And once again here we are. Once again with another update as part of the double update for the usual holiday chaos. However, this time, it's a request!

This chapter has its basis in the request from ghostdriver1991 who asks:

Hey Mr.?, Can you write a chapter that say about Mikoto and Index knows Touma's past?

As you can probably guess, this chapter isn't going to be sunshine and rainbows. I'm not even too sure how heavy this chapter is going to be, but I guess the only thing you guys can do when it comes to chapters like this is wait eagerly for the words to follow. For this alone, I guess I'll stop my rambling up here and let you guys focus on what lies below.

Firstly, before we begin though, the Q & A:

whwsms: Thanks so much!

paeluclucas: ¡Muchas Gracias por sus amables palabras!

Guest00: What!? Oh my goodness…the only thing that would hold me back when it comes to this would be the large cast. While larger may be better for a visual format, for a written format, it's significantly harder. If I ever were to do something along the lines of this, then it would probably be with a smaller cast if anything.

LoneVirgo98: Big Brother Touma is the best brother there is!

Aminadab Brulle: I also think Salome is one of the three girls who is actually fleshed out within the Kamisato Faction, so maybe there's something to that… Glad you liked the chapter!

epicmatt66: Hey, if it's a request, I'm more than happy to have a stab at it! Let's see how it goes when I even reach that stage?

onilink500: Definitivamente creo que Touma podría haber sentido algún trauma cuando vio a Index, considerando la situación que recordaba con Ayu, aunque no estoy muy seguro de si fue lo mismo con Mikoto dado que instantáneamente se volvió violenta, en comparación con Ayu donde la violencia vino después. ¡¿Me estás diciendo que compare a Itsuwa y Misaki?! ¡No puedes obligarme a hacer eso! Creo que la parte de NT de Kamisato fue la más débil de todo, pero igual disfruté lo que me dieron. Pero de los dos, Touma-onii-cha es el onii-chan para mí. ¡Pero buena suerte con tu fic crossover de JoJo!

craytherlay: For some reason, and I've noticed this in my writing for some reason, Touma is usually on the receiving end of such lewd scenes rather than being the one viewing it from the outside. I get the feeling that I'm developing strange tastes and I don't know what to think about it…

fencer29: Man, Touma trying to introduce Othinus to his parents is somewhere I don't even want to go. Imagine the madness?! I'm unsure whether it would prove Shiina was the true demon lord all along or whether it would be a chaotic session where everything goes out the window!

ArmoredCoreNineBall: You're not the only one, huh? Glad to hear you liked it though!

And the thanks. Firstly to my beta reader PokeRescue18. Man, from the bottom of my heart, for the things you have done for me, I want to thank you with everything I have. Seriously, the thanks I have for the things you do for is endless and I mean that with everything I have.

And to you, the reader. The same naturally also applies. There are numerous things you can be doing with your time and yet you find yourself here and reading the works I have posted. For the time you have spent reading, the time invested in everything I do, I really want to thank you for everything you have done for me.

Also, to ghostdriver1991! This chapter wouldn't exist without you, so I hope that for the wait that this has ended up being worth it for the chapter that it turned out to be. Truly, thank you for supporting me and even though this is the only way to make it up to you, I hope it's enough.

But this has also been a crazy year in itself, hasn't it!? I hope that everyone is keeping safe and that for the upcoming holiday season that you can truly enjoy yourself and be surrounded by those you love. Happy Holidays everyone! …Even though this chapter isn't exactly one that adds to the festive cheer. One of these days I'm going to write a happy chapter that will be released in the festive season…

And from me, I hope you do what you always do when you read these chapters:

Enjoy.

Mr Question Mark.


Something That Does Not Matter But Hurts All The Same. Silent_And_Forgotten.

The challenge had appeared in front of Index, the silver haired nun with green eyes and looked fairly frail, was an obstacle that could never be overcome with mere application of willpower and strength.

No, it was far more serious than that!

The mission at hand, if Index should choose to accept it, was one where she needed to apply everything she had learned. She needed her to draw on every single memory she had inside her brain to fully complete the mission. If she needed to get an S rank, then doing things half-heartedly would not achieve such.

She needed to brave the obstacles in front of her, fight the challengers and grasp that victory when she accomplished her ultimate goal.

"Hmm? What exactly are you doing over here, Silver Sister?"

"Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah?! A-And yet another challenger appears! Touma always said I had to be careful of suspicious individuals and one of the most suspicious has appeared! I…I won't be defeated here!"

Index screamed and turned around, putting up her hands in a defensive pose but the person in front of her only frowned and tilted her head.

Misaka Mikoto, the #3 Level 5 Railgun within Academy City, was a person who deserved respect for pushing herself so hard that she actually achieved the rank only seven people in Academy City had but it was surprisingly around Index and the boy known as Kamijou Touma that all thoughts of that respect seemed to be thrown out the window.

Whether that was a good thing in that it meant she could always look to the both of them to treat her like a normal girl or a bad thing in that whenever she was with those two, they always seemed to say or do things that pissed her off, was unknown. Then again, even though she would never tell those two, it was these types of refreshing scenes which added spice to her life even if they did not exactly always go the way she wanted.

And it was the comment Index made which made Mikoto realise just how annoyed she usually got whenever that idiot was mentioned by the nun. How exactly she fit underneath the category of 'suspicious' was beyond her and she twitched, light sparks coming from her bangs as she fully processed exactly what Index said (even though it was that reaction which had made her so suspicious in Kamijou's book).

Index on the other hand did not seem to acknowledge such action as she rose her hands up and slowly walked away from Mikoto, trembling slightly.

"N-No! I can't get distracted by this 'saido-bosu' as Touma would say. The mission I set to accomplish is right in front of me! The mountain I must climb, the challenge I must face, the opponent I must defeat! Yes, right now, Short Hair is the least of my problems! I must…I must…!"

"Look, I have no idea what you're doing here, but you're just in the way if you stand at the entrance here and do nothing. Are you here to collect a package as well?"

Mikoto said that in an exasperated tone but it was clear that by the way she reacted to Index that she wanted no part in whatever Index was doing. Realising that letting sleeping dogs lie was the only way to do things in this case, Mikoto slowly walked past the panicking Index and walked into the building Index was currently standing in front of.

The doors to the post office opened, hitting Mikoto with a wall of cool air that seemed to wash over her in a wave. Mikoto exhaled as she walked in, almost stopping to feel the tickle of the air against her bare skin: although the Tokiwadai uniform was one she was forced to wear outside of school because of regulations, the stuffiness of such clothes had, more than once, made Mikoto regret choosing that school for her education. Yet, although that was her thought, she would never actually change schools for the life of her but the downsides such as constantly wearing the uniform were such that even Mikoto had small regrets.

Mail received by students of Academy City was usually received one of two ways: generic mail sent to the dorms as a result of the school's mail system or the personal mail one received from outside or inside Academy City. While getting mail from people inside Academy City was fairly easy and usually just involved sending packages and leaving them with dorm managers if one was not home, the problem with mail usually arose whenever one had a package that came from outside the City.

Because of the need to send it through the various channels from outside to inside the City as well as the chance there was something unsavoury being sent from someone outside to inside, the security around the packages of Academy City was usually kept quite high. Mikoto herself, being nothing more than a child, vaguely understood the reasoning behind such but with World War 3 having just passed, the reality and the need for such security measures seemed to be a lot more real to her now.

As a result of the various inspections to be conducted on packages delivered from the outside to the inside, post offices simply sent messages to the necessary dorms and the necessary students telling them a package had been received for them from the outside and had to be collected from the post office. The same was said for mail and on more than one occasion, Mikoto had found going back and forth to the post office to send and receive mail from her mother and father to be an unnecessary chore, even if she vaguely understood the reasoning behind it.

And it was now that Mikoto had to partake in that chore once more, having received something from her father. Even if the chill of winter was still here, Mikoto always managed to brave whatever weather there was when it came to receiving something from her father. With the notice telling her she had to collect the package in hand, Mikoto walked further into the post office, lining up in the queue for packages, however, paused for a moment.

(Why was that Silver Sister here in the first place? Sending mail?)

Curious, Mikoto turned her head but only watched with some pity as she stared at Index looking up and down at some piece of paper in her hands and faltering. She had spoken about challenges but the fact she had yet to enter the post office told a lot about the Level of her character and the adequacy of the armour for the Quest she had chosen to take.

The Railgun stared at the fragile nun, going back and forth and whispering a small prayer to herself as she seemed more than ready to enter the office building…only to once more back off and go back to pacing. Mikoto felt a small drop of sweat roll down her cheek as she stared at the nun, shaking her head all the same and turning back to face the back of the person she was behind in the queue.

(No…that has nothing to do with me. People's mail is their business. I'm not that idiot and poking my nose into that Silver Sister's business is only going to cause more trouble. Not to mention that her mail is probably private in some sense too. If I were in her position, having someone else interfere would only be more troublesome.)

Mikoto thought nothing else, tapping her foot as she stood in line. The only reason she was here was because she was here for a package from her father and besides, even if she did help Index, it was not like they were friends. The chances of getting a thanks were 0% and the chances of getting some kind of annoying comment that was sure to mention that idiot in some respect were 100%. Even thinking about it now soured Mikoto's mood as she scratched her head.

