Greetings to all!
Holy crap people, I managed to finish this chapter earlier than expected! Rejoice, this SilverFang has finished a full chapter four days ahead of schedule! Whoo! So, with nothing left to be said, I hope you all enjoy the July update of A Certain World of Darkness!
One would think that with how exhausted Kamijou was from the events that unfolded, a sleep would have come to him relatively easy. That logic would have been sound had certain circumstances not been in effect which made slumber difficult. For one, he hand had been stabbed by a knife which meant that, even if it had been treated, it was still painful as all hell. Second, he had no pain killers or any sort of medication that would dull the sensation enough to where it was suitable to ignore. Third, despite how useful it was, the bandage was still too foreign to him and thus felt extremely weird an hour into its placement.
With these factors in play it can be assumed that, in spite of his exhaustion, sleep did not come to him easily.
If anything, slumber had been a whole other task to attain; and by the time he had it he might as well have not slept at all.
So when morning came a few hours after he had finally fallen asleep, Touma didn't think twice about turning off his alarm. After everything he had been through, school did not matter as much as the pain coursing through his hand. Education could wait along with his stupid test; what was important to him right now was sleep, seeing the doctor, and good old fashioned R-and-R. Besides, Komoe would likely have told him to go home anyway if she saw just how bad off he currently was.
The latter portion was likely an excuse he fabricated himself, but that wasn't the real point here. He was in obvious pain, he clearly hadn't slept well, and like any normal person in his shoes he rationalized that today just wasn't a day to go to school.
What reasonable person could deny him his right to be absent at a time like this?
Had his appointment been set later on in the day, he likely would have stayed in bed until that time. But that was not to be, so once eleven-thirty arrived Touma had been forced to will himself out of bed and follow through with his activities for the day. His doctor's appointment had been set shortly after the time most students would be getting out of class. Had he gone to school, he likely would have just barely made it there and that was if he wasn't a victim of his own misfortune.
He had a good deal of time to kill before he had to be there, but as a precaution he still chose to leave early.
Which is where we currently find the lad as he casually strolled down the sidewalk. Though not bustling with crowds that typically filled up his vision, there was still an abundance of pedestrians wondering around him as he walked. Such a sight was far more welcome to the eyes when compared to the lifeless streets he saw last night. Hell, even if his misfortune chose to strike him at that very instant, he would still be more content with that than the nightmarish adventure he went through.
"Nya, Kami-yan, what do you say to heading over to that maid café a couple blocks from here and treat ourselves to some lunch?"
Yet it seemed Kamijou was not the only one who had decided to play hooky and skip school for the day. Never mind the fact that the teen virtually looked completely unharmed, Touma accepted the company regardless. Having thought to have lost his blonde friend in the incident, he reasoned it would do well to thank the teen for his help properly. Rare was it to have a friend who would willingly put themselves into a bad situation rather than leaving him to the dogs.
So yeah, Touma felt that it was necessary to at least thank him. If that meant he had to sacrifice a minimum of his funds then it was worth it; even if deep down he doubted he could ever repay the blonde for all he had done to keep him alive.
"Lunch does sound good but…why a made café?" As willing as he was to repay his debt to the blonde, he personally felt there were better places they could go for a bite to eat. He would still do it of course, but he was still curious all the same…at least until it hit him like a sack of bricks. "Oh, wait, let me guess: Maika is helping out around there isn't she?"
"Nya! How did you know about that Kami-yan!? Are you spying on my adorable Maika with those predatory eyes of yours!?"
"Hardly, you over-exaggerating sis-con, you're just predictable."
"Say what you want but I won't be swayed by your lies nya~!" If they weren't making a scene before, they sure as hell were at this point. Thanks to the blonde practically yelling at him out in the open, the two had quickly become the subject of many observers who had heard the teen's initial outcry. "I've seen the way you look at her Kami-yan! You want to take my precious little sister away from me and hog her all to yourself! Well I won't allow it; I won't allow my adorable Maika to be infected by your disease Kami-yan!"
"Stop over-reacted and quit making me out to be some perverted predator you jackass!"
By this point, people around them shuffling away far faster than they had been moving prior to this awkward argument began. Touma himself would have already been clenching his first had he not been so exhausted from the lack of sleep. He just didn't have the energy to do anything else but yell, and even that was demanding to a point that it almost didn't seem worth it.
"Nya, I'm not over-reacting in the slightest degree Kami-yan! As a brother, no as a man, I must do my part to ensure she doesn't fall prey to your damnable disease! Even if it goes against my objectives in helping you form the largest, most diverse, harem in the world, this is something I cannot and will not do! I refuse to let you have my sister fall into your harem as the loli imouto maid girl!"
He could feel them.
He could feel every single person within the vicinity staring at his form from every angle around him.
