Item

ITEM is one of the underground groups in the Science Side whose primary function was to monitor the upper echelons of the Academy City (including the board of directors) and prevent them from gaining too much power and getting out of hand. They are also used in eliminating elements of unrest within Academy City. It consists of 4 girls, with the 4th Level 5 Mugino Shizuri as the leader. They become rivals with SCHOOL,

The original 4 members of the team share a very specific trait : They all use items in a way to assist their ability and / or to fight, giving the team an actual namesake. For example we have that Kinuhata Saiai will always carry a small amount of nitrogen with her, Takitsubo Rikou needs Body Crystal in order to activate her ability, Mugino Shizuri carries silicon cards that allow her to spread the area of effect of her attacks and Frenda will rely almost entirely on bombs and other weapons. In addition to this, Hamazura also relies on weapons and items after he joins.

Despite having a Level 5, the most important person in ITEM is considered to be Takitsubo Rikou, due to her ability to find other espers and take initiative in attacks. Superior firepower from having a Level 5 can be matched using other means, but a tracker like Rikou is near irreplaceable.

ITEM is the only underground organization whose status is still known, as all the others except for GROUP were destroyed in Volume 15, and because after Accelerator left for Russia, GROUP's status has been unknown.

Chronology
Chronologically, ITEM first appears in the Railgun manga where they are sent to stop Misaka Mikoto and her rampage against the Level 6 Shift project.

At some point after Volume SS1 and before Volume 15, Hamazura Shiage becomes ITEM's informant and lackey, often doing dirty work and following orders.

During the events of Volume 15, Mugino murders Frenda as she was about to defect to SCHOOL. Later on, Hamazura defeats Mugino and according to Volume 19, Kinuhata became the leader of the severely weakened ITEM afterwards. After Volume 22, ITEM gets back together after the efforts of Hamazura pay off.

Original Incarnation

 * Mugino Shizuri (Original Team Leader)
 * Takitsubo Rikou
 * Kinuhata Saiai
 * Frenda Seivelun (Defects team in volume 15.)

Unformed and Unnamed team
ITEM's backer realized that ITEM could not function with only Saiai left in fighting condition and decided to remake a team using the few surviving members from BLOCK, MEMBER, SCHOOL and ITEM.


 * Kinuhata Saiai (was expected to become part of the team)
 * Girl in dress

Second Incarnation
Unlike the previous two teams, this team was assembled together because every member of the team decides to become a part of it.


 * Mugino Shizuri
 * Takitsubo Rikou
 * Kinuhata Saiai
 * Hamazura Shiage ('Becomes' part of the team in volume 22.) (Referred by the rest of the team as "lackey")