Greetings to all!

Okay, okay, okay...no excuses, I was playing games and got sidetracked by them. I can't help it, it's been a great month for gamers considering some of the new releases were ones I had the full intention of playing the moment I had the oppertunity. I haven't completed them yet, so the chances of me sneaking back to them are high. Rest assured, I will try to focus more on my work than my guilty pleasure; but I promise nothing. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the delayed update of A Certain World of Darkness!

Under normal circumstances, forecast regarding the 17th of May would have been on of the most ideal days for students to congregate outdoors. The sun was out, the sky was devoid of any signs of overcast; essentially displaying the characteristics that would usually define a perfect day outdoors. Even though Academy City was composed of tall structures which blotted out this usually tranquil visage of the heavens, numerous parks were still accessible for those who wished to indulge in the sun's warmth. Of course, there was one particular issue which made today not so ideal and more dreadful than anything else.

"Basically…" Specifically speaking, a certain short-statured blonde was not enjoying what this day had wrought. "-it's too damn hot!"

This proclamation, though sudden, was hardly viewed as oddly as it normally would have been by those around to hear it. If anything, some of the students along the sidewalk could sympathize with the blonde; hell some were even nodding their heads in agreement. Today was indeed hotter than it had been in recent days, something that was glaringly obvious if one were to just observe the masses long enough. Everyone seemed to be uncomfortable, sweat could usually be found on anyone who passed by, and three out of four people were carrying around a cool beverage of some sort or another for the sake of keeping themselves hydrated.

Frenda, however, didn't have anything of the sort and was not coping well with the dramatic increase in the temperature outdoors. Usually, May was considered as a rainy season and given the current temperatures, she would have preferred rain over the heat. Sadly, that was not to be, thus she was forced to endure this for one day at most, today and tomorrow at the least. That was what she was hoping for, though these hopes could be affirmed had she simply checked her phone for the weather forecast for the week. Never the less, the fact remained that it was still hot and that would not change until they either went indoors or until nightfall; something which the blonde couldn't wait to arrive.

But, as the past has shown, Frenda was not well known for her patience.

"I don't get it, why couldn't it rain?" Complained the girl in question, having taken shelter underneath the shade of a nearby building to avoid the sun's rays. "At least I can basically prepare for that with an umbrella. But heat, the only thing I can do at this point is basically strip; and even that still wouldn't do much but give people a good show."

"Oi, Frenda, quit complaining back there and come on."

A pitiful whine was what followed shortly after this command was made, causing the speaker to pause and turn to address the blonde who was being particularly difficult today. Upon facing the girl, Mugino was not surprised to find her looking quite reluctant to leave the shaded area for any reason; something which actually erected the brief sightings of annoyance to flash on the girl's facial features. To some degree, Mugino could understand the girl's issues since it was mildly hot out today; but in her mind Frenda was still overacting a bit with this change. She herself was far from unaffected by it, but the difference between the two of them was that she could tolerate it so long as the heat didn't climb any higher.

But honestly, Frenda was being far too overdramatic about this; especially since she had not stopped whining about it since their meet-up.

"But Mugino~" From another perspective, this pitiful and bratty behavior may have been viewed as cute at best, immature at worst. In Shizuri's case, it was yet another annoying trait which could sometimes put a heavy strain on her nerves. "It's basically too hot to be walking around like this! Besides, you still won't tell me where we're going~"

"Tch, I told you enough when I said we were going to meet with someone." Murmured the taller young woman lowly, clicking her tongue as she cross her arms under her sizeable chest. The lowered volume however, was quick to revert back to normal as she proceeded to speak further on the current matter at hand. "Maybe if you just quit complaining every two minutes and hiding in the shade we'd get there faster."

In a brazen display of pure childishness, Frenda's cheeks puffed outwardly as she slowly stalked away from the shade and towards her friend and leader. This pouty expression was undoubtedly noted by the taller girl in question, but instead of addressing it she merely turned away and continued to lead the blond down the sidewalk towards their yet to be specified destination. This only further ruined the blonde's mood since it was obvious to her now that she was being pointedly ignored. Though, that wasn't an uncommon practice for Mugino, it still did its job in gaining a reaction out of the shorter girl. Attest to most cases, however, Frenda didn't simply stay in this deflated state for very long once it became clear that Mugino wasn't paying her much attention.

Thinking back on the day's events, things had started relatively strange considering how things played out earlier that day.

Unlike the last time Frenda had been given a task by girl, Mugino had specifically told her to meet up with her once class was no longer in session. When questioned about it, all Mugino said in response was that they were to meet someone. Who that person was, she did not say; nor did she specify where they would be meeting the person either. Based on the lack of assignments in the past week, Frenda's immediate assumption was that they were meeting with an employer for a new job. Shortly after that though was presented, however, it had been tossed aside due to how the Level 5 was approaching it.

For as long as she had been a part of ITEM, she could not particularly recall any instance in time which any of its members met with the client when taking up an assignment. Typically speaking, Mugino either spoke to the client via phone or all four of them would be briefed via text message from their manager. Face-to-face contracts, however, never happened when it came to receiving work; not even their manager met with them in person; a fact that still riled up the Meltdowner at times. All that being said, it had become very clear to the blonde that this was not about receiving work.