There was no escaping it, no means to avoid it, for they had him surrounded. Though he lacked the means to hear anyone within the distance, he found that it was not necessary. Touma already knew what was likely being said from all around him anyway; so heightened senses were not necessary for something as obvious as this.
"Disgusting pig."
"What a scumbag."
"Dirty pervert."
More things were likely being said, but Kamijou either seemed to ignore them or was too far gone to care. Despite it all, though, Kamijou would have made many men proud in that moment by keeping a straight face throughout the all the verbal abuse that was likely being thrown at him. This was not for the sake of saving face; nothing he did at this point would sway the minds of anyone who heard Motoharu's outcry. Said face didn't faultier though, the vacant expression on his face remained sturdy and strong against the onslaught of verbal abuse he didn't deserve.
Beneath the surface, though, was just a crestfallen boy who wanted nothing more than to find a hole to hide in.
"Fukou-da."
Yup, it was official, his misfortune had returned from its vacation and was back to work at making his life miserable. And based on this moment alone, he came to conclude that today was going to be another one of those excruciatingly long days.
He really didn't have the energy to deal with this today.
Despite her appearance, Kinuhata Saiai was accustomed to a lot more than most people in her generation could fathom. She personally had experienced something many would consider hell at one point in her life. She was living testament to that hell, one of the few that actually still remained alive to tell the tale of that experience. Such an occurrence had acted as the gateway which ultimately brought her into the muck which was known as the Darkness of Academy City.
It wasn't her fault really, in fact it was pretty hard not to do so after being subjected to the cruelty of man and science.
So when it came to matters of death, violence, or anything which is deemed 'evil' in this world, she never batted an eye at it. There wasn't anything to be proud of in that, but at least she could say it didn't bother her with a straight face.
"-good kid, yeah, but he really should have seen this coming."
One of things which Saiai couldn't be accustomed to, however, was dealing with overly talkative people. It just so happened the gentleman she was speaking to happened to be the dorm supervisor of a certain boy's dormitory and was chatting up a storm and providing information she had not asked for. What started as a simple inquiry escalated into an ongoing rant that had already consumed at least five minutes of her time.
Five minutes of her life which she was not going to ever get back had now been wasted listening to this man's pointless babbling about nothing.
And why was he still talking!?
Better question: why was she still listening to him?
"Yeeah, sorry to interrupt, but I've super gotta be going now."
She didn't bother to wait for him to say anything in response, having already heard enough from the guy and instead just moved along without care. After reaching the third floor of the complex thanks to her brisk pace, she calmly hopped over the railing and let herself fall to the ground below. There was no surprise when the concrete below buckled under her landing a bit, yet this was left as a fleeting afterthought as she continued to traverse down the sidewalk as if nothing happened whilst she retrieved her phone from the pocket in her skirt.
She didn't need to wait long before the person answered.
"He wasn't there."
Bored was probably the best way to describe Saiai's tone as she made her report.
"I thought he wouldn't, but it never hurt to check anyway." Regardless of who she was speaking too, Saiai couldn't help but roll her eyes upon hearing that. "It doesn't matter really; he'll be there eventually, so it's only a matter of time before he shows up. I'm on my way there now, so stay put until I get there and we'll just wait it out until he gets back."
"Yeah, about that, there's a super slight problem."
Kinuhata didn't need to see Mugino's face to know that she was looking far from pleased at the moment. The question at hand was whether or not Shizuri was going to take it out on her later or someone else in that very moment. Probably the former in all honesty, but the latter was still likely depending on how she took what she was about to say.
"How 'slight' are we talking here Kinuhata?"
Yup, she wasn't going to take this well at all.
"Well, it turns out that the place had been broken into last night and is being super repaired at the moment. So I don't think he's gonna be around anytime soon since their only now starting to make repairs."
There was a pause here, to which Saiai began to count down from ten as she waited for the inevitable to occur. Ten seconds was the most she would give the Meltdowner before her irritation would surface and she would become far less pleasant to deal with. When her temperament wasn't heated, she was fine to deal with and could even be pleasant to talk to; anything else and it just became too much of a hassle. That was how she saw it anyway; she was still unsure if that mentality was shared between the other members of ITEM or if it was just her in general.
Yet, as the mental countdown reached its midpoint, Kinuhata was gifted with the most pleasant of surprises.
"Huh, that changes things a bit…" The short haired brunet actually pulled her phone a ways away to stare at the device with a raised eyebrow. "…actually…yes, this is something I can definitely work with. This might even make things easier for me than it would have been originally."
Kinuhata blinked once, twice, three times before choosing to respond.
"Mugino?"
"Right then, did you ask how long it would take for the repairs to be done?"
A fleeting glance at the complex was all she gave it before getting back to the question at hand.
"I super didn't have the chance to ask, so no."
