?" Touma asked but his question was answered.
"Everyone who bet he would get hospitalized first round throw your money in," Jason called walking around with a box as several of their classmates threw in money. "Remember, we have your names written down, don't try to lie." Motoharu was marking people's names as they put money in the box."
"I can't believe you were serious," Touma said flabbergasted. "Well I can, but what the hell are you guys thinking? Betting when I will end up in the hospital? Don't you have any faith in me?"
"Nope," said most of the class at once in unison.
"Such misfortune," Touma sighed. "Even my classmates don't believe in me."
"Hey Kami-yan," Motoharu said. "That's not true. Jason and I think you will get to at least round one of the interschool tournament."
"Besides," Jason said pointing. "Himegami-san and Fukiyose-san both believe you will get to the finals. Fukiyose-san even believes you will finish the tournament without being hospitalized."
"Thank you two so much," Touma said crying rushing over to them and grabbing their hands. "I'm so happy someone believes in me at least." Aisa turned slightly red when he grabbed her hand but her facial expression didn't change much.
"I will always believe in my classmates," Seiri said proudly. "As long as they do their best."
"Wow," Motoharu said. "Is she crushing on Kami-yan for trying?"
"Kamijou," Pierce yelled. "Quick, go to sleep or something and stop trying. We can't have you break our last beacon of hope, the Iron Wall."
Touma let go of Seiri and Himegami's hands and backed away quickly as Seiri's face got red with anger. She proceeded to punch Pierce in the face and deliver a roundhouse kick into Motoharu's gut. Himigami looked a little disappointed when Touma let go of her hand. "Stop with the jokes, idiots," Seiri said. "They both have a couple more rounds to go to compete as representatives for our school. I wonder how long we have to wait for the next match line up." She looked around across the field. "It seems like all the matches are done."
Accelerator had grabbed a seat on the bleachers and just fell asleep. Can he sleep anywhere? Touma thought to himself. Touma gazed out across the field. It seems the besides the ring he and Accelerator were on, only one other ring had noticeable damages. It looked like several explosions went off leaving large circular craters in the ground. The rest of the rings had little or no damage to them. He took a seat on the bleachers and decided to rest for the next events. The rest of his class kept talking about the time when Touma's bad luck would kick in and he tried to ignore them.
Eventually they saw the small pink haired form of their teacher approach the class. "Sorry for the delay," Komoe said cheerfully. "I do have some news for all of you." Everyone turned and faced her. "Originally we planned to have several rounds, but after the first round several teams dropped out."
"Why?" Seiri asked.
"Well," Komoe smiled sadly. "They said they didn't know Accelerator-chan was participating and they didn't want to face him. They teams that still wanted to participate were watching your match and most of them decided to drop out after the first round."
"Heh," Accelerator smirked without opening his eyes. "Well, at least they are smart."
"So how many more rounds are there now?" Seiri asked.
"Uh," Komoe looked at her clipboard. "It looks like only one other team is willing to participate. So the next round is choosing our school's champion."
"Those guys," Seiri said shaking her head angrily. "How could they just quit in the middle of a tournament?"
"Well," Touma said trying to avoid another incident. "Maybe they just want to cheer our class on?" This got him a kick in the middle of his back.
"Quit trying to make excuses for your fellow slackers," she stormed at him.
"Now now," Komoe said keeping the peace. "Please go easy on Kamijou-chan. He and Accelerator-chan are about to start the final match." It was thanks to her Seiri decided not to continue to beat Touma into the ground. "Jason, they need you over there too." Jason nodded and followed Touma and Accelerator.
When they got to the ring they saw who their opponents were. One was a girl a little shorter then Touma with long black hair and brown eyes who seemed to be able to smirk almost as well as Accelerator. The other member was a tall, medium build, guy with short red hair who looked nervous but determined. Touma nodded in acknowledgment to them but only the other guy returned the nod, the girl ignored him. The judge made sure everyone was ready and sent them to their respective sides. He would signal them when to start.
"Do you know their powers?" Touma asked but knowing the answer.
"Don't care," Accelerator said. "But it doesn't matter."
The judge signaled the start of the match and Accelerator flipped the switch on his choker. This time he decided not to just run forward like last round, but instead he swaggered across the field smirking at his opponents. Touma followed but kept several paces behind him. The other team started moving toward them too and the girl was rubbing her hands together. She is up to something. He stops while Accelerator keeps walking forward. Touma looked around to try to see what the girl was up to. Nothing noticeable was happening till he saw something in the air that shined brightly for an instant. He squinted and saw floating bubble like objects slightly shimmering in the air occasionally catching the sun's light at the right angle and shining.
