Thank you for reading a Certain Scientific Counter. And thank you for everyone who commented it really helps me get more ideas for future chapters. I'd like to thank my Beta-Reader Graesok for helping me edit this. Now without further ado Q&A
Tsun- Yes a misunderstanding tends to cause the biggest headaches.
Aminadab Brulle- Sorry about your heart but it'll make it all the stronger for what's to come.
Anti-Mage 29- Oh but alas the heart is something that can be broken and repaired by simple words. And yes Saint Destroyer is a cool name and it's his epithet for the Magic Side, some Japanese high school kid doesn't really spawn intimidation in Magicians across the world who are trying to take Index. And, you'll see.
D.N Works- Though the toll was high the journey was still worth it. And yes it will have an effect on the Sisters Arc.
Awardedall- Yes and No.
BlueJack22- Good play by play and Istuwa...
Fortitude501- She is unsettling...And finally, Mikoto has learned of Misaki. What will become of this? What will they do? Find out all this and more in A Certain Scientific Counter! Also the Omake...Touma...run man run!
Savior555- Sort of. I had that song on my Youtube playlist and thought it went with the theme. You'll see how the Sisters Arc plays out in due time. Ayu...no! And I love how you assume it was Magic that messed with his mind. Since when did Mikoto and Touma become experts in Magic? Where did they get their credentials? From a Chris Angel set? And yes the scene where Touma forgot Misaki *Sniff* so sad. And I try to show not tell when I can. And yeah Misaki was always more accepting of Magic well only if Touma tells her it's real. That's how their relationship is they trust each other unconditionally. And yeah, Touma wasn't walking out of this unscathed something like forgetting a major person in your life than remembering them all over again really messes with a person, especially someone who already had doubts about their sense of self. Itsuwa put down the spear. The lighter? I don't know what you speak of *Whistles*
Nguyen Thanh Long- Ayu you poor lost cotton candy haired soul. Where have you gone? The Lighter...And Misaki and Mikoto RED ALERT.
Chris- Accelerator the Tsundre. Better watch out Mikoto. The Saint Destroyer, I always liked the titles you gain from games when you take down a boss. Heya there Yandere how ya doing? Wait what are doing? Put don the syringe...NO! And Mikoto tried...But Misaki doesn't trust her since she can't read her mind. And Mikoto doesn't trust her since she thinks she knows her personality. And Index is now saved and living with Saten even though Touma is going to pay for her room and board, count the small victories. Thank you.
Ryder: No it did not. Mikoto pulled his head away from the feathers when she jerked Index across the room but, that was all she saved his body was in tatters.
Nameless. 1 You will see. 2. Othinus? Chances are good since he had over 100 billion chances to ask her. 3. She did in the AIM chapter. 4. Touma will probably pick up a few new tricks here and there as the story goes on. 5. Oh, he's an Angel but you gotta remember that Lucifer was an Angel too.
Rajarshi Sarkar- Yes. And you must expect the unexpected. And this is just me planting seeds for future arcs down the line. Thank you the first 5 were a slice of life and me trying to find my writing style so thank you.
Generation Zero- I do too.
Nameless- I like the way you think. So I might just use some of these ideas or Counter your expectations...*Cricket*
Who Are We?
Part 1
July 29
12:00 AM
Touma's Hospital Room
Now that visiting hours had ended and everyone had gone home, Touma was alone.
That in and of itself wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't that his room was completely white.
It made him hard to get a good grasp on his surroundings, it almost looked like an optical illusion of sorts making it look like the room was closing in on him.
To make matters worse, the room was completely barren except for the hospital equipment already there along with some chairs, so he couldn't even pass the time by watching TV.
He was completely alone just him and his thoughts and that was driving him mad.
It wasn't like he could go to sleep anytime soon, ever since touched his head he didn't feel like sleeping anymore.
It wasn't as though he felt bad, it's just he didn't feel like it anymore.
So for the rest of the night, he would just stare at the ceiling waiting for time to pass by. Trying to think of anything else except that.
.
.
Ẃ̷̡̖͓̲̞͔̞̝̲̙͊͆̌̏̀͊̊͠͝ḩ̝̘̩͎̺̳̬̾̃̂̾͘ǫ̷̧̢̖̞̮̝́̎͗̋̀̾̕͢ a̴̛͉̰̫͕̫̿̒͗͊̚͜͡ͅr̷̢̙̹͙̳̽̃̋̽̄̄͋͘é̷̯̖̞̩͙͔͎̈́̿̏̓̃̒͘͞ y̵̡̨̬̼̜̹̤̬͒̽́̍͗̿͊̂͢͞͡ͅǒ̵̧̻̟̞̦͓͍̳̄̇̈́̚͝͡ͅȕ̧͚̱̘̯̰̻͎̘̱̆̎͛̍͒?̵̧̛͇̜͙̰̲̗̋͊̈̆̔͌͢͢͠
.
10:00 AM
He could hear the footsteps as they approached his room. It was about that time of day now, visiting hours.
He laid back down on his bed and closed his eyes and waited for them to open the door.
They knocked twice before opening the door, "Hey Touma, are you awake?"
He opened his eyes and began to stretch when he looked over to see who it was.
It was Index she was wearing her usual Nun's habit held together by safety pins, he'd offered to sew it back up for her in the past but she declined to say she liked it better this way. She was holding some sort of messenger bag.
"I am now, are you by yourself?"
Index began to pout, "You make it sound like it's a bad thing, and you shouldn't sleep in so much."
He smiled as he began to rub the back of his head, "Yeah, sorry about. So how have you been, I heard you moved in with Saten-san"
"Mmmm...It's okay, I mean I tried to make us both food earlier today in her Kitchen, but for some reason, she wouldn't let me into the Kitchen without her being there too."
(Thank Goodness)
"What's in the bag Index?"
"Hmm….Oh yeah, Ruiko said that you might get bored here so I went and got you some stuff."
He appreciated the thought but most if not all of the stuff she brought was completely useless to him. A large portion of it was just a bunch of Toys from that show she liked and some fruit, apparently, she heard from Saten-san that bringing fruit to sick people is a cultural thing here. The only real thing he could use to keep himself entertained was the deck of cards she brought with her.
"Hmmm...Hey, Index wanna play cards?"
Index tilted her head, "I never really played cards before."
"That's alright, I'll teach you."
Her face then lit up, "Really! Okay, let's play right now. "
He then had a smile on his face, "Okay."
Part 2
Accelerator's Hospital Room
2:00 PM
Accelerator looked out the window as bored as could be with an earbud in each ear playing music.
This was due to the fact that they were doing some kind of construction outside his room.
He had only recently learned that the experiment he was taking apart of was postponed and he had nothing to fill his day with anymore. To make matters worse, he wasn't even allowed to go home yet since he was still under observation for the next few days, so for the time being this private hospital room was his home.
It wasn't as bad as you'd think he actually enjoyed the peace and quiet, however, he soon found out the hard way that peace and quiet was boring as hell.
To pass the time he went over the fight he had with that so-called magician a few days ago and after going over it a few times in his head he quickly found some inconsistencies with what happened.
It can be said that exotic energies work in similar mannerisms as something like Dark Matter, but what she gave off was different.
Another thing that didn't add up was the redhead's fire. How was it able to hurt him and why did it damage his liver?
He had a multitude of questions about the entire situation and he knew someone who would have the answers he was looking for, Kamijou Touma.
Apparently, he was staying in the hospital for observation as well and was just across the hallway from his room. The only reason he hadn't gone there earlier was because of the construction going on, he hated crowds and was in no mood to deal with them now.
He took off his earbuds and finally heard the sweet sound of silence.
The construction had ended and he was finally free to go see him.
"What the fuck is this?"
Accelerator had to be sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him, so he went over to touch the nameplate on the door.
