Story: Level Upper Railgun

Never before had a selfie been taken with such nervousness. This level of trepidation could surely turn off a star, maybe the sun itself and plunge the Earth into eternal night. Kuroko stood in the middle of the room with her jumper slightly lifted up, exposing her belly. Her face was beet red, her eyes were closed, ah, this was so embarrassing! Oh why, she had done more daring things before, but that had always been around her friends, always when enticed by her beloved Onee-sama even if Kuroko acted like a prim and proper lady when in public. She looked around to double check. The door was closed. The window blinds couldn't let a squeak of light through. And her phone was disconnected from the internet, so she wouldn't accidentally load anything online. Great. Super. Wonderful. No reason at all not to do this. Just press a button and -

<i>“Erotic Photography: Exp Gain: 3
Current Level 3, EXP 6/15 To Next Level Up” </i>

"Three?!" she whined. "Oh, come on! What does a girl have to do to earn some serious EXP around here?! That picture should have levelled me up at least three levels surely!"

She took the same picture twice more, and got the same result both times. Now her EXP was 13/15, and she was getting a mite annoyed with it.


Well, that was kind of the point, wasn't it? She was so blasted nervous! No wonder her level was 3. No aptitude for it. No skill, no pizzazz! She had no doubt at all that if this thing were attached to Onee-sama she would already have a high level. Maybe 75 or even 90!

"Let's try something else," she said, taking a big nervous breath. Something different, maybe? It was so hard to think of anything... But then, in a moment of inspiration she knew what must be done! What sort of poses would she like to see Onee-sama adopt? Aha! Brilliant! This time she held the camera in her left arm and slid her jumper off her shoulder, revealing as much skin as possible. Not as much as she would like, and she couldn't bring herself to look at the camera, so...

<i>“Erotic Photography: Exp Gain: 2
Current Level 4, EXP 0/18 To Next Level Up” </i>

Eighteen, huh? That didn't seem so bad. Ah, but then a thought crossed Kuroko's mind: She'd just levelled up, hadn't she? Surely that meant that she was a little bit better than before? In which case what would the difference be...? She slipped into the same pose as before, jumper a little off her shoulder, arm out at full length and -

Flash.

<i>“Erotic Photography: Exp Gain: 2
Current Level 4, EXP 218 To Next Level Up” </i>

She immediately went to the album to take a look. What was the difference? Well, so far as she could see not much. This time at least she was looking in the camera, but her face looked like it was being twisted out of shape. Horrible look for her, simply nasty!

The five pictures were immediately deleted, and then she huffed and stomped her foot. On the one hand she was getting plenty of experience points for each picture compared to her next level up. On the other, she was pretty damned certain that value would become quite disproportionate as time went on. The value for the next level up had increased just a little, but it wouldn't stay that low for long. She was going to have to grind this out!

Heh. Well, she had the time at the very least. For now, why not alternate between belly shot and shoulder shot, then see how she felt when she'd levelled up a bit more?

<hr>
Here is a short list of tautologies, in no particular order. "I went there personally." "In my opinion, I think he is wrong." And, of course, "Index is hungry."

Staggering through the building was a nun. She was pretty, she was young, she was bored, and, yes, she was quite hungry. Index tended to get like this when Touma was at school. Nothing to do, so might as well go out. Take a wander. See the sights. Meet some people.

Or, well, that would be nice... If she could only meet some people! "Where is everyone?" she moaned, patting her belly. "I want food! I need someone to buy me food!"

Suddenly there was a flash under the door she was passing by. Aha! So that was where they were hiding! Index reached out for the doorknob wondering who it might be. Didn't matter, really, so long as they could spot her a sandwich.

What she didn't expect to see was Kuroko leaning her foot on top of a chair while a camera took a picture. The young innocent nun watched in confusion as her acquaintance put her hands behind her head and thrust out her chest, just in time for another flash from the camera.

"Ooh, ding ding! That's level 12, and it only took me half an hour! Switch legs!" Kuroko cackled. She rapidly switched legs, pulling her skirt quite high up her leg. "Setting this to an automatic timer was a brilliant idea! Turns out one requirement is for me to give out directions to the subject and for them to be obeyed, and since that subject is me I'm bound to follow!"

'What is going on?' Index wondered, scratching her head. 'Why is she taking weird pictures of herself?' She honestly didn't know. Those poses were really strange. It was like a weird dance was about to break out any minute now.

"Raise that right foot! Give us a whirl!"  Kuroko enthusiastically said, put her right foot on her knee and suddenly whirled around in place, making her skirt flip up a fraction -

Then she fell over in a most undignified pose and gave Index a very good look at some strange-looking underwear that was very frilly and didn't cover up all that much. How odd. Why would she wear something like that?

"Index?!" Kuroko yelled. "Wh-What are you doing here?!"

