Toaru Kagaku no Railgun: Garden of Maidens

by p1ka chuu

School Garden is Academy City's secluded, all-girls district where five elite schools for rich, young ladies are located. The story follows a group of girls who attend one of the most prestigious schools in the world, Tokiwadai Middle School. The first volume contains their day-to-day hardships and solving the mysteries of School Garden.

2. Chapter 2 - Mid-Semester Exams

Chapter 2

Part 1

Aside from the grand building, Tokiwadai Middle School also had an enormous back garden.

It usually functioned as a hangout spot during lunch breaks and outdoor club activities for the ladies studying there, so it had many cafés, picnic places and beautiful flowers with stone fountains. During these hot, summer days, School Garden's birds used to bathe in them.

There were eating places on lifted terraces, grand balconies and in garden gazebos. In fact, there were more of them than needed. Tokiwadai accommodated only 180 students, but the garden was so big, you would need an entire lunch break to go from your classroom to the furthest point on the campus and come back.

Big and well-known cliques had the best places in the garden reserved just for them. Some preferred the nicest gazebos around the most beautiful rose bushes, some liked to eat at big, secluded terraces.

Just the splendor and greatness of Tokiwadai's gardens alone could make someone from outside of School Garden grow pale. Considering everything was made from the highest-quality materials possible, it had costed almost as much to build the garden as the school building itself.

It was such a beautiful, sunny day. In addition to that, the lunch break had just started. Who would be sitting in a dusty classroom that smells like an antique and gets way too hot during summer days?

They were two girls. One of them was sitting on a desk and the other one in a chair which was moved closer.

Besides the cicadas' loud and continuous song, there could also be heard another sound.

It was an uncontrollable laugh of one of the girls sitting in the classroom.

She was laughing so hard, she seemed like she could not catch a breath and was constantly choking on her own saliva when she was doing that. Her eyes were also watering and she was clutching her fists on her light brown vest, around the stomach area.

She had two mid-length, brown pigtails on her head and green eyes. Though, their color could not be seen now, as they were closed and clenched due to her laughter.

It was Hisakawa Ayako. She was sitting in a chair beside her roommate, Ogura Iori.

The blonde girl was not having as much fun as her brown-haired friend. She was leaning on her hand with a grimace on her face. She was slowly getting more and more annoyed as Hisakawa's laughing got louder.

"HAHAHAha... Tutoring sessions with Minami Himeka?! HAHAHAhaha! Watanabe-sensei sure is an evil demon, isn't she?!"

"They're only for the time being. At least until the end of the semester..."

"Girl, I would say something but I'm not trying to be mean.. pfft!"

Ogura Iori frowned and raised her voice.

"You already are by laughing at me!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It's a natural reaction for me." Hisakawa responded while wiping tears off from her eyes.

The girl with a pink ribbon in her hair sighed loudly.

"She was really scary in that moment, too, you know?"

"So what are you going to do?"

Ogura mumbled something inaudibly to herself in response.

"Exams are just going to get harder and harder." The brown-haired girl said as she was fidgeting in her seat.

"I know..." Ogura sighed. „But the thought of Minami-san lecturing me every single evening after school does not make me motivated at all..."

Hisakawa was twisting her brown hair tied into two pigtails as she was staring at her roommate's depressed and helpless facial expression. She was thinking about Minami's and Ogura's relationship until she finally spoke.

"Say, why are you so different around her?"

The blonde-haired girl looked at the other girl confused.

"Whenever I see you around her, you act like an obedient puppy. She says something and you do it. She points out your flaws and you just take it instead of fighting back. I get that you don't want to disappoint her since she cares about you a lot, but you need to be more assertive."

Ogura leaned back in her chair with a tired look on her face. She pursed her lips and frowned.

"There is just something about her... that just makes you feel inferior to her in every sense. Maybe it's her leader-like personality... ?"

"But you know this is not true. So why act like that?"

The blonde-haired girl looked down. She was staring at the wooden floor and her brown loafers.

Hisakawa spoke again with confidence.

"Maybe these tutoring sessions will actually help you understand her better."

"What if I disappoint her even more?"

"Oh, please. Stop that already. A Level 4 like you should be proud and self-confident. I mean, you're superior to her in that department."

Ogura sighed for the last time.

Soon, the two girls heard footsteps getting closer and closer to their classroom. They thought everyone was outside, enjoying their lunch break in the beautiful gardens. The two of them were sitting in a hot, dusty classroom because they had to make sure that their conversation about Minami Himeka would not be heard by anyone else.

But someone was still inside a school building without air conditioning voluntarily. Who could it be?

Soon, the room's wooden doors opened and a short, petite girl with long, black twin tails curled at the ends appeared in front of Ogura's and Hisakawa's eyes.

It was Sakibasu Yuri. A first-year student at Tokiwadai Middle School and a member of the Queen's clique.

It was the same girl that Ogura had tricked into not buying the white ostrich leather bag yesterday evening at the Cucci boutique.

She had a very serious expression on her face. As soon as she entered the classroom, she raised Ogura's suspicion. She gently closed the doors behind her.

The blonde-haired girl was surprised to see her freshly after what had happened yesterday.

"Ah, Sakibasu-san? Good day."

"Good day."

"Um, do you have some business here? Maybe you want us to help you with something?"

Ogura Iori started to sweat a bit. And not because the classroom was bathing in hot summer sunlight without air conditioning. It was because she started to feel more and more suspicious about Sakibasu Yuri's unexpected visit.

Did she realize Ogura lied her way to get that bag? In that case, the blonde girl was not ready for confrontation. Especially not with her best friend in the same room.

"Ogura-sama."

"Y-yes?"

"I... I FINALLY KNOW THE TRUTH!"

Ogura was close to passing out. Her hands started to shake and her eyes widened.

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"Oh, don't be so humble, Ogura-sama. I'm talking about what you have said yesterday evening at the Cucci boutique."

"H-huh?"

Hisakawa was just watching this strange situation confused, trying to understand what is going on.

Sakibasu cleared her throat and started to walk towards Ogura's desk. The blonde girl's whole body twitched.

"I just wanted to say that I am SO grateful for teaching me a lesson at that moment." The black-haired girl said as she bowed in front of the confused two.

The girl with a pink ribbon did not know what the thanking was for. Was there anything that she had done that would warrant that kind of reaction?

"At first, I did not put much thought into it. No, the truth is, I just did not care. Buying bags, fur coats, boots, hats and dresses. I was shameless. Oblivious. Living in the complete sin that is greed and selfishness. Yes, that's what I have been doing. Nobody has told me it was wrong. Nobody, but you, Ogura-sama." Sakibasu put her hands on her blushing cheeks. "You opened my eyes. From indifferent me, you made a dedicated defender. A defender of all animals!"

Despite the complete bafflement, Ogura finally felt relief. She knew she was good at improvising, but to create a speech believable enough to change one girl's entire perspective on that? She even impressed herself.

"That's why..." Sakibasu Yuri placed both her hands on her hips. "...I donated ¥50,000,000 to pro-animal organizations! Let's fight the use of animal leather and fur together, Ogura-sama!"

Hisakawa froze when she heard the number "50,000,000". Even Ogura Iori, a rich girl herself, was shocked.

"Sakibasu-san. That's... That's a lot!"

"Oh, please. That is just the beginning." She grinned with a red blush on her face. "After all, I am learning from you, Ogura-sama. Kyaa! Can I call you 'master'? Or 'onee-sama'? Kyaaa! I can't believe I actually said it! AAhh!"

For a moment, Ogura could not believe someone could actually be this dense.

Hisakawa was looking at the first-year girl with the most confused facial expression possible. She did not understand a single reason why she would be acting that way. Did she miss something?

"Learning from Iori? But her closet is full of bags with real leath—" Ogura quickly covered her roommate's mouth before she could go any further.

"Huh?"

"N-nothing! She was just saying some unimportant stuff! Haha! Ah, that's right! Ayako, don't you have a clique meeting soon? You should better get going if you don't want to miss it! Hahaha..!"

"?" The brown-haired girl suddenly remembered something. She removed the blonde-haired girl's palm from her mouth and looked at the clock on the wall. "Oh, you're right. It's pretty soon."

Ogura sighed with relief and Hisakawa stood up from her seat. She grabbed her black school bag that was laying on the ground as she was getting ready to head out.

"Hisakawa-sama, what clique are you affiliated with?" Sakibasu Yuri asked as she was staring at the brown-haired girl with two pigtails who was heading towards the wooden doors.

Ogura Iori stood up, too and started to walk in the same direction as Hisakawa. Sakibasu Yuri followed them. The girl with two pigtails opened the wooden doors and was just about to answer her junior's question.

But instead, she froze in place. She had a look at the hallway.

Ogura and Sakibasu stuck their heads out of the classroom, as well. They were all witnessing a magnificent scene.

There was a fairly large group of girls wearing Tokiwadai uniforms walking in their direction. They looked mature enough to assume that they were all third-year students. Ringlet curls, straight long hair, locks, ponytails. Every girl had a unique, grown-up hair style that really suited their almost adult-like figures.

But the one girl that nearly devoured all of the attention was the one in the front. She almost looked like she was "in control" of the group. Her walk, her position, her gestures all indicated that she was the leader. The ruler. She looked like a queen walking around the palace with her followers guarding her.

A girl with light platinum, voluminous hair reaching her shoulders was carrying the leading girl's school bag along with her own.

Her hair was of burgundy color, tied into two long pigtails by two red ribbons. It was also slightly curly and coming down to her waist. She had bangs swept to the side and long, thick hair wisps on the sides of her face, as well. Her eyes looked like little ruby gems and her eyelashes had unnatural volume, accompanied by a deep black color.

Beside her normal Tokiwadai uniform that everyone was wearing, she did not have anything flashy or unique in terms of accessories. She was not wearing a designer bag nor was she wearing a pair of gloves that would give an impression of a sophisticated, rich lady.

But she looked wealthy.

Not only materially. Her wealth was her beauty. Her wealth was her lady-like posture and walking style. Her wealth was her dominance over an entire group of third-year students.

It was that type of wealth that not many people could say they had it. Sure, all of the Tokiwadai Middle School students were enormously rich, but aside from money, what else could they represent? Lady-like manners and proper etiquette was not enough. At least not enough to compete with this girl who had burgundy-colored hair.

Everyone standing in the hallway was a witness of the girl's beauty. As she was getting closer and closer, Ogura could notice a smell of mature, adult-like perfumes. They were not sweet. They were probably not trendy. In fact, the fragrance reminded her of something her mother would wear. She immediately imagined a businesswoman sitting in a luxurious restaurant after taking a whiff of those perfumes.

She was getting closer. Her voluminous, slightly curly pigtails were dangling elegantly as she was walking. She suddenly spoke when she was close enough to the three girls who were sticking their heads out of the classroom.

"Hisakawa-san. We are holding a clique meeting in our garden gazebo. Would you like to join us?"

Her voice was surprisingly deep and low, but still very feminine. She sounded more like a young woman rather than a middle school-aged girl.

"Of course, Akiyama-sama!" Hisakawa responded with excitement. She then turned around to the two other girls standing beside her and waved to them. "See you later, Iori. Bye, Sakibasu-san!"

She soon joined the group of girls that were following the beautiful, mature lady who smiled towards Ogura and Sakibasu as she was walking away. Her smile was gentle. Almost made the black-haired girl blush. She reminded her of someone.

Ogura and Sakibasu were still staring at the herd of girls. Soon, they disappeared from their sight as they took the stairs to the ground floor.

Both the blonde-haired girl as well as her junior were enchanted. That was a truly magnificent scene. Even the other girls standing in the hallway were gossiping and discussing what they had just witnessed.

Sakibasu Yuri put her hand on her chest. She was almost moved to tears.

"Who... was that?"

"Ah, right. You're still not all that well-acquainted with the school, huh? You have enrolled into Tokiwadai just a couple of months ago. But this girl is the owner of the second biggest clique in the school. Akiyama Izumi."

"Aah, so that's the clique that Hisakawa-sama belongs to..."

"Yeah. Although, from what I have heard from her, it is quite extreme..."

