Before we begin the chapter, I just wanna address something. For those of you who didn't know, I released an A/N regarding chapter 6 after it was released, and I said I would delete it soon after-which I did. However, I didn't realize that doing so would notify you all that there was a new chapter for the story(idk why it works like that)so sorry if you guys got baited by that, specifically Fortitude501 and Majin Othinus, apologies for that.

Also, I'm sure you guys have probably noticed but the story's now got some new cover art! Special thanks to one of my good friends for making it for me(even though you're probably never gonna read this)!

Now, onto reviews:

Terrarianium: Appreciate the praise! As for the Misaka and Gunha fight, I suppose I really should have re-evaluated how I wrote the end-my bad there. Sorry not just to you, but everyone else who was reading and was probably expecting something better-thanks for telling me! As I say, you guys pointing out stuff like that always helps me improve the story. As for the leader of UMBRA, I'll be keeping that as a surprise. Much love!

DarkMatter69: Thanks a ton! I haven't seen your fic, but I'll definitely check it out!

VLPURN: Thanks for being understanding, I appreciate it a ton, as well as your kind words regarding the chapter! In terms of pairings, I have indeed thought of them, but I've got no endgame for them yet. I'm planning for the fic to go on a while, so I'll be making my final decision regarding them later down the road.

Wildan: Cheers! I had a lot of fun writing Aogami vs Kuroko, good to know that you enjoyed it! Sorry that the Misaka and Gunha fight disappointed you; hopefully I can make the future fights to your enjoyment!

I do not own the masterpiece that is Toaru Majutsu no Index.


ARC 1: High School Breakdown

Chapter 7: Sunset on the Last Second(Game_End.)

"Hahhh...hahhh..hahhhh..."

Kamijou Touma was breathing very heavily. Even for a boy who had mastered the art of running marathon distances across Academy City, he still had a breaking point of stamina. After running from an angry mob of people for around half an hour at full speed, he definitely felt like it was warranted to take a breather. He still had his limits and comfort zones, after all.

He had sprinted as fast as he possibly could back towards the red team's side of the district, and was currently approaching one of the points that their team had been tasked with guarding-the one that he and Tsuchimikado had left from. While returning back to base when he was one of the attackers might've seemed like an irresponsible and lazy thing to do, Kamijou was far too tired to care.

The point was a book store-which was a major relief for Kamijou, because he knew that they tended to sell water bottles near the front as an accessory to it's typical book stock. While there wasn't anyone at the check-outs, he figured that taking one and leaving the corresponding amount of yen would suffice. With that in mind, Kamijou wobbled over towards the store's entrance with his legs feeling like jelly.

If he wasn't so disoriented, he may have noticed that there were a few students sprawled out on the ground, knocked out cold, all of them wearing specific green armbands on their right arms. This would've normally been a sight to raise eyebrows, but Kamijou did not register it and instead made a beeline for the entrance to the store-trying not to stumble as he did so.

With the sun beating down on his back, the journey towards the front door seemed like an eternity; but eventually the boy managed to push through the glass double doors of the store and entered. He was immediately greeted with the very refreshing, air-conditioned atmosphere of the room, proving to be a very welcome change for him. Now slightly perked up from the relaxing, cool air, he made his way to one of the fridges near the cash register. Opening the door, he reached inside and pushed aside the multitude of soft drinks that were at it's forefront, grabbed one of the water bottles near the back, and then closed the door after retracting his hand.

"Really, thank goodness...I finally get to relax after that marathon through hell..." Kamijou breathed sighs of relief in his head as he gave a breezy smile. The cold, refrigerated water bottle in his hand felt like heaven itself manifested in the palm of his hand-which only made the anticipation to have a sip even more agitating. As he stopped in front of the counter, he reached into his pocket...

...and his stomach dropped.

The 100 yen coin that he had kept in his pocket for this very purpose was no longer there.

