Toaru Majutsu no Index Wiki
Advertisement

"Clique, Part 1" (派閥① Habatsu ①?) is the 40th chapter of the Toaru Kagaku no Railgun manga series.

Synopsis[]

On the 27th of August, Kongou Mitsuko begins her days at Tokiwadai Middle School. She mistakenly takes the bus to the school's external dormitory instead of its interior one. She eventually encounters Shirai Kuroko and receives correct directions from her. The two manage to offend each other and immediately start to argue (thus setting the basis of their relationship for the rest of the series). Refusing help from Kuroko on getting back, Kongou is once again completely lost.

Meanwhile, Misaka Mikoto is looking for a way to politely ditch Unabara Mitsuki, the grandson of the school chairman, who is accompanying her against her wishes. Mikoto sees Kongou and, recognising her as a fellow Tokiwadai student, pretends that she had a meeting with her to get away from Unabara. However, when Kongou asks for Mikoto's name, Mikoto mistakenly thinks she wants to know Unabara's and so gives his name. Kongou thus believes Misaka is Unabara Mitsuki (海原美月). On learning Kongou is a transfer student, Mikoto decides to give Kongou a tour of the school, with Kongou never knowing Mikoto's real name (and Mikoto finding it too awkward to say it herself).

At a pet store, Mikoto is captivated by the sight of the cute pets. Kongou buys a dead rat to feed her pet snake Ekaterina, leaving Mikoto dumbfounded. They then go to a toy shop, where Mikoto shows interest in a teddy bear while Kongou reveals her preference for western dolls. Their next stop is a confectionery. Here Mikoto notices the netsuke attached to Kongou's purse, a memento of her father, which leads Mikoto to wonder where her father is and what he's doing. After this they visit other locations, where they try on hats and play pool together.

After the tour, Kongou begins to notice Mikoto is greeted by everyone she meets, and realizes she is someone who is admired by all. On reaching the internal dormitory, Mikoto has to immediately leave in order to make her own dormitory curfew. Kongou is left dejected, feeling she and Mikoto were still just pretending to be friends.

On the 1st of September, the school term begins. Kongou is once again lost in the school building and accidentally bumps into Wannai Kinuho and Awatsuki Maaya. Kongou quickly becomes acquainted with the pair, and the two swim club members suggest Kongou joins a clique to better adjust to the school. The three of them see Shokuhou Misaki's clique, the largest in the school. Kongou decides instead that she wants to form her own clique, to the surprise of the other two.

Later, on September 14th, Kongou and Kuroko are undergoing power testing together. Kongou tries to recruit Kuroko into her new faction. Kuroko not only refuses but warns Kongou about the foolishness of such a move, as she would simply be crushed by the existing cliques. Suddenly, there is a nearby explosion that sends water into the air. Kuroko explains that this was the testing of Tokiwadai's Ace, who will stop Kongou if she tries to selfishly make a clique. She asks Kongou if she is prepared to take that attack head-on.

Adapted From[]

The scene where Kongou tries to recruit Kuroko is adapted from the Prologue of Index Volume 8.

Adapted To[]

Characters[]

In order of appearance:

New Characters[]

Abilities[]

New Abilities[]

Locations[]

New Locations[]

Trivia[]

  • This chapter is the first one in Railgun manga that does not employ a date as the title (except for the extra chapters).
  • In this chapter, there is a great leap relative to the timeline of the Toaru Majutsu no Index light novels: the chapter starts before Volume 5 (possibly during or even before Volume 4), and its ending coincides with the prologue of Volume 8. That means that the plots concerning Mikoto and Kuroko in Volumes 5 and 6 simply do not appear in the Railgun manga.

Referbacks[]

No referbacks currently recorded for this chapter/episode.

Cultural References[]

  • Netsuke are miniature sculptures that were invented in 17th-century Japan to serve a practical function.

Quotes[]

  • "Are you prepared to take that ludicrous attack head-on?"

References[]

Navigation[]

v  e
Toaru Kagaku no Railgun
Volume 1 1234567
Volume 2 8910111213
Volume 3 141516Sp17Sp1Sp2
Volume 4 181920212223
Volume 5 24252627282930
Volume 6 31323334353637
Volume 7 3839Sp4041424344
Volume 8 4546474849505152
Volume 9 535455565758596061
Volume 10 626364656667686970
Volume 11 71727373.5747576777879
Volume 12 808182838485868788
Volume 13 8990919293949596
Volume 14 979899100101102103104105106
Volume 15 107108109110111112113114115
Volume 16 116117118119120121122123124125126127
Volume 17 128129130131132132.5132.75133134135136
Volume 18 137137.5138139140141142143
Volume 19 144145146147148149150151152
Chapters Not Yet in Volume Format 153154155156157158
Promotional Chapters 17.524.525.542.556.596.5122.5
Advertisement