Hello all, it's a plain Index story this time.
I wasn't originally planning to start another Index fic since I have two other serious stories in the works so far, but I couldn't get it out of my mind once the image had formed. In contrast to Illusion of a Demon Lord, which focuses on the faction, this fic will focus more on a wandering theme. Something I realized when the idea was formed in my head is that I essentially am working with three different "endings" for Kamijou.
The Dead End of Valhalla
The Faction End of Illusion
and this time, the Exile End.
I still most likely won't be updating Illusion for quite some time, as I still am not sure what role the Kamisato Faction will come into play, but for this story, I can easily write around them or include them.
Away from that though, I once again urge anybody who has only read Index to check out Kamachi's other works. In particular, The Unexplored Summon:/Blood-Sign (未踏召喚:/ブラッドサイン) translations have picked up once more now that Zashiki Warashi (which I very highly recommend) is finished aside from the side stories being released online.
Also on the note of other Kamachi works, I'm going to shamelessly advertise my other fics:
A More Forceful Offer for Heavy Object
and The Kamachi Crossover Bar Which is located in the crossover section for Index and Heavy Object and will include characters from all of the translated Kamachi works.
Anyway, ramblings aside, I present to you this little work of mine. Ready and Enjoy.
Sirens blared throughout Academy City while the media and public services all urged the residents to stay indoors. Along the roads and in the sky, the entire military and peacekeeping forces of the city converged on the windowless building near the center. On the east side of the massive white structure, a gaping hole had opened up near the top, and a small bit of smoke started billowing out. Despite multiple drones already scouting the building, the forces of the city had no idea what was happening within.
"I can already hear the entire Academy City military heading our way, I think we should leave soon human." Within the building, a young man with spiky black hair and plain clothing stood with a rather scantily dressed blonde woman no bigger than an average candy bar sitting on his shoulder. The room was dark, with occasional sparks coming from the heavily damaged machinery providing just enough light to show that the room was in terrible shape. The smoke coming from the hole behind the young man prevent much light from shining through, but he still could see his main reasons for being there.
"Index, wake up, would you?" He lightly slapped the cheek of a young girl in a bright white nun's habit with gold trim who was lying on the cold floor. As the girl started to stir, her head turned and the hood fell loose revealing her bright silver hair. When her eyes opened, she found the person she trusted most kneeling over her with a slight smile on his face.
"Touma? What…? Where…?" The young man in front of her put a finger to his mouth to quiet her and looked towards a certain part of the room. "Explanations will have to come later, we have to leave soon." The confused girl followed his gaze and was greeted by the sight of a shattered glass tube with a bloodied body inside. The corpse was partially impaled by a jagged piece of glass, and the white haired body and it's lightly colored gown were stained dark by blood. Her eye's widened at the sight and she turned back to look at Touma. Even in the dark, she could tell his face was straining to keep a calm expression, and she could feel him trembling. The boy who had saved her and many other people countless times had never once killed anybody despite facing down monsters where it would be completely justified. No matter the price that had to be paid he had always taken it upon himself without hesitation; that he would possibly be responsible for a death was unthinkable for her, but she knew he had to have a reason.
While she was lost in thought, the young man's pocket started to ring, and he stepped up to answer his phone. "It's me, as you could probably tell by the commotion I've taken care of the problem..." He started to pace around as the conversation on the phone continued. "Yes...I had to kill him. He wouldn't back down and when I forced his spell to end the backlash destroyed the containment tube he was in and the glass caused lethal injuries. I checked the body just to be sure but he was impaled through the chest by a large piece of glass and I didn't feel a pulse..." As the young man described what happened over the phone, his expression grew even more distraught; even the death of an enemy was enough to cause him pain.
"I'm fine, don't worry about me. You guys aren't coming under any heat are you? I don't know how good these supposedly secure lines are." As he continued to talk, the sound of the helicopters started to draw near. He turned his head to glance outside, then started walking back towards the girl sitting on the floor. He took her hand and lifted her onto her feet as he concluded his call. "Thanks for the worry, but I'll be okay. I'm going to have to leave matters in the city to you all...Yeah, you all be careful too." At the conclusion of his call, he hit a button on the phone, dropped it to the floor and stomped on it to break it. The girl called Index winced at the action, as it seemed to signify the boy severing a connection to something, but she did not have time to dwell on it as the young man pulled her towards the hole in the wall.