"D-Don't tell me...that it fell out of my pocket when I was running?!..."

The boy then gave a shaky smile, a tear beginning to form at the corner of each eye.

"It's no problem...I'll just get through the event to the end!...Who needs water, anyway?...Haha..."

An air of sadness surrounded the boy as he slowly began making his way back towards the fridge from which he had gotten the water, a smile on his face that barely concealed the dejection behind it...

...until he heard a voice to his right.

"Oh, Kami-yan? You're back already?"

Kamijou's expression normalized itself as he turned to the source of the voice-a boy his age, with blue hair and eyes perpetually closed. It was Aogami Pierce.

"Uh, yeah...I spent so much time running that I'm already spent," the boy sheepishly murmured.

"Mmhmm." Aogami nodded as he then eyed the bottle of water Kamijou held in his hand. "And what's with the water? Why're you putting it back in the freezer? Were you just using it as a makeshift ice pack or something?"

The spiky-haired boy shook his head. "I was planning on buying it by taking it and leaving the money on the counter...but I think I lost my coin when I was out running..."

"Oi, oi, Kami-yan, what's with that depressing aura you're surrounded in right now?! If it gets any worse, a thunder cloud might even appear over your head!"

"I SPENT HALF AN HOUR STRAIGHT RUNNING AT FULL SPEED FROM A GIRL WHO WANTED TO SHAKE ME DOWN FOR ANSWERS! I WANT AT LEAST A BIT OF COMPENSATION!"

"COMPENSATION FOR WHAT?! ISN'T THAT HOT?!"

"ISN'T YOUR FACE ALSO LOOKING A LOT MORE PUNCHABLE NOW?!"

"OH, TOUCHE, KAMI-YAN! BUT, AM I WRONG!?"

"YES! YES, YES, YES, YOU ARE A HUNDRED PERCENT WRONG! THERE ISN'T ANYTHING HOT ABOUT RUNNING FOR YOUR LIFE!"

"ARE YOU DISSING YANDERES RIGHT NOW, KAMI-YAN?!"

"SHE NEVER WAS ONE TO BEGIN WITH!"

Kamijou sighed as he face-palmed. His exhaustion combined with the overall idiocy of their conversation did not do him any wonders for his current brain capacity, and so he merely shook his head as he turned to leave. He was still dehydrated, but paid the issue no mind.

Or, that was what he had been planning to do.

"Huh?"

Kamijou made a noise of surprise as he felt Aogami tap his left shoulder. Turning on his heel, he faced the blue-haired boy, and instinctively raised his hands to catch a small metal object.

It was a 100 yen coin.

"Some Judgement members came to try and ambush us earlier and we got into a bit of a scuffle, so I already got a fill of water earlier. I know you'd probably feel bad about taking something without paying for it, so you can have that to ease your conscience a bit."

"...Thanks," Kamijou said.

He didn't want to make it sound egotistical of him, but Kamijou believed he was a decent judge of character. He didn't think Aogami was a bad person by any stretch-a bit overenthusiastic, sure, but not bad per se. However, the show of good virtue still caught him off a little.

He hadn't gotten the water that he was hoping for initially, but he was also not the type of person to steal any kind of goods, even if it was just one simple water bottle among many. His conscience would scream and roar at him if he even considered doing such a thing, therefore the moment the boy realized that his 100 yen coin was missing, he had already subconsciously made the decision to tough things out until the end. It seemed Aogami understood that to an extent, so although it was a small thing, Kamijou still felt grateful for the boy in that moment.

Aogami gave him a grin and thumbs-up as he then disappeared into the book shelves near the back of the store. It didn't take much of genius to know what kind of literature he was likely looking for, so Kamijou just gave a sigh and walked towards the counter with the new 100 yen coin clutched in his hand. Walking back to the freezer, he once again pulled out a bottle of ice cold water and then began making his way to the counter, shutting the door to the freezer behind him.

