Hello, everyone! Last chapter, Mikoto returned to Academy City. This time, it's Touma's turn to return, just in time for the Ichihanaran Festival.

LordChorizoCosmico: Yeah, Mikoto's getting more comfortable with her sisters and more confident talking to her friends. It is indeed good that Kuroko has now mellowed out and accepted Touma, or else his life might have been in serious danger from Mikoto's revelation. I'm glad you're enjoying this fic.

GG Vegito: Yes, Thor is going to have some funny scenes in this fic.

ToMyMaster: Mikoto is indeed becoming more mature, and she's starting to help Touma out with his problems, and that'll only continue in the future.

The One who saw All: It's good to see you again. Yes, that chapter was an important one for their relationship, and I did try to build up to it with them getting more and more intimate with each other over time. It was definitely very steamy, and I will have to keep that advice in mind for future chapters like that one.

Clearwing Yuta: Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it.

comrade-elmo1: I'm glad you're enjoying all the wholesomeness, and yeah, the world leaders really rely too much on Touma. The president really was a Gigachad in GT4.

Toa Solaric: Yes, unfortunately, Touma doesn't get too many breaks, and all the major world leaders keep relying on him to fix their messes.

Stryper88: Well, the good kind of sore often happens after vigorous exercise, which they did kind of do. Mikoto was a little reluctant at first, but she did end up letting him watch her change. Yeah, introducing Index to the other girls would be interesting, though then they'd have to explain why Index is living with Touma. Index's reaction is understandable, though Touma did lose his memories, so he couldn't really give a good answer to her confession. Her sisters definitely don't hold back, but at least Kuroko is better-behaved now. Touma's class will definitely ask about this ring. Yeah, the issue that Misaka 13577 mentioned is a big theme in their relationship. There will be some changes compared to canon, since they're a couple here.

f99: Yeah, the Othinus arc is definitely a big one, and it will be a major moment for Mikoto and Touma's relationship.

Bigboy101: I am trying to make Mikoto bolder and bolder over time, and by now, it's reached a pretty high peak.

Blankow: Thanks, I tried to come up with a good reason for Mikoto not to join Touma in Baggage City, so I'm glad you liked it. She's definitely being more open with her friends now. Mikoto and Index did get to spend some time together here, and they will get more opportunities in the future. The Ichihanaran Festival arc will be fun, as will Shokuhou's eventual debut in this story.

GabrielHaruba: Thanks, I'm also looking forward to writing about a lot of romantic moments in NT and even GT!

Vetin221: Yeah, Mikoto didn't tell Index about having sex with Touma, but Index will probably find out at some point.

xellos540: Yeah, Mikoto was hoping to get some revenge on him, but it didn't work. Touma will face many tough challenges, including Othinus. It is hard to see things in the dark, but it's still possible to see a little. Mikoto can use something similar to Hokaze's Rampage Dress to heal wounds, including hickeys, which are caused by broken blood vessels. Since Mikoto didn't go to Baggage City, that arc doesn't really change, so I won't be covering that arc directly. Othinus may have felt something ominous when Touma thought that. Misaka 13577's line of thinking is funny, and Mikoto wanted to prevent her from sending any perverted thoughts to the entire Network, though even just the news will certainly cause an uproar. I think Tokiwadai students have to live in one of the two Tokiwadai dorms, so Mikoto can't just live with Touma. I guess Mikoto is bragging, even if she's a little embarrassed. Yeah, Mikoto let Touma go fight Acqua in canon, and now for Baggage City, but she'll probably want to accompany him to fights most of the time now. Yeah, their table is a low table. Index has started calling Mikoto by her name after being bribed with food. Index calling Mikoto rude is pretty hypocritical. Touma met Mikoto on June 17 and lost his memories on July 28. So he did meet Mikoto before Index. Yes, Saten was very eager to get to the heart of the matter. I don't know if it'll go that far, but a lot of people will know about it soon. I guess it is a big deal, but they've been dating for a while, so it's not that unexpected. Kuroko is more mellow now that she's accepted Mikoto's relationship with Touma. The Hawaii trip actually did end up being about one month after Mikoto confessed, so even if they originally went to Hawaii because of GREMLIN, it ended up being a romantic anniversary trip. Touma's next encounter with the Railgang will definitely be interesting. Kuroko definitely has some weird feelings after hearing that, but she's mostly jealous that she couldn't be the one to satisfy Mikoto like that.