"Come on Index, we're going to have to get out of the city soon. I really didn't want to drag anybody else into something like this. I'm sorry." Index watched as Kamijou Touma's expression turned to one of stony determination devoid of any weaknesses. They made their way through the smoke and found themselves at the edge of the building hundreds of meters in the air. Dozens of helicopters and drones were gathered in the sky in front of them, and below a massive blockade could be seen. Touma gazed around while Index stared in shock then addressed the tiny being sitting on his shoulder. "Othinus, you're sure you can use the Bone Boat again right? I really don't think we're getting out of this otherwise." The blonde fairy crossed her arms and bluntly retorted. "I told you I can do it, so of course I can do it, I'm a former god, remember?" Touma nodded at that affirmation, lifted Index up into his arms, then jumped.
Before the girl could even scream, the world distorted, and she found herself still in the arms of the young man standing in front of a familiar door; the door to the dormitory room next to the one she had been living in. Kamijou set Index on her feet and knocked twice on the door. Shortly after, a youth with dyed blonde hair and an unusually serious face answered and quietly ushered them inside. This young man was their mutual friend Tsuchimikao Motoharu, the self-proclaimed quadruple-spy, onmyouji, and magician-esper hybrid. He closed the door behind them, locked it, the went over to close the curtains before turning to his guests.
"Well, I can sort of guess what happened after you went over to the windowless building to stop Aleister. It's good to see the three of you in good health." Tsuchimikado walked over to his bedroom and came back with two plain-looking backpacks. He offered one each to Kamijou and Index. "Here, these were originally meant for a time I had to get Maika and myself out of the city, but you'll need them more right now. They should have all of the essentials for being on the run: clothes, rations, water, various other supplies and money in several different currencies. Take them."
Kamijou looked down towards the bags and started to refuse. "Tsuchimikado I can't take something like this from you." At that statement, the blonde youth slapped Kamijou over the head and put a hand on the shoulder not occupied by the fairy. "I said take them, Kami-yan. Think of it as payment for all of the times I dragged you into magic-side affairs against your will." As he said that, he forced the backpack into Kamijou's hands and patted his back. The group started walking back towards the door.
"You should get moving soon, the Underline system probably isn't being used by anybody right now with Aleister gone, so now is a good chance to disappear with nobody the wiser." Tsuchimikado spoke, and as he started leading his friend towards the door, his phone beeped. The young man checked it, and lightly grinned. "You were working with Accelerator right? I think this is the first time he's actually asked me to do something. You leave Academy City to us...oh, and speaking of phones..." Moving like he had just remembered something, Tsuchimikado moved to a desk and pulled out two large phones. He walked back over to Touma and Index and handed them one phone each. "Take these, they're connected to a few satellites owned by a few friends. The connection might be a bit spotty at times, but at least for now nobody will know that it's you. I'll keep an ear open and see if I can help you out with information where I can. Don't worry about the satellite owner; you have my word that you can trust them to not betray you."
Kamijou with Othinus on his shoulder and Index were led out the front door by Tsuchimikado. The two young men firmly shook hands, and Tsuchimikado grinned as he bid his friend farewell. "Take care of yourself out there Kami-yan, there are a lot of people out there who want to see you healthy and happy, don't let them down." Kamijou nodded, and turned around to while putting on the backpack he had been given. He took a step towards the railing looking out into the city when he was once again addressed by his friend. "Hey. I know you're shaken up by having to let Aleister die, but don't let it get to you. You aren't responsible for all of the lives of the world, and sometimes things just have to happen. I'm honestly amazed you managed to accomplish so much without something like this occurring before."
Kamijou looked down at his feet as he briefly thought on Tsuchimikado's words. The turmoil contained within his heart almost breached to the surface, but he kept his face expressionless as he replied. "You don't need to worry Tsuchimikado, I'll be fine about his death." The young man took grabbed Index's hand and took a step towards the balcony. "I've got far, far worse on my mind than that right now..." He whispered under his breath. Index looked up to him with a quizzical expression while Othinus's firm expression darkened. Before Tsuchimikado could try to inquire, Othinus activated the Bone Boat and the group was gone.
"Remember your past, he who possesses Imagine Breaker, and recall your true purpose." At those words, a strange light came from a person who looked like they could be man or woman; sinner or saint. Standing in front of the glass tube containing Aleister Crowley; Kamijou Touma instinctively raised his right arm to block whatever spell was headed his way. However, the light surrounded him, and his repressed memories that were locked away flooded back into his mind.
An uncountable number of hells, each more horrific than the last. The inexplicable pain, the horrors that eroded his mind, the worlds that actively required his existence to be removed, and the thousands of deaths he suffered while facing Magic God Othinus. These memories were forced out of his head by his own brain; a measure to ward away the massively accumulating damage to his psyche. All at once, they returned to him. Even he could not hold all of that at once, and for just a moment, the normal human boy truly became a demon.