"Accelerator," he yelled out. "She is doing something in the air."
"To late," the girl called out in a mocking tone. The guy flicked his fingers and shot several thin fire needles at the bubbles. As soon as the fire arrows hit the bubbles…..
BOOM. BOOM. BOOOM.
Each bubble hit by the needles exploded in a huge burst of flame and heat. Then every explosion set off other nearby bubbles. The explosions kept chaining together until the entire middle of the field was covered in fire and dust. Accelerator had walked right into the middle of their trap. If Touma had not stopped, he would have walked into it too. He put his right hand up to cover his face from the blast of heat that almost knocked him backwards. Ah, I could have died. He tried to see what happened to Accelerator and where the other team was, but with all the dust in the air, it was impossible. He started to move to the side and was getting ready to make his way through the dust storm as soon as it settled enough to see.
"Hah," the girl's voice called out through the dust. "How do you like our combo? Nothing like explosive gas bubbles to make a great surprise attack."
Touma faced palm. What kind of person just tells their opponent their ability in the middle of combat? Especially, if you haven't won. Touma peered through the dust and saw a dark online of a figure in the middle of the explosions. The dust cleared and Accelerator was still standing there, the entire area around him was charred and disfigured but he looked just fine, except, maybe a little annoyed. Touma saw the girl's smug facial expression fall comically into shock.
"Ah how annoying," Accelerator said rubbing his ear. "Well, at least it was interesting." The ground around him exploded and he stepped forward effortlessly covering over ten meters at a time and closed in on the male opponent. The guy looked surprised and shot several fire arrows at Accelerator while trying to back away. The arrows hit Accelerator but they instantly were reflected back against the poor guy. He fell on his back in surprise and the arrows passed harmlessly over his head. However, a second later, Accelerator arrived and looked down on him, a fate much worse than being hit by a couple flame arrows. "So, any other tricks." The guy shook his head quickly. "Shame." Accelerator moved one foot under his opponent and flicked him like a soccer ball outside the ring.
The girl saw everything happen from her position and she started to create a large gas bubble in front of her. "If explosive gas won't work, maybe something to knock him out will." She had just made the concentrated gas bubble when a hand slipped over her shoulder from behind and touched it. The sound of glass shattering was heard and the bubble disappeared. "What the hell. Who did that…?" She turned around and looked at Touma who was standing right behind her.
"It's over," Touma said. 'Just give up."
"Never," she yelled and raised her hand. Since she was surprised, her quick turn threw her off balance and all Touma had to do was give her a slight push to cause her to fall on her back. Touma had to admire her determination. Even after falling, she tried to raise her hands to attack him with some kind of gas. He simple knocked her hand away, made a fist, and slammed it into the ground right next to her head. He purposely avoided hitting her face.
"Give up now?" Touma asked. She nods in shock and he steps away from her and offers his hand to help her up. She refuses and gets up by herself as the judge sounds the signal indicating the end of the match. Touma heard his class cheer in the background and turned to see them rushing onto the field. Before he could do anything his class lifted him and Accelerator up and carried them back to the school chanting and cheering. Accelerator struggled but was quickly overpowered. Komoe followed the class smiling extremely happily.
Accelerator had seen what happened when Touma touched the girl's gas bubble, but he couldn't be sure what had happened. Did his touch actually destroy the bubble while it was being formed or did he do something else? I know my ability doesn't directly affect him either. The stupid brat just had to be a novice. For all I know, she was just surprised and lost control of her ability.
Back in the classroom everyone was celebrating their class's victory. Accelerator tried to leave but no one was going to let him without having fun first. Grudgingly, he joined in the celebration with everyone else. The day got better when Komoe informed her class tomorrow would only be a half day of school since the school tournament ended early.
"Hah," Jason called out. "Everyone who bet Kamijou would be hospitalized before the interschool tournament we need your money." Motoharu was going around again making sure no one skipped out on paying their dues.
"So looks like only four of us are left," Motoharu said.
"Hah," Touma called out to his classmates who lost. "Bunch of jerks, all of you." This caused him to get pelted by paper, pens, pencils, and other small items.
"Don't get cocky," Pierce said kicking him from behind. "Accelerator did most of it. All you did was surprise that girl and mess up her ability."
"I still helped."
"Accelerator," Jason called out. "Make sure Touma has to do some major fighting in the first interschool match." Accelerator grins and nods in acknowledgment and Touma groans.
"Such Misfortune."
