A Certain Misfortunate Spider

Chapter 11 - First Night

"Owww, dammit! Goddamn thumb cramps!" A cry of pain was heard from a dark room in a certain dormitory in District 7.

It was around 8:30 pm, with most of the middle to high school students already in their dorms. The only people outside were college students, teachers, and scientists hanging out in the various bars and restaurants of the economically-diverse Seventh District.

Conpared to the other districts of Academy City District 7 was unique in the fact that, apart from it being the metropolis' main base for secondary education it served as a form of "jack of all trades center".

Originally intended for middle and high school levels it has extended its functions beyond the initial parameters of its conception, with numerous recreational hubs and shopping districts placed and sprinkled all throughout the area. It also has several research centers across the district, at times outmatching the quality of those at the Tenth District of Scientific Research and Development.

It is also noteworthy with being the sole Windowless Building's base of operations, the monolith-like skyscraper watching over the district like an unmoving deity indifferent to the matters of the people living below it.

Even to this day, very few people had any clue to the Building's true purpose.

As with other matters in the City this would be a story for a later time.

Touma Kamijou sucked the tiniest bits of blood off his pricked finger, which has seen much better days.

What was supposed to be a couple of hours with a sewing machine turned into 7 hours of stinging pain in his; due to his misfortune his sewing machine had a tendency to stop working at various points. He had already started working on his mask the day he had bought them, but due to long years of disuse it had started to take in dust.

He had managed to clean up some of the dust inside, but it also meant that he had started stitching very late at night.

It was about 9:55 pm by the time he had partly finished the mask he had made.

Cutting it up with scissors the red shirts (he had to buy a couple more before he could start) served as perfect material for his mask. He already had his red jacket prepared, which was coincidentally at his bed, lying there.

After finishing off he placed the mask in front of him, taking a good long look at it.

Three lines went up and down the front of the mask, curving at around the center of the mask where the nose would be, which gave it a resemblance to an hourglass, while the bottom three lines at the mouth of the mask gave off the impression of mandibles. The bare eye holes stared deep into Kamijou's eyes.

With a sigh he grabbed a small plastic bag, and he removed a small pair of white lenses. They weren't normal lenses though; they were the type of lenses researchers had worn when doing experiments, made of a carbon-based polyglass which was durable, flexible, reduces glare and protects the eyes from dirt and particles from reactive material.

As slow and precise as a surgeon (and praying to whatever god out there not to ruin the process) he placed small pieces of cloth around the sides of the lens and placed them inbetween the eyeholes. Afterwards he placed it under the stitching machine, where he was prepared to stitch it up.

Only for the power to go out.

"....Rotten luck," Kamijou lamented as tears threatened to fall off his eyes.

-

"What the hell girl, you just fried the entire district grid," a woman shouted.

"Whoops, my bad," Mikoto Misaka, the perpetrator, said.