Author's Notes: Hi guys, I'm pretty much a new writer off the block. To Aru Majutsu no Index and all its related media has long since been a favourite of mine and writing a fanfiction has always been a dream of mine. I guess. This takes place shortlyafter Light Novel 22, where Kamijou Touma has disappeared. This is the first time I'm posting a fiction on an anime, so constructive criticism is appreciated. Without further ado, here is chapter 1 of Broken Illusions.
Chapter 1: Mourning
It was a sobering moment for the people gathered around the funeral. There was an obnoxious amount of females there, each weeping or sighing at the unfortunate fate of Kamijou Touma.
"I never though he'd actually die," Stiyl Magnus admitted solemnly to the Saint of Necessarius, Kanzaki Kaori, who was looking winsomely at the empty grave before her. There was nothing left of Touma to recover, so Tsuchimikado erected a grave for him in his memory.
"He saved us all," Kanzaki said simply as she turned to leave.
Stiyl gave the Saint a sidelong glance but kept his mouth shut, for he knew that he Saint was grieving despite her strong exterior. That Kamijou Touma could make any girl fall for him, he thought silently as the steady throng of mourners paid their respects to him.
Some had not come. Perhaps the pain had been too much, his loss too sudden that they could not bear to say their goodbyes. Index had been one of them. She had requested to be transferred back to the Church of England. Stiyl had been there when she had broken down, her reason for existence having been shattered within those few seconds.
Itsuwa and Orsola as well. Orsola had lost much of her cheer, while Itsuwa had broken down in tears. The nuns had come in force; they were the ones that had helped with the arrangements after all.
"I'm still surprised that you were all bothered to do this," Stiyl had remarked to Angese, who had replied with, "He was precious to all us all," much to his chagrin.
Stiyl then glanced at Touma's mourning parents and the desolate Komoe-sensei. A pang of remorse suddenly hit him and he admitted to himself that he had always taken Touma's existence for granted, that he had assumed that Touma would always make it through because it was just like him to do so.
And now the boy had given his life for them, leaving behind all who cared for him. He had protected their whole world and sacrificed his. Guilt wracked Stiyl suddenly and he wondered how he could have dragged the boy into dangerous situations again and again…
"I hope that you are in a better place now, Kamijou Touma," Stiyl finally said after a period of silence, leaving a rune card by his grave as his only sign of respect. Turning, a buzz in his pockets made him grind his teeth in irritation. There was only one person who would call him at such an impeccable timing.
"Archbishop," he answered tersely.
"My, Stiyl," the Archbishop's sweet tone came over the phone line. Her tone and short stature would have passed her off as a young, teenage girl with unusually good looks and long hair but appearances could be deceiving and this 'girl' was the brains behind the English Church, Necessarius. "You sound remarkably stiff. How goes the funeral," she asked as if she were asking about the weather.
Stiyl Magnus gritted his teeth, calming himself down before he said something that he would regret later, "It's fine. The donations you provided was a big help."
"I see," Laura Stewart acknowledged that with a giggle, "I bring news of Index. She has asked for her memories to be erased."
Stiyl stopped, his blood going cold as his cigarette tumbled from his lips, "What?" he asked hoarsely, hoping that he had heard wrongly, hoping that Index had not asked for something so cruel, something so dismissive of Kamijou Touma's sacrifice.
"It's as I've said," Laura affirmed, "but I refused."
"Why?" Stiyl asked before he could stop himself. Relief was evident in his very tone and he regretted showing such weakness to the Archbishop.
"Umm…" Laura actually seemed to ponder the question seriously, "well, since she has gained some semblance of control over her John's Pen mode, she would very well be immune to the effects of the mind wipe as well. Also…" Laura's voice dropped an octave, into a tone Stiyl recognized all too well, "the pain of losing Kamijou Touma will spur her to new heights to protect the ones precious to her. Wouldn't you agree?" Laura Stewart trailed off with a small giggle.
Stiyl did not answer, his mind was still conflicted. One part cursed Laura for her incredible reasoning, the other was relieved that Index could not choose to forget them again. "I see." Once again, the fox has triumphed, tch.
"Well, then I suppose that's all there is," Laura said gaily, "I'll be seeing you in England soon with Kanzaki, yes?" her tone suggested it was but a request but Stiyl recognized the thinly veiled order.
"Yeah, we'll be there once the proceedings are done." He confirmed.
"Well then, convey my condolences to Kanzaki, I know how much she liked that young man," Laura laughed as she hung up the phone.
Stiyl's grip tightened on the phone, "That wily fox," he cursed as he looked up into the sky.
*** A certain laboratory
"You want me to what?" Heaven Canceller looked shocked at the suggestion that the Misaka sisters had presented to him.
"We wish for you to put us to sleep, Misaka repeats herself seriously," Misaka 10049 repeated tonelessly.
"But why?" Heaven Canceller asked, "Is it because of Touma?"
"Affirmative, Misaka confirms as she looks at you in the eye. With our saviour gone, there is no reason for us to pursue living,"
"Do you think that this is what he would have wanted," Heaven Canceller countered, "he would have wanted you to live, to pursue lives that you can have on your own. Are you going to let his sacrifice for you go to waste."
"Misaka understands the doctor's point of view," Misaka 19832 replied, "But Misaka believes that their existence is not warranted now. The Sisters existed to protect him after he saved us. But we have failed in that. Even if we were to live, with the number of Misaka sisters, we would never be able to escape detection. Onee-sama will be displeased if her future life is filled with nothing but memories of him."