That still left the question hanging in the air as to who they were supposed to be meeting out here in this blistering heat.

In such a situation such as this, many probably would have made the suggestion to simply ask her for more details. Said people who made that suggestion would not be so willing to do so had they been in her shoes; not that she could particularly blame them to be honest. Let it not be said that Frenda viewed the Level 5 in a bad light; quite the opposite actually and for a verity of reasons. Mugino was her idol in some ways, for she was everything that she wished she could be but wasn't. She had class, a good sense of fashion, gorgeous features, money, and above all power that only seven people in the city could match. But, at the same time, there were factors about her which Frenda was to be weary of; case in point being agitating or testing her patience.

That wasn't to say Mugino was difficult to approach; for most instances she could be without much issue so long as she acknowledges the person as someone worth speaking to. ITEM was obviously within that list, but there was still more 'rules' in the grand process of things. Most of those guidelines were circumstantial more so than anything else; made for the sake of avoiding any triggers which would provoke any hostility from the Meltdowner. In this particular case, asking her anything would probably not result in a straightforward response; rather she would either get no answer at all at best or a verbal threat at the worst.

The thing about Mugino's threats, however, were that they weren't empty; meaning if she said she would do it then you can bet at some point she will carry it out. It may not be immediate, may not take place that day or even the next, but she eventually would carry out her claim.

There was also the possibility that Frenda's overactive mind when regarding Mugino was making her overreact a bit and creating irrational thoughts. Perhaps that was the case here, perhaps she is a bit paranoid, but precautions were to be expected when dealing with someone such as Shizuri. It's the careless and the stupid who end up being dead, not the cautious and smart ones; at least that's how she chose to view things.

As time passed, as each step took them closer towards their destination, normal protocols when regarding the Level 5 were beginning to die away as her curiosity climbed ever closer towards its peak. Frenda had originally met up with the taller girl at the heart of District 7, yet as far as she was aware they were heading south of the district. Judging on their current location and her general knowledge of this area of the city, there was only one place of any significance at the sound end of it. That place was the School Garden, a place that was surrounded by four highly prestigious middle schools and was known for its complete lack of male populous.

Anyone else wouldn't have found the idea of Mugino going there all that odd; as it was the best place to go if she wanted to enjoy her time without being forced to deal with the male student body trying to garter her attention. ITEM, however, knew enough about the girl to know that she detested the place, the atmosphere, the schools, and especially the students with a passion. In Mugino's eyes, they were just a bunch of spoiled little brats who couldn't tell the difference between their foot and their ass. So, based on this knowledge, why was she heading in the direction of a place she despised so much?

"Um, Mugino…" As a result of that nagging curiosity, it was of no surprise that her curiosity eventually won and caused her to speak out. "Basically, why are we heading towards the School Garden?"

Immediately after proposing this inquiry, the shorter girl shrunk down as Mugino's head shifted ever slightly to the side; as if peering at her through the locks of soft-tea colored hair. As previously stated, a certain degree of caution was necessary when approaching someone such as Shizuri; especially if she was not in a favorable mood. The fact that Frenda wished she could shrink away until she was just about the size of a gain of sand spoke volumes of how increadibly small the Meltdowner could make someone feel under her gaze. Though, technically speaking, the blonde was not able to actually see her face thanks to her hair obscuring it; but the feeling was still there. It was just that air of superiority that she held that made her and many others feel the exact same way as she did now.

To Frenda, ever second she didn't speak felt like an hour; and long periods of silence were never signs of anything good.

"Tch, School Garden; what kind of a joke is that?" Retorted the girl, clicking her tongue as she brushed her hair off of her shoulder as she straightened her gaze back to where she was going. Based on the mixture of amusement with hints of irritation, it was safe to assume that she wasn't as upset with as the blonde had originally assumed. "What the hell would I go to a place filled with middle-school brats for anyways?"

"B-basically, I have no idea why we would go there either." Answered the blonde once it became clear that Shizuri wasn't asking a rhetorical question, but instead addressing her directly. Still, if that wasn't their destination, where else could they possibly be going? That was the thought which resulted in Frenda following her statement with an additional question. "So, basically, where are we going then?"

"You'll see." Retorted the Mugino, purposely being vague for either out of annoyance with Frenda or generally unwilling to disclose the location to the blonde. It was anyone's guess which of those choices was the correct one, though Frenda was still willing to assume the former rather than the latter. "So keep up and stop asking-"

Obvious as it was, the abrupt cut-off was something that even the most casual observer would take note of the moment they heard it. Admittedly, however, it was not her sudden pause in words which caught Frenda's attention. Rather, it was the equally abrupt halt in movement that caused the blonde's awareness to increase. It did not take someone of above average intelligence to gather that something had caught her friend's full attention. As to what that something was, Frenda was not sure since she was not able to see what her friend saw; mainly due to being directly behind her. That changed, however, after she adjusted her position followed the girl's gaze; which immediately cause her to suddenly stiffen up beside the Level 5 she now stood next to.