The next day, as soon as school finished, Touma rushed out as fast as he could. He didn't want to think about the next day. Komoe told the class they would be meeting at the arena where the Daihaseisai was held the following morning. It was the only arena big enough for ability users to have real battles with enough seating for all the spectators. Touma was incredibly nervous but Accelerator couldn't care less and Touma couldn't really blame him. Accelerator was incredibly strong. The only reason he was even participating in this event was because of the rest of the class.
Touma was planning to hang out with Index today but when he got back to his dorm, he saw a note she left behind. Hanging out with a friend, be back tonight. I want meat. He sighed, hanging with a friend could be a couple people but he was sure Index wrote it because of the second part. Oh well, he thought to himself. I actually have money to buy real meat, might as well celebrate a little bit. He yawned and decided to take a quick nap first. He originally planned to only nap for an hour or two but his alarm clock decided not to go off. It was almost four before he woke up. Touma cursed his luck and left in a hurry to go shopping and forgot to lock the door.
Touma was walking through the shopping area looking for a good sale on meat. He knew where to get all the good vegetables and other ingredients, but finding meat was always a challenge. Even though he had money, having to live thriftily for several years makes it become a habit. He rarely splurges on anything, let alone high end groceries. After searching he finally saw a great sale on beef, and rushed over. Touma has no idea how he was so lucky, but he managed to get the last bit of meat they had on sale. He was just turning to go pay for it when he accidently bumped into a girl.
"Ah, sorry…" He started to say and then saw who it was. "Ruiko?"
"Hey Touma," she said cheerfully. "You saw the sale too?"
"Yea," Touma said holding up his bag.
Ruiko moved past him to buy some meat too but found they were sold out. "Oh no," she said depressed. "I knew I should have come sooner."
"Here," he said handing Ruiko his bag. "You can have this, I'll find some more somewhere else."
"Really," Ruiko looked up at him seriously. "I don't want to ruin your meals."
"It's fine," he said dismissively. "I came into a little money so my budget is a little flexible right now."
"Thanks a lot," Ruiko said hugging him.
Touma was a little embarrassed but turned and bought some slightly more expensive beef. When he paid for it though, he found the price was the same as the sale meat. He looked at the employee who winked at him. Did he overhear us? Touma was not this lucky, so he started to feel a sense of dread. If I have luck now, it means something really bad is going to happen soon. He shook his head to get the thought out of his mind and went back to talking with Ruiko as they both shopped for groceries.
"So is Uiharu-san not with you?" Touma asked.
Ruiko shakes her head. "She has to be at Judgment today. I planned to drop by to visit her on the way back. She said Kagere-san was planning to drop by to hang out with her, but I think he also does that to annoy Shirai-san too."
Touma laughed. "Yea, I could see that. He tends to multitask a lot but he does like Uiharu-san." Ruiko nods. Both of them finish their shopping and take a slight detour to the Judgment 177 Branch Office. When they entered they heard two people laughing and saw Mikoto and Jason talking at a table while Uiharu and Kuroko were working though a pile of paper work.
"Hello," Ruiko called out to everyone. "Look who I found shopping." Touma waved to everyone and looked around. This was his first time visiting a Judgment office without having been taken there for questioning for various incidents.
"Why did you bring him," Kuroko sighed. "We already have one barbarian."
"That hurts Shirai," Jason called out sarcastically putting his hand over his heart. "And here I thought we were getting along so well." Kazari gives a slight giggle but tries to hide it.
"Be nice you two," Mikoto says exasperated. "Seriously, I feel like a baby sitter half the time."
"So how did your school tournaments go," Ruiko asked Mikoto and Touma.
"We ran out of time yesterday," Mikoto says sighing. "So today took forever, but my class won in the end."
"Of course we knew onee-sama would win," Kuroko called out from her desk. "Before her grace and power, no one can beat her."
"What about you Touma?" Ruiko asked cutting off Shirai's rant.
"We actually won," Touma said taking a seat and leaning back in a chair. "It only lasted two rounds. Most people forfeited after seeing Accelerator in action. He put on a good show."
"Was anyone really hurt?" Mikoto asked worriedly.
"Actually no," Touma said. "There were a few minor injuries but nothing major. He really has changed."
"That's good," Mikoto said smirking. "I hope he doesn't get mad when we beat you guys."
Touma raised an eyebrow. "Is that a challenge?"
"Maybe."
"I'll make sure to tell Accelerator that," Touma said smirking back and Mikoto paled.
"You wouldn't…" She stops when Touma shakes his head holding back a laugh. "You…" She shoots a bolt of electricity at him and he blocks it with his right hand.