Popping open the cash register, he deposited the coin into it's corresponding section and then shut it closed. Satisfied with his payment, he then wandered outside.

"I..."

He began to convulse in excitement.

"I MANAGED TO GET SOME WATER! SUCH FORTUNE!"

It was a very child-like thing to harbor such delight over, but for someone who was denied small pleasures in life so often, Kamijou was overjoyed that he had been granted mercy for once. Not wasting any time and chancing losing his prized possession, he popped the bottle open and began to take a sip.

"Kami-yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnn!"

Kamijou almost dropped the bottle out of surprise-it would've likely resulted in a waterfall of comical tears if he did so-but he managed to maintain himself. Turning to his left to face the source of the noise, he saw a familiar face with sunglasses.

"Don't scare me like that, Tsuchimikado...you could've woken up a neighborhood with how loud that was..."

The boy just shrugged. "Well, we're in the middle of daytime, so that doesn't really matter does it now, does it?"

Kamijou just face-palmed. "Well, I wasn't expecting to see you back as soon as me...did you manage to get a point?"

Tsuchimikado shook his head. "No luck. We got forced back, so I'm just here to chill for a while, nyah!"

"Uh-huh...Well, what should we do now, then?"

"We've already contributed to the part of attacking, Kami-yan. And that means that now, we've got full reign to do what we want!"

"Uhm, we did like nothing..."

"As I said, Kami-yan, we've already paid our contributions! There's thousands of students on the team; they'll make do without us!"

"That's a really lazy way of doing things..."

"Regardless! Let's do some wandering, Kami-yan!"

There was a bit of apprehensiveness still instilled into Kamijou, but he rationalized it a little. If he was with someone else while wandering around, there was a lower chance of him being chased down by anyone who wanted to pick a fight; something Kamijou really didn't want at the moment. So, although it was against his better judgement, in the end he decided to give in and humor his friend.

And that was how Tsuchimikado Motoharu and Kamijou Touma wound up inside an internet cafe 20 minutes later.

"Oiiii, Kami-yan, catch!"

"Wah?!..."

Kamijou just barely managed to turn in time to catch the cup of coffee that the blonde had thrown at him.

"Are you insane?! Why are you throwing a hot drink in a cup through the air like that?! Are you trying to scorch me into the ground!?"

"Oh, relax, Kami-yan, it wouldn't be that bad! Besides, I know you've got the reflexes to do stuff like that."

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT OF WHAT I'M SAYING HERE!"

"Anyway, here's to victory, Kami-yan! Cheers!" Tsuchimikado sat down in the seat opposite to Kamijou at the delicate wooden table, holding up his own cup of coffee.

"..."

"Oh, come on, I even got black coffee without sugar! That's your favorite kind, isn't it? Cheer up! Or do you want a croissant too?"

"I don't need anything extravagant. I'm just not thirsty."

"What do you mean?! There's always room for coffee! Can't go wrong with it!"

"I'd rather just have the croissant instead, but you've already taken this coffee without permission, which means that my daily budget of self-indulgence has already been broken into pieces..."

"No need to worry about that, Kami-yan! I took you here, so it's all on me!"

Kamijou raised an eyebrow. "That's...gracious of you."

"Thank me later, nyah!" Tsuchimikado merrily waved his hand through the air.

The black-haired boy then shook his head, but did not make any move to leave. Instead, he opened the lid on the cup of coffee, and slowly took a sip. Grinning, Tsuchimikado sat down opposite to him.

"See? Told you there's always room for coffee!"

A sigh could be heard from the opposite end of the table. "Well, it's kinda rude to reject someone who's giving you something they paid for, isn't it?"

"Right, right."

About a minute passed, and the two boys continued to enjoy their drinks. While Kamijou had the sugar-free black coffee, Tsuchimikado had decided on a milkshake; Kamijou had no idea how he got a hold of it since there was no staff there to make the drink for him, but he shrugged it off. Perhaps Tsuchimikado had some secret bartender powers he knew nothing about.

