"A Gekota makeup pouch as the prize for an archery tournament jointly hosted by several elite all-girls schools?"
Natsume Sonoko paused for a moment at the entrance of the Kyudo club's activity classroom, gazing curiously inside at the ongoing archery competition.
Seeing the prize for this exchange tournament, a certain Natsume Sonoko couldn't help but tilt her head in confusion.
How strange. Wasn't Tokiwadai Middle School supposed to forbid makeup? So why would a makeup pouch be the tournament prize?
And not just any makeup pouch—a Gekota-style one at that! Could it be that besides Misaka-senpai, the school was hiding even more hardcore Gekota fans?
As the first few competitors finished and stepped aside, it was finally the turn of the ace archer of Tokiwadai's Kyudo club, Yumiya Iruka-senpai.
Yumiya Iruka-senpai's form was professional, drawing the bow into a perfect full moon with ease. But the moment she nocked the arrow, her eyes still locked tightly on the target, a sharp whizz cut through the air as the arrow tore through space.
By the time the nearby spectators registered the sound, the arrow was already embedded dead-center in the bullseye.
What followed was a rapid series of draws and releases.
Yumiya Iruka-senpai smoothly drew arrows one after another from the quiver on her back, aiming without seeming to aim at all, like the most elite of snipers. Each shot found its mark without a single miss.
"So impressive."
Natsume Sonoko watched, utterly captivated. If she could apply that level of precision to her own ability, she felt it would surely unleash tremendous power.
"My, my, the Kyudo club's tournament is simply bursting with vitality. It almost makes me want to give it a try myself."
A Tokiwadai girl with star-shaped pupils in her eyes, long golden hair cascading over her shoulders, and a slender figure that nonetheless boasted impressive curves in certain areas, was approaching from not far away.
She was surrounded by five or six other Tokiwadai students who trailed her like subordinates, forming what was clearly a tight-knit faction within the school.
"Queen, are you interested in the Kyudo club as well?" asked a girl with long, purple drill-shaped curls standing beside her, a note of curiosity in her voice.
"Not particularly. It's just a rare occurrence to have visitors from other schools, that's all."
Natsume Sonoko, standing in the doorway, spotted the members of the Queen's clique approaching and instinctively shifted aside, realizing she was partially blocking the entrance.
"You're one of those who's been getting rather close to Misaka-san lately, aren't you?"
A bit distracted, Natsume Sonoko stood frozen for a second before a sweet, honeyed voice suddenly reached her ears.
A confused Natsume Sonoko turned her head to find all five or six members of the Queen's faction staring at her with wide eyes.
And the legendary Shokuhou Misaki-senpai herself was scrutinizing her with an intense, studying gaze.
"It's a p-pleasure to meet you... Shokuhou-senpai. I'm Natsume Sonoko, a first-year."
It wasn't just her status as a senior.
The sheer reputation of Shokuhou-senpai alone was enough to make anyone feel a bit overwhelmed.
A thoroughly bewildered Natsume Sonoko felt a wave of nervousness, completely unsure why this esteemed senior had suddenly decided to speak to her.
"It is indeed our first proper greeting. I must say, I rather like you, kouhai-chan." A reserved smile graced Shokuhou-senpai's face as she spoke, maintaining her elegant poise.
Watching the Queen's faction walk away, Natsume Sonoko remained somewhat baffled.
What was that all about? That counted as her first real conversation with Shokuhou-senpai, right?
While she felt it might be a bit disrespectful to think it, Natsume Sonoko was actually quite intimidated by the Academy City's 'Mental Out.'
Though, having seen the first half of A Certain Scientific Railgun T, Natsume Sonoko also felt this senior was probably a good person at heart. [A/N: Around the time this story begins, Railgun T was roughly at the episodes involving the Dream Ranker Arc.]
"Queen, was there something special about that kouhai?" asked the girl with the purple drill curls, Hokaze Junko-senpai, her curiosity piqued.
"Hmm, it's quite unusual, actually. Strictly speaking, it was our first meeting, yet she seems to harbor an inexplicable fondness for me."
Shokuhou-senpai, walking at the front, displayed a look of distinct interest.
"And this kouhai-chan possesses that kind of talent. She's quite extraordinary. However..."