His eyes no longer reflected light, and he became deaf to the words of the fairy sitting on his shoulder. In front of him, Aleister Crowley saw this as a sign of weakness. That assumption proved to be a fatal mistake. At this hostile stimulus, Kamijou Touma acted with one goal left in his mind: save his kidnapped friend Index by any means necessary.
"...man, hey, human. Stop spacing out." Kamijou broke out of his daydreaming and found himself in front of an abandoned-looking concrete building situated within some light woods. A plain dirt road led away from the building and twisted out of sight behind the trees. Still situated on his shoulder, Othinus pointed at the house. "This was one of the older hideouts I established a while back while I was leading GREMLIN. While we're working around the world like this, it would be better to use these than camping out in the woods."
At her word, Kamijou moved forward to the building as was about to try to open the door when he stopped. "This isn't booby trapped or anything is it?" he asked Othinus with his expression still muted. The blonde fairy crossed her arms and replied. "If there were, I would have told you already. The key in a hidden compartment in the mailbox." Kamijou took the key as he was directed and opened the featureless metal door. There were few windows to let light in, and the shade from the trees let in even less. Othinus directed Touma to a small box near the door and he pulled out a battery-powered lantern to light the place up.
The main room had little furniture, just a table and a few chairs with several cots set up along the walls. Everything had a layer of dust collected on it; a good sign that nobody had been there in a very long time. "There's a simple kitchen and a spare room, but there won't be any electricity or gas here and the water will be by manual pump. Nothing will let anybody know that we're here unless you do something stupid." Kamijou turned his head and answered a very important question. "What about a bathroom?" Othinus sighed and replied. "Oh right, there's another room with a tub and a water pump and an outhouse out back. Don't expect too much for comfort here, this is for secrecy, not pleasure."
Kamijou and Index both frowned a moment, but Touma quickly shrugged and moved to the spare room. Inside he found another cot, a mirror on the wall and an older metal locker. When he opened the locker he found it to be empty; just a shelf at the top and a couple of coat hooks. He proceeded to take off the backpack given to him by his friend and checked the clothing. The clothes were all simple street clothes with plain, darker colors and no distinguishing features. Deciding to change out of his heavily damaged school outfit, he took Othinus off of his shoulder and handed her to Index.
"I'm going to change, Index you should too, that habit of yours stands out way too much." At his guidance, Index left the room with the fairy and closed the door. After he took off his damage clothes, he found that his hooded sweatshirt was almost completely unscathed. After he finished changing, he stored his old clothes in the locker and looked at himself in the mirror. He found himself staring into the abyss of his empty eyes; and the abyss was staring back. After a moment of staring at himself, a knock came at the door, and he quickly corrected his expression.
"Touma, are you done changing?" Index's voice came from the other side of the metal door, and the boy quickly replied. "Yeah, I'm good, come on in." The young girl walked in with Othinus sitting on her head. She was wearing a hooded jacket with sturdy-looking pants; they weren't fashionable, but they certainly looked practical. Othinus patted Index twice on the head and the silver-haired girl lightly grabbed the fairy and placed her on Kamijou's shoulder again. The blonde looked up and Touma and asked him a question. "So, human, what's your plan now?
The young man closed his mind and though for a moment. When he infiltrated the Windowless Building with the help of Accelerator, Misaka Mikoto, Hamazura Shiage and their various associates, the strange man implied of an incoming magical threat. Kamijou knew that the balance of power was most likely going to be thrown out of place with the death of Academy City's board chairman. He knew that somebody had to keep any ambitious troublemakers in check. Academy City could be left to the people he knew inside them, that only left one other place.
"I'm going to start gathering information on any magic cabals who might be planning some trouble with Academy City weakened, or just plain causing problems in general. I have some people who owe me, if I can get around without drawing attention, I might be able to put a stop to tragedies around the world." The fairy once more sighed and asked him another question. "What, do you plan on being a wandering hero like Ollerus then?" At that inquiry, Kamijou once more closed his eyes, took a deep breath then replied as he opened his eyes again.
"I've seen it before. When justice gets tainted by misguided or corrupt people. Rather than being called a hero, I think I'll be referred to as a demon again, so I'll be one; I'll simply be the wandering demon that shatters the illusions as it goes. I will try to be more than a simple human who can only saves those he sees. I will no longer just float idly by until the problem comes to me, and search for those who can not even call for help."
At the end of that declaration, he once more spoke under his breath.
"It's the least I can do to make up for depriving everybody of a perfect world."