DID I MAKE IT IN TIME?! DID I? OH GOSH ITS STILL THE FIRST WEEK OF FEBRUARY IS IT? Oh well nothing I can do with Time, but I think its also about "time" to rap this story up. So yeah lets see where should I start, first I'm sorry I'm a bit late cuz school stuff you know, graduation and all. Woot Woot almost there! So enough of my jibber jabber lets get the show rolling. Without futher ado Chapter 10. Oh and please also read the bottom some stuff you guys need to know :)

Chapter 10

*Spark* *Spark*Common belief states that as you meet your end, you see the most important moments of your life. *Spark*The times we spend with our families, *Spark*the fun moments we spend with our friends, *Spark*and also the time we spent with our loved one.*Spark*The flip side of this scenario is the moment you feel your life fleeing away from your body—*Spark* not like a living person has ever told the tale, but from the testimonies of those who survived the "verge of death" experience, the feeling of something leaving your body is common. *Spark*

*Spark*Misaka Mikoto was now in a similar situation—*Spark*asshe was in a very dire moment.*Spark*A situation that not only has her life on the line, but also the life of the person she cares for the most.*Spark*Holding her breath, she summoned all of her will to make sure that the person behind her will be kept safe.*Spark*Her body told her to move out of the way*Spark*but she can't.*Spark*She wanted to cry*Spark* but she won't.*Spark*She wanted to hug him tightly *Spark*but she couldn't. *Spark*Every fiber of her being,*Spark* every cell in her body focused on one thing— *Spark* which is to protect Touma, at all costs.*biri-Spark*

*biri-Spark*Summoning all her remaining strength,*biri-Spark*she made a small electric shield.*biri-Spark* Even though she knows that this kind of electric shield wouldn't absorb enough damage, *biri-Spark*she still desperately held on. *biri-Spark*Putting all her energy on that small shield; *biri-b-rk* all her strength,*biri-biri*all her anger,*biri-biri*all her sadness,*biri-biri*all her doubts,*biri-biri*all her joy,*biri-biri*all her love,*biri-biri*poured into one little hope that, whatever she is trying to do will work*biri-biri* and that the one she is protecting will be saved— *biri-biri*so everything would go back to the way it used to be…

*Shatter*

In a minu—no, in just a matter of seconds everything ended. All her doubts, all her sadness, all her fears, shattered. The only thing left was that feeling—that feeling on which something was new, yet old. That feeling started to grow inside of her, becoming stronger. As each second passed by that feeling became larger and larger. And, as if on cue, something tapped her shoulder— she was then confused, bewildered. Because as she opened her eyes, her opponent was still in front of her—whose face happened to be also one contorted with confusion. So who was it that tapped her shoulder? Was that person an ally or foe? These thoughts ran through her mind. Doing her best to examine the situation, she tried to straighten out the facts. It obviously couldn't be her enemy since he was still right in front of her. The possibility of a third party was also unlikely—as to the reason why, she couldn't explain it properly—but it felt like the place she was in was like a vault that sealed areas in arrays to the depths of nothingness. This means outsiders can't simply interfere, and it couldn't be possibly be Tou—

"Sorry I'm late, and tadaima. (I'm back)"

"Y-Y-Yo-You, i-idiot! You made me worry there for a second—I thought you wouldn't come back." Misaka said as tears started to fall off her eyes.

Out of energy, her body slumped and she fell to her knees, but Touma caught her midway.

"S-Sorry! Sorry for making you worry and… for everything that I did…" Touma said with a hint of sadness and guilt.

"Don't worry about it. As you can see, I'm fine." She tried to put a brave face but the pain and exhaustion could clearly be seen painted on her face.

"Hai, hai, biri-biri… This time it's my turn to protect you."

"I-I have a name you know! Besides you're one to talk! You're also pretty beaten up-" She cut off her sentence midway as she noticed something weird.

"Hey T-Touma-" Clearly not used to calling Touma by his name, Misaka stuttered heavily as she tried to ask him a question.