Guest10032: I did want to make that parallel between each of them waking up first, so I'm happy you enjoyed it. I do like taking some time to show the other characters' reactions, and we'll get Touma's side of that soon. The Ichihanaran Festival will be a fun ride, and the two of them will reunite soon. Yeah, I do want to have Mikoto go along with Touma in GT4, so she can interact with those amazing American Misakas, so hopefully that won't conflict with whatever Mikoto does in Academy City in GT5. It was really cute how all the Sisters asked Touma for hugs and headpats, and that scene would be even better with Mikoto present.

The following day, Touma had woken up on a bench in front of a familiar train station. He'd fuzzily remembered the events that had taken place in Baggage City, including getting his arm and the invisible power within it crushed by the girl named Othinus, who seemed to be the leader of GREMLIN. He'd also recalled how he was then saved by Fiamma and Ollerus, who must have brought him back to Academy City. He'd wanted to immediately return home and check on Index, as well as tell Mikoto that he'd arrived back, but he had suddenly been captured by Fukiyose. She'd been angry at him for missing the Ichihanaran Festival preparations, and had just finished dragging him back to his school. All the while, the boy could only think to himself, "Just my rotten luck!"

Touma was now in his classroom, along with his teacher and classmates. His hands were still tied behind his back with tape. Komoe looked at him with a disappointed expression and said, "Kamijou-chan, as your teacher, I do find your repeated absences a problem. I know that attendance isn't necessary, but your grades are still at risk." However, she then smiled and said, "But there is some good news, you actually did well on your biology and history tests! I don't know how you did it, but if you keep it up, you might actually be able to pass!"

The boy's eyes widened as he heard the news. He grinned and said, "Oh, thank goodness! I actually got some tutoring from Mikoto, and it looks like it worked!" He mentally thanked his girlfriend for doing that study session with him

Tsuchimikado smirked upon hearing this and teased his friend, "Interesting, so you had a study date with your girlfriend, Kami-yan! Did she give you a kiss every time you got a question right?" Since he lived next door to Touma, he already knew about the study session, but this gave him the excuse to bring it up.

Touma blushed a little but still rolled his eyes, replying, "It wasn't like that, it was just a normal study session." He and Mikoto had kissed a couple of times during it, but they'd mostly focused on studying.

Aogami then joined in on the teasing, "Kami-yan has fallen so low that he needs help from a middle-schooler to pass!"

Komoe held up a finger and scolded, "Now now, Tokiwadai's curriculum is at the university level, so Misaka Mikoto would be fully qualified to tutor Kamijou-chan." She then turned to Touma and said, "I'm glad that you're getting the help you need, but I'm a little sad that you prefer her as a teacher to me."

Touma tried reassuring his teacher, "It's not like that, it's just that she happened to be available when I was free!" He definitely didn't want to make Komoe upset or angry.

Fukiyose crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at Touma, who she was still annoyed at at skipping out on the festival preparations. She said, "So now you're taking advantage of your girlfriend instead of doing your own studying?"

Touma frowned and grumbled to himself, "Why do you always take the most negative interpretation of everything I do?" After a pause, he retorted, "Mikoto was the one who offered to help me, and she was a really good tutor! Isn't it good for me to find the best way to study? It's not like I had her take the tests for me, I actually learned the material!"

Fukiyose maintained her annoyed look, but soon sighed, "Okay, I guess you're right." She glanced at his still-tied hands, considering whether to finally remove them. Her eyes widened as she noticed the colorful ring on his left hand, and she asked the boy, "Why do you have a ring on your ring finger?"

The boy smiled and answered in a soft tone, "Biri-Biri gave it to me. She has a matching ring, and she actually colored them both with her electricity!" He thought back fondly to what his girlfriend had said when presenting the ring to him.

Himegami then muttered, "Has Kamijou secured his route once and for all with an elopement?"

Touma shook his head and corrected her, "It isn't a wedding ring, it's a promise ring! We're way too young to get married." He wondered, "Did Mikoto face this kind of questioning from her friends?"

Aogami suddenly frowned as he realized something. He asked, "Hold on, if you two have already exchanged promise rings, does that mean that you've done the deed?"

Tsuchimikado gasped at that possibility, "That's right, I doubt that he would be able to resist railing the Railgun at the first opportunity!"

