paeluclucas: ¡Gracias, lo hará! (I'm reallllllly sorry if this is inaccurate Spanish, which it probably is, but Google Translate is the only resource I have for replying ;-;)
VLPURN: Thanks!
5had0wHand: I've got plans for how they'll try and repair their class, but it won't come for a while and I haven't decided on what it'll be yet.
Guest: Thank yooouuu! I love Kumokawa and Gunha and I think they've been really underutilized so far, and they'll play pretty big parts in this fic.
I do not own the masterpiece that is Toaru Majutsu no Index.
ARC 1: High School Breakdown
Chapter 3: Teamwork(Capture_The_Point.)
This was, in a way, the most dangerous battlefield that any high schooler could ever face.
In every direction, there was nothing but head-agonizingly loud conversation which could give you a headache. Countless strangers and potential enemies surrounded you on all sides-with only a select few among the crowds who were trustworthy. The conversation that surrounded you could be about anything-schoolwork, gossip, rumours, bad-mouthing-the list goes on and on.
Indeed, this was a high school cafeteria.
"A "Capture the Point" game, huh? The teachers are realllly trying to tie this into the popular games of the modern era, aren't they?"
Kamijou was honestly surprised that Aogami did not drop to his knees in prayer and worship after the teachers had announced it in their previous class.
"It'll be interesting though, I'll give the teachers that. Even more so that it'll involve the rest of the schools in the district, as well. I sooooo want to be on the defending team-it'll be such an amazing opportunity to set traps for...some exotic specimen..."
"Fukiyose's sitting right over there, you know." The spiky-haired boy then pointed to a table about 3 meters away, at which the Iron Wall was eating her lunch with Himegami and a few of the other girls from their class.
Aogami frantically spun around to face the table where she was, but the girl was still seated and peacefully making conversation. The pervert sighed in relief.
"I get to live another day..." He muttered, breathing a sigh of relief.
"Not many more, though. She's gonna make sure that you don't do anything on the day of the game, I'm sure." Kamijou shrugged as he ate his sandwich(which contained a singular slice of cheese). "Given how many times she's busted us before, you really think that she's gonna become less cautious this time?"
"She'll be busy with organizing and strategizing for her teammates, Kami-yan! This is a perfect opportunity to capitalize on the lack of consequence! Tsuchimikado, do you have the nets and honey ready?"
"NETS AND HONEY?! WHAT THE HELL HAVE THESE GUYS BEEN PLANNING WHEN I WASN'T LOOKING?!"
"Of course! Who do you think I am, an amateur pervert? I'm insulted, nyah~"
This seemed to be getting gradually worse...
"Will you be taking part in our plan, Kami-yan?" Tsuchimikado inquired from across the table, with his bowl of pasta and fork occupying his hands as he did so.
"Of course not. This Kamijou-san would much rather not experience the greatest pain any male can face by facing the wrath of Fukiyose."
"Ah, but didn't you hear about how she'll be occupied?"
"Don't care. Not doing it. You're looking at a self-respecting as well as woman-respecting high schooler right here!"
"I'm calling bullshit on that one, Mister Harem King!" Aogami indignantly said from beside his fellow pervert.
"Why you-"
"Well, well, aren't you a charming one, kohai."
"!"
Upon hearing a voice that very clearly did not match that of any of them, all three boys looked up to see one of their new senpais, Kumokawa Seria, standing there gazing at Kamijou.
However, this was not the description that Tsuchimikado Motoharu and Aogami Pierce used in their heads to describe the new arrival. Rather, they chose to internally say...
"IT'S THAT LUCKY BASTARD'S NEW CONQUEST IN-PROGRESS!"
"Oh, Kumokawa-senpai...uhhh...how much of that conversation did you hear?"
"Enough," she replied with a small smile. "Honestly, I'm rather impressed with your sense of self-restraint. Although the same can't be said for your friends..."
Tsuchimikado and Aogami said nothing and merely looked the opposite way from the now disapproving gaze of the Beauty Senpai, making an unnecessarily big deal of eating their lunches.
"Also, I think I should let you two know that all cameras in the district will be alert and active on the day of the game, so if you two get up to anything unsavory you'll likely be apprehended for the day and put on an Anti-Skill watchlist."
The two boys seemed to look even farther away from Kumokawa, if that was even possible.