That and she never really gave the matter much thought to begin with. Why would she ask a question like that in the first place? Coming here had been Mugino's idea from the beginning and she had no real interest in being here to begin with. All she had done was answer her phone when called and complied with the Meltdowner's order; nothing more nothing less. Even now she still didn't see what was so important about Kamijou Touma that would cause her leader to send her on such an annoying task like this.
Saiai sure as hell wasn't getting anything out of doing this, so she had no incentive to delve any further into the matter than necessary.
"A minor inconvenience, but it doesn't matter." Call it her intuition, but Saiai had a feeling that if it had been Frenda, there might have been a verbal thrashing directed at her by this point. "Meet at the normal spot we usually use, I'll pass this along to Frenda while you contact Takitsubo. Once everyone's together, we'll carry on from there."
"Not that it's any of my business or anything, but I've super gotta ask what the deal is here." She might have been pushing her luck a bit by asking this, but at this point it actually was starting to concern her. It was hard to blame her when the appointed leader of their group was hording all the details to herself and keeping everyone else in the dark. "You're putting in a lot of effort into finding just one guy, and I'm super curious about what it is about him that's so important."
Kinuhata had to refrain from saying anything more than that; despite the additional snarky comments that were on the verge of spilling out. This little task of Shizuri's was eating up her down time, wasting precious daylight hours that she wouldn't ever get back. All of that time, all of it wasted on looking for some nameless guy that she could give so few fucks about. And what would she gain from that, what was there to gain from all this effort? Did Mugino not realize that she had her own plans and activities she wanted to carry out with today?
Depending on the woman's answer, Kinuhata would either do as she was asked or skip out on it and move on with her day as she had originally intended.
"Frenda already knows part of the reason, so I suppose it's time I fill the rest of you in on it." Muttered the Level 5 begrudgingly followed with a sigh of exasperation, something which further increased Kinuhata's state of curiosity. "Just do what I said and call Takitsubo; I'll explain once everyone's there. The last thing I feel like doing is repeating it anymore than I fucking have too."
"Fine, I'll call her and we'll super meet you there."
With nothing more to say, Kinuhata disconnected the call before taking a few moments to stare at the device in question.
Kinuhata's mind, in that moment, was wracked with thought as her mind pondered precisely what Mugino was up to. Even if the answer was to come soon enough, it didn't stop her from making theories of her own; even the chance of them being correct were slim.
"What is she up too?"
Whatever it was, she and the rest of ITEM would find out.
"So, the prosthetic had a hidden blade in it the entire time?"
After their minor tiff out in the viewing public, Kamijou found himself situated inside the small café his friend suggested with the blonde teen in question seated across from him. Though still mildly annoyed, there was a small sense of satisfaction to be had when it became apparent that Maika was not here. Henceforth, the atmosphere had been rather sober as the blonde sulked before opening up to some typical small-talk. It had been that way for the better portion of their time waiting up until the subject of last night's events was brought up.
It should have been of no surprise to anyone that Touma didn't feel too inclined to discuss the matter in-depth. But rather than say nothing at all, he instead went with a basic synopsis of what had happened on his side of things. There was no point in hiding it since he was still licking his wounds as it was; so he figured he'd might as well humor the guy and sate his curiosity.
Motoharu, much to his surprise, was at rapt attention throughout the short explanation.
"Yeah, but by the time I found that out I already had my fingers sliced open by the thing. Even if I hadn't noticed I'd have still ended up looking a mess by the time Anti-Skill showed up. It figures that my luck wouldn't let them be there before I got all cut up."
Kamijou, on the other hand, couldn't have cared less about it at the moment. The previous evening festivities, a term he used lightly, was something he truly didn't wish to discuss; his concerns being more focused on seeing to his doctor's appointment than anything else. Based on his entire dismissive demeanor, it was apparent to anyone that he wanted nothing more than to put the events of last night behind him and forget it had ever happened. A difficult feat to accomplish after all he had experienced, but he liked to think he was trying in his own way to move passed it.
With time the memory of that woman would fade, his wounds would heal, and everything which had transpired would hopefully become a lost memory to him. Once everything had settled down, life would go back to normal and he could go back to his typical routine as usual. It was an outcome he desired most, the kind any person would want after enduring that sort of hardship.
And Motoharu was not helping him achieve that particular outcome he wanted.
"And you're sure that person was behind all that whole mess last night? You're positive that she was the one in charge of all that?"
"Yes, Tsuchimikado, I'm sure. She didn't even try to deny it; she outright told me that herself." Exasperated wasn't precisely the right term to use in describing his tone here; even if that was how it seemed at face value. Touma was just tired and was showcasing that fatigue in his tone to emphasize his discomfort in this topic. "Now can we please stop talking about this?"
"Nya, sorry Kami-yan, I'm just surprised that the worst you got out of all that was a few cuts on you."