Fukiyose immediately punched both of those boys in the head, exclaiming, "Don't be so vulgar, you morons!" She really didn't like hearing them talk about another girl in that way. Both Aogami and Tsuchimikado crouched down and held their heads in pain.

Touma blushed at the topic under discussion, thinking back to that amazing night he and Mikoto had spent together. He was a bit hesitant, but he eventually decided to admit, "Actually, we did sleep together a couple of nights ago."

Everyone's jaws dropped at his nonchalant statement, but this was more pronounced with the two other boys. Tsuchimikado trembled and pointed at Touma, saying, "I can't believe it, Kami-yan isn't a virgin anymore!" He had some knowledge of their relationship, and he knew that they'd gone to Hawaii, but he hadn't known exactly what they'd done together in Hawaii, at least until now.

Aogami gritted his teeth, and said, "Damn it, Kami-yan, we might have to kick you out of the Delta Force! We're supposed to be three virgins who engage in highly cultured discussions about the best types of girls, but ever since you've gotten a girlfriend, you haven't been joining in anymore. Now that you've started having sex with her, that's the last straw!"

Touma rolled his eyes and replied, "That's fine with me, I don't want to get involved in those conversations anymore." It had been fun when he'd been single, but he felt it would be disrespectful to Mikoto to continue doing so now.

Fukiyose looked angrily at Touma and said, "Did you pressure her into sleeping with you? I knew that you were a dirty pervert, but I didn't think you would go so low!"

The boy started nervously sweating at her accusation. Knowing he had to act quickly to avoid getting beat up, Touma replied, "H-hey, it wasn't like that at all! Do you honestly think I would make Mikoto do something she didn't want to do? And besides, she was actually the one that propositioned me!"

Aogami clenched his fist, "Damn you, Kami-yan, first you gloat about losing your virginity, and now you're bragging that she begged you for it!" He felt the urge to beat up Touma for his insolence.

Tsuchimikado did the same, and added, "I thought the Kami-yan disease would weaken when he got a girlfriend, but now it's just concentrating on that one girl!"

Komoe then stepped in, trying to defuse the situation, "Fukiyose-chan, Aogami-chan, Tsuchimikado-chan, please, no fighting!" Her words did calm the three students down a bit, but she then turned to Touma and said, "Kamijou-chan, I'm disappointed that you and Misaka Mikoto are doing such inappropriate things at your age. You both know the risks of that behavior, right?"

Touma nodded, but replied, "Don't worry, Komoe-sensei, we both used protection!"

Komoe sighed in relief, "That's good, at least you had some sense of responsibility."

Fukiyose was still a little skeptical, but she said to Touma, "All right, I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions, Kamijou."

Touma smiled at her and replied, "No problem, Fukiyose." Although this interrogation by his classmates and teacher had been a little stressful, he was glad to be back home and back to a relatively normal life.

That evening, Touma walked through the streets of Academy City, thinking about what he'd just learned. He had run into Ollerus earlier that day, and the man had warned him about the Magic God Othinus. Even with her immense power, she apparently only had a 50% chance of succeeding at anything, so GREMLIN was aiming to perfect her power to 100% by forging the Spear of Gungnir. Ollerus had also told him that his Imagine Breaker represented the hopes and fears of all magicians, and acted as a reference point that could allow the world to return to normal even after being distorted by a Magic God's power. However, Othinus and GREMLIN didn't want such an insurance plan, so they weren't directly seeking Imagine Breaker.

Touma had already texted Mikoto and Index that he was back in Academy City, but he couldn't return to his dorm yet. Not only did he have the festival preparations to worry about, but he knew that Ollerus's presence meant that a battle would likely take place in Academy City.

As he examined the crowd around him, he suddenly spotted a familiar face, that of his girlfriend. He locked eyes with Mikoto, and she immediately began approaching him. Touma gave her a wide smile, glad to see her again after splitting up from her in Hawaii. He excitedly greeted her, "Hey, Biri-Biri! Are you preparing for the Ichihanaran Festival?"

Before he could say anything else, the girl suddenly slammed her fist on the top of his head. Touma crouched down and held his head in pain, with tears in his eyes. Mikoto snorted and asked, "Did you really think you could just greet me like normal after ditching me in Hawaii?"