Heaven Canceller understood their point of view. If all the sisters were to grow up, they would become too conspicuous. Additionally, Touma had been the one to have given them a reason to live, so right now… right now…
'What about you," Heaven Canceller finally asked Misaka 10032, who had stayed quiet and indecisive throughout the process, "What do you want."
Misaka 10032 looked down at the necklace Kamijou Touma had given to her silently. "Misaka… wishes to live. Misaka understands the pain of loss, I wish to be with Onee-sama, to comfort her."
"Misaka is furious that all of you have decided this without Misaka's consent as Misaka is the administrator of the network, Misaka reminds as Misaka stares at her sisters in horror!" Last Order piped out, her face puffing up in annoyance at being ignored during the debate, "What about Accelerator? He needs the network to perform his calculations Misaka reminds as Misaka looks at her sisters in disappointment."
One Misaka opened her mouth to speak but Heaven Canceller beat her to the punch. "How about this, I'll put you all into a subconscious sleep. I'll 'shutdown' your conscious mind, but leave your body in a semi-cryogenic sleep. That way, Accelerator can still use your network for external calculations and you all will still grow. That way, if Kamijou Touma should return, I can awaken all of you."
All of the Misaka sisters looked at Heaven Canceller in surprise.
"Very well, Misaka acknowledges," a Misaka sisters says, "Misaka will comply." She did not voice out that it was highly unlikely that Kamijou Touma survived. But like most, the sisters could only hope that the Kamijou Touma would one day return.
None of them bothered with Last Orders protests, much to Last Order's dismay.
*** Outside
"Misaka was completely ignored, Misaka complains as Misaka stares at the sky in disappointment," Last Order sighed.
"Quiet brat," Accelerator muttered on reflex, "I still can't believe he's dead though. It's almost surreal." Accelerator sounded almost glum at the news of Kamijou Touma's death.
"Does Misaka detect a hint of sadness in Accelerator's words, Misaka asks slyly as Misaka wonders if Accelerator actually views our saviour as his friend?" Misaka tilted her head towards Accelerator in query.
"Tch. Whatever," Accelerator turned away, clamming up immediately, "let's go home, brat."
As Accelerator began his saunt home, Last Order could only stare at him in confusion. Was that softness Misaka detected as Misaka questioned Misaka's sanity. Then, the young girl shrugged and followed suit. She could onyl hope that Misaka 10032 could find closure with their missing or rather, deceased, saviour.
Would time heal this wound, she wondered.
*** Tokiwadai's girl dorms
"Onee-sama, you've been cooped up here for 2 days, are you ok?" Kuroko demanded violently, shaking Misaka with enough force to rattle the Level 5 esper. "Answer me, Onee-sama! Kuroko is very worried for your health!"
Misaka's dull eyes, once so full of life and energy, stared back at Kuroko's unblinkingly. "I'm fine," she finally said, brushing Kuroko's fervent hands away with a careless movement. Her eyes once again fell down to the ragged Gekota charm that she had gotten together with him at the mall.
"Onee-sama, I'm not dumb enough to believe such a stupid thing when you have barely eaten, skipped all your lessons and have been doing nothing but staring at this broken Gekota charm for two whole days!" Kuroko's voice was verging on hysterics now, "forget that ape! He probably found another woman among that large pile of girls he's always with and threw it away-"
SMACK!
The slap hit with such force that Kuroko actually fell back, the impact shaking her to her core. Shocked and horrified that Misaka Mikoto, level 5 electromaster, her precious Onee-sama had actually slapped her, Kuroko could only cradle her stinging face while staring at her in shock.
"Onee… sama?" she whispered hoarsely, Misaka never ever slapped anyone in her life. She had always retaliated with electric shocks as per her nature and for her to actually slap her… was just…
"What do you know?" Misaka croaked, "You know nothing!" Misaka finally exploded, all her pent up emotions finally coming to the front as Kuroko's careless words jarred something raw and agonizing deep within her heart.
"He saved me! He was always there when I needed him, always trying to put a smile on people's faces, no matter how young or old. He put his life on the line for people, not once, not twice but every time!" words were escaping her now, heartfelt words that she had never dared to express before.
"I had always taken him for granted, I had grown used to have him just coming in to save to save the day. I…" a lump gathered deep within her throat, "I just wanted him to acknowledge me, to know me. And now he's gone…" Misaka finally degenerated into tears, holding the Gekota charm close to her heart.
"He's… gone…" Kuroko finally understood the reason for her Onee-sama's anguish and that her own jealousy, her own selfishness had blinded her to the obvious agony that had eaten away at her precious room-mates happiness. And she realized with despair that she could not replace that apes affections in her Onee-sama's heart. Yet one part of her grieved for his loss, for despite his faults, he had saved her life too.
And now that he was gone, was Onee-sama's happiness going to disappear too? No! Kuroko's resolve came back in full force, I am… and will always be Onee-sama's kouhai! No matter what, I will always be here for Onee-sama and one day… Kuroko's trembling arm finally came up and she slowly and painstakingly drew Misaka's shivering body into a hug. There was nothing perverted in Kuroko's actions this time. Only a silent understanding as Misaka sobbed helplessly against her shoulder.
"It's ok, Onee-sama… I'm sorry… just let it all out," Kuroko said softly as the grieving Railgun hugged her back in sorrow.
"Just let it all out…"
END of Chapter 1
A/N: Well, this is the first time I'm writing sad scenes, so if there was anything I could have improved on, please do let me know, Reviews will be very much appreciated. :)