"Honestly though, I don't know if it would be better to have them be offense or defense, from a moral standpoint..." Kamijou muttered.
"ARE YOU SIDING WITH HER, KAMI-YAN?! HOW COULD YOU BETRAY YOUR FELLOW DELTA FORCE MEMBERS LIKE THIS?! WHAT HAPPENED TO THE UNBREAKABLE BRO CODE?!"
"It's not a plan worth sticking with if it'll get us on a watchlist. I've got enough problems as it is..."
"BUT THE BRO CODE, KAMI-YAN-"
"Has now been broken," sighed the misfortunate boy.
*Sniff!* "Look Aogami, Kami-yan is betraying us for a girl...he's finally cracked..." Tsuchimikado wailed to his friend.
"Could this be the end of the world?...Will he truly become the harem king and mercilessly take every girl on the planet for himself with no restraint now?..."
"As if that's gonna happen, you idiots!"
"But it's happening right now, Kami-yan! You're starting to indulge in the pleasures and privileges of unlocking the harem route!"
"Do you want me to slug you in the face?"
Kamijou seemed like he would call down the devil himself to fry his friends in lava if he had the ability to as he shook his fist in annoyance at the two.
"Is this what the typical everyday interactions of high school boys look like? It's quite amusing in a way, if not unsavory." Kumokawa then, in a move that surprised all three boys, sat down at the table. However, this sparked yet another red flag for the blonde and blue-haired boys.
Why? The table had 2 benches on opposite sides. Each bench had enough room to seat four people. When looking at the tables from a birds-eye view, Tsuchimikado was seated on the top right of the table with Aogami seated next to him on the top left. Kamijou was seated directly across from Tsuchimikado, on the bottom right. Which left only one seat available for the Beauty Senpai.
She sat directly next to Kamijou on the bottom left, placing her lunch tray on the table. "Just as a forewarning, I tend to sit alone most of the time, so since I'm here you may hear your name fly through the halls a little afterwards."
"I'll be talked about because of something not related to one of my master plans(read: perverted plots.)? Does this mean I'm entering my popular phase?"
Kumokawa merely facepalmed. "No, idiot boy. You'd be more so infamous then popular, I imagine."
"Eh, better than nothing."
The girl just shook her head as she took a sip from her can of soda.
As she did this, Kamijou caught sight of the can of which she was drinking form, and did a double take. "Wait, wait, wait, Kumokawa-senpai...isn't that the super-ultra-mega sophisticated brand of fruit-flavored soda that I always see on the front displays at grocery stores? The price for one of those could cover my food expenses for the next week! You must be really well off; are you a Level 4 or something?" asked Kamijou with a mix of amazement and horror.
Kumokawa seemed a little caught off guard at the boy's astute observation, but answered nonetheless.
"Well, no...I'm a Level 0, as a matter of fact."
Kamijou's eyes seemed to bulge even more at this response. However, it wasn't out of amazement this time-it was just sheer horror.
"Wait...senpai...you mean to tell me that despite the criminally low stipend that we Level 0's get, you still buy the criminally overpriced brands that make your wallet cry?..."
The boy's voice sounded dead, as if he had just heard of the details of the world's most hideous crime.
"Well, I'm still quite well off with the money I get from work," The girl said hastily. "I'm no fool when it comes to managing my finances."
"Nevermind, she's exactly the kind of dreamy high-school girl I imagined! She even goes to work too; such unparalleled responsibility!"
With that, Kamijou Touma's faith in sophisticated high-school girls had been restored.
"What kind of job do you have, Kumokawa-senpai?"
Kamijou further pressed for more information.
"Just a regular day job at an office. It's nothing special, really." Was her casual response.
This was, however, the complete opposite of what he was thinking.
"Plus it's not the typical cashier or newspaper delivery job, but a job in a sophisticated workplace? Is this a dream? Were dorm-manager onee-san's not the right call, and I should've been looking for an illustrious high school girl instead?!"
"Hey, Aogami, don't you feel like we're being third and fourth-wheeled really hard here?!"
"I think so...damn Kami-yan, lucky bastard."
The two friends exchanged murderous mutters for the rest of lunch time.
"WHY MUST WE BE ON SEPARATE TEAMS, ONEE-SAMA?...WHAT KIND OF MONSTER ARRANGED THE ROSTER?"
"Get off me, Kuroko! It's just one event!"