Each boy calmly sipped on their respective drinks, not saying a word. It was almost like a stereotypical tea party-one that consisted of two people having a calm, collected discussion at a wooden table just like the one they were sitting it, only with different drinks in play. It was a very stress-free scenario.

Or at least, it would be if not for one thing that Tsuchimikado took irritating notice of.

"...Kami-yan, why do you keep taking a sip and then looking out the window like someone's got a gun pointed at you?..."

"Shhh!" Kamijou hurriedly put up his hand to silence him.

"Uhhhh..."

"Shhhhhhhh!" The hushing sound was extended this time, with Kamijou sending him a pointed look.

After that, Tsuchimikado did not speak again for the next two minutes-until they had both finished their drinks. As soon as Kamijou set down his now empty cup onto the table, he sprung up from his chair, throwing his hands up like he was reaching for the sky.

"I DID IT!"

"W...What?" The blonde had a completely dumbfounded look on his face. Normally, he would be able to get an inkling of what was happening in any given situation based on little information or observations-such was the skillset of a spy. However, he had genuinely zero idea what his fellow Delta Force member was so excited about.

"I MANAGED TO ENJOY SOMETHING OF GOODWILL FROM ANOTHER PERSON WITHOUT EXPERIENCING ANY MISFORTUNE! I MUST HAVE REACHED A CHECKPOINT ON THE GAME OF LIFE AND GOTTEN A MAGICAL POWERUP!"

Tsuchimikado snorted. "Don't be a fool, Kami-yan..."

"Huh?" The black-haired boy turned to his friend with a confused look-before it suddenly broke out into panic.

"Oi, wait, Tsuchimikado! Don't tell me that I didn't experience any misfortune because you're gonna be the one to dish it out! That would be like opening up a new route of doom!"

"No, no, no, Kami-yan...I MEAN YOU SHALL NEVER REACH ONE OF THE CHECKPOINTS OF LIFE UNTIL YOU HAVE LOST YOUR VIRGNI-"

"THAT'S A WHOLE NEW LEVEL OF FORTUNE THAT I THINK I'LL HAVE TO DO HUNDREDS MORE LEVELS FOR TO UNLOCK!"

"AT THE RATE YOU'RE GOING IT'S GONNA BE ONLY A FEW!"

"WHAAAT?! WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?"

"YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT IT'S SUPPOSED TO MEAN, MR HAREM KING!"

"FOR THE LAST TIME, I AM NOT A HAR-YOU KNOW WHAT, NO. I'M NOT HAVING THIS ARGUMENT AGAIN!"

"BECAUSE YOU KNOW YOU'LL LOSE, RIGHT?!"

"THAT'S NOT WHAT I'M SAYING!"

Taking a deep breath, Kamijou leaned back in his seat, eyebrows narrowed in annoyance.

"Deny it all you want, Kami-yan, but you'll never be able to escape the clutches of the harem route."

"And I'm telling you that I was never on it in the first place!"

"Don't try and deflect i-"

RIINNNG!

Tsuchimikado abruptly stopped mid-sentence. He could hear his phone ringing from his pocket.

"Gimme a second, Kami-yan. I gotta take this."

Kamijou just absentmindedly nodded, waving him off, and the blonde hurried outside, closing the door behind him.

"Well? What'd you find, Musujime?" He spoke quickly.

"Well, there's not much. All I could extract were tidbits, but there was a self-destruct function enabled on it. There was probably some sort of facial recognition thing built into the camera. All I got were a a few scraps of their financial records and reciepts for some pistols and materials that UMBRA ordered, but it was all under fake names at some obscure rendezvous points. Trying to trace them through transactions isn't gonna work."

"Their the careful type, huh? But that's not foolproof. Send those receipts to Accelerator-see if he can track down the retailers who sold them those guns and get them to spill some details."

