Hey all, and welcome to A Certain Ubiquitous Enigma! This is gonna be the first big Index fanfic that I've ever wrote, so forgive me for the things that I could've improved on or character dialogue which could have been crafted better-with due time, I'll improve, and I'll probably come back and rewrite chapters later on anyway when I've got more practice under my belt. Anyways, I hope all you wonderful readers enjoy this prologue chapter!
I do not own the masterpiece that is Toaru Majutsu no Index.
"Hey, did you hear about that rumor going around?"
"It's everywhere online, how can anyone not have heard of it at this point?"
"...You think it's true, though?"
"Pfftt. Of course not. There's been plenty of stories like this before of people trying to get into that place, but all of them have failed. Whoever built that building has gotta have connections to some reeeeallly good concrete suppliers or something like that."
"What's so special about the place, anyway? I've heard it's just another specialized lab."
"It wouldn't be so sturdy and secretive in it's design if it was just another lab. There's gotta be something supeeeer interesting in there, since it's locked up so tight..."
"Maybe it's a massive vault for the city's cash?"
"I was thinking along the lines of, "super secret headquarters of the Board of Directors!" Or something like that!"
"You've been watching too many spy movies..."
If one were to walk through the streets of Academy City on this day, these rumors and gossiping would be what one would hear the most.
Kamijou Touma attempted to block out the noise. Walking through a plaza with an overhang, which many people were currently congregating under, made for a very lively area-it had the same vibe as going to your stereotypically crowded and intense frat party. Except, in this instance, rather then dancing to needlessly loud music, eating food or indulging in drinks, people were discussing Academy City's current hot topic. Everyone was talking about it; with District 7 being one of the most populated districts in the city, with many students and teachers all circulating through it as part of their daily lives, naturally many questions arose concerning the massive building with no windows which stood at the city's center, notably taller then all of the surrounding buildings, almost like it was a citadel. There were many, many theories concerning it and the purpose it served, however all of them had been proven neither right nor wrong. There was simply no information on it-enthusiastic theorists had convened both in person and online, all discussing it, contacting people they knew about it, asking around, or trying to deduce it's purpose through process of elimination and the best reasoning they could manage-but none had ever closed the curtain on their ideas.
So on the morning of October 2nd, when rumors had surfaced online about an actual successful break-in at the Windowless Building, the local news outlets had essentially exploded over the outrageous news.
Normally, Kamijou would not have bothered with this; gossip about the latest news was a consistent occurrence, and one not unique to Academy City. It was commonplace for anyone, anywhere to talk about whatever relevant event had taken place recently, and within Academy City there was always a constant stream of news regarding some event going on, some new store opening or franchise making it's way into the city, perhaps a new technological advancement; it seemed almost endless. However, this specific bit of information was one that gave him some sort of subconscious feeling. It was a strange feeling, an adjective which could not be described simply and with few words-though if one were to examine this feeling and extract its meaning, it would be summed up as a very odd, almost haunting uneasiness-the likes of which would give those who experienced it a chill down their spines.
The 16 year-old boy did his best to ignore this convoluted feeling and walked past all the students and chatter, making his way back to his dorm. He sheepishly held onto his bag, which was currently draped over his shoulder, and also contained his textbooks-the ones in which he needed to drown himself in at school in the hopes of finishing the classwork on time.
"KAMI-YAN! YOU SHALL BE OUR MEDIATOR AND TIEBREAKER!"
"...Huh?" Touma gave a start as he turned back to face two other boys who were his age-both wore the same uniform he wore, except one had blue hair the same color as the sky and an indignant look on his face, while the other had spiky blonde hair with black sunglasses, topped off with an equally indignant look. His two friends, Tsuchimikado Motoharu and Aogami Pierce.
"Uhhh...mediator of what, exactly?..."
"Yandere or Deredere, Kami-yan! Were you not listening?!" Both boys barked this out simultaneously, outrage present in their voices. "This is a battle for the ages; the possibility of a new era of deredere becoming the established norm as the method to show one's affection is at stake here!"
Aogami Pierce's eyebrow seemed to twitch as Motoharu made his proclomation, which likely caused slight alarm in the few others around them who could hear him over the noise.
"Tsuchimikado, it pains me to see that my dear friend has become a lunatic...BECAUSE YANDERE IS OBVIOUSLY BETTER! WHAT'S HOTTER THAN A GIRL WILLING TO KILL FOR YOU?!"
"AND YET A DEREDERE IS UNCONDITIONALLY KIND AND LOVING! WHAT'S MORE WHOLESOME THAN THAT?!" Was the angry retort.
"YOU'RE JUST SAYING THAT BECAUSE IT DESCRIBES MAIKA!"
"WHY, I OUGHTTA-"
"Yeah...I'd rather not mediate this. I listened because it wasn't an argument over head pats or hand holding for once, but this isn't any better..."
Touma just shook his head as he walked away. "Buuuuuuuuuuutttttt Kami-yaaaaaaaan, this is really important..."
