So hello guys. At first. I don't really want to create a new story for another version in the Angel of Thunder. But when I thought of this, it's very hard for me to delete my previous story. Nevertheless, just changing the chapter... it's weird, you know. Why? Because the difference of writing style and point of view... I just can't delete it. So here it is, another version of this, and please give me your opinion in the name of review:)
Angel of Thunder I
Tread of Danger
—Kamijou Touma—
Let me state this clearly: I never wanted to be an Imagine Breaker boy.
Imagine Breaker ability in your hand didn't mean blessing at all. Oh well, perhaps you could say something like— "He's strong! He can negate every kind of esper and magical abilities!" or "He must be stronger than God!" and so on, and so on. But the reality? No-ho-ho. Having such ability meant that you would never have your precious spring time of youth; it would only give you some life-or-death experiences and blood around your peripheral vision. Your fortune would be greatly reduced and the world would go insane around you.
If you were just a normal person without any ability, with peaceful life around you; you could just read this story as another fiction that was written based on imagination. I really envied you. Nevertheless, if you abruptly felt something silly around you, surge of strange power raged around your body; I would recommend you to just forget this story. One's brain never dreamed of such experience. It was still probable that they were hunting you down. Right away.
Remember, I had warned you.
Okay, so… the apocalypse began when a stupid coca-cola can appeared under my foot.
The result? Of course I fell down quite comically, with a thud sound that broke the silence of perimeter. I got laughed at by the crowds, sympathetic looks from the older adults, and humiliated there. Such misfortune.
The day actually began with peaceful things first, and I almost never thought that ridiculous occurrence would ever happen. It was a bright and sunny day; not so hot and not so cold, fully sparkling with spirit and even no clouds blocked the sunshine. Really, after Aqua of the Back incident, I hadn't gotten some good chances to take a break, to lead a normal life just like what I dreamed of. It still stung, I told you. The (countless) injuries I had taken could have just killed me right on the spot, but hey, I was still alive. Once, I thought that it— the incident was just dream— it was not even real.
But it was real.
"Are you okay?" came a worried voice beside me, and a gentle touch; so much similar to the one received throughout the winter from any loving mother; grasped my full attention. I looked up to see her, the fully grown beauty with large purple eyes, offering her hand to help me stood up. She was really pretty and thoughtful, someone who appeared to care for everyone who was not lucky at all. Her twins of eternity could illuminate the hearts of men.
But Itsuwa could also swing her spear to cut anyone down. Ouch.
"Yeah, I'm okay," I took her hand and stood up, wiping the dust and dirt away from my pants. In some seconds— there, Kamijou Touma was back to normal.
"So how do you feel about this city?" I said. "Quite a good place right?"
"Oh yeah, not a bad place at all. It seems so peaceful here," she answered with those similar heart-loving eyes, even though in a second, her tone lowered a bit. "It's so shame that the magic side is so eager to devastate the entire town."
"Oh well," I smiled to lift up the sudden change of atmosphere. "Every city has its bad side and mystery which are not lovable for some factions after all. Perhaps this city has one too."
"Oh yeah, and this city indeed has one," she replied it with a laugh, perhaps to imply it as some kind of joke but deep down there, I knew she was dead serious. "A big fat one."
Good, another enigma, wrapped in conundrum, for Kamijou Touma to solve. I had a bad feeling that it would sandwich me with trouble, trouble, and trouble.
Peaceful lives… where were you?
"So!" Itsuwa cheered, and the light atmosphere was back. The calm passing breeze fluttered her short purple hair; and I could smell the scent of peppermint, synonymous to any sweet candies. "Where are we heading to now?"
"A lot of places, I believe," I said, smiling at her and strangely, my eyes spotted her blushing for some reason that I would never know. Perhaps it was because of the weather or something. Maybe Itsuwa wasn't used to the climate.
Even though she had lived here for quite a month, I hadn't taken her to stroll around the city. The days were wasted clearly by only battle, battle, and battle. She was injured too— not as heavy as me, but still, it must be painful. A strand of bandages wrapped her arms, the actual evidence of the previous engagement. It still didn't stray from the fact that I enjoyed her company too. She would never bite me for incomprehensible reasons.