"ONE EVENT IS FAR TOO LONG, ONEE-SAMA! WHAT HORRORS WILL BEFALL YOU WITHOUT YOUR RIGHT-HAND WOMAN TO AID YOU?..."
"Nothing terrible is going to happen, so relax!"
The various students of Tokiwadai Middle School sweatdropped as they watched the odd spectacle. Adolescence was, of course, a prime time within people's lives in which one would obsess over the prospect of interacting with the object of their affections. It was an unavoidable biological process, one which basically everyone underwent. However, in addition to those who went through and handled these feelings the normal way, there was also those who were a little...over-enthusiastic.
Shirai Kuroko was one such person.
Misaka Mikoto, known as Tokiwadai's ace and the #3 Level 5, as well as the current object of Shirai's rampaging affections, finally managed to push the girl off of her and get some distance.
"Seriously, nothing like that is gonna happen! Shouldn't you be with your teammates strategizing? You've got the skills of a Judgement member and everything, they'll probably want to talk with you."
Shirai seemed to deflate a little. "Well, that is true. Uiharu and Konori-senpai will be annoyed if I show up too late...are we still meeting up at Joseph's after the game?" Asked Shirai as she glanced at the tea-haired girl.
"Yeah, of course. Just make sure you teleport back to the dorm to get our wallets after!" called Misaka as she began to jog away.
Shirai just nodded, then proceeded to disappear into the air with a crack.
As Misaka reached the assembly of teammates, she reached into one of the many bins nearby that had been laid out by faculty, and pulled out one of the headbands that was colored blue.
After tightening it on her head, she turned to face the rest of the students there, who seemed to all have gone silent. The Level 5 burrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
"Huh? What happened?" She muttered.
Looking around, she caught sight of a familiar face. Awatsuki Maaya, a girl with dark blue hair and an acquaintance of hers.
"U-Uhm, Awatsuki-san? Why is everyone so-"
"Shhhh!"
To her surprise, the girl frantically shushed her as she put a finger over her lips in emphasis. Misaka was only getting more confused. What on earth was-
"Is there a problem, Misaka?"
An ice cold voice instantly shut up the Level 5. Very, very carefully, she turned around to face who was perhaps the most terrifying being that anyone in Tokiwadai Middle School-no, perhaps even the entire School Garden had ever seen before.
Tokiwadai's Dorm Supervisor.
"I DIDN'T NOTICE THAT SHE CALLED FOR ALL OUR ATTENTION SINCE I WAS TALKING TO KUROKO!"
"N-No..."
Misaka's voice was incredibly small.
"Good." The aura around the imposing woman seemed to fade somewhat as she made her way back to the front of the assembled students.
"Now listen well! To reiterate, every student in the district has been divided into two teams, Red and Blue! The goal is to successfully defend your team's two points, while also capturing the points of the enemy! If you or your fellow teammates are able to stay within the point for more then 120 seconds or are able to defeat every enemy defender, you will capture it and you will no longer be attacked within that zone! No lethal force is allowed in battle, and doing so will result in immediate disqualification in addition to suspension. Capturing both points will result in victory for your team. Maps shall now be handed out to each and every one of you, which will display your team's points as well as the enemy team's points. The time limit is set at 7:00 PM, 8 hours from now. If no team has won by that point, the match will be declared a draw. Plan ahead and accordingly and achieve victory for you team! Good luck to all of you!"
Excitement rang throughout the entire crowd as the dorm supervisor finished relaying instructions. It was the first time that such an exciting event had occurred within the district, and competitive spirits seemed to be at an all time high. It was unlike the Daihasei Festival, in which you would participate in events with teams that would only have a maximum size of one school. However, this was thousands of students from each school in the district on both teams. The eagerness to show off and impress was running rampant throughout many students brains.
"We shall begin in 5 minutes! Take the time to discuss plans with your team before we begin!"
Misaka sighed as the dorm supervisor gave the say-so, and proceeded to leave and go speak with the rest of the faculty.
And as such, with no figure of authority to berate them, the entire crowd burst into commotion.
"TAKE THIS ROUTE! IT'S THE FASTEST WAY INTO THE BUILDING!"
"ARE YOU AN IDIOT?! PASSING THROUGH THE SUBWAY STATION IS WAY FASTER!"
"I think that we should come at them with a full frontal assault!"
"No no no, have one team engage through the front and another flank from the back of the supermarket-"
"No, stay back and evaluate their abilities first!"
