AUTHOR PREAMBLE: Simply put, I don't feel like waiting anymore for Kamachi to reveal said connection, history, etc., as suggested by the closing line from NT Volume 11, so, on the basis of what I've picked up from the novels to date, and the Wiki, plus my own (*clears throat*) slightly distorted imagination, this is exclusively my own take on what that connection might be. It may be considered set in the same AU which in due time contained the events set out in "A Certain Search After Truth", so that, if a canon story ever comes out one day, I need not re-vise it.

Except for any original characters and situations introduced within this story, all characters and situations depicted herein are © KAZUMA KAMACHI/ASCII MEDIA WORKS/PROJECT-INDEX.

Chapter 1 – First Day of High School Almost Ends in Disaster

January, 20XX

Once more, a new school year got underway within the sprawling metropolis located just outside of Tokyo, Japan, known to its inhabitants and to the world outside as Academy City. Notwithstanding its origins and history – some of it is known at present only to a select minority, and even less of that number are aware of its deepest, even darkest secrets – the seemingly perpetual cycle of educational progression carried on. There seemed to be, at least from surface appearances, nothing transpiring that has not been seen, heard or experienced before.

… below surface appearances, however, might reveal a whole different story altogether.

At this moment, the scene has, so-to-say, zoomed in to the main assembly hall within a particular institute, generally known only as A Certain High School. One of many dozens, if not hundreds of high schools to be found within Academy City's District 7, it had to date no widely-acclaimed achievements to display, or deep-shrouded mysteries to be revealed to the rest of the City, or to the world-at-large, whether in the area of conventional education, or in the area of Academy City's Power Development Curriculum. Currently, if one were to focus their vision and other senses into the assembly hall, they would appear to be witnessing the opening of the School for another academic year, inclusive of the welcome of a fresh crop of first-year students.

In somewhat typical fashion as has been done before, the new 'first-years' were all seated in the front rows of chairs laid out in the hall, facing the stage. Upon the stage were seated most of the School's academic and administrative staff, together with some of the representatives of the School's Student Government. For the moment, the typical welcome addresses and greetings were being put forth by the chosen speakers. It was all quite routine and quite familiar to the second-year and third-year student population, as well as the School Staff … perhaps even to the point of monotony.

However, in what a select few might, if they were aware of it, consider a peculiar shifting move of the winds of destiny, the apparent monotony was, momentarily but temporarily, disrupted by a minor incident … of course, the person or persons directly involved in the incident might take issue with classifying it as minor. Straight to the point, the routine activity at a particular moment was interrupted by a short, sharp yelp of surprise if not shock. One of the first-year male students suddenly rose from his seat, as did the three others immediately in front of, behind and beside him.

A woman, wearing a track suit, her long hair tied in a distinct ponytail, presumably one of the Staff members, sprinted over at once to discover the cause of the disturbance, to find the one male student frantically rubbing his hair, which, on closer view, was smeared with a glistening substance, in which seeming fragments of some as-yet un-identified material was sprinkled. A shrill chirping noise from the high rafters above, together with closer investigation revealed at least to those in the immediate vicinity what just happened – apparently, a bird of an as-yet unidentified species had somehow found its way into the hall and proceeded to make a nest at its chosen spot in the ceiling, with no-one being the wiser of the creature's presence or intentions, until, for whatever inexplicable reasons, the egg or eggs laid in that nest somehow made a one-way trip downwards to impact upon the head of the male student directly below.

As word spread via the first-years, even in whispers, the seated assembly inevitably caught wind of what just happened, and, as youngsters in every age are generally wont to do, the incident was met with a relatively quiet murmuring of giggles and chuckles, which seemingly began increasing in volume as more persons became aware of what transpired. It was probably only due to the approach of more staff members intent on restoring order that the assembly did not break down into absolute chaos. The track-suit-wearing staff-member had, in the meantime, secured a towel and handed it to the unfortunate(?) young man, who proceeded to, or at least tried to, remove the remnants of the egg(s) and content from his hair, while she in turn relayed to someone among those assembled on stage via her smartphone what had happened. If for even a brief moment the staff member who had initially come to the male student's aid was deliberating whether he should be permitted to go immediately to the nearest washroom to clean himself up more thoroughly, that decision was irrevocably made a few seconds later by something else suddenly impacting on the chair vacated by that student …

... put simply, this time, it wasn't an egg.

