Twist of Fate

Disclaimer: I do not own a certain magical index, it's characters or it's elements.


Chapter 9: Sweet Dreams

The place was a mess. It looked like a disaster had happened, but that wasn't the case, disasters aren't planed. The city was in turmoil and it seemed the world would soon follow. Sogiita was breathing hard as he stumbled through the wreckage. His body beaten and bloody and his clothes were little more than then tatters. He had been fighting, fighting with more guts than he even thought he had. He couldn't give up, too many people would die if he did. He walked forward and in between the wreckage he spotted the collapsed remains of the windowless building. He wouldn't be surprised if the whole city was brought down by the battle. No, calling it a battle was wrong. It was slaughter, even the other Level Fives were being beaten with ridicules ease. His eyes were drawn up to the sky painted red and the sound of thunder crackling in the sky. No, it wasn't thunder it was something else. It was a roar.

Sogiita woke up from the dream. He was in a bed that the hospital provided. He looked out the window and saw the early morning sun peaking behind the buildings of Academy City. He tried to shake off the dream but something about it seemed so real.

Inside the Windowless Building Aleister Crowley floated upside down in a tube. He stared at screens before him trying to figure out what had gone wrong. His system of nanobots across the city failed him. It seemed the fight between Touma and Sogiita had damaged the system, more than likely due to Sogiita's strange power and the appearance of the Invisible Thing. The damage was supposed to be minimal or so he thought at first, he thought it was some error in the system and nothing that would continue. He was wrong. The errors continued to spread unnoticed after the fight. Right before Touma was captured the whole system went into critical shut down. He wondered if somehow Satomi caused it to fail at that moment or if it was just her good fortune that it had happened at that moment. He would investigate but it seemed something had happened to her and her mind was lost. She was little more than a corpse that still breathed.

The Kihara family had already gone to inspect Satomi only to find her as little more than a shell. There was no evidence of damage done to her brain or any esper tampering but her mind was gone. Her brain continued to function but all higher brain activity just didn't work. It seemed like every memory cell in her brain had been cleared. It unnerved every Kihara that someone or something could possibly erase their minds. They were weary of Touma already but now they had real reason to fear him. Crowley wanted them to think that, to never even dare go after anyone that he might need. Satomi was placed in a cell where she was going to be watched and kept alive. Still Crowley worried about what was happening and couldn't shake the feeling that something out of his control was happening in his city. So at the moment he began to fix the system.

Touma Kamijou opened his eyes to find himself staring at a ceiling, "Familiar ceiling. Oh, I'm the hospital again." He blinked awake. "My arm!" He quickly looked down at his arm to find it still attached. "Huh?"

He found Himegami sleeping beside him, and more importantly he saw that her head was currently resting on his leg.

"Oh, you're awake." Another voice spoke silently.

"Awaki?"

The red haired esper gave him a smirk as she sat by the window. "She had me sneak her in to check on you."

That was when he noticed her arm was in a sling, "You're hurt. Is that because of me?"

"Don't worry about it." Awaki waved him off with her good arm. "You saved me from the laser. The least I could do was try to save you. The power suit just flicked me off though."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I knew what I was doing. The arm is all but fixed, thanks to the medical technology here it just needs a day and I'll be out of the cast."

Touma was a little relieved to hear that. "Well, I'm glad you're okay."

Awaki sighed, "She's a good girl. She came with me all the way here and when she heard you got here all she wanted to do is check up on you." The esper yawned, "I better head back into my room. That frog faced doctor wants to check my arm before they let me go. I better go back to my room then."

She made her way over to Himegami and nudged her wake. The girl in the miko outfit snapped awake when she realized were she was resting.

"Ah!" Himegami said. "Kamijou? You're up. It's good to see that you're all right."

Touma smiled at her as Awaki led the blushing girl away. Touma wondered why she blushed and assumed that she hadn't slept that well. In fact the girls in that room had had the most restful sleep out of every other girl he knew. The girls left the room.

A little while later the spiky haired Sogiita burst through his door.

"How are you doing?" Touma questioned him.

"I'm doing great. That frog faced doctor said I'm good to go. I just have to take it easy and I should be a hundred percent in a few days. I'm going to heal up super quickly thanks to my guts!" They already gave him some medication so that helped too.

"Good to hear." Touma gave him a weary smile. "Thanks for all that help you gave me."

