Hello, everyone! Mikoto has finally let her friends in on her biggest secret. In this chapter, Itsuwa returns to Academy City, ready to protect Touma from Acqua of the Back. But she'll be in for a surprise once she meets Mikoto.
Toa Solaric: I'm glad you enjoyed the big reveal about the Sisters. Mikoto will indeed soon learn about magic.
GG Vegito: Accelerator appearing would've definitely been interesting, though also very awkward. The pace will indeed be picking up, as we're now going into the Acqua Arc.
YoLO1992: Yeah, Saten has learned a bit more about Frenda, though none of them actually knows how she died or even if she died for sure.
Guest10032: I'm happy you thought this was the best chapter so far, I took quite a bit of time making sure it was appropriately emotional. The similarities between Frenda and Accelerator are indeed interesting to think about, though their fates are completely different. Kuroko is indeed on board now, and Mikoto will still have to make friends with Index. I hope you enjoy this chapter, which begins the Acqua Arc and has Mikoto and Itsuwa meeting each other. Mikoto telling her mom will definitely be a fun conversation, and she'll probably have some advice for her daughter.
Surayo: I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. Kuroko had indeed finally accepted the relationship. It remains to be seen whether she'll try to go after one of the Sisters, since they all dislike her at the moment. As for any other potential love interest for her, it'll take a while for Kuroko to fully get over Mikoto.
MarauderPrime12: Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Aminadab Brulle: I think it was already pretty emotional, though perhaps Saten and Uiharu could've had a few more emotional reactions.
Xellos540: Yeah, I wanted to show everyone's reactions to each stage of the story, so I had Mikoto retell it in the chapter. I think GT3 is the first time Kuroko saw someone die, though I may be mistaken. The Mugino and Frenda connections are interesting, and I highly recommend watching the anime or reading the light novels/manga to get a better picture. Index does still like Touma, and she hasn't completely accepted Mikoto yet, which is something that probably needs to happen in the near future. The Tree Diagram was destroyed at the end of the Index arc when Index's John's Pen Mode shot a powerful beam into space. It was a Magic Side fight. Accelerator has changed, and that's been touched on a bit. He might make some appearances later in the fic, and we'll see some more on how much he's changed. Mikoto's suicide plan was tought for her friends to hear, but they're glad she ended up okay. I'm glad you enjoyed the wholesome ending.
Stryper88: Oh, okay. Yeah, Mikoto will probably get to go with Touma to that festival in this fic, though they may not have much time to enjoy it before an incident occurs. Touma's plan to stop it was to fight Accelerator. I guess he could've elaborated that the point was to disprove the premise of the experiment. Mikoto and Touma didn't talk much about the bridge scene because it was a private intimate moment between them. I don't know if Mikoto would immediately tell her friends about the Railgun Daihasei Arc, since then she'd have to tell them that Shokuhou messed with their memories. But perhaps that's something she should do at some point. She might be able to bring up the dragons after the Jailbreaker Arc, since her friends will know about one of the dragons. This chapter begins the Acqua Arc, so I hope you enjoy it.
Blankow: Yes, it was a heavy chapter. Mikoto's friends will probably be reflecting on how Academy City has such a bad side to it. Mikoto may indeed rely more on her friends. Yeah, the Sisters have the memories of 10,031 deaths, so the subject doesn't really faze them. It is rare for Touma to talk about his problems, but he does indeed now have Mikoto to help him get through them.
Fencer29: Yeah, it'll take some time to fully sink in for Mikoto's friends. It's hard to comprehend the idea of over 10,000 deaths.
Hercules8: Thanks, I'm happy you're enjoying the fic.
0 Jordinio 0: Yeah, it's sometimes hard when there's a lot of dialogue to also have the characters have enough of an emotional reaction to each revelation. I'll keep working on that for the future. In any case, I'm glad you're still enjoying the fic. Yeah, Touma will be properly strong in this fic, mainly because I'm probably going to mostly follow the fights as they happen in canon. You're probably right about Mikoto's chances in a fight against Acqua. As she learns about magic, I do want to have her become a bit stronger in fights against magicians compared to canon, but I'm not quite sure how to do it realistically, since many of the opponents she fought on the Magic Side are much much stronger than her. Mikoto and Touma will probably talk about the dragons, so I don't think I'll have Touma use them regularly. It would definitely be interesting to see how broken Touma would get if Mikoto gets seriously injured, but I'm not sure when would be a good time to have that happen. Acqua's mace is indeed massive, and Touma won't have a fun time if he gets hit by it.