"I wouldn't really say this is just something caused by a few cuts Tsuchimikadou." Retorted the teen, his eyes gesturing towards the bandaged appendage while using the other to prop his head on the countertop. "Hopefully by the time I'm done at the doctor's office my place will be fixed back up again."
Thanks to those thugs breaking into his dorm, along with the damages inside, Touma had been forced to rent out a hotel room not far from his dorm to sleep for the night. It was a temporary action done so that repairs could be made once daybreak hit, a fact he was thankful for but still dreading regardless. One night alone had cost him more than he liked and if he had to stay another night he would be dead broke before he received any more funds. Had he been forced to pay for the damages caused from the break in, he probably would have been a crying mess at this point.
The only reason he didn't was because the locking system to his door had suffered from an earlier malfunction. Touma knew the cause of it, but said nothing about it; silently and unexpectedly grateful for Mugino's earlier intrusion that afternoon. As much as he dreaded the thought of dealing with her again, he made a mental note to give her his thanks.
Hey, blessings come in all sorts of forms; his just happened to take on that of a crazy Ojou-sama.
"Nya, so what other plans have you got for today Kami-yan?"
A good question honestly, one which Touma easily had an answer for.
"Visit the doctor, get my prescriptions filled, head back to the hotel, do some homework, and just take it easy for the rest of the day."
This was, after all, coming from a guy who was barely scraping by in terms of grades. Not to mention the fact that he had skipped class today, so he probably had to study for that test that was sure to crop up on Monday when he went back.
"Jeez, you're so boring Kami-yan."
"Oh, I'm sorry, I don't see you covered in stitches or suffering from a stab wound."
"...good point, nya~"
Touma could only sigh at his friend before removing his arm once he saw the waitress arrive with their orders. To be fair, Motoharu did have a point on the grounds that he was wasting his day away by shutting himself inside. He had skipped school today after all, even if he was justified for it, but it still left him with the majority of the time off. There was bound to be something he could do to entertain himself, so maybe it wouldn't hurt too much to at least try and indulge on that minimal amount of freedom even if it was just a bit. It wouldn't be hard to rationalize why he would do it; for it would certainly help him get his mind off what had happened the night before.
Misfortune was all that stood in the way of those plans, and was the decisive factor in his decision to stay indoors. Given his condition, it would be his luck that he would run into some thugs or something worse during his time outdoors. Not in s position to deal with anything of that sort, for his own sake he would have to forego those things; even if it cost him a day's worth of selfish indulgence.
"In that case, I think I'll be heading out then."
"Huh?"
That statement broke Kamijou away from his musings as he watched the blonde stand from his seat with his meal; his meal packed into a to-go package in front of him on the table.
"Sorry, Kami-yan, but you did bring up a good point." His eyes must have been playing tricks on him, because Motoharu looked quite sincere as he spoke these words to him. "You could use a bit of relaxation, especially after everything that happened. It was rough trip for both of us, but you definitely came out of worse than I did; so I agree that some rest and relaxation would be a good approach in how to spend the rest of your day."
"…what have you done with Tsuchimikado?"
"Nya, I'm just saying that you're right and that it's the best thing for you to be doing right now." Retorted the teen as he shrugged his shoulders, having ignored the mild insult of his character. "Besides, I got some errands to run and those will probably take up most of my day anyway. So, either way, you'd be on your own since Aoigami likely has plans himself once class is over."
Even if there was anything which Kamijou wished to say, the blonde had given him no time to address them. After saying his piece and gathered his meal, Motoharu turned his back on his friend before throwing a halfhearted wave over his shoulder as he left the establishment. Not that Touma had much to comment on anyway, nor would he be able to tag along with his friend with his errands. But he had already resigned himself to being home-bound for the day, so Motoharu agreeing with him made that decision less like a letdown than it otherwise would have been.
That said, Touma gave the matter no further thought he spared the departing blonde a fleeting glance before focusing on his meal.
Had he kept his gaze, he most likely would have seen the blonde disposing his meal into the trash bin near the door as he exited the establishment. He would not, however, have been able to see the veiled seriousness concealed behind the teen's respected choice of eyewear. Not that anyone else would have either, nor did it really matter all that much to Touma or anyone else who was around. No, that bitter, callous, gaze of his was reserved for the Queen and anyone else who associated with her; regardless of if it was remotely or otherwise.
If it meant protecting his sister, so long as her safety was assured, he could burn in hell for all eternity without care. For that one person in his world, Motoharu would bloody his hands time after time and still proudly say it was worth it.
Such was the duty of an elder brother.
Mugino Shizuri, the Meltdowner, was currently in a predicament.
Actually, clarification was in order for the sake of preserving her pride. It wouldn't be best to say she was in a predicament, as that would lead some people to believe that she was in a situation that she could not quickly resolve. Of course that was not the case, she could resolve it, she had the means to do so, so saying she was in a predicament would be inaccurate. Rather that that, one could say she was torn between two plausible options and was in a fierce debate on which one to choose from.