It was colored gold and had the following words written on it.
Kamijou Touma
What shocked him the most was how presumptuous this was, it was like this was his reserved hospital room or something.
Why in the world would the hospital even allow this?
After taking a moment to soak it all in he also noticed that even the door was made different.
While Accelerator was a straightforward person he chose to knock on his door, he'd rather not run the risk of catching him doing something there.
"Who is it?"
It wasn't a boy's voice that asked this, instead he was greeted by a girl's voice. From the sound of it, she was young.
"..."
"Hellooooo?"
"..."
The door then swung open to show the person he was looking for. He had a tired look in his eyes, from what he could tell he probably didn't sleep much if at all.
"Oh, It's you…..Accelerator?"
"Tch! Is that a question or a statement."
"Uh…statement? In any case, come in."
Accelerator then stepped into his room and was even more shocked to see the inside.
The walls of his room were no longer colored white, instead a deep shade of maroon took their place. It looked more like an executive suite than a hospital room now. He even had a small shelf full of just manga and Light Novels and from what he could tell…..Is that a mini-fridge?
Accelerator looked over at the flat-screen TV with suspicious eyes.
(How the hell did he get all this?)
A girl wearing a white nun's habit with silver hair and green eyes looked at him curiously.
"Touma, who's this?"
The tired boy looked back at her, "He's my friend," he then nodded to her as if to signal her for something.
"Ohhh! Okay" She nodded back as discreetly as possible, which wasn't at all.
Normally, Accelerator would get straight to the point but..., "What the hell happened to your room?"
The boy then rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Ohh this…...Let's just say a made one little comment and this happened, I only recently got back here myself, Index and I were in the cafeteria for like 3 hours waiting for them to finish."
He then pointed to the nun, "Ohh, by the way, this is Index"
She then waved to him, "Hi"
Accelerator looked even more confused.
"Ohh yeah that reminds me, wait here," He then went over to some messenger bag on his small drawer…..he has a drawer in here! "Here this is for you."
The boy proceeds to hand him a piece of fruit, which he accepted even more confused.
"What the hell is this?"
The nun looked at him quizzically, "It's a banana, see you peel it and eat it, it's really yummy."
"I KNOW WHAT A BANANA IS! WHY ARE YOU GIVING IT TO ME?!"
"Huh? The doc said you were sick, right? Bananas are good for your heart. They're packed with potassium, a mineral electrolyte that keeps electricity flowing throughout your body. The Doctor told me what happened to your body so I got you this."
Accelerator took a moment to take this all in. Apparently, this banana had more significance behind it then he had originally thought. He looked at the fruit for a moment studying it. From what he could tell it wasn't poisoned.
"Hey, do you wanna play cards?"
Accelerator's eyes widened in surprise, "What?"
"Index and I were playing cards, but since it's just the two of us it really limits what we can play and since Misaki already left, I was wondering if you wanted to play?"
Normally, Accelerator would refuse, but this was the first time he could remember that someone had actually wanted to play cards with him and he honestly had nothing better to do other than stare out the window.
"Fine. What're we playing?"
Touma grinned.
2:50 PM
"Yay! I win again, this is really fun Touma!"
"You've gotta be shitting me!" This was the 4th hand Accelerator had lost to the nun.
Even though they were playing with toy money it still took its toll on his pride since he had lost it all to this girl.
Touma then rubbed the back of his head, "I know right, I only showed Index this game this morning and she's already a natural." As the dealer, he was in a much better position than him. "So wanna play something else, what about palace?"
Accelerator gritted his teeth, there was no way in hell he was going to lose to this kid. He went into his pocket and pulled out his wallet.
"All or nothing, Nun!"
Index tilted her head, "But...you don't have anything?"
"What!? I'm betting real money?"
"I know, but Touma said we could only play with fake money otherwise I'd be called gambling" Her voice was full of innocence.
He then turned to Touma and glared, "What! I'm not trying to go to jail or the ICU for teaching her how to actually gamble." (Knowing Mikoto she'd probably try to shock me again.)
"Fine then what do you want, Nun?"
Index looked to be in deep thought for a moment before a metaphorical lightbulb appeared over her head, "Fine, but only if you let me christen you."
"Sure, whatever" Accelerator had no idea what she meant, but it really didn't matter much to him since he planned to win the next hand.
The innocent nun then extended her pinky towards him. "Okay promise"
(What am I fucking 5!?)
Begrudgingly he complied, but not without a look of contempt plastered onto his face.
Touma then handed Accelerator the deck so he could shuffle before he dealt them their hands.
Accelerator took his hand and inspected it.
(Fuck! 16)
From the moment they pinky swore to the moment Index got her two cards she had a straight face through it all.
"Pass"
(Fuck! Did she get a good hand?)
Accelerator had also kept a straight face not letting a single emotion seep out "Hit me"
Touma gave him his card and he looked over to inspect it, 4.
(Ha! I win)
"That's it for me."
The atmosphere seemed to change as both players faces kept the same calm expression they had throughout the entire match.
Accelerator than presented his cards and with all the confidence in the world announced his number. "20"
Index began to smile as she revealed hers, "Blackjack, I win"
The boys were speechless, she had won 5 rounds in a row.
Index than glanced over at the clock "That was fun...oh wow it's getting late"
"Hmmm….oh you're right, you better get going before it gets dark out, I'll call Saten to come to pick you up."
"No that's alright, they all went out to investigate some rumor about the 'Longicorn of the Vacant Lot' Pfft...Like that's a real thing, I even told Ruiko the same thing, but they all went anyways…...oh and Mikoto says hi." She looked down at the ground for that last part.
The boy sighed, "How is Mikoto taking the whole…..you know?"
"Good? Though she does have the tendency to call Misaki a…...I don't remember" said the girl with perfect memory.
"Such misfortune…"
Index then turned to Accelerator with sparkles in her eyes, "Don't worry white hair! I'll christen you tomorrow."
Accelerator rolled his eyes, "Sure, what the hell does christening even mean?"
Touma turned to him with a confused look, "You didn't know what it meant and yet you still agreed to it, and I thought I was bad."
"Tsk! Shut the hell up! How the hell was I supposed to know the nun was gonna win?"
"Because she'd won every other round before this." Touma deadpanned.
Accelerator simply shrugged, "Whatever, and what the hell is a 'Longicorn?"
Index sighed, "When we went to a restaurant to eat Ruiko saw a bunch of kids who were talking about someone who cuts sleeping people's hair and got curious so they all went to investigate it." Index shook her head disapprovingly, "I left after they started talking about who would be the bait for the Longicorn…apparently the Longicorn went after elementary school kids and we had a talk about who looked the most like one…Ruiko wanted to be it but…..It didn't work out. It was down to me and Mikoto after that" The room filled with an aura of malice. "So I left and came here."
(Ouch)
"A-Anyways I think it's getting late, I'll see you Tomorrow" Touma was no fool, continuing with this conversation would only mean spending more time in the hospital.
"...Okay, Bye it was nice meeting you White Hair"
And with that, the Silver Sister was gone.
Accelerator than raised an eyebrow "Who the hell was that?"
"That's Index, she's the girl that those guys we fought were talking about."
"Yeah, I figured that much. What I mean is, why is she still here and where the hell did those other clowns run off to?"
"Oh them, they're gone, the only reason they were after her in the first place was to save her, but once I showed them that they were wrong, I was able to save Index." He then rubbed the back of his head, "Thanks for helping me out back there I don't wanna think about what would've happened if they actually went through with it."
"Hmph, I only wanted to show those bastards up, they pissed me the hell off and they got what they deserved."
"Still, thank you."