Touma was very very confused, uttering, "Huh?" What she had said didn't make any sense. He and Mikoto had agreed in Hawaii that he would go to Baggage City alone, while she'd return to Academy City. So why was she upset about it now? Furthermore, why did she immediately jump to a physical attack instead of her usual electrical attack? He knew that that wasn't usually her style.

Mikoto continued complaining, "You know that I'm strong too, right? You saw how much I was able to help you against Saronia! So you should rely on me and ask me for help!"

The boy wondered, "Does she regret letting me go alone to Baggage City?" In any case, if GREMLIN did end up invading Academy City, he'd already agreed to ask her for help. Plus, Othinus had dealt him a major blow in Baggage City, which underscored his need for help, but also the danger to his girlfriend if she got involved. He ended up replying honestly, "You're right, I do want to ask for your help, Mikoto, but a part of me still doesn't want to drag you into danger against the monsters of GREMLIN."

Mikoto replied in a rather sinister tone, "It's way too late to try to make that decision now!" As she said this, a pale light started shining from the fingertips of her right hand. Touma's eyes widened as he sensed the danger, and he instinctively ducked as she swung her arm around. The long electrical arc fusion blades extending from her fingers swept over his head and sliced a wind turbine behind him into multiple pieces. Mikoto then smirked and explained, "It's good that you chose to dodge. If you had tried to block me with your right hand, we would've been locked in a stalemate."

Touma was now sure that something was wrong. He knew that his girlfriend could probably produce arc fusion blades from her fingertips if she wanted to, but he'd never seen her do that before. Instead, she preferred using iron sand swords or whips for close-quarters combat. He immediately concluded that the person fighting him wasn't actually Mikoto.

The fake then swung their left hand, now also with arc fusion blades, towards Touma. He dodged them again and used his right fist to hit their left wrist from below. This gave him an opening to grab onto his opponent's neck with his right hand. He then slammed them into a nearby bench, shouting, "You're not Mikoto! Who the hell are you?"

Starting at the neck, which Touma was holding onto with his right hand, cracks began to form on the skin of his opponent. They soon spread to the entire body, and the skin shattered, revealing a feminine-looking European boy with long, blond hair. He thinly smiled and introduced himself, "I am the Lightning God Thor. I'm in charge of direct combat for GREMLIN. And as you can see, we're already in Academy City."

Touma could only sigh and mutter, "Just my rotten luck." With this, he knew that the Ichihanaran Festival would be anything but peaceful.

Later that evening, Mikoto arrived at her boyfriend's high school. She had previously been there a couple of times before, when she'd picked up Saten there after her punishment for using the Level Upper, and more recently when she'd picked up Touma for their first real date. Nevertheless, she still felt a little intimidated by the atmosphere. The official time for visiting schools was the following day, the day of the festival itself, but it was well-known that visiting earlier, when preparations were still being made, would give one a more accurate experience of the school.

Mikoto was a little surprised that she was able to just walk in so easily, since Tokiwadai and the other schools in the School Garden had very strict security. She looked around and saw a bunch of students with the school's uniform, but none with uniforms from other schools. She thought to herself, "I wish there were more students visiting. Then I wouldn't stick out like a sore thumb."

She then suddenly heard a voice behind her exclaim, "Huh, what are you doing here?" When Mikoto turned around, she saw a very short girl with pink hair, who looked up and down at her and continued, "That's a Tokiwadai Middle School uniform, isn't it? Are you an unofficial visitor? You can't do that, you know, you'll get scolded by Anti-Skill!"

Mikoto knew that this person who looked like a little girl was actually Touma's homeroom teacher. She gave the woman a smile and said, "You're Komoe-sensei, right? Touma's told me about you." She figured it would be good to acquaint herself with the teacher, even if she was technically breaking the rules.

Komoe's eyes widened, and she excitedly said, "Oh, you're Misaka Mikoto, Kamijou-chan's girlfriend!" She was a little surprised that the Railgun was visiting this ordinary high school, but she figured Mikoto wanted to check out her boyfriend's school.

Mikoto covered her mouth with her hand to hide her smirk, thinking to herself, "She calls him Kamijou-chan? That's hilarious!" She then replied, "Yeah, I am. Could you show me around the school? I'd like to see his classroom."

Komoe sighed and replied, "All right, it's technically against the rules, but I guess I can make an exception." She and Mikoto then started walking through the school together. She then asked Mikoto, "Are you actually thinking about attending this school when you graduate from Tokiwadai, or did you just come here to visit Kamijou-chan?"