Sakibasu Yuri put both of her hands on her chest. She clenched her fists on her uniform's light brown vest.

"Must be nice."

"What is?" Ogura leaned against the closed doors.

The girl with curled twin tails started quietly sobbing and turned around to look Ogura straight in the eyes.

"It's rare that I get to see our Queen...! And Hisakawa-sama gets to have a direct contact with hers every day. This is not fair...!"

Ogura had a troubled look on her face. She tried to somehow cheer Sakibasu up.

"Hmm... I'm sure she is really busy. Being a Level 5, representing Tokiwadai and managing the biggest clique is a lot of work and responsibilities. She's like a VIP, so there's nothing to do about it."

"Uuughh... I guess you are right... Ah, now that I think about it, are you not a part of any clique, Ogura-sama?"

"N-No." She responded confidently. The answer to that question seemed so obvious to her, that she started to wonder why Sakibasu even asked that.

"Eeeh? But you are popular and liked enough to even start your own!"

Sakibasu was speaking from her limited point of view.

The blonde-haired girl was thinking for a while with a troubled expression. She then shrugged her shoulders and answered naturally.

"I guess it's too much of a serious thing for me. If it's just a group of friends who share the same interest, then I probably would create my own. But cliques became really competitive; rivaling against each other, making big projects... It's like creating an entire company from ground-up. In order to do that, you either have to be an admirable figure like a high level esper or someone incredibly smart and knowledgeable. And not to mention, someone who can handle such responsibilities and be dedicated enough to continue. I can't even imagine how hard it must be to manage a clique consisting of 50 members and making it work."

"Hmm... You're right." Sakibasu put her hand on her chin as she was thinking. "Ah, I know! Then how about joining one? I am sure our Queen would accept you without a doubt!"

Ogura frowned and gave the black-haired girl an annoyed look.

She then responded confidently.

"I appreciate the offer, but... I really wouldn't be able to commit to that."

The truth was, she feared Shokuhou Misaki like no other.

Part 2

Tokiwadai Middle School's library was the biggest room in the entire school.

It was the size of a soccer court, three levels tall. The ground floor was filled with chic wooden tables and ornate chairs. They were all identical and put in perfect, symmetrical rows. It was the place where students, after grabbing important materials, could sit down and study.

Levels one, two and three were more like balconies. They were all filled with rows and mazes of bookshelves.

Their layout resembled a labyrinth. Wide pathways, short pathways, dead ends, narrow spaces, all created by the walls of big, antique bookshelves. And all of them were filled entirely with thick, hard-cover volumes.

The balconies could be seen from the ground floor and big, marble stairs lead to them. The ceiling was around 15 meters above the ground and a row of grand, shiny chandeliers were hanging from it, lighting up the entire hall.

The library was the only source of information students could gain other than from normal classes. During evenings it was packed with young ladies reading, studying, having clique meetings, searching for specific materials between enormous bookshelves, sometimes giving other students tutoring sessions if they had to.

And that was exactly what was happening during a certain evening on July 13th.

Minami Himeka and Ogura Iori were sitting at a big, wooden table. There were herds of other girls in front of them, behind them and next to them. It was one of the busiest days, as the semester was ending in roughly a week so everyone wanted to refresh their knowledge and study up before the summer vacations would start.

Even though there was almost a hundred of girls in one room, there was barely any noise noticeable. All you could hear was the clacking of loafers against the shiny, marble floor, quiet whispers in the distance and slight tapping on the hard book covers.

Other than that, the Tokiwadai Middle School library was close to vacuum in terms of sound. In addition, it had thick walls preventing any sound from outside that would interrupt the students.

"Let's start with the base summary." A quiet, gentle voice spoke to Ogura Iori. It was the voice of Minami who was currently holding a big, embellished book with hard cover. "An Involuntary Movement is a type of faint, almost unnoticeable energy emitted by those who are able to create their Personal Reality and apply it into the reality that exists for everyone."

The blonde-haired girl nodded in understanding. She was leaning on her hand while listening to her classmate.

"Now, there's something that is connected to AIM and is very important." The headband-wearing girl flipped a page and looked at Ogura with serious eyes. "RSPK Syndrome. You need to understand it. It's on every mid-semester exam for second year students."

"Umm.. okay."

"I'll explain it to you as easily as I can." Minami cleared her throat and started whispering her lecture. "RSPK Syndrome is a state in which Esper's ability involuntarily starts to influence reality. It can occur during severe stress, anger or trauma. Those emotions have a strong effect on any person's perception of reality, not only espers'. Naturally, when your own reality starts to change and things you did not predict start to mess with your brain, your ability goes out of hand, as well."

"So... it's like a sudden pop of a moving car's tire? You can no longer control the vehicle's direction, but it's still driving itself until it crashes."

"You could say that. But it only affects those who have barely any problems with applying their Personal Reality. I'm sure you know that there are espers who need special triggers to focus their power. Like a special signal implemented inside one's brain to use telepathy. Or a remote control to affect brain's chemicals. Those have a low chance of RSPK Syndrome happening to them."

"Hmm, so that's it."

"There are three characteristics that determine the strength and probability of RSPK Syndrome. I want you to remember those. First, the more passive the ability is, the more likely the Syndrome. So for example, let's say that someone subconsciously emits EM Waves through their AIM Diffusion Field. If a strong anger or trauma hits them, they will emit masses of electricity without even noticing. The effect is just stronger than it normally would."

"Okay, I got it."

"Second, the power level of an esper. This seems to be quite obvious. High-level espers have less troubles with influencing the universal reality, so it's also more likely for them to influence it subconsciously. For example, when you bite your nails a lot and you get used to it, you might do it without noticing under the influence of certain emotions, such as stress."

"Now, the last, right?"

"Yes. Third is the stability of one's personal reality. In general, there are lots of espers who need a special stimulus to strengthen their power. Like some pyrokinesists, who make molecules vibrate in order to create an ignition, can set objects on fire much faster and in a much more effective way if they are tense. But on the other hand, teleporters, who need to perform a lot of calculations in order to use their power, are unable to teleport anything if they are influenced by that same tension."

"Everyone's Personal Reality acts differently when exposed to different reactions of the brain." Ogura mumbled to herself while she was making notes.

"Yeah. Different stimulus influences your ability in a different way, according to what type of Esper power you posses. So, if we are talking about the possibility of an Esper whose Personal Reality gets affected by outside emotions easily, falling a victim to RSPK Syndrome is almost 90%. Well, there are also espers who completely don't understand their Personal Reality, but are somehow able to apply it to the universal reality. Although, the probability of the Syndrome occurring to them is not known as there's just a few of them."

"Huh? I thought they were just an urban legend."

The girl wearing a black headband shook her head.

"No, it's true. There are cases of such 'espers'. Although, I do not think we should bother thinking about them right now. When it comes to people, there are always going to be exceptions to the general rules. But we are in school now, so we are going to study rules and principles. Not special talents or rare abilities."

"You're right." Ogura giggled.

"Perfect. Let's continue."

And thus, the evening's tutoring sessions continued. The sunset soon filled the spacious, antique library through tall, grand windows as Tokiwadai Middle School's students were all gracefully and peacefully studying from the old, embellished volumes full of knowledge.

Fogs of dust from the old books were visible due to them being illuminated by the orange light of the sun. The library was very hot after being exposed to the summer's unmerciful sunlight. It had a strong smell of wood, old yellowed paper and a polished antique.

Around an hour had passed and curfew was going to be announced soon, so less and less people could be seen roaming around and looking through the bookshelves. The only girls still being in the library were the ones who had already been studying here for quite some time and were soon about to finish anyways.

No new students were entering the hall. The big, wooden doors were only opening and closing when somebody was leaving.

It was time to leave soon for Minami and Ogura, as well. The wavy-haired girl stretched her arms in satisfaction while the blonde girl was laying on the big, wooden table exhausted among many books, textbooks, notebooks, pencil boxes and pens. Her black school bag was laying on the marble floor beside the leg of a chair she was sitting in.

"MMmmnn!" Minami stretched with satisfaction and a smile on her face. She then stood up and put both of her hands on her hips. "That went smoother than I had expected! If we are going to keep this pace, we will be able to learn all of the material you need before the exams."

A bunch of inaudible noises coming from around Ogura's head, which was laying on the table, could be heard.

"Come on, stand up. We have to return these books we have taken from the second floor."

The blonde-haired girl reluctantly lifted her heavy, exhausted head from the hard, wooden surface and started to separate her own materials from the ones that were borrowed from the library's bookshelves.

She started to pack her pen boxes, notebooks and textbooks to her black school bag.

Once she was done, she followed Minami Himeka, who was holding around six thick, heavy books in her hands. She looked like she was seriously struggling with that task.

"Hey, I'll help you carrying those."

"Thank you, Ogura-san." Minami smiled towards her.

Both of them were walking up the tall and wide, marble stairs. The girl with pink ribbon tied into her hair sighed with fatigue.

"Will I really be able to learn everything in a week? This seemed like a lot."

"You don't have to worry about it. Even I was surprised, but your memorizing is really fast. You can trust me when I say we will be done before the exams."

Ogura Iori smiled bitterly. She was happy she finally heard a compliment, but her head was spinning and all she wanted to do right now was to go to sleep.

The two girls arrived at the first floor and needed to go around the whole "balcony" to reach the stairs leading to the next floor.

While they were walking and carrying heavy, hard-cover books, Minami spoke suddenly.

"At least there is one exam coming you do not need to study for and you are going to get praised, regardless."

The blonde girl looked at her classmate confused.

"What do you mean?"

"System Scan, of course. Don't tell me you forgot."

Ogura finally remembered something.

"Aah, you're right. They are testing our abilities this week."

The girl with a black headband sighed helplessly.

"Will I have to remind you of every major event happening in this school? Especially you, a Level 4, of all people. System Scan should be your moment to shine and you just casually forget about it? Have some pride as a high-level esper, my goodness!"

The ribbon-wearing girl groaned with frustration. She was exhausted enough after packing information inside her brain for an hour straight but now she also had to deal with Minami Himeka's usual lectures. And that topic was one of her least favorite ones.

"Everyone tells me that but, in the end, my powers are nothing amazing or special. Having a higher level than most of the school does not change me as a person, nor does it matter to me, honestly."

"That may be the truth from your perspective, but don't forget that you are being put on display by the teachers, thanks to that high number, you like it or not. At least when we are inside the school building, try keeping that image of yourself. How people view you and how you want to be viewed are two different things and there's nothing to do about it, especially when it comes to Tokiwadai. Oh, this is the section I was looking for."

Ogura started to think while she and Minami entered a narrow "alley" with bookshelves extending before their eyes, almost as if there was no end to them.

As Minami was putting the books back on the shelves, she continued her speech.

"That probably will not help you, but think about the fact that you are not the only one who has to play that role. It may sound brutal, but to this school, you are a product. By saying 'we have developed forty seven level 4 espers and two level 5 espers' they advertise themselves and show off their advanced education system, ability development system as well as their cutting-edge technology and equipment. Because Level 3 is the bare minimum to enter Tokiwadai, I may not feel the same pressure as you right now, but I understand what that must feel like. Trust me, I have dealt with pressure. I know what I'm talking about."

Ogura leaned against a bookshelf that was tall enough to serve as a wall. From time to time, Minami was taking a book from the stack that the blonde-haired girl was holding in her hands and putting it away.

"You are so nice, Minami-san." Ogura said after a minute of silence, with a warm smile on her face.

The wavy-haired girl turned around to look at her classmate. She smiled, as well, and jokingly responded.

"Compliments will not affect me. You still need to revise the material I gave you."

The blonde girl laughed quietly and looked at the wavy-haired girl with respect. Even though she was really tired and would do anything to fall asleep right now, she felt a great satisfaction thanks to that day. She slowly started to see Minami Himeka in a different light.

(Ayako was right. When you try to understand her, she is really nice. Maybe these tutoring sessions weren't a bad idea?)

As Minami put the last book away, she wiped her hands from the dust with a handkerchief she had in her skirt's pocket. While she was doing that she finally remembered something.

