He we are again! Time for a new chapter! I think this one is going to be pretty interesting. This is where really big shifts in the canon are going to start happening. Trust me, you'll know when you see them. However, this is going to be a shorter chapter. Sorry.
Now, let's get some Q&A done!
Cyber dragonarmy: Yeah, that's pretty funny! I was considering sending you a PM to let you know. Sure glad I didn't, that would have been embarrassing. I'm glad you liked the fight. I wanted to make it as believable as possible to Touma to not OHKO the thing. He many be the original One Punch Man, but he doesn't have to end fights just as quickly. I've always saw myself as a bit of a stand up comedian. The timeline is based on a chronology video made by Misty Chronexia on Youtube, which places the Level Upper Arc before the beginning of the Index Arc. If you want to know how I will handle the order of canon events, I would suggest you go watch the video. I think you're going to find what I did with the extra class workshop is a bit more... sophisticated.
RareSilver: I'm glad you enjoyed the story so far. As for the nicknames, I mainly did that to create a greater sense of familiarity between Touma and the Railgang since it is none existent in canon. I might give other characters nicknames in the future, but only if Touma has had no prior interaction with them in canon. As for shipping, considering that we now have three or four different harems in the Light Novels, I'd say its safe to assume more ships will be coming. I should probably update the summary if that's the case.
Bluejac222: Glad you like how the fight was handled. Don't worry, just one more chapter after this and then the Index Arc starts.
MrQuestionMark: I thought you would like how I handled the fight. A little change in pace can really make for a breath of fresh air. I get that Touma randomly punching Kiyama can seem a bit off, but it's not the first time he's done this? Remember the Deep Blood Arc? (As I'm typing this, I realize the irony in that statement.) When Stiyl used Touma as bait to draw away an attack, Touma tricked him into letting himself get punched and bit his tongue as revenge. Touma can be petty at times. It's not totally out of character.
Awareness Bringer: Glad you liked the chapter. As much as I love an addition to a harem, there are lines I don't cross. I'm sorry to say that student teacher relationships that do not involve the ultimate loli Komoe are over the line for me, even if it's for the fandom. I'm not Aogami, I have standards.
acpeters: I'm glad you like the story so far.
ahsoei: Touma can be petty at times. He tricked Stiyl into biting his tongue with an uppercut once after being used as bait. It's not totally out of character.
RedSS: Glad you enjoyed. As for shipping, this is based on a harem franchise. There will still be Kamikuro moments, especially after a certain scene involving a certain other teleport and several hundred kilograms of mass.
narufuuin: I'm still doing the Index Arc, but your treading into spoiler territory there. Sorry.
ALostBlueIdiot: Hey, I'm just keeping everyone in character. Also, this is a happy place, so let's try to focus on the good.
MaiBilaro: Your welcome.
mohamadstar94: I will try to keep going.
Guest (1): Your welcome to your own opinion, but please try to stay calm about them. This is a happy place. I will say that at least some of your issued have already been planned to be dealt with. Your asking a lot of spoiler questions, so I can't answer them. I will say that the idol spin-off will not be included, but I might create my own idol spin-off if there is enough support for it and I have the time, or I could sanction it to someone else.
Guest (2): I'm going all the way! As far as I can go! Fly for the moon!
LZWriter: Thank you for such high praise! I'm not worthy!
AC phony (Guest): First magic side arc in two chapters.
Now that that's out of the way, Disclaimer!
Disclaimer: All characters and plotlines of the "A Certain" franchise are credited to Kazuma Kamachi.
Chapter 7: Value of Zero
Following the events of the Level Upper Case, Mikoto and Kuroko had found themselves with a day off. The two were discussing what they could do for the day at Joseph's, but they couldn't decide on anything. Kuroko had suggested going to see a new romance movie, her intentions clear to anyone that knew her, but Mikoto wasn't overly interested. Mikoto had suggested going to a summer festival over at Seventh Mist after seeing an ad in a magazine. However, Kuroko quickly caught on and deduced that Mikoto only wanted to go because Gekota was involved. The two began to argue over Mikoto's clear love for the frog mascot, but were interrupted by the arrival of one of their dear friends.
"Sorry I'm late," Uiharu greeted, "I hope you haven't been waiting too long. I missed the first bus."
"No, no, don't worry about it," Mikoto insisted, "We only just got here ourselves."
"Hey, Saten's not with you today?" Kuroko noticed.
