School Garden

School Garden (学舎の園 (まなびやのその)) is an area located within School District 7 of Academy City. It is similar to other areas in the district as it is simply an area composed of schools and other establishments like shops and restaurants, however what makes the area different from others is that it is composed of 5 elite schools for girls and the establishments that tend to its population is similarly high-classed. Tokiwadai Middle School is located here along with one of its dormitories.

Appearance
With its reddish sett- and cobble-stoned roads and streets tessellated in strange designs, and showering fountains in their open squares, litten by wrought metal lamps. With its traditional brick and mortar buildings, roofs such as flat types, gables and spires, and their tasteful parapets and the corbels that support them, and of the smokestacks resting upon them. With its balconies upon windows with metal balusters of arabesque designs that surround it, and the awning above them. With its subtle crosswalk and unique traffic lights different from the rest of the city. With its gates that provided the entrance to the area, and its baroque colonnades and entablature.

In volume 8 of the Index novel, it is depicted to be cramped with buildings, and despite the School Garden's large size, the roads are narrow. This may be due to the area focusing on aesthetics rather than practicality.

Principles
The School Garden is jointly controlled by five prestigious girls' schools including Tokiwadai Middle School. The area is full of cutting-edge technology that isn't allowed outside the school and they have facilities and budget needed to protect it all.

Maps of the Garden have parts grayed out as it only needs to give the main entrances and service entrances for the five schools. This is because though they jointly control the School Garden, all of them are also rivals.

Demographics
The area is a cluster of elite schools which are obviously frequented by elite students. Since Tokiwadai is located here, there are many students here that are at least Level 3 espers. The population is largely composed of students with wealthy upbringings who can afford the schools here.

Access and Security
Students who reside within the city or go to school here have cards that they use in order to pass the entrance of the area. Ordinary students require permission in order to gain access to the area; it is shown the student from the area can invite the students from the outside to be able to enter the area. Barricades are not only used to keep out intruders, but also to separate different areas, such as housing and experimental facilities. The School Garden has a total of eight gates. Items can be brought in through five of them. However, if someone was bringing in a piece of artwork or an antique, it would have received a special inspection. And there would be a record of this. This is because of recent events after someone tried to sneak out a chip loaded with information hidden in an impressionist painting. For security reasons there are 2,458 cameras in total monitoring the streets and establishments of School Garden. According to Tsuchimikado Motoharu, rumors in the School Garden reek of lies, since information there is highly classified, as such, he doubts that rumors formed in School Garden are not made without reason.

Finally, males are not allowed inside the Garden, even male members of Anti-Skill.

Level Upper Arc
The area is featured prominently on the 3rd episode of the Toaru Kagaku no Railgun anime. Here Juufuku Miho enacts her vengeance upon unsuspecting Tokiwadai students such as Kongou Mitsuko by drawing large eyebrows on them. Saten Ruiko and Uiharu Kazari are invited by Shirai Kuroko into the School Garden, in a strange mishap Ruiko slips on a puddle and gets her uniform wet and is forced to wear a Tokiwadai uniform that was borrowed from Misaka Mikoto, unfortunately because of this Ruiko is attacked by Miho.

Miho is then cornered after being caught in Mikoto and company's trap; she is then quickly defeated by Mikoto. Miho then states that she only did it because her lover fell in love with a Tokiwadai student and that he had a problem with her large eyebrows. After getting cheered up by Ruiko, Miho gains a crush on her and willingly gives into the custody of Anti-Skill.

Poltergeist Arc
The School Garden is briefly seen during another poltergeist-related earthquake, during which Kongo Mitsuko is attacked by her doll collection by the effect of the poltergeist and is hospitalized.

Tree Diagram Remnant Arc
School Garden is featured in the 8th Light Novel volume, where Mikoto and Kuroko are shopping for lingerie. Here, they comment on the unusual increase of space missions of several countries, including Academy City during the past few days. They later part ways when Kuroko receives a message from Kazari to head to the Judgment 177 Branch Office, during this scene Mikoto says to Kuroko that there might be rain later, which to Kuroko seemed unusual, because Academy City has a flawless record in knowing the weather due to the Tree Diagram -- which unknown to her, has been destroyed in the Index Arc.

It is also revealed during the events of the novel that School Garden is not used as an arena for the Daihasei Sports Festival.

Agitate Halation Arc
An unconscious Kamijou Touma is brought into the Garden by Tsuchimikado Motoharu in order to prevent him from interfering with his vengeance against those who forced his hand in falsifying the death of Tsuchimikado Maika to protect her. Motoharu gives Touma a wild goose chase about a magician named Umezaki Yuuga who plans to use the Altar of the Wisdom King to suck out all the knowledge and skills of everyone, which destroys synapses and nerves, within a 5 kilometer radius with the core being School Garden.

Touma is forced to flee after the box he was put reveals in, and discovers that he is in a locker room in Private Shidarezakura Academy. After finding himself up in a roof to hide from them, he soon discovers that his appearance in the area has spread like wildfire and both adult teachers and vigilante students are out hunting form him, though due to rumors and gossip, no one actually knows what he looks like and ludicrous information has spread regarding what he is capable of. Mikoto appears after a long in a day in a research facility. She jumps from rooftop to rooftop, but stops to discover that Touma is in School Garden. Seeing him on a rooftop, she attempts to pull him towards her by magnetizing his belt, but he negates that with his right hand and falls into the gap betwen the buildings. She is worried at first but then realizes that he is fine and proceeds to continue her pursuit. Touma finds himself in a building with girls, and later meets a girl controlled by Shokuhou Misaki, the Fifth ranked Level 5, Thinking quickly, she uses her clique to make a decoy in order to fool Mikoto who is still in pursuit of Touma. After it is successful, Misaki begins aiding Touma, referencing her past relationship with him that Touma could no longer remember. She also follows him around the Garden, aiding and giving him information whenever she can. She acts a bit playful when doing so, tricking him into looking at the half naked boy the girl she is using, making him look more insidious to the girls than before, and trying to scare him, but all and all she means well.

After having collected all the maps from all five schools of the School Garden, Touma reaches an empasse on where the Altar of the Wisdom King would be kept. Misaki, after her usual trickery and cunning, convinces a luggage entry inspector to let them use the data for items that have passed through, as she deemed that antiques or works of art such as what the Altar of the Wisdom King would be referred as would go through there. Later, trying to get into Shiraha Social Support Club, Misaki gives a suprisingly pragmatic approach to getting an authorization card from the girls attend there. Using anpan and milk, they drop them on a target girl, which allowed Misaki to steal an authoriazation card from the other girl next to her authoriazation cards, using Touma is a decoy. Once inside, Touma searched for the spritual item but could not find it. Misaki tells him to become suspicious of the source of the information that was given to him. Touma begins to doubt Tsuchimikado Motoharu's words when he dropped him off in School Garden to deal with the Altar of the Wisdom King himself. At that point, an airship showing the latest headlines shows a news regarding the death of Tsuchimikado Maika in a fire in her dorm. Misaki tells Touma that someone might have intentionally kept him inside School Garden like a cage in order for them to be able to do something else.

The Five Schools

 * Tokiwadai Middle School
 * Private Shidarezakura Academy

Other locations

 * Pasticceria Manicagni
 * Shiraha Social Support Club
 * Horus Pet House