"Ah, that's right." She then turned around and looked at the blonde girl. "Ogura-san, do you have any plans for the lunch break tomorrow?"

"Hn? No, not really. Me and Ayako were planning on eating at a school café by ourselves."

"Then how about you two join us tomorrow? We are having a little tea party in a garden gazebo. I'm sure it would be more fun to have a bigger company rather than eating just by yourselves. Hisakawa-san should agree, too."

"Aah, that's a great idea. I'll talk to her about it today when I get to our room. AAH, I forgot completely!" She suddenly jumped with a terrified expression. "SHE DOESN'T HAVE A KEY TO OUR ROOM! SHE MUST BE WAITING BY THE DOORS FOR A GOOD HOUR NOW! SHE'S GOING TO KILL ME!"

Ogura quickly grabbed her school bag and dashed off.

"SEE YOU TOMORROW, MINAMI-SAAAN!"

The wavy-haired girl smiled bitterly while she was staring at her classmate running down the stairs and eventually leaving the library through big, wooden doors. She did not even have time to properly say goodbye. Because before she even could, the blonde girl was already at the ground floor.

(My goodness. That Ogura-san...)

Part 3

Another day at Tokiwadai Middle School was as hot and sunny as ever during summer. Although yesterday someone could, due to certain circumstances, stay inside the school's building, today it was impossible.

Ogura Iori was walking down a cobbled pathway in Tokiwadai's courtyard. The grass was green as ever, the cicadas were loud enough to drown any other sound with their summery song, and the white doves flying above her blonde-haired head were as beautiful and elegant as ballerinas performing the Swan Lake.

While she was having a walk around the courtyard, she was looking at her phone, which looked like it was way too big for small, delicate hands of a fourteen year old girl.

She was texting her classmate she had spent an entire evening with, in the Tokiwadai's library. She received a text from her telling where she needs to go.

This prestigious school's courtyard was so big that even second year students could get lost when trying to reach a certain location. Especially since Ogura Iori was planning on going to the garden area, the furthest, most exclusive area in Tokiwadai Middle School.

It seemed like rich girls had to make a ranking of everything. Cliques, lunch break places, stores, food. There were even less exclusive classrooms and more exclusive classrooms. Everything had its worth. Even people. Clique owners were just a class lower than the two Level 5s, but the person on the top of the social ladder, the person who had it all was, without a single doubt, the Queen of Tokiwadai. Looks? Style? The biggest clique? The highest power level? She did have it all. In fact, she was so "exclusive" that only 1/3rd of the entire school had a chance to actually see her with their eyes. Some of her clique members had not even gotten a chance to witness her glory in person. And that's saying something.

The ribbon-wearing girl, who today decided to wear an azure-colored one, was currently standing in front of a big hedge arch that looked like an entrance to the Wonderland. It was so pristine and perfectly trimmed that it almost looked like a sculpture. The all-around perfection visible everywhere on the Tokiwadai campus was overwhelming, including this hedge arch that the blonde-haired girl was now walking through. She was entering the exclusive area for mature, royal ladies of Tokiwadai. She was not the type to like something just because of its title or brand name, but even she was having shivers down her spine.

She finally went through the arch, entering the Rose Garden.

Even though she had already been here before and even though she was used to seeing gorgeous scenery and beautiful gardens since her childhood, even she could not control her gasp and her eyes widening.

Witnessing the magnificence of this garden was not something you would get used to after the third or fourth visit. It was amazing to even those that were here everyday.

The amount of colors of roses hit her like a strong wind. There were roses everywhere.

Ogura Iori was standing on a fairly wide cobbled path, which was leading to a small, fountain made from stone. Two white doves were chasing each other around it while making splashing noises.

There was a path around it, with multiple smaller pathways attached, which were expanding further.

The blonde-haired girl breathed in a fresh air smelling like beautiful roses and looked around with a smile on her face.

There was a low hedge fence going along the path and was extending as far as the eyes could follow. Every side path connected to the one around the fountain had a roofing made from a row of around a hundred wooden arches covered with red roses, pink roses, sometimes even blue roses.

They were covering potential visitors from the summer's strong sunlight. Many rose bushes planted outside of the paths on the grass could be noticed by the blonde girl. Their gorgeous scent was noticeable even though she was standing by the fountain.

There were a couple of wooden benches spread around the garden and they were all placed in shaded areas, mainly on the paths with roofs made from roses.

As Ogura was listening to the abnormally loud cicadas and splashing sounds of the birds bathing in the fountain, she looked at her phone once again. She typed a message to Minami Himeka: "I'm standing by the fountain near the entrance. There are a bunch of paths leading to different directions? Which one should I take in order to reach you guys' meeting spot?". She then sent it.

While she was waiting for a reply, she decided to walk around the fountain and observe the two white doves splashing the water everywhere. Some other girls entered the garden through the tall hedge arch. One of them noticed the blonde-haired girl and smiled towards her gently.

"Good day, Ogura-san."

"Ah, good day."

The two ladies were third-year students. They turned left and were walking down the path until they reached a small garden gazebo that was also covered in roses.

She now noticed that there were gazebos placed everywhere around the area. She needed to focus her sight in order to see all of them in the distance, but they were clearly the most prominent pieces of architecture and the spots inside which students were spending their lunch breaks.

Ogura's phone suddenly started to vibrate. A message from her classmate popped up on her screen. "Go down the one with only red roses on its roof. Walk until you'll see us waving to you."

The girl with azure-colored ribbon in her hair looked around for a second until she finally found the path Minami meant. It was long, wide and, indeed, the wooden arches that worked as its "roof" were all covered by exclusively red roses.

Without a doubt, she headed towards it and soon entered a magical, romantic alley surrounded by the delicate greenery. As she took the first step, a gorgeous scent of flowers exploded at the tip of her nose. She could smell them before, but once she was inside the archway, the scent was now overpowering.

There was no wind. Her walk down the cobbled alley was peaceful, quiet and quite relaxing. She could only hear her own steps and the loud cicadas. The sun did not interrupt her. She was in a shaded, blissful place. She smiled, completely automatically, as her senses were gently pampered.

She was breathing in the sweet air and moaned quietly as her hand brushed against the wall of flowers. Their petals were incredibly soft, gentle and delicate. And the cicadas were playing in the background as her thoughts started to slowly fly away like a feather flowing with the wind.

Finally, she looked up and stared at the "ceiling" for a while. There could actually be seen little holes between the leaves and petals of the flowers, through which the sun's light was peeking out, but none of the sun rays got out from the protective roof.

The construction was solid and served its purpose perfectly.

The blonde-haired girl soon heard someone calling her name.

"Ogura-saaan! Over here!" It was her classmate's voice.

She lowered her head and looked to her left. She was almost at the end of the alley and the roof of roses ended around two meters ahead of her. There was just a field of grass and rows of rose bushes extending in front of her. There was also a beautiful, charming garden gazebo hidden in tall, magnificent hedges. A narrow, beaten track was leading to it.

From the distance, Ogura Iori could notice a couple of mature-looking girls sitting inside the gazebo and Minami Himeka waving to her.

"I'm coming!" The blonde-haired girl answered with a smile of excitement on her face.

She was slowly walking towards the wavy-haired girl while observing the beautiful grassy field overflowing with nature.

"I must say, I don't remember the Rose Garden being this pretty when I last visited it." She spoke to Minami Himeka who was standing by the garden gazebo.

"Apparently, it becomes more and more beautiful with time. Come inside. Everyone is waiting." She showed Ogura a welcoming gesture with her hands.

Both of them soon entered the gazebo. It was slightly elevated and had a shape of a pentagonal figure, surrounded by a low, white fence.

Inside, there was one, big table with twisted, spiral legs resembling rose stalks. There were all kinds of high-class sweets and delights served on two porcelain 3-tier cake stands. Éclairs, tartlettes, croissants, mont-blancs, fraisiers, macarons, soufflés, pralines, palmiers, truffles.

Beside the leveled cake stands, there was a gorgeous teapot on the table, along with many decorated and embellished teacups placed on small plates and filled with dark liquid which looked like a high-quality tea.

There were four girls occupying the seats of the garden gazebo who looked mature enough to assume that they were all third year students. Because of that, Ogura started to tense up a bit and looked a bit shy when they all smiled towards her at the same time.

There were three unoccupied chairs, though the space felt a bit cramped just with the amount of people that were inside.

"G-Good day." Ogura greeted the group of ladies enjoying their "afternoon" tea, even though it was not afternoon at all.

"I will introduce you." Minami Himeka stepped forward and with her hand, she pointed at the blonde-haired girl with an azure-colored ribbon tied into her hair. "This is my classmate, Ogura Iori. Ogura-san, those are my friends from class 3-A. That lady over there with long, dark locks is Arakawa Karen. The one sitting next to her with straight chestnut-colored hair is Ishikawa Mei. Then, the one who has brown hair and straight bangs is Suzaki Aimi. And finally the girl with black, wavy hair and a pink ribbon at the back of her head is Kitayama Minako."

"Nice to meet you, Ogura-san. I'm Arakawa Karen."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Arakawa-sama."

The lady with chestnut-colored hair placed the teacup she was holding, on a small porcelain plate and spoke, as well.

"I have heard of you a lot, Ogura-san. My name is Ishikawa Mei. Pleasure to meet you."

"Pleasure to meet you, too."

Another girl spoke to Ogura Iori. She had brown hair and her forehead was covered by bangs cut in a perfect, straight line.

"I'm Suzaki Aimi. Nice to meet you, Ogura-san. Hah, but I guess this is not the first time we see each other."

"Suzaki-sama? Ah, I have seen you during our flower arranging club activities."

"Yes, though, it's a shame that third-years have activities outside, while the second and first-year students can only stay inside."

Ogura gave the brown-haired lady a bitter smile.

"I guess that's why we did not really get to meet each other." She then looked at the black-haired girl who was elegantly leaning on her hand. She was twirling a strand of her gorgeous hair with her finger.

"Ogura-san, yes? My name is Kitayama Minako. Minami-san's friends are always welcomed into our tea parties." She was talking in a more high-pitched voice and her tone was very audacious. She seemed like the type of princess that would fire her maids if they accidentally spilled tea on her dress.

Ogura was slightly afraid of her. She gulped quietly and sat down on one of the wooden chairs painted white. She took a seat next to the girl with long, dark locks who introduced herself to her first. There was also a free seat next to the princess with a brash attitude, but she decided to go with the safer choice.

Minami sat down, too. As she was doing that, she suddenly remembered something and started to look around.

"Ah, now that I think about it. Where is Hisakawa-san? Shouldn't she be coming with you?"

"Ah, Ayako said she's going to be a bit late. Another clique meeting came up suddenly and she just couldn't say 'no'..."

Minami sighed, grabbed a big, decorated teapot and started to pour tea to her porcelain cup.

"Seems tough. That clique of hers."

The blonde-haired girl smiled bitterly.

"There's nothing to do about it. It's the second biggest clique after all."

One of the mature ladies from class 3-A cleared her throat quietly. It was the one sitting next to Ogura Iori. Her name was Arakawa Karen. She had very dark, curly brown hair with curtain bangs on her forehead.

"We were just having this conversation, Ogura-san, about who do you think would become the next 'playing card of Tokiwadai'!" She seemed quite excited talking about that.

The lady with straight, chestnut-colored hair spoke next.

"We were predicting who would become the next Level 5 and what position she would take. As we know, Misaka Mikoto-san is known as the Ace, Shokuhou Misaki-san is the Queen. Since their nicknames are derived from playing cards, we thought it would be interesting to assume who would become the Joker, the King and the Jack." She explained as she was sipping gently her tea.

"Aah, that seems like fun!" Ogura clapped her hands in excitement.

Minami Himeka picked up her teacup full of dark, steaming liquid and spoke to her classmate.

"Ogura-san, feel free to help yourself to the sweets. There's so much, we won't be able to eat all that by ourselves."

The ribbon-wearing girl looked at her with a blush on her face and then started to stare at the stack of beautifully-smelling food served on two 3-tier cake stands. She grabbed the buffet tongs that were laying by the porcelain plates and started picking up some cakes, pastries and chocolates and placing them onto her plate.

