K.O.—
K.O.—
After losing seven consecutive matches in a row, Misaka Mikoto stood frozen before the arcade cabinet, completely drenched in sweat, her lips twitching violently. At that moment, she felt exactly as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over her from head to toe.
'I've been played like a total fool,' she realized in absolute despair, the crushing reality finally hitting her. 'This guy is clearly a high-level gaming prodigy who dug a massive pit just waiting for me to fall into it, all so he could openly bully me under the guise of a casual punishment game!'
"Oh dear, what's going on, Misaka-san? You didn't manage to take a single round off me," Takahashi Yuuya said, looking at her with a thoroughly pleased smirk. "Could it be that the great Railgun was generously going easy on a simple high schooler like me?"
Mikoto's face stiffened in sheer embarrassment. Not only had she been utterly outmatched in terms of supernatural Esper abilities, but she had now been completely decimated in the video game realm she so proudly boasted about. Her pride was utterly shattered.
"You shameless scoundrel! You were definitely hiding your real gaming skills from the start!" Mikoto gritted her teeth, a dense cluster of 💢 tic marks throbbing across her forehead as her face darkened with pure rage. "You deliberately dug a trap, just waiting for me to arrogantly walk right into it, you bastard!"
"Eh? Misaka-san, does that mean you're planning to renege on our official wager?" Yuuya looked at her with an expression of exaggerated, heartbreaking shock, letting out a loud sigh. "Wow... I honestly knew you would try to back out the moment you lost. There's nothing I can do about it, I suppose. After all, I am an incredibly generous philanthropist."
At the end of his sentence, his voice suddenly rose in volume, as if he were explicitly making sure the entire arcade could hear her sore loser behavior.
Mikoto's lips twitched violently. This guy was truly, exceptionally asking for a thorough beating! She clenched her fists tightly, her competitive pride stubbornly refusing to allow her to yield. Although she knew this despicable guy was intentionally trying to bait her into a reaction, she simply couldn't stand the thought of him looking down on her character.
"Who said I was going to back out of the bet?!" Mikoto snapped with immense, desperate bravado. "You wretched guy! It's just a simple punishment game, what's the big deal?!"
Despite her bold words, she involuntarily took several cautious steps backward, crossing her arms protectively as she glared at Yuuya with extreme wariness.
"Hehe. If that's the case, then I will gladly order Misaka-san around for an entire day without a single shred of hesitation," Yuuya grinned wickedly, rubbing his chin as his eyes narrowed. "Hmm, let's say... tomorrow will do perfectly. But Misaka-san, you'd better be mentally prepared. I have no intention of holding back~"
His tone became particularly suggestive at the end, instantly sending a violent wave of goosebumps straight down Mikoto's spine.
"W-What exactly are you planning to order me to do?!" Mikoto demanded, pointing an accusing finger at him as she tried to put on a stern, unbothered front. "Let me make this crystal clear: if you dare to give me any strange, inappropriate orders, I will absolutely refuse to honor it! Don't even think about making me do anything illicit or bad!"
"Oh? Misaka-san, are you seriously afraid that I'm going to order you to do something thoroughly awful?" Yuuya clicked his tongue playfully, his deliberate ambiguity sending her teenage imagination into absolute overdrive.
Predictably, Mikoto's face flushed a violent, nuclear shade of crimson, leaving her trapped between intense embarrassment and exploding rage. "You absolute jerk! If you dare to harbor any bad ideas, I will make you regret it for the rest of your life!"
"Hahaha! This is absolute gold, Misaka-san! Let's both do our absolute best tomorrow, shall we? Hahaha!" Yuuya threw his head back and laughed heartily, resting his hands on his hips. Her flustered, tsundere reaction was simply too entertaining to miss.
"Don't laugh, you shameless, rule-breaking monster!" Mikoto screamed, her face burning.
"Alright, alright, Misaka-san. I'll make sure you are exceptionally well taken care of tomorrow," Yuuya announced, the corners of his mouth curling up into a confident grin as he pointed directly at her. "Of course, I am well aware that anything too mature or intense for a shy, easily embarrassed junior high school student like you is strictly off-limits. And naturally, I don't harbor any improper thoughts. So... let's just have a nice, normal date tomorrow."
