Rainy Days: A Certain Magical Index Story

Chapter 3: The Lonely Girl

Another day, another adventure—that's he wanted to believe. This time, Touma was exploring Academy City's finest art museum on his day off from school, and of course, Index and Misaka 10032 were with him. The building's exterior had a wavy, oceanic design that reminded him of open water, while the interior was sharp, having many glass ceilings and white walls. Starting on the first floor, the three of them began their adventure through the museum's many layers.

Paintings, sculptures, and interactive art were all present, scattered throughout multiple chambers and grouped by time period. Though walking through and marveling at the artwork was interesting, Touma lingered behind his two friends, watching them instead.

"Index is having a good time," he said to himself. "But what about Misaka?"

Ever since she appeared at his front door, Misaka had moments of obvious bliss, but on occasion Touma caught her gazing downward, turning quiet, and looking just as dull as the weather outside, which was still cloudy and grim. Something was on her mind, and even if she wasn't saying it, Touma knew staying at his apartment was only biding time. Sooner or later, she'd have to face whatever it was that brought her there in the first place.

"At least she's isn't alone now. Of course she does have more than 9,000 sisters—with that many relatives, I doubt it's possible for her to be alone."

He continued walking through the museum at his own pace, trailing behind Index and Misaka 10032. Honestly, he thought it was bizarre that Index wanted to come there at all, seeing as how she always preferred places with food over places without, but he wouldn't dare argue. An art museum was a nice change of pace, which he oh-so-desperately needed.

"Touma!" came her whiny, childish voice from across the long corridor whose walls were lined with paintings. "Touma, get over here! Come look at this!"

He scratched the back of his head, grinned, then obeyed. As long as she didn't resort to biting, he'd do just about anything she asked.

When he caught up with them, Index pointed to a special piece of interactive art that sent her into rampant giggles. A simple blank canvas was positioned on the wall, and to its left was a lens and button. Standing before the lens, Index pressed the button, and before they knew it, a picture of the Mona Lisa spread across the canvas. However, it's face belonged to none other than Index, whose eyes were pleased, lips were grinning ever-so-slightly. It really was an eerily well-done portrait.

"Isn't it great, Touma?" she asked with a goofy smile. "You try it!"

"I think I'll pass. I'm not very photogenic..."

"Don't be a crybaby and try it!" she commanded.

Index grabbed Touma's hand and dragged him in front of the camera, then pushed the button for him. What came next was far creepier than he could possibly imagine.

His face was plastered over that of Jesus in The Last Supper, by Leonardo da Vinci. All the apostles were there, and with his hands spread forward, it appeared that Touma was blessing the food, thus blessing his dearest friends.

"I'm pretty sure I'm going to hell for this," Touma mumbled with a deadpanned face.

Meanwhile, Index was bursting with giggles, unable to bear how stoic yet humble Touma appeared in the painting, how divine he had suddenly become. At least somebody was enjoying it.

"Hey," he said, focused on Misaka. "Why don't you give it a try? It's pretty fun, really. Even if it is a bit irreverent..."

She glanced to him as if caught off guard, then shyly stepped in front of the camera. It was Touma who pressed the button, and thus, it was he who instigated the next artistic monstrosity.