After a quick explanation and getting herself something to drink, Uiharu surprised her friends with the revelation that Saten had extra classes. The girls could hardly believe it. It was their day off and students from all over Academy City were being called in for extra classes. Apparently, the extra classes were some special workshop. It just didn't seem fair. The girls just couldn't believe how unlucky Saten had gotten.
"Speaking about bad luck," Mikoto mused, "Have either of you heard from that idiot recently?"
"You mean Kamijou?" Uiharu asked with a stiff smile.
"Yeah, he said he was going to be busy today," Kuroko explained, "Something about helping his teachers with their work in exchange for extra credit."
"Just like that idiot," Mikoto huffed, "Always going off to help someone, especially when something stupid like his grades are on the line."
"I wonder what he's doing right now?" Uiharu mused, staring off out the window.
Elsewhere in Academy City, Saten had just arrived at the top of a hill, where the location of her required special workshop was located. Her destination, A Certain High School. Once she arrived, she also met up with her low-level friends from school, Akemi, Muu and Makochin, the same ones she used the Level Upper with. As the girls made their way towards their classes, they lamented about their lose of a day off and the seeming pointlessness of the lessons. Once again, the conversation brought up their unsatisfied states as Level 0s. However, when asked for her opinion, Saten simply resigned to their fate, much to her friends' disappointment.
When they got to their class, they were surprised to see the variety of students that had showed up to the workshop. No two students wore the same school uniform, save for Saten and her friends and a group of high school students that seemed to be part of a gang. However, the number of students that showed up was lacking. It was not even enough to fill in half the classroom.
However, the most surprising part of the class had to be the teacher. When she first arrived, everyone had mistaken her for an elementary school student. She was extremely short, dressed in pink, and downright adorable. The description was quite fitting, considering the fact she was named Komoe Tsukuyomi. However, she also had a frightening personality. She made academic related threats in the most innocent voice imaginable, somehow making the threats feel more threatening.
As for the lesson itself, it was mostly standard fair. Komoe went over all of the basics of Esper abilities for most of the morning. It was nothing Saten had not heard before. It was all Personal Realities and quantum theory again. However, things took an odd turn when Komoe stopped the lecture a few minutes ahead of time, much to the shock of the students. They had expected at least another half hour of lectures.
"Okay, that's it for the morning lecture," Komoe announced, "but before you go for lunch break, there is someone I would like you all to meet. He is a student of mine and a Level 0 like many of you. Many people would say he is the ideal Level 0."
Many of the students in the room could only ponder and who this person could be. The few enthusiastic students thought he would be someone that was super strong and respected despite not having an ability. The more cynical students, specifically the high school gang member, thought he would be some weak nobody that was completely complacent and a total pushover. As for Saten, she didn't know what to think.
"Okay, you can come in now," Komoe called.
The door to the classroom opened up and revealed somebody Saten would have never suspected.
"Hello, my name is Touma Kamijou," Touma introduced himself as he walked in, "It's nice to meet you all."
"Kamijou?" Saten asked in surprise, "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, hey Flipper," Touma greeted, ignoring Saten's question entirely.
"Oh, you two know each other?" Komoe asked.
"She's a friend I met through Judgement," Touma explained, not thinking much of the situation.
"As for why Kamijou is here, he is here to give you all a one-on-one experience with someone who lives the life of a Level 0, but still finds fulfillment in it," Komoe said, answering Saten's question, "But before that, I believe that you have something you wanted to tell everyone before you got started, Kamijou?"
"Right," Touma responded.
He took a deep breath before speaking directly to the entire class.
"I don't want to betray your trust when I council all of you should you find this out latter, so I'm just going to come clean now," Touma said, "Despite being a Level 0, I do possess an ability. My right hand is capable of negating anything supernatural that comes in contact with it, thus letting me negate other abilities. However, do to how it works and Academy City's classification system, I have been labeled a Level 0 and have lived the same kind of life as the rest of you."
"Wait, you're just going to come right out with it?!" Saten asked in shock.
"Of course, he doesn't want you all to think he intentionally lied to you," Komoe explained.
"Besides, one of my teachers was present when I was helping to fight that monster that was born from the Level Upper and saw me use my power first hand so Miss Komoe already knew as well," Touam added.
"That's just a load of crap!" the leader of the high school gang yelled, "As if such a power exists, let along in the hand of a Level 0!"