No, she had to ignore it. Whatever problem that Silver Sister was having was her problem. That was how life worked; you dealt with your own problems and through them, it was how you learnt the solution. If everyone did everything for you, then you were nothing more than a blank slate, dependent on everyone and unable to do anything yourself.

Yes.

In that case, Mikoto, by not helping Index, was surely going to help her learn the way to solve her problem.

It was the right thing to do. Besides, Mikoto and Index barely knew each other. If it was a life or death situation, then things might be different, but this had to do with the mail of all things. The severity of the situation meant this type of thinking and constant need to help was not applicable.

Misaka Mikoto lived under different rules than that idiot after all. Trying to emulate every single little thing he did was a sure-fire way to rack up a hospital bill.

So, no.

" – torius! And that will show Touma I'm not just someone who eats all day, every day."

Misaka Mikoto, even if she was aware of that nun going back and forth and constantly trying to enter this post office for some reason or another, had nothing to do with it and was not going to stick her nose where it did not belong! The issue was sure to explode and cause a world shaking incident of some sort!

So, no.

" – matter what happens, I will do this! As a member of the Anglican Church, my pride depends on the accomplishment of this task."

Misaka Mikoto was not going to help that nun whatsoever.

" – enter this post office. I shall do it! Here I go… H-Hyah!? Th-The doors have minds of their own!? O-Oh great sentient beings of Science, will thou allowst thee to enter the holy grounds of mail?"

WHATSOEVER!

"Hello? Hello!? W-Why are you ignoring me!?"

"Ah, damn it! You're just one problem after another, aren't you!?"

Mikoto yelled at the top of her lungs, causing the man in front of her to jump. Mikoto didn't even see it as she stomped out of the queue, reached Index and grabbed the paper in her hand. The nun let out a yell of surprise but the only thing Mikoto did was ignore her shouts, looking down at the paper Index had been holding this entire time. The girl trembled in front of Demon Lord Mikoto, but it was with a quick san of her eyes that Mikoto deduced what Index was here for in the first place.

[Package for Kamijou Touma. Please come collect said package at the nearest Postal Office branch to your student dorm. The package will be held for five business days before being returned to the sender if uncollected. Please present this form to the officer at the counter to receive your package.]

The form was much like the one Mikoto already held in her hand, indicating Kamijou had gotten a package from outside. That in itself made Mikoto curious, but something else caught her interest more than that.

"What are you doing collecting that idiot's mail for him?" Mikoto asked towards Index, the girl maintaining the same defensive pose a low level adventure would make in front of the Demon Lord.

"T-Touma said that the specials at the grocery market and the battle to get the one-per-person deals are so great he doesn't have time to visit here, a store that closes early. A-And how did you make those doors so obedient!? Whenever I talked to them, they barely answered! Touma is the same; do you have some kind of spiritual link with these doors?"

"That doesn't answer my question! He cooks for you and you apparently live near him and now you collect his mail? What exactly is your relationship with that idiot!? Y-You know what? Actually, I don't care. If you want to collect that idiot's mail, then you have to stand in line like the rest of us."

Mikoto grabbed Index's hand, basically fuming all the same and thrust her inside. The automatic doors opened, leaving Index stunned at how they moved so spectacularly while Mikoto grumbled to herself about the problems that idiot always ended up getting her into, even if they were indirect. Like a tourist, Index seemed to be 'ooh'ing and 'aah'ing at every single thing but it was quickly that Mikoto handed her own form to the counter and got her parcel, only for the same to happen with Index who did as Mikoto had.

Even though she had no reason to stay now that Index managed to say word for word what Mikoto had when she had collected her parcel, it was through nothing more than curiosity that Mikoto choose to stay behind. Although it had nothing to do with her, the curiosity that came with whatever package that idiot had received from the outside seemed to be too much to bear. It was with impatience that Mikoto waited for the woman at the counter to return with the package.

And the moment she saw it, Mikoto could only stare at it with muted shock and surprise. Index was much the same and for the same reason as Mikoto. They had guessed who the package had come from knowing Kamijou's background and associates outside of Academy City so they were not surprised to hear the woman say the senders were 'Kamijou Touya and Shiina'; Kamijou's parents.

What they were surprised at was the package itself.

The large dusty box had places where the dust had been cleared by whoever had opened the box to checks it contents. The lock was not smashed either, suggesting it had been unlocked when it had arrived within Academy City. What exactly Kamijou Touma would ever want with a dusty box went beyond both Mikoto and Index as the woman placed the large box on the counter with a heavy 'thump'. Dust kicked up as it was placed on the counter and both Index and Mikoto coughed, blowing away the dust heading for them.

The woman at the counter did the same and fanned away the dust with a small letter in hand.

"There…There is a letter that accompanies it." She said between coughs. "Both items have been checked for any 'unsavoury' elements but there were some…difficulties on viewing such. I can only say that given the contents of the box, there is little chance of there being a danger present to Academy City. Would you like this delivered to the appropriate address?"

Both Index and Mikoto found themselves looking at the box with surprise. The box itself was wooden but the treatment and the dust on it gave the picture it had been abandoned for some time. The handles on the edge had the same dust on them and with the flaking gold on it, it seemed as though it was a cheap item stored somewhere, silent and forgotten, only to be sent to Kamijou for some reason or another.

Index turned to Mikoto with that same surprise on her face, but seemed to be more preoccupied with something else.

"Short Hair? What do we do? Do we have it delivered or take it ourselves to Touma's house?"

"H-Hang on there," Mikoto put a hand up and approached the box curiously. She turned more to the woman and spoke. "You said there were difficulties in viewing the contents? Then how can you say there is little danger of them posing a risk?"

Index turned to the woman now, realising what exactly Mikoto had said. After all, if one did not check the contents of the box properly, how exactly could they state there was little chance of them posing a danger to Academy City? It made no sense, but the woman lifted the box to show the contents towards both girls.

"See for yourself. But please, I have other customers to attend to, so would you like this delivered or would you like to take it yourself?"

Index stared at the contents with a frown: she couldn't make heads of tails of it herself, but it was Mikoto's nod which seemed to give the impression she knew exactly what was inside. Mikoto turned to Index, being brief as she threw words at her in a hurry.

"Well, Silver Sister? What do you want to do? As much as it annoys me and makes me want to grill that idiot over this, you were the one he entrusted with this. You want it delivered or you want to take it?"

"Eh? Ah…" Index seemed flustered for a moment before turning around and looking at the queue behind her. The annoyed customers kept waiting were eagerly trying to get their packages as well and the sudden shock of seeing so many people waiting in line pressured the nun even further into making a hasty answer. "W-Well, Touma said he wanted me to collect it so…"

"You'll be taking it then. Perfect."

The woman made a rash judgment based on some very limited information and indicated to her colleagues further within the post office. The men inside groaned as they moved into the store, approaching the counter from the customer side and taking the handles of the box before placing it on the floor, away from the queue.

Hurriedly, the woman thrust the letter with the box into Index's hands, the nun crying out in surprise at the rather rushed attempt before the woman yelled out to the person behind her.

"Next!"

Index moved out the way in a hurried fashion before rushing to the box and looking at it with a rather hopeless look. Given how a full grown woman had been struggling to lift it up with both hands, it was clear how well the fragile Index would do with the box. Unable to think and being pressured with time, Index stood stock still for a single moment before placing her hands together in the classic action of prayer.

"…The Lord will hear my prayer as I selfishly ask for assistance, hoping in my heart that He will find it in His ever gracious way to forgive me for my actions."

"H-Hey, why are you looking at me when you say that!? I've already helped you this far so there's nothing I want to do when it comes to this. Y-You should have had it delivered if you couldn't do anything, you airheaded nun!"

Mikoto cried out while stepping back, throwing her hands up. Not only did she have her own package but the heavy weight the box had was not something she wanted to carry all the way from here to the idiot's dorm. Not only was it a hassle but the strain and the effort it would take was more than the Level 5 was willing to take when all she had done was help Index sort out that idiot's mail problems.

"I also ask the gracious Lord that He open the eyes of those selfish enough to ignore the problems of others and give them the chance and the heart to reach out to those in need."

"You're talking about me, aren't you?! I already helped you, so there's no way I'm going to help you lift this damn thing all the way to that idiot's dorm! I have better things to do with my time. It's your problem, so you deal with it. It's got nothing to do with me!"

Mikoto, realising her kindness was being treated as a given, yelled out in frustration. Having to deal with the troublesome Silver Sister was the last thing she needed, and it was by pushing her to the side that she walked out of the post office. Helping Index any more than this was going to be nothing more than a hassle, a pain and a bother. Even if it was her selfish thoughts, this had all happened because of that idiot in the first place!

For what reason did she have to justify lugging a heavy wooden box through Academy City with that Silver Sister? Not only would it make her already stuffy clothes stick to her skin, but her arms were sure to ache for a few days after and it would lead to nothing but extra trouble. It was all this idiot's problem in the first place! After all, what had he done for her that would give her reason to lift this heavy box through the rest of the District!?

The answer came to her within an instant after she had asked that mental question.

What exactly had that idiot done for her? He had saved her life during the Level 6 Shift and the Daihaseisai, saved over 10,000 of her Sisters and laid down his life all for the sake of her wellbeing and the things she wanted to protect. And the entire time, he had done it with fear in his heart, hesitation in his head and the small voice in the back of his mind telling him to run away as fast as he could.