In response her stomach growled, so the young walking grimoire patted her belly.

Kuroko got back onto her feet and patted herself down. "How much did you see?" She wondered how the other girl had even gotten into the building. Could she have forgotten to lock the door?

"Oh, don't worry, I won't tell anyone!" Index said. Her stomach made another complaint. "Um... But when I am hungry my mouth sometimes works on automatic. You understand, right?"

For some reason Kuroko was gnashing her teeth and giving Index quite the mean look. "Fine! I see how it is!" She stormed across the room, entered a cupboard and pulled out some bread, some ham, and some mustard and tossed them all on a counter. Index's mouth began to water immediately. Yay! "Here, knock yourself - What are you doing?!"

"Nom nom nom!" Index went, grabbing hold of the ham, tearing off strips off it and the bread and dipping them in the mustard. "Mmm! I've never had this before! This dip is really nice! Thank you, Kuroko, this is so nice of you to -"

But suddenly Index realised she was all alone. Oh well, she could but shrug and enjoy her -

"Oh, I know! If I put the ham in between the bread and spread this stuff on it with a knife, I could eat it much easier!"

<hr>
Honestly now! Trust that ditzy nun to interrupt her at such a crucial time, right when she was hitting her stride. Kuroko took a deep breath. She was on the roof. The door to the roof was locked. If she stood in the middle, right here, nobody would be able to see her. And there was a picture of the roof taped to the window on the door, and there was a bell attached to the door. If anyone came up she'd hear them this time for certain. Heh! The perfect crime!

She set the camera down on the ground, with the camera on a timer. It was so weird, her confidence had skyrocketed as her levels went up and she didn't even notice! "Lean to the left," she commanded just before the camera flash went off. When it did, she felt her body automatically adopting a sensual pose but didn't even register what it was until after the fact. Another direction, another flash, another pose. And then another, and at this point she felt the level up hit her full force.

<i>“Erotic Photography: Exp Gain: 5
Current Level 13, EXP 3/38 To Next Level Up” </i>

She wasn't exactly posing or directing herself any more. Dancing would be a more apt description. "Turn a bit more." Each picture just another page in a flipbook showing off Kuroko's improvised erotic dance. "Hand on your thigh. Just your hip more to the right." She'd have never guessed her hips could move that way, never supposed that running her hands along her sides could make her feel so alive.

<i>“Erotic Photography: Exp Gain: 6-5-6-5-7-6
Current Level 14, EXP 0/41To Next Level Up” </i>

Her earlier nervousness seemed so... Immature. Like it was felt by a far off person. It was astonishing. She'd already advanced this far with only a few levels! This device was incredible, though it still left her wondering two things. The first, what would she be like at level one hundred. The other, why didn't the device auto-set you to that level to start with?

While thinking that and directing her dance on the roof, she heard a noise that... Meant something? She couldn't quite remember what it was though. Kuroko was far too busy learning how to twerk for the camera to pay it any heed. If it really mattered it would come to her -

"What blasphemy is this?!"

Oh, right, it was supposed to warn her if anyone was coming onto the roof. Which it seemed like someone had, and wouldn't you know it she'd been interrupted by <i>another</i> nun! Well, based on how it seemed to work she'd guessed the Level Upper might be habit forming, but this was genuinely ridiculous!

This nun had a bit of a nastier disposition about her than Index, unfortunately. This nun was none other than Agnese Sanctis and given the choice Kuroko would have definitely preferred Index's company. Why's that, you ask?

Agnese stomped towards her. "So is this what you do when nobody's around?" she yelled, neatly demonstrating the answer to your question, dear reader. "What a shameless, wanton display! And taking pictures of yourself in the act! This is not how this modern technology should be used by young women, shame on you! Have you nothing to say for yourself?"

"Yeah," Kuroko rolled her eyes, scooped up her phone and made to leave. "Mind. Your. Own -"

Oh, that was a really good way for a nun to lose a hand. Kuroko didn't much care for having her ear twisted like that! "Photography is an artform," Agnese said, quite sternly giving a good hard tug to Kuroko's poor lobe. "I will not have it denigrated by the likes of you. Posing and dancing like that, no doubt intending to impress some foolish boy who thinks with the wrong head."

"Oh, you've got it all wrong," Kuroko said, not even bothering to change her tone from the raw irritation and annoyance she was feeling right now. "I wasn't taking pictures for a boy."

"That does not excuse your behaviour, young lady. Try taking a picture of me. I shall show you how a proper, upright and upstanding woman has her picture taken."

Ugh. If it would make her go away, fine. Whatever. Kuroko lifted her phone and rolled her eyes at the prim and proper posture Agnese was adopting. It had no style to it, no passion, just a dopey flat grin with eyes that were... honestly a little bit frightening when she looked too close, best not to dwell on that.

