Shirai Kuroko.
A student of the famous power development school, Tokiwadai Middle School, a petite girl with two ponytails tied to the back. She was a Level 4, and had the Teleport ability, so her abilities were considered outstanding in Tokiwadai. But she was unable to take part in this year's Daihaseisai.
Because of an event that happened several days ago, her injuries weren't healed, and she was still covered in bandages.
Although she was supposed to be resting, she had snuck out of the hospital, and was now on the roads of Academy City. Although she was still wearing the standard Tokiwadai uniform, she was sitting in a wheelchair. The wheelchair operated differently from other wheelchairs, its special feature was that its wheels were slanted like an F1 car.
The one moving the wheelchair wasn't Shirai Kuroko.
It was the person behind her, holding the handles of the wheelchair, Uiharu Kazari. They were both members of Judgment, an organization made up of espers whose job was to maintain law and order in Academy City.
Uiharu was dressed in a short-sleeved T-shirt and black shorts, like a sportsgirl; however, this didn't match the flower ring made of roses and Chinese hibiscus. The artificial flowers that were blooming made her look like she was wearing a huge vase on her head.
Uiharu smiled as she pushed the wheelchair.
"I feel uneasy just thinking about us working so hard in this hot day while Shirai-san is resting alone in an air-con room. I really wanted to call Shirai-san to help, hehehe."
"...I'll really thank you for this perfect friendship. When I'm healed up, how about I teleport your clothes away and make you naked? Please look forward to it."
Shirai weakly replied. During Daihaseisai, she was feeling bored about having to lie down alone in a room, so she was actually grateful for Uiharu forcing her out, but she was not going to let her know that even till death.
Though it was not the first time that she was experiencing Daihaseisai, the atmosphere of these large scale events every year was different. Walking on the streets where she normally walked on, one would feel that the streets had completely changed with all the sports broadcasts and the pyrotechnics sounds.
Although Shirai felt that the surprised expressions of these people—those non-residents of Academy City—were rather irritating, but to her, who understood her own power, she understood that this couldn't be helped.
Shirai sat on the wheelchair, looking around.
"Is there anything wrong with this year's Daihaseisai?"
"Up till now, there's no real problem. The worst case is about a corporate spy disguising as a fried cuttlefish seller whom tries to extract DNA maps from samples of saliva from the students. This is the first year I'm taking part in Daihaseisai as a member of Judgment, so I don't feel anything serious there. I heard from sempai nee-san that the situation this year is much easier than previous years."
"Hm, compared to the unsolved cases where an AI denies the theory that an unmanned helicopter was shot down, or the unsolved case of the arena where the cultural and spiritual activists exploded, this is a whole lot better."
Hearing Shirai say this so easily, Uiharu's face became stiff. Because these issues hadn't escalated, she had no idea that they had occurred. To Shirai, as a member of Judgment taking part in Daihaseisai, she knew that it was common to get involved in these troubles.
At this moment, Shirai heard a broadcast from an arena.
It came from the big screen on a department store's wall. It didn't seem to be a live telecast, but a highlight reel of what happened just now.
The male reporter explained clearly,
"In the Scavenger Hunt organized by four different schools, Tokiwadai Middle School got an overwhelming victory as expected. The first place has the honor of being 7 minutes faster than the other competitors—"
The image on the display was a stadium located somewhere.
They had captured the competitors' faces and were announcing the names. Ordinary people would think that the participant's fame would increase the moment they were shown on global television…in fact, this was not the case. There were 1.8 million participants. Even if one got the first place, their names wouldn't be engraved into history like the Olympics. It was not like major league scouts appearing in a minor league game. In this situation, it was impossible to remember all the people's faces and names. Even if there was a commotion, they would be forgotten soon after. This was the rule of the general audience.
Because of this, Shirai Kuroko was uninterested in the image on the large screen.
"—In first place, we have Misaka Mikoto-senshu[1]. She's still in good condition even after she reached the finishing point, and one gets the feeling that she's extremely up for this."
Shirai quickly turned her head over to the large screen.
The shock was so violent that even Uiharu, who was pushing the wheelchair, inadvertently jerked.
"Ah ah Onee-sama
Woo hoo my beloved Onee-sama
Ah ah Onee-sama! (Note that this is how the author originally arranged the words. It was in '5-7-5' Japanese haiku format)
In the end, you got the complete victory, showing the world your body that's so dynamic! Too bad I can't attend and record this; please forgive my uselessness!!"
Shirai's eyes were glowing extremely brightly. But—
"Taking care of the companion who ran with her, this really gives a good impression. Is this a habit that students of the famous Tokiwadai Middle School have?"
What? Shirai was puzzled.
(Wha…!?)
The next moment, she saw it.
Misaka Mikoto pulling a boy to the arena.
Misaka Mikoto using a towel to wipe the boy's body carefully.
Misaka Mikoto giving the drink that she drank from to the boy.
(That mister dares to…!! He dares…dares to allow onee-sama to hold him by the hand, and even allows her to wipe off his sweat, Ah… AHhhhhh, and he even drank from the drink that onee-sama drank from AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!)
Shirai Kuroko was slightly trembling as she looked at the extremely fortunate boy in front of her.
This guy seemed familiar.
He was the guy that she met a few days ago.
Shirai Kuroko used all her strength to force herself to stand up from the wheelchair.
"I…I'M GONNA KILL YOU! DON'T THINK THAT YOU CAN COME BACK ALIVE!! Onee-sama too, to even blush in front of the audience like that! I'M REALLY UNHAPPY!"
"Wait…wait a minute, Shirai-san!! Please calm down!! You're injured badly, how can you stand up!? This isn't the time to be like a shounen manga hero getting pumped up!!!!"
While Shirai Kuroko, who was exceedingly angry, and Uiharu Kazari, who was about to cry out, were creating a ruckus, Daihaseisai was now getting even more exciting.