And yet, he didn't.

And in the face of a simple box which was an inconvenience yet not a threat to her life? Mikoto, so dulled by peace, failed to realise just how much of a debt she had accumulated that it was basically impossible to pay back. She refused to do something small for the sake of someone who had done something so big for her there was no way she could ever pay him back.

Was Misaka Mikoto such a small a person as that? Was she unable to pay her debts and selfishly looked to herself when things did not go her way? Was that the type Mikoto was when faced with the task in front of her which paled…no, wasn't even in the same realm as what Kamijou Touma had done for someone like her?

The answer, the only thing Mikoto could even respond with when it came to that question, made her sigh and put her head in one hand and shake it.

"…I'm going to punch that idiot next time I see him for getting me into something so troublesome. I swear to God."

"Ah! Thou shall not use the Lord's name in vain! E-Even if Touma does so sometimes, I want to make sure I limit the amount of exposure of suspicious individuals such as yourself who say such things without realising their worth. As a nun, I simply cannot let that go."

"Do you want me to help you or not?! And why is that idiot an exception!?"

Mikoto yelled back, making Index puff up in anger as she retorted with words of her own. Sparks flew through the air in a literal sense and it was only once the employees of the post office had had enough that the both of them were thrown out and onto the cold streets of Academy City.

No matter what happened, it always seemed as though trouble would follow Kamijou Touma, even if it was indirect. As long as it related to him, it seemed that the lingering ability for it to produce misfortune remained.

It seemed Index and Misaka Mikoto only realised that a little too late as they walked through the winter streets of Academy City carrying a heavy wooden box and glaring at each other in such a way that even the Darkness would have feared them.


"M-My arms. I can't…anymore…"

"Why did that idiot…have to get something so heavy…sent over?"

Those grumbles came through the air in front of their destination, the two adventurers lying against the door of Kamijou Touma's dorm room with the box on the ground by their sides. They seemed reluctant to even move and it was with hunched backs and sore arms that they took deep breaths, the sweat on their skin dripping down their bodies and making them extremely uncomfortable.

They had been at it at least for the past 45 minutes but the constant stopping and starting, the lack of metal parts to use magnetism for and the weight of the box all accumulated into the pure exhaustion both girls were feeling right now. Mikoto stared at the box as if it were her mortal enemy and gave it a good kick, Index staring at the box with some exhaustion of her own before turning and facing Mikoto.

"Hey…Short Hair."

"I'm too…exhausted to even…complain about that…" Mikoto grumbled underneath her breath. Index moved her sore arm as much as she could, while wincing, and pointed at the box.

"What…was in there? You looked as though you knew what it was. I've never seen anything like it before…"

"Huh? Yeah…given how you were talking to the automatic doors…that makes sense." Mikoto nodded and seemed to regain some energy herself as she leaned forward. Grabbing the edge of the box with her fingers, she applied what little strength she had to the lid and opened it, the lid slamming down onto the ground and causing more dust to come from it.

Both girls coughed as the dust rose into the air, Mikoto taking one of the objects within the box and putting it on the ground. Seeing that the other objects in the box were the exact same, Index did not even bother looking at them, instead looking at the object Mikoto placed on the ground.

The black rectangular prism was odd to say the least. The edges and their faces were entirely black, save for one, and it was only one of the larger faces which had any different colour: a section in the middle of it being clear and revealing two semicircles inside with some black tape around them with a white rectangle separating them. The only edge face which was not black had a faded sticker on it and, in faded writing, had a date on it: roughly 10 years ago.

"What is that?" Index asked, this time her voice rising to show she was a bit more curious. Mikoto seemed to smile lightly before taping the black prism on the ground.

"It's called a videotape."

"…A what?"

"Hahahaha!" Mikoto let out that laugh before she groaned and then clutched at her arm. "N-No, laughing hurts too much. Never doing that for a while. Wh-Where was I? Oh, right. See, this videotape is a type of technology that comes from the outside, but even then, this type of stuff is extremely old. Given how Academy City is 20 to 30 years ahead of the world in terms of technology, that naturally applies to things such as what we put movies and other things on. Holograms, VR, even 1seg broadcasts within Academy City can have the capabilities to show high definition movies and TV shows. But this…this is so outdated in Academy City, you'd be hard pressed to find something you can view it on. Even in the outside, the only reason you'd hold onto a device that would be able to play a videotape nowadays would be for nostalgia, for an archive or simply because you're waiting for a time capsule to open." Mikoto explained carefully, showing some consideration for the technologically illiterate Index who only tilted her head.

"So, it's old?"

"(…If that's all you got from what I said, then there's no hope for you.)" Mikoto grumbled underneath her breath but did not bother to elaborate. Realising (although with a blush) that the only thing she could do right now was wait for that idiot to get home, so he could open up his dorm room and get this damn thing inside, it was the exhaustion taking over the two girls that prevented Index and Mikoto from just leaving the box where it was and going home.

Index didn't seem to hear Mikoto, instead reaching into the box and bringing out another videotape and inspecting the faded writing on the sticker on the side. Given the date on this one, it was filmed a few days before the one Mikoto was holding.

"The kind woman at the counter said there were difficulties in viewing such. Why is that?"

"Are you serious? I just explained that to you…" Mikoto groaned once more and ran a hand through her hair, grumbling all the same. "This stuff is so old that there's basically no one in this City who has a machine to view this stuff on. Sure, maybe there is a store in this City that deals with antiques and can view stuff like this, but not one that a postal office employee can be bothered to go to and check out all of those videotapes on. I mean…look at this!"

Mikoto went on her knees and approached the box like a toddler moving towards the crate of toys they were meant to play with. Index did the same, unable to move properly given the pain in her arms as they both stared at the box and lifted out the numerous videotapes.

"All of these are, what, 10 years old at least?" Mikoto coughed as she reached into the dusty box and brought out another tape. "What does that idiot need them for? Or is his idiocy genetic?" Mikoto said something rather rude but Index paid it no mind, reaching into the box and picking out another videotape.

"This one is 11 years old…and here is that is 12!"

"How far does this go back?" Mikoto frowned, reaching into the box and taking out more and more tapes. "13, 14, 15…15 years. Wow. What can you do with 15 years of old videotapes you can't even view anymore? And why send them to that idiot?"

Mikoto, unable to hold her curiosity anymore, turned and reached for the letter that had come with the package, snatching it from Index who had been too preoccupied with the old technology to even notice. She noticed too late though, seeing Mikoto grabbing the end of the letter with a small sparkle in her eyes, like an adventurer who had finally hit treasure.

"H-Hey, what do you think you're doing!?"

"Huh? Getting payment." Mikoto said that bluntly before holding the letter in front of Index's face, wagging it a bit in front of her. "Look, Silver Sister, there's no way that idiot is going to get these checked out in some store that holds the player to view these. These are so ancient, they belong in a museum. Look at the box; it's clearly been dumped in some basement, silent and forgotten, only to be sent to that idiot. And I did not just spend a good 45 minutes with aching arms to not figure out what this is. Knowing that idiot, he probably has no idea what it is either, but him receiving all of this has got me curious. So, I'm taking payment for my trouble by getting information."

"B-But, this was sent to Touma and – "

"Sorry, sorry, but anything you say you'll have to take up with that God of yours!"

Relentlessly, Mikoto tore open the letter without even listening to a word Index said. Perhaps it was selfish, but it was this personality; aiming for something and despite what others told her about her managing to achieve it, that had truly created one of the strongest espers in Academy City. Never losing sight of her goal and ensuring she did everything she could to reach it, Misaka Mikoto was a monster in her own right as she strove to ensure she got what she wanted.

That was what being a Level 5 meant after all.

Mikoto tore open the letter in front of the shocked Index and opened it up in front of her, placing it on the box so Index could see it as well. Guiltily, Index turned to face the letter as well, Mikoto grinning by her side at the same time.

Even if she objected to it, the curiosity in what had been sent to Touma was something Index could not deny. Although she did not understand everything Mikoto had said, what was clear was that there was no way Kamijou could view these in Academy City…and his parents would have known that. So why send him all these tapes in this wooden box?

Index felt the curiosity was almost overwhelming, but she turned to Mikoto and spoke nonetheless and with a sharp tone.

"…Touma isn't going to think highly of you, knowing you read his mail."

The statement Index said so bluntly seemed to make Mikoto freeze for a single moment before she turned her head away with some small amount of guilt. The somewhat rare guilt Mikoto was showing for her recklessness showed exactly what kind of effect Kamijou had on her but it was by reaching out with her hand to stabilise the letter that Index got the attention of Mikoto, both reading it.

[Dear Touma]

[Hi. How are you? It's been a while, hasn't it? Kaa-san and I are well, there's nothing to worry about on that front. In fact, things are going a bit too well at work for me, so I get the feeling that somehow, what with me and your mother being lucky, it means you are absorbing some of our bad luck and leaving us with nothing but good luck. It might just be the thinking of an old man but I would be amiss if I did not think of my son more often than anything else.]