Similar as their current posture's were, their expressions were completely different from one another.

"Found him…"

Between the two young women, it was the taller one who appeared to be pleased with the situation. Unfortunately, the smirk that was present was far from being a benevolent, instead appearing to be quite malicious with the predatory gleam in her gaze amplifying that malevolence intent further.

Mugino's choice of company, however, was quite the opposite in regards to the sight of that particular individual.

"…basically, not him."

Most people who were either fortunate or unfortunate enough to know of him, there was a certain fact of life that usually always played a critical role in Kamijou's day-to-day life. It was nothing considerably ground-breaking or overly dramatic; but it was something rather obvious once one gained a sliver of knowledge about him. To those acquainted with him, even if it wasn't directly, it was common knowledge that he was undoubtedly the most unfortunate individual they would ever possibly meet in the life. For every unfortunate occurrence that could possibly happen usually would happen to him and that was not an exaggeration by any means.

Sprinkler malfunction, Touma would be doused with water. Waitress with a tray slips; Touma is coated with whatever was on it. Poor homework turnout, Touma was punished for it. If one could imagine it, it could and most likely would happen or has already happened to him at some point in his life. Some were sympathetic about it, others were just grateful that it wasn't them; the latter being expected as anyone would feel the same way to some degree or another. Some people laughed, some people walked away, and some provided a helping hand; but ultimately those same people would regard any incident that occurred around him as normal and now chose to simply ignore or disregard it.

Uncouth as it may have sounded, Touma was not upset about it; having grown used to his misfortune and had come to accept it as part of his lifestyle.

It was much better than how it used to be, though that was a story for a different time.

With this knowledge, with this awareness, it was very peculiar to those who knew him when he was not suffering from his usual stroke of bad luck.

Bare in mind, fate still subjected other's to misfortune just as it did Touma; to a lesser extent if one were to compare to the lad in question. The thing that made it odd was that, each unfortunate happening that occurred, did not directly involve Kamijou in the slightest. They happened around him, but he was not the target of it like usual; wasn't subjected to it and was only present to witness the results. By no means did that imply that Kamijou was the cause, nor did it imply that the events that occurred were as over the top as it could have been for him either. All that it implied, all that it told the students that were effected, was that something just wasn't right today; like fate had decided to pay attention to its other toys aside from its favorite one.

As for Kamijou himself, well, it did not take an Esper to tell that todays events were only adding to his paranoia regarding his sudden bout of good luck.

No one was hurt, the events that had taken place today were few in scope, but that didn't mean a damn thing in his mind. They happened to someone else, they didn't happen to him, which meant that something down-right terrible was going to happen to him eventually. The fact that this was second consecutive day without facing any misfortune only solidified this belief in his mind; thus erecting more panic than he had amassed the day before. As a result, it became evident that the boy in question was a mixed state of confusion, distress, and apparent paranoia.

Not that anyone could or would openly blame him for it; given how his usual luck played out for him.

Needless to say, once students were dismissed from school, with his second day of no supplement lessons, Kamijou felt that the best way to rid himself of these negative emotions was to find a means to entertain himself. Since most of his free time was eaten up by afterschool sessions and other unfortunate happenings, it was rare that he actively went out to enjoy himself. While there was no denying his discomfort with this sudden bout of good luck, he could still indulge it while it was still present.

Hence the reason why he was currently traversing back to his dorm, his intentions being to merely drop his bag off and to get a change of clothes while he was there. Blissfully unaware of his surroundings, his thoughts focusing on what he would do for the day in terms of entertainment; mentally focusing on things that would be indoors for the sake of this sudden rise in temperature.

That changed, however, when he caught sight of something bright along the corner of his vision. To be specific, it was the sight of someone's hair which stood out from the standard black or brunette colors he was accustomed to seeing. When he caught sight of the individual who possessed this unique, in his mind at least, hair, all of his previous musings died immediately. It was when he took notice to the person beside them, every muscle in his body to simultaneously froze; paralyzing him where he stood.

It didn't help much that the person he absolutely did not want to meet was looking at him dead in the face as if he was a piece of meat.

And not in the good way either, if the look in her eyes was of any testament.

Thankfully, the distance between the two of them was great enough that, if he really wanted to, he could slip into a crowd and disappear as he had done in the past. This was only possible due to the fact that both girl's were on the opposite side of the street; which didn't sound very far but every bit of distance he had counted in his mind. Because of this and the fact that cars were still moving along the road, Touma was very inclined to proceed with his escape plan to avoid the both the blonde and her less-than-pleasant company.

Apparently, his intentions were pretty obvious, due to the sudden decline in Mugino's facial expression; her grin replacing itself with the beginnings of a scowl. But instead of simply holding her glare like he assumed, she instead chose to retrieve her phone; a sight that prompted Touma to immediately begin moving before she could return her attention back to him. After only seven steps, though, his phone abruptly began to vibrate; indicating someone was either calling or texting him. Curious, he fished out his phone as he continued to walk; opening the message that was sent to him once it became clear that it wasn't a call.

