Episode 03 - Balloon Hunter
Tokiwadai is set to compete in "Balloon Hunter", where the competitors wear paper balloons on their head which the opposing team tries to break using bean bags. As they get ready, Kongou glances over at Misaka 10032 (who has taken Mikoto's place) and starts to address her as "Misaka", but then trails off with a confused expression. As the event begins, the opposing team members scatter and flee; the Tokiwadai students pursue, with Misaka 10032 taking up the rear. Mikoto watches from the stands, her face hidden under a plastic Gekota mask, and wonders how things ended up like this, but she doesn't seem all that bothered. Meanwhile, watching the event on a public TV, Misaki Shokuhou sees Misaka 10032 and realizes she isn't Mikoto.
The opposing team's strategy becomes apparent as the Tokiwadai students are lured into carefully-prepared ambushes. Their leader, Baba, has carefully researched every participating Tokiwadai student — including their abilities, personality traits, and special weaknesses. This gains them an early advantage, but Tokiwadai gradually wises up to their tricks and starts to even the score.
Baba suggests they focus on taking out Tokiwadai's top competitor, Mikoto Misaka, in order demoralize the others. Since she isn't allowed to use electrical attacks on other players, he proposes rushing her en masse and trying to break her balloon at point-blank range. What Baba doesn't say is that his organization, MEMBER, has been ordered to incapacitate Mikoto; he's planning to use a tiny mosquito-shaped drone to inject her with a paralyzing agent while she's distracted.
Misaka 10032 proves difficult to corner — she has experience fighting more than 10,000 battles to the death against Accelerator — but Baba succeeds in attacking her with his drone. The brief sting distracts her long enough for one of her opponents to break her balloon, eliminating her. In the end, Tokiwadai loses the event by a small margin, much to their disappointment — although their teachers reflect that it's a good lesson for them.
After the event, Mikoto meets up with Misaka 10032 in a secluded area, bringing the Sister's cat with her. Misaka 10032 starts to apologize for being defeated, but Mikoto tells her it's more important that she had fun. She gives Misaka 10032 some spare meal coupons, and also her plastic Gekota mask.
Going to buy some drinks on her way to meet her mother, Mikoto runs into Touma. He's on a similar errand, and offers to buy drinks for both of them. As she waits for him to get back, Shokuhou comes along and pauses to tease her. This quickly devolves into low-grade bickering, which is interrupted when Touma returns. Mikoto reluctantly introduces Touma to Shokuhou, who greets him in an aggressively cheerful — almost familiar — way before taking her leave.
At the Judgement office, Saten persuades a reluctant Uiharu to help her search for information on the Shadow Metal rumour. She says that finding something so rare would be one of the few ways for a Level 0 like her to feel significant.
Elsewhere, Misaka 10032 is walking through an empty construction site with her cat as she ponders what to get with her meal coupons. She suddenly grows dizzy and falls to the ground, dropping both the cat and Mikoto's Gekota mask, as Baba's paralyzing agent finally takes effect. She has just enough time to worry about getting her borrowed gym clothes dirty before losing consciousness. Two other people arrive on the scene moments later and regard her unconscious form with interest: Misaki Shokuhou and Keitz Nokleben.
Tropes
- Big-Breast Pride: Shokuhou ostentatiously squishes her ample breasts against Mikoto's arm, and then against Touma's, evidently in order to irritate the former and tease the latter.
- Continuity Nod: None of the characters seem to catch on, but Shokuhou knows Touma's name before anyone mentions it. Of course, this could be written off as her telepathy at work... except she never uses any of her remote controls. In fact, this is one of several hints that she was acquainted with Touma before his amnesia — his other amnesia — which is revealed in the New Testament novels.
- In the same scene, Touma has a bandage under his left eye. This establishes it as taking place after his first fight with Oriana Thomsonnote (during which he received a cut on the cheek from one of her spells).
- I Just Want to Be Special: Saten still has some of this, as she admits to Uiharu when talking about the Shadow Metal.
- Male Gaze: In-universe, when Touma meets Shokohou Misaki he can't help but stare at her assets.Mikoto: Just now, I sensed his gaze dropping 30 cm for a moment!
- Meaningful Background Event: It's subtle and largely out of focus, but Shokuhou's immediate reaction when Touma shows up is to freeze in place for several moments, eyes hidden, while Mikoto talks to him. She then appears to compose herself before switching on the charm and greeting him. This is another subtle nod to their history together.