"No problem, if that robot didn't have so much guts to knock out my powers I would have taken it out. Still I'm going to train and work up my guts so it won't be able to do it again. When the robots rise I will beat them." Sogiita balled up his fist and Touma stayed silent as not to encourage him. "Now you use your guts and get better."

Touma promised he would as he continued to rest after the esper left. A little while later he had another guest, two actually and both blond.

"Hello." Fremea smiled as she went up to his bed. "Are you okay? It essentially looks bad."

"Fremea, be nice." Hamazura scolded the girl, his arm was wrapped up in bandages and he had regained his sweater.

"That's okay." Touma smiled at her. "I heard you guys saved me, thank you for that."

"Yes, essentially I saved you, Hamazura and the other's helped."

"Well, you did a good job." Touma patted her head gently. He remembered how scared she was in the last time they met and he was happy to see how much braver she was now.

"Are you okay, boss?" Hamazura spoke to him. "You were drugged by that weird researcher. Something in her lab must have gone off, it left her in a sorry state, maybe it got on you too."

"No, I'm fine." Touma assured him. He had heard what state the woman was found in. He didn't remember much but in his haze he remembered a roar. "How are you?" Touma hated how so many people had gotten hurt trying to save him, he hated getting people hurt. It was the reason why he didn't like getting people involved.

"There you are!" Kinuhata burst into the room with Takitsubo. "Mugino is waiting with the car outside. She's super impatient."

Hamazura scratched his head, "Yeah, that doctor said I could leave after he finished patching me up. I'm about to go."

"Yeah, he's super ready to go home." Kinuhata held out a large paper bag. "Oh, I got you something so you'd feel better." She pulled out a pair of costumed bunny ears and placed them on Takitsubo. "Ta-dah!" Kinuhata cheered. "I've got the rest of the bunny girl costume in the bag and it's a perfect fit for Takitsubo."

Hamazura stared at her for a moment as if frozen in that state. He grabbed his nose to stop the sudden flow of blood. "Gah!" He shouted as he forced himself to look away.

"Essentially Hamazura is bleeding to death!" Fremea panicked, waving her arms around frantically.

Touma himself couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. Eventually the small group left fearing angering the waiting level five. Touma went back to resting, which was not to last as Index came to check on her roommate with Itsuwa.

"Touma!" The little nun growled.

Touma braced himself for the chomp that he was sure to come. "Please Index! It wasn't my fault. I was just standing in front the bath house when someone attacked me with one of those high tech suits. I didn't do anything."

Index stared at the boy for a moment with cold judging eyes and then they softened, "Touma, you were hurt. You always get hurt for doing something. Now you're getting hurt after doing nothing."

Itsuwa didn't say anything but she felt guilty, she was his guard but she wasn't there to protect him. Still she had to hide the sadness she felt and continue on.

"I brought you something." Itsuwa perked up and brought something out of her bag, it looked like a Tupperware container and that was because it was. Inside was a dish Itsuwa had prepared, "This is a dish, it's an old recipe from the Amakusa, it is said to help the body heal."

I'll spare you the details over the discussion they had about it working on Touma because of his right hand. They decided for him to eat it since it still had vegetables and vitamins and even if the ingredients didn't formed a spell the vitamins were bound to help. Touma started to eat his dish and Index was forced not to finish it for him. Again the door pushed open. Seriously no one is knocking.

They were soon confronted with Mikoto, Kuroko, Saten, Uiharu and Konori.

"What are you crass girls doing here?" Index glared at Mikoto and Kuroko.

The glare was quickly returned by Mikoto.

Trying to diffuse the situation Konori spoke up, "We came by to visit Tou- " She quickly corrected herself. "Kamijou. We came to see that he was okay." She walked up to Index with a smile. "I'm Mii Konori, who are you?"

Index remembered what Touma had told her before but it seemed too late, the girl before her seemed nice enough, "I'm Index, Index Librorum Prohibitorum."

Konori blinked at the response but smiled nonetheless. "It's very nice to meet you Index."

"Huh, why are you dressed like a nun?" Saten couldn't help but ask.

"That's because I am a nun for the English Anglican Church."

"Really?" Saten continued to poke. "I thought nun outfits were supposed to be black not white."

Seeing the little nun about to get really angry Uiharu stepped in, "Sorry about that. We don't see a lot of religious figures in this city. Though I'm sure I saw a shrine maiden the other day."

Despite that conversation Konori and Itsuwa introduced each other and then turned back to Touma.

Mikoto spoke up, "So we brought you some things."

"What more cookies?" Touma asked.