In his haste to escape the nut-job of a woman, he failed to note that the person who sent him the message was from a foreign number.

Said message was simple, blunt, and resulted in him ceasing all movement once again upon reading the message.

"Move and I'll start firing."

It was amazing how such a simple threat could make someone feel helpless. While he admittedly wasn't smarter than most of his peers, he at least had a firm grasp of common sense when it mattered. Even if it wasn't necessary at this point, he adjusted his gaze back in the direction he was previously facing. His assumptions were confirmed when he was met with an impassive stare from the girl he was desperately trying to avoid. As if to either mock or further prove his theory of the message's sender, she raised her phone to eye level before lightly waving it from side-to-side; emphasizing that she was indeed the person who contacted him.

Fate, it seemed, had his number today after all.

"Fukou-da…"

"Did ya find 'em yet?"

In an undisclosed location, two distinctive young men could be found together seated in the driver and passenger seats of a parked vehicle near the road. The vehicle in question was of little importance, but all the same didn't make them seem conspicuous as it did not stand out too much aside from those who inhabited it. Some may ponder if the vehicle actually belonged to them in the first place, but as things were currently nobody was asking any questions about it. So long as things remained this way, neither of the occupants inside it had much to worry about.

"Yeah, looks like the target has some classmates accompanying them though."

The retort was made by the lad currently occupying the driver's seat; his arms supporting his slightly hunched frame so as to avoid blaring the horn on accident.

"Fuckin-, can't we use that?"

Beside him was his passenger, who had reclined his seat as far back as it would allow; though the relaxing effect it was supposed to have was lost given the teen's irritation.

"…We might, but we need more information before we can really do much."

"Fuck man, I still think a good ol' 'grab-em-n-bag-em' method would work better."

As much as the teen didn't want to admit it, doing just as his partner suggested would have been a quick and ideal approach at the moment. The issue at hand, however, was that they were not aware of how close their target was with the people that they were associating themselves with at the moment. For all they knew, they may not even be friends and merely be classmates and nothing more; something that he believed would not hold much value to the person they were after. Sure, it wouldn't be a problem to just kidnap a random person to get the desired results; but that could easily escalate out of proportion; something they were told to avoid creating.

If things were to go smoothly, they needed to get on a personal level to attain immediate cooperation without any resistance whatsoever.

"If I wasn't told to do this right the first time, I'd have agreed with you."

While it was indeed a fact that neither of the individuals were on good terms, at least one of them was willing to agree to some of the opinions presented by his partner. Mind you, this was not shared by the Yankee next to him; as the aforementioned teen would often complain before he ever admitted to another person being right. Not saying he thought himself as always being right, rather he was just too bullheaded to admit he was wrong.

"Tch, so what we gonna do then; stalk 'em some more or somethin'?"

Sighing, the teen at the steering wheel removed a pair of what appeared to be wine-red tented sunglasses with black side covers; rubbing the bridge of his nose with his free hand shortly afterwards. Judging solely on this reaction, it seemed his partner's lack of patience was starting to effect his own. Difficult as it was to blame a person who hardly did anything but complain since they had started this job.

"We don't have much of a choice." Retorted the lad after a few moments, wiping away the thin layer of sweat that was coating his body off his brow. "First though, let's get the hell out of this hot-box; I'm burning up in here."

"Hehehe, not a fan of da heat are ya, Shougo?"

"Fuck off, Akatoki."

Of all the thoughts that may have fluttered through Kamijou's mind during the course of this formerly auspicious day, his musings never so much as drifted towards the individual seated across him until her appearance. Typically speaking, it isn't uncommon for such a thing to occur, as thoughts regarding individual's usually do not surface unless said person is either in attendance or mentioned. Certain circumstances can alter this depending on the relationship between oneself and the other party. Obviously, the better the relationship, the more frequent that specific person is present in their minds; though the same can be said if the association is negative as well.

As such, Touma and Shizuri had already established that neither of them were on good terms with one another; meaning that neither of them should have been on the other person's mind. That was Kamijou's opinion at least, for he continued to view himself as someone who was not of any significance aside from his right hand. In looks, in grades, in clothes, and in just about every other way; he was just a normal teenager with an extraordinary right arm and nothing more.

Had he voiced this, it would have been an astute claim that anyone worth mentioning would have agreed too.

Mugino, however, was not one of those people.

She had already mentioned in the past that, originally, her intrigue had been perked by it; but it was not the entire reason behind it. Kamijou himself, though infuriating, was an enigma of sorts that she just could not simply ignore. She wanted to know more about this person, know about both normal and abnormal aspects regarding the spiky haired youth sitting across from her. Rare as it was for her to degrade herself to this degree in speaking with some commoner, it was something that she reasoned would be worth it. It had to be worth it, it needed to be worth it; otherwise she had wasted not one but several favors in digging up every bit of dirt that there was to know about the boy.

To do this, Mugino needed to confront him; meet with him face to face again and personally extract every bit of information which concerned her. Much like Frenda, Shizuri also felt that there was something amiss with the information presented. Also like her blonde partner, she deduced that bits and pieces of Kamijou's file had been bastardized to some degree or another. Hell, if she was to draw circles at every false entry on his profile, she could probably make boats, stars, and other shapes all over it. So, with such a degree of tampering present, it went without saying that she wanted to gather the correct facts straight from the source rather than use up any other resources she could use.