Accelerator rolled his eyes "Whatever I'm outta here"
"Wait…..if you don't have anything else to do then," The boy then riffled through his bag and pulled out what seemed to be a gaming console controller, "I was wondering if you wanted to play Gekisho 9, it used to be an Arcade only kind of thing but I got this from a buddy of mine a while back, I also got...let's see I also got Heroes vs Villains Dawn of the New World and Heavy Object Comiket 88...what the hell who the hell put Gekota Meets Kill Bear here!"
Accelerator looked at him skeptically "What are you doing?"
"Hmmm, what'd you mean?"
"I mean, what the hell are you trying to pull!?"
The misfortunate boy then rubbed the back of his head and sighed, "Heh, I guess you got me."
(I knew it)
"I guess…..I don't know, I was getting kind of lonely you know. I mean I'm already on thin ice as it is with the doctor and I'm not even allowed to leave the hospital, and since you're stuck here too I thought I'd be fun to hang out."
"!?"
The boy then extended a controller to him "I mean you can't feel lonely if there's someone else around, right?"
He said nothing grabbed the controller out of the boy's hand and sat down on a chair facing the TV screen.
9:00 PM
"And I win again, too bad too sad Accelerator"
"Tch! This is fucking rigged! The hero always wins! They even get more goddamn health!"
The boy chuckled, "Yeah, well the villains always have more attack power so I guess that balances things out."
"No, it fucking doesn't!" Accelerator spat out.
In response, the tired boy rolled his eyes, "If it bothers that much why don't you just change classes, hell you could even choose one of the Anti-Hero characters they pretty much have a good balance to them."
"Screw that! Why the hell do I have to change just because some dumbass developers screwed up their game."
(Entitled much)
"Fine, wanna play something else, we still got a couple of games we haven't played yet…..heh heh...wanna play the Gekota one?"
Accelerator narrowed his eyes at the boy, "Why the hell do you even have that?"
"*Sigh* You know when you try to impress someone by liking the same things they do?"
"?"
"Well, let me tell you something, that never works…..it just doesn't."
"I'm not even gonna pretend to understand the levels of desperation needed to even think that would ever work."
"*Sigh*"
"Stop fucking sighing! It's getting annoying!"
"Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, whatever you say."
The room the two of them shared was littered with wrappers of snacks that they had bought from the vending machine outside. They had spent a majority of the day just screwing around doing nothing. Most of the conversations they had usually just revolved around what they were playing, that is until the misfortunate boy spoke.
"Hey, do ever feel like you don't know who you are anymore?"
"Huh? Where the hell did that come from?"
"I er uh...I was reading a book and it was the theme you know, the character wasn't really sure which parts of themselves were real and which parts were things they just picked up from something else like books."
Accelerator didn't speak for a moment as even he wasn't sure of the answer, "Hmm...not really, I mean does anyone really know who they really are? Usually, people just accept the version of themselves that is expected by everyone else, but if that's the case and we just go off of what other people tell us we are, can you really be sure?"
"I see…" He looked visibly upset at his response.
Just then the doctor walked into the room. "Well I think that's enough for today, it's getting late, wouldn't you say?"
Accelerator looked over at the clock on the wall "Hmm...I guess it is" Without a word he got up from his chair and began walking out of the room, "See ya."
Now that Accelerator had left for his own room the doctor turned to Touma, "And, how are you feeling?"
"As I thought I would I guess…..If you don't mind I'd like to go to bed now."
Part 3
July 30
4:00 AM
As the hours rolled by Touma found he had the same problem as before.
He tried to pass the time by finishing his Summer Homework but, once that was done he was left with nothing else to do.
He glanced over at the small shelf he had by his bed, "Hmm...might as well read."
12:00 PM
Accelerator's Hospital Room
Once Accelerator woke up he noticed the time.
"Tch! I'm getting sloppy."
Usually, he would wake up on the dot for the early morning experiments, but now that they were postponed he was falling back on his past habits of sleeping in.
(Oh yeah didn't the nun say something about christening me? What the hell does that even mean anyway?)
Touma's Hospital Room
The moment Accelerator stepped into the room he was met with a boy who looked like he could use sleep writing on what looked to be a poster board and a nun scolding him.
"Touma! How many times do I have to tell you, you have to color the inside white!"
"For the last time Index, how am I supposed to color something white when it's drawn on a white background!?"
She looked to be getting flustered. "Ragh! You always do this Touma! You always shoot down my ideas!"
"That's because they would never work!"
She glared at him with tears in her eyes, "*sniff* *sniff* S-Shut up! How do you know! You never even tried it!"
They both then noticed the white-haired boy.
"What the hell is going on here?"
Immediately the nun wiped away her tears and ran to her bag and began searching for something.
Accelerator then turned to Touma, "You look like shit."
"Yeah, well you look like you could use a tan, not everyone can be a model every day."
"I got it!" The nun had pulled out what looked to be a toy wand from the bag and proceeded to run over to Accelerator with it and pointed it at his face. "Ahem...I Index Librorum Prohibitorum of the Anglican Church….."
Accelerator ignored what she was saying and turned to Touma.
"Just let it happen, you did lose the bet after all."
"What's that supposed to...AGH! WHAT THE HELL, IS THIS WATER!" In truth, he had purposely let down his auto reflection though he didn't know he was going to be splashed with water.
"I christen you Yuki!"
Just then Touma lifted the posterboard he had been working on showing it to have written in colorful writing the name Yuki.
"What the hell is going on!"
This got curious looks from the both of them, "It's your new name."
"What!?"
Touma then flipped the posterboard around and showed the Name Yuki in Kanji
雪- Pure as the driven snow
"There's no way in hell you dumbasses are naming me that!"
Index began to glare at him as she puffed her cheeks, "NO! You promised!"
"Like hell I did!"
"Well, actually Yuki you did lose the bet fair and square."
"WHAT!?"
Index nodded, "Hmph, that's right from now on your name is Yuki!"
"Screw that! Like hell, if you think you can call me that!"
Almost in sync, they both started chanting the name Yuki over and over again.
It eventually got to the point where a nurse had to come in and tell them to stop.
3:00 PM
"*Sigh*"
"What the fuck did I say about sighing!"
"Screw off Yuki! I'm not in the mood, it's your fault we have to clean up this mess in the first place."
After the nurse had come in to stop them, Accelerator made the wisest decision in cursing her out and going on a tirade about being called Yuki. Eventually, Touma tried to step in and one thing left to another and the hall leading to his room was covered in a rainbow of colors.
At first, Touma wanted to avoid the hassle of cleaning this mess so he tried playing the I'm sick card, which prompted the doctor to play then I guess I'll have to call that person and say your condition is getting worse.
Since Index had no interest in cleaning up she just said her goodbyes and left, apparently, Mikoto was going to the pool with her friends while he was stuck here cleaning up the art supplies Misaki had bought Index.
"*Sigh* Did you really have to go and throw all the paint. I mean the hallway looks like a piece of modern art now."
"Tch! Shut the hell up! It was your own damn fault for getting in the way!"
"How was I supposed to know, telling you, 'hey you shouldn't yell at her' would elicit the response of you throwing paint cans at me! I'm not clairvoyant Yuki!"
Accelerator's grip on the handle of the mop tightened, "Stop fucking calling me that!"
Touma glared his tired eyes at the boy, "Screw you Yuki! You lost the bet fair and square! It's not my fault you don't have basic pattern recognition."
Suddenly something clicked in his mind, "Wait a minute, why the hell am I doing this!?" He then proceeded to drop his mop and head for his room.
"Where the hell do you think you're going!?"
Accelerator turned around with a grin on his face, "I'm not the one being blackmailed here," He then pointed to a wall, "I think you missed a spot"
No alone in the dirty hall of the hospital Kamijou Touma could only sigh.
"Such Misfortune."
9:00 PM
After hours of work, Touma was finally able to finish cleaning up all the paint. The worst part about it was the fact that he also had to repaint the walls white since he chipped away some of the original paint.