[But I digress. The purpose of this letter and the box we are sending you is not something we are proud to send you. In fact, if anything, we would rather you ignore this letter and the contents of the box sent, never look at them and get on with your normal life. But, through a decision reached after much deliberation from your mother and I, we feel you are mature enough to face the demons of your past and come to terms with them as well. We are not entirely sure how much you remember of your time before Academy City and while we would rather we keep you in ignorance, we both believe you are mature enough to face that past of yours with your head held up high.]

[Remember the time we spent together at the beach during summer vacation? There was something you told me that has resounded in me: that you were happy being unlucky because it meant you were exposed and could help heal the misfortune of others. In a way, those words of strength, the idea you move on from your misfortune; you were stronger than I ever gave you credit for. Unlike me, searching for a way to 'heal' you, you sought to take that misfortune and turn it into something else. To say that those words were not the impetus for this decision to send you your past would be a lie…but your mother and I believe you are more than mature to face it.]

[I'm not too sure how Academy City technology works but these videotapes we have sent should work the same: just stick it into the VCR player and press play. You can do whatever you like with the tapes after seeing them. That is your choice. This is perhaps one of the last remnants of the childhood you had with us that remain but, if anything, despite the desire to get rid of it, it is this childhood you spent with us that, for better or for worse, we loved. You are a man now Touma, and no longer a boy. But you will always be our son. So, I hope that as you look at what we have given you, despite what you might feel, despite what you might have realised was silent and forgotten inside those memories of yours, that you remember two things.]

[One: that this part of your childhood was always replaced with better and happier memories: we have the drawings and the memories, even if you don't, to prove it.]

[And two: that we will always love you, no matter what. Even if hell burns over, even if the world ends tomorrow or the day after, nothing will ever change that. Your mother and I will always love you.]

[Love from Dad.]

Index and Mikoto frowned as they read the letter, the darkness that seemed to radiate from it lightly touching against them but not being fully absorbed. The box, the one they had hated carrying all the way here seemed to have a greater significance with the letter, but even then, the mystery of what lay within neither girl knew.

This was a box holding something Kamijou Touya would rather not have sent his son. Its contents, which seemed to be related to his childhood, were ones Touya wished for his son to ignore because of the demons of the past contained within. But more than that, the ending of the letter held the greatest part of that small darkness.

The reminder his parents would always love him…it felt more than that. As if there was the chance that when Kamijou saw the contents of the videos he would think he was not loved.

What exactly would cause that type of thinking?

Mikoto and Index could not even begin to comprehend but the box in front of them suddenly felt as though it was something they never should have opened: much like Pandora's Box. Innocently, they had opened it and yet, now they realised (only in part though), there was something inside their heads that truly wanted to reject the contents. With much trepidation and nervousness stemming from their bodies as they stared at the contents of the box, the tapes inside gave off a darker feeling, as if seeing them was something they could ever reverse seeing.

Mikoto gulped and turned to Index, waving a finger in the air. She had no idea what was in this box and how exactly these tapes were a poison that would make Kamijou think he was not loved, but she knew. In the back of her mind, she knew.

She had to escape.

Whatever was on those tapes, whatever was inside that magnetic film, was not for her to see. It was not for the eyes of anyone else apart from Kamijou Touma and even then, that was barely keeping on the safe side of the line. No, in fact, for whatever was on those tapes, Mikoto knew that if she were to see it, she would lose herself so deep in the darkness of them that she would never be able to crawl back out.

Nervousness and a fear Mikoto rarely felt for anything, let alone inanimate objects, filled her and it was with everything she could that she forced her voice out of her throat.

"W-Well, like I said, we can't watch these anyway. Th-There's no technology within Academy City that can view these things; it's much too old. If that's all, then I have to be going. Curfew is going to be soon, so…"

She was scared.

Mikoto herself was ashamed to admit it, but the contents of that box truly terrified her. Whatever was in there she had nothing to do with nor did she even want anything to do with and however they were going to cause Kamijou to think he was not loved, it was not her place to interfere or judge what happened to those tapes.

No, that was nothing more than an excuse.

She had to get away from those tapes. A darkness she did not want to see. No…it was more than that.

It was a darkness she could not see.

Mikoto needed to run away, to distance herself from the darkness within that box. Being near it was borderline suffocating and it was constricting her air, as if the thought of the contents was such that it was choking her. She needed to get away from them, get into her bed and just forget about them entirely. Whatever was on those tapes was not for her to see and not for her eyes and it was using that mere excuse that Mikoto did something in her life she rarely ever did.

And that was run away.

More than anything, Misaka Mikoto wanted to run away from that box. As fast and as hard as she could.

To that end then, Mikoto did not even look at Index's face as she turned and walked as fast as she could towards the elevator.

But even then…she heard it.

"We have one."

"…"

Mikoto paused, feeling her heart stop in her chest as she stared at the ground. No…the quiet voice of that nun, she had to ignore. That box was Pandora's Box, a box that belonged in the silence and had to be forgotten. To that end, to avoid whatever was on those tapes and to ensure she never saw something that would make someone as heroic as Kamijou Touma think he would never be loved, she had to run. Run for the hills and never let herself look at those tapes.

That was what she had decided. That was what Mikoto had to do to avoid this darkness.

And yet…

"We have one of those things. A 'VCR player'. Touma… He showed it to me once. He said it was ancient and barely used but something he had got on discount and liked the antique feeling of it in his dorm room even though he later realised there was nothing to play in it."

"…"

"Short Hair…"

There was the rustling of cloth, as if Index had turned to face her but Mikoto did not want to see her face. The hesitation in her voice made it clear she was feeling the exact same thing Mikoto was: the exact same hesitation where she knew the darkness within the tapes in that box was such that they should never view it. They had opened Pandora's Box and Mikoto knew the fear racing through her now wanted to make her escape and run away.

But…

Even so…

The curiosity was still there.

That strange, small voice in the back of her mind.

Watch the tape.

What can be so bad?

What exactly about those tapes would make that idiot think he would never be loved?

It's nothing.

The letter was nothing more than a precaution to scare away anyone who would watch the tape without permission.

It's only a tape.

How bad can it be?

It spoke to Mikoto, racing through her and she found it was ever stronger if only for the fact that that idiot had a VCR player, even though it would never play anything. That sounded like that idiot; buying something that had no use. She had the means to watch those videos and although she desired to run away, there was that tiny voice in the back of her mind.

No, it was louder now she focused on it. Louder and the temptation it was giving her was unbelievably strong. It was not her place to watch the childhood videos of others and this was a question of privacy above everything else. She had no place here and watching those videos was something she should never do for fear of what lay within them.

Still…how bad could it be?

It had nothing to do with her and she had to escape from the darkness that lay within those videotapes.

Even so though…there was that small curiosity. What exactly was Kamijou Touma like before he entered Academy City? What type of life did he live on the outside? No matter the words of Kamijou Touya when it came to pushing her away, there was that tiny curiosity in the back of her mind, edging her forward ever so slowly.

Do it.

It was not her place.

Watch them.

She had to run from the darkness contained within that box, even if she knew she could never turn back from it.

Where is the harm in it?

This was a matter of privacy above all else. It was rude to that idiot to look into his private affairs and his childhood videos.

You have the means and the opportunity. Aren't you just the tiniest bit curious? Where is the harm in it? Are you really satisfied with not knowing because you are…scared? Is the Level 5 Railgun really such a person? Scared of nothing more than a box? And yet others look up to you.

Mikoto did not know what kind of face she was making. And she preferred it that way as she opened her mouth and let out small words.

"…That idiot went into my dorm room once. He looked through my private things…so in a way, this can be said to be balancing the scales. Yeah. All I'm doing is…balancing the scales."

Mikoto realised what she was saying was nothing more than excuse.

But the temptation was too great.

What the hell was on those tapes? What the hell was it that had made Touya write down what he had when he had sent it to his son? Mikoto did not know but the small voice in the back of her mind was no longer whispering; it was basically screaming. Yelling at her to give in and buckle underneath the weight of her own emotions and curiosity.

No, it was a merely human thing to do. To wonder, to seek the answer and to brave whatever challenge was in front of one. Wasn't that how the new world had been discovered? By humans taking chances and giving into their curiosity?

Yes.

For that reason alone, what Mikoto was doing was not wrong. In fact, because that idiot, during the Sisters incident, had looked into her dorm room and invaded her privacy, it was only right to do the exact same thing back to him. An eye for an eye.

Yes.

That was how things were supposed to go.

An eye…for an eye.

Misaka Mikoto did not see the expression on her face as she gave that excuse to herself, nor did she see the expression on Index's face as she produced the key to the dorm room. She did not question it either, the only thing she stared at being the box of videotapes as she brought it into that idiot's room in silence.

They had opened Pandora's Box.

And they were only going further down the rabbit hole.

Yet, whether that would lead them further into darkness made that human curiosity all the more twisted.


The poor quality of the VCR player suggested exactly how old the tape was or how bad the player itself was. Knowing that idiot's misfortune, it was probably a bit of both and the choppy quality of the tape being played on the television gave an odd bit of nostalgia to Mikoto.

The considerations she was in that idiot's room and sitting on his bed with that Silver Sister who had the key for the apartment were not things she considered. No, like a poison entering her mind, the only thing she focused on was the box in the room and the poisonous tapes within. Her curiosity was too great, pulling her and sucking her into an abyss she knew she would not be able to crawl out of.