"My face should be the centre of the shot," Agnese warned. "Not my chest, little pervert."

What chest might that be, little miss ironing board? Guh! Let's just get this...

Huh. Wait a second. Kuroko tilted her head and squinted a bit at the irritating nun. Weird, but she kind of felt like...

"Um, there's a bit of light across your face," Kuroko lied. "Could you please step to the left a little bit?" Agnese nodded and obliged. "Also, instead of having your hands out in front of you, could you put them behind your back instead? I think that might look more natural."

There seemed a bit more resistance to that one, but ultimately Agnese seemed to agree with that. She put her hands behind her back, and kept herself standing upright... Little realising the effect tugging the back of her extremely short habit was having. You see, unlike most nuns the habit Agnese wore was really, ridiculously short. It wasn't much, but it didn't need to be. The oblivious allure was there, as well a peek at some rather boring underwear.

But, ah, but that was the magic of it. Even boring underwear can be exciting when it's forbidden.

Click.

<i>Erotic Photography: Exp Gain: 11
Current Level 14, Exp 11/41 To Next Level Up"</i>

"There, was that so bad?" Agnese called out. "A perfectly normal picture with no erotic content."

"Sure," Kuroko sighed, feigning boredom but honestly feeling giddy. "Thank you for steering me away from the path of sin."

And now to find somewhere else to pose. Oh boy oh boy oh boy! It was working! It was really, actually working! Eventually. But it <b>was</b> working! She could hardly wait until she hit level 50, no, make that level 100! Who knows what level of power she might have by then!

<hr>

Ta-da! It was time for a certain beautiful blonde mind controller to make her dramatic entrance! You see, Misaki was bored. B-O-R-E-D, capitalised all the way through, not having fun right this moment. This was a most unhealthy turn of events for a girl like her. A lack of stimulus wasn't good for the old noggin, and if anyone knew what was healthy for that particular vital organ it would certainly be her.

Now, she could always reprogram her own brain to make her think "I'm having fun!" but that seemed a little too like that one experiment with rats, a button hooked up to induce pleasure to their brains directly, and the unfortunate consequences thereof. So! Just this one time she'd solve a problem without abusing her Rank 5 power: She was heading out into the world to seek a cure for tedium.

And wouldn't you know, but she'd found it in the underground shopping district. Pacing around in front of a certain kickable vending machine looking all pensive and cute. My, my. Whatever was Kuroko up to this time? That girl with the crush on Misaka was, for whatever reason, wandering around in a circle staring at the ground mumbling to herself.

"The locker rooms? No, someone could still come in at any time. A storage closet? No, security would probably notice the clicking and the posing would probably make noises they'd come and investigate..."

Well now. That didn't make a lick of sense. She hadn't seen Misaki yet, which was both an advantage and a bit of an insult. How does anyone not notice someone like her standing just a little bit in front of themselves? She must be really deep in thought. Clearly troubled about something or other, but Kuroko was also the kind of girl who wouldn't ever want to bring it up aloud. Why, that simply made it mandatory: Misaki plucked a remote out of her pocket, aimed it at Kuroko's head and read her mind like it was a daily newspaper comic strip.

And then the devious mind reader smiled. "Level Upper," she said, making Kuroko suddenly trip up and fall over. That is, the mere act of her saying the words made the girl stumble, not something Misaki had forced her to do. "My, my! What a naughty little mind you have!" Misaki put her arms behind her head, thrust out her prodigious chest, crossed her legs while still standing and pouted. "You wish to learn the art of erotic photography? You still have much to learn, grasshopper."

The stars within Misaki's eyes twinkled with naughty delight. Kuroko pulled herself up and then tried to pretend that falling over hadn't happened. "I know you!" Kuroko accused. "You're that harlot that onee-sama doesn't like! Get out of my head, or -"

"Or better idea!" Misaki interrupted, shifting her weight so she was leaning forward, clasping her hands cutely in front of herself while using her upper arms to press her heaving breasts together. "I think your plan has some potential. I would so love to see dear Misaka relax for once, and having you become a veritable master - Or should that be mistress? - of erotic photography that somehow even surpasses my ability... Why, the possibilities leave more than just my mouth drooling."

"Firstly, too much information," Kuroko sniffed. "Second, fat chance! I'm not teaming with you, it would be a betrayal to Onee-sama!"

"Funny," Misaki tutted, reaching into another pocket and pulling out a different remote. "I don't remember asking permission to team up with you."

1. Misaki uses her mind control to pull in other girls and take erotic photographs of them, to level up the skill.
2. Misaki lets Kuroko take erotic pictures of her, thinking it's fun... Until the real power of erotic photography makes itself known!
3. Misaki has a better suggestion for something to level up.
4. Meanwhile, a fan base is growing.
5. Somehow, some way, Touma is pulled into the growing inevitable mess.
6. Something else