"*Sigh* Huh? She didn't show up today either…."
Touma spent the rest of the night whittling away at the stacks of Manga and Light novels he had on his shelf before he eventually fell asleep.
Accelerator's Hospital Hoom
After Accelerator left the unfortunate boy to do all the cleaning he spent a few hours in his room just listening to music.
However, just like before he found this boring.
Unlike his counterpart, however, he was allowed to leave the hospital whenever he wanted it was just that he had to come back.
He spent a majority of the day just wandering the streets unsure what to do.
Eventually, it became night and he returned to his room to see that the hallway was now clean.
"Hmph."
As he laid back down on his bed he reflected on how dull his day was today.
He then thought back to the previous day and realized that it wasn't so bad.
As he continued to recall the events of the previous day he remembered something that Touma said about him.
'He's my friend'
He then realized why the day was so dull after he left.
'you can't feel lonely if there's someone else around, right?'
What can be drearier than living day by day?
"Was it because…..Tch!"
Even though he was told that he was his friend, he still didn't accept it.
Accepting something is easier said than done.
Part 4
July 31
Touma's Hospital Room
"You look better Touma." The golden-haired blonde said.
"Huh? What'd you mean Misaki?"
She pouted as she looked at him, "I mean I was getting worried, yesterday it looked as though you were going to keel over."
"Ehhh!? Really?"
"Yeah, I was gonna say something to the doctor today if it didn't look like your recovery ability was kicking in."
The misfortunate boy then started rubbing the back of his neck, "S-Sorry, I didn't mean to worry you,
She puffed her cheeks out like a child and used her white-gloved fingers to toy with her honey-blonde hair. "*Sigh* In any case why'd you want to speak to me?"
"Y-Yeah, you see, I'm actually planning on heading outside today."
She raised an eyebrow, "I thought you weren't supposed to leave until tomorrow?"
"...I'm not, that's why I'm breaking outta here."
"WHAT!?"
"Shhh! Look I'm going crazy in here, I literally read every book you brought me, all I want is to walk outside and get some fresh air, besides I'm not even injured anymore."
"L-Look I can understand if your patience ability is running thin, but don't you think I'd be better to just wait one more day until they let you out?"
"You know the only reason I told you this is because I don't want you to get worried when they call you right?"
"Huh?"
"I'm gonna level with you for a second, I'm going…..you can try and stop me but we both know you're woefully out of shape and probably wouldn't even make it outta the hospital without running out of breath."
She was honestly speechless as he got up from the bed and put on his shoes.
It wasn't until he was headed out the door that she came back to her senses.
"I AM NOT OUT OF SHAPE!"
"Wow, delayed reaction much. Anyways see ya!"
I'd like to say that Misaki put up a good fight as her powers included mind reading, brainwashing, memory erasure, hallucinations, telepathy, confessions, absentmindedness, etc. Her power was so broad that even she could not grasp it all without dividing it up through her use of different remote controls.
But even with all of this, she still didn't even make it through the second floor without running out of breath.
"*Pant**Pant* *Pant*...Wait...just...wait ...Ugh...ugh"
"Why are you so out of breath you're about to vomit, we didn't even go that far. How can you brag about eating healthily when you're this out of shape!?"
"*Pant**Pant*...I'll remember that."
She was so exhausted that even her implicit threats fell flat.
"*Sigh* Look you're never gonna catch me. So can you just stop? I mean I feel really bad making you run, even though by the looks of it you really needed it."
Ignoring his words Misaki started to catch her breath again, "Look, I know I can't stop you but, can I at least come with you?"
"Look as much as I'd really like that, I can tell already that you'd be on edge the entire time."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I mean, remember when I first woke up last summer?"
Misaki's eyes widened as she began to blush as she recalled what happened last year.
After Touma was released from the hospital from his run-in with Deadlock, Misaki made it her mission to stick by his side like glue. Normally Touma wouldn't have minded the company except whenever someone approached them who they didn't know Misaki had a tendency to shoot first and ask questions later. It eventually came to the point where Touma wanted to tell her to stop but couldn't because of the look she had on her face. She didn't do it out of malice she did it out of genuine fear, after what she went through he couldn't tell her to just stop worrying.
"Ohh. B-But I've gotten better you know?"
"I know it's just….I think it'd be best for both of us if I did this on my own, I can already tell you're worried about magic and me being involved in it."
"W-Well I'd be lying if I said I wasn't, but how is you going off on your own good for me?"
"Cause you need to learn to trust me when I say I'll always come back, it's just like it was before you'd get worried over the smallest of things, do you remember what we did to fix that last time?"
"Hmmm, if I recall you went off on one of your ridiculous escapades around the city and didn't tell me about it, didn't it end up with you almost getting hit with a car?"
"Yeah, that's the one."
"Your persuasive ability is wavering, my Prince."
"Look I know it didn't look it at the time but, after that, you were a lot less worried about me going off on my own, so I think this is for the best."
"B-But last time you didn't have to sneak out of the hospital for almost dying, wait how about this, instead of me going with you, you take Junko along?"
He had a coughing fit before responding.
"H-Hokaze-san?"
"Yeah, what's wrong?"
"N-Nothing, sure if I'd make you feel better sure."
Misaki sighed in relief, "Okay, now if you don't mind can you carry me the rest of the way down."
Part 5
After waiting a few minutes outside there she was Hokaze Junko she was a girl with gorgeous purple hair in ringlet curls. She was the #2 of Shokuhou's clique and as such she knew very much of Touma's relationship with her Queen.
"Good morning. I'm sorry if it took me a while to get here." Her tone was so polite and full of innocence.
"H-Hey Hokaze-san."
Her eyes then turned to him, "It's nice to see you again Kamijou-sama."
"I-It's good to see you too."
With that, she went over to her Queen as they discussed the terms of Touma's furlough. She was not to let Touma out of her sight as well as to protect him from the obvious upcoming misfortunate events that were going to happen.
"*Sigh* Misaki is all of this really necessary? I mean it's not like I'm looking for trouble, all I want is to go outside."
"I know, but you also know that that's not gonna happen given your misfortune ability."
"Alright fine, but no spying."
"But-"
"Shokuhou, I'm serious."
The look in his eyes was unmistakable they were that of someone who was not going to take no for an answer.
"*Sigh* Alright fine"
"Thank you, now if you don't mind I'm getting outta here?"
Misaki waved them off as they started to walk away, it took all of her willpower to let them as they left her line of view.
"*Sigh* Touma, I hope you know what you're doing."
"Umm...Kamijou-sama, where are we going?"
"S-Somewhere?"
Truth be told he had no idea. All he really wanted to do was to leave the hospital but, now he had to find something to do for the rest of the day.
And after several minutes of walking, he quickly learned how hard it was to actually make plans.
"Oh, you still have that same phone"
"Mh-hmm, it's not anything particularly elegant but it's enough for me."
She smiled as she showed off her Gekota phone. Which while not very elegant for her cost more than Touma's current wardrobe 50,000 yen!
Seriously, no joke. Look it up. That much for a kid's flip phone.
"Well as long as you're happy….oh, by the way, how did the whole club thing work out anyway?"
"Wonderful, I actually got a new member."
"Really, who?"
She grinned as she perused through her phone to show her a picture of Mikoto.
"Oh, yeah that makes sense, I always knew Biri Biri liked that kind of stuff."
"Biri Biri?" She tilted her head slightly, unsure what he meant.
"Oh, you know like the onomatopoeia for electricity. I also call her Zapper but I think the new one rolls off the tongue better, you know?"
"You shouldn't make fun of people, you know."
"I umm...no it's not like that I mean, were both friends, so it's all good, please stop looking at me like I just bullied a kid."
"Hmm, what the hell are you doing here?"