The same was for Index too: the pull of the tapes and what lay within was simply too strong. Was it the same sensation that made one look down when told not to? The letter and the words within had only increased the pull of the tapes, increased the pull and the desire to see them. The darkness within was such that it made both Index and Mikoto sit in silence.

There was something there.

A side to Kamijou Touma they had never seen. Quiet about his past due to his lost memories, these tapes held the past of someone who was long gone. Somehow who had perished and was no longer going to walk this earth due to how he, like this box, was silent and forgotten.

But even if that was the case, this was the past of the boy who had saved both Index and Mikoto. This was the life and the story of someone very dear to them both and something they could not just ignore because of a simple warning.

Mikoto, having more knowledge of the VCR player, had operated it and picked a random tape to put into it. Even she did not know which one she had chosen: the pull of simply managing to get a tape in being enough. The remote in hand, she forgot everything: the fact she was in that idiot's room, the fact that nun had the key to his apartment; Mikoto was only lost in the tapes she was about to see, knowing in her mind this was the wrong thing to do.

But she did it anyway.

The pull was simply too strong, the temptation too much and her heart too weak to ignore what exactly lay beyond the threshold.

It was unceremonious, there was no flash of light and there was no sudden loud noise to suggest anything was wrong.

Misaka Mikoto, the more tech savvy of the two, simply pressed the play button on the remote in hand.

There was nothing but static for a few seconds, typical of the type of medium in what Kamijou's childhood was on.

And then the scene changed.

"Look at the camera, Touma! Wave your hand! Yes, just like that."

The cherry blossoms that fell around the small child seemed to paint the scene with both pink and black. The child, small and nothing more than a toddler who was edging out of his youth, had his hand grabbed by a beautiful woman by his side. She smiled as she waved the hand of the small child, the fragments of black hair falling down his childish face. He grinned at the camera, but it was unclear whether it was because he knew what was happening or because he was simply a child; happy.

A cherry blossom viewing. Given the date stamp at the edge of the video, it was dated around 13 years ago but that only seemed to be a minor detail to both Index and Mikoto who focused entirely on the people in the video. The woman and the voice who had spoken both girls knew: they had seen and heard that face and voice respectively before, during the Daihaseisai.

Even though thirteen years had passed, Kamijou Shiina did not once look any different. The youthful features had stayed there even as time had passed. If one had told both girls this video had been taken in April of this year, they would have believed it. The only indicator of time passing was both the voice of the man speaking, sounding younger and more upbeat than his present counterpart, and the timestamp being on the edge of the screen.

Probably taken from some camcorder a long while ago, the scene being shown was obviously revealing the childhood of one particular child: the one in the middle of the screen who was having his mother wave his hands for him.

Kamijou Touma's face had definitely changed. It had grown more mature and filled out from his childhood and it was rather odd seeming him so young and with flat hair, instead of spiky. The child laughed in a loud way but seemed to be full of happiness nonetheless, reaching and grabbing for the cherry blossoms falling around him with glee.

But even then, the smile on his face seemed so much like the Kamijou Touma both girls knew.

Shiina, by Kamijou's side, reached out and tried to support Kamijou by his arms as he walked forward towards his father. The mat they were on when engaging in the cherry blossom viewing moved underneath the weight of the small Kamijou as he struggled to move one foot after another towards his father. He made childish sounds as he did so, struggling to form words, even at his age and it was with reluctant hands that Shiina let go of her son.

He stumbled for a single bit before managing to catch himself with his hands as he fell forward. He frowned, the small child trying to rise back up to his feet and stumbling as he managed to steady himself on his two feet. He stepped backwards, once more trying to catch himself underneath his weight but held out both hands as if he were balancing, blinking once as he finally, after some effort, managed to stand on two feet by himself.

"A-Are you getting this, Touya-san!? He's managed to do it!"

"Hahahahahaha! Although, you know what they say, Kaa-san: we spend the first few years trying to get him to walk and talk and the next few decades getting him to sit down and shut up. Come here, Touma. Come here!"

Touya called out to his son, a hand entering the view of the camera from the bottom while the other held it rather unsteadily. It shook but it did nothing to hold back the happiness of a parent upon seeing their child upgrade their status from toddler into something else entirely.

Mikoto and Index stared at the footage with eyes of surprise. In a way, the sight in front of them was rather amazing in itself. However, as children, they could not fully understand the joy of a parent in this single moment when their child moved from crawling on all fours to standing on two legs. If anything, those girls only viewed the scene in front of them with their own interpretation: it was this moment where Kamijou stood on two legs that would later dictate in life he would be constantly running around and getting into trouble.

Indeed, the words of his father seemed applicable in this sense: getting Kamijou Touma to sit down and shut up was going to be a task difficult for anyone and it had all started with this one scene.

Their hearts slowly stopped their frantic beating as they watched the scene. The letter giving them what was fundamentally unnecessary tension seemed to make it lift in front of what was essentially a normal scene: nothing more than a family with the son they loved so dearly. Kamijou himself, as a kid, was neither cute or adorable: the small and somewhat off centre face gave the impression the kid Kamijou was trying to always have a mixture of a smile and a frown on his face at the same time, meaning that whenever the camera caught his face, it entered up rather scrunched.

That in itself, that normal scene, and that normal boy doing something entirely normal made Mikoto and Index breathe a sigh of relief. The tension within them seemed to relax and their tense bodies seemed to hunch over.

…What had they been expecting?

Not even Index and Mikoto knew but even then, the words of the letter sent hovered within their minds.

Was that supposed to be some sort of joke? It was an unpleasant one to say the least and Mikoto slowly ran a hand through her hair as she leaned back against the wall of the bed.

"So…is this it? Just normal childhood videos. I mean, unless that idiot had an early bout of chuunibyou syndrome which would make these tapes rather hilarious, there doesn't seem to be anything on them that…I was expecting." Mikoto did not bother to state what her expectations were as she stared at the nun next to her, holding the calico cat who had been waiting for Index when she had opened the door and brought the box in.

Index did not reply, staring at the screen and holding the calico tightly to her chest. No, there was something within her gaze, as if she were looking intently at the screen with a wish in her heart to not see something she was looking for in the video.

"I mean, sure, there might be the embarrassing childhood video in this lot, but going through them just to have something against that idiot when he could come home at any time seems like a waste. Actually, why do you even have the key for that idiot's dorm!?" Mikoto asking that question only proved how the tension within her body had subsided and was replaced by her usual attitude.

Index responded, however, not to the question and the words of Mikoto which had just thrown at her.

"No…"

"?"

"Touma said. Touma said he had Imagine Breaker since he was born. Meaning that if it is possible that right hand is negating his good luck now, then the same would have to apply when he first had it. Meaning that, right now, Touma is a time bomb. A time bomb slowly waiting to explode."

Something ran down Mikoto's spine as she stared at the nun and her eyes. They shook with nervousness and while Mikoto had been freed from hers, the tension that remained even in the silver haired girl's eyes made Mikoto pause. What was she talking about? These videos were nothing more than childhood videos and even if the penchant for misfortune Kamijou had was something he had had earlier in his childhood, it seemed unlikely to Mikoto that he was going around punching people in the face when he was barely even walking.

But even then, the sensation that had run down her spine was not so easily removed even if she looked at everything rationally.

"Wh-What are you talking about? You can see, can't you? It's just a normal childhood, an average thing and, to be honest, something that idiot always talks about." Mikoto said exasperated, but it was the sweat that rolled down her cheek that she could not so easily ignore.

What she was seeing was an ordinary scene you could find anywhere.

But…how long would that last? What if the letter was not a ruse or a joke to make Kamijou unnecessarily scared of the contents? What if there was something there even now, a darkness she had yet to even remotely touch upon, only having watched the first few seconds?

Was there something she had yet to see?

Mikoto, with anxiety and nervousness once more entering her system, turned her head and felt herself swallow her saliva.

What exactly remained on that video that, even now, she was looking for yet did not want to see? Just like Index who clearly understood the potential timebomb this video was, she watched with that same nervousness, realising that while she was looking for the darkness within this video, at the same time, she did not want to see it.

"Look at him, Touya-san! Before you know it, he'll be up and down the walls!"

"I certainly hope not. If he's as energetic as I was when I was his age, I can tell you that he'll be doing more than just that. But to think…along with the changing of the seasons, our son has moved from one part of his life into the next."

"I can't wait for what next year brings."

"Same here, Kaa-san. Same here."

Touya had backed away while the small Touma had kept on walking, trying to encourage his son to get further and further in the distance he would be able to walk. The small boy stumbled a few times, but it was with shaky legs and unsure movements that he moved forward, arms held out forward as if to catch his father at any time.

The normal scene of growth was one that both father and mother looked at with smiles and the small tilt of Shiina's head upwards seemed to suggest she was looking up at Touya and smiling all the same. There was a lowering of the hand beneath the camera, which belonged to Touya, as it was clear Touya was smiling as well, both parents losing themselves in the sight of the other and their son who was before them now.

This time though, unlike before, the change came with a loud noise.

The large crack that came from the television screen made Index and Mikoto jump in their seats.

It was the suddenness of the sound that made the camera and the heads of both Touya and Shiina turn upwards to where the sound came from.

The turning of the camera upwards though only caught what had cracked apart for the briefest of seconds…but it was enough to make everyone within the footage and everyone watching it pale.