Guest: Thanks! Yeah, that would certainly have been a more impactful choice of words. I'll try to keep this in mind for the future.
Oshudawatta: Yeah, the Misaka Sisters are really cute! I'm glad you enjoyed the confession and that you're enjoying the fic.
As usual, Touma was having an eventful day. His class had been too late to buy food from the school cafeteria, so they had tried breaking out of school to get food from a convenience store. Misfortunate as ever, the burly guidance counselor Saigo had chosen to chase after him, but the man had been subdued by Itsuwa, who had mistook him for Acqua of the Back.
It was now late afternoon, and he was with Itsuwa, who had just informed him that Acqua was coming after him. Touma was a bit doubtful about it, but asked, "So why exactly are you here?"
Itsuwa enthusiastically answered, "To save you! I'm your bodyguard now, night and day!" She was serious about protecting him from Acqua, but she was also pleased at the chance to constantly be by his side. Plus, in order to guard him at all times, she would have to stay at his dorm, which she was looking forward to.
Touma was a bit confused as to why she was so serious about this. He replied, "Hold on, is that really necessary? And what do you mean, night and day?"
Itsuwa smiled at him and answered, "Isn't it obvious? It means that I'll have to stay with you until you're safe from danger!"
The boy's eyes widened as he quickly realized the implications. He frantically waved his hands and replied, "Woah, woah, I don't think that's a good idea!" Before he could explain further, he was struck in the head by a soccer ball.
Meanwhile, Tatemiya and the rest of Itsuwa's friends from the Amakusa Church had been watching her conversation with Touma. They all knew about her crush on Touma, and wanted her to be more assertive so that she could get the boy. They were a bit frustrated that Itsuwa was only talking business and not really making a move. Thereform, Tatemiya decided to take matters into his own hands.
As this was all happening, Mikoto was walking nearby, when she noticed a group of men, one of whom had placed a soccer ball on the ground in front of him. He gave it a strong kick, and Mikoto followed the ball's path with her eyes. As it approached its target, she saw Touma walking with another girl. She didn't have any time to wonder who that other girl was before the soccer ball hit Touma in the back of the head, which caused him to fall forward, his face becoming buried in the girl's breasts.
Before Mikoto could react to that, she heard the men cheering, and she realized that this was their intent all along. She shook with fury and tried shocking them as she angrily said, "What the hell is wrong with you? Is this some sort of twisted prank?" However, all of them somehow disappeared before her shocks could reach them. "They're gone?"
She didn't dwell on that too much, and instead turned her attention back to Touma and the girl he had crashed into. To Mikoto's annoyance, he was taking some time to extricate himself, holding onto her shoulders and slowly raising his head. She shouted, "Hey, Touma!"
Touma had been a little dazed, which was why he wasn't immediately pulling back like he normally would in this situation. However, he heard his girlfriend's voice, he quickly pushed himself away from Itsuwa and nervously said, "H-hey, Mikoto."
Mikoto tried to keep her temper down, but she still emitted sparks. She frustratedly exclaimed, "Look, I know it's not your fault you got hit with that soccer ball. But did you really have to take your sweet time removing your face from there?"
Itsuwa saw the sparking girl and thought that she was about to attack Touma. Trying to fulfill her role as his bodyguard, she prepared to extend her spear and shouted, "Watch out, she's hostile!"
Touma sighed and replied, "No, she's my girlfriend."
Itsuwa's heart dropped as he casually dropped that bomb. She stammered, "Your g-girlfriend?" That would explain why the other girl looked angry. But she was stunned to hear that Touma had a girlfriend. The last time she saw him, about a week ago in France, he still seemed to be single, and she had planned on getting closer with him as his bodyguard. Suddenly, all those plans had gone out the window.
Touma fearfully approached Mikoto, knowing that he was in trouble. He bowed his head, closed his eyes, and said, "I'm sorry, Biri-Biri." He expected her to continue scolding him, but instead he heard her sigh and then felt a soft hand rubbing the back of his head.