"Cookies?" Saten clung to that word. "Wait, were you the one that Misaka baked those cookies for?"

Touma just looked at her with confusion, "No, I never got any cookies like that from her." That was the truth. "I did get some store bought ones from her once."

Kuroko's jaw dropped, "You gave that gentle ape some cookies?!" She didn't know if she was angry because her beloved onee-sama had given him cookies or the fact that she had gotten closer to him than she was. Overall she was still confused about everything that involved him.

"But you didn't have to get me anything." The spiky haired boy insisted.

"No, we insisted." Konori told him. "You've been through a lot. The day after you got into a fight with Sogiita you get attacked at a restaurant and then you get kidnaped."

"Attacked!" A dark aura formed around the small nun as she gritted her teeth, ready to bite.

They would have gone into it but yet another visitor arrived, this one had a frog face, "Oh, Kamijou it seems you have a lot of pretty guests today." The doctor known as Heaven Canceler chuckled. "We just have to do one thing." Following that several members of the hospital staff walked in and all moved to the sides of his bed, one of them handed Konori a camera.

"Congratulations Kamijou, you broke the city record for most hospital visits in a single year." With that he handed him a plaque with his name. With that the staff smiled and signaled Konori to take the shot. It was an odd picture.

A tall woman with long dark hair smiled, "Be careful Touma." She was a surgeon that worked at that hospital. "There is going to be a party to celebrate for you later. I know we got your favorite kind of cake but I'm not going to be able to come."

"Ryoko?" Touma looked at her.

"I'm going on a cruise for a week. I'm leaving at the end of my shift. I proposed to Yuki and we're going to celebrate."

"Oh, she said yes? Congratulations, I think you two make a good couple."

"Save the date, you'll be getting an invitation." The surgeon beamed him a smile before she left the room.

As some of the other staff started to wonder off his physical therapist examined his arm, "Well, your arm looks good." She sighed, "Ever since you came with your arm cut off I worry that it will stop working."

"Well, I don't want that, Sena." Touma smiled at her as she walked off.

He turned to the male nurse the moment she left. "Kodaka, have you asked her out yet?"

The male nurse just said, "No, just no."

"You like her and I know she likes you. Ask, it's better than not knowing."

"Fine, Touma." He puffed out his chest. "I'll ask at the party, in a nice social setting."

"Do that."

Finally the rest of the staff left the doctor spoke, "If he doesn't act he's going to lose that girl."

"Yeah, she's tired of waiting for him to make a move." Touma agreed.

The doctor looked over his clip board, "All your tests came out fine. No signs of infection and the skin graft is doing nicely. I want to run another MRI to make sure and I want you to rest for three days. And no checking yourself out early, the city is paying for your hospital stay. Since it was one of the city's researchers doing that got you here they say it's only fair they pay." More like Crowley wanted Touma in a safe place while he fixed his network. "So rest up and in two hours you can get some cake," As he started to leave. "Oh, I'll take this." He took the plaque. "We're going to hang this on the door to the room."

He left and Touma returned his attention to his other guests who he found with their jaws dropped. They were all in shock that Touma came to the hospital so often he was on first name terms with the staff and that they gave him a plaque for the room.

In the next few days he got more visitors but nothing much to report. Misaki and Seria came by and brought freshly baked cookies they made. He got a nice card from his class with a fruit basket along with all the homework that he was going to miss. His classmates were very nice to him, they didn't joke about this one as the story went that the researcher went crazy and shot him. No one found it funny.

Finally Touma went back to school and trouble would soon find him.

Things were happening as Misaki's clique gathered in secret and by in secret I mean without Misaki.

One girl spoke, "I'm sure you've all noticed how the queen has been acting lately. She's been going on trips alone lately. And today she fell asleep in class and she mumbled a name, Touma."

"The same boy that was kidnapped a few days ago?" Another asked.

"I think so. I saw her playing with her phone and a picture of him popped up. I think that this boy has somehow won our queen's heart."

"I think I saw him going on a date with the railgun near the end of summer." Another girl pointed out.

"Exactly." The first girl continued. "We have to investigate this man. We must make sure he isn't praying on the Queen maiden's heart. And we must make certain he is worthy of her affections."

The group of girls all quickly agreed.

Elsewhere in a cafe Kuroko drank a cup of coffee as she tried to regain her strength. She had another night filled with dreams about Touma that left her befuddled and confused.

"Are you all right?" A voice that belonged to Mitsuko Kongou spoke. "You look terrible."