Misaka just facepalmed. "Who thought it was a good idea to put so many people on each team? We got a lot less time to strategize then I expected, too, so no one is going to be able to organize themselves or come to an agreement...who even organized this event?..."
The roaring of all the people arguing was deafening, and as such Misaka just shook her head and walked over to a bench.
"I guess I'll just relax here until the event starts. Or, well...try to, anyway."
However, her divergence from the group and subsequent seating on the bench drew the attention of a few of her classmates.
"Oh, of course! Misaka-san! What course of action do you think we should take?"
"Huh? Misaka?"
"She's got the Tokiwadai gym uniform! I remember those from the Daihasei! So she's the real 3rd ranked Railgun, isn't she?!"
"If we have a Level 5, there's no way we'll lose, right?"
Misaka gave a strained smile, but grimaced internally.
"I was hoping to go unnoticed..."
While her renown as a Level 5 was nice to revel in on occasion, the attention it drew to her was probably one of the things she liked the least about her status. Having high expectations for someone as powerful as her was logical, but it was also incredibly uncomfortable and draining knowing that you had that many people's hopes riding on you like that.
Misaka opened her mouth, but as she did so...
Ring! Ring!
Misaka would normally be polite about making an exit, but she felt a little desperate, to be truthful.
"U-Uh, pardon me, I gotta take this..."
It maaaaaay have also had something to do with the fact that she wanted to hide her Gekota phone case.
She rushed into one of the nearby convenience stores, all of which had been temporarily emptied for the sake of the event, and pulled out her phone to see the caller.
She did a double take.
"Shokuhou" was displayed on the screen.
"Why on earth is she calling me?..." She muttered in annoyance.
Nevertheless, she pressed the accept button and put the phone to her ear.
"What do you want, Shokuhou?"
"Such a harsh tone, Misaka-san~I'm hurt," came the honeyed voice over the line.
"Never mind that, the event is gonna start soon. I'm guessing you aren't doing this for the sake of a social call, so what is it?"
"Ugh, you're no fun, Misaka-san...well, anyways, this is quite a bother, don't you think?
"Huh?" Misaka furrowed her eyebrow.
"What do you mean "Huh?" You should have the most comprehension ability regarding a matter like this, shouldn't you? I have better things to be doing, and I don't like being placed on the pedestal of everyone else's hopes for such a silly event like this. I'm sure you don't either, right?"
Misaka stiffened, but did not refute the statement. "Your point?"
"Let's work together on this, Misaka-san. You're at Point A, right?"
"Yeah..."
"I'm at Point B, so what do you say to working in tandem on this? I'll put my ability to it's utmost to capture the enemy's Point B, and you can work on Point A. That way, we can be done with this as fast as possible. It doesn't matter much to me how you go about it, as long as you do it. Agreed?"
"Well...if we aren't working together directly, I'm fine with it. I don't wanna be put on that idol pedestal any longer."
"I figured not. Well, good luck to you, Misaka-san~let's see if some Level 5 teamwork ability will end this farce quickly," said Shokuhou, adopting a sing-song voice near the end.
Misaka shuddered. "Gross. Goodbye, Shokuhou."
"Byeeee, Misaka-san~"
Misaka then snapped her phone shut.
"Well, we'll still be working separately, so I guess I can tolerate this..." sighed Misaka.
"Hopefully this works out well and fast."
Misaka then did a short stretch, then walked out of the convenience store.
RIIIIIINNNNNGGGG!
And just in time, it seemed.
The dorm supervisor's voice then rang out throughout the plaza in which they were assembled in.
"THE CAPTURE THE POINT GAME HAS NOW BEGUN!"
Annnnnd done! Kind of a slow chapter, but this was for build-up anyway, so I think it's warranted...
"Oi, shut up already and tell us when the good stuff's happening!"
Sorry, Accel-kun, patience is key~
"Fuck off, bastard."
Anyways, what's this? Kamijou is at last discovering the "Charming Senpai" route? Is the world ending? Hue hue hue...
I hope you all liked the chapter! If you've got the time, I'd appreciate if you left a review with your thoughts on the chapter! Whether it's praise, suggestions, or constructive criticism, all reviews are valuable and help me improve as the author. If you've got any questions about the story, leave them in that review and they'll be answered next chapter!
Hope you all have an awesome day!
-Cloak