Mikoto had realized it was silly to stay mad over something that wasn't his fault at all. It wasn't surprising that he took some time to reorient himself, since he had literally been hit in the head. She reached out and gently rubbed the spot on his head where the soccer ball had it, softly asking, "Are you okay, Touma?"
The boy opened his eyes and saw that his girlfriend was looking at him with a concerned expression. He blushed and answered, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little dazed, that's all."
Mikoto smiled at him and replied, "Thank goodness." She then glanced at the other girl and asked, "So, who's this friend of yours?"
Touma answered, "Oh, this is Itsuwa. She was with me when I was in France last week."
Mikoto then remembered, "Oh yeah, she's the one you were fighting with against that Terra guy." She turned to the other girl and said, "Hello, Itsuwa-san, it's nice to meet you. I'm Misaka Mikoto."
Itsuwa's eyes widened. She recognized that name very well, and the sparks the other girl was emitting earlier left now doubt. "Y-you're the Railgun!" To think that his girlfriend was one of the most powerful espers of Academy City!
Mikoro replied, "Yeah, that's me. Anyway, those guys were cheering when that soccer ball hit. What kind of people are they?"
Itsuwa sighed in exasperation, now understanding what happened. "Oh, those were probably my friends. I'm sorry about them, Kamijou."
Touma rubbed his head and chuckled, "No, that's okay, it's not your fault. But why did they do it in the first place?" He was a bit surprised to hear that Itsuwa's friends from the Amakusa Church had apparently been targeting his head with that soccer ball.
Itsuwa then stammered, "I-I'm not exactly sure, b-but it might have been a p-prank." Of course, she didn't want to reveal that their aim was for Touma to get closer to her.
Mikoto's eyes narrowed in response, because she knew exactly what their aim was. Just like how Saten had once devised an elaborate ruse to get her a dance with Touma, Itsuwa's friends were also trying to get her together with the boy, though in a more violent way. This meant that Itsuwa was yet another girl who liked Mikoto's boyfriend. Feeling a little possessive, Mikoto grabbed onto Touma's hand and suspiciously asked, "So, what were you talking to Touma about, Itsuwa-san?"
Itsuwa could tell that the other girl was a little suspicious about her, so she had to be careful in what she said. She answered, "Oh, I-I was just telling him that Acqua of the Back is after him."
Touma then added, "Yeah, and you were saying something about staying with me as my bodyguard, night and day? Like I tried to say earlier, I don't think that's a good idea."
Mikoto unconsciously gripped harder onto Touma's hand and said, "Wait, what? Who is Acqua of the Back, and why does Touma need a live-in bodyguard against him in the first place?" She absolutely hated the thought of a second girl living with Touma, even if temporarily, and was glad that he wasn't just naively accepting it.
Touma replied, "Remember how we fought against Terra of the Left in France? Well, Acqua of the Back is sort of part of the same organization."
Itsuwa chimed in, "That's right, he's a member of the Right Seat of God."
Mikoto raised her eyebrow, "Right Seat of God? Is that some sort of religious organization or something?" She then started putting some pieces together, continuing, "Wait, did that Terra of the Left have something to do with those religious protests in France? And there was also that attack on Academy City by Catholic forces on September 30. Are those all connected?"
Touma winced a little. He hadn't yet told his girlfriend about magic, but she would inevitably find out eventually, since he constantly got involved in the Magic Side. Perhaps now was finally time for him to tell her. He admitted, "Well, actually, I fought against a woman called Vento of the Front on the night of September 30. She was the one who had invaded the city and caused all those people to fall into comas."
This was major news, and Mikoto replied with some annoyance, "Really, you're only telling me about this now? That's a pretty big thing to leave out."
Touma nervously replied, "Well, it happened before we started dating, and after that, it hasn't really come up until now."
Mikoto sighed, "I guess you're right. You were probably involved in lots of fights I didn't know about. So, anyway Terra of the Left, Acqua of the Back, and Vento of the Front? Is there also a Fuoco of the Right?"
Itsuwa answered, "Not quite, but you're close. Fiamma of the Right is the fourth member of the Right Seat of God, though he hasn't made his move yet."
Touma was really surprised, "Wait, where did you get Fuoco from, Mikoto? And is that really close to Fiamma?"