"Uh..." Mikoto blinked rapidly, the sheer, explosive shock of the word date hitting her brain like a physical impact. A visible plume of steam practically rose from the top of her head.
'A date... with... with a guy like him?! Are you kidding me?!'
She stammered out loud, her mind spinning out of control.
'Although I constantly claim to hate this jerk, I suppose I don't actually detest his company that much deep down... but an actual date?! No way! Absolutely not!'
"In other words, Misaka-san truly is going to renege on her life debt. Ah, I understand completely," Yuuya sighed heavily, feigning immense disappointment.
"Idiot! What does a punishment game have to do with an actual date?! Why on earth would I ever go out on a date with a pervert like you?!" Mikoto shouted, her words flying out in a rapid-fire sequence to desperately conceal her profound agitation.
"The punishment game is the date, so there's absolutely no logical conflict here, right? As expected, the proud Ace of Tokiwadai is going to break her promise," Yuuya continued to provoke her, shaking his head with a mocking smile. He knew full well that her stubborn, hyper-proud personality made her completely defenseless against this specific type of reverse psychology.
"W-Who is trying to break their promise?! Don't talk complete nonsense, you despicable, shameless scoundrel! You planned this entire scenario from the very beginning!"
"Since Misaka-san is a person of absolute integrity who always keeps her promises, that makes me incredibly happy. I truly admire your noble character," Yuuya smiled warmly, executing a perfect verbal trap.
"You don't need to tell me that! My character is many times better than yours anyway!" Mikoto muttered, though her face gradually fell the absolute second the words left her mouth.
'I completely panicked!' she screamed internally, her world crumbling. 'Ahhh, what am I even saying?! Why am I suddenly being led right into the slaughter by this awful guy? What am I supposed to do now...?'
Misaka Mikoto was completely, utterly bewildered by her own defeat.
"Well, I am profoundly relieved that Misaka-san, whose character reigns far superior to my own, has officially locked in her word," Yuuya said with immense satisfaction. The deal was officially sealed.
"W-W-What did you just say...?"
Shirai Kuroko, her twintails twitching violently with apocalyptic horror, witnessed the entire verbal contract unfold. Her eyes bulged out of her head. In a microsecond, she utilized her spatial movement to teleport directly behind Mikoto, locking her arms tightly around her waist as she shrieked in a terrified, desperate voice.
"Onee-sama! Do not fall for his demonic trap! This filthy ape's true scheme against your pure maidenhood is entirely about—gurgle gurgle gurgle!"
Mikoto jumped slightly at the sudden embrace, but was immediately taken aback by the bizarre, wet, bubbling noises suddenly spilling out of Kuroko's mouth.
"Kuroko... what on earth are you trying to say?"
Kuroko froze, her expression turning into one of pure, unadulterated terror. She opened her mouth wide to speak again, desperate to warn her sister.
"Gurgle... gurgle bubble gurgle..."
'What is going on?! Why can't I form human words?!' Kuroko panicked internally, clutching her own throat in a frenzy.
"Hey, Shirai-san, what's with the sudden, enthusiastic gurgling noises? Are you practicing a professional impression of a drowning goldfish?" Yuuya asked with a bright, radiantly innocent smile.
He had casually used a localized application of his vector control to manipulate the kinetic vibrations of the air waves surrounding Kuroko's vocal cords, effortlessly distorting her desperate warnings into meaningless, bubbling white noise.
"Gurgle... GURGLE!" Kuroko's eyes instantly blazed with homicidal fury as she glared at the beaming Yuuya.
'It was definitely this monster!' she realized. 'He's actively censoring my voice so I can't save Onee-sama from his clutches!'
'You think you can just carry out your perverted scheme against my precious Onee-sama?! Damn it all, I will never let you succeed!'
Desperate to communicate the danger, Kuroko completely let go of Mikoto's waist and began jumping up and down, wildly flailing her arms, pounding her chest, and making frantic, exaggerated hand gestures right in front of Mikoto's face like an enraged wild monkey.
"?"
Misaka Mikoto stood completely, utterly bewildered, staring at her roommate in absolute silence. 'Has Kuroko finally completely lost her mind...?'
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