Because she did not want to give an impression of a glutton, she needed to hold herself back. Choosing just a couple of desserts was not easy. The served food had a smell of her favorite childhood bakery. It was the smell of sugar, cream and butter.

"Then." The black-haired girl with a princess attitude flipped her gorgeous hair and sipped her tea as she was continuing the subject. "Who do you think has the highest potential of becoming the next Level 5?"

Ogura Iori gulped quietly. There was a competitive tone in her high-pitched, girly voice.

"Hmmm..." Arakawa Karen put a finger near her mouth as she was thinking.

"In my opinion it's either me or Hokaze Junko-san." The girl with a pink ribbon at the back of her hair spoke as she let out a confident laugh.

Minami Himeka frowned slightly.

"Hokaze-san from Queen's clique? Well, while it's a good choice, it's very obvious. Teachers talk about her potential so frequently..."

Kitayama Minako, the black-haired princess responded with an even more confident laugh.

"Well, she is a good rival. But I have also heard that she has some troubles achieving that goal. Ohohohoho!"

"Her ability requires a lot of physical training. It is supposedly really dangerous to overuse, as well."

Ogura poured some tea into her porcelain teacup as she was hesitantly asking something one of the ladies.

"K-Kitayama-sama, if I may ask, what ability do you have?"

The black-haired lady was about to pick up her own teacup, but she suddenly froze when she heard the blonde girl's question. She had a slightly shocked expression on her face. She raised her eyebrows and smiled sarcastically.

"You do not recognize me? Not even my last name?"

"I-I'm sorry, I do not."

Minami Himeka smiled nervously and pointed at her black-haired friend with a small, metal fork she was holding in her hand.

"Kitayama Minako-san is Tokiwadai Middle School's strongest Telepathy user."

Ogura did not seem surprised or amazed.

"Ah, a Telepath."

"I-IT ISN'T JUST A MERE TELEPATHY!" She screamed with a teacup in her hand. Its contents almost spilled out because of her sudden movement. "My ability is at Level 4 and besides transmitting sounds, I can also share different emotions, my eyesight and different signals inside the telepathic network. I'm also more than capable of using my ability on thirty people at the same time. Well, I don't expect the lower class to know me too well, but I would suggest that you culture yourself anyways."

Minami smiled towards the blonde girl, completely ignoring what the black-haired princess said.

"Kitayama-san thought she was some kind of royalty, so she decided to create her own clique, but it had to be shut down, due to not having enough members for it to be even called that."

"Stop it! D-Don't expose me like thaaat! This was a year ago! Let's just all forget!" She screamed with a blush of embarrassment on her face and tears in her eyes.

Arakawa Karen laughed quietly and cleared her throat.

"Then, if Hokaze-san became a Level 5 esper, what playing card do you think she would be?"

Minami started to think, but the one who responded was not her. It was the blonde-haired girl.

"She would definitely be the Jack in my opinion. After all, it is presented as the Queen's knight and defender. It fits Hokaze-sama perfectly."

Arakawa smiled towards her.

"I agree."

"And the ranking seems to fit her." Minami praised her classmate, as well.

"Ranking?"

"You know, the playing cards ranking. The Ace is number one, after Ace is King, then Queen and then Jack."

The girl with brown hair and straight bangs put her hand near her chin.

"Hmm... Knowing that Misaka-san is the third-ranked Level 5 and the Queen is ranked fifth, Hokaze-san would be the sixth-ranked, it looks like."

Minami giggled.

"Sixth-ranked, Tokiwadai's Jack, Hokaze Junko. That sounds really fancy. I approve."

All of them laughed quietly.

"Well then, I guess my ability should be ranked above the Queen's. After all, I can use telepathy freely, without the use of—"

"I think Kitayama-san should be the Joker. What do you think?" Minami Himeka interrupted the black-haired princess.

"H-HUUH?! Wh-why do I have to be the clown?! O-of all people!"

"I agree."

"I agree, too."

"Yes, that really suits Kitayama-san."

"I have to agree, as well."

The four other girls answered harmoniously with serious faces and the girl with gorgeous, black hair clenched her fist on the white, porcelain teacup she was holding.

"Haha, well then. I think it's my turn to propose someone." Said the blonde-haired girl while she was munching on a macaron. "How about Akiyama Izumi-sama?"

The group of high-class ladies responded with a simultaneous "Aaahh...!". Ogura's idea seemed to appeal to the crowd.

"I think she is the one who has the highest chance, actually. What do you think?" Minami asked as she was sipping her tea.

Arakawa Karen tutted in disagreement and shook her head.

"Non, non! Hokaze-san is much closer to achieving Level 5."

Ogura Iori leaned on her hand while she was staring at an éclair she had on her plate.

"But aren't they both electromasters? They just apply their abilities in different ways. Hokaze-sama controls electricity inside her body, while Akiyama-sama moves electrons in matter. I think both of them are really strong."

Kitayama Minako looked at the blonde girl with a confident smirk. She raised her eyebrows and sipped her tea. The girl with straight, chestnut-colored hair spoke in nostalgic tone.

"But for how long have I not heard about her? Could it be two years?"

The girl with azure-colored ribbon tied into her hair looked at Ishikawa Mei with interest.

"What do you mean, Ishikawa-sama?"

"You see, she was the first person that turned cliques into what they are today. I remember it. First year in Tokiwadai. Not even a month had passed, but Akiyama Izumi had already become the number one student and was loved by everyone. Even though she was so young, she was already a Level 4 esper and the strongest electromaster. When she decided to create a clique, everyone knew that it wouldn't be like the already existing ones. It was like a group of royalty, with a queen as its leader."

"Huuh..."

Arakawa Karen giggled.

"I remembered when me and you, Ishikawa-san, wanted to join her clique no matter what, but we got refused a couple of times. Remember that?"

The girl with chestnut-colored hair let out a laugh.

"Oh, my. I do remember. My goodness, first year students idolize everybody nowadays, don't they?"

Suddenly a certain twin-tailed first year student came to Ogura Iori's mind. That statement was one hundred percent true, based on her experience.

But she wanted to pursue to subject further.

"So what happened to her so-called fame?"

Arakawa Karen looked at the blonde girl with a troubled expression.

"The next year, new first-year students came to Tokiwadai. With them, Misaka Mikoto-san and Shokuhou Misaki-san. Two or three months had passed and the two Level 5s had been announced to the world. Even one Level 5 would make her position noticeably less stable, but two? Especially since one of them had 'borrowed' her idea of what a clique should look like, then had created one that was even bigger and had taken over the title of 'The Queen'. And the title of the strongest electromaster had been given to Misaka-san. After that, I guess people had just moved on. All of their attention was focused on the Ace and the Queen anyways."

"But isn't she still the owner of the second biggest clique?"

Minami placed her porcelain teacup on a small, white plate and answered her classmate's question with a gentle voice.

"Those girls are her trusty servants. They either can't accept the fact that their leader is no longer the strongest and the most popular or they just want to pick a fight with Shokuhou-sama's clique due to personal issues. Apparently Akiyama Izumi's faction is doing really well, though."

Kitayama Minako nodded her head.

"Yes, yes. I have heard that she is came back with a 'boom' and became a co-owner of the power plant located in the District 7. She is supposedly in development of a special project that is even going to compete with those of Nagatenjouki Academy."

The wavy-haired girl wearing a black headband scoffed with a sarcastic expression on her face. She closed her eyes and raised her eyebrows while she was gently drinking her tea.

"Oh, please. Do not compare Tokiwadai students to these mentally thirty-year-old Level 0s. I'm getting nauseous just by thinking about that school. Number 1 in Academy City? Pffft, such a pity that 90% of them probably can't even bend a spoon."

All of the ladies sitting in the garden gazebo started to pompously laugh. Ogura Iori smirked and took a bite of a tasty-looking éclair.

She suddenly heard someone calling her name.

"Ioriii—!" It was the voice of Hisakawa Ayako.

She was running towards the gazebo which was covered in roses. She had a black school bag in her hand and brown hair tied into two, mid-length pigtails.

"Ayako!"

She finally stopped by the table and started to breathe heavily.

"Haa... Haa... Am I not too late for the tea party?" She asked with a blush of exhaustion and with sweat dripping down her face. "My goodness...! It's so hot... And I had to... run so fast... haahhh...!"

"N-No, we were actually just getting started. P-Please, sit down and have some tea. Maybe it will relieve you..." Arakawa Karen proposed with a nervous smile.

Hisakawa did exactly that. She put her school bag on the ground and placed her butt on the wooden chair, which was painted white. The black-haired lady poured some tea into her teacup.

"Oh, thank you. Haaaahhh... It's so nice and shaded in here..."

Ogura finished her éclair and looked at her roommate with confusion.

"How was the clique meeting?"

The brown-haired girl with two pigtails chugged the tea all at once and emptied the cup in about a second, which left the other girls amazed.

She answered once she caught a breath.

"Don't even ask." She sighed exasperated and leaned on her hand. "I ran away as soon as I could to join you guys' tea party."

Minami Himeka gave her a surprised look.

"Eh? Is something wrong?"

Hisakawa was twirling her brown hair as she pursed her lips and frowned.

"I don't know what is going on, but Akiyama-sama just does not care about us at all."

"What do you mean?"

"Yesterday, during lunch break, she dismissed our meeting after 5 minutes of literal nonsense. We were supposed to discuss the development of her project, but she did not even prepare food for us. And today she did not come at all. We were supposed to discuss the project by ourselves, without our clique leader. My goodness..."

The other ladies looked at each other with bitter smiles. The one sitting next to Hisakawa, Kitayama Minako spoke to her.

"Isn't that what usually happens when you have to handle a big clique like that? She's probably busy developing this big project I've been hearing about."

The wavy-haired girl with a black headband grinned sarcastically and covered her mouth with her hand while she was quietly laughing.

"Like you would know anything about handling a big clique, Kitayama-san. Pupupu...!"

The girl with black hair and a pink ribbon at the back of her head grew annoyed and started to scream with a blush on her face.

"Geez, Minami-san! Stop it already! The past should remain in the past!"

The third year ladies along with Ogura and Minami started to laugh uncontrollably. Their laughter was almost as loud and long as the cicadas' sounds that resonated through the entire Tokiwadai courtyard.

Part 4

It was already past 1 PM.

The grand tower bell started chiming and could be heard throughout the entire schoolyard. It was time to finish eating and return to the hot, dusty, old classrooms.

The lunch break was finally over.

Students who had been spending it in the Rose Garden were all walking through the tall hedge arch and going back to the "usual" part of Tokiwadai's courtyard. Herds of high-class ladies were rushing to the school building.

Ogura, Hisakawa and Minami were walking among them while chatting. The blonde-haired girl was massaging her belly with a satisfied look on her face.

"Phew! I ate so many sweets!"

The headband-wearing girl raised her eyebrows.

"I was afraid we won't be able to finish all of the food by ourselves, so I invited you. At least nothing got wasted."

"H-Hey! What is that supposed to mean?!" The ribbon-wearing girl pouted her lips.

"Nothing at all." The wavy-haired girl replied while closing her eyes and listening to the cicadas. "Do you finally feel better?"

Her classmate looked at her confused.

"About what?"

The girl with dark brown hair smiled gently while still having her eyes closed.

"All of the girls you have met today were Level 4 espers, just like you."

"Eh? Really?"

Minami Himeka nodded.

"I mainly invited you because I wanted to show you that you are not alone in this pressure that our school puts on. These girls struggle with that, too. As you could see, becoming a Level 5 is very important to them. They do not lose their ambition, even though they are compared to others all the time and a certain behavior that they do not associate with, is expected from them."

The blonde-haired girl was looking at her classmate shocked and full of respect. She felt the blood rushing to her cheeks as she was processing what the wavy-haired girl was saying.

"Minami-san..."

"I may not have been the most trustworthy person when I said 'Don't worry' but maybe these girls, who can understand you better, who go through the same as you, can make you feel like you're in this together."

Ogura could feel nothing but amazement at that moment.

Minami Himeka radiated a motherly kind of warmth, which felt better than the tightest hug. A shocked smile appeared on Ogura's lips.