They both turned around to see a skinny teen who had pale skin, moppy white hair, and red eyes, he wore a black shirt with a white V pattern on it.
"Yuki, what are you doing here?"
"Tch! Are seriously gonna keep calling me that!"
The boy simply responded with a blank look as he shrugged.
"Ahhh, Kamijou-sama who's your friend?"
"Oh, that's right you've never met before, this is Yuki."
"Tch! My names not-"
"It's a pleasure to meet you Yuki-san"
Accelerator was going to start cursing her out before he noticed the phone in the girl's hands.
"I-Is that a frog?"
"Gekota is not a frog."
"..."
Something clicked inside the misfortunate boy's head as he turned to face him "Oh no."
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"My Queen, you told me to call if I ran into any unforeseen circumstances, and well Kamijou-sama ran into his friend."
"Which one, the blue haired one or the blonde? In either case, keep your distance from them."
"Oh neither of them, his friend's name was Yuki."
"Yuki?"
"Mmmm, they had white hair and red eyes and-"
"WHAT!? HE'S AWAKE!?"
Junko flinched as she pulled the phone away from her ear, "I-Is something the matter?"
"Under no circumstances are you to let them out of your sight!"
"If he's that dangerous why don't I just ask him to leave."
As much as Misaki wanted her to do that, she also didn't want to be the reason why Junko found herself in an early grave.
"N-No, don't do that, just keep an eye on them, I'm counting on you Junko."
"You can count on me, my Queen." She then hung up the phone
"Hey, giant ringlet curl girl and extreme Gekota-phile where the hell were you two going anyways?"
A small tick mark appeared on her forehead. Usually, Junko was one of the kindest people you'd ever meet but, his constant remarks about her tastes were starting to get on her nerves.
"I don't know, and can you please-"
He then turned to Touma "So where the hell are we going?"
"Mmmm...how about the arcade?"
"Ehhhh?"
"Ugh, why the hell would I wanna go there, the only thing different about going there is that there'd be more people to annoy the hell out of me."
"Ummmm…..what about the pool?"
"I, umm I'm still here you know."
She was ignored.
"No."
"Fine then what do you wanna do?"
"I don't know?"
"I uh actually have an idea."
She was further ignored.
"Ugh...hey what about you Hokaze-san? Do you have any ideas?"
Junko's face lit up as her existence was finally acknowledged.
"Yes actually, what if we all went to a cafe? That way we can all talk and relax" This was usually her go to.
The two of them stared at her as though she was delusional.
Accelerator was the first to speak up, "What color is the sky in your world?"
As the three of them walked through the streets Junko actually thought she was making progress in talking with Yuki.
Granted that it was mostly him throwing backhanded insults at her tastes with Kamijou stepping up for her every once in a while when his insults hit too close to home. But all in all, she felt as though she was making progress.
She then glanced over at a poster on the wall that they were passing and saw that it was decorated with Gekota themed design.
Her inner child kicked in and she stopped walking for a moment to read the sign.
Apparently, the carnival had a game where you could win a Rare extra large Gekota Plushie, along with 2 free tickets to Gekota land.
"Hey, Kamijou what if we…..where did everybody go?"
She looked up and down the street and found no one.
Her face became paler as the fact dawned on her that she'd lost Kamijou in only 10 short minutes.
"Uh oh"
Part 6
"Huh? Where did Hokaze-san go?"
Touma looked around on the bus they boarded and quickly realized that she was nowhere in sight.
"Hmm. Lost track of the Gekota-phile already."
Touma shot him an annoyed look, "Hey she's a nice person."
He simply gave a small smirk. "Yeah, I bet….."
"What the hell are you smiling about Yuki."
"Three words…..that never works"
Touma's entire face turned pale as he went into a coughing fit.
As Junko frantically dashed through the streets at superhuman speeds using her ability, Rampage Dress she couldn't find a trace of either of them.
"Oh no, Oh no, Oh no, Oh no, Oh no!"
(AHHH! What's Misaki going to say when I tell her that I lost them within 10 minutes! Calm down. Calm down, it's not as bad as it looks Kamijou-sama a very capable person what's the worst that could happen to him?)
A quick flashback of all the times Junko heard from Misaki that Kamijou went to hospital ran through her head.
"..."
It can be said that there is no greater motivator than fear.
In a flash, a purple blur made its way through the streets of Academy City.
"Well from the looks of it she's not here either."
Touma looked side to side to try to find any trace of the girl but just as the wind blows silently, she was nowhere to be seen.
The two of them had gotten off at the bus's first stop and walked back to try to find her.
"Why don't you just call her?"
"I gave her my phone to charge, she always has one of those portable chargers on her and before you ask I never memorized her number"
"Tch! How much longer are we gonna keep looking?"
"Well it's not like I'm worried about her, she's a Level 4, after all, it's just that I promised I'd let her tag along."
Accelerator rolled his eyes.
"Don't you roll your eyes at me Yuki!"
As they continued walking down the street they both started to pass what looked to be a purple car that had the logo 'Big Spider' tagged on the side of it.
From the looks of it, there were 2 people acting as a lookout for whatever was happening in the alley.
Touma extended his hand in front of his friend to stop him.
"Shhh, do you hear that."
Even from this distance, they could hear what was going on from alleyway.
"Would you assail me, knowing that I am Kongo Mitsuko of Tokiwadai Middle School"
Touma grimaced as he could hear them all begin to make fun of the way she talks.
He knew all too well that most people from that school lived sheltered lives and didn't fully grasp the world outside of the Gardens.
He then began marching towards the alleyway when one of the two thugs who were lookout noticed him.
"What the hell you think you doing here kid!? Get lost if you don't want me to kick your ass!"
Touma clenched his fist as he began approaching him.
Seeing this Accelerator sighed, "Oh for the love of….ARGH!"
A loud ear-piercing sound filled the air whatever it was almost caused Accelerator to collapse onto the ground. If it wasn't for the fact that only moments later the sound stopped as he raised his vector reflection up against soundwaves.
For whatever amount of time, this took him, Touma had already gone into the alleyway.
When Accelerator finally managed to walk over he was met with Touma standing over 5 unconscious thugs with a multitude of different injuries.
However, a few things immediately stood out to the young albino esper, First, Touma was princess carrying some middle school girl in his arms who was unconscious and he was with a tall, muscular man with wavy red hair who was carrying a black leather jacket.
It looked as though they were talking about something though he couldn't hear since he was reflecting all sounds from reaching him.
His presence was soon noticed as they waved to him.
Accelerator cautiously stopped reflecting the sound waves as he approached the two of them.
"Hey, are you alright Yuki?"
"Tch! I'm fine, what the hell happened to her?"
"I was just asking Kurozuma-senpai about that, apparently it was the sound from earlier. I'm guessing that this little ojou-sama couldn't handle it and passed out."
Accelerator then turned to Kurozuma and narrowed his eyes, "Who exactly are you and how do you know this?"
Unlike Touma, he was far less trusting of new people.
The man simply smiled and chuckled slightly, "Sure, I'm Kurozuma Wataru and I'll tell you everything you wanna know but first, can you call Judgement and make sure that girl gets some medical attention I don't want her getting sick or anything, I really don't know the specifics of how it works just that it hurts espers."
Touma nodded, "Sure, hey Yuki can I borrow your phone?"
Accelerator begrudgingly passed him his phone not once letting this new person out of his sight.
Part 7
Judgment Office 177
After the past few eventful days, Mikoto was glad that she was finally able to get some peace and quiet. Except she really wasn't, in fact, she'd used the excitement of the last few days as an excuse not to visit Touma in the hospital.
She didn't know how to face him after finding out that he and Shokuhou were a couple. I mean how is that even possible? She's a manipulative person who uses her powers for her convenience and he was a kind person and has a strong sense of justice. And what's worse was she couldn't bear looking at his face again after he completely broke his mind. How could she keep quiet about this? Even though she hated everything Shokuhou stood for she still felt guilty about not telling her about this.