"Whether or not you believe me is up to you," Touma replied calmly, "I just want you all to know that regardless of me having an ability, I am just a Level 0, just like all of you. My power does me no favors when it comes to life here in Academy City, but I still make the best of my situation. I come to school, I hang out with friends, manage what little money I get from the city as an Esper, and I help people around me, regardless of whether or not a power would be useful or even needed."
"As you can see, Kamijou here is proof that even someone without a power can be worth something in Academy City. Despite his limitations, he still does what he can to be of use, and even goes beyond what many people would think his limitations are," Komoe added, before noticing the time, "That will be all for now. I'm sure you'd all like a nice long lunch break, but please don't be late for the afternoon class. It's for your own good, I promise."
Having said their piece, Komoe and Touma left the classroom to have their own lunch break. As soon as they were gone, the students prepared to have their lunch breaks as well, but a good handful of students had gathered around Saten after seeing her casual exchange with their guest student speaker.
"Do you really know each other, Ruiko?" Akemi asked, "Is he your secret boyfriend or something."
"No, he's nothing like that. We're just friends," Saten explained, blushing at the implication, "Besides, I'm pretty sure Misaka has a thing for him."
"The Level 5 you hang out with?" Muu asked for confirmation, "I get that she's actually pretty down to earth, but surely she could do better than him."
"You'd be surprised, he's actually a pretty nice guy," Saten replied, "From what I hear from his friends at school, he's actually pretty popular with girls. Rumor has it that his teacher even has a crush on him, although I never thought she would look so young."
"You're kidding!" Makochin yelled in shock.
"What about his ability? Was he telling the truth?" one of the other students asked.
"Yeah, he's telling the truth. I've seen it first hand," Saten answered, "When Misaka first introduced me, Uiharu, and Shirai to him, she got mad at him and tried to zap him with a blast of electricity much more powerful that what she normally uses when someone annoys her. He defended against it with his right hand like it was nothing. It's actually a normal interaction for the two of them."
The surrounding students could hardly believe what they were hearing. This seemingly normal high school boy that was labeled a Level 0 like so many of them had been apparently had an incredible ability. Despite this, he went through the same struggles everyone else with low levels did, like lower funds from the city and extra classes from lacking development points. They even had an eyewitness for this apparently spectacular power. The idea had filled the students with optimism for their own ability development, even if it was only a little optimism.
However, some students had remained skeptical, especially the high school gang. They had given up on such optimistic ideas a long time ago. A single glimmer of hope wasn't going to change that for them at this point. Even the students that believed weren't entirely happy with the news. Some of them felt jealousy and envy at Touma's special case. Why should he out of all Level 0s have such an amazing ability?
Regardless of what everyone thought about Touma and his ability, the truth was out and confirmed to more people than ever.
After lunch, the students, Touma included, all gathered around the field behind the school. Touma was helping the teacher in charge of their physical training, Yomikawa, set up a track for an insurance run. After getting introductions out of the way, all the students were instructed to make as many laps as possible at their top speed. When they believe they couldn't run any farther, they were to raise their hands to give up. However, when people did raise their hands, they were told to keep running anyway. No one was very happy with the situation, but Touma seemed rather motivated. He just kept running along with everyone else, not letting anything stop him, not even his own exhaustion. He even tried to motivate the students slowing down as he ran past them. Unfortunatly, some students were extremely vocal about their displeasure with the situation, specifically the high school gang leader.
"You call this training?!" she asked in outrage.
"I certainly do," Yomikawa replied calmly.
"How can you?! All you're doing is put us through the ringer!" the high school girl accused, grabbing Yomikawa's tracksuit, "Why not go ahead and call this what it is? It's punishment! Admit it, lady, the whole point of this workshop is to punish us!"
"It's nothing of the sort," Yomikawa said without skipping a beat.
"Then why do you have us running until we're too exhausted to move?"
"The point is to teach you how to overcome your limits. Look at him," Yomikawa replied, nodding towards a running student that Saten recognized as student that tried to buy a Level Upper off of a couple of thugs off the street, "He was the first one to raise his hand, yet he's still running. And then there is Kamijou just ahead of him. He is clearly just as exhausted as the rest of you, but he's still going full speed. He's trying to set an example. When you convinced yourself you can't do any more, you're finished, even though you might still have some strength left that you're just unaware of."
This explanation caught the high school girl off guard, but she didn't let go.