"—s-san! Touma-san. Why a-are all your wounds and bruises gone? It looks like you didn't even receive any damage." Even though she was having trouble trying to call the person in front of her by his real name, she tried her best to look composed.

"The reason for that, Misaka is…well, I don't really know." Even though Touma wasn't really accustomed to calling Misaka by her first name yet, his will to be closer to her gave him the confidence he needed to address her by her first name.

"Ha?!" From the response she got from Touma, Misaka slightly dropped her head in disappointment, like the shock from one of comic relief you often see in anime.

"W-Well the thing here is that I had some help, and well he—"

"Do you really think I'll just wait for you guys to finish your romcom act?!" Mikael suddenly shouted, interrupting the conversation between Touma and Misaka. He also released an invisible attack just like the one he used previously against Misaka.

Defying all of Misaka's expectations, Touma didn't negate the attack—but instead suddenly grabbed Misaka and did a princess carry, then dodged the incoming attack.

A few more invisible attacks were released, none of which Touma negated, as he only dodged them while carrying Misaka.

"Why are you not negating them?"

"I-I can't, if I can't negate all of them at the same time, you'll get hit by the attacks."

"…" She couldn't say anything in response. Touma was right—if he really did try to negate them, he had to put Misaka down first and that would mean leaving Misaka defenseless.

"D-don't, mind me I-"

"N-Never! I won't abandon you! Remember that I will always be there to protect you!" Touma said with conviction and firmness.

"…B-But you can't do this forever, eventually you'll run-"

"She is right. You can't run away forever, so I propose a plan. Are you willing to cooperate,Ms. Railgun?" Suddenly a voice resounded out of nowhere.

"Who are you?!" She started to look around violently, trying to figure out the source of the mysterious voice.

"Calm down Misaka, this is the 'person' that had helped me!"

"Huh? Where is he? And who is he?"

"I don't really know much about the details but he was the one who helped me break free from the spell that was cast on me."

"Anything else?"

"I don't have much information about him because we only met a few 'minutes' ago, but it seems that he is talking to us through our heads."

"Telepathy? No, I don't feel anyone's presence nearby and it couldn't be her since it is a male's voice."

Touma navigated his way through the cloud of dust that had enveloped the area due to Mikael's barrage of attack. He also noticed that Mikael stopped firing his invisible attacks. As he trudged through the terrain he somehow manged to find a miraculouslyundamaged—well, half of it anyway—tree so he decided to leave the princes behind said tree.

"This should be far enough from him, you stay here."

"N-No, I-I can help—" Misaka tried to get up but her body was already being overcome by pain and exhaustion.

"Stay here. Please, I don't want anything bad to happen to you." Touma's voice was calm, composed and most of all caring.

"She may be right Touma,however,didn't I say I have a plan?Her ability will be crucial tomaking the plan work."

"What do you mean? She's all beat and battered. I don't think she can use her ability in this state!"

"I-I can still…" Misaka tried to stand up on her own but it immediately ended in failure. Her body wouldn't move, and due to all the pain and exhaustion her brain was now undergoing a lot of stress, resulting in her being unable to use her ability.

"Touma, put your right hand on her shoulder." The mysterious voicewhispered to Touma.

"S-Sure…"

"W-What are you doing you idiot?!" Shocked by Touma's sudden action, Misaka retreated a bit but stopped when she felt something strange.

"W-What happened?!"Misaka suddenly stood up but her body, same as last time, lost its strength and she fell.

"I-I feel as though my strength has returned, b-but why is it that I can't muster any of it?"

"The reason for that Ms. Railgun, is that I 'took' all the pain and exhaustion you were feeling, but it doesn't mean you have all your strength back."

"How?! Did you use electrical signals as a way to hack into my brain and alter its receptors?! B-But I didn't feel any type of electricity going through me. It was more like the pain suddenly disappeared—no, it's more accurate to say it… didn't exist at all."

"As much as I would like to explain everything to you two, we have more urgent matters at hand." The mysterious voice talked in a very calm yet commanding tone as it tried to reassure both Touma and Misaka about its effects.

"Ms. Railgun, are you able to control those Iron Sand of yours?"