She knew she couldn't keep avoiding it as Index kept hounding her about it and her friends were no different, well except Kuroko.
Though that all changed when she got a phone call from her new club president.
Apparently, there was something she needed help with and she wanted to meet her at the Judgement Offices.
She sounded worried.
Mikoto sighed as she sat patiently on the couch.
"What could Hokaze-san need help with?"
As Kuroko shuffled through various files on her desk she answered, "Hmmm..I don't really know Onee-sama, what I'm more curious about is why she went to you for help?"
"What'd you mean?"
"I mean she's the number two of Shokuhou's clique, why would she go to you for help when she has that big of a network."
Before Mikoto could give a reply a series of knocks came from the door.
The moment Mikoto answered it she was greeted by Junko who looked like a nervous wreck.
"Hokaze-san, what happened!?"
It took a moment for her to respond.
"I-I need your help finding a missing person."
Hearing this Kuroko immediately teleported closer, "I'm sorry Hokaze-san, but Onee-sama has no jurisdiction over those types of affairs." She then narrowed her eyes towards the poor girl, "So, who's missing?"
"I-I-I"
Mikoto reassuringly held onto her shoulder, "Don't worry, I'll help too."
"I lost Kamijou-sama"
What followed was a fit of laughter from Kuroko.
Once Kuroko had finished laughing, they all talked about the case.
"I-I just looked away for one second and he was gone."
"H-Hokaze-san, why are you referring to him as though he was a little kid?"
Junko cupped her hands and looked at Mikoto with pleading eyes, "T-The thing is, Kamijou-sama wasn't supposed to come out of the hospital today. He actually snuck out and The Queen asked me to watch him in case he got in any more trouble or his wounds started opening up. Except I got distracted and lost him within 10 minutes."
"I-Is he okay? I mean did he seem alright when you met him today?"
"Yes I believe so, he didn't look injured, maybe a little bit tired but aside from that he seemed alright."
Kuroko then turned to the girl, "So why are you here? I mean with all of the resources at Shokuhou's disposal, why did you come here?"
Junko began to twiddle with her thumbs, "I-It's just...No one is supposed to know Kamijou-sama exists, so I can't just ask for their help and I can't go back to the Queen telling her that I lost him so quickly after she put all her trust in me, I just want to find him first and then tell her. And since he said that he was your friend I assumed you already knew."
Suddenly in the background, a phone began ringing and Kuroko went over to pick it up.
Mikoto turned to Junko and smiled, "Don't worry we'll find him, besides what's the worst that could happen to him?"
"Okay if you guys don't mind, I'm headed off to take down Big Spider."
Touma then began walking off to The Strange an area located within District 10.
"Whoa, Whoa, Whoa slow down there man, I know you got heart but, what's the rush? I told you didn't I, I have a plan that to take them down but it'll take some time. There's no need to kill yourself over this."
Touma stood there looking at him for a moment, "You're right I'd probably die if I went in there right now, but tell me this Kurozuma-senpai, can you be sure that no one else will get hurt while we wait for your plan?"
"..."
"I know it may seem rash but, I've seen what this kind of hate leads too, the type of hate where people blame their own shortcomings on the victories of others. If I just sit back and wait for someone else to fix this problem and someone else got hurt I wouldn't be able to live with myself, I made a promise that I'd never pass on the responsibility to save someone's life to someone else and I don't intend to break that promise right now, thanks for telling me about this but, I think I got it from here."
Kurozuma smiled, "Heh, you got heart kid, I'll give you that but, seeing as you have no idea where Big Spider is keeping their equipment you'll need someone to show you."
Touma smiled, "Okay then let's go."
"Hey hold up a minute, what about me? Don't think I'm just gonna follow you into some petty gang war."
Touma had a quizzical look on his face, "I never asked you to come, Yuki."
Accelerator stood there shocked, "What!? Why?"
Touma smiled at him, "I know you don't like fighting people, so I don't want to force you to do anything you're uncomfortable with, besides what kind of a friend would I be if I asked you to risk your life over something like this. Bye"
His words were genuine. There was no hidden alternative or agenda in sight. He truly just cared for his friend's well-being.
He watched them as they began to walk away.
"..."
('I'm not good with people, in fact, me talking to him was probably the longest conversation I ever had with another human being. At first, I just got close to him because I thought it might lead me to get stronger but now…)
When you pretend to feel a certain way you might find yourself truly feeling that way.
('Why don't I know anymore….')
That's when it finally clicked in his head.
It wasn't that he didn't know how to interact with others. It was that no one else ever tried to interact with him.
Except him.
For as long as he could remember his life was just filled with others using him for one reason or the other. Whether that be for science or for glory.
He didn't care about any of that. He didn't see the strongest esper in the world, all he saw was his friend…..
Friend?
"..."
Before he could process what was going on he could already see them getting closer.
Why?
He looked down and could see his legs begin to move forward.
"*sigh* Wait up."
As Junko, Kuroko, Konori, and Mikoto made it to the scene of an esper attack they were surprised to see that the victim in all of this was completely uninjured apparently someone had placed a call to Judgment as soon as she fainted.
When Kuroko walked into the alley and saw that it was filled with a multitude of unconscious thugs.
Kuroko then turned to her superior Konori.
"This would appear to put a stop to the recent surge in esper hunts being conducted by Skill-Out, wouldn't you say Konori-senpai?"
She didn't respond immediately as she looked to be in deep thought.
"Who would have thought that they'd be foolish enough to actually go after Kongo Mitsuko. It wouldn't have mattered how many of them ganged up on her Level 0 stray dogs are no match for a Level 4."
Her condescending attitude didn't go unnoticed by Mikoto as she shook her head disapprovingly.
"I uh…..didn't mean it like that Onee-sama, please stop looking at me like I just did a faux pas…..you're breaking my heart *sniff*"
Konori finally began to speak up, "Regardless it didn't happen like that. According to what she said, she was unable to use her ability for some reason. That's when two unidentified people went on the scene and took them out and…...Tamezo?"
Konori then watched as two paramedics carried one of the thugs away.
"Konori-senpai?"
"Oh ah...it's nothing, is Uiharu-san's questioning going well?"
Kuroko then walked over to her friends who were all speaking to Kongo about what she saw.
"After that, I passed out and when I woke up all the thugs were unconscious."
Mikoto clicked her tongue, "There's nothing more despicable than when men gang up on a girl."
Uiharu continued her questioning, "Is there anything else you remember?"
Kongo grasped her head as she tried to remember, "Yes, but I don't know what they're called, those leather articles that those gentlemen who ride on motorcycles wear…"
Junko clapped her hands, "Ohh I know what you're talking about…...though I too don't know the term for it."
Uiharu looked at both of them with awe.
They didn't know what a leather jacket was called.
(A True Ojou-sama)
"Do you mean a leather jacket?"
They both nodded simultaneously, "Yes that's it! One of the men was carrying one, he also had a large spider Tattooed on his back. I remember one of them gently carrying me in their arms away from the alley."
"Do you remember what the gentlemen who carried you looked like?"
Kongo nodded, "There's no way I'd forget that man. He had black spiky hair, he had a warm and kind pair of eyes with an infectiously positive smile." She blushed slightly remembering how he carried her to safety.
"..."
Junko's face became as pale as a ghost as she reached for her phone to show Kongo a picture of Touma, "I-I-Is this the gentlemen in question?"
"Yes, that's it! Do you know this gentleman?"
"..."
"H-Hokaze-san it's okay you don't need to cry...Kuroko stop laughing!"
"Hahahaha, not even an hour on the streets and the troglodyte already joined a gang!"
Mikoto tried her best to comfort Junko but Kuroko's laughing wasn't helping.