"Her for instance," Yomikawa continued, looking at Saten on the ground, "So sure she couldn't go on until she ran another lap. Where do you think that strength came from? The same applies to developing your abilities. What I wanted to teach you today was to not decide so quickly what your limits are."
"Oh, please! Don't give me that crap," the gang leader yelled, throwing a punch.
However, Yomikawa caught her fist and threw her onto the ground with ease. Noticing the time and the ensuing rain approaching, Yomikawa decided it was time to stop the physical training for the day. She called everyone back inside to get changed and to have their afternoon lesson. However, Saten stopped for a moment when she noticed Touma help the young man who kept running make his way into the building. There was just something to marvel about the two students that surpassed every limit many people would have expected of them.
Before the start of the afternoon lesson, Komoe was told about the students' belief that the workshop was a punishment for Level Upper users. She took it into her own hands to set them straight.
"It appears that some of you may had jumped to the wrong conclusion," Komoe explained, Touma stand right behind her, "So before we continue, I want to clarify something. Please understand, this workshop was not intended to be a punished for those who used the Level Upper. Certainly, your actions were far from acceptable. It would have been better had you resisted the temptation to use that device to augment your abilities. However, we do not want you to feel a disproportionate sense of shame or remorse for having done so. As far as punishment goes, I'd say slipping into a coma should suffice. That's a far more harrowing experience that a workshop. You've already payed for your transgressions the hard way. So instead of feeling sorrow or bitter, why not make the most of your experience."
"The promise of stronger abilities many have been an illusion, but the potential you all shown while using the Level Upper was not," Touma added, "The Level Upper let you break the limits you had believe you had, albeit temporarily, so now it is up to you to break those limits yourselves. "
With that said, they continued the last class of the Level Upper. Komoe told everyone to focus on the time they used the Level Upper and what it was like to use their enhanced abilities. She wanted them to try to gain create new personal realities using these experiences, or at the very least reaffirm their foothold on the personal realities they had in place. When the class was over, everyone went to get a System Scan. All Saten could do was hope for the best.
At the end of the day, Saten was not surprised in the slightest to see that her Level had not increased. Regardless, she had taken what she had learned in the workshop to heart. With a new sense of determination, Saten resolved to get even stronger, no matter how long it took or what limits she had.
As she left the building, she was surprised to see Mikoto, Kuroko, and Uiharu at the base of the hill waiting for her.
"All finished, Saten?" Mikoto asked.
"We wanted to come by and pick you up, how did it go?" Uiharu called out with a wave.
"What was the hold up? You took so long coming out of there, we thought you had already left and headed for home," Kuroko explained.
"You should have seen it, Saten," Uiharu added, "Without you, we weren't able to decide on a single thing to do."
"Sorry about that!" Saten yelled as she ran down the stairs to join her friends, "I was waiting for someone."
"Who?" Mikoto asked.
"Hey Zapper, Headband, Pigtails!" Touma called out as he walked up from behind the hill, "Didn't expect to see you guys here."
"What are you doing here?!" Mikoto asked in shock.
"Didn't Pigtails tell you I was helping my teachers today? This is my high school," Touma explained.
"Well, now that everyone's here, how about we see a movie?" Kuroko suggested.
"I still think we should head to the event at Seventh Mist. Doesn't that sound fun?" Mikoto offered.
"How about the pool then?" Saten asked.
"Saten, you're not making this any easier!" Uiharu yelled in exasperation.
"Then you decide, Uiharu," Kuroko insisted.
"If I may make a suggestion," Touma interrupted, "Why don't I treat you all to a meal over at my place? It's getting pretty late and I have a couple of extra ingredients laying around at home."
Upon the promise of food, all the girls' stomachs growled at the same time.
"I guess that settles it," Uiharu laughed, "Kamijou does make some of the best meals."
"I'll race you guys there!" Saten yelled, running off.
"Oh no you don't," Kuroko responded, teleporting after her friend.
"Shirai! No teleporting! That's cheating!" Uiharu reprimanded as she tried to keep up.
"Hurry up, idiot!" Mikoto laughed as she left the poor Level 0 in the dust.
"Rotten luck! Wait for me! I'm the one that's cooking!" Touma yelled as he chased after the girls.
I hope you all liked that chapter! Sorry it was shorter than usual. Leave a review if you like.
Best guy and girl, thank you very much!