"Y-Yeah, I think I can handle that much, but I still can't run around the area so it's really limited."

"That will have to suffice.Now,as for the plan…"

"Where are you, bastards?! Show yourselves!" Mikael shouted at the top of his lungs while looking for any sign of his opponents.

The reason he hasn't retreated was because he thought that he could easily take care of the two since they were already in a very weak state, and he on the other hand was still in perfect condition. He kept walking, shouting, knowing that the two couldn't escape due to his barrier.

Suddenly, Mikael noticed some movements just outside of the field of his vision, and again this time something moved, he noticed that some of the rubble moved. Without hesitating he released one of his invisible attacks but it only hit the ground. Once again another moving figure, he threw another attack. This repeated for a while, Mikael noticed that the number of moving figures kept increasing.

"How dare you toy with me!" In a fit of rage Mikael threw frantically his invisible attack in all direction.

A cloud of dust arose and covered the area Mikael was in, removing of his vision of the surroundings. Mikael stood still as an eerie feeling well up inside him. Suddenly he noticed a figure approaching him from the cloud of dust, without hesitation he shot another invisible attack and it directly collided with the figure, at a closer look the figure's head had a distinct sea urchin-like features.

Confident with his attack, Mikael approached the figure he shot down. Even though he was not giving it his all—in order to not kill Touma—the amount of force that he used would knock out even the sturdiest person. As he reached his target, his face contorted as he saw what was lying in front of him. It was black, pitch black, the thing in front of him didn't looked like a person but more like-

*Shatter*

Suddenly a force, strong enough to be from a pro heavy weight boxer, collided with the side of Mikael's face. Due to the unforeseen attack Mikael couldn't brace himself, thus the force launched him a few feet forward.

Damaged but unfazed, Mikael recollected himself mid-air. As he was about the land he positioned in such a way that the damage was lessened and he could instantly stand up.

When he regained his balance, he tried to focus on the source of the punch but what greeted him was the fleeing image of his attacker that was instantly covered by the thick cloud of dust.

"You think that's going to work on me twice?!" Mikael created an arc with his hand and suddenly a violent gust of wind erupted, blowing all the dust that was covering his vision.

What was in front of him made him gasp a bit. He wasn't only fighting against one enemy but he was up against a dozen Touma's.

"W-What?! How?! You shouldn't be able to do that!"

Without warning all the Touma's started running towards him, fist clenched.

"These cheap knock offs will never be any match for me!" Just as Mikael said, the "clones" were no match for him as he used his invisible attack to take each one out.

"You shouldn't be able to use your abilities yet—the damage you took may not be fatal but it should have greatly damaged your body and your psyche. So how are you able to use these 'black dust?'" He asked to no one in particular.

"It's not "black dust" but Iron Sand, you villains need to get your facts straight." Suddenly a voice cut off his train of thoughts.

"You—!" Mikael was about to release another one of his attacks but before he released it a punch connected to his face.

*Shatter*

This time the punch only made him lose his balance. As he was about to fall to the ground, he took a deep breath and propelled himself a few feet from his attacker.

As he landed with his two feet, Mikael exclaimed.

"You will pay for this, Imagine Breaker!"

Touma stood firm as they both glared into each other's eyes.

"How tough of you to choose to fight rather than run, and for that I commend you. I will give you one last chance: surrender or be destroyed." Mikael was the one who broke the stalemate first. The two were glaring at each other for a minutes, anticipating each other's move.

"I know you won't kill me. I know that your threats are just empty, it's because I know that you need me alive—no, what you need is my ability not 'me.'" Touma clenched his right hand, clearly not getting intimidated by the farce his opponent was saying.

"Tsk. Getting full of yourself, huh? Let's see you deal with this then." As Mikael finished his sentence he slashed the empty space in front of him and created another one of his invisible attacks.

Touma, still standing firm and strong, raised his arms upward—and as one would expect, a shattering noise resounded.

"What?! How did you know where my attacks would come from?!"

"It's a secret." Touma said as he ran towards Mikael.

Instincts took over Mikael's body as he launced another attack towards Touma, but with the same result. Touma just raised his hands to the side and Mikael's attack was negated.