"Basically, do we have another job on the fence or are we just here for our usual meetings?"
Beside her, as if glued to her side, was Frenda fork in hand as she shamelessly ate mackerel from a can despite being in a family restaurant. Not that it mattered to anyone present at the table, the staff might care but nobody with her gave it much further thought.
"…there's a signal coming thirteen kilometers from here."
Takitsubo, vacant as always, stared off into a world only she could see as she continued to mutter almost incoherently from her side of the booth. Again, nothing was new here, thus nobody really paid it much mind; not Frenda and most certainly not Mugino.
"Hmm…"
As for the Meltdowner herself, was still having a mental debate on which course of action she should take. Phone in hand, the girl's shaded brown spheres gazed passively at the screen, specifically a stream of numbers which were currently highlighted in blue. The only movement that was made was her eyes, shifting up and down from the stream of numbers to the name which identified who the owner of those numbers belonged to. Given the proximity of those things, it was hard to tell if her eyes moved at all, which made the whole process almost unnoticeable unless one looked closely enough.
The name was, obviously enough, Kamijou's; but here was where the rift in her options had formed.
The debate at hand was pretty simple: should she contact him directly or wait until he went back to his dorm?
Kamijou had already made it clear that he took no comfort in being in her presence; that much anyone could see. He didn't hide it either, in fact he made it blatantly obvious that her company was not welcome. Aware of this, Mugino already knew that direct contact with him would not yield any viable results, especially in terms of gaining his cooperation. On the other hand, she didn't want to waste any more time than necessary to get things moving in the direction that she wanted them to.
Takitsubo would be of no help in locating him either, based on the information Touma had told her yesterday in regards to his ability. If he had no AIM field, then Rikou could not trace his location back to them, meaning she was practically useless in finding and leading them to his whereabouts. Shizuri wasn't known for her patience, she wanted this matter done now while everything was still fresh. If Kinuhata's statement from earlier was accurate, then this was the best time for her to act and the opportunity could not be missed.
So that left her with the options of wait and miss the opportunity, contact him directly, or seek him out the old fashioned way.
None of these options were suitable, but they were the only ones available and thus she had to decide on the best course of action.
"Basically, what's u– w-wait, Mugino, please tell me you're not calling that person here!"
Apparently, Frenda had grown concerned in regards to her esteemed leader and her silent behavior. That, or she was just being nosy, but it was likely a little bit of both concern and curiosity which caused her to peek at the screen of the girl's phone. As a result of her position though, her outburst had been made fairly close to the Level 5's ear. Coupled with the fact that Frenda was snooping into her business, one can guess what transpired next.
A swift jerk of her arm was all it took for the underside of her fist to slam into the blonde's kneecap; causing the foreign girl to jump in her seat and accidently slam the same knee into the table from below.
"You forget your damn place Frenda!" Barked the woman in a tone that barely went over Frenda's pained wailings, yet her eyes remained fixated on the screen in front of her. "Besides, I doubt he'd even show up if I called him anyway."
"Called who?"
Rikou's head had tilted slightly to the side as this question was addressed. The way her eyes gained a genuine interest as she did this made for a delectably cute site that any moe lover would appreciate and swoon over.
Too bad none of those people were present at the booth.
"You're recent friend from a week ago and new acquaintance of ours; Kamijou."
Shizuri made that statement like a mother answering a child as she checked her grocery list. So half-hearted was the response that it was hard to believe he was the reason why she had called them all here together. And though Mugino didn't care enough to see it firsthand, Rikou actually seemed to gain a new sense of interest upon hearing that. She didn't necessarily become lively, at least not by typical standards, but she did sit up a bit straighter and her gaze became less distant than before. For ITEM as a whole, that was significant enough to warrant attention.
"Basically, are you still trying to figure out his ability? He didn't look like he knew much about it himself, so isn't it kinda pointless to keep bringing that idiot around if he doesn't know anything we don't already know?"
"If I wanted to ask him anything, I wouldn't have bothered to call everyone here now would I?" Clearly Mugino was still agitated with the blond, given her snappy rebuttal. "I have all the time in the world to get my answers, but for this, I have a limited window of opportunity at my disposal."
"…is it something about a job?"
"No, Takitsubo…well, not entirely; you'll just have to wait and see." At this point, Mugino had become aware of those subtle changes in Rikou's behavior based on her sudden interest in the topic itself. This sudden attentiveness morphed into realization which then inspired an idea. "In any case, Takitsubo, why don't you send that idiot a message that'll bring him to us? He obviously favors you opposed to me, so you will probably have a better chance at bringing him here than I would."
"Mugino, please don't bring him here~!"