The cherry blossom tree branch was big enough to fill the camera screen for only a single second before it smashed onto the ground with a large enough bang that some soil was kicked up in the air when it hit the ground. Touya and Shiina both cried out in shock than anything else, but that only indicated they were fine.

Yet, by the size of the tree branch and how it had been large enough to fill the camera screen for an instant, it had fallen by rather close. But with both Shiina and Touya fine, that only meant it had fallen in the space in between the two adults.

A space which had only held one person.

There was a scream through the video.

A bone chilling scream.

The camera turned down, not even registering Shiina who had screamed and looking at the space between the two adults where the large branch had landed after it had fallen.

It was hard to tell.

But even though it was hard to tell, there were two things that were clear.

The small pale arm sticking out from underneath the branch.

And the blood which had soaked the mat for viewing the cherry blossoms.

Yet, within an instant of spotting those two things, static ran through the video tape and filled the screen.

There was silence but even then, the pale faces of both Index and Mikoto suggested exactly what their thoughts were. Sweat ran down their faces and their mouths had gone so dry that even though they were open, no sound came out of them. Their breathing, low and soft, was the only thing that came through the air and the wide eyes that stared at the static wanted desperately to turn away and forget what they had seen.

But there was no way they could.

What with Index and her perfect memory and Mikoto and the shock of seeing the scene, there was no way the two of them would ever forget that scene: the scene of that small and pale arm and the blood that had stained the cherry blossom mat. The two of them sat in shock, only staring at the static on the screen and feeling their low and soft breathing grow faster and louder, the two of them holding up a hand to cover their mouths. It trembled as it was pressed against their mouths, but whether that was out of shock or to withhold the scream that wanted to come from it, neither knew.

Unable to say anything, unable to even do anything, the two of them merely sat there, transfixed as they stared at the static running through the screen. Was that it? Index and Mikoto could not say, nor did they even dare to speak as they sat there in muted shock.

It was the nun who had been expecting, yet never wanting to see what had been on that tape, who spoke first, gritting her teeth so hard there was an audible sound.

"Short Hair…"

"Y-Yeah…"

Mikoto did not even need to be told twice, reaching down for the remote by her side to turn off the machine, to eject the tape and to throw it away but her hand trembling made it impossible to hold a steady grip. She stared at her hand, as if doing so would will it to stay in place but the fear and the shock of seeing the scene was more than enough to render her heart and body entirely unresponsive.

At the worst thing?

Misaka Mikoto knew what she had seen what not even that bad.

The letter sent with the box had suggested there was worse. So much worse on the tapes, tapes which were meant to make Kamijou Touma face his past with his head held high. Yet, just in the face of what she had just seen, only a snippet a few minutes long, Mikoto was reduced to this trembling form.

There was more where that came from.

So much more.

The letter had hinted at it and even though she had been shown the tip of the iceberg, the shaking of her hand and the frantic beating of her heart was enough to reveal the effect it had on her. Even though this was the mere tip of the iceberg, the fact it had reduced her to this state made her feel disgusted at herself when she knew there was so much more.

So much more.

Index felt it too and the desire to turn the television off, to stop whatever the girls were watching felt more atrocious an action as anything else. The two of them had realised there was a darkness in those tapes. They had known there was a darkness and yet, when faced with only a snippet of it, when faced with a single look into the abyss, they had turned their heads away and desired to run away.

Even though Kamijou Touma had been unable to.

He could not stop the pain would have come from that cherry blossom branch falling on him when he learning to walk. He could not so conveniently hit the 'Pause' button of the pain and then go on to his normal life. It didn't work like that and life was not such an easy mistress. And despite knowing that whatever was on those tapes, Kamijou had faced by himself and endured, it was only looking at one small thing that those two girls desired to run away and never seek to look at that darkness again.

It was a disgusting thing.

But at the same time, undeniably human.

Even though they had seen nothing more than the tip of the iceberg, it was with a soft voice, almost pleading that Index spoke to Mikoto once more.

"Short Hair…"

"I'm…trying…"

Yet the shaking hand of Mikoto would not stop. The two of them knew that looking any further into this would destroy something inside them. The happy-go-unlucky boy they cared for so much was someone who had forgotten all of this, but even if he did know and watched these tapes, he would realise it did not change who he was and how he lived his life as a new person with a silent and forgotten past.

But that was not going to be the case for Index and Mikoto.

Watching these videos would change something.

What it would change and how it would do so was unknown to them, but they knew in their minds that going any further with this would change something in how they saw and treated Kamijou. It would change some factor, some part of their connection with him to the extent that it would change how they saw and acted with him. Whatever would change would break the status quo and for that alone, they knew they could not see this any further and be exposed to any more of this darkness.

And yet…

The scene changed on the video as the next recorded segment took over from the previous.

Mikoto's hand shook harder as she stared at the screen, forgetting entirely about the remote in her hand. The pull of the video and the contents of the past and childhood of Kamijou was such that even though she knew she had to avert her eyes, even though she knew she could not linger anymore at the sight, she could not tear her eyes from the scene happening in front of her. The darkness being revealed served to push down at her as she stared in mute shock, Index doing the same as they found themselves unable to move, unable to press Pause and losing themselves in the darkness and the despair contained within those videos.

And at some point, they realised they could no longer stop the journey down the rabbit hole.

They had every chance to stop when the video they were watching ran out of film. Yet, as if brought forward and acting using nothing but robotic movements, they only loaded in the next video. They were not forced to and yet, both realised they could not stop the descent into darkness now they had stepped into the bog of despair.

They could have quit at any time, but even then, their minds refused to think of that. They refused to register the idea they could so easily pull out and ignore the darkness even though they had desired to do it before. They refused to give into the idea they could so easily turn off the video and the VCR player and lose themselves in their daily lives.

They realised it, after all.

That life was a cruel mistress.

And the pain they were seeing now, the pain that belonged in the past was a pain Kamijou Touma had once experienced. How could they selfishly think they could pause that and treat him as normal when for the first six years of his life he had suffered? What they were catching was nothing more than highlights of despair and it was because they knew that, because they knew these videos were nothing more than the tip of the iceberg, that they knew they could not stop, no matter how much they wanted to.

In that rightfully silent and forgotten past, they saw it all.

When he was one, he had suffocated after choking on some food which had not been properly cut up, blood coming from his mouth after he was forced to cough it up.

When he was two, his stroller, with him in it, had been hit by a train after it had fallen off a sloped track, dragging him numerous metres underneath said train until the driver finally stopped.

When he was three, not only had he been struck with a cherry blossom branch but he had hit by a motorcycle, the blood from the wound to his head spreading over the road like a child's painting.

When he was four, he had been beaten by a grown adult for the misfortune he had 'given' someone else, was mocked and jeered at as blood flew from his mouth and nose in the mess of punches and kicks.

When he was five, a stroll with his mother in the park had resulted in a baseball flying so hard into his head he had fallen unconscious on the side of the road, the blood soaking into the asphalt.

And when he was six, the rocks and the jeers from those who had so truly hated him had stabbed into the boy who had received it all with nothing on his face; no tears and no smile either.

He had lost all of that in the first six years of his life.

And it was Index and Misaka Mikoto who chose to watch and see that pain through to the very end.

The video playing was the final one but that in itself did not even remotely give a sense of relief. What was not captured and not covered in these videos? What despair had they not realised Kamijou faced and not realised Kamijou had been through? The only thing that filled the air were the distant sounds of the video and the only people in the room, the ones who chose to sit through that darkness.

Why had they chosen to sit through it? Temptation? A sense of duty? Because they had started and knew there was no way things would be the same again and hence, they may as well have continued watching the despair and the suffering of that small boy throughout his childhood years?

Maybe it was a combination of those things.

But, if anything, one of the reasons that stood out to those girls as to why they were choosing to look at the suffering had to do with the hope that they could hold onto and share the pain of misfortune forgotten by that spiky haired boy.

But that was all it was.

Hope.

And the videos in front of them had crushed it entirely.

How could they think they could relieve this from the shoulders of that spiky haired boy? How could they have naively felt his darkness was such they could push it away and think they could burden themselves with it to save that boy some face? While kind and while compassionate, those thoughts were only the thinking of hopeless optimists who felt that all pain, all suffering, could be cured.

But in reality, it was not the case at all.

There were some wounds that stuck for life. There were some wounds that one could only look at and realise one was not OK and that they could not be healed because they were so horrific and traumatic.

And, watching these videos, that was the only thing that came to their blank minds.

Words would not heal those wounds. Words would not make the pain of being hit, spat at and hated by those around him go away. Words and comfort when one truly did not understand would never make the suffering go away and never make the misfortune he had experienced any lesser. Everyone had a painful past and some of those pasts were such that mere words could not so easily erase it and make one forget.

The only good thing about these videos was that Kamijou Touma would never remember they had happened to him.

But they had happened nonetheless.

The shattered hope they could share some of the pain and release some of the burden of a painful past weighed heavily on the minds of Mikoto and Index. To the extent they only sat there, barely registering the endless pain shown on these videos and how it had hurt that small boy. Their trembling had never ceased this entire time and more than ever before, they felt the shaking of their mental states more than their bodies.