"No matter how many times I see it I still can't believe it," Ruiko exclaimed as Touma negated Mikoto's electricity.
"Can't wait to see you two go at it seriously," Jason said smirking.
"Well," Touma said. "Accelerator might decide to do everything himself."
"I'm sure a couple high levels will make it so you can show off your stuff."
"Jason," Uiharu called out. "You still need to fill out this form for tomorrow since you are one of the security positions."
"Blah," Jason groaned grabbing the paper and quickly filling it out. "Reason I try to hide form Judgment, too much paperwork."
"You're just a slacker," Kuroko said irritated.
"Hey remember," Mikoto says to Touma. "I expect you to keep your promise."
Touma sighed. "You really want this don't you?"
A broad smile forms on her face. "Yes, you finally will face me seriously."
"Onee-sama," Kuroko asked pale faced. "What promise is that?"
"Touma's probably going to ask her out if he wins," Jason joked absentmindedly finishing the form. He didn't even look up to see Kuroko's reaction. She grew paler and then red in anger and pulled out all of her needles.
"The ape needs to die." she roared and leaped at Touma. A quick electrical burst from Mikoto left her on the ground twitching and smoking.
"Dang it Jason," Touma said. "It was just a promise for us to both give it our best."
"Huh," Jason looked up at him. "Sorry I wasn't paying attention." Touma faced palmed.
"She will get over it," Mikoto said sighing. "Once she cools down."
"I need to go anyways," Touma replied holding up his food. "I have to get this home."
"Nice to see you Kamijou-san," Kazari smiled and went back to work. Ruiko and Mikoto both had to leave too and followed Touma out of Judgment.
"Wish Kagere-san wouldn't mess with Kuroko so much," sighs Mikoto.
"He timed it well though," Ruiko said still laughing slightly at Kuroko's reaction.
"He has too much fun doing those kinds of jokes," Touma said shaking his head. "He can be serious when he needs to be." They stopped at an intersection waiting for the light to change when someone called out to him.
"TOUUUMMMAAA!"
All three of them turned and saw Index waving and walking toward him and another girl was following close behind her. The girl has long dark brown hair and golden colored eye with glasses. A part of her hair is tied off to the side of her head and left hanging down. She also had a very large chest which did not go unnoticed by Mikoto and Ruiko who looked at it with a hint of jealousy. Her name was Hyouka Kazakiri, the first friend Index made in Academy City, not counting Touma. Though she looked like it, she was not human. She is the conscious form of the aggregation of the AIM Diffusion Fields of ability users in the city. Touma however, did not care. To him, she was still a friend to both him and Index.
"Hey Index," he called back waving. "Hello Kazakiri-san." She waves back but doesn't say anything when he notices two other people are with him. She is really shy around new people.
"Touma," Index asked, "Why are you always with girls?"
"Huh," Touma said taken aback while Mikoto blushed slightly and Ruiko grinned.
"You are with Short Hair again," Index pointed out then turned to Ruiko, "Hello, my name is Index Librorum Prohibitorum, you may call me Index. Are you a friend of Touma?
"Yep," Ruiko said. "We met a while back and started hanging out recently. Oh, my name is Ruiko Saten. It is nice to meet you Index-san." She has a weird name but she seems friendly enough.
"Oh this is my friend," Index started to indicate to the girl behind her but she was gone. "Ah, looks like Hyouka had to leave."
"Huh," Mikoto said looking around. Everyone was busy talking to Index they didn't notice the girl disappearing. "How did she disappear so fast?"
"She might have had something to do," Touma said sheepishly but Ruiko caught the tone of his voice and was suspicious.
"Wait," she said thinking. "If she just disappeared in front of us, could she be the rumor ghost girl?" Her voice started to get louder as she got excited.
"She's not a ghost," Index said indigently. "She's just shy."
She's actually the combination of AIM fields, Touma thought to himself. He always had to be careful not to touch her with his right hand.
"Aww," Ruiko said disappointed.
Mikoto shook her head. "I told you, the ghost girl rumor wasn't real."
"I won't give up," Ruiko declared boldly. "I will find her."
"Touma," Index said looking up at him. "You have weird friends." He shook his head at her.
Above them Jason was watching from the window of the judgment building and rubbing his eyes. What the hell was that?