Leaving this matter alone was not something she could do; especially not after reading everything she had.

It did not, however, mean she was going to enjoy this confrontation.

Currently, both Kamijou and Mugino were seated at a small wooden table in the park near the location in which the two had crossed paths in the streets. While he personally would have preferred somewhere indoors, the shade provided by the overhanging branches of the trees did their job at blocking the suns rays from blaring down on them; making the outdoors just a bit more bearable than before. Still, why Mugino picked here of all places was a mystery to him; having doubted she had chosen it solely for the scenery and most certainly not for the sake of enjoying his company.

The fact that Frenda was absent from the table only instilled further caution. Aside from the two of them, the area surrounding them was devoid of anyone and thus leaving them alone.

Mentally, Kamijou was already prepared to write the name of his killer in his own blood.

"So…" Touma had to do everything his power not to let peep escape his lips upon hearing Mugino's voice abruptly slicing through the silence between them. He could not, however, prevent his shoulders from twitching a bit out of surprise though. "I take it that, since I haven't heard any complaining yet, my greeting this time was acceptable."

An ice-breaker, no doubt, but Touma wasn't about to complain about it since it seemed he was not good at it himself; not that Mugino's was much better.

"That's a loaded question and you know it." Even if he acknowledged it for what it was, it did not imply that he wouldn't call her out on what was obviously a set up for more insults directed at him. "How did you get my number anyways? I don't remember giving it to you."

Indeed, he did not recall doing so because he damn well knew he hadn't.

"Frenda called me using your phone during that little mix-up last Saturday." Answered the girl without pause, crossing her legs as eased herself back a bit on the chair she was seated in. Of course, she was not being entirely truthful since the blonde in question never had the opportunity to call her using Kamijou's phone. Instead, whilst the boy was unconscious, she had retrieved Frenda's phone and swapped it with his own; but not before adding his number into her contact list. "I figured it would be useful in the event that I needed to contact you."

"Why would you want to contact me for in the first place? As far as I can tell, we don't seem to be on even terms here."

"That sounds about right, your still nothing but a pest and a constant annoyance to me."

"Then what would you call me for; to act as your pack mule or something?"

"That does sound nice, but that's not the only reason."

Shortly after this, the sound of something heavy colliding with wood rang out; said object being Touma's forehead colliding with the table. Unable to see passed his spiky hair, had Mugino been able to view his expression she most likely would have been greeted with a look of despair that would have possibly increased her mood dramatically. As it was, however, all she could see was the back of his head, thus only causing one of her eyebrows to raise at the sudden and idiotic reaction performed by the teen across from her.

"Fukou-da…"

"Oh, quit complaining, you're overreacting again and it's getting old."

A disgruntled moan was all that Touma responded with as he crossed his arms on top of the table; propping his chin atop of his wrist. The look of distain was not missed by the girl, but it seemed she was far from concerned about it as she continued to simply sit back calmly in her seat; her impassive gaze going not faltering as she matched his gaze.

"You still haven't answered my question." Mumbled the boy, both his tone and his expression foretelling that whatever answer he received would not be favorable in his mind. "What do you want from me."

"Answers would be a nice start I suppose."

"Huh?"

"I've told you before that you're an interesting case to me; that much hasn't changed." The girl took a short moment to pause in her words to readjust the position in which she was seated in. Having leaned forward a bit, she propped both of her elbows onto the table and folded her hands in front of her chin; her gaze not wavering in the slightest as she continued to peer into the sapphire orbs of Touma's now weary and confused eyes. "As it turns out, there's a good bit of things about you that aren't fully explained yet; not even on official records."

"Hold on, are you stalking me something!?"

"Don't flatter yourself and don't fucking interrupt me." The tightening of her jointed hands served as a minimal display her growing impatience, which seemed to work in both gaining the boy's attention and silencing whatever else he may or may not have had to say. "Your ability comes with your profile, so in finding one you find the other with it. But you ability didn't show up on any of the records and it's not on your dossier either; that's what makes me curious."

Touma, having already been told not to speak, could do nothing but slowly nod his head in response. Confused as he was in regards to why she was looking so far into someone like him, speaking out now would only instigate her less than pleasant side he was familiar with. Figuring that the best course of action was to remain silent, he chose to follow that method until he was given the privilege to speak again. Who knows, perhaps if he appeased her and answered her questions, she may even answer a few of his own; such as how she got a hold of his information in the first place.

"That's why I sought you out, because I don't like being left out of the loop; especially when you have an ability as strange as yours. So just answer my questions and you can go back on your merry way without any problems; understood?"

"Yeah, I get it." Despite how simple the girl's request was, Touma still did not seem pleased with his current predicament. If anything, it seemed like this whole thing was just another large hassle that he was unwillingly involved in. It was especially troublesome considering this was now the third time in which this girl had forcibly put him in a position he had no interest in participating in. "I have a few things I wanted to ask you myself anyways."