"Roger that. What's your location right now? Did you manage to save some face?"

"I'm at Speed and Search; the internet cafe that's around 4 blocks away from the river."

"Oh...that's convenient, then. How about a little side job?"

"Side job? What do you mean?"

"One of the receipts that we found traces back to a convenience store near the School Garden, around 3 minutes from that cafe. Apparently, it's got a secret cache of pistols and rifles in it's storage, if the little notes on their general journal are any indication. You can go and shake them down for some answers."

"Ugh...and I had been looking forward to making fun of a friend of mine, too...guess that'll have to wait. Can you contact the support staff to send a vehicle to pick me up there in 6 minutes time?" Tsuchimikado spoke as he began walking out of the alley he had entered to take the call.

"I figured you'd agree to it once you knew about it, so I've already sent one on the way. It's a garbage truck around one block away; if you pop into the back, you should find some pistols and ammo in the back in case things get ugly."

"...Thanks, I guess."

Closing his phone shut, the blonde immediately set off running down the street. "Looks like our little banter will have to wait, Kami-yan."

Tsuchimikado Motoharu was very aware of how valuable a chance like this was. He was the kind of person who would carry out their work efficiently regardless of the little things that he disregarded on the way.

And so, he set off.

However, there was one thing that Tsuchimikado had counted on, but did not happen.

Instead of staying inside the cafe, wondering where his friend had went, Kamijou Touma went up to the front window of the Speed and Search internet cafe.

"Is Tsuchimikado still on the phone?..." He idly muttered as he stared out onto the street.

But as he looked out onto the road, he did not see his friend standing around, talking on the phone. Instead, he could see Tsuchimikado bolting down the street in a full sprint, and despite the fact that he was relatively far, Kamijou could still make out the expression on his face.

It was one of urgency, and coldness.

It vaguely reminded Kamijou of him, Tsuchimikado and Stiyl Magnus' pursuit of Oriana Thompson during the Daihasei Festival just two weeks ago.

"Shit..."

In an instant, the door to the internet cafe was swung open. There was still a finished cup of coffee sitting on the table which had not been thrown out in the trash, but that was no longer of concern to Kamijou Touma.

"If there's some rough business that you have to deal with weighing on your shoulders..."

The black-haired boy grit his teeth.

"...then ask your friend for some help!"


It was completely unassuming.

Then again, that would be exactly what any location for secret circulation of contraband would want to be.

Tsuchimikado stood outside of the convenience store that had been detailed to him by his GROUP colleague. A pistol lay in his pocket-one that he had retrieved via the truck that Musujime had sent in advance. He had a very simple job-which was to look for information. He couldn't exactly kill the owner or anything; after all, this wasn't a job that was assigned by Management, and therefore killing a supplier to another dark side organization without authorization would definitely result in repercussions, both from Management itself as well as the organization who was buying off of the supplier.

However, the job wasn't going to be as complicated as it normally might have been.

Given that the Capture the Point game was today, there was no staff in to manage the stores; which meant he had free reign to search.

He stepped into the store, which was empty. Drinks, snacks and quality of life items lined the walls and racks, but he paid none of them any mind. He strolled to the back of the store, and the back door to the storage room came into view. There was a keyhole there, indicating that it was locked, but it hardly mattered to him. Reaching into his pockets, he pulled out a lockpick, and swiftly got the door open-flawlessly, and with finesse.

Opening the door, he came face to face with exactly what one would expect-freezers full of drinks, boxes full of snacks and merchandise, and some racks of candy and other items. It was exactly what a storage room should be.

But, with the background knowledge he had, Tsuchimikado knew he had to dig deeper.

He began by pushing everything aside. Like he was a janitor, he moved the boxes and racks aside, inspecting around every nook and cranny, looking for a clue. He closely inspected the walls and floor, tapping and pushing his hands and feet around, looking for any potential trapdoors or a loose floorboard with something beneath it.