"Don't you pull the begging voice, Tsuchimikado...besides, I feel like we're going to get a lot of weird looks...and possibly an police officer or two on our case if we keep talking about this."
"MEASLY OBSTACLES WHICH HOLD NO IMPORTANCE IN COMPARISON TO THIS!"
"THAT, I AGREE ON!"
"Why do you two have to agree with each other on this?..."
The two silly friends bounded towards Touma as he walked away, easily keeping pace with him. "No running from responsibility, Kami-yan! Accept your duty! Just say one word, Kami-yan..."
"Yeah, I'll say one...no."
"Agh! So hauntingly cold! Do you not understand the severity of this situation!?"
"Yeah I do, because there wasn't any to begin with, you dumbass!"
The back-and-forths continued for a solid two minutes as the boys barked at each other like dogs in a standoff. However, when it eventually registered with them that a chunk of people in the plaza had ceased conversation to stare at them weirdly, they decided to turn away and hurry down the set of stairs opposite to them.
"Well, putting our little argument on hold for a moment...why was there so many people huddled over there? It didn't look like there was an event going on," said Tsuchimikado, who had briefly looked back at all the people who had resumed their conversations following their departure.
Touma attempted to answer, but Aogami beat him to the punch. "They're probably discussing that break-in thing that happened this morning-it's trending on the news. Really though, why can't people talk about something more interesting~break-ins happen all the time, what was so special about this time? Why can't we talk about the latest cute idol that made a debut or something?"
"I think you've got a very different definition of what's interesting compared to other people..."
"It's called being cultured, Kami-yan!"
"Don't try and sugarcoat it, you eternally-gutter minded moron. Anyways, I think it's a popular topic because it was some really sturdy building with no windows that was broken into or something. Can't personally be bothered, though-this Kamijou-san has more than enough on his plate right now to worry about what's going on in the news."
"Really sturdy building with no windows?" Tsuchimikado raised an eyebrow. "So, it wasn't just some high-security bank after all...but seriously, Aleister, surely you weren't that careless to let someone break your favorite little Lego fortress that easily, were you?"
"Sounds like a forbidden dungeon home to fantasies come true..." came a feverish whisper from Aogami.
"CAN YOU BE SERIOUS FOR ONE SECOND?!"
"BUT I AM BEING SERIOUS, KAMI-YAN!"
"IF THIS IS YOU BEING SERIOUS THEN YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY TREE IS DOOMED!"
"HOW?! THEY'LL BE CULTURALLY EDUCATED!"
"AND BY YOUR DEFINITIONS, THAT'S NOT A GOOD THING! OI, TSUCHIMIKADO, I CAN'T EVEN REMEMBER WHAT YOU TWO WERE ARGUING ABOUT ANYMORE, BUT I'M TAKING YOUR SIDE!"
"AND SINCE WHEN WERE YOU A MONSTER OF SPITE, KAMI-YAN?!"
"Heh, you heard the Harem King himself, Aogami...deredere's are infinitely superior!" Tsuchimikado gave an aggravatingly smug smirk at the blue haired pervert as he said so.
"Yeah, yeah, dere-whatevers are...wait-did you just call me the Harem King again?..."
"Uhh...no?..."
"TSUCHIMIKADO, YOU SMUG SUNGLASS-WEARING BASTARD!" The blonde roared in laughter as he sprinted ahead towards their school at high speed, an angry spiky-haired teen on his trail with the "fetish specialist" not far behind.
"So, care to explain why exactly Tsuchimikado has that bruise on his cheek?..."
The ever-famous Delta Force were currently huddled next to each other on the ground as they performed dogezas in apology to one specific Fukiyose Seiri-the "Iron Wall Girl," who was also the one who typically kept the three's antics at school in check. And needless to say, to see Tsuchimikado speeding through the front door of the school laughing his ass off as Kamijou sprinted after him like his life depended on it as Aogami took pictures from behind them with his phone, was definitely classified as the three's "usual antics."
Knowing this, Fukiyose was being rhetoric with her question. What she did not know, however, was what sparked the ever-complaining Kamijou to pursue him into the school for the sake of getting the hit in. However, the three's sheepish attitudes that they had now adopted made it clear that it was not something that their ruthless judge would deem to be reasonable.
"U-Uhmm...oh great Fukiyose-sama, there's no need to sweat such minor details, is there?..." Aogami sheepishly smiled.
However, although this was supposed to calm her down...
"Suspicious!"
Was her thoughts, as well as that of the rest of the class who was watching the spectacle.
"You bet there is, because I'm sure that those aren't "minor" details, you moron!"
Tsuchimikado gave a deep sigh. "Remind me to do our cover story next time, Kami-yan."
"I'm good..."
"Hey, I'm doing a perfectly good job!"
"Nope." Tsuchimikado and Touma instantly shut him down.
"You two are cruel..."
"Oi, I'm still here, you know? Are you three even listening?!"
"FULL ATTENTION, FUKIYOSE-SAMA!"
"Like hell you are!" SLAM!