The next day Touma had to wake up early in order to meet his class before the tournament started. He found himself walking slower and slower to the arena. He really didn't want to participate. It was one thing to fight in matches at his school but another in front of a huge crowd he didn't know. He felt nauseous, the fighting wasn't the problem. It was the fact thousand's of stranger's would be watching him. He was especially worried about the fact his unique ability would be displayed in front of everyone. He never hid it, but broadcasting it to the world wasn't something he wanted to do. Before he realized it, he had arrived and went to the changing rooms to look for his class.
"Nervous Kami-yan," Motoharu said out of nowhere causing Touma to jump.
"Shit," Touma said gathering himself. "Don't scare me like that. You know damn well I'm nervous."
"We figured as much," Motoharu said grinning as Jason and Pierce stepped out from a side passageway. "You don't want to be shown off to the world. We prepared a disguise for you."
"Hmm," Touma said taking a step back. "I don't know about this." Motoharu, Pierce, and Jason didn't take his rejection of their well thought out idea and shoved him into a room with a box and didn't let him out till he got changed. It wasn't as bad as he thought it would be coming from them. It was a solid gold shirt with black stripes, and black pants along with a white mask with black stripes along the eyes. If he remembered correctly, the mask is what Jason used during his vigilante days. "It could be worse coming from you guys," he said and everyone grinned. As they walked down the hall to their class's main room the rest of his classmates were wishing him luck and patting him on the back. No one was surprised about his outfit, including the teacher, so they obviously all knew about it.
"Heh," Accelerator smirked when he saw Touma's outfit. "They actually got you to wear it."
"Least I don't have to worry about being recognized."
Accelerator shrugged. "I'm surprised most people don't know me. They usually apologize after they get their ass kicked though."
"So I heard we are first," Touma said conversationally. "Know which school we are up against?"
"Don't care," Accelerator said. "But I'm going to make sure you get to fight at least one of them."
"Why?" Touma asked.
"Because you keep spouting the bullshit you are a level 0," Accelerator said testily. "There is no way in hell that is true."
"Ah it is," Touma said sincerely. "But…." He was interrupted by an announcer on the loudspeakers who was signaling the start of the tournament.
"Good morning ladies and gentleman. Today we gather to watch several of Academy City's top students participate in this two on two tournament. It is sure to be an exciting day and we hope everyone enjoys the demonstration. Will the first two teams please make their way toward the main arena?"
Touma and Accelerator got up and headed out to the field, and stood at the main entrance. They were told in order to make their entrance more dramatic for the spectators, the announcer would introduce them and they should enter after their introduction.
"The first team, are the twin sisters, HIBIKI and HANABI NAKANO. These two level 4's fought their way to the top of the famous Tokiwadai High School, so you know they both have great skills. I also hear they have legendary teamwork. I present team number one, FIRE AND ICE"
Touma hears the crowd burst into applause but he couldn't see the two girls they were going to fight against from his class's entrance. At least they were high school students, the tournament was open to middle schools and high schools, but fighting younger girls was not something Touma wanted to do. Mikoto would not give him a choice though.
"Hey, did we ever get a team name?" Touma asked Accelerator. He shrugged in response. I got a bad feeling about this.
"The next team is definitely unusual, made up with a level 5 and a level 0." There was a pause and the announcer talked softer as if he was clarifying something with the person next to him. "Seriously, this is their introduction? Why don't we screen anything? Fine, if that's what they want."
Accelerator and Touma looked at each other in confusion. What could be going on, Touma thought. The crowd in the main arena was mumbling between themselves.
"First, I would like to welcome Academy City's very own number one level five, ACCELERATOR." The crowd gasped, and then exploded into applause as he strutted out into the arena. The sound was defining. Touma realized no one expected Accelerator to be there except his school. "His teammate may be a level 0 but to be able to keep up with a level 5 he has to be anything but normal. In fact, we don't even have his full name, just a nickname. Welcome to the arena, KAMI, THE HAREM KING."
Touma's mouth dropped open in shock. If anyone saw this they wouldn't have noticed because of the mask. He finally realized who could have done this.
"Together, I present team number two, they are THE LOLICONS OF MISFORTUNE."
So I saw in one comment someone labeled Guest was able to predict what was going to happen here. He knew what I was going for. When I originally planned this I had initially thought of "Team Raising Flags" at first but it wasn't quite funny enough for what I wanted to do. I had planned to go back and think about the team name more. When Guest gave some ideas, his third idea was absolutely perfect for everything that has happened so far. Thanks a lot.
I had to think about the fights a bit too. A Certain High School doesn't have a lot of high level ability users so I didn't expect fights to be very long, especially against Accelerator. Second fight was a lot more interesting with combination attacks. The inter school section though will be a lot more interesting with everyone level 3 and up, except of course for the Harem King.