Speaking of a certain big-biters nun…
Index was in England now. The higher ups from the church had stated that she should be there to train or something like that. Well, she accepted, but the fact would never be the same.
So the reality went like this:
So in the morning, Index was mad at me because of my lacking of memory to buy food. Well, usually I went to grocery each week, but because of her, I must shop there each two days. Great… She finished off my food and my cash. Well, that was not something to discuss now. The main point was her strong teeth met vulnerable head. Hard, and I could feel that nasty red liquid started drooling from my forehead. I shook her, hoping that she would let go of me, for the sake of my insanity and life. Nevertheless, the end was quite… different.
She suddenly fell down— perhaps because of the shaking or maybe hunger— head-first; a bruise started to appear on her forehead.
Then the door bursted open, revealing a certain ridiculously tall— red haired thirteen years old with a cigarette in his mouth. His stare was stabbing, well not stabbing like— "Ups, she will blast an absurdly high-voltage thunder on me!" Misaka Mikoto's type. It was more like "By the God… he will burn me down with the whole apartment" with the same quantity and quality of fear.
Oh, bother.
So well, he kidnapped… I meant brought her to England for the better protection, but I always knew exactly the truth.
Exactly…
… Let's not thinking about that for a while.
"Well let's start walking again now," I said, started to walk and Itsuwa copied my example. "I bet you haven't seen Underground Mall, and then umm… what's next?"
"It's up to you…" she replied with the same smile that half population of Amakusa church found heart-warming, looking at me heartily. "You are the one who…"
Her words were discontinued immediately as a high-frequency sound, so agonizing that the scratching sound of chalk on the glass was just a concert compared to this, reached my ears. It was so distracting and painful that I could only remember myself kneeling on the concrete with both hands on the ears. My vision started swaying, mind lost its innate ability to think, teeth didn't stop gritting, and my sight— it was no longer colorful; it was monochrome and scary, as though invisible hands started dragging you to the darkness. I almost thought around the torment, that I could be deaf in any seconds. It was just a matter of time.
Then, the sound finally stopped.
But hey, I still could hear! I could hear Itsuwa's and pedestrian's voice, even though it was just another "Ouch" and another "Ugh". It seemed that everyone suffered the impact too; I saw them kneeling just like me. Some of them were shivering and crying, well, I couldn't blame them for doing that. Nevertheless, what caught my attention was the alley just five meters from my spot: I vaguely knew that it was the source of this sound of havoc, and of course; presumably hostility.
I stood up and dashed to the alley. Itsuwa's cry for my name was just another echo from the past.
I didn't expect this, and so did Itsuwa.
Okay, I had seen a lot of things. A lot. From espers that could distort the actual reality, magician that could summon a statue of fire, alchemist who cut down my arms; just everything. Nonetheless, I still couldn't help but opening my mouth widely when I saw a battered girl on the edge of alleyway.
That girl was that scary teleporters with needles in hands. Shirai Kuroko. The aforementioned girl lied on the ground, head to the sun above.
She was battered everywhere, blood spilling from her forehead. One of her pigtails was nowhere in sight. Her ankle was bent into some painful angle that I couldn't help but thinking what kind of thug could do something as bad as this to a petite girl like her. Shirai Kuroko was no longer a middle school girl; she was the worst case of victim of persecution and brutality, and maybe the future for her, would not be the same.
Nonetheless, it seemed that she was still breathing; it's weak, but I could notice the movement of her chest. Thanks God.
"We must take her to the nearest hospital, and fast. I couldn't treat her. Her esper power blocked my healing spell," Itsuwa said uneasily. It didn't need much time for me to acknowledge that she was worried for this new girl deep to the very core. What a good character.
"Yeah, let's go…"
Then, the world somewhere around me exploded. The explosion was so strong that the storm of dust and dirt managed to make their way to our position. It stiffened my throat with a lot of indecipherable things; cough became the only good way of healing. When my vision was cleared, I noticed something horrifying in the sky.