Pale faces, wordless and silent screams coming from their open mouths and with nothing to say, both Mikoto and Index felt more than anything that just seeing these videos would make them break. Looking at the actions of Kamijou and what he had done for others despite the past he had, despite every reason he had for giving in and throwing away kindness, he still chosen to be someone with compassion and wish the best for everybody around him and their smiles.

Even though his smile had been denied to him so many times before.

What drove that desire? What drove that compassion when he knew none of it? What drove that desire to see a smile on someone ese's face when he had been denied that time and time again? It made little sense and for those girls, they felt nothing in the face of it.

They had felt that Kamijou Touma was a fairly simple being: a hero and that was it.

But he was so much more than that.

And this past only made them realise how much those girls did not and could not understand about him.

Kamijou Touya had implied that by watching these videos, there was the chance Kamijou would think he was not loved.

And why would he not?

Just looking at the pain he received and was given to others, that was an entirely normal thought. Just looking at the unilateral pain given to him because of a series of coincidences was horrific and for anyone, as they spent the minutes watching the pain and the suffering of themselves over the years of their childhood, wouldn't they think it natural they were not loved? Not cared for or had the right to be treated right?

They couldn't watch anymore. Index and Mikoto were certain of that but even then, the pull of the darkness in those videos was such that they could no longer ignore what lay within them and just throw away the remote, thinking anything would be the same again.

This past…was not something so easy to ignore and in a way, it was a miracle Kamijou had forgotten it in the first place.

But that didn't make it hurt any less.

Kamijou Touma waved to his parents, the six year old in the playground by himself, sitting in the sandpit and forming what he could with his small hands. The sandcastle he was making was flimsy at best, but it was with tenacity that he attempted to push the sand together into a proper form.

His parents said nothing, only the movement of the camera suggesting they were even there and waving back. The few words they exchanged in the videos were more because of the constant paranoia that surrounded them where the few happy events they shared with their son being overridden with pain and suffering as the world pressed down at all sides upon their little boy.

Index and Mikoto had given up hoping nothing would happen anymore. Birthdays, Christmas, New Years; all these events were the same despite starting happy. They all ended with the same tragedy and with the same misfortune, even if it was in a different form each and every time.

The box had been dusty because it had been locked in a basement, silent and forgotten. But it was that state that was perfect for this miniature hell in the form of ancient technology and deserved to be cast aside. Touya had felt Kamijou was man enough and mature enough to face his past, but when those adults had been unable to do so and had merely locked away their memories of their only child, was them pushing these memories onto Kamijou hoping he was a stronger person than they ever were?

The wishes of the parents being pushed onto the children and the pain that was forgetting once more being pushed to the surface.

It was truly a twisted thing.

But even then, both girls had come this far. And it was to the extent that they could no longer look away from it and think ignorance was bliss.

That had ended the moment they had put in that first video.

"Bwahahahaha! I'm going to make the biggest one you've ever seen! I shall call it the Touma Tower and I shall be its ever great ruler, watching down over my subjects with an iron fist and a just rule!"

"Touya-san…you've been showing him those historical dramas again, haven't you?"

"…"

How would despair appear this time? The only thing that was left to guess but even then, the suffering they had sat through in the hopes of relieving it was such that they had completely felt their expectations betrayed time and time again when it came to what others and the world gave that small boy…and what he was able to endure.

"I shall - *cough cough* G-Gwaaaaah!? I-I got sand in my mouth. A-and my pants!? Itchy, itchy, itchy!"

The small Kamijou got up and started scratching his bum in a playground and it was the annoyed father who called out to his son.

"Touma, stop doing those kinds of things in public! It'll be a bad habit and no one wants a ruler who scratches their bum all the time, do they?"

"Eh? By Dad, there's nobody here."

It was perhaps a childish retort to allow Kamijou to do what he liked but the heaviness and the fact it was true silenced the adult man. The lack of people in the park was most likely not a coincidence but a happening that had occurred as a result of Kamijou having entered the park in the first place. And yet, despite the isolation, the marginalisation and the loneliness brought on by nothing more than his own existence, the small figure of that single boy drew nothing but heartbreak to the eyes of those watching his small form.

"E-Even if there is nobody here Touma-san," Shiina called out from the bench the camera was on. "You still need to uphold the habits of a good ruler, do you not?"

"B-But it's in my pants!"

"Isn't this why your father suggested playing on the slide?"

"I did that already! When you go on a slide for one time, it's the same no matter what you do!"

"Touya-san, our son has realised that a playground is a one trick pony. We'll never hear the end of this."

"He gets that observation skills from you, you know."

"And he gets that pointless persistence to do as he likes no matter the consequences from you."

The small Kamijou abandoned the effort of scratching his bum in the middle of the park and went to running it in the sandpit with the same level of intelligence you would expect from a six year old. However, in the solidarity of that playground, in the silence of the playground there was a single new person who stepped into the frame, staring at the child playing in the sandpit.

He was barely registered and the camera barely even moved to him, but even then, on the screen and to the side, there was the large figure of a man in a suit. One could barely make it out but with his head turned and facing Kamijou, his heavy breathing and heaving made it clear that it was Kamijou he was looking at with his facial expression twisted so dangerously.

Index and Mikoto twitched at, forcing their fingernails into their skin as they forced themselves to watch this and not to turn away. They had come this far and the darkness which was contained within was not one they could force themselves to look away from. They had to watch this, endure this, much like that small boy so many years ago had.

Even if it meant nothing now, even if there was no point to it now…

If they could endure this here and now, then that in itself held meaning to those two girls. Even if it was nothing more than an excuse, the ability to endure this held more meaning to those girls than anything else.

But still, they felt their hearts scream and their bodies freeze as they tried to prepare themselves for what came next.

There was silence on the screen. The only thing that suggested something was going to happen was the expression on the face of the man and yet, before anyone could even blink, he had taken off, running right for Kamijou where he sat in the sandpit. Perhaps because of the suddenness of the action, perhaps because an adult had never once done something so drastic and sudden before, Touya was frozen to the spot.

No, it was more than that.

The reason his body seized up in surprise was because of the glint of a knife from the man's hands as he held it in front of him.

There was nothing to be said, only the choked sound of surprise and eyes wide from both girls. The suddenness of the sight of the knife, the running of the man and the fact the small boy knew next to nothing about what was coming behind him made Index and Mikoto freeze up, not even having the sense of mind to watch the horrifying act about to take place before them.

"TOUMA!"

A shout, making the small boy raise his head as he played in the sandpit. He frowned before another shout ran through the air, this time clearer.

"IT'S ALL YOUR GODDAMN FAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUULT!"

The boy frowned ever deeper, turning around and going wide eyed at the sight of the man with the knife. It was with frantic movements that the boy stood up, running right for his father who had stood up as well and was running after his son as well. By some miracle, the camera caught glimpses in and out of the scene, but even then, the distance between parent and child and attacker and victim made it clear who was going to reach the small boy first.

"Turn it off…"

Index was the one who broke the silence. Mikoto, even though she was right next to her jumped, turning and facing her with a look of surprise. But upon seeing the pale face of the nun who was staring so transfixed on the screen, it was with a chill down her spine that Mikoto realised what she had to do and how fast she had to do it.

"Turn it off!"

Index screamed out the words as Mikoto grabbed the remote. But the shaking of her hand meant it fell out of her grasp as soon as she lifted it, the thing being pseudo-thrown onto the floor where it landed with a cheap clatter. Mikoto's face was covered in a deep sweat, trying to reach out to grab the remote in time but failing.

It was with a choking sound that Mikoto turned to face the television, going wide eyed and white in the face as she stared at what exactly was in front of her and what exactly was going to happen.

She knew. She knew perfectly well what was going to follow but even then, her eyes were stuck to the screen, unable to turn away, unable to react and unable to even let out the words she wanted to and the action she wanted to as well.

"TURN IT OFF!"

Index yelled that into the air as loud as she could but even those words and the volume they had been spoken with refused to make Mikoto budge.

"TOUMA!"

A female voice came from the television as Shiina screamed out her son's name but the speed at which the young boy's legs could carry him relative to the man who was approaching from behind made it clear exactly what was going to happen. Kamijou, his face painted with fright turned his head slightly, as if trying to see exactly how far the man was from him with knife in his hand –

But he never got that far.

The man had already swung the knife and pierced it into the boy's right shoulder.

Index didn't say another word, rising both her hands to her mouth, hot tears falling from her eyes as she shook her head back and forth. Mikoto felt her entire body go stiff, staring with wide eyes and unable to even feel her heart beating within her own chest.

The boy let out a gasp of pain and Touya screamed at the top of his lungs. The man, on top of Kamijou's back had placed his entire body behind the blow and fell forward, hitting the small boy beneath him and sending him falling to the ground as well. Having left the sandpit and approached the grass of the playground, the boy's face hit the dirt but not before something was seen.

The sight of the knife jutting out of his chest before it pierced the ground was enough to indicate the damage taken just in that one attack.

Kamijou hit the ground, the blood that splattered on the ground touching his face and covering the right side. He just lay there, unmoving and not even screaming in pain. Touya roared. Shiina screamed. And the man only took the knife and twisted it in his grasp, bringing it out of the boy's back as blood flew through the air, dancing in it and droplets splattering against the stabber's face.