"AHHH! … AHHH! … AHHH! …"
"Hokaze-san, there's no need to freak out I'm sure-"
Junko had finally snapped.
"THIS WASN'T HOW TODAY WAS SUPPOSED TO TURN OUT! WE WERE SUPPOSED TO GO TO A CAFE AND TALK, BUT I TOOK MY EYES OFF HIM FOR ONE SECOND AND HE WENT OUT AND JOINED A GANG! MISAKI IS GOING TO KILL ME!"
Everyone on the scene turned to see her meltdown.
"H-Hokaze-san please calm down."
Junko was hugging her head and screaming.
"WE HAVE TO FIND HIM!"
During all of this Kuroko never stopped laughing, that is until the sound of electricity could be heard crackling overhead.
Part 8
"So that's the plan"
Accelerator looked Touma curiously, "Since when did you become an expert in gang wars? Not that it's a bad plan it's just…."
Touma chuckled as he stopped walking.
The two of them stopped as they saw Touma point his hand towards the sky.
"I Kamijou Touma have a dream, I'm going to stop Big Spider, and get this weapon off the streets. And then I'm going to become a Gang Star!"
"What!?"
Touma tilted his head confused, "You don't get it? It's part 5."
"Ohh I get." Kurozuma nodded.
"You do!? What the hell is part 5!?" Accelerator demanded.
"Jojo's"
There was a long pause as Accelerator took all of this in.
"YOU'RE BASING OUR ENTIRE PLAN ON A FUCKING MANGA!"
"Whoa, Whoa, Whoa it's Jojo's"
"That's it, I'm going home."
"Nope, sorry Yuki you're here till the end now, you even begged us to bring you along."
"Tch! Whatever, so in the end, your plan is to kick the wannabe Kurozuma's ass"
"Yep"
"Is this how you usually solve most of your problems?" Accelerator questioned.
"Yeah, usually it works 9 out of 10 times."
"What about the 1 out 10?"
"Ohh, I get my butt kicked."
Accelerator rubbed his temples, "That surprisingly makes a lot of sense."
Touma nodded, "By the way Kurozuma-senpai why did you start a gang? You don't seem the type."
Kurozuma started to laugh, "Yeah you're right about that, it was never really a gang to start with more like a friends get together kind of thing, the only reason they called us a gang was because we would fight guys who would pick on other people."
"Then what were the leather jackets for?"
"Heh, to look cool of course."
"*sigh* So how did that become this?" Accelerator questioned.
"Well you see, a while back I got badly hurt and everybody thought I died, that's when Hebitani Tsuguo took over. He was a good guy when I was still there but once I left he took the gang in an entirely new direction, he started claiming he was me to keep the gang from dissolving and used his new position to start hunting down innocent people."
Kurozuma looked downtrodden for a moment, "From what I heard he started making shady backroom deals in order to get his hands on Capacity Down. Now that he's got it he started using it to hunt down high-level espers in order to boost whatever sick morale he instilled into the gang. When I heard about this I knew I had to put a stop to it, so I came out of the hospital and started tracking down all the Capacity Down equipment he got and stopped as many as those guys as I could."
Accelerator looked to be in deep thought, "Capacity Down? So whatever backroom deals, your so-called friend made must have been with someone important. If I had to take a guess they were using them as a test subject to test out Capacity Down without getting their own hands dirty. Heh, given a few more days they would've gotten all the data they needed and took care of them."
"I know, that's why I was so adamant in stopping them. As misguided as they may be, no one deserves to die like that."
The three then made it to the border of The Strange.
Judgement Office 177
After managing to coax Junko down. They all went back to the Judgement Office to review what happened. Apparently, the gang that was in the Alley was Big Spider.
"Big Spider?" Kuroko asked.
Uiharu nodded, "Yes from Miss Kongo's testimony we were able to find a link to Kurozuma Wataru. Big Spider is a rather well-known faction of Skill-Out, apparently 2 years ago Big Spider started expanding their influence. It was right at that time when they started using weapons, they carried out repeated criminal offenses."
Konori seemed to be at a loss from hearing this.
"The leader is named Kurozuma Wataru, he appears to be someone who has no qualms in backstabbing his friends."
Kuroko clicked her tongue, "In other words, he's a real scumbag"
Konori clenched her fist at this.
"Wait, wasn't this the man who saved Kongo-san? Why would he do something like that?" Mikoto questioned.
"What if it was just a falling out?"
Junko shook her head, "I very much doubt that even if Kamijou-sama were to join a gang he would save Kongo-san regardless."
Uiharu then popped her head up, "I managed to find their base of operations. It's in the Strange it's an area apart of District 10."
"So, are we going?"
Kuroko thought about it "Well it's outside of our Jurisdiction, but since a case like that happened in our district we should be able to make it stick, what do you say Konori-senpai?"
Without even looking up from her laptop, Konori replied, "I'm sorry but I must get these reports completed today."
"Huh?"
Mikoto grinned, "Well, let's go."
"Onee-sama!"
Junko nodded, "I agree with Misaka-san. Let's go"
"Yeah! We're pitch hitting for Konori-senpai! Come on Kuroko!"
The Strange
Touma crouched behind a dumpster in front of the Warehouse that stored most of the Capacity Down equipment as he surveyed the area. From what he could tell there was no one there.
"So let's go over a plan. You and Yuki cause a distraction and while you do that I'll sneak into the building undetected and one by one break all of the Capacity Down equipment. If all goes smoothly, this should be simple."
Touma then looked around and saw he was missing one team member.
"Hey, Kurozuma. Where'd Yuki go?"
*TAP*
They both turned around to see the entire warehouse get swallowed up by a giant chasm while Accelerator stood there in front of it all nonchalantly yawning while a multitude of thugs questioned their life choices.
"What's next?"
It was here that both of them felt some sort of pity for them.
"W-We'll now we just gotta challenge the wannabe Kuruzuma."
Accelerator rolled his eyes, "Alright let's get this over with."
The trio then found themselves in a rundown building with the words Big Spider Tagged on the side.
Before entering Accelerator spotted another car that had the sound system rigged with the Capacity Down Equipment.
In a second, he picked up a pebble and threw it at the car.
*BOOOM!*
Suffice to say the car was thoroughly and utterly obliterated as it went up against a pebble moving at the speed of sound.
Without skipping a beat the three of them marched up to the front door where Kurozam kicked in the front door.
"AHHHHH WHAT THE HELL!?" Tsuguo cried out.
Tsuguo had his signature leather jacket with his hair in a punch perm, from the look on his face, he was utterly terrified.
Tsuguo then turned to see one of the men who broke in, "B-But you're supposed to dead!?"
"Hebitani, long time no see."
Tsuguo then began to back up panicked at the sudden turn of events.
"There's no way you could survive something like that!"
"Okay, fine I'm a ghost then, doesn't change the outcome all that much anyways, these kids have a lot of heart you see."
"G-Ghost!? If you're a ghost then, why don't you go back to your grave! Go on men let them have it!"
*Tap*
Before a single thug could attack they were all flung from the ground into the wall at high speeds knocking them out.
"Y-You idiots turn on the Capacity Down!"
One of the thugs then turned to him with a ghastly pale face, "W-We can't they're all gone! Someone destroyed all of them including the one in the warehouse."
Accelerator then raised his hand, "Guilty."
Kuruzuma then cracked his neck, "Quick, say a snappy one-liner."
Accelerator looked at him dumbfounded, "Are you freaking kidding, what kind of an idiot would say-"
Touma then clenched his fist as he pointed it at Tsuguo, "Clench your teeth you wannabe thug because I'm gonna shatter that fucked up illusion of yours!"
"Goddammit"
As the Mikoto walked through The Strange she couldn't believe how quiet it was. Granted every corner was graffitied and all the cleaning robots were destroyed, but still, you'd think you'd run into someone.