Mikoto answered, "The pattern isn't that complicated. I noticed that all of their names are Italian, which makes sense if they're a Catholic organization. Terra, Acqua, and Vento are the Italian words for Earth, Water, and Wind, which are three of the four classical elements. So I thought the last one left would be Fire, or Fuoco in Italian. But apparently it's Fiamma, which means Flame instead."
The boy was pretty impressed, "Wow, you know Italian? Man, Tokiwadai really teaches you a lot, huh?"
Mikoto blushed at his praise, "Well, I sometimes have to do demonstrations around the world, so I've picked up some foreign languages. My Italian isn't that great though, I'm much better at English, French, Spanish, and Russian."
Touma's eyes widened, "Wow, that's a lot of languages! And here I am, knowing only Japanese."
Mikoto chuckled, "Well, a lot of people in the world are learning Japanese, thanks to Academy City, so you might not be as disadvantaged in other countries as you think."
Touma then recalled, "Yeah, when I was in a cafe in France, I tried ordering English using a translation on my phone, but they actually had someone who understood Japanese. It was pretty embarrassing."
Itsuwa forlornly watched the couple's conversation. They seemed really close, and she could tell that Touma was happy to be with Mikoto.
Mikoto then returned to the original topic, "So, these Right Seat of God people have psychic powers, right?" That was what the news about the September 30 attacks said.
Itsuwa was a bit confused, replying, "No? They're not like espers in Academy City. They're magicians."
Mikoto was now really confused. "Wait, what? Magicians don't actually exist in real life. I mean, the news said that the Catholic physic powers program was codenamed Magic, but that's just a codename to conceal its true nature, right?"
Touma wasn't surprised that she didn't believe magic was real. Though he didn't remember it, he had reacted similarly when Index had first told him about magic. In any case, Touma knew that there was now no going back.
Itsuwa remained confused at Mikoto's reaction. "Wait, has Kamijou not told you about magic?" She assumed that Touma would have told his girlfriend about magic, especially since he regularly got involved in the Magic Side.
Mikoto was shocked at her response, since it not only implied that magic was in fact real, but also that her boyfriend already knew this. She turned to Touma with a piercing gaze and answered, "No, he hasn't. Hey Touma, is this another thing you haven't told me about yet?"
Touma nervously gulps and answers, "Yeah, so it's a pretty long story. The basic gist of it is that, just like Academy City has espers with supernatural powers based on science, there are also magicians with supernatural powers. I don't actually know too much about magic, but their powers are usually based on religious mythology. And I've gotten dragged into a bunch of fights against magicians, since my Imagine Breaker works on magic as well. Actually, Itsuwa is also a magician, so she might have a better explanation."
Itsuwa nodded, "Yes, I'm a magician from the Amakusa Church, which has Christian, Buddhist, and Shinto aspects, though we're a part of the Church of England. And the Right Seat of God consists of four Catholic magicians."
Mikoto groaned and rubbed her head with her free hand, "This is all really hard to believe. I had a hard enough time believing that the Catholic Church had developed their own psychic powers program, but to think there's an entirely different power system." She then asked, "Hey, Itsuwa-san, since you're a magician, could you demonstrate some magic for me?"
Itsuwa was a bit startled being put on the spot, but she replied, "O-oh, sure!" She took out a sweater from her bag and put it on. She then stepped a bit further away and exclaimed, "Okay, Misaka-san, fire an attack at me!"
Mikoto was a bit confused, "Wait, what? Why?"
Itsuwa answered, "Don't worry about me, I have a spell that will deflect the damage."
Mikoto replied, "All right." She still wasn't sure about this, but she fired a lightning spear that wouldn't be too damaging to the other girl. To her surprise, instead of shocking the other girl, the electricity seemed to be absorbed into the sweater, which suddenly became very torn.
Itsuwa explained, "This spell allows me to redirect the damage I take to my clothes! I always try to have some extra clothes because of this."
Mikoto was puzzled by her explanation, "Wait, so how does that even work? That's just a normal sweater, right? And you're saying it works on all damage, not just from electricity?"
Itsuwa nodded, "That's right. There's not really a scientific explanation for it." She then raised her spear and activated an illumination spell, creating a glowing light on the tip of her weapon. "This is another simple spell that we Amakusa members use."
Mikoto was amazed, "So you can use multiple different kinds of spells, huh? That's a lot different than for espers. I have a lot of different abilities, but they're all based on controlling electromagnetism. Can magicians just use whatever spells they want?"