There was nothing else to be said as the man swung the knife down for the second strike, more than ready to kill the boy beneath him for the crimes Kamijou had not even performed against him.

The knife was swung –

"TOUMA!"

Mikoto didn't even bother crying out, the sweat of her face feeling as though it was soaking her entire body. There were no words she could say to describe what she was feeling, the trembling and the psychological pressure being too much for her to bear but even then, she rose her arm in defiance and gritted her teeth as tightly as she could.

She had to stop this madness.

Even if it was selfish and cruel in that she was not seeing this to the end…she did not want to.

That was the only thought that filled her mind and as she threw a hand up to her bangs and threw it forward, letting loose a desperate lightning spear towards the television.

It collided and smashed through the screen, turning off the picture but also smashing into the circuits which lay beyond, sending them all alight as the cheap television was overloaded and the glass from the broken screen cut the wires inside. Sparks flew and flames danced in the air as the picture was cut off perfectly, leaving nothing but silence from the two girls and the sound of the flames rising from the now destroyed television.

Panting soon filled the air, strong panting that contained nothing more than the rawest of fears and the most terrified of souls.

Index, hot tears down her face, trembled where she sat. Even now, as she shook her head back and forth, it was in her mind she replayed that scene over and over again with her perfect memory. The poison that now filled her mind seemed to make the 103,000 grimoires there pale in comparison and she held Sphynx as close to her as she could for the sake of making sure she could feel some warmth, any warmth, to fight the chill running through her body.

Mikoto on the other hand put a hand to her mouth and knelt over. Her entire body trembled, something forcing itself to the very front of her mouth and the corner of her eyes but she forced them both down with as much force as she could muster. The emotions she was going to feel were ones she did not deserve to feel, for that spiky haired boy in that video had felt so much more worse and so much more fear than she was feeling right in this moment.

She panted through her mouth, Index trying her best to control her breathing but even then, for the both of them, the images and the flashes of the hell they had seen filled their minds with a purer fear than they had ever felt in their life. They trembled, hearts beating frantically as they attempted to catch their breath but there was nothing that they could do to heal the wounds in their hearts.

No, they would eventually heal. That much was certain given that this was nothing more than a secondary source affecting them: the videotape which was now burning along with the remains of the television.

But for that small spiky haired boy, was there anyone to heal him? Even if he had misfortune, it had all accumulated and out of nothing more than that misfortune, he had been stabbed in the back. He had been treated as a demon, hurt, isolated, with no one to see his tears and those bastards had the audacity to take the kindness which he offered others and turn it on him, even going as far as to use a literal blade.

He had taken it all onto himself, taking that hurt and that pain and never having anyone to heal it for him. Unlike those girls who could lose themselves in the fact Kamijou was alive here and now, that small boy had been unable to cry out and let anyone else know of the pain he was feeling.

And that had been lost.

All of it had been lost.

Know that the boy who had gone through that was dead due to Kamijou Touma's memory loss, who had been able to heal that pain? Had Kamijou gone through life with that pain and never had anyone else heal it? Had he lived with that pain, bearing it and taking it upon himself yet ultimately being unable to handle any of it?

And…

How had he been able to move on and treasure the smiles of others in the way he did?

There were no answers to the questions asked. There was no one to answer them given that, in truth, the boy who had felt that pain was now dead. His suffering, unheard and unfelt by everyone in the world save himself was such that there was no coming back from the fact it had gone unheard.

Index and Mikoto, those girls who felt as though they had known him so well, had barely known him at all. They had assumed there was a connection based upon nothing more than the time they spent with that boy, but in the end, it was nothing more than an illusion.

They had known nothing.

Of his past, of his pain, of his misfortune and of his suffering.

They wanted to heal him.

They wanted to tell him that, even if they had shamelessly run away from it, they had looked into the abyss of his own personal darkness and knew of his pain.

But there was no point in that.

The person who had suffered that pain was dead.

His cries were unheard and his suffering, not noted.

His misfortune, along with the memories, was only silent and forgotten, lost in time and never once to appear again, never to be felt and never to be experienced again.

The flames from the television spread to the box and the numerous videotapes on the floor. Their impartial desire for destruction wrapped up anything and everything of the past that could be destroyed and set it alight, orange and yellow dancing in the air as it took hold of everything.

And within it all were nothing more than the broken shells of two girls who had truly known nothing.

Index wept, shaking her head back and forth as she played over the memory she never wanted to see again and again.

Misaka Mikoto grit her teeth so hard she felt they would break, screaming as she slammed her fist over and over again onto the floor.

The pain both were feeling now and the heartbreak was hardly enough to compare to that spiky haired boy.

And when he had been forgotten, he had taken that pain with him, even if Index and Mikoto wished to alleviate it and understand, even for a tiny bit.

But they could not.

And that was their curse.

They would never be able to understand or heal the silent and forgotten pains of the one boy who deserved to never have them in the first place.


And there we have it.

So, what did you think?

This one was tough, but if anything, one of the things I am sure a lot of you are wondering about where the hell Touma was in all this. You'll have a bit more of this end note though if you want to figure out a bit more about that.

But holy crap, this was a hard one to do. While BTL has a number of different themes, this one definitely went into the realm of 'tragedy'. While the request asked for Index and Mikoto to 'know' or Touma's past, I felt it more appropriate to have them learn of it and provide that impact there. I only hope you guys felt I delivered with this chapter and the despair contained within. But even then, it was TOUGH. Trying to nail the EXACT reactions for the characters here for learning about Touma's past is always a tough thing to do, but even more so given Touma basically remembers none of what happens and was mentioned. As a result, trying to give impact to why these types of memories matter to people who Touma interacts with after he loses his memories is kind of hard, so I focused a lot on the fact that the memories and the pain Touma felt here was something that went unheard and forgotten, only heard by himself and his family while everyone else was living their own lives and having their own smiles.

But this chapter was also hard because this is the first time I've actually written in the infamous stabbing scene. I mean, during PROS and CONS Part II, I wrote about the aftermath and even ACUL0 has the Scar of that event, but this is the first time I put fingers to keyboard and wrote that scene. To be honest, trying to nail that scene in itself was pretty damn hard, mainly for my own expectations for how it would read/how it was to write, but what did you think?

I also introduced videotapes! For those of you reading when this was first published, do you even know what those are!? Are for those of you who are reading this years after it is first published for some reason or another, do YOU know what those are?! I introduced some really old tech into the world of Academy City to not only show the technology used by the outside 10 years ago being out of date but also the fact they aren't used within Academy City anymore giving a bit more depth to the setting and showing how being a bit advanced can work against you at times. I was always interested in how exactly Academy City dealt with things like VCRs so I tried to give a bit more of an antique feeling to this chapter with that type of setting.

Yet, the focus lay on the box and the videotapes inside. If you look back far enough, you'll note that this idea first made an appearance back in Chapter 34 as nothing more than a mention of a box but the fact I can use it here is always fun to do. It feels weird that a throwaway line in something ages ago can be reused here in another chapter. But with the past that was revealed within such, I hope you got the sense of raw tragedy that arose from the gap that arises within the memories of someone.

As you can see, this was a bit more of a reaction chapter than anything, even if it was long. However, one of the important things that I really wanted to get across is the chapter title: Silent and Forgotten. Because that is essentially what a lot of things mentioned in this chapter were: the box, the tapes, the pain, the suffering and even the memories. All of them were silent and forgotten and yet, when you take something like that back out and look back at it, you really get the understanding of WHY those things were kept as such. And I wanted to really give this through the suffering that Touma experienced as shown to the main heroines for the Magic and Science side (sorry Othinus and Misaki). Surely, when Mikoto and Index were watching the tapes, they came to understand why they were kept a secret…because they would also wish for the same thing as well. The idea of happiness being introduced in this chapter was not something I could simply place; the weight of the memories and the pain involved in them as well as how the person who had experienced that is now 'dead' as it has been forgotten is something really important. Part of the reason why Touma did not appear at the end to help those two girls with the issues they had in how they could not handle the fact that the pain they watched on the tapes was unheard and silent was because it would only be experienced by someone who least deserved it.

The Touma that would arrive in the dorm would have no knowledge of those memories. Hence, I felt it more appropriate to get across the idea of lack of understanding and the silent and forgotten side of these things to make sure that only those who saw the tapes came to have their despair known. While there is the fact that such a past does not matter to the now-Touma, the fact it matters and cannot be healed for the girls is the important part and hence why it is then, that those who cannot heal the person who experienced that pain must now sit in their despair for their failure. That was the main reason why Touma did not appear; the one who would appear was not the one who suffered and hence no one is saved in this chapter. A bit morbid, I realise, but at the same time, fits the theme of the tragedy as well. Not only that but with the burning of the tapes, there is no way for those silent and forgotten things to be remembered again.

But at the very least, for this heavy chapter, I'll leave it there; with suffering, pain and no one to heal it. Because, sometimes, even if we don't like it, that is how the world works.

I also realise that that's not exactly the type of message you want to hear for the holiday season. Man, I really have the worst timing, don't I? Still, I hope that you enjoyed it all the same and that you have a great holiday season ahead of you. I wish you all the best and hope next year can be filled with more Index!

And as always,
Review if you please.

And I'll see you when I see you and I won't if I don't.

Although come to think of it, Touma would come home to a burning dorm…