Mikoto chuckled and answered, "I am actually interested in attending. Based on what Touma tells me, the students here have a lot more freedom than at Tokiwadai. There aren't any strict rules, and there isn't the expectation to be a perfect lady all the time." She yearned to be in that kind of environment, instead of the one she faced at Tokiwadai.

Komoe frowned as she listened to the girl, before saying, "It's true that this school is much more laid-back than a school like Tokiwadai, but there are still some rules to follow. The teachers, including myself, do a good job in educating students of different levels. But as you know, the curriculum here is less advanced than even a middle school like Tokiwadai, so I can't recommend you coming here for high school. You won't really learn anything you don't know already." Komoe knew that it would help their school a lot in terms of prestige and funding to have a Level 5 attend it, but she didn't want to encourage Mikoto to compromise her education.

Mikoto grinned and replied, "Yeah, my friends said the same thing. Well, I still have a year and a half to think about it." She brushed off the subject, not really wanting to justify herself at the moment. She then asked, "So what is Touma like in class?" She was curious to learn more about a side of her boyfriend she didn't get to see directly.

Komoe smiled fondly in response to Mikoto's question. She answered, "Kamijou-chan is a nice boy. He definitely has potential, but because of all his absences, he's at serious risk being held back a year. However, he did well on the recent tests, thanks to your tutoring, Misaka-san!"

Mikoto blushed a little and said, "Oh, you heard about that, huh? I just helped him study a little, but he was a very good student!" She reminded herself, "If he didn't have to go save the world all the time, he'd have no problems passing."

Komoe giggled into her hand before saying, "Yes, Kamijou-chan is a good student when he actually applies himself. But he often used to get into verbal and sometimes physical fights with Tsuchimikado-chan and Aogami-chan about types of girls and fetishes, and Fukiyose-chan always had to break up their fights."

Mikoto sighed, "I do remember him telling me about that. It seemed weird to me, but I go to an all-girls school, so I don't really know if that's normal for guys."

Komoe then told her, "You'll be pleased to know that Kamijou-chan hasn't really done that anymore after he started dating you."

Mikoto grinned and replied, "That's good to hear." It would be problematic if he'd continued with that behavior while being in a relationship.

Komoe then narrowed her eyes at Mikoto and said in a lecturing tone, "I was disappointed to learn that he has been having inappropriate relations with you. You two are really too young to be doing things like that!"

Mikoto's face reddened, and she nervously rubbed her head, saying, "O-oh, you heard about that?" She felt really embarrassed that her boyfriend's teacher knew about their personal life.

Komoe sighed and replied, "Yes, he admitted it earlier today. Look, I know I can't really tell him what to do in his personal life, but I do at least hope that you'll keep using protection."

The girl frantically nodded, "O-of course, of course!" She hoped that this would put an end to the conversation topic.

Komoe nodded in approval, "Good, good. Oh, here's our classroom!" She led Mikoto through the door and into the room.

Mikoto saw some of her boyfriend's classmates there, including Fukiyose, who was currently talking to someone on her phone. Mikoto's curiosity was piqued when Fukiyose shouted into the phone, "Dammit! Kamijou ran off even after I told him he had to stay through the night? Do you know where that bastard went, Himegami-san?"

Mikoto guessed that Touma had originally been out shopping for things needed for festival preparations, but then got caught up in some trouble. She was about to speak up and offer to look for him, but then Fukiyose said something even more concerning, "Huh? He's been arrested by Anti-Skill?"

Mikoto immediately facepalmed, wondering, "What kind of trouble did you get into, you idiot?" She sighed and said, "Thanks for showing me around, Komoe-sensei, but it looks like I need to find my boyfriend and have a nice, long chat with him!" She then immediately ran out of the classroom and headed out of the school. If he had indeed been caught up in something, as seemed likely, she wanted to be there for him. Perhaps GREMLIN had already snuck into Academy City, or maybe it was something else entirely, but either way, Mikoto wouldn't sit this one out.