Blue line of… electricity?
Then another high-frequency sound started infiltrating the area. It was not so painful, but it was still infuriating and distracting. I winced slightly, trying to comprehend the whole situation.
Therefore? Ups.
"Itsuwa, you take her to the hospital, I have some businesses to take care of!"
"But…"
"Please…"
I assaulted the source of the sound, leaving Kuroko in the hand of Itsuwa. She was confused down to hell, and so was I, but like I cared. I thought about that teleporter. I didn't know whether she could make it to the hospital or in the worst scenario, she wouldn't make it. Ah well, at least she was in a good hand.
Nevertheless, I didn't know much about that Biri-biri, Misaka Mikoto.
Okay, another mission for me. Let's get this over with.
I didn't quite know how long I had been running until now. What I knew was that I wouldn't let anyone hurt my friend.
Fortunately, in a short time, I found myself at another edge of the alley, and my eyes eventually took the sight of her. It was Misaka Mikoto with her usual attire, Tokiwadai's winter clothes. Unfortunately, she was facing a whole bunch of thugs. 1…2…3…4… Okay, four of them; there were three sasquatch-liked men in jacket with one anaconda-eyed man with long hair; an arcane looking machine perpetually radiating the said high-pitched sound. The ugly sasquatches cornered one single girl (Misaka Mikoto) who couldn't seem to move freely. Biri-biri covered one of her ears whilst the thugs started approaching, and the other hand was found on her shoulder, grasping breath in such difficulty that fainting was so imminent. Good grief.
Why didn't she just blast them away?
"Stop it right now!" I shouted, and all gazes met mine; one weak gaze and four psycho-like gazes.
"Huh? Who are you?" The anaconda-liked man, presumably the leader, said with an irritated voice. He was the smallest in the group, but he seemed sly, with eyes that could tighten anybody into his grip and face which was full of scars and bruises, maybe his own pride for having so many battles from his youth. His stare was kind of vicious (of course, he was the evil guy), and for a second, I found myself hard not to hide and just go away.
"You… what are you doing here?" biri-biri said, and finally I could see a glimpse of her face. It was horrible. I could see bruises and dirt smeared her usual hyper-active face, and each word was conveyed as though it was her last words. Oh my God, please hang in there.
"Looks like you are the one in trouble, eh biri-biri?" I said, trying to smile in the middle of what-seemed-to-be-brawl. I clenched my fist, starting my fighting stance. "I'll deal with this from now on."
"Run… away…" she said, trailing off weakly and fell to the ground. I noticed her trying to sit, but her effort was useless. She appeared so weak that I almost forgot that she was really Misaka Mikoto.
The anaconda-eyed man pointed his finger to me, and shouted "Boys! Get him!"
The ugly sasquatch number 1 ran to me, trying to plant his fist right to my face. I dodged it swiftly to the left, crushing my joined fist into his back. The 1st man couldn't resist the pain, as he groaned in pain and fell to the ground. Then, the ugly sasquatch number 2 came, and he managed to hit me right on the face. It was as dizzy and painful as hell, but I managed to dodge his second punch and elbowed his ribs. The 2nd man widened his eyes and fell with a loud thud. The ugly sasquatch number 3 came. He didn't waver at all after watching his fallen comrades; what a courage. But my uppercut finished him.
Hey, the looked like sasquatches, but they were not that strong. What a luck!
Nonetheless, the leader was not shocked at all. He sighed, and began speaking. "Weaklings," he groaned. "Look like you are more capable than any silly brat, boy. Why don't you join us? We can use somebody like you," he continued, inviting, and possibly taunting me.
"Stop your nonsense! I'll finish you here!" I shouted. How could he expect me to join the group of thugs?
"Well, if that's what you want…" he said, and started charging towards me.
Right before our clash, I could hear Misaka's voice, saying something like a warning, or maybe something like "No! Don't!" No longer than three seconds, I knew what she meant.