Mikael was becoming annoyed because his attacks were easily negated, so he did what all sane person would do, charge towards his opponent. He pulled out his sword that was kept at his right, and readied to strike. Being an expert in close quarter combat—mostly because of his experiences—Touma easily predicted where the attack would come from.

It was not that Mikael was out of shape or had no formal training, but the difference in experience was clear as Touma easily dodged the sword and threw an attack of his own—a right hook directly to Mikael's face.

Mikael's body was again launched a few feet. This time he recovered quicker—mainly because he got used to being launched—and regained his footing almost instantly. Mikael readied his sword again and slashed down towards Touma. But the same conclusion happened—Mikael was hit with another punch. This time he held his ground, not letting his body get launched again, but this only made Touma more aggressive as he threw another attack towards Mikael's face.

Without the leeway to guard, Mikael took the full brunt of the attack. Due to his body still coping up from the initial punch, the second one sent him flying. Using the momentum of his flight, Mikael took the chance and gained some distance from Touma.

"I don't know how you are doing it, but I won't let you make a fool out of me!" Angered, Mikael threw a furry of attacks even before totally regaining his footing.

Slash after slash, the air was vibrating due to the amount of attacks Mikael was releasing. As a response Touma was negating some and was also dodging others since he was just a regular human—his reflexes could only keep up with a few attacks.

Mikael relentlessly threw his invisible attack, not minding the destruction he has caused to his surroundings. Suddenly Mikael realized as to why his attacks were predicted by Touma, this realization made him want to hit his face with his palm.

"You! The way you are doing this is by using those 'Iron Sand' of yours aren't yours?! Some of those Iron Sand are sticking with my invisible attacks, and it seems that there is a fine layer of Iron Sand floating in the air! You were using these Iron Sand as a tracker on my attacks?!"

"We got found out huh… Well it was only a matter of time before you realize it anyway." Touma tried to catch his breath as Mikael suddenly halted his barrage of attacks.

"If that's so then, I, too, have a trick of my own." Mikael then gained some more distance and somehow the air around him grew heavier.

"Become my hands, become my eyes. Restrain the enemy that is in front of me, I am the one that commands all, behold our power… Come, my legion!"

Suddenly, a creeping feeling ran down Touma's spine. He had felt this feeling before, it was the same as the one he felt during his first fight with Mikael. Confused, Touma didn't know what to do, he tried to look everywhere but he just couldn't see the attack coming until—

"Calm yourself,Touma!Quick, negate this incoming spell by punching the ground that is in the direction of that magician." Touma did as he was instructed with all his might and punched the ground that was in the same direction as Mikael, and as was predicted by the 'mysterious voice' the attack was negated and a shattering noise erupted.

"What! Even that Top Tier spell was seen through? How?!" Mikael's face was now filled with confusion, first his invisible attack was countered by 'Iron Sand' and even his Top Tier spell was negated even though his opponent couldn't see it.

"Do not be afraid Touma, that attack may be strong but it has a fundamental flaw. That attack uses the ground as a medium and where you are caught in it you cannot move.But if you understand how it works you can easily dodge it. Veterans would usually look for the direction the attack will come from but with this attack they won't be able to see it and would have a late reaction thus getting caught. The concept is the same as that certain shounen manga you usually read, on which one of the character would use his shadow to bind his opponent."

"S-Sure, thank you for the help." Touma said as he scratched his head aware of the reference the 'mysterious voice' has made.

"You can thank me later. For now you should be on the offensive. This fight is far from over"

"Hai!" Touma then charged with all his might. The distance was quite big, but because Mikael was still in a state of shock, Touma had enough time to reach him and deliver a strong punch towerds Mikael's face.

Mikael, now beat and battered, slumped to the ground. He didn't seem to be conscious as his body merely lay on the ground.

"I-I guess that's about it." Touma tried to catch his breath as all the exhaustion was now beginning to affect him. Even though the 'mysterious voice' had "healed" his wounds, the recent battle with Mikael made him tired and exhausted.