"Th-Thank you."

Part 5

It was time for another tutoring session that evening. Like the day before, Minami Himeka, a wavy-haired, mature lady and Ogura Iori, her blonde-haired classmate who had an unlimited collection of hair accessories and needless purses, met at the Tokiwadai Middle School's grand library.

In just three days, the mid-semester exams were about to start.

A sleepy, blissful light rested upon the entire room with its ceiling reaching 15 meters above the ground.

As soon as Minami Himeka opened a thick, embellished volume bigger than her own head, she loudly sneezed. A giant cloud of dust must have gotten inside her nostrils, as the books in the Tokiwadai library could sometimes sit in a bookshelf for literal years untouched.

Even such a perfect, neat school did not have staff hired exclusively for wiping from dust and polishing each of their library's book. Especially since there were uncountable amounts of them.

She took out a handkerchief from her grey skirt's pocket and started to wipe her nose as she was giving a lecture to Ogura Iori.

"Before we move on to the new things, I will quickly check your knowledge from the materials I gave you yesterday. I assume you have studied enough from them."

She was gently riffling the book's pages and looking at her blonde-haired classmate from time to time as she was doing that.

The girl with azure-colored ribbon in her hair sighed quietly as she was leaning on her hand. There could be a small drop of sweat visible on her cheek. She wanted this to end as quickly as possible so she could go to bed earlier.

"Go ahead."

She seemed ready to answer all of Minami Himeka's questions but there was no life in her voice.

The headband-wearing girl opened the book at a certain page she was searching for a while. She then cleared her throat and asked the first question.

"Well, then. Please, explain the 'AIM Diffusion Field Resonance' and its connection to RSPK Syndrome."

The wavy-haired girl hid the handkerchief she was holding in her hand, back inside to the skirt's pocket while waiting for her classmate's answer.

The blonde-haired girl finally spoke after a couple of seconds of thinking. She was constantly looking up, staring at the ceiling and focusing her brain cells on remembering the text she was analyzing yesterday at night.

"Uhm, so AIM Diffusion Field Resonance is a phenomena in which two espers with the same type of power, thus with the same structure of their AIM Diffusion Field, resonate with each other."

"That's good enough. Now, give me an example of such resonance and what kind of profit can it give to the influenced espers."

Ogura Iori squinted her eyes while she was looking at the beautiful chandeliers hanging from the tall ceiling and reflecting the blissful, orange sunbeams.

She was intensively thinking.

"Hmm, for example, a high-level telekinetic, who can normally control pressure with their power, is able to detect other espers with the same ability, as their AIM Diffusion Fields exert a small pressure onto the matter around them."

Minami smirked. She was quite surprised that her classmate got that right. She flipped a page and was ready to ask another question.

"That was pretty good. Now explain how is it connected to RSPK Syndrome."

"So, RSPK Syndrome is a state in which an esper is overloaded, their ability can no longer be controlled and goes out of hand. It is usually stated to be an individual outburst of power, but if such esper in that state of mind, starts resonating with other espers with the same AIM Diffusion Field through the occurrence of the AIM Diffusion Field Resonance, it can create a larger-scale calamity."

That also was perfectly correct.

The wavy-haired girl's mouth slightly opened and her eyes widened. She was impressed, shocked and... frustrated. Did she have very low expectations coming to this library or was she just prepared for Ogura to not say a single thing?

But she received a full-length, almost textbook-level of an answer. But no matter how magnificent her classmate's knowledge would or would not be, Minami Himeka would never, in all honesty, express pride in Ogura for such thing.

She cleared her throat once again. She felt the blood rushing to her head from the shock and still undying will to catch Ogura Iori stumbling on an even harder question. She wanted to see something she had expected to. She did not like being surprised. She did not like that feeling at all.

She still, stubbornly, kept her smug, confident face, then flipped a couple of pages until she stopped at a certain one and tapped on it with her slender finger.

"Well, you have clearly studied from the books I gave you, but the real deal starts from here." She smirked, but the blonde-haired girl had no idea why. She was still lazily leaning on her hand with a tired expression. "Characterize a telepath's AIM Diffusion Field while affected by the RSPK Syndrome."

"It has a shape of a dot with many strings and strands connected to it, that are the AIM Diffusion Field's 'extensions' that can send random signals inside the brains of people nearby." She responded as if she was reading the answer wrote on a piece of paper laying right in front of her, but that was not the case. Her voice was monotone and lifeless, but she did not miss any important fact.

Her answer was, once again, perfect.

Minami Himeka grew noticeably annoyed and frustrated. She clutched her fist on the book's hard cover and clenched her teeth.

She was not even trying to pretend anymore. She was not holding back her true emotions.

"Gh! The formula for AIM Diffusion Field's frequency!"

Ogura Iori felt a shiver of raw fear coming down her spine. She could feel the tension in the air that Minami created. She was mad that her classmate was so well-prepared, which made the blonde-haired girl excited and even satisfied a little bit.

She knew the answer to that question, so she decided to break off the stress and fear.

"2*1/2h + hv(6v*1/2s)!"

The girl with a black headband squealed from frustration and looked nervously at the page's content, searching for the next question.

"What is Probability Density Function in probability theory?"

"It's a function whose value at any given sample can be interpreted as providing a relative likelihood that the value of a random variable would equal that sample. In other words, while the absolute likelihood for a continuous random variable to take on any particular value is 0, the value of the Probability Density Function at two different samples can be used to infer, in any particular draw of the random variable, how much more likely it is that the random variable would equal one sample compared to the other sample. That Function had to be analyzed and implemented into the process of programming the Tree Diagram Simulation Program."

Minami Himeka slammed her fist against the wooden table. The sound resonated through the spacious room. It was so loud, that almost the entire library turned in her direction.

The blonde-haired girl was looking at her angry classmate with a terrified, nervous expression. Her hands were trembling and sweat drops started to drip from her forehead. She tried to comfort the wavy-haired girl with her shaky, high-pitched voice, even though she did not exactly know what caused that sudden change of behavior.

"M-Minami-san... A-Are you angry?"

The girl with dark brown hair exhaled loudly, while trying to control her heartbeat and nervous shaking.

She then lifted up her head and looked at Ogura Iori with a frustrated, but at the same time, amazed and shocked expression on her face.

"O-Ogura-san! How do you get every question right?! Did you seriously cram until midnight for today's session? If that's the case, then you did not have to! Seriously, you do not need to exert your body and mind so much! If I have ever implied that you need to study for hours or if I have ever given you an impression that you need to torture yourself with cramming for an entire night, then I am so sorry! I would never intentionally say that!"

The blonde-haired girl looked confused and troubled by her classmate's words. She tilted her head and was staring at Minami Himeka with a worried expression on her face.

"Minami-san, what are you talking about?"

The wavy-haired girl was even more confused now.

"Huh?"

Both of them were staring at each other, none of them understanding what the other meant. The lack of communication and understanding was what made that situation awkward, silent and very confusing for the both sides.

Finally, Ogura Iori cleared her throat and crossed her legs.

"I mean, I just read the books you have lent me once or twice."

"H-How long did it take you to grasp all that knowledge?"

"Hmm, good question. I started reading those when the sun was still on the horizon, but I have finished by the time it got dark outside." She put a finger on her chin and looked up while thinking. "Hmm, probably like thirty minutes or so?"

Minami Himeka froze in place. Something like a supernatural force paralyzed her immediately after she heard her classmate say the words "thirty minutes". Was she lying? She was definitely lying. The wavy-haired girl could not accept that answer.

There was absolutely no way someone could obtain all this knowledge in a mere half an hour. But the tone of her voice did not sound fake at all. In fact, it was Ogura's usual, genuine response. She said those words so calmly and naturally. Was she maybe not aware that thirty minutes was not the average time Tokiwadai students had to spend on studying for their tests?

Had she been living in a bubble with an even thicker surface than most of the ladies studying here? Had she never experienced hard work? It seemed like everything she was doing, came to her naturally. She was memorizing everything so quickly, it was almost suspiciously easy.

The girl who was wearing a black headband on her head was staring at her classmate absolutely devastated. She was also feeling a tiny bit of jealousy.

"OGURA-SAN!" She shouted her name as she was sweating like a melting ice. "Y-Y-You are telling me you have always had this computer-like memorizing ability?! Then why were your grades always balancing between bad and average?! With that, you should be a top student already! All you need is a daily hour of studying!"

Ogura raised her eyebrows in an annoyed, tired expression. She laid her entire upper body down on the wooden table and pouted her lips.

"But studying is so not my style... I mean, sitting in a desk for an hour straight, just reading, while you could go out and—"

"I WILL NOT TAKE 'NO' AS AN ANSWER!" Minami Himeka cracked her fists with a demonic look on her face.

A sudden shiver went through the blonde girl's body.

"M-Minami-san? What are you—?"

"Forgive me for being so naive. I thought I was working with an average middle school-aged girl, but it turns out you are just a very, VERY lazy genius. Now I know what the situation is like." She giggled like a scary, possessed doll from a horror movie. "Considering your memorizing is almost unbelievably perfect, I will now give you double... no, triple of what I have given you yesterday."

Ogura's eyes started twitching and her whole body was enormously sweating.

"Also, today we are going to study two chapters from our textbook. After all, I cannot let a genius like you feel bored. Right?"

"A-Ah... Ah."

Her voice was stuck in her throat. She was so scared of saying something back that she just nodded her head silently, instead.

This was the time she realized what other Tokiwadai students had to go through in order to achieve their goals. Raw talent was not enough. Some did not even have it and were doing very good in school. What truly mattered was the work, motivation and time spent on studying.

Ogura Iori achieved the 4th level, but she never had to work hard for it. She never understood people who just... did not have anything. She had been given everything she had ever wanted. She was born with talent and in an extremely wealthy family, who had provided her with the best equipment and science team for developing her powers.

But, for her, enrollment into Tokiwadai Middle School was like running into a concrete wall after a nice and refreshing stroll around her garden. Not only could she no longer wear her favorite, pretty dresses but she also had to face reality, start studying and working hard for her accomplishments.

As a high-level esper, her brain was extremely well-developed, she had talent and skills. But Minami Himeka, a girl who had to work hard for everything she had ever accomplished, made sure to also teach Ogura Iori the patience and effort that she never had the chance to learn herself.

It was time to study for the mid-semester exams.

Part 6

System Scan.

A regular city-wide testing event in Academy City whose purpose was to check on the students' progress in their Esper Power Development.

By analyzing the participating espers' powers, testers could determine the power levels of their students and have a closer look on their abilities' actual potential. Each of them was given a different type of test, depending on their esper power, and were told to use the maximum of it, in order to see how much freedom in using their abilities they had, how powerful they can get and how easily would the abilities grow.

System Scan was occurring twice a year. Every single school in Academy City had to partake in it on those specific, established days and send the testing's results to the general bank data, that same day.

One of those days was in the month of July, more specifically, on July 16th and Tokiwadai Middle School was, as ever, making it into a big, important event.

There were only a few schools in Academy City that would put power levels and esper abilities above anything else, but Tokiwadai just so happened to be one of them. Their rigorous, demanding and enormously challenging education system as well as requirements that barely 2% of the entire city-state could meet lead to their students believing that the day of System Scan is the most important moment in their lives.

They could either disappoint their entire school by not progressing at all and getting stuck with the same results forever or climbing up the social ladder by upgrading their power level.

Whether or not those predictions and fears were true or not, it seemed like everyone was nervous and stressed about the System Scan.

Everyone but a certain girl who attended class 2-B in Tokiwadai Middle School and who had enough hair ribbons to never wear the same one ever again for the rest of her life, after wearing it once (today, she decided she's going to wear a pastel pink one with white stripes on it. Maybe her power testing put her in a more girly mood?).

She was standing in a wide hallway with white walls and shiny floor, which was overcrowded by rich, high-class ladies studying here. She was waiting in a line of around thirty other girls, which had its start near sliding doors leading to another room and continued long down the corridor.