He frowned. No luck.

"There's no way that they'd keep it in the front-convenience stores are always frequently visited by the students, and the chances of any hiding spot being revealed are way too large, especially if one used their powers for whatever reason. So it's gotta be back here..."

"...but where?" He muttered.

He felt around the walls for anything that he could push through, moved the freezers with some effort and looked around where they were, but he could find nothing.

Slightly confused, Tsuchimikado sat down on a box, idly twirling around the lock to one of the freezers in one hand.

...

"...Wait."

A lock?

Tsuchimikado stood up instantly.

"Why would there be a sophisticated lock like this on a freezer?"

He smirked. This was it.

"It must've been painted to look exactly like the actual freezers. This has gotta be the cache, and I've got exactly what I need to break into it."

He wasn't anxious to take any supplies or weaponry-the disappearance of those would be very obvious as soon as it was looked at. However, he was hoping to find perhaps a document, or notepad, or some other form of information.

Grabbing a different lockpick from his pockets, he clicked open the cache, and swung the door open.

As expected, piled within was about a dozen pistols with their respective magazines, as well as a few rifles with their own magazines. There was also a couple devices, like metal detectors, electronic signal scramblers, among a few stacks of yen bills. Likely the profits from the illegal dealings.

At first glance, it seemed like there was nothing that could tell anyone anything about the actual buyers.

Rummaging through the storage at initially also gave that impression.

However, as he at last rifled through some of the yen bills, he could feel metal. Which by no means should've been on a bill.

He quickly shook the bills in the air, and a few small electronic devices fell out onto the floor.

"IC chips!"

And at last, he had found what he had been searching for.

He did the same shaking to all the other bills in the cache, and eventually gathered up all the chips that were there. With them being quite small, he managed to fit the chips, which totaled at 6, into his left pocket-tucked up next to his pistol. He hurriedly stuffed everything back into the cache the way it had been before, and then closed it, putting the lock back on.

"Phew...I'm lucky that both the storage room door and the cache had locks on as their security," He vaguely thought out of relief.

He exited the store, making his way to the garbage truck at the end of the street. It was time to make a break for it.

"Oi, Tsuchimikado!"

...Or not.


Kamijou Touma came to a stop in front of the convenience store, panting heavily. He had lost track of Tsuchimikado about halfway, due to him being so far ahead of him, and so he had spent a while running around the streets trying to catch a glimpse of him. Eventually, he had lucked out as he peered across the street that he had been chased down earlier, and caught sight of the blonde walking outside of the convenience store at the end of the street.

"Seriously...I've already ran far more then I wanted to today, so can I catch a break already?..."

Tsuchimikado Motoharu had a somewhat panicked expression on his face. "L-Look, Kami-yan, I'm in a hurry, so can we leave this till later?!"

Kamijou raised an eyebrow. "What're you in such a hurry for?"

"U-Uhhh...a bathroom! Yeah, a bathroom! I realllllly have to go!"

"Uhh...right then...why didn't you go, then?"

"Uh...the door was locked! I couldn't get in! Woe is me!"

"We're not in some nineteenth century drama, you know."

"Oh, the terror!"

"That's not any better...and why didn't you just use the bathroom back at the cafe?..."

"O-Oh, it was unlocked?! How silly of me not to realize!"

Kamijou's eyebrow was now raised so high it might as well have been in his hair.

"You seem...hyper."

"Whatever could you be talking about, Kami-yan? Now, excuse me, for I must continue on my quest for a bathroom!"

With that, Kamijou could barely react before Tsuchimikado had burst into a full sprint down the street. He just sighed as he watched him disappear around a corner.

"Well, I guess it wasn't a serious matter after all...but, what was the call about then?..."

The boy wondered aloud as he gazed into the distance.

"The suspect was spotted, near the end of the street there. He had black sunglasses on with spiky-blonde hair; the description fits. Are you associated with him?"