"Are we playing the question game now?"

"Oh come on, I'm answering yours; the least you can do is do the same!"

Even at a distance, anyone could tell that tension was building up in the air around that small wooden table in which both parties were seated at. Given, it was heavier more so around the young lady than it was around that lad. Said teen was actually doing a good job at keeping himself composed despite the imposing glare that was being directed at him if one ignore the slight trembling of his left leg from beneath the table.

"Tch, fine, ask your fucking questions."

Relief should have been the emotion to surge through his being upon her accepting his terms; but it wasn't. Pride wasn't it either, though that was mainly because there was nothing to be proud of in his mind considering this whole thing was something he still didn't wish to be a part of in the first place. The most dominant of thing to surface wasn't even an emotion per-say, as the thing in question to surface was that of hesitation. Hesitation to what, well, one only need to be in the presence of the woman to really understand. Perhaps it was the atmosphere that surrounded her was what made him feel this way, or perhaps it was just the even stare she was giving him as she awaited whatever question he wished to address first.

Or it was perhaps just his overactive mind taking things to a far greater extreme than necessary; but with his luck it was to be expected.

"Why didn't you just call and ask me like a normal person if all you wanted to do was talk?"

Probably not the best question that could have been asked, given the situation, but testing Mugino's patience was something that, even he had come to realize, was not a wise thing to do.

"Would you have said yes?" At that, it felt like an invisible pike had been rammed into his being; piercing straight through his body as if it were made of butter. If the sudden stiffening of his body wasn't testament enough, than the evident traces of guilt in his expression would undoubtedly answer the girl's question for him. "Figured as much; anymore meaningless fucking questions?"

"You're not going to challenge me again after this, are you?"

"Keep wasting my damn time and I might. Now shut up and tell me now tell me what that ability of yours is called."

Unlike Kamijou, Mugino did not intend to beat around the bush and start out slow and gradually build up to the more difficult inquiries like most would expect. While it was true ITEM had been docile as of late due to the lack of assignments, that did not mean they would not come at all. She could be called within the next minute or in the next couple of days for all she knew at the moment; so wasting time was not something she could afford to do.

Sure, there were still doubts in her mind regarding how much the boy was going to withhold from her; it wasn't enough to instigate any sort of concern from her. From her standpoint, Touma was an easy person to read when it concerned his emotions based on how his body moved. From the faintest twitch of his fingers to the shifting movements of his eyes; all of these miniscule movements told a story of their own and lacked any form of subtlety that anyone in the underground worth his salt possessed. Admittedly, she was not overly blessed with this little skill she had acquired; but she was good enough with it to know if and when someone was lying to her so long as they were in front of her.

Clearly Mugino had not yet fully grasped the concept that Kamijou Touma was not an inhabitant of the Dark-Side, thus felt that there was nothing worth hiding from her.

"You mean my right hand?" Calmly as if talking about what he had eaten for breakfast that morning, Touma raised the aforementioned limb up into the air briefly before placing it down on the table in front of him while using his other hand as a means to prop his head up on the table. All the while, still appearing a bit dejected about the previous, but accurate, accusation made against him by the girl, mixed in with clear signs of boredom. "I was told that it's called Imagine Breaker, and I'm the only person in the city who has it."

"I gathered that much, otherwise I'd have found out about it sooner." Evident as it was that the answer didn't appease her as much as it should have, one could not mistake the bemusement in her tone; though that was probably because she wasn't really trying to hide it in the first place. "Does that mean you're a Gemstone?"

"A what?"

"Nevermind," Waving it off as trivial, Mugino's expression still seemed to appear as if she was deep in thought about the matter at hand. Idolly, she began to twirl a few locks of her hand around her finger as she stared straight at the object, or in this case limb, of her current musings; not bothering at all to conceal her intrigue. "Strange though, most abilities I know of aren't restricted to a single limb."

"Well, I can't tell you why that is either; I don't get it myself really." Retorted the lad with a sigh, his gaze shifting downwards briefly towards the outstretched limb, though not with nearly as much interest as Mugino seemed to be looking at it. "I've always had this ability even before I came to Academy City. It's one of the reasons I came here for, but even the Power Development Curriculum can't really determine anything about it aside from what it can do."

"Right, it negates abilities of other Espers." Interjected Mugino with a slight nodding of her head, having already been exposed to the effects of that particular hand's capabilities firsthand. "I assume it creates some sort of interference with AIM fields when it makes contact with an Esper. But that doesn't explain how it stops something like my Meltdowner the second it makes contact with that hand of yours. Is it a result of your Personal Reality that makes that happen?"

"That's where things get weird; Imagine Breaker isn't an Esper ability."

"...What?" For the first time since their fateful meeting several weeks prior, a look that was neither menacing nor intimidating crossed the girl's flawless features. Saying that it she looked confused was an understatement, as would it be to say she was surprised at this revelation. And, if Touma was to be honest, Mugino actually looked…well, slightly appealing when negative emotions weren't present on her features. But, like most things in the world, it was an expression not meant to last; her narrowed gaze and the slight tightening of her jaw was of any indication. "Explain."