Ogura Iori felt lucky, as she was first in the line and just about to go inside. She was only waiting for the girl, which had her abilities tested in that moment, to come out and start her turn to test her abilities. Other students, queueing behind her, were all whispering to each other in quiet, high-pitched and shaking voices as they were stressing out over the System Scan. One could say the atmosphere there was quite tense and nervous. With one person leaving the testing room and another one coming in, the stress was only growing stronger.

But that was not the case for the blonde-haired girl with a pink ribbon tied into her hair. She was standing confidently with crossed arms, waiting for her time to come inside. It's true that Level 4 espers were pressured, put on display by their schools and known by everybody, but there was at least one redeeming quality; they were not the ones to worry about System Scan's results.

Of course, there could be students ambitious enough to feel disappointment within themselves for not reaching the fifth level as soon as they would want, but the frustration could only come from their unfulfilled goals. The teachers were satisfied enough with Level 4 espers staying Level 4 espers.

And that was exactly what Ogura Iori had ever wanted. She did not aim any higher than where she already was. Power, unlike bags and clothes, had no value to her. She did not even try to pursue it.

As long as she was considered a part of the city's elite, treated with respect she deserved and had the privilege to buy whatever she wanted, she was perfectly satisfied. She did not need anything more than the lifestyle she already had. Now, she was just waiting to fulfill her, and every Academy City's student's, duty which was having her powers tested. Yes, she viewed it as a simple duty. A chore, even. She wasn't obsessed over power, nor becoming the best, nor competing with others. Right now, she had the mindset of finishing what she had to do and going out to a clothing store.

Finally, her waiting was put to an end. A girl with short, black hair left the classroom through the sliding doors. She bowed to the teacher who was also present in the room, turned around and nodded towards the girl with long, blonde hair.

"The next person, please." She heard the voice of Mrs. Watanabe, her Esper Science and Development teacher.

Ogura passed the short-haired girl and entered the room herself.

She closed the sliding doors and bowed in front of the middle-aged woman, who was wearing a blazer and a skirt going down to her knees.

Aside from Mrs. Watanabe, there were two other women in the classroom. They were taking notes on their notepads and checking on the equipment.

The windows were covered by beautiful, long, red curtains that were reaching the wooden floor, so the only source of light was a chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

The room itself was spacious, but almost completely empty. There were two wooden chairs leaning against a wall painted white. In the middle, there was a table with a bunch of weirdly shaped, metal objects put on it, and one chair.

Although, there was one particular place in the class that was different from the rest. In the corner, there was a small machine separated from the rest of the room by a see-through wall. There were three little holes in the window-like wall, through which long, thick cables were coming out.

The cables were connected to a shiny, silver device laying on the table which looked like a bicycle helmet, but it was most definitely a machine. It had many little lights in the shape of dots flashing from time to time. It was also making noises of an overheated computer.

Ogura Iori greeted her teacher.

"Good morning, Watanabe-sensei. I'm more than glad to partake in today's System Scan. Please, take care of testing me."

The woman wearing a navy blue blazer nodded her head.

"Of course. Give your best, Ogura-san."

She then gave a sign to the two other women in charge of the helmet-looking machine. Both of them quickly grabbed it, while one was clicking some buttons and the other one was checking the flashing lights.

"Wait here for a bit." Mrs. Watanabe said to the blonde-haired teenage girl and headed towards the big, loud machine separated by see-through walls.

She went inside the tiny „room" and started to tune the machine. It looked like a DJ's Booth, but with a bunch of little screens and buttons, also lacking the disk station.

The middle-aged woman looked like she was tuning it as she was carefully twisting little knobs that the machinery had.

"Experiment #257, subject #023. AIM Diffusion Field's density is 0,74. Tune the sensor to the medium efficiency. Thermokinesis, category 37." She said to the two ladies tampering with the helmet-like device, but her voice was muffled due to the see-through walls.

Though, the two women understood her. They nodded and started to twist little rectangular buttons attached to the machine, which looked like volume knobs. Suddenly, the metal helmet beeped and after that, a long, high-pitched screech followed.

"We are tuning the sensors to be able to detect changes in your AIM Diffusion Field. You can sit down and let Ishihara-san and Kaname-san install the helmet on your head." She said to Ogura Iori as she opened the glass door for the small room.

"Understood." The blonde-haired girl replied and walked towards the wooden furniture, which was located in the center of the room.

She took off her pastel pink ribbon with white stripes and put it on the table. She then sat in the chair and the two women helping in the System Scan, slowly and gently put the blonde-haired girl's head inside the, surprisingly heavy, helmet device. The installing process felt incredibly uncomfortable.

Ogura Iori felt like she was inside a computer. All she could hear was the cooling fan's noise and, occasionally, quiet, rhythmic beeps. The helmet was covering her eyes, but she could still see through it, as it had a clear lens around that area. Her ears were also covered, as well as her entire cranium.

"Everything is in check?"

"Yes. The frequency matches the subject's AIM Diffusion Field."

"No problems with the machine's efficiency."

"Understood. Well then, we will be starting the experiment of subject #023, Ogura Iori-san." Said Watanabe as she was filling an empty rubric in her notepad. She came closer to the blonde-haired girl wearing the heavy, loud machine on her head and spoke to her in a loud voice. "Ogura-san! Can you hear us?!"

The second year student nodded.

Watanabe then turned around and walked towards a light switch that was on the wall.

"I will now turn the lights off, okay?" She said as she was pressing it with her finger.

Ogura nodded again.

Then, suddenly, the entire classroom filled with darkness. The blonde-haired girl completely forgot that, even though it was a sunny morning today, the windows were entirely covered, so the sudden lack of light made her jump slightly. She couldn't even see the tip of her nose. She knew she was sitting in a chair, but she could not see it nor could she notice Mrs. Watanabe and the other ladies.

All she could see in this completely dark room were the flashing lights of the big machine looking like a DJ's booth and blinking diodes of the helmet that was connected to it by long wires and tubes.

Her sight was completely shut down, but her hearing, even though was disrupted by the loud cooling fan, was still working. She could hear her teacher's high heels clacking on the wooden floor, as she was coming closer to the table Ogura Iori was sitting next to.

She picked something up from it. The blonde girl hoped it was not her expensive, silk ribbon.

She could not see it, but Mrs. Watanabe was holding something in her hand. It was a small device made from metal, which looked like a remote control or an old cell phone. It was small, handy and had a couple of buttons on it.

Meanwhile, Ogura Iori could hear the two other women clicking the buttons of the big machine. With every press of a button, she could hear a beeping sound, so loudly and clearly, almost as if it was inside her brain.

"Watanabe-sensei, AIM Diffusion Field is matched. The amplitude is on the screen. We can start." The voice of one of the women could be heard in the complete darkness.

"Understood. Ogura-san, as usual, on 'three, two, one' I'm going to press the button. If you feel dizzy, let us know by raising your hand. The experiment's length is estimated at two and a half minutes. Do you give us the permission to view your AIM Diffusion Field?"

The blonde-haired girl nodded for the third time. She knew what was coming, so she clutched her fists which were laying on her thighs. Her short, grey skirt wrinkled as she grabbed the fabric vigorously.

"Three..."

She clenched her teeth.

"Two..."

"...One."

She suddenly heard a loud and piercing "BEEP!" inside her head.

It was very high-pitched and screeched inside her entire brain. It was like a needle. Precisely inflicted pain. But it stung her many times.

Her mind immediately went blank. She could not even hear the cooling fan inside the helmet she had on her head anymore. Not only could she not see anything and hear anything, but she also felt like all of her other senses got shut down as well.

It was a device that with one press of a button, immediately, precisely and effectively deprived her of her brain's work.

It was dark.

It was quiet like a vacuum.

There were no thoughts in her head.

She could feel the blood stopping inside her body for a second, as her entire world stopped as well.

But that feeling was not completely alien to her. She had already experienced that feeling. She had already gone through that. That "beep" reminded her of only one thing: her own ability. She knew that whenever that sound got caught by her ears, she was able to use that power.

Her world was about to change.

Only three seconds since the "beep" had passed. The blonde-haired girl was slowly regaining her consciousness, she could feel her arms and legs again and her thoughts were freed from this strange, coma-like feeling.

But she could still feel the pain from that sound which stung her in the brain, many times.

Her eyes were closed this whole time, but now she felt brave enough to open them. She knew she was not going to see the same darkness she had been seeing five seconds ago.

She was prepared to focus her brain.

She could hear again and she was able to realize that the three women were talking to each other while she was frozen for those three seconds. They were casually just continuing their conversation.

"Is the brain stable already?"

"Yes, there are also no troubles with the AIM Diffusion Field."

"The frequency is going back to normal. The subject can already control her brainwaves."

"The electric signal successfully triggered the device implemented inside the subject's brain."

"Her Personal Reality should have no obstructions anymore."

"Understood."

"Well, then. Let's start Experiment #257."

Part 7

"Minami Himeka-san, am I right?"

"Yes."

The wavy-haired lady was sitting in a chair in front of an other girl. The two of them were facing each other and a female teacher, around 60 years old, wearing a yellow turtleneck, was standing beside them.

Minami was inside one of Tokiwadai's classroom, along with several other students and teachers. To her right and to her left, there were curtain dividers, separating them from others who were having their abilities tested right now. Every compartment had a girl wearing Tokiwadai Middle School's uniform sitting in a wooden chair face-to-face with an other person and a teacher holding a notepad with rubrics and boxes to fill.

This specific classroom was testing telepaths and psychometrics. Unlike the one in which Ogura's ability was tested, this classroom was not quiet nor was it empty or spacious. It was quite the opposite; everyone was cramped in the small compartments separated from each other by a mere curtain.

The woman who was in charge of testing Minami Himeka's ability finally finished taking notes with her black pen.

"Well, then. Seems like everything is ready. We can start the Experiment #293."

The girl with dark brown hair looked at her experiment's partner. It was a girl slightly older than her, who was wearing a device on her head that looked like a helmet and was connected to the wall by many tubes and wires.

It only covered the back of the girl's head. Her forehead was completely naked and Minami Himeka touched it with her hand.

"Minami-san, your ability - Electroencephalography - lets you read electrical activity of the brain, right? Then, could you tell me what can you sense right now?"

The older woman also had a small device in her hand which looked like a smartphone. There were EEG signals on the screen, spiking and vibrating.

It was connected to the helmet that the other girl was wearing by some kind of wave-based transfer. What the teacher had in front of her, presented on the screen, was the girl's brainwave pattern, changing in real time.

Minami Himeka closed her eyes as she had her hand pressing against her experiment partner's forehead.

She opened her mouth and spoke calmly.

"First of all, I do not sense any brain damages or head injuries. There's no encephalitis or sleep disorder, and a chance of a brain tumor is very low." She stopped there as if she saw something unexpected, even though her eyes were closed. It shook her body a little, but she spoke again. "However. I do sense that the person suffers from some kind of epilepsy."

"Yes. That is correct." The older lady wearing a yellow turtleneck said as she noted something in her notepad. "Could you determine what type of epilepsy is that?"

Minami clenched her eyes a bit. She was focusing her brain to the fullest. It was like she was trying to find something very small and very well-hidden in her own room. She was searching, throwing away useless stuff and looking around the places she did not check yet.

Until she finally found that thing. She spoke once again.

"The brain has mostly suffered from convulsive seizures in the past."

"Mhm." The woman nodded her head as she was writing on the notepad's paper with her black pen. "Could you tell me the brain's amplitude that you are sensing?"

Minami did not even have to think to answer that. She responded as if she knew that all along.

"It's balancing between 9 and 10 Hz in the posterior regions."

"Thank you very much. You can stop now."

As the teacher said that, the wavy-haired girl backed out her hand and slowly opened her eyes. She looked in the middle-aged lady's direction hoping to get her results.

"Diagnosis' precision is 70%. Slight deviations in the amplitude sensors. Lack of information about the condition of other brain regions. Correct distinction of the brain disfunction. Overall score: Level 3."

The girl with a black headband slowly closed her eyes again. She was expecting that result. She was, but there was some kind of frustration and embarrassment inside of her. She could read from other people's brains by analyzing their bioelectricity. But she could not understand why she was feeling that type of way in that moment.

She stood up from her seat gently.