Later that night, Touma was heading for the center of District 7, where the Windowless Building was located. While treating him to a meal at a restaurant, Thor had told him about a girl named Fraulein Kreutune who was being trapped in the building, and was a target for both GREMLIN and Ollerus's group. Thor had asked Touma to help him free the girl, but Touma had been a bit hesitant about being used again, especially since Thor was part of GREMLIN. Eventually, Thor had started a fight with him in the restaurant, berating Touma for being so weak-willed. It was because of this fight that Touma had been arrested by Anti-Skill, though he'd been quickly released since they knew he wasn't the one who'd started the fight. Nevertheless, Touma had decided to help Thor free Fraulein.

After briefly meeting up with Thor, who had gathered some tools, Touma was now supposed to head to a parking garage near the Windowless Building to rendezvous with him again. But before that, he'd arranged to meet Mikoto here. He was looking forward to catching up with his girlfriend for real this time, though he knew he had a lot to explain to her.

Soon afterwards, Mikoto appeared in front of him. She crossed her arms and said with a teasing grin, "Welcome back, Touma! Would you like to explain why you got arrested by Anti-Skill and what kind of trouble you've gotten yourself into this time?" She really wanted to just go up to him and embrace him, but Mikoto resisted that urge in order to try to get some answers.

Touma was also excited to see her again, but he wanted to make absolutely sure this wasn't another prank by Thor, even if it was unlikely due to her meeting him at the time and place they'd agreed on. He held up his hand in front of his chest and said, "Wait, I have a few questions for you first!" As Mikoto tilted her head in confusion, Touma began, "What game did we play during our last night at the hotel in Hawaii?"

Mikoto had no idea why he was asking her that, but she answered in a hesitant tone, "We played Truth or Dare."

The boy nodded and then asked, "Okay, what was my first question for you? And what was my first dare for you?"

The girl didn't take too long to recall, "You asked me what I like most about myself, and then you dared me to play the Pocky game with you." Mikoto guessed that he was trying to make sure of her identity, but she didn't really know why.

Touma sighed in relief, "Thank goodness, it really is you!" He then walked up to her and quickly pulled her into a hug, placing his hands on her back and in his hair. Touma stroked her hair and said, "I missed you so much, Biri-Biri!"

Mikoto wrapped her arms around his back and nuzzled her head into his shoulder. She smiled, enjoying his comforting embrace, and said, "I missed you too, Touma!"

After hugging for a few seconds, they pulled apart a bit. Mikoto immediately brought her hands up to the boy's neck and pulled him into a heated kiss. Both of them eagerly intensified the kiss, since they hadn't seen each other for a couple of days.

Once they finally separated, they both took a few deep breaths. Mikoto then questioned, "What was with all the questions? Did you think I was one of my sisters pretending to be me?"

Touma shook his head, "Not quite. A few hours ago, I thought I ran into you, but it was actually a magician named Thor who disguised himself as you."

Mikoto winced as she heard this, and she felt shivers throughout her body. She said in a disturbed tone, "That's really creepy!" Especially since the magician was male. She gave her boyfriend a worried look and asked, "Y-you didn't kiss him or anything, right?" She didn't know what she would do if that had ended up happening.

The boy was startled by her question, but he immediately waved his hands back and forcefully exclaimed, "No no, I didn't, I swear!" Now that he thought about it, Touma was kind of glad that Thor had immediately attacked him, since otherwise Touma might have done something he'd have regretted later.

The girl placed her hand over her chest and sighed in relief, "Thank goodness!" She then looked back up at Touma and said, "You said his name was Thor, right? Like the Norse god of lightning? What the hell was he doing disguising himself as me?"

Touma scratched his head as he recalled, "Yeah, he's actually a GREMLIN magician who can use electricity-based magic. He hacked into the FCE system in Hawaii and spied on our conversations, which is how he was able to mimic how you talked. He pretended to be angry at me for ditching you in Hawaii, and he picked a fight with me. I quickly realized it wasn't you and used my right hand to destroy his disguise."

Mikoto's eyes widened as she took in all this information, and said, "He's from GREMLIN, huh? So I guess they're already in Academy City." That didn't surprise her that much, but she was disappointed that any hopes for a peaceful festival were now lost. She was very creeped out by the fact that Thor had spied on her enough to be able to imitate her so well. However, she was glad that at least he didn't get any footage of her and Touma in their hotel room.

The boy sighed, "Yeah, and my rotten luck continues. So what have you been up to since you came back from Hawaii, Mikoto?" He didn't have that much time before he had to meet up with Thor, but he wanted to catch up with his girlfriend.