Itsuwa replied, "Kind of? Most magicians usually stick to a certain theme or tradition for their spells, since it makes it easier to prepare the requirements."
Mikoto sighed and rubbed her head, "Man, this is all really confusing." It would take some time for her to fully wrap her head around this.
Touma nodded, "Yeah, when I first learned about magic, it took me a while to fully believe it too. Anyway, I think I should head back home now. Do you guys want to come over for dinner?"
Mikoto answered, "Okay, that sounds good." Even if Itsuwa and probably Index would also be there, she wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to be with her boyfriend, and maybe she'd get to learn more about magic.
Itsuwa nodded, "Yeah, sure." It was originally her plan to stay at his dorm anyway. She probably wouldn't be able to live with him like she planned, but she would at least get to spend more time with him, even if his girlfriend was there too.
The three of them began heading towards Touma's dorm. Mikoto was still reeling from the information she'd just learned, but she hoped that Touma would continue helping her make sense of it.
The three of them were now in front of Touma's door. Before he opened it, he turned to the two girls and said, "Can you guys not mention anything about Acqua to Index? I don't want her to get involved in any dangerous situations, since he's only after me anyway."
Mikoto replied, "All right, but you better not just go rushing in to fight this guy by yourself!"
Itsuwa then awkwardly said, "W-well, the magicians of the Amakusa Church are here to protect you. But what if he attacks you here while you're sleeping?"
Touma shrugged, "I don't think that's very likely." He then unlocked his door, only to be greeted by a brooding Index.
Index was not happy to see Touma return home with two girls. "Touma, what is Itsuwa from the Amakusa Church doing here?" She understood that Mikoto, as Touma's girlfriend, would be coming over regularly, even if she didn't like it. But the presence of Itsuwa was very suspicious.
The boy nervously rubbed his head and replied, "Um, well you see, I ran into her in town and asked if she wanted to join us for dinner."
Index suddenly lost all of her anger, and instead lay down forlornly on the floor.
This made Touma even more fearful than if she had continued to remain angry. He asked, "Hey Index, I don't know what's gotten into you, but could you maybe just bite me now to release some of your anger, so that you don't explode completely?"
Mikoto turned to him and sharply exclaimed, "Hey, what are you saying, you idiot? Why are you asking her to bite you, are you some kind of masochist?"
Touma waved his hands, "No, no, I just figured it would be better to get it over with now instead of later."
During this conversation, Sphynx, the calico cat, approached them. Itsuwa wanted to break up the awkward situation, so she took out some cat food from her bag and said, "I know, I have the perfect thing for your sweet little kitty! Premium grade bonito!"
Mikoto then saw the cat and cooed, "Aww, I didn't know you had a cute cat, Touma!"
Touma sighed, "Yeah, Index found him abandoned in a box outside and basically forced me to take him in." He then glanced into Itsuwa's bag and said, "Hey Itsuwa, why do you have cat food, as well as meat and vegetables in your bag? Do you need them for some sort of spell?"
Itsuwa blushed, "Oh, I bought these at the supermarket earlier. I figured it would be rude of me to just mooch off your food. After all, I wouldn't want to be a freeloader. Um, can I use your kitchen to cook?"
Touma was absolutely shocked by this. He looked at Mikoto, who was equally surprised. She realized that Itsuwa had planned all along to stay at Touma's place and cook for him. Mikoto was annoyed, but she couldn't get too mad at the other girl, since Itsuwa hadn't known that Touma was now taken. In fact, Mikoto had to begrudgingly give Itsuwa credit for trying a move she would've never been able to make before she had confessed to him.
Index perked up and wondered, "Hey, wait! Why do I feel like I've just been subtly insulted?"
Touma sardonically replied, "If you think hard enough, you might figure out the answer. Who is it that leaves me to do all the housework and has never done a single chore?"
Index looked down and sighed, "I know, I'm sorry. I'll try to do more from now on." By the time she looked back up, Touma was in the kitchen with Itsuwa, showing her where the kitchenware and spices were. She then angrily exclaimed, "Hey, why are you ignoring me?"
Touma harshly replied, "I wasn't. Since you said you'll help out more, why don't you go clean the bathroom?"
Index huffed, "Fine, I will!" She then headed into the bathroom and started trying to clean the bathtub.