"Thank you very much, Nakahara-sensei." She bowed like a proper lady.

"Thank you very much, too. The card with your System Scan statistics will be printed once we are finished with everybody here. For now, you can go."

"I understand. Well, then. I'll excuse myself— KYAAAH!"

Suddenly, an extremely loud and resounding noise of a lightning strike combined with a sound of a powerful explosion shook the entire school building. Everything that was standing on the tables or the floor, fell immediately creating many banging, rumbling and crashing noises.

Everyone present in the room, and presumably on the entire Tokiwadai Middle School campus, screamed loudly while trying to hold onto anything nearby in order to not fall on the ground.

Although, Minami Himeka was not so lucky. She awkwardly fell on the wooden floor, hurting her skinny butt and scratching her elbows.

She crouched on the floor and put a hand to her forehead. Her brain was shocked from that loud and sudden thunder strike and was still processing what had happened.

The same noise occurred two or three more times afterwards. But because everyone was expecting it to do so, there was not that much shock caused because of it.

Instead, everyone started to giggle and whisper to each other. The one person who was not in the mood for that, though, was Minami Himeka. After the series of very loud shots had ended, she stood up clumsily with the help of the middle-aged woman standing beside her.

"Nakahara-sensei, what was that?!" Her voice was shaking from fear and shock.

The teacher smiled bitterly towards her.

"The Railgun. Misaka Mikoto-san's powers are being tested in the pool right now. I knew it was going to attract all of the students' attention, but compared to the last year's, this explosion was... this was something else..."

Minami Himeka was enchanted. She was looking through the window with a shaken up expression on her face. She felt a sweat drop dripping down her cheek.

"The Railgun..."

The older woman sighed helplessly.

"Truly, with the amount of money that goes into the Level 5s' exclusive testing equipment, the whole process lasting maximum 10 seconds feels so paradoxical. And it's not like we can reuse the same equipment for different students. My goodness, we are going to go bankrupt some day because of those girls..."

"Um, Nakahara-sensei?"

"Aaah, don't worry about it. I'm just mumbling to myself. Alright, next person, please!"

Part 8

It was past 1 PM.

The ability testing had ended in most of the schools in Academy City. One of them was Tokiwadai Middle School. Students whose powers were tested outside as well as those whose abilities' scan took place in classrooms, all had to take a physical test as their last "exam" on July 16th.

In around two months, a city-wide sports festival was about to start, so students of Academy City, especially those who attended prestigious schools, had to take very rigorous trainings and PE lessons.

As the early noon had started, the girls who attended Tokiwadai Middle School had just finished their physical exams and were all sent to the big, communal shower room that the school had provided.

It had a row of around twenty shower stalls, facing the lockers and a long, wooden bench in the middle of the room. The ceiling was almost completely made out of glass, so the summer's strong and bright sunbeams were peeking through and lighting up the room.

It was also decorated with perfectly trimmed, big plants which looked very exotic and gave the, at first sight, simple interior, a luxurious accent.

The whole room was filled with steam, chattering and giggling as the rich, young ladies were all showering after an exhausting training which included running twenty laps around Tokiwadai's enormous stadium track, doing forty push-ups, jumping over vaulting boxes and many others.

There were students for whom such activities were a piece of cake, but people who were not born physically talented at all, such as Minami Himeka, could not think of a worse form of torture.

She was washing her body in the school's shower. A stall next to her was occupied by Ogura Iori and the next one, by Mizushima Sayuri. The three of them were chatting while showering after a long and tiring training on the scorching hot sun.

The wavy-haired girl, whose black headband was put on the shower stall's hanger, sighed loudly with fatigue.

"My goodness, making us do all of this... Not everyone here is a pro athlete. I get that they want to prepare us for the upcoming Daihasei Festival, but having to run and jump around in that weather? This is just pure sadism."

Ogura Iori laughed nervously as she was washing her long, blonde hair. She also did not have her accessory on.

"There's nothing to do about it. Our school takes every competition very seriously, so they want to make sure that every student is prepared enough."

"Haah... But if that type of training is going to continue, I will end up in a hospital one day."

"Eh? But you have done well last year. Well, you did look like a dead fish after running two laps today, though..."

Minami frowned and looked angrily at her classmate as she was intensely scrubbing her arm's skin with a white sponge.

"Thank you for the nice comment. I know how I felt and I know how I looked like. I guess after each Daihasei Festival, my condition just goes back to 'normal' and running a lap becomes a challenge to me. Haah..."

Ogura felt bad for bringing that up. She quickly tried to change the subject since the atmosphere was not necessarily pleasant.

"B-By the way, how did you guys' System Scan went?" She asked as she looked at both of the girls who were showering in the two stalls to her right and left. "Mine was just as the last time. No progress."

Mizushima Sayuri was gently brushing her long, wet, honey-colored hair with her fingers and answered after a second of thought.

"Hmm, my results were the same, as well."

"Same with me." Minami Himeka added with a sigh.

Ogura Iori smiled bitterly and turned off the water.

"Looks like the three of us did not progress much since the last System Scan." She said as she grabbed a towel that was hanging on the shower stall's door. "But did you hear the explosion that came from Misaka-san's testing pool? It really surprised me!"

The girl with honey-colored hair clapped her hands as the water was dripping down her entire, petite body.

"Aah, I heard it, I heard it! I could even feel it shaking my body a little! And the liquid from the pool looked like it was going to reach the clouds!"

"Ah, your ability was tested outside, right, Mizushima-san? I'm jealous a little~! I would like to see Misaka-san's ability up-close, too!"

Mizushima Sayuri turned off the water as well and started to dry her long hair with a pink towel.

"After Misaka-san came out from her test, everyone ran towards her. I wanted to greet and congratulate her, too, but I was a little too late... Ahaha, I was not even able to see her through the crowd that formed around her."

As Ogura Iori was drying her hair with a towel, she suddenly gasped with a smile as if she came up with a fantastic idea.

"Hey! Then how about we i-i-invite Misaka-san to g-g-go out with us?!" She said with a blushing face and excitement in her voice that caused her to stumble.

Mizushima jumped a little from shock and lowered her voice.

"B-But, would she agree to come with us?"

Finally, Minami Himeka sighed irritated as she finished showering, as well. She squeezed the water from her wet, dark-brown hair and spoke with a calm, but annoyed tone.

"Come on, where are your manners? We shouldn't bother Misaka-san. What is a Level 5 like her supposed to say when a bunch of girls who are barely acquainted with her, want to take her precious time? She's obviously going to get annoyed and refuse. She has enough responsibilities and problems to worry about right no—"

Suddenly, a loud noise could be heard a couple of stalls away from the three ladies. Something hit and propelled a girl with curly, chestnut-colored hair from the shower stall. She flew in the air for a second until she hit the wet, tiled floor with a banging noise.

She only had a pink towel wrapped around her flimsily. A loud, angry and annoyed voice of an other girl could be heard with an echo. She had shoulder-length, brown hair and was taking a shower as if nothing happened.

"Your BRAIN is what is broken!"

The petite girl laying on her stomach, even though should be in pain after such strong attack, smiled and answered the short-haired girl who kicked her out of the stall.

"It was only a bit of skinship~...!"

The brown-haired girl grew even more annoyed and embarrassed. She turned around, grabbed the first object that was laying near her and threw it at the chestnut-haired girl.

"SHUT UP!"

The three ladies; Minami, Ogura and Mizushima, as well as the rest of the girls present in the shower room, were all witnesses of this truly un-ladylike, embarrassing scene. They covered their mouths with their hands and gasped with shock as if they saw a murdered body.

The wavy-haired girl then turned in her blonde friend's direction and raised her eyebrows in an annoyed look.

"Now you know what I mean?"

Ogura Iori was paralyzed. Her entire body was in shock and her widened eyes were twitching. She slowly proceeded to dry her hair as she gulped loudly.

"Y... Yes. M-Must be tough for her..."

"Well, there is going to be a lot of people wanting to obtain Misaka-san's attention. In one way... or another..." Mizushima Sayuri said as she forced a smile on her face. She was standing in a terrified pose, with her trembling legs put close together and her fists clutched near her chest.

Minami Himeka scowled. She was staring at the half-naked girl laying on the floor with disgust. She raised her eyebrows again and started to brush her waist-long, dark brown hair.

"I truly have no words. This behavior is unacceptable. Sometimes I wonder why some of those girls even apply to our school and then do things like this. Coming to Tokiwadai and not having basic human decency? Let alone, knowing a proper etiquette and acting like a lady, not like an animal. What are they thinking? And then people ask us why first years have no access to the Rose Garden."

Ogura Iori, even though agreed with her classmate's statement, smiled bitterly towards her and closed her eyes.

"Y-You're harsh."

The wavy-haired girl pouted and responded proudly.

"Of course I am. Do they not know what school they are attending? This is Tokiwadai Middle School, for crying out loud. My goodness, just because someone is a high-level esper, other aspects such as family situation and manners are wrongfully ignored and overlooked."

Ogura Iori wrapped a towel around her body and looked, with a smug face, at the girl with dark brown hair.

"Ara~ aren't you a bit jealous?"

Minami reacted quickly.

She tried to shake off the feeling of embarrassment with her words as soon as possible.

"M-Me? Jealous?! Oh, please, do not make me laugh. I can call myself a proper Tokiwadai student and my pride in that fact will never be taken away from me. I would rather stay a Level 3 esper who knows how to behave than someone who got whatever they want and doesn't know how to make an effort to learn proper manners."

Ogura Ior felt defeated.

"I feel like... you are talking about me..."

Minami Himeka got out of the shower and closed the stall's white doors which did not even reach the floor. She wrapped a towel around herself as well and headed towards the lockers.

Mizushima looked at her walking away.

"Minami-san... looks frustrated."

"There's nothing to do about it. She's too ambitious for her own good."

Mizushima Sayuri giggled and opened her stall's door.

"You're right. That's so Minami-san-like."

The blonde-haired girl stretched her arms and started walking towards the lockers, too. The short girl with honey-colored hair followed her.

"Aah, what should I buy today~?" She sighed as she was passing by Minami and looking for her locker number.

The wavy-haired girl tilted her head in response.

"Well, I guess I should give you a permission to skip our tutoring session today."

"Thank you, Minami-san."

"After all, Ogura-san's brain is a high-tech computer, so we've already gone over 90% of the needed material already."

The blonde-haired girl clenched her teeth.

"M-Minami-san, you're so cruel..."

The mature lady closed her eyes and answered calmly.

"But isn't that true? When they implemented that device inside your brain, didn't they also replace it with a mechanical one?"

"N-NO! That did NOT happen! You are just jealous that my memory is better than yours!"

Mizushima Sayuri stood between the two girls with a troubled and scared expression on her face. She was trying to diffuse the atmosphere.

"T-There, there. Let's just calm down." She whispered shyly. She then suddenly remembered something and clapped her hands. "Ah! That's right! Did you hear that a first-year from our school got attacked with a stunt gun yesterday?"

"Hm? No, I didn't."

"I did not, either."

"She apparently woke up a minute after, but had huge, thick eyebrows drawn on her face with a black marker! And that seems to be a work of a serial attacker! Apparently she wasn't the only one!"

Ogura and Minami looked at the short, petite girl confused.

"What a stupid prank." The blonde girl scoffed.

"Well, then, we should be careful while walking around the streets today. My goodness, even in School Garden we can't feel safe... At least we have the Level 4 beast guarding us."

Ogura took out her school uniform along with her thigh-high socks, pink ribbon and loafers from the shiny locker and placed the clothes on the wooden bench behind her. She gently sat down and removed her towel.

"Is Hisakawa-san going to join us? She said she wanted to buy new perfumes."

"Ah, she said that something came up with her clique and she needs to go." Ogura Iori answered as she was sitting down and putting on her black, long socks.

"Isn't this occurring quite frequently? What a poor girl."

"Well, they're busy with research and development of their new project. Ayako said that they need an entire power plant for it to happen, so I can only imagine how big it's going to be." She responded while forcing a smile on her face.