Hokaze-senpai glanced at Shokuhou-senpai, a little confused, not quite understanding why the Queen had abruptly ended the conversation there.
--+--
A certain teachers' apartment building in District 7.
A somewhat speechless Natsume Sonoko looked at the spiky-haired high school boy standing before her.
He had his hands pressed together in a pleading gesture and was muttering something under his breath.
"Middle school kouhai, I heard you have some information about those bicycle thieves? Please, you've got to tell me. I really can't afford to buy another bike right now."
The black spiky-haired high school boy was named Kamijou Touma. Natsume Sonoko was familiar with the name, but she'd never imagined meeting him under these circumstances.
"Now, now, Kamijou-kun in my class might skip lessons sometimes, occasionally neglects his homework, and gets zeroes in Ability Development, but he's fundamentally a good boy who listens."
Komoe-sensei, who was quietly cleaning up empty beer cans from the floor, tried her best to put in a good word for the spiky-haired boy.
Kamijou Touma's luck was holding steady today.
He'd bought a dozen eggs in the morning, only to break them all on the way home.
He brought his school bag to class, but forgot to put any books inside.
All in all, it was another 'energetic' and perfectly normal day.
"Of course, no problem, high school senpai. We're both victims here, so helping each other out is only right. This photo was taken using another senpai's ability, which is how we managed to get pictures of a few of the culprits."
Natsume Sonoko nodded, indicating her understanding.
She had just been leaving school when Komoe-sensei asked to see her, saying she had discovered new clues related to the bicycle theft case.
She never expected to run into a certain A Certain Magical Index's protagonist at Komoe-sensei's place, who was also lamenting his stolen bicycle and the resulting transportation woes.
In her previous life, before crossing over, Natsume Sonoko had only seriously watched A Certain Scientific Railgun, so she didn't have particularly strong feelings about the Index protagonist.
"That's great! Please, let me see that photo!"
Faced with his desperate pleading, Natsume Sonoko didn't hesitate. She routinely took the photo from her bag and handed it to Kamijou Touma, just as she had done when showing it to Komoe-sensei before.
"...That's weird. There's clearly nothing on it."
Kamijou Touma, having accepted the photo with both hands in a show of respect, immediately wore a puzzled expression. He scrutinized the photo carefully before stating, confused, "It's blank."
"But that's not right! I definitely saw two shady-looking guys on it last time."
Having finally finished tidying the messy room, a relieved Komoe-sensei wiped the sweat from her brow and chimed in.
It hadn't even been that long since the last cleaning, yet the room was already a disaster zone again.
"It's the right one. This is the photo. I don't have any others."
Natsume Sonoko said, bewildered. She was sure she had checked it right before taking it out. It was this photo.
"But there's really nothing on it." Kamijou Touma reiterated, his face serious, as he held the photo out for Natsume Sonoko to see.
Natsume Sonoko took a close look at the photo in Kamijou's hand. Sure enough, it was just as he said—completely blank.
"Um, middle school kouhai, didn't you just say this photo was taken using an ability?"
Kamijou Touma seemed to remember something. He shifted uncomfortably, his face instantly flooding with panic and regret.
When looking at a photo, most people don't think about which hand they use to take it, and holding it with both hands is pretty normal, right?
Natsume Sonoko was a bit slow on the uptake, only then remembering the rumor about the boy's right hand possessing the legendary power to negate all things.
Even though Maeda-senpai's ability used physical film as a medium, the information recorded on it undoubtedly fell into the realm of the supernatural, even if it looked perfectly ordinary.
"I'm really sorry. Due to... a certain reason, my right hand can erase things like the contents of photos."
Kamijou Touma apologized honestly, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment, seemingly not at all hesitant to talk about his right hand's ability.
After all, in this vast Academy City, all sorts of strange and wondrous abilities were commonplace. There was no ability you really had to hide.
"It's fine."
Even as she said this, a clearly displeased look flashed across Natsume Sonoko's face, and she shot a sharp glare at a certain protagonist.
Thankfully, she had already memorized the appearances of the two culprits. Otherwise, this lead would have been severed again.
"Got any paper and a pen? I'll draw the two of them." Natsume Sonoko said with a sigh, her face expressionless as she took the offered pen and paper and began to sketch.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.