"It's that man. He keeps me up every night. All night."

Kongou blushed, "You mean you've been …" She couldn't even say it. "With a man? The way you act around Misaka I assumed men weren't your type."

"Huh?" The teleporter spoke. "I don't know anymore. It just started, every night he comes to me in my dreams and does lewd things to me." A perverted smirk appeared on her face. "All night until I can't move anymore until I cry out in pleasure." She shook her head. "No! My dreams used to be my Onee-Sama's domain, why is he in there now? Why does my heart race for him too?"

Kongou considered the girl before her a rival but could tell she was in trouble with the heart. "Kuroko, if you want I will help you."

"What can you do?"

"Nothing but I know of someone that can help. A little a while ago one of the Board of Directors members who'd been single her whole life brought someone into the city to help her. This woman is a miracle worker with the matters of the heart. She found the director's soul mate."

"Soul mate?"

"Well, the rumor is that it was actually a boy she had a crush with when they were both young. Over time they had forgotten one another but this woman brought them together and they fell in love on first sight. Since then she has been asked to do the same for many more people and succeeded every time. They say if there is an issue involving love that she can solve it, no matter what."

Kuroko didn't know what to think of this woman but she had no better option so she agreed. Kongou started to make a few phone calls.

As the school day ended Touma found himself still in class as Komoe gave him extra lessons. In that class was Aogami who make sure to stay behind and Itsuwa was also there because she wasn't particularly good at her science classes. They had fallen into a pattern, after classes Touma and Itsuwa would head to his apartment and Itsuwa would make dinner for them and Index. It was a nice and peaceful pattern. On their way home they would stop at the market to pick up some groceries. What they didn't know was that several girls were watching them.

"That girl has to be his girlfriend. Is he two timing the queen?"

"No, the Queen would know." Another girl spied on them with binoculars as she hid in the bushes and spoke on her cell phone. "I don't think they are dating. I don't think I've seen them do anything romantic. They do a lot of grocery shopping."

"Yes, and afterwards they go to his dorm and she stays there for hours." The other girl insisted on her phone from her hiding spot.

"They seem to mostly cook. I heard them talking about someone called Index, I think it's some sort of fat cat he has."

"What? Why do you say that?"

"I heard them talking and saying how much food Index eats and messes up the dorm. That Index jumps into bed with him if he doesn't lock the door. And I saw them buy some cat food."

Index for some reason felt very angry at that moment. After having three straight days of chaos Touma was glad that things returns into a peaceful state.

In a certain small teacher's apartment on her free day she found herself sitting across Awaki.

"So something is troubling you?" Komoe was more than willing to help out any student at any time.

The teleporter sighed, "I have this problem." The girl shook her head causing her pig tails to swing a bit. "Since I started going to school I've made a friend."

"That is good." Komoe nodded pleased.

"But then there is this guy. I know this friend likes him but I've sort of started to fall for him."

Komoe froze in place. "You are falling for Kamijou even though you know Himegami likes him?"

"How did you get that so quickly?" Awaki thought she was being vague but Komoe knew the effect Touma had on women.

"I just don't know what to do." Awaki admitted, it was a dilemma and she turned to Komoe who was the closest thing she had to a mother figure.

The pink haired woman gave her a warm smile, "You don't want to lose Himegami, I understand but you're not sure how to react to your emotions. My advice is to talk to Himegami about it, so that the two of you can come to terms with it. It is better to clear the air. Himegami is a smart girl and I'm sure she can understand what you are going through. It's always better to get these things out, if you wait the more it will hurt when she finds out."

Awaki gave her a small smile, her words had calmed her soul even if just a little. Soon the red haired girl would depart and try to solve her problem. The teacher used her free day to go to the store and gather what she needed for the week. What she didn't know was that others had similar ideas.

"Touma! I'm hungry." The nun Index told her guardian.

Touma sighed, "Fine let's get something to eat in a restaurant today for lunch. Then we'll start shopping for tonight's dinner."

The nun cheered. Beside them was Itsuwa who had tagged along for this shopping trip. The day was sunny despite being fall and it just felt like a good day to be out. The small group walked down the street looking into the restaurant windows to decide where to eat. Soon enough they found one restaurant that wasn't too expensive to eat at.

Kongou and Kuroko found themselves in District 3 after days of searching. It turned out the woman they were looking for was staying in one of the hotels. Kongou had to talk to a lot of people in-the-know before someone finally gave her the right number to make an appointment. Neither knew exactly what to expect but they definitely didn't expect to be lead into a fancy suite. They certainly didn't expect the find a woman in her late twenties wearing sweats cuddled under a kotatsu. She was a tall woman with dark wavy hair, tanned skin, and olive colored eyes. She smiled broadly under the table.