Minami Himeka frowned slightly. She still felt uneasiness about that subject, but she decided to ignore it and start dressing up, as well. She opened her own locker and reached her hand to grab the clothes that were sitting inside it.

Part 9

"We will now begin the first exam. Are you all ready?"

The teacher wearing a navy blue blazer spoke in a hot, dusty classroom as the cicadas were adding suspense to the whole scene by singing in the background. The room had twenty antique, wooden desks put in four rows and every single one of them was occupied by a lady wearing Tokiwadai Middle School's uniform.

Mrs. Watanabe was standing on the platform holding a stack of paper in her hands, but there was also someone else beside her. It was a student, but she did not have to take a test. She was short and very slim. She had short, black hair and her bangs were completely covering her eyes and, partially, her nose. One could ask what was she doing there? Why was she just standing on a wooden platform along with the teacher?

Well, her presence in the room was necessary. The girl's name was Mine Sunako. She was the owner of a rare ability called "AIM Radar". In short, she was able to detect AIM Diffusion Fields and analyze changes in them. No matter how many of them were in the same room as her, she was able to see them.

That's why she was needed, especially during tests. Even though Tokiwadai students were expected to be behaving fair and acting nobly, they were still students. A good grade was the most important thing for them, so from time to time, there were incidents of cheating on the exams.

Mainly by telepaths.

They would create a telepathic network between each other and send information through it, without anyone in the class noticing. But under no circumstances were such things acceptable in Tokiwadai Middle School.

That's why the first idea of the principal was to use AIM-detecting machines on their students, but the practicality of that turned out to be very poor. Installing twenty helmets attached to a one, big machinery per classroom was just not doable. And, as a strict school that it was, Tokiwadai could not simply trust the students to not cheat. So they finally decided to use their own espers who could view AIM Diffusion Fields and check if the telepaths were not using their power.

That's why Mine Sunako was standing by the teacher during that exam. She had her ability turned on for this whole time and was keeping an eye on every single student.

It was July 17th. The first, out of three, day of mid-semester exams. Every student present in that classroom had already studied everyday that week, including Ogura Iori, who did not have a tendency of doing so, ever. But this year was different. It had to be different, or else she would not stay in that school. Her grades went crashing down since she graduated from elementary school.

Fortunately she had someone who would help her in such situations. Minami Himeka.

She was sitting in a desk next to the blonde girl, near the end of the classroom. She was calmly looking at her teacher while listening to her lecture.

"You will be given the tests in a minute. But first, I'm going to clarify the organizational matters. You have an hour to complete the test and hand it over to me. So, when the bell chimes at 10 AM, you put away your pens and hand the tests over. As always, Mine-san is going to observe all of you, so do not even try to use your abilities in any shape or form, because if you do, we will be forced to stop the entire exam for everybody and resume it the next day. And you would not like to have your summer vacations shorter by a day, am I right?"

The whole class answered with a harmonious "yes, ma'am."

She then nodded to Mine Sunako and started walking towards the desks and handing out the papers.

When she was almost done, she placed the test on Ogura Iori's desk. While she was doing that, she looked suspiciously at her and then at Minami Himeka, as if she was saying "no cheating, especially you!".

But none of them were nervous or stressed about the exam. Minami was a perfect student to begin with, but the blonde girl had been studying for four days straight. It may sound like not a long time to learn an entire first-year and half of the second-year material, but Ogura Iori was born with an otherworldly ability to memorize. She just needed someone else, like her wavy-haired classmate, to force her to use that ability.

Mrs. Watanabe was done handing out the tests. She came back to where she was previously standing and said.

"Now, you can start. Good luck, everybody!"

Part 10

Those three tense days of mid-semester exams were passing by like a sleepy turtle. They were not as important as the entrance exams or final exams, but if someone would fail even one of them, they would get expelled from Tokiwadai immediately. This is how the school handled mistakes. They were never supposed to happen. Not in Tokiwadai Middle School.

Ogura Iori was somehow able to avoid aforesaid expulsion for her entire first year, but second grade was something else. The bar was set much higher. Without Minami's involvement and her daily tutoring sessions, the blonde girl would not get away with her lack of effort put into studying this time. She would most definitely fail.

But did she make it this time? Even though she did get some help and pressure from her classmate, was Ogura Iori guaranteed to pass the mid-semester exams?

As a person who did not really have much confidence in herself, she questioned whether she was fit to even call herself a Tokiwadai Middle School student. Only hard-working, talented and perfectly-mannered ladies could attend that school. Sure, she did have talent. She was well-mannered, as a girl from an extremely wealthy family. But she was not necessarily hard-working. After all, everyone had been doing the work for her since she was a little child.

During her elementary school years, her family hired her a tutor that, in theory, should just help her with her studies and homework, but in reality, it was just a person who did everything for her. Because of that, she had never even realized she could do all those things by herself. She never discovered her talent in memorizing facts. She knew all fashion brand names and was caught up with every new collection of her favorite designers, but she thought she could remember those only because she was extremely indulged into those interests.

But when she enrolled into Tokiwadai Middle School, her family refused to hire an another tutor. They realized she was too reliant on others and entrusted the school to teach her independency. The school's purpose was to make the rich, sheltered daughters of billionaires start working on their own and achieve their goals by themselves.

She got accepted mainly because of those two factors: her family's position and her high power level. She was not really mentally prepared for a strict school like Tokiwadai. When she turned out to be not as easily trained by the teachers as they had expected, she got just left on her own.

Students like her were getting the worst, most cruel treatment ever. They were thrown into deep water. If they managed to save themselves from drowning by magically being able to swim all of a sudden, they were still kept in the school. But if they were starting to drown, it was a clear sign for the Tokiwadai Middle School's teachers to dispose of such student.

But Ogura Iori had a float that rescued her from drowning. Even though she could swim all along, she was drowning. She did not know she could rescue herself, so she needed someone else to show her that. Minami Himeka was her float. She showed her, by first saving her, that she can swim. She can even go on land by herself.

But if she actually did what Minami had promised her, was about to be revealed.

It was July 19th. The last day of school before summer vacations.

It was also the day of announcing the exam results. The moment of truth.

Ogura Iori, a blonde girl who had a purple ribbon in her hair, was sitting in her desk, next to Minami Himeka. Their teacher was standing on a wooden platform in the classroom, behind her was a big, tall blackboard.

She had a huge stack of papers in her hands.

"Congratulations, everybody, for taking part in this year's exams. I can gladly say that every one of you passed."

The blonde-haired girl felt a warm and tight hug on her heart. Her cheeks filled with heat. She sighed quietly with relief.

"I will now hand over your tests from those three days." Watanabe said and gave a couple of pieces of paper to the girl sitting in the front row.

Everyone was curious. Everyone wanted to know their results. Ogura Iori could not sit still. She started to visibly fidget in her seat and closely observe her teacher's actions.

On the other hand, Minami Himeka decided to remain calm. She closed her eyes and gently exhaled. She was truly a well-mannered lady in that sitting position. With her arms placed on the desk, perfect posture and calm expression on her face, she looked like a monk practicing Zen.

Finally, after a couple of long seconds, Mrs. Watanabe came up to the blonde-haired girl.

The teacher did not have to search for her tests, as they were already grouped by the class' seats. She grabbed three pieces of paper all at once and placed them on Ogura's wooden desk.

The blonde girl did not care about anything else other than checking her score. Without hesitation, as quickly as she could, she looked at the number marked by the teacher's red pen.

The number "85" was on her first test. Then, she checked the paper underneath. There was a number "80" on it. The last one was scored "87".

Ogura Iori, a student who had been given tests with a score of "60" maximum, could not believe her eyes in that moment. She gulped quietly.

She did not even notice it, but a faint smile appeared on her face. She felt satisfaction.

Those were the numbers she usually seen on Minami Himeka's tests, or in her own dreams. But those were her accomplishments. She, even with that minimal effort she had put into studying for four days, was able to achieve that.

She turned in her wavy-haired classmate's direction. She was just about to announce her otherworldly score.

She was, until she saw the number "98" on Minami's test.

She decided to discuss that with her later.

Part 11

It was summer noon. The sunlight was especially strong during this time of the day. It was illuminating the entire Tokiwadai Middle School's campus. The schoolyard was bathing in this scorching hot, bright light as the cicadas were making loud and continuous sounds. They were the only things that could be heard.

It was 1 PM on July 19th and the last lesson for class 2-B had just ended.

Meaning, the summer vacations had finally started.

Four girls were walking around the courtyard of Tokiwadai Middle School while the summer's unmerciful sunlight was shining right at their heads. It was really hot, so the ladies were heading towards the Rose Garden to celebrate the end of the semester and, at the same time, cool down and have a cold drink.

Ogura Iori, Minami Himeka, Mizushima Sayuri and Hisakawa Ayako just left the school's main building and were passing by hedges, stone fountains and small trees while walking towards the Rose Garden's entrance.

The blonde-haired girl with a purple ribbon tied into her hair stretched her arms with satisfaction.

"I have never felt happier in my life! Not only the semester is over and summer vacations officially start tomorrow, but I have also passed the test with flying colors! I really am amazing, am I not?"

Minami looked at her slightly annoyed and sweaty. Although, that was probably caused by the hot weather.

"Oh, please. Cut that pride out. You did not go to Mars. You just passed the test with an acceptable score."

"W-Well, compared to Minami-san, maybe that wasn't a big accomplishment, BUT!" She said with confidence and crossed her arms. "This may be a small step for Ogura Iori, but a huge step for her future grades!"

The wavy-haired girl pressed her palm against her naked forehead as she let out a sigh of exhaustion. The hot sunlight was not the only thing that bothered her. It was also her blonde-haired classmate.

"When you really accomplish something big, I will let you know. For now, you are starting to do the bare minimum for a Tokiwadai student. Keep it up and maybe you will not get expelled."

"Y-Yes, ma'am." Ogura suddenly started to look like she was about to cry. Only Minami Himeka could make her mood change so quickly from a satisfied and confident one to a depressed and gloomy one.

The wavy-haired girl turned in Mizushima and Hisakawa's direction.

"How did you two do on your tests?"

The girl with long, honey-colored hair smiled.

"Looks like I was lucky. On every single one out of the three, I got 90 points."

"Aah, I got two '80's and a '72' on the physics test. I'm not very good at it." Said Hisakawa as she was scratching the back of her head.

Minami giggled sneeringly.

"Look, Ogura-san. Your score was not the lowest."

"O-Of course it wasn't!" She pouted her lips and screamed in response.

The four of them finally went through the hedge arch that was an entrance for the Rose Garden. This time, Minami's friends from class 3-A did not get there beforehand. It was supposed to be a tea party just for the four of them.

As they stepped their shoes inside the beautiful garden, they all smelt a gorgeous scent of those luxurious flowers. The air was truly different in that area of the courtyard. The cicadas were also louder in there, probably because they liked the smell of roses more.

Summer vacations were about to officially start tomorrow for the four ladies, but as of now, they all just wanted to have a nice, relaxing lunch before going crazy in the shopping district later.

The cicadas were loud, the sun was shining bright.

The many rose bushes planted around the gorgeous garden had an otherworldly scent and the sweets that the girls were about to eat smelt like smooth cream and sugar.

Truly, living as a high-class girl was a delight.

Locked in a beautiful cage, with beautiful scenery and a beautiful garden. A paradise.

And the summer vacations had just started.

...

That took a while to write ._.

There are probably MANY errors in this chapter since it has so many words and I have an attention span of a goldfish, so I did not check it thoroughly.. BUT! At least I fixed the quotation marks situation. At least I think so xd

Now, will Touma ever appear in this fanfic? Hmm maybe, idk.

If I ever decide to continue this story until November, then canonically he should meet the girlies. This is when he gets sent to School Garden in NT Volume 7 and the girls are panickinnggg! Though, if I ever decide to include him before the NT's timeline, then maybe I will link him somehow to Misaka or Shokuhou (but the Big Blonde Bad Bitch is only gonna be in the shadows for a while) and the girlies are gonna find out. Who knows. XD

As always, thanks y'all for reading 333

PS. Yup, Iori-san is doing Sailor Moon's pose in my profile picture. I realized she's literally like Usagi lmao :o