Touma then returned to the living room and sat down next to Mikoto. He let out a contented sigh and said, "Man, it's really nice not having to do the cooking for once."
Mikoto felt a little depressed. She knew he didn't really think about what he was saying, but it seemed like he liked having a girl cook for him. Itsuwa was also more physically developed than her, and Mikoto guessed that Itsuwa fit Touma's type pretty well.
Touma smiled at his girlfriend and gently stroked her hair, softly saying, "Hey Biri-Biri, are you feeling okay?" He noticed that she seemed a little down, but he wasn't sure why.
Mikoto blushed, embarrassed that he had caught her feeling sad because of some silly insecurities. She smiled and him and replied, "Y-yeah, I'm fine. W-would you like it if I cooked for you sometime?"
The boy's eyes widened as he realized what was bothering her. Of course, it must have been weird for her to see another girl cooking for him. He grasped both of her hands and gently caressed them, and told her with a grin, "Of course, any guy would love to have his girlfriend cook for him! I'd gladly eat anything you make." He then kissed the top of her head.
Mikoto was happy that he figured out what was troubling her, and she felt cheered up by his response. She replied, "Th-thanks, Touma."
Itsuwa felt a little depressed too as she watched Touma and Mikoto converse with each other. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but seeing how fondly Touma treated Mikoto was enough to make her feel like a third wheel.
Nevertheless, she soon finished cooking the miso soup she was making. However, before she could serve it, there was a loud noise and a scream from the bathroom. Touma, Mikoto, and Itsuwa rushed into the bathroom and saw that the bathtub was broken.
Touma glared at Index and angrily asked, "All right, how did you manage to break the tub with just a sponge and cleanser?"
Index brattily answered, "Well, I scrubbed it really hard! Maybe I did too good a job!"
Touma scoffed, "That's not it, you poured all of that cleanser into the hot water intake!"
Index tilted her head and asked, "But isn't that what cleaner's supposed to do, clean stuff?"
Mikoto was a bit stunned at Index's reaction, "Does this girl have any common sense?"
Touma pinched the girl's cheeks and retorted, "Not if you burn the inside of the hot water heater and nearly cause a fire!"
Itsuwa, wanting to calm the situation down, suggested, "Well, how about we go to a bathhouse?"
Index said, "A bathhouse?" That sounded like a nice change of pace.
Touma replied, "Sure, there's no other way for me to get a bath tonight." He had been looking forward to taking a bad and then sleeping, but his night obviously wasn't going to be that simple.
Mikoto then suggested, "How about the one in District 22, in the underground complex?" Not only was it a really nice bathhouse, but she had recently learned that she could get a unique Gekota strap if she acquired ten stamps there.
Itsuwa nodded, "Oh yeah, that's one of the top-ranked bathhouses in Academy City!"
As they were all in agreement, the four of them decided to head to the bathhouse after eating dinner.
By the time they had finished dinner, the last bus had already left, so they were now at a nearby rental shop to rent a pair of motorcycles. Touma said, "So, do you guys know how to drive a motorcycle? I haven't driven one before."
Itsuwa answered, "Yeah, I haven't driven a motorcycle in a while, but I should still be able to do it."
Mikoto also replied, "Well, I haven't driven one before, but it shouldn't be too difficult. After all, I can use my magnetism to keep it balanced."
Touma was a bit skeptical, "Are you sure about that? I mean, we don't have any other choice, but still."
Mikoto waved off his concerns with a grin, "Don't worry, just recently I surfed through the air on a metal sheet during a fight, so steering a motorcycle on the road should be a piece of cake!"
Toum still wasn't completely sold, but he decided to trust his girlfriend. They rented two motorcycles, one for Itsuwa and Index, and the other for Mikoto and Touma. Mikoto hopped onto one of the bikes and gripped onto the handlebars, and Touma climbed on behind her. She reminded him, "Remember not to put your right hand on me or the bike."
Touma wrapped his left arm around her waist and replied, "Okay, but please don't go too fast! You haven't driven one of these before and I can only hold onto you with one arm."
Mikoto grinned back at him, "Yeah, all right." She was actually pretty excited to drive the motorcycle, though she blushed a little due to his half-embrace. The girl started the engine and took off. It was a little wobbly at first, but Mikoto used her magnetism to keep it upright, and they continued on a smooth ride.