"Hello." She smiled at the two girls. "Join me if you like."

"Are you Carina Rossi?" Kongou asked.

"That's me." Carina told her. "I'm sorry, I should get up to greet you but I just discovered these things and I can't make myself get out of it."

Kuroko and Kongou sat down and Kongou continued to talk, "You're Italian, are you not?"

"I am."

"You speak Japanese surprisingly well."

"Yes, in college I spent a lot of time abroad including here in Japan. It turns out I have a knack for languages." She cracked her neck. "But you didn't come to see me about that. From the phone call we had you said you had problems with love."

"Well," Kuroko was a little timid to share but she still started to speak. "I have always loved my Onee-sama but recently this … man has started to move into my heart as well."

"I see." Carina gave a thoughtful nod.

"And in my dreams. Suddenly I find him holding me whenever I dream. He caresses me and then we started doing lewd things. Lewd, intense, fun things-" At this point Kuroko started to get far too graphic and detailed.

Kongou went pale at the descriptions. Carina finally stepped in. "OKAY! I think it get it."

"Is there something you can do for her?" Kongou raised her fan to hide her blushing face.

"I love love." Carina explained. "I love finding that connection for people. The greatest joy in my life is helping people find that supreme happiness. I will do some pretty amazing things to make that connection for people."

"What exactly do you do, anyway?" Kuroko asked her.

"I do a lot of things. I run personality profiles, I make connections, I talk to people, I help people sort out their emotions, I set up events for love to flourish, I even plan out dates sometimes and if you are the sort for it I will get you a love charm. To put it bluntly I do what I think I need to do for the person and the situation."

"And what do you think of this situation?" Kuroko asked her.

"You're young and this is the time that girls discover what exactly they want." She gave her a warm smile. "So if you are willing to talk I'm willing to listen. Maybe I can help sort out your feelings. Then we can see what I can do. So if you are up to it I can make some tea and we can talk. I won't even charge you for talking."

Kuroko didn't understand it but her words were kind and compassionate, so much so she felt she could trust her. "I think I can do that.

"

Kongou smiled, happy that she could help her friend.

"So tell me." Carina forced herself up to make some tea. "Who is this boy you've been dreaming about?"

"He's something unique." Kuroko admitted. "His name is Touma Kamijou." Carina flinched at the name and Kuroko noticed it. "Do you know about him?"

She gulped and took a deep breath before she spoke, "I've heard of him."

Back in the restaurant the trio finished their meal, well Index insisted on more but that would bankrupt them. As they were getting to leave Touma's phone rang, the thing had seen some damage in the last fight but still managed to work.

"Hello." Touma answered it.

"Kamijou!" The voice was the familiar voice of Tsuchimikado. His voice was serious and panicked, so much he didn't call him by his usual nick name.

"Tsuchimikado, what's wrong?"

"Are Itsuwa and Index near?"

"Yeah-"

"I don't have time to explain the whole thing." They could hear the spy yelling and both girls leaned in to hear the phone call.

"Listen! An alchemist has entered the city. This alchemist is called Charles De Leon and he's stolen items from the Vatican, Zurich School of Alchemy and the Anglican Church."

"What's happening?" Touma couldn't help question the situation.

"He worked for the Vatican Church, he was doing some work with Astronomy and a few weeks ago he snapped. The next thing anyone knew he stole two grimoires."

"Which ones?" Index found it was her turn to question.

"De Mineralibus and the Concordance."

Index looked confused, "Those both were written by Albert Magnus a renowned alchemist and Catholic bishop, both deal with alchemy and divination through astronomy."

"Yeah, and after that he stole tools and spiritual items from Zurich. Then he came over to London to steal more spiritual items, books and notes from the library. Stiyl was sent after him and he's chased him half way around the world to Academy City. We thought he was just trying to get power and he was trying to hide in the city but that's not the case." He paused to catch his breath. "We found the room he rented and his notes and he's after something else."

They all turned white when they heard what he was really after.