"Hey Hokaze-san, I've been meaning to ask you about Shokuhou."
Junko tilted her head slightly, "What about?"
She fumbled with her words for a moment, "H-How did they become a couple? I mean I don't get."
"Onee-sama, why do you sound so disappointed."
"I-I'm not! I'd just like to know that's all."
Junko smiled as she remembered. "Well, I believe they first met last summer and ever since that they were inseparable, actually it was only a month or two ago that Kamijou-sama asked the Queen for a relationship."
Both Mikoto and Kuroko's mouth gaped open, "Seriously!?"
Junko nodded, "I remember he gave me a letter to give to the Queen to ask her for a date. She was so thrilled when she received it."
Kuroko raised her eyebrows, "Wait he gave the letter to you?"
Junko nodded, "Yes, he was so nervous when he did so too."
It then dawned on both of them what actually happened.
Before any of them could say another word two thugs came running down the streets towards them. From the look on their faces, it seemed as though they stared death straight in the face.
"AHHHH!"
"W-What's wrong!? What happened!?"
One of the thugs fainted before he could reach them with the other barely able to stand, "T-They came out of nowhere! They came in and took down all of Big Spider!"
Junko turned pale, "They have to be talking about someone else, right?"
"One of the guys said he was gonna shatter our illusions before he started fighting with the boss."
"..."
Within seconds Junko activated Rampage Dress and zipped through the streets like a blur.
"Kuroko what're you doing?"
"Calling for backup."
*BANG*
The fight, if you could call it that was a complete massacre for Big Spider. Many of them tried to run away but they quickly found themselves blocked off by the Number 1 esper in Academy City as Kuruzama began beating them all to a pulp. The only thing left to do was to deal with the boss who was currently fighting Touma.
"I-I'm warning you bastard! I'll kill you!" Tsuguo then pulled out a gun and pointed it at Touma's face.
Touma stared him down "Tch! Is that how you're able to feel good about yourself, you bastards always say that the reason you do things was that you were afraid that espers would use their powers to oppress you."
He then took another step closer.
"I-I'm warning you!"
"Yet, you go out actively hunting down innocent people who haven't done anything wrong!"
Even though Tsuguo had the gun in his hands he still backed up. "You don't know jack!"
"That's why I'm gonna shatter that fucked up Illusion of yours!"
*BANG*
As the bullet fired from the gun Touma never once faltered as he began to run towards him.
The bullet must have missed his face by only a few millimeters.
*THWACK*
Touma could hear the sound of Tsuguo's jaw breaking as his fist landed on his face.
Everyone on the scene had stopped what they were doing once Tsuguo had fired his gun and the shock on all there faces was apparent as they saw the Boss of Big Spider skid across the ground a good 3 meters from where he was.
At the sight of this, all of the remaining thugs gave into their despair and surrendered.
"*Pant* Is there anyone else!"
"..."
"*Pant *Pant* Good! If I see anyone of you guys ever use something like this again then I'll be back and I won't rest until I beat the hell out of all of you guys!"
Kuruzuma smiled, "Well kid, I gotta say this went better than I could've expected."
Before Touma could say another word he was spear tackled by familiar Gekota-phile, "Kamijou-sama!"
"EHHHH! Hokaze-san, what are you doing here?"
"Oh you finally showed up Gekota-phile, I was wondering what happened to you."
Junko sighed, "I heard the gunshot are you okay?"
"Y-YEAH I'm fine. Hey, what's that sound?"
Accelerator looked up, "Hmm from the sound of it, it's Anti Skill."
Both Junko and Touma's face turned pale, "We have to get out of here!"
Just as all of them were going to make a run for it Kuruzuma stood still.
"Eh!? Kurozuma-senpai what're you doing!? We gotta get out of here!"
Kuruzuma smiled at them, "Heh, sorry no can do, a good captain always goes down with his ship."
Accelerator stared at him, "What the hell are you spouting on about?"
"You see, I was the one who made Big Spider, even if they twisted it like this, it's still my responsibility to handle, thanks for helping me guys, I know it was only for less than a day but, it felt really good to fight beside people who I'd call my friends. So get outta here! I'll make sure nobody escapes while Anti-Skill comes."
Touma looked at him with awe, "Kurozuma-senpai!"
"Hmmm?"
"I don't think you need that leather jacket to look cool, you're already more than enough as it is."
Kurozuma smiled as he took off his jacket and threw it at him, "Here a little going away present from me, you should have it anyways kid."
Touma smiled as he took the jacket and ran.
They all looked back and saw him standing there like a guardian with his back pointed towards them emphasizing the giant spider Tattooed on his back.
"Kamijou-sama who was that man?"
Touma smiled, "He's just a good guy."
Part 9
A Certain Hospital
Once the new trio finally managed to escape District 10 they were finally able to breathe easy.
Eventually, Touma filled in Junko to all the details that she'd missed and she did the same.
Touma rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "I'm sorry if I made you worry honest. It's just, I couldn't just stand back and watch those guys as they targeted people just because of their ranking…"
"It's quite alright really, I'm just glad you're alright is all."
Junko then sighed as she began walking towards the hospital.
Touma then looked over at the city. The Sunset light illuminated over Academy City's technology like diamonds do to light, filling the air with a rich orange color.
Touma then turned his head and saw Accelerator, "Hey thanks for today."
"Whatever."
"By the way, remember what I said to you a couple of days ago, about not knowing who you are anymore?"
"Yeah, what about it?"
"Well, I think you're wrong. Even if you don't know what's real or what's not, I know in my heart what is. Because the things that are real for me is the feeling I get from helping people. Even if I don't know what's going on anymore that feeling still motivates this version of me. I might not know what's real or not but, I know this feeling in my heart is. And I think that's enough for me. Even if my entire life was a lie…..I'd still be okay because of this feeling I have in here. And because of that I know, I'm Kamijou Touma."
Accelerator looked at the smiling boy curiously, "Whatever you say."
Touma then gave off a small chuckle, "Heh, sorry if I got sappy there for a second. But in all honesty, this day turned out to be really nice, hell I even got a new leather jacket."
Accelerator stared at him, "Are you just gonna forget about the part where the guy almost blew your brains out?"
Unknown to them a fair maiden had a tick mark grow on her head.
"Heh, yeah but it all turned out okay in the end. Hey, why do you look so shocked Yuki?"
Accelerator's eyes widened, "Huh, I guess she is real."
"What're you-"
Suddenly Touma felt a cold shiver run down his spine as someone touched his shoulder.
"Touma….What's this I hear about you joining a gang?" The aura she gave off was one that should not be trifled with.
"I-uh you got it all wrong you see-"
"Did my hearing ability also fail me when I overheard the two of you talking about how you almost got shot."
"I-uh...Yuki where are you going!?"
Accelerator waved him off as he walked back into the hospital laughing, "Heh, A good captain always goes down with his ship, right?"
(You MOTHERF-)
"Touma…"
"Y-Yes?"
"I think we're going to need to have a long talk about this."
"Such Misfortune."
Epilogue
Once Miskai had finished giving him the riot act about abandoning Junko. She was far more forgiving about his actions regarding Big Spider. She understood why he did it and even praised him for it. Once that was done he told her about his day and they said their goodbyes.
As Touma laid there in his bed he was reading the last Manga he had left.
"*Sigh*"
That's when he heard a knock on the door.
"Um...come in."
In stepped Misaka Mikoto the third-ranked Level 5 Esper in Academy City.
"Hey, sorry about not coming to visit earlier it's just...I had other things I needed to do first. So, how are you feeling?"
Touma gave her a genuinely warm smile, "Good, thanks for asking…...Biri Biri"
The sounds of electricity crackling and glass shattering echoed through the hallways. Along with the sounds of two kids laughing.