The childish wining of the blonde was, for the most part, ignored by both girl's present at the booth. After what had transpired at the Seiren facility, Rikou's stance on the boy in question was still hazy at best. She recognized him as someone she didn't want to be involved in dark-side affairs, but was not brazen enough to claim herself as his friend attest to what Mugino believed. Their interactions were too limited in number for such a bond to have been solidified, and yet she was still not too keen on the idea of throwing him into the snake pit without a valid reason.
Touma was not a part of their world, nor did he belong in such a place like she or the rest of them did. If Mugino was trying to coax him into another one of their jobs, then of course she would have to follow through with the Meltdowner's request. Hesitant as she would be, guilty as she would have felt in complying with the demand, she would still do so. But for what reason would Mugino have to call him? Why would she purposely seek him out when she obviously regarded him with no small amount of abhorrence?
Rikou wanted an explanation first; she needed to know what the Level 5 had in store for the teen in question before she followed through with the girl's demand.
"Oh, right, you don't have his number on your phone do you? Here then, add him to your contact list and get him over here quickly."
Rikou barely felt the vibrations caused from receiving the message. She wasn't necessarily scared of speaking out her thoughts or anything of that sort. She was just trying to find the right words to convey her curiosity without upsetting the fellow Esper. If worded wrong, Mugino's ire might escalate to a point that she would be pressured into doing as ordered anyway. She didn't want that, nobody did, but her status as a Level 5 was outshined by her temperament; which only made her increasingly difficult to deal with at times.
That was precisely the kind of hurdle Takitsubo and the rest of ITEM tried to avoid and often times had most difficulty in handling.
Fortunately for her, Rikou didn't have to deal with such things this time around; for someone else unintentionally did so in her stead.
"Huh, it looks like everyone's here; hope you guys weren't waiting a super long time." It must have been due to the cluster of noise made by other patrons, because nobody had noticed Saiai's arrival up until that point. She didn't waste a second after making her presence known either, having sat down beside Rikou before addressing the Level 5 with a rather flat stare. "So, what's so important about this guy you super wanted me to get?"
"A lot more then you think, but I'll get to that in a second." Though Kinuhata's arrival might have been quicker than the Meltdowner had originally anticipated, it didn't appear to be of much consequence to her. Given how she had waved off the other girl's inquiry, it was apparent which priority was more important to her at the moment. "Takitsubo, get your head out of the clouds and tell him to get his ass here right now."
Based on her tone, Rikou's hesitation was beginning to wane on the destructive Esper's patience. Unwilling as she was, the quiet girl resigned herself in her position and decided to simply do as she was told in favor of keeping Shizuri's irritation from rising any further than it already was. So, a few moments of patient observation, Mugino felt a sense of satisfaction when ITEM's tracker snapped her phone shut and nodded in confirmation.
The message had been sent; now all that was left to do was wait.
"Okay, with that now out of the way, let's get down to the reason you're all here."
As all eyes turned to gaze at her, both hands jointed in front of her as she spared each individual present a glance to ensure she had their undivided attention. Had anyone felt brazen enough to comment, they likely would have called her out for being conceited; but that was irrelevant. By just those words alone, Rikou subconsciously knew that she had committed another grave error in following through with whatever the girl had planned. She hoped that she was wrong, for his sake and her own guilty consciousness she wished that she was wrong.
But, at the end of the day, that's all she could really do.
Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.
Had it not been for the hum of his phone, Kamijou might have fancied this as a decent sign of a good day. Had he not opened his mobile device and read the message which was sent, Touma likely would have been able to carry on with his day in relative peace like he had planned. He had already been with the doctor, received his medical prescriptions, and was nearly done with his tasks when he received the message.
Initially, upon seeing an unfamiliar number, he was apprehensive about what the message entailed given all that's happened to him within the span of a few weeks.
When he found out it was Takitsubo of all people, he almost felt relieved.
When he read the message she had sent, that relief died.
Mugino wanted to speak to him about something, claimed it was important, and was practically making demands for him to meet them at a local restaurant. That wasn't exactly how it was worded, but that was how Touma chose to interpret it based on the contents on the message itself.
"Maaaaah, why can't she just leave this Kamijou alone already?" Groaned out the teen with a tired sigh as he harshly scratched at his scalp with his free hand and unaware or uncaring about those who passed giving him quizzing looks. "Honestly, does she expect me to come running at her beck and call every time she tells me to?"
"Eh, u-um, excuse me sir!"
"Huh?"
Two sets of eyes crossed paths following that declaration; one set weary and the other bustling with energy. The spiky teen's mind might have still been stuck in groggy state thanks to the lack of sleep, but such an issue was not present the person who had called out to him.
"You're that guy from yesterday, right?" The boy being addressed could only nod mutely at the questioned he had been addressed. He was being bull-rushed here, adding to it his fatigued state of being and you have someone who was a little slow. For all he knew, he could have been wrong and have had no idea who this person was. "Aha, I knew I saw that spiky haircut of yours from somewhere! Talk about lucky, without it I probably wouldn't have recognized you."