I fought him, and tried my best to match his skill, but I felt like fighting a hundred of martial artists. He was much smaller than his underlings, everybody could tell, but he got so much prowess that he managed to land his punches and kicks to me. I dodged and countered, but his defense was so good that I couldn't even land a single punch. My reflex was not as good as him, and the continuous punches he gave me were no help at all.
In a flash, he threw me, and when I said threw, I really meant it. He threw me as though I was just his toy, right to the bricked wall. It created a loud cracking sound and I doubted that my spine was still straight. I fell to the ground, feeling the sensation of pain throughout my body, resisting an urge to faint which was in the doorstep.
"No!" Misaka shouted.
"Look like this good for nothing boy is more than acquaintance for you. So what if I…," the leader took a knife from his pocket, with a maniac eyes and expression, then, he started readying a stance to stab me. "…kill him?"
Aw. That would be hurt.
"Just kill me already! What did I do to you to deserve this?" she shouted with the last remaining power that she had, trying to shrug off every hurtful things that stab her heart. She coughed blood just after that, and her cough echoed in the perimeter.
"What did you do?" the leader faced her, and began speaking. "…after everything you had done to us, the Skill-Out?" he continued, and for a slight second, his expression was filled with agony, a memory, from the past to the present, reaching the light of future that was hard to be achieved. It was not a softened look, but rather, a hardened look, restraining any further memory to flow in… or maybe to flow out. "You had destroyed our home! The only place where we could be ourselves, you hurt our friend, with your so called power! Do I need any more reason?" he shouted back.
"Eh?" Misaka was clearly taken back. The same could be applied to me too.
"What… do you… mean?" I said weakly. Each word was synonymous to torment; it was so suffocating but at least I managed to say it.
"My friend… was killed by this electromaster…"
"What?"
Blurting everything in a sudden, in front of the victim that he was going to murder; really, I didn't understand everything at all. My head still hurt, but I tried to listen. The ulterior motive behind everything… it may not be even real.
"Long time ago, I didn't have any friend," the leader began his speaking. "I was a level 0 esper who didn't have any ability. I graduated from high school without any supernatural power in me, meaning that I had nowhere to go, as this city looked at someone by his or her ability," he then faced upwards, facing the sky above, so far away that I wondered where he looked at. "Then, in the midst of confusion, I met him. He was a real inspiration, saying that level was not needed and important. Then, he took me to his hideout, the Skill-Out, and introduced me to others. That was the first time I had a place to live in, a place for me to be myself," he continued.
"We drank, we laughed, we did stupid stuff, but whatever it was, I was happy, realizing that it was not only me who had no skills, realizing that this guy would be my dearest partner from that time," he resumed the monologue, closing his eyes for a second. For a while, I saw him not as an evil guy, but as a child who needed a hug.
"After that incident happened…" he paused slightly, and continued.
"I was in the hideout, when I received a call, informing that my friend had been counter attacked by electricity user. From being a newborn, his heart was weak, even though his physical body appeared strong. He couldn't resist any direct attack like that. Within two hours of painful suffocation and grief, he died. I heard that a doctor from another district could cure anyone with his ability, but he couldn't catch the electric train in time, as a massive black out happened that time," he said painfully, squeezing his eyes, trying to resist a great urge of crying just like a little baby.
Massive blackout… Man… it couldn't be... Biri-biri?
"Why didn't you kill me then…," Mikoto said weakly. "With me gone, everything would be over right?" she continued hopefully.
The leader chuckled, back to his normal expression. "Oh, no can do, dear. You will never know the feeling of seeing someone you loved dead," he said. Then, he faced me again, with those nasty looking eyes. "Boy, if you wanted to blame someone, in heaven or hell, where you ascend or descend, blame that girl! She was the cause of this commotion. She was the one who created hatred and pain. She was the one who was proud of her ability, but just crushing someone's life with it. She was lowest than any other insect in this world!"
"Stop…" Misaka said.
"Oh, you could do nothing now, insect…"
"Stop…"
"Tch, noisy brat…"
"I SAID STOP!"