"Huh?"

Turning around, he saw two girls jump down from a nearby stairwell right next to him. "Gah!"

They barely showed any remorse for his reaction. "Please tell us, are you associated with the blonde in sunglasses?"

"U-Uhm...yeah? We're friends, after all. Although he's a pain sometimes and can be annoying, he is still a friend who I respect and..."

"So you're an accomplice of a thief, then. So you must know where he's headed currently. Tell us immediately."

"W-What? He's just going to find a bathroom...wait, why are you even pursuing him in the first place?!"

"He wants privacy to commit unspeakable acts while rummaging through her phone?! Despicable!"

"WHAT?!"

It was only then that Kamijou finally registered in his head that the two girls had Tokiwadai uniforms on.

"For the sake of Shokuhou-sama's quest to find this troublemaker, we must take you with him by association!"

"I DIDN'T WANNA RUN FOR THE THIRD TIME TODAY!"

Kamijou screamed this out into the sky, as he turned on his heel and bolted away as fast as he could.


It had taken all day.

It was currently 7:14 PM, and the Capture the Point game had concluded. Kamijou was panting-he had been running for multiple hours, and was on his last legs. Thankfully for him, he had managed to outlast the girls who had been tailing him-which, granted, had been for a very long time. They were very persistent.

"Shokuhou-sama, we apologize...we failed to bring in the troublemaker...he was far too fast for either of us to catch up to."

"Don't worry, girls...I'll take care of him. No one can run for that long and not be tired."

Shokuhou Misaki leisurely walked down to the street below them. Upon receiving a report from the pursuers, Shokuhou had rushed to where they reported he had taken refuge(with help from one of her clique members); which was one of the assembly points for the students to gather once the game had finished. No doubt he was seeking safety here. However, when Mental Out was involved, there was no safety anywhere among a crowd. If she wanted, she could leisurely stroll through a crowd of Anti-Skill officers onto a crime scene and not get punished for doing so.

So she absentmindedly walked to the street down a staircase, searching for the target she had been informed about-

-and stopped.

She could see the target now. She had only gotten a vague description, but it was clear to her now who it was. The spiky-black haired boy, Kamijou Touma, was seated at one of the benches on the street, chatting. It seemed that the teachers had already delivered their congratulations speech to the students for finishing the event-she knew not who had won, but she didn't particularly care either. A smile grew on her face. Why? Because she could also see who he was chatting with.

A blonde boy in black sunglasses.

She made her way over slowly. She could see them take notice of her from a about 10 meters away.

Coming to a stop in front of them, she gazed at the blonde. "Do you, by chance, possess a phone that does not belong to you?..."

"No chance! I'm not the type to steal!" He said, instantly putting his hands up.

"Is that so?"

"Yep! I'm squeaky clean! A-Ok! Not suspicious! Absolutely cleeeeaaaarrr!"

"I think you're making it worse for yourself, Tsuchimikado..." muttered the black-haired boy.

Shokuhou gave a honey sweet smile.

"I see. My mistake for assuming that you had done such a thing."

"Yeah, seriously, it's rude! How could you assume something so-"

"So, I trust that if I were to search your pockets right now, that I would find nothing evidencing any thievery ability?..."

Tsuchimikado seemed to turn into a statue.

"That's not the kind of smile you should have while threatening someone with such a demonic undertone! At least do a sinister smile so we know what's coming!"

The fact that Shokuhou's charming smile stayed constant throughout the threat only seemed to terrify the two boys.

"H-Here..." And in an instant, Tsuchimikado had relinquished the pink-cased phone to the girl, who grabbed it and put it into her purse.

"That wasn't so hard, now, was it-"

"Hm? What exactly are you doing here?"

"!"

Shokuhou instantly tensed. She turned on her heel to face the speaker.