Meanwhile, Itsuwa had also started her motorcycle. She was also impressed by how smooth the ride was, and decided to speed up to enjoy the ride even more, which Index was also in favor of.
Mikoto watched the other motorcycle speed past her, which sort of made her want to do the same. Even at their current speed, she still felt exhilarated with the wind rushing past her face. She teasingly said to Touma, "Hmm, maybe I should go faster after all! Then you'll have to hold onto me tighter."
Touma paled, knowing that she was likely to do just that if he didn't persuade her otherwise. He replied, "I'm fine with holding you tight whenever you want, Biri-Biri, but please don't speed up!" To underscore his point, he tightened his grip around her waist.
Mikoto blushed at his smooth reply, but she was happy with the result, so she maintained her current speed. Realizing that she finally had some alone time with him, she took the opportunity to ask, "Hey Touma, when did you start getting involved in this Magic Side you talked about?"
The boy answered, "Well, it was before I lost my memories, but I know it started when I met Index. She has a photographic memory, and has memorized 103,000 grimories, so she's pretty important on the Magic Side"
Mikoto replied, "That nun has a photographic memory? And what are grimoires, some sort of spellbooks?"
Touma nodded, "Yeah, pretty much. Apparently reading them is dangerous for a normal person, but she's able to read and memorize them, so her church used her to archive them."
The girl was surprised to hear that the childish nun she knew was actually such a key player on the Magic Side. She said, "That's pretty convenient, though it seems like a huge burden for her. But man, I still can't believe that magic is a real thing!"
Touma nodded, "Yeah, you know, there were actually a few times you came into contact with magic without knowing it."
The girl was pretty surprised to hear this, "Really? When?"
The boy replied, "Well, you remember that fake Unabara guy? He was actually an Aztec magician who could transform to look like someone after getting a piece of their skin."
Mikoto grimaced, "That's a bit gross, but wow! I thought he was just an esper who could change appearances, but that's really freaky! And how does having a piece of skin let him change his entire appearance?"
Touma answered, "It was something related to Aztec mythology, some god of theirs apparently wears human skin. He also had an obsidian blade which he could use to reflect the light from Venus and destroy things."
Mikoto was baffled, "What? How does that even work? There's barely enough light from Venus to even see it at night, how can that little light have such destructive power?"
The boy shrugged, "I don't know how it works, but you're right, it definitely breaks scientific laws." He then asked, "Do you remember that incident at the end of summer vacation where there was a terrorist in the underground mall?"
Mikoto nodded, "Yeah. Wait, I fought against some weird rock statue that day. It had grabbed onto Kuroko, so I had to railgun it to set her free. Was that related to magic?"
Touma answered, "Yeah, it was actually a golem created by a magician."
The girl replied, "Wow, I thought it was just something created by an esper who could manipulate dirt. You know, I actually fought against something similar a few days ago."
Touma said, "Oh, really?" He wondered if it was another golem.
Mikoto nodded, "Yeah, there was this girl who volunteered for an experiment where she cut her body in half and combined each half with cybernetic parts to make two cyborgs. After a year, they recombined the halves to make a fully human and a fully mechanical body. The girl came up with the theory that her soul was split into two, and that if her mechanical doppelganger's body was damaged, the soul would leak out and be able to possess other materials."
Touma's eyes widened, "Wow, that's a pretty insane experiment! But at least she did it willingly, right?"
The girl answered, "Yeah, she did. Anyway, it seemed that the theory was true, since the Doppelganger was able to absorb a bunch of mass once her body was damaged. At one point, she had amassed a bunch of rubble and created a giant kaiju! It was actually a really exciting fight, I made my own kaiju from iron sand and was even able to have it fire railguns!"
Touma stared at her in awe, "Wow, I would have loved to see that. You really are strong, aren't you?"
Mikoto's cheeks reddened at his praise, but she continued, "Yeah, it was an awesome fight! But anyway, that theory about her soul taking control of stuff was wrong. Instead, she was using artificial muscles which could embed themselves into objects which allowed her to control all that mass. So it ended up having a perfectly reasonable scientific explanation, instead of a weird theory about a soul."
The boy mused, "Wow, that's actually pretty neat, I had no idea something like that was even possible."
Mikoto said, "Me neither. But it's interesting that you can do something similar with magic."