"It is not over yet,Touma." Just as the 'mysterious voice' said, the fight was not yet over. Mikael's slumped body suddenly stood up. Touma being cautious took a few steps back.

"I WILL DESTROY YOU TOUMA KAMIJOU!" Mikael shouted at the top of his lungs, then he wildly attacked Touma with his invisible attack.

Touma had to gain some distance as negating the invisible attack at close range was too risky. He was now negating and dodging the attacks with his dear life. The attacks were relentless, not even one single opening was seen by Touma, and he could do was negate and dodge, but—

*Shatter*

*Shatter*

*Shatter*

*Shatter*

*Shatter*

Mikael noticed something, Touma who was interchanging dodging and negating was now trying to negate all the attacks that he thew. It was weird since Touma could easily dodge some of them but he still negated the attacks, and then it hit Mikael, the same type of realization hit him with the 'Iron Sand' earlier—it was not that Touma won't dodge, it was more of Touma that can't dodge.

"I see now, so that is where she was hiding."

"?!"

"You can't dodge any of my attacks because if you do your friend will be hit."

"…"

"How admirable, for you to sacrifice yourself to protect your friend. Now that is comedy gold." Mikael started laughing, knowing that he now had the upper hand and that Touma was now a sitting duck.

"Well it's about time we end this, isn't it? I was planning to save this for "him", but it seems that I'll have the opportunity to test it out." Mikael now had a grin on his face, he was preparing something—something big, but the only thing Touma can do was stand and watch him do it.

Mikael raised both his hands, closed his eyes and started chanting.

"O light, burning and sacred light. Let your brilliance be my weapon, a weapon to cut through my enemies. To cut through evil, to cut through lies, to destroy all evil. Become my sword!"

"Gladius de lumine" Suddenly a bright light erupted from Mikael's hands, even the darkness that was created by Mikael's field was swallowed up by the light. But it was neither comforting nor gentle, it was intense, it shone as bright as a morning sun and as hot as a red nova.

Mikael looked at Touma, his eyes fixated on the person in front of him, his face on the other hand held a sense of curiosity and enjoyment.

"Well, if you do die from this, it means that even the oh-so-great Imagine breaker can't negate this. So I won't be needing you if this fries you. Goodbye, Imagine Breaker."

Mikael swung down his sword—it was just a normal swing—but Touma knew that his and Misaka's life was on the line, so he raised his right hand and stood firm, ready to block the incoming attack.

As the two collided both of them gave it their all, and even though the attack was magical the Imagine Breaker couldn't completely negate it due to being so massive.

AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHH-R-RR-RRR—RRAAAAAAAOOOOOOORRRRRRRR!

And thus, the only thing that felt like it was not part of this grand scenery was the bloody arm of a certain person coming off.

A/N

So uh you may have noticed that it's a bit shorter, well a bit may be an understatement but it is shorter in comparison to my usual chapter. The thing here is that this fight will be a two chapter ballet and the good stuff will be coming next, and what I don't like about fight scenes is when you cut the good part and then you have to wait for the next update, it's just really infuriating so yeah the next chapter will be containing the good parts of the fight so that I can satisfy thine, if there still any, faithful readers :D

So uh were almost there huh? Just a bit and our journey together will be over. I would like to take this time to thanks to my dear friend, my teacher in Sudoku, and my oh so over totally not procrastinating editor XD No seriously, thanks for keeping up with me. Even though this thing is my story I would go so far to say that I am not the sole writer for this but also you so thanks :) oh and well his, game name?, is MemorryOff so if you ever "bump" into him just say hi, he won't bite... probably.

Last but not the least as for the next chapter I will be posting it maybe first week of March of 3rd week of it, I can really just write during valentines since you know I don't have a date and all...

I'm not lonely or something...

Well jokes aside things will get hectic in this story and in my schedule so yeah need a bit of longer time than usual so stay tuned! Oh and did all of you catch the different references in the chapter? I hope you did it makes putting them worth while.

Well then, see you guyzz later I guess. Oh and don't forget to Rate and Review :)

"Don't forget there is always hope"

-ASH