Of course, the tenuous hold on order broke apart instantly, at least among those in close proximity, as the revelation of what almost happened to the first-year student who already got "egged" spread from person to person. Sighing, the female staff member, resting her hand upon the student's shoulder, spoke some words unheard by others close by. In response, the young man stepped back, bowed to the staff member, and proceeded to leave the hall, no doubt heading for the nearest male washroom. One or two flashes from cell phone cameras flickered behind him, at least until more staff members closed in to restore order among that section of the audience.

Proceedings for the opening ceremony had come to a halt, quite naturally, in light of these unforeseen events, which the second-year and third-year students observed with varying degrees of bemusement. One particular third-year student, however, had quite a different viewpoint from observing what just happened. Even among the chatter that spontaneously arose among her classmates and fellow seniors, this particular student … a girl … did not join in, but observed it all quietly and in a rather contemplative manner. After about half a minute, she rose from her seat, asking those around her to permit her to pass, on the pretext of her proceeding to the ladies' washroom. There was virtually no objection from either other students, or the staff, so she proceeded on her way, quite naturally.

Roughly two or three minutes after being permitted to seek out a washroom, the young man who was the target of the egg bombardment, emerged from one of the male washrooms, having at least substantially removed the remnants of the egg(s) from his hair and face, as best as he could. He had no doubt removed his shirt and school jacket at the least to permit the impromptu clean-up to be done, so, to anyone who happened to observe him at this instant, it would be noticed that his hair was for the most part clinging together, although there were a few visible traces of a seemingly spiky hairstyle, that might be the first thing noticed by someone seeing him for the first time. The young male student made another pass at straightening out his clothes, blissfully unaware that at that moment he was being watched.

Specifically, he was being observed by the third-year female student, who had herself left the assembly hall after him. There were two washrooms (naturally, one 'male', the other 'female') outside of the hall, separated from each other along the corridor. It was not known whether the female student had actually used the ladies' washroom, but at the moment, she was at the doorway, though she had not fully opened the door, so that, she was observing the young man, who, unless he happened to turn in her general direction, had no idea that he was being watched.

Having checked to see that he was at least (in his opinion) presentable enough to return to the assembly hall, he straightened his shoulders before softly, perhaps only to himself, uttering a single phrase, before heading back to the hall:

"Such Misfortune."

At the sound of those two words, what might be described as an inexplicable phenomenon took place regarding the girl observing from the doorway of the ladies' washroom. The pupils of her eyes opened wide. For perhaps a brief instant, her pulse rate sped up. She uttered a gasp, which was practically inaudible to anyone not in her immediate vicinity. Indeed, if there were any witnesses present who had some idea of her usual mannerisms, they would be surprised, if not shocked, to see the faintest tinge of pink upon her cheeks. And the preceding was a brief but apt description of the girl's response or reaction to the words just spoken.

Roughly a second or more later, the male student made his way back to the assembly hall. No sooner had he entered the hall and closed the door behind him, the female student emerged fully from the washroom. On the surface, and probably as most might judge feminine appearances, she was indeed a beauty … shoulder-length black hair secured by a distinctive red hairband, wearing the standard sailor-style school uniform, only with the standard short skirt replaced by a longer one, although that did not in any way detract from what possibly the average male would consider her fine physique, inclusive of a rather noticeable bosom. If one could observe closely, even at risk of being labeled a pervert or a lecher, it would be easy to spot that tantalizing gap between her blouse and her skirt, where her navel was clearly visible. Among her classmates as well as the second year students, she was viewed as a bona-fide genius who could display on occasion a playful attitude, but most times bore an inexplicable air of mystery … interestingly enough, she had no close associations with either her classmates or the other school students, except at the level of acquaintances; that air of mystery seemed to be an impenetrable force-field to some students (particularly the males) seeking to get closer to her than the acquaintance level.

The faint tinge of pink was still upon her face, even as she inhaled deeply, held her breadth for a few seconds, then slowly exhaled, as if she was attempting to re-establish her mental and emotional state before the male student's utterance, moments ago. After seemingly getting herself back in order, she nonetheless permitted a broad smile to gradually form upon her face, before making a statement of her own, which for the moment, was only heard by herself:

"So, … he did make it to this school. Well, it seems that my final high-school year is going to be an interesting one … very interesting, indeed."

With that said, a certain final year female student of A Certain High School, by name of Kumokawa Seria … also known indirectly to many of the current student population as the somewhat legendary "Beauty-Sempai" … made her own way back to the assembly hall, in the wake of a certain first year male student named … Kamijou Touma.

There will be no quick or rapid continuation of this, as I must engage in some (a-hem) "serious scientific research" to satisfy myself of where this little tale shall go next … (insert mad scientist laugh at this point).