Well, one thing was confirmed, this person did know of him if she identified him using that method. He personally hadn't seen anyone else who styled their hair like he did and if he did he sure as hell didn't remember them. That begged the question as to how this girl knew him, for which he had to return back to her initial question regarding yesterday. It took him a minute or so to put two-and-two together, but eventually he came to recognize this person for who they were.
To some degree or another at least, he still didn't know precisely who she was and hadn't had the time before to really ask her.
"Oh yeah, you're a friend Kazari-san's aren't you?"
"Yup, that's me, Saten Ruiko at your service." Her cheery demeanor and the enthusiastic tone of voice quickly became the target of his envy. Lord he could use a bit of that positive energetic nature in his system right about now. "I didn't expect to run across you of all people so soon though."
"Neither did I honestly; I guess we could just chalk it up to chance."
"But that's good isn't it? I, well I should say we actually, didn't have any time to thank you for helping us."
"Nah, neither of you need to do that, I'm just glad I could help."
Flattered as he was, Touma had already stated before that he more often than not didn't receive any thanks for the effort he put into helping others. He of course didn't mind being thanked, but he wasn't actively looking to receive any gratitude for it either. One could say he was just being humble about it, but the underlining truth was that he was too tired to really care about much at the moment.
"I'm serious though! The way you beat the crap out of those guys was just too good a sight to see!" To emphasize her point, Saten began to swing her small fists as if she were fighting some invisible opponent in front of her. "…even though you running away with us was kinda lame."
"I didn't like the odds I was seeing, so of course I'd run away the first chance I got."
"Ah, sorry, t-that last part just kinda slipped out." Saten at least had the decency to look sheepish; not that Touma really paid the unintentional jab much mind indicated by the waving the statement off with his hand. Because of that gesture, the girl had been able to take notice of the strange wrappings on his hand and abruptly lost a bit of luster in her eyes. "Oh…I-I didn't know you were hurt."
"Huh, oh, this?" Kamijou was far from ignorant about the sudden downtrodden look in the girl's eyes. The change had been pretty easy to spot even for someone like him, and that change needed to be rectified. He could care little about much today, but he also didn't care for the idea of making someone feel guilty over something which wasn't their fault to begin with. "I just got careless when I was cleaning up some broken glass. I wasn't paying attention to the edges and ended up getting a pretty bad cut in the process."
"You're kidding."
"I wish I was, but this unfortunate Kamijou is cursed with misfortune on a daily basis."
Neither party realized it then, but at some point the two had began walking down the sidewalk side-by-side opposed to standing in the streets talking. It might have been a subconscious action performed when in the presence of people also moving about. They had little to no awareness of their actions, nor was there any set destination to which they were traveling to, and yet the two carried on despite that like two sheep in a herd.
"Huh, I guess that saying 'no good deed goes unpunished' doesn't apply here, does it?"
"N-no, not really." Truthfully, that saying could not have been more on the right even if it tried. But for the sake of his little white lie, he chose to just roll with it. "It might have if things had been different, but nothing did so I'm glad for it. This, on the other hand, is just my usual rotten luck; no matter what I do, something unfortunate always ends up happening to me anyway."
"Things like what happened yesterday?"
Saten had been just joking and wasn't specifically targeting what happened to her and Uiharu. Touma wasn't alone on the memory suppression train here, in fact both girl's were still somewhat fearful of the alleyways and for good reason. But her jest was met with a rather sheepish look as the boy in question nervously rubbed his right hand along the back of his neck; complete with a somewhat dry laughter.
"I…really can't call that as being unfortunate, I view it in the opposite light actually. Now that I think about it, maybe…mah, never mind."
"What?"
What he wanted to say was that, perhaps his meeting with Mugino was part of his good fortune. Maybe it wasn't so bad that he had met with her yesterday, otherwise he might not have come across that bad situation in the first place. Who knew what would have happened to those two if he hadn't intervened? But by some form of grace, he stumbled across it, and the only reason he had was because he had met with that psychotic Level 5.
That was what he wanted to say, but in the end he decided against it.
"It's nothing, just thinking out loud a bit."
"Hmm…" Saten, however, didn't seem to buy into that and had chosen instead to peer at him with accusing eyes. The sight was hardly intimidating on her; rather she was just staring so intently at his face that it made him shift his vision elsewhere. "…well, if you say it's nothing, I guess I've got no choice but to take your word for it this time."
She said it as if she planned to meet him again somewhere down the line. A far from likely occurrence if he was to say so himself, not that he would actually voice that aloud.
"It's not a big deal really, it's just–" By this point, however, Kamijou finally began to take in his surroundings; specifically taking note of how they weren't in the same place they were originally. "Hold on, how'd we end up here?"