Then, it happened.
The blue explosion occurred, sending me away from my original places with its power, and I found myself hitting the wall for the second time (not a nice experience). The dust began ascending to the air, filling its numerous gaps with its heterogeneous being, as the crackling sound of broke pipe nearby began filling the area. The high-pitched sound was long gone, maybe destroyed, but what caught my attention the most was her. The dust then began forming some kind of whirlwind around her, and gone with a fraction of seconds, leaving her standing figure. In grief, in desperation, and in sorrow.
She was not Misaka Mikoto.
My eyes widened as I took a glimpse of something on the back of Misaka's. They were graceful beings, taking shape of the blue wings, displaying their power just by flapping slightly. The medium sized wings flapped themselves slightly, and I could feel that my hair spiked out above with a great force, and I must resist a tendency to faint. It was as if the blue wings had disturbed the regularity of potential difference of each cell in my body. The blue wings were covered slightly by the line of blue hue, the electricity, creating catastrophe around the area.
And she floated in the air. Wow.
Misaka yelled, and out of the blue, a beam of blue electricity soared to the sky, even to the space, perhaps, and her body was guarded by imperturbable barrier of electricity. Every feronic material began moving toward Misaka, forming a circle around her as she looked at them with a vacant stare, creating more defenses for her. Then, for my horror, he faced the said leader.
She chanted something with an unknown language, pointing her opened palm to the leader, and firing a solid beam of powerful electricity, with heart stopping sound that could make people fainted.
I reacted fast, throwing myself to the beam, and repelled it with my Imagine Breaker. The clash created a blinding light, as the seraph started being bent by my power. The beam dissipated itself after ten seconds, but my legs began wobbling because of the electrical current that flew wherever.
"Run away! You will die here!" I shouted to the leader, but he had long gone. Coward.
Now, in front of me, was the sight of a level five esper who governed any law influencing electricity. She stared at me with vacant eyes, and knowing every pain and grief that had been burdened to her shoulders, I never hoped to fight her. After some moment of thinking I lifted my arms, and began walking to her as I shouted.
"Hey, Misaka! It's Kamijiou Touma!" I shouted with the remaining energy that I had, starting to walk towards her. Each step was another suffering for me, as the electricity began becoming more and more intense. Misaka began hurling balls from her hands, balls of electricity, towards me, but surprisingly, none of them managed to hit me, only leaving another strong explosion in my right and left side. Probably a small tiny bit of her still remembered that in front of her, it was me, not any random stranger.
"We used to have a 'fake' date right? And another fun in penalty game? You remembered right?" I said convincingly, trying to bring back memory about me and Misaka, and it succeeded, as Misaka stopped her continuously dangerous balls hurling, and began staring at me with a confused expression.
Without me knowing, 1 meter distance was the one which separated us. A thought crossed in my mind. This girl had carried an impossible burden on her shoulders. She really needed something warm, and it required more than any words.
I hugged her.
Crazy, stupid, insane, and presumably mentally retarded.
But then I saw her. She buried her head to my chest. The blue wings disappeared, leaving numerous orb of light which glimmered around the alley, and the feronic material descended back to the ground. She gave up standing (floating) and rested peacefully in my embrace. Even though she didn't have any wings, the peaceful expression she was wearing resembled an angel.
Out of the blue, I could feel that the sky was becoming gray, and water droplets began falling from the sky. Rain fell down, crushing the ground with its transparent hue, soaking me and her as something that could treat our wounds and exhaustion, with the company of the howling wind that suddenly picked up.
I saw the brown haired girl who slept peacefully, forming an acknowledging smirk on my face. Without me knowing why, I moved closer to her forehead, planting a kiss, silently blessing her a good dream.
"Good night Misaka."
And the rain was still falling, covering us with sweet, somehow perplexing aura that was hard to be ignored, and we were right in the center of it.
So that's that. The other version of the story. I don't even know whether it's good or not. O yeah, if anyone want me to continue this story, then please review! I'm mostly encouraged by review, so yours will be truly appreciated. Review please?