The red haired magician had followed the alchemist into the city. He had found himself in the underground mall following the alchemist. Now all he had to do was capture him and take him back to London to pay for his crimes. It was supposed to be simple, so simple he didn't need to get Touma or Index involved. He'd been managing to keep tracking him after he got into a crowed area. At the moment Stiyl just had to keep it up until the time was right. He wanted to get ahead of him and set the runes to disperse people and take him out. It seemed simple enough, the alchemist wasn't known to be powerful but had showed enough skill to evade him so Stiyl still had to be careful. He pulled out a cigarette and ignited the tip before he took a long drag from it.

"It's you." Stiyl felt a tug on his robes and looked down to see Komoe. "You're that priest and you're smoking." Komoe didn't hesitate to take the cigarette from him and stomp it out. "You're far too young to be smoking these."

Maybe it was his fortune that happened to place her right then and there.

"There you are." Charles De Leon spoke his eyes set on his target.

"Damn!" Stiyl hissed out being spotted by the person he was supposed to be tailing. He quickly got in front of the small teacher. "Charles De Leon, surrender now before anyone is hurt."

"Oh, and be dragged into the Tower of London? I think not." He set his cold tired eyes on the magician. "Not when I'm so close."

The flame magician drew out his rune covered cards and to respond the alchemist took out a small green stone from his pocket. The alchemist wore a shabby brown suit, and most people would have thought he was a homeless man but at the moment he had more money than he knew what to do with. Stiyl quickly formed a sword made of flames ready to attack and to intimidate. The people around there were used to strange sights in that city and so they were not particularly surprised by a flame sword, they did take it as their cue to get out of there though.

The alchemist just gave him a smirk, "They sent the wrong person to find me." Holding out the stone he started to focus his mana into it, "Transmute oxygen into hydrogen."

Komoe moved away with the others and was far enough away to see what was unfolding. The small stone glowed and the air around it trailing towards the sword started to ripple. Then there was a reaction. The air ignited, causing a huge explosion that shook the mall. Stiyl's own sword exploded, setting him on fire and hurling him backwards. The alchemist gave a tired smirk as his body caught on fire and soon his entire form was covered in flames. Still the alchemist didn't scream or run, he just stood there calmly. His skin turned black and crispy and he just walked away. The flames continued to spread out reaching out for the small teacher. Komoe braced herself and closed her eyes expecting it to be the end when a strong arm wrapped around her. She opened her eyes to find Touma holding her as he held out his right hand. The flames rose around them only to die down.

"We have to run!" Touma picked her up and ran away from the flames.

"The priest! We have to go back for him." She told him.

"I'll get him. Stay with Itsuwa and Index." Soon they ran into Itsuwa holding a long spear and the little nun. Touma didn't explain anything but placed the small woman in the teenaged girl's arms before he ran back towards the flames. Itsuwa and Index were helping lead the other people from the flames. Komoe took a breath and started to do the same.

Touma ran back in and the flames died as soon as his right hand passed over them. Soon he found the magician burnt and beaten as flames climbed onto his body. Touma didn't waste a moment to use his hand to negate the magically induced flames. Touma checked his pulse and he was glad to find that he was still alive if unconscious. Stiyl had his own walking church that protected him, but it could only do so much. His exposed skin was burnt. His hands had been badly burned. There were still some flames lingering around them so the keeper of Imagine Breaker picked up the magician and dragged him away to get help.

Blocks away sirens started to make a lot of noise as the authorities went to check on the fire. In a shop that sold suits the one attendant on duty on that day was reading a magazine when someone entered.

"I need a suit." The man before him had unruly hair and tired eyes. That wasn't what the attendant noticed, his clothes were nothing more than ashes clinging to his body. Soot seemed to spin around him and he walked up to the counter. "I also need a pair of shoes." He coughed and a poof of smoke exited his mouth.

The attendant was in shock. "H-how are out planning on paying for that?"

The alchemist dropped a shoe onto the counter, a shoe made of solid gold. "This should cover it and a sizable tip for you if you bring me a bottle of water." Charles De Leon started to make his plans as he looked at his undamaged hands.


Authors Notes: Okay, another chapter and the start of the magic arc. Next chapter well see why this alchemist is so dangerous and what he is after. Some characters of the science side will find out about the magic side. Stuff will happen. I'm not sure when I'll get to writing the next chapter I was supposed to start a job like two weeks ago and it looks like they finally sorted things out for tomorrow so let's see. Also I just got Pokemon x so there is that to distract me. If anyone else got the game pm me with you 3ds code and I'll give you mine. It looks like the pokemon games just take the friends code like that. Anyway leave a review if you like. Thanks to my beta reader icefriend. And if anyone can spot the anime references in this chapter feel free to let me know.