Touma replied, "Yeah. Oh, do you remember the Ball Toss event during the Daihasei Festival?"
The girl recalled, "Yeah, that was when you were trying to warn me about something on the poles? I wasn't sure what was going on, but then something from one of the poles shot out at your classmate. Was that magic too?"
The boy answered, "Yeah, it was. I was really worried about you touching the paper on that pole, and when you started getting red and acting weird, I thought you'd been affected by the spell."
Mikoto sighed, "You idiot, I was just flustered because you were acting so concerned about me, and it didn't help when you tackled me to the ground! Couldn't you just have said to not touch the paper?"
Touma chuckled, "Yeah, I guess you have a point there. Man, you really couldn't help yourself around me, huh?"
The girl lightly elbowed him and said, "Oh, shut up!"
The boy smiled and softly said, "But you're right, I was really worried about you, Biri-Biri. I'm really glad you weren't hit too."
Mikoto smiled too and replied, "I worry about you too, Touma. And now I know you're involved in this whole other side, I'm worried even more."
Touma replied, "Well, I guess we'll just have to look out for each other, then."
The girl said, "Yeah, I guess so." She knew that both of them would continue risking danger to help others, but Mikoto hoped that they could help each other out and stick by each other's side.
Once they reached the bathhouse, Touma had to split up from the girls. Mikoto duly got her Gekota stamp, and she, Itsuwa, and Index soon entered into the bath.
Mikoto glanced over at Itsuwa. Even though the water wasn't clear, she could still tell that the other girl had a clear advantage in chest size, so Mikoto was forced to admit defeat with a sigh.
Itsuwa was a bit nervous being around Touma's girlfriend without him around. She had accepted that she'd lost her chance with the boy, but she was a bit curious about his relationship with Mikoto. Therefore, asked the other girl, "Hey, Misaka-san, if you don't mind me asking, how did you and Kamijou start dating?"
Index perked up at this question. She knew that Touma had saved Mikoto at one point, and that Mikoto had confessed to him recently, but she didn't know the full details, so she was also curious to hear what Mikoto would say.
Mikoto smiled fondly as she began her answer. "Well, when I first met Touma, I found out that he could somehow block my electric shocks. I wasn't sure how he did it, but I kept running into him and challenging him to fights. He kept negating my attacks and running away, but I was really intrigued by him. A while after I met him, there was this problem I was really struggling with, and nothing I tried was able to fix it. But then he showed up right when I needed a hero and saved me."
Index said, "That's right, you said Touma helped you even though you didn't ask for it."
Mikoto nodded, "Yeah, that's when I really started having feelings for him, but I didn't admit it to myself until a bit later. Once I did, I realized that nothing would happen if I didn't tell him how I felt. It was hard for me to work up the courage, because I always got flustered around him. But just recently, I confessed to him, and he agreed to go out with me."
Index sighed, "I still don't understand why Touma even accepted your confession, Short-Hair." He and Mikoto had previously never seemed particularly close whenever Index had seen them together, but something must have changed recently for him to fall for Mikoto.
Itsuwa had just met Mikoto, but she had seen enough to answer Index's doubts. "I'm not surprised. Misaka-san is very protective of Kamijou, but she's also really kind to him. It's obvious that she cares a lot about him, and he seems really happy to be with her."
Mikoto smiled at the other girl and said, "Thanks, Itsuwa-san." She was pleasantly surprised that Itsuwa was defending her, and it made her feel a little less insecure. She then continued, "So, how did you meet Touma, Itsuwa-san?"
Itsuwa answered, "I first met him when we were involved in a magic-related incident in Tokyo, and I saw him again when we were in Chioggia, Italy, where we dealt with another incident. And most recently, I was with him in France. In all of those fights, he really helped out a lot, and we wouldn't have been able to succeed without him."
Mikoto mused, "So that's what he was doing in Italy right after the Daihasei Festival." She knew that he had been overseas right after the festival, but she hadn't known why. It seemed like Touma had been heavily involved in magic-related incidents, enough to run into Itsuwa multiple times. It was obvious how fond of Touma Itsuwa was, and Mikoto honestly felt a little bad for her. If Mikoto hadn't confessed to him when she did, perhaps Itsuwa would've gotten a chance, but it was too late for her now.
The three girls then continued relaxing in the bath, hoping that their night would remain free of any trouble.