"Huh?" Seemed Saten was just as confused as he was, based on the sudden look of realization that surfaced on her face as she too took in her surroundings. "How did we– when did we– aaah, don't tell me I back tracked this far! I-I'm so sorry about this, but I gotta run. I was supposed to meet up with Uiharu before she had to go to her Judgment office."
"You gonna be okay on your own? I can go part of the way with you if you want."
"It's okay; I think I'll be alright this time around, but thank you for offering anyway."
As much as he wanted to go escort the girl for her own safety, he knew better than to go against the girl's wishes. Imposing himself would probably result in more trouble anyway, worse yet she could be exposed to his own misfortune. She was almost abducted yesterday without him, that was enough to warrant concern, but there was likely to be worse that could happen if he tagged along even if it was temporarily. Worse yet, if something did happen, then he would be limited in what he could do in terms of keeping her safe.
In the end, he resigned himself to putting his faith in whatever higher being existed that nothing bad would happen as a result of this decision.
"If you're sure, stay safe then."
Saten herself chose to simply give the boy that same cheery smile that Touma again couldn't help but feel a bit envious about. When was the last time he had been that cheery about something? How long had it been since he had genuinely been happy about anything.
"I will, and I'll be sure to tell Uiharu that I bumped into you." With that smile still present, she moved back towards the location in which they had just come from before bowing slightly at the waist at the older teen across from her. "Thanks again for what you did for us yesterday, we won't forget it."
Kamijou had no time to offer up a retort before she straightened up and hurried away along the sidewalk towards her destination; still smiling and full of energy that Touma wished he possessed. Yet, in those parting words, Saten herself had unknowingly done some good herself by robbing the teen of his envy. As stated once, maybe twice before, he was not used to being thanked for his efforts, nor was he accustomed to someone showing genuine gratitude in a manner that she had.
But he had been thanked this time for it; someone had expressed their gratitude and for that a part of him was granted a sense of satisfaction. Like replacing a dull light bulb with a brighter one, Touma was reminded of the reason why he did the things he did. As rare as these occurrences were, it only took one every so often to remind him what it was he was doing it for. It had nothing to do with receiving gratitude or a reward of material value. What he got from these instances was something money could not buy and something he would not ever be able to part with.
He had done the right thing, both of those girl's were going to be okay, and that was worth more to his soul than a mountain of gold could ever be. It didn't matter what he endured, so long as those two were alright and they could still smile freely like that, then all he had sustained was worth it.
"Haa, well, the pharmacy isn't too far from here. A couple extra minutes to get there isn't too bad I guess."
Whatever fatigue that had plagued him since he awoke this morning was gone. Some would say he looked somewhat refreshed in his own way, given how lethargic he usually looked when it concerned his daily activities. So refreshed was he that even the corners of his usually weary expression had perked upwards into a smile of satisfaction. The interaction with Saten had done a great deal in improving his mood, subtle as it might have seemed to some.
Then his phone hummed in his pocket, and all the good that had come from that vanished.
"Mugino's getting mad, please hurry: Takitsubo." Muttered the teen as he read the text on the screen aloud before his shoulders slumped as he released a sigh. He spared a glance down the path Saten had traversed down, faintly seeing her in the distance, before casting his gaze back at the screen on his phone. "…great, might as well see what she wants this time and get it over with quickly."
Snapping his phone shut and stuffing it into his pocket, Kamijou Touma resigned himself to his fate as he turned in the opposite direction in which the girl had gone. With luck this matter would be over quickly and he could get back to running his own errands for the day.
His gut, however, told him that somehow that outcome was far from likely.
If only he had listened to it.
Welcome to the bottom!
With this kinda conclusion, I think it's apt to say: It's...HAPPENING!
Jokes aside, this chapter, I don't know, feels weird to me. It might be how its got more quotations in it going back to back that throws me off a bit. I don't know what to make of it honestly, so I'll stick with weird until I'm told otherwise. Weirdness aside, I'd like to say I'm satisfied with how this chapter turned out. A lot of setting changes and such, going back and forth between members of ITEM and Touma, so we get the best of both worlds in that respect.
Hope the scene changes didn't feel off to anyone. As for the MUGINO INTERACTIONS I mentioned last chapter, well, you'll have to wait until the next one. I don't like it either, but its for the best and I promise you that it'll be worth the wait.
On another matter, one more personal, I have something in which I wanted to say that I couldn't in the last chapter.
Real Talk: I still can't believe I've been doing this for over a year now. I've come a long way from where I originally started wouldn't you guys say? I've improved so much since the start of ACWOD and I have all of you guys, fans of new and old, to thank for helping me along the way. So I want to say thank you, every one of you, for all your reviews, your feedback, and support throughout the past year and I hope that carries on to the next.
You guys are all great, and no amount of words can say how much it means to me.
Thank you, all of you, for everything.
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.