All three Delta-Force members were sprawled out on the ground a moment later, clutching their heads in pain. The reason? Fukiyose had slammed the three's heads together out of fury.
"Aghhh...was that a critical strike?..."
"Definitely...no other hit could have done so much damage..."
"ARE YOU SERIOUSLY COMPARING THIS TO A VIDEO GAME!?" Fukiyose's veins began pulsing as she somehow seemed to glare even harder then before.
"Precisely! You're like the final boss!"
"Is that supposed to flatter me?!"
"Uhhhh...yes?..."
However, before the Iron Wall could lash out again...
The door to the classroom opened, and all students were instantly at their seats. "Good morning, Komoe-sensei!" They all chanted it simultaneously-as it was a custom perhaps even considered a tradition of their class.
The pink-haired teacher walked towards the front of the class, eyes shining as they usually were as she happily greeted her class. The mere entry of the child-like adult was enough to put the entire class at peace-since causing chaos in the classroom was an easy way of making her cry, and doing so was...essentially considered heresy within the school.
Such was the power of Tsukuyomi Komoe.
"I'm glad you're all so lively today!" Komoe cheered as she gave the class a bright smile, which subconsciously made many in the class smile as well. "That makes sensei very happy, because you'll need all this energy to welcome our new student coming in today! Especially since he's rather...eccentric, and truth be told, I'm a little concerned as to what he might do..." She began to mutter at the end.
Instantly, muttering began to ring throughout the room.
"New student?"
"Eccentric how?"
"A student that even Komoe-sensei is afraid of? What kinda monstrosity are they?"
"Who do you reckon it'll be?"
"Maybe a foreigner?"
"Boy or a girl?"
As the door opened, all heads in the classroom turned to look at the entrance...
And as they did so, a gust of strong wind circulated the classroom. As to why...
It was because the boy who had entered had sped through the door at such a strong speed that the wind was a result of it. And throughout the hallway, the other classes could be heard complaining and wondering aloud as to the cause of the commotion.
And as that cause of commotion stood up in the middle of their class in the form of a boy with familiar spiky-black hair a shade lighter than Touma's, in addition to the white jacket that was not worn as a jacket; but rather worn as a cape, Touma had yet another indescribable feeling in his gut-as he gazed upon their new student, he couldn't help but wonder what on Earth brought him here, to his school of all places. He barely even registered the yelling and astonishment of his classmates, or the panic of Komoe.
As the bite-sized teacher frantically sped out the class to speak to the other teachers, who had popped out of their own classrooms to what was going on, the source of all the chaos faced forward and gave the entire class a massive, shining grin.
"Yo! The name's Sogiita Gunha. I'd ask for all your names, but that's gonna take wayyyy too long...so instead, I'm gonna get right to my point!"
The entire class, who had initially began to raise their hands to wave in welcome, instead began to raise their eyebrows in either interest, suspicion, or a mix of both.
"I wanna gauge what kinda guts you've all got, and if any of you guys have got what it takes to bring me down! Don't be cowardly and back away-I'll take on any and all competitors!" Sogiita pounded his fists together as he made his proclamation.
...The silence within room was deafening as Sogiita was met with blank looks from all of his new classmates. It was like everyone was frozen in time; stuck in a perpetual state of gawking at him in disbelief.
Finally, Fukiyose spoke up somewhat sheepishly.
"W-Wha...what on Earth are you saying? Fight here, in this classroom? No one is foolish enough to-"
"OI, WHAT'S WITH THAT DECLARATION OF WAR AS THE FIRST THING YOU DO HERE? TRY ME THEN, YOU ASS!
"YOU TRYING TO CHALLENGE OUR PRIDE OR SOMETHING?! BRING IT ON!"
"WHAT'S WITH ALL THAT COCKINESS EVEN THOUGH YOU JUST CAME HERE?!"
The indignant roars of the classroom rang throughout the school as around half the class stood up defiantly and charged directly at this cocky newcomer. Normally, the sight of this would have instilled fear in the one witnessing it-however, the boy, Sogiita Gunha, merely stood there for a second...then, his face broke out into a massive grin as he drew his fist back, and thrust his palm out forward. The wind that had temporarily stopped for the boy's introduction began to pick up again, and a second later, he roared out something aloud; It was likely the entire school could hear-maybe even the entire district could.
"SUPER...AMAZING..."
"PUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The subsequent crash was one that A Certain High School would not forget for a very, very long time.
Haha...did you guys get it?...Touma had yet another indescribable feeling in his "gut?..." Hahahahaha...
Ok anyways, shitty jokes aside, I hope that everyone liked this prologue or at least found some merit in it, as well as the overflowing *Ahem* GUUUUUUUTTTTSSSSSS!
If you don't mind, leave a review and tell me what you think-whether it's praise, constructive criticism, or a suggestion, I appreciate all reviews!
If you've got any questions about the story, feel free to leave them in a review as well, as I'll address reviews in the chapters that follow.
Have a great day and stay safe out there! :D
-Cloak
