Read Online A Certain Magical Index, Vol. 8 by Kazuma Kamachi - Free Book Online

phone suddenly rang.
    She looked at the tiny screen and saw the words
Mikoto Misaka
written on it. She quickly turned back toward the men. They were still out cold, but she wanted to avoid carelessly letting them overhear her conversation and trying to start trouble. Leaving the scene for a personal matter would be an issue, though. Though feeling a slight resistance to doing so, she brought her hand to her mouth as if telling someone a secret and pushed the talk button on her cell phone.
    “Hey, Kuroko?…I’m not getting very good reception. Where are you, anyway?”
    “Um, err, well…I sort of can’t say where I am.”
    “Huh? Oh, okay, I got it. Still on the job…Sorry for bothering you!”
    “No, not at all. What did you need?”
    “No, if you’re working, then don’t worry about it. The underclassmen are saying we should definitely be on the lookout for a surprise R.A. inspection, so I wanted you to hide your things if you could.”
    “??? Big Sister, are you not currently at the dormitory?”
    “Um. Well, no. I can ask someone else. Do you mind them cleaning up your things?”
    “Wha, what? What did you say…?! B-Big Sister, are you asking some other girl for a favor…? Please, wait, Big Sister! I will come back to the dorm as soon as possible, therefore, please, give to me the privilege of you saying what a good girl I am and giving me a hug!!”
    “…Why would I hug you for something like this? Besides, you’re working, aren’t you? They’re saying the rain should start around midnight, so if you don’t want that, then hurry up and get your assignment done so you can go home. Bye!”
    She hung up on her.
    Shirai stared at the cell phone for a few moments as though she’d been left behind. A low ring of disappointment sounded in her mind—
    Ka-thunk.
    She heard soft footsteps.
    Whoops. I was so absorbed in fighting that I never put up any off-limits tape
, she thought vaguely, still sitting on the luggage.
    Then, a moment later.
    The sensation of her weight being supported by it disappeared. It just slipped away. She stuck out her hand, but it wasn’t there. The luggage she had just been sitting on was no longer even within arm’s reach.
    It was like it had suddenly disappeared.
    Almost like it had been teleported.
    Tele…portation…
    Shirai’s mind was still somewhat blank after the unexpected event. She knew something was happening around her right now, but her thoughts couldn’t catch up to it. Just when she managed to grasp that she was in danger…
    Thud!
    Something cut into her right shoulder as she lay there on the ground faceup.
    “Gah…!”
    There was a searing pain. She felt something inside her tearing apart. Not with her ears—the sharp noise was coming directly through her body.
    She glanced and saw a pointed piece of metal stuck through the fabric of her short-sleeve blouse and into her skin. Its tip was like a thick wire and was twisted like a spring, and the handle was made of a white material that resembled porcelain.
    A wine corkscrew?!
    Kuroko Shirai forced her mind to be calm—the pain had almost taken over—and teleported. She only shifted a few centimeters, turning her fallen body up ninety degrees. As a result, she stood up instantly.
    Drip, drop.
The heavy sound of liquid splashing on the ground.
    A pair of eyes watched in amusement.
    Kuroko Shirai looked at the entrance to the alley again.
    There was a girl there.
    She was a little taller than her, and her hair was tied up into two long strands in the back. She was wearing a school uniform, but it was a winter one. She didn’t have her arms through the sleeves of her long-sleeve blue blazer, instead wearing it over her shoulders, none of its buttons done. She wasn’t wearing a blouse underneath it. Her torso was naked, with only some sort of light pink–colored bandage-like innerwear wrapped around her chest. She wore a belt at her waist, too. It wasn’t there to hold up her skirt; it was just for