"O-oi, don't get mad at me, I'm only telling you what I was told!" Rebuked the boy in a state of panic; quickly adjusting himself into a more proper seating position with both his hands raised in a calming gesture at the sightings of Mugino's anger. "I don't emit an AIM Field, so the SYSTEM Scans never detected anything and the people running the tests can't classify it either. Even though the ability's there, they can't accurately get any readings on it, so I'm labeled as a Level 0 because of it."

"What kind of bullshit is that?!" Touma words, it seemed, had the opposite effect on the girl across from him; as nothing he seemed to say appeared to have calmed her down in the slightest. "If my Meltdowner can be negated by it, why the fuck does that put you on a level equivalent to an ant?!"

"I-I don't know!" Currently not one of his proudest of moments, Touma could only whimper this statement in response as he slowly eased his chair back away from the table; ready to run should he need to. "Um, I can tell your ability's strong, but I don't think it's that big of a deal really. I mean, it works on every esper equally, so there's no reason to get so upset about it; even if you're something like a Level 4."

"I'm a Level 5 dip-shit, so I have every fucking reason to be upset!"

And just like that, the danger level in his brain saddened spiked from code yellow to orange.

"I'm the 4th ranked Level 5, a rank only seven people in a population of 1.8 million people posses!"

Just as suddenly as before, that same meter in his brain shot all the way up to the red zone in an instant.

"I'm the Meltdowner, a fucking Level 5, and you're fucking telling me that my ability can't overpower someone who's labeled as a Level 0?! This must be a joke, this damn well better be someone's fucked-up idea of a gag and not an actual fact! Because I swear god that if this reaches anyone else's ears, I'm going to fucking kill- where the fuck you going!"

Level 5.

The forth ranked Level 5.

One of the strongest ranked Espers in the entire city.

Those were the key facts that practically sent Kamijou over the edge and thus act out of self preservation. True as it was that he was able to hold his own against espers, Level 5's were in a class of their own and even he knew better than to tussle with the likes of them. As most people who knew of them, he was just as terrified of them as everyone else was and with good reason. If the stories and rumors held any truth in them, it was that most of them were beyond sane in the eyes of many. Mugino herself did not do a good job at disproving that subject gossip herself, given her constant state of anger and the recent bouts of stalking him.

So, like any sensible person, Touma decided to do what he did best when faced with an issue he could not resolve on his own; though usually the numbers were higher than one when it concerned thugs.

"As far away from you as I can!"

To put is simply: he started hauling ass out of the general area as fast as his legs could carry him.

"Kaaaaamiiiiijouuuuu!"

At the very least, one unasked question was answered on this day; one which probably never entered the boy's mind at the time nor would it appear in the time to come. The question itself was simplistic in nature, meaningless in some people's eyes, but nonetheless important in the mind of a certain spiky haired lad currently running as if his life depended on it. The withstanding question, the one which Touma internally wished to ask, was if the peaceful days he had come to enjoy would last longer.

Pity that the answer he would have been provided with was, undoubtedly, pointed in the negative direction.

And in the aftermath of all this, a certain blonde foreigner stood with two canned beverages in her hands could only stare blankly at the empty table and two fallen chairs which were previously occupied by an equal number of teens prior to her departure.

"Basically…where did they go?"

"Oi, Shougo, what's goin' on?"

Still situated inside the very same vehicle as before, the teen still reclined in his seat chose to speak after several odd minutes of consistent silence from the teen beside him.

"…Things have…escalated….yeah we'll go with that, escalated."

Whatever it was that was in his visual range apparently had the teen known now as Shougo's complete attention. Whether or not this was a good thing had yet to be determined, nor aptly classified given how the statement was made.

"What you see?"

It would've come to no surprise to anyone that his partner was growing suspicious as a result of the teen's poor attempt in hiding whatever it was he had witnessed. This suspicion was proven when the boy's torso sudden sprang up as he realigned the seat back to its upright position while glaring accusingly at the sunglasses wearing teen in the driver's seat.

"It's nothing, just…something I didn't expect that's all."

Whatever it may have been that he saw, it was certainly something he didn't feel inclined to respond; something that was undoubtedly driving his partner up the wall with frustration. The fact that he was being so tightlipped about was surely going to erect further hassle; but Shougo didn't seem all too concerned. In his mind, certain things just didn't need to be said and some of the things he saw were not worth mentioning; less he start making a habit of spilling every little thing he see's during these little jobs.

"Bullshit, tell me!"

"Touch me and I'll bash you're skull in, I mean it Akatoki!"

A couple students who were passing by the vehicle suddenly moved with haste away from it as the two boy's broke out into a minor and pointless scuffle inside the car. It was mainly the aforementioned teen's vain attempt to strangle Shougo with his hands while the latter mentioned lad did his best to keep the boy's limb's away from his neck. The scuffle didn't last very long when both parties heard the muffled ring of a cell phone going off inside the vehicle. It was officially ended when Shougo used this opportunity to slap the boy's hand's away and drive his fist into the boy's stomach; leaving the Yankee breathless whilst he retrieved his phone and answered the call.

