Yuuya watched as Mikoto gritted her teeth and twisted her fingers, looking exactly as if she wanted to violently strangle Shokuhou Misaki. He chuckled to himself, easily reading her expression.
'Judging from her reaction, she probably gets bullied by Shokuhou quite often,' he thought.
"Ah, is she your friend?" Index blinked, tilting her head curiously as she looked at the brown-haired girl.
"Well, how should I put it... we're acquaintances, I guess," Yuuya replied. He wasn't entirely sure if he and Misaka Mikoto could be formally called friends. Although the initial misunderstandings had been cleared up, their relationship wasn't exactly a standard friendship. It was more like bickering neighbors who frequently bumped into each other, yet somehow closer than that.
"Who said I'm your friend?! Seriously," Mikoto gritted her teeth in dissatisfaction.
'This guy is so frustrating,' she thought. 'He's incredibly strong, yet he constantly acts like he doesn't even want to fight me properly.'
'Last time, I clearly didn't know that this guy was also a Level 5! If I had known, I definitely wouldn't have lost. That's right, I definitely wouldn't have lost!' she rationalized internally.
'But this jerk acted all nonchalant, saying things like, "Ah~ Fighting fifteen times? You're no match for me. Besides, didn't I take you down in one move last time?"'
'That jerk! He beat me out of nowhere when my guard was down, and then he started bragging about it! It's absolutely despicable.'
Ever since she was easily subdued by Yuuya during their very first meeting, Mikoto had held a deep grudge and stubbornly insisted on a proper rematch.
"When are you going to have a fair fight with me?" Mikoto demanded arrogantly, placing a hand on her hip. She met his gaze fiercely for two seconds before her cheeks flushed slightly, and faint wisps of electricity seemed to spark from her bangs.
Her mind had briefly drifted back to the embarrassing physical contact of their first encounter.
'My gaze is involuntarily drifting... I want to look away, but looking away would make me seem like I'm afraid of him,' she thought, forcing herself to maintain eye contact.
"By the way, I've been officially warned that I can't fight with other Level 5s, or my high school will expel me. You know that, right?" Yuuya sighed. The massive incident he had caused last time had earned him a serious demerit on his permanent record.
If he were an ordinary student, he would have been expelled long ago. However, because he was a Level 5, the General Board of Directors wouldn't allow his expulsion no matter what; he was practically an untouchable VIP. So, the school just made a token note of it on his file to save face.
"Of course I know that! But aren't you a Space Master? Just teleport us outside of Academy City's borders," Mikoto suggested, clenching her fist eagerly. She was well aware that if an Esper caused significant collateral damage inside the city, they would be heavily disciplined.
"So, to put it another way, the proper Tokiwadai Ojou-sama is actively suggesting that I break Academy City's strict travel laws and illegally cross the border," Yuuya said jokingly.
"Well, nobody has to know," Mikoto muttered, pouting like a rebellious tomboy.
"That's not something a refined young lady should say, Misaka-san," Yuuya smiled.
"You'd better not have any unrealistic expectations of students at elite schools. Those perfect Ojou-samas only exist in manga."
"Are you going to agree or not?! Give me an answer right now!" Mikoto demanded, stamping her foot on the pavement.
"Alright, since you're looking forward to it so much. But don't cry when you lose," Yuuya shrugged, feeling helpless. There was nothing practically exciting about fighting Mikoto right now, but it wouldn't hurt to indulge her ego.
"You're the one who's going to be beaten until you cry! Let's make it a date after school tonight, then. You're not allowed to stand me up!" Mikoto said cheerfully, unable to hide her competitive impatience.
"Okay, I understand."
"Aaaaaah! I'm going to be late!" Mikoto suddenly glanced at the LED clock display on a nearby blimp and frantically began sprinting toward the School Garden.
'Yes!' she cheered internally as she ran. 'This guy finally agreed. Humph, I didn't really lose last time. I was just careless!'
"Let's go, Index." Yuuya grabbed Index's hand, snapped his fingers, and vanished instantly from the sidewalk.
They reappeared near Yuuya's high school. Although it was an ordinary school, it was located in a green district, and behind the main building was a large, artificially landscaped mountain.
"Wow~ Is this Yuuya's school? It looks so big!" Index's eyes revealed her deep curiosity, looking around like a cat in a brand new environment.
"It's alright. The environment is much better than most ordinary schools," Yuuya said listlessly. His gaze then turned to the parking lot near the school's main entrance, where a familiar petite figure was parking her pink Volkswagen Beetle.
"I didn't expect Komoe-sensei to arrive earlier than usual today."
"Takahashi-chan! You're standing so close, Sensei could hear you from inside the car! How dare you talk about your teacher behind her back? Sensei doesn't remember raising you to have such bad habits!"
Tsukuyomi Komoe pushed open the car door. She puffed out her cheeks indignantly as she looked up at Yuuya, speaking in her inherently sweet, childlike voice.
"I'm sorry, Komoe-sensei. You're not going to make me take remedial summer courses just because of this, are you?" Yuuya scratched his cheek as he looked down at his homeroom teacher's chubby, childlike face.
"Sensei wouldn't do something petty just to annoy her students!" Komoe-sensei pouted, placing her tiny hands on her hips. At that moment, she noticed Index standing behind Yuuya and blinked.
"Takahashi-chan, who is this? I don't think I've seen her at school before. Is she cosplaying as a nun?"
"Hello! My name is Index. I am a real nun, you know. Let's make that clear. I am not from the Roman Catholic Church. I am a dedicated member of the English Puritan Church, little sister!" When Index heard the 'cosplay' mention, she quickly and confidently introduced herself, taking great pride in her identity.
"L-Little sister...?" Komoe-sensei's expression froze. She frantically waved her hands and quickly corrected her, "Don't let my appearance fool you! I'm a real adult!"
She absolutely hated being treated like a child. Although she looked exactly like a twelve-year-old and could easily deceive anyone, it was still quite hurtful to be called "little sister" by an actual little girl.
"Really? You must be kidding me. There's no trace of illusion magic on you. How could you possibly be an adult at such a young age?" Index looked her up and down in absolute disbelief.
"I'm really an adult! Look, this is my official faculty ID!" Komoe-sensei quickly said, whipping out her teacher's badge with a highly defensive expression.
Index blinked, tilted her head, and looked deeply puzzled.
Thump!
Yuuya lightly chopped the top of Index's head with the side of his hand. "Komoe-sensei is my homeroom teacher. She really is an adult, so you can't be rude to her."
"Eh?!" Index gasped in surprise. She really was an adult? 'Could it be that the Science Side has actually invented a way to reverse aging?!'
"Takahashi-chan, who is this child? Why is she with you?" Komoe-sensei stared at Yuuya, crossing her arms suspiciously.
"She's my distant cousin. She just arrived in Academy City from England yesterday. She's not familiar with Academy City's technology at all, so I brought her to school because I was afraid she would get lost if I left her at the apartment alone," Yuuya lied smoothly, maintaining a perfectly serious expression.
Komoe-sensei glanced back and forth between Yuuya and Index.
"You're lying! This child is clearly a silver-haired, green-eyed foreigner! How could she possibly be your cousin?!"
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