It was an older girl, with an impressive bust; shoulder length black hair, with a red headband wrapped on top of it; a too-short uniform that exposed her midriff, as well as an aura of beauty and elegance surrounding her that Shokuhou begrudgingly admitted rivaled her own.

"Kumokawa Seria!..." She muttered the girl's name with barely concealed irritation.

"Shokuhou Misaki..." The girl uttered her own name in the exact same way.

"U-Uh...senpai, do you two know each other?..." Kamijou meekly muttered, as even he could feel the tension in the air.

"You could say that."

"You could say that."

The two girls spoke in unison. A moment later, they narrowed their eyes at each other in irritation. It was akin to seeing two kids angry at each other and angrily saying "Stop copying me!"

"Pardon us for a moment, kouhai. We need to have a...discussion."

"R-Right..."

With that, the two disappeared down the street.


Kumokawa Seria and Shokuhou Misaki were currently sitting at a table in a nearby plaza. However, the pleasant atmosphere that normally occupied such a location was not present-in it's place was tension.

"I thought we had an agreement to not interact with him. That we would support him from the shadows. And yet, you spoke to him with such vixen-like ability, with your affectionate "kohai" talk...whatever happened to that?..."

Shokuhou spoke with an annoyed tone, one that was no longer concealed like before.

"I merely made a decision."

However, Kumokawa Seria's voice was curt, and sharp. Right away, Shokuhou could tell that there was a different air to her compared to when they had last seen each other.

"Something's going to happen, Shokuhou. I have a distinct feeling that things here in Academy City are going to change. The moving of Sogiita Gunha, the seventh, can't have been a coincidence. Not when it was right after that incident, on the 2nd."

The honey-blonde girl raised an eyebrow. "I thought all of that was just a silly rumor?"

Kumokawa just shook her head. "It was no rumor. And now that I know something's going to happen, I refuse to separate myself from him again. He will need help, and support, things to keep him and his comrades on their feet. I can't watch him dive into a serious situation without support again. And that's why I will break our agreement. Hell, the school even put us into the same class together...it's like fate, wouldn't you say?"

The beautiful older girl then looked directly into Shokuhou's eyes.

"If you won't step up, then I will. I'm quite informed on many things happening within this city, and I am prepared to face them with him should he involve himself. But since I've broken the agreement, I suppose it'd be unfair to not allow you free reign either. So I won't stop you from doing your own part. He could use all the help he can get, after all."

Kumokawa then stood up and began walking away, her black hair flowing with the wind.

"All I ask is that you do not control him with your Mental Out. I'm sure you're more aware then anyone as to how superficial that would be."


"Have you analyzed the chips?"

Tsuchimikado Motoharu urgently spoke over the phone. He had excused himself to the bathroom for the second time that day, but he needed answers.

"Yes, the analysis came in about an hour ago." Came the voice from the other end.

"And?"

"There's isn't too much on them-it was information stored away in an insignificant and unprotected convenience store, after all. But we did find one thing."

"I'm listening."

"UMBRA was involved with the break-in at the Windowless Building on October 2nd."

Tsuchimikado was silent for a moment. Then, he spoke.

"If they've got the gear and wits to help orchestrate something like that, then this might be even more of a problem then we thought. Report anything else you find on UMBRA to me if you come across it, Unabara."

"Of course."

The phone then cut off.

The blonde then pocketed his phone, and stared uneasily at the ceiling.


First arc is now complete! We'll be moving into the second one next chapter! Hope you all enjoyed High School Breakdown!

Also, I'm gonna be experimenting with putting in music next chapter. Full details on that will be divulged there once it's released.

Again, hope you all enjoyed! If you've got the time to leave feedback in a review, whether it's praise, suggestions, or criticism, all is welcomed! Everything helps me write the next chapter better and hopefully improve your experience as a reader, so everything is appreciated!

If you've got any questions concerning the chapter or story, feel free to leave them in that review and they'll be addressed next chapter!

Have a great day and stay safe!

-Cloak