"Yes…yeah, we have something we can use but…" Ignoring the curses and the glare directed at him by his partner, he continued to listen to the voice coming through the receiver at rapt attention; though skepticism was evident in his features if one was observant enough to notice it. "Is it really okay to go proceed with this? I-I mean, we're still not sure if they're all that close with h-…"

Even Akatoki, who was clearly upset with the cheap blow that was made, could tell that whatever was being said did not sit well with the lad listening to it. While not particularly fond of the lad's company, he had worked with him long enough to see the telltale signs of when the guy was not happy with the orders he was being given. The tapping of his thumb on the door-frame, the slight downward twitch near the corners of his lips, the ever minor increase in grip he had on the phone. Subtle as they were, Akatoki could see them, knew them well enough what they implied when he caught sight of them, and as such felt the approaching grin creeping itself onto his lips as he watched.

"Understood, we'll oversee how things go from here and I'll call you when it's finished."

From the second the boy's phone snapped shut, Akatoki knew that they were about to get real.

"Queen ain't willin' ta wait, huh?"

"No, and one of these days it's gonna fuck us." Retorted the teen, his tone betraying the calm he was trying to maintain. With an exasperated sigh, the teen reached his back behind his seat and retrieved a standard radio from the floorboard before bringing it to his lips and pressing down on the receiver. "Alright boy's, proceed as instructed. The target's pictures are being sent to your phones now. Capture them, bring them to the location specified and don't make a scene out of this."

"Like I said, grab-em n' bag-em."

Despite his partner's distaste for rushing things, he himself was more than please to finally get things underway; something his tone foretold in spades.

"Just…..just hope this works so we can go the fuck home."

To be perfectly honest, Touma didn't know precisely how long he had been running for nor was he aware of how far a distance he had traveled. What he did know, however, was that his intended goal to be as far away from the nut-job of a woman had ended in success. It was possible that the girl had given up chasing him long ago, or the unlikely possibility that she hadn't chased him at all. More or less, he achieved his desired goal and was thus left a panting and sweating mess of a person by the end of his marathon of a run.

The heat from the day didn't really make his situation that much better, but he was willing to take whatever success he could get his hands on.

"Safe." Was all that needed to be said by the lad as he removed the sweat off his brow whilst seated on the nearest bench he could lay eyes on. He didn't much care that some of the passerby's were staring at him oddly for his current state, for their opinions were the least of his worries at the moment. What did worry him was how Mugino would react in the next instance they met; but that was a matter he would deal with if or when that time occurred.

Tired, sweaty, hungry, and dehydrated, Touma allowed himself a few additional minutes to regain his breathing before finally resume a standing position. Maybe it would be safe to return back to his dorm like he had the day before; hopeful as he was that his little sanctuary would allow him some peace and misfortune-free time away from the dangers that could be lurking in a dark alleyway somewhere. On that thought, the idea of getting started on dinner sounded very appealing to him since he hadn't eaten since lunch and all the running he had done certain did its job at increasing his appetite.

His mind set and his stomach growling in anticipation; Kamijou Touma took his first steps back towards his dorm for some well-deserved dinner.

"Huh?"

At least, that would have been the case, had he not caught sight of two middle school girls getting plucked off the sidewalk by several teenage boys twice their size.

One of which being a familiar girl with flower ornaments decorating the top of her head.

Thus bringing forth the end of Kamijou Touma's brief days of peace in his average, everyday school life.

Welcome to the bottom, though I lack fun and games down here.

Um...I'm really not sure what to say or think about this chapter. Definitely one of the harder ones for me to write, mainly because it's a bit harder to ease into the next arc. than I previously imagined. I kinda feel like I'm rushing things here as well, considering that I had originally planned to drag the whole 'capture' bit until the next chapter. But, in light of recent events, I realized that doing that would be pointless and thus skipped a bit so we can move on with the plot.

Two of the newest batch of OC's is now on screen; so hopefully their little banter was not to anyone's disliking. I figured that, since this is still an introduction, I'd keep their scene's relatively short so as not to annoy people with a giant word count from character's that don't really have much interest at the moment. That's subject to change, but hopefully it's understandable as they are important to the plot of this arc.

Finally, I felt that there may have been too much info dumping here agian, but at least I put in a decent amount of dialog to make up for it. Did what I could on a humor standpoint, but Touma and the members of ITEM are yet on a level where I can have some real humor make itself apparent. It'll happen, I assure you, but relationships take time to build and when it reaches a certain point you'll see what I have to offer on that standpoint. Hopefully the bits of it present here will suffice.

So, all that being said, feedback on the things mentioned here would be appreciated.

And, as a minor note, I would like to suggest checking out a certain AMV I stumbled across if you haven't seen it already. My Unlucky Strike, by VermillionZer0. Yes, its pointless advertisement, but I think its worth the attention...just do it.

As usual, if there are any inquiries, thoughts, or concerns that arise in your mind, feel free to address them to me and I'll do what I can to answer them. Otherwise, I hope you enjoyed my little piece of work.

Goodbye for now.