Mikoto shrugged, "Not much compared to you. I visited your school just now and met your cute little teacher. But why did she know about us s-sleeping together, Touma?" She had a light blush on her face as she asked this.

Touma blushed as well, nervously rubbing his neck and replying, "Sorry about that. Tsuchimikado and Aogami interrogated me, and I didn't really want to lie about it."

The girl chuckled and rubbed his shoulder to reassure him, "It's okay, I told my friends and 13577-chan too, so I guess almost everyone in our lives knows now."

The boy grinned and said, "I guess so." He hadn't told Index yet, but other than her, the most important people in their lives all knew. He then asked the girl, "So, you visited my school, huh?"

Mikoto smiled at him and nodded, "Yeah, it was pretty nice. Oh, Komoe-sensei told me that you did well on your tests!"

Touma chuckled and replied, "All thanks to you, Mikoto! But I'm still in danger of being held back."

The girl gave him a smirk and said, "Well, on the bright side, if that happens, maybe I can enroll in your school and spend an extra year with you there!"

The boy was a little surprised to hear that plan of hers, and asked, "Wait, you want to go to my school after you graduate from Tokiwadai? I know you want a less strict school, but wouldn't you get bored learning things you already know?"

Mikoto crossed her arms and gave him a mock pout, asking in a cute tone, "Aww, do you not want me to be your cute kouhai? We could eat lunch together every day, and I'd even call you senpai!" She was mostly teasing him, but she wondered, "Maybe he thinks that would be too much?"

The boy's cheeks reddened as he imagined that scenario. He nervously rubbed his head and replied, "That sounds amazing, it really does! Even if I have to endure my classmates calling me senpai too. But I don't want to hold back your education, especially since we already spend a lot of time together."

The girl shrugged with a smile, "Yeah, that's true. Well, it's not like I have to decide right now, I have a year and a half, after all." She observed how comfortable both of them were in assuming they'd still be together by then. Though they'd only been together for about a month, they were both already thinking about the future.

Mikoto then asked him, "By the way, what happened in Baggage City? Did you take care of the incident there?"

Touma answered, "I don't know the full details, since I only fought near the end. But there was some sort of distortion encompassing the city during the Natural Selector tournament. I broke that distortion with my right hand, and then I defeated a GREMLIN magician named Marian Slingeneyer." He then frowned and added, "A man named Kihara Kagun left clues for me in Baggage City, pointing me in the right direction, but he ended up dying, and that brought a girl who used to be his student to tears."

The girl tensed up at that surname, but she reasoned that perhaps not all Kiharas were evil, since this one had apparently helped Touma out. She placed her hand on Touma's shoulder and softly said, "I'm sorry, Touma."

The boy sighed and replied, "That girl told me that he was satisfied with his own death, but I still hate that I wasn't able to save him." Mikoto silently rubbed his shoulder, and he continued, "But just when I thought it was all over, a girl named Othinus crushed my right hand and even defeated the invisible power that came from it."

Mikoto was shocked to hear this, and reacted, "You got your right hand destroyed again? That's what, the fourth time? And she was able to defeat the thing inside?" She knew that the alchemist, her own level-shifted form, and Fiamma had all been beaten back by something beyond Imagine Breaker, but it was frightening to hear that this Othinus person was able to get past even that. Mikoto continued, "How did you even survive?"

Touma gave her a rueful smile and said, "Yeah, apparently she's a Magic God and the leader of GREMLIN. A Magic God is a magician who can basically do anything, kind of equivalent to a Level 6, but she actually exists. I only survived because Fiamma and a man named Ollerus, who almost became a Magic God himself, saved me." He then smirked at her and added, "You were right, though, she didn't go after my left hand, so my ring is fine!"

Mikoto chuckled as well, but she felt that the rest was a lot to take in. She replied, "Wow, so now you have to fight against a Magic God now? But if she can do whatever she wants, why does she need to form an organization and cause trouble all over the world?"

Touma answered, "I wondered that too when I learned about her. I ran into Ollerus earlier today, I guess since he was the one to drop me back in Academy City. He told me about Othinus, which is apparently a female name for the Norse god Odin. He said that Othinus can do anything, but she currently only has a 50% chance of succeeding in whatever she tries. She's apparently trying to make a spiritual weapon called Gungnir so she can increase those odds to 100%."

The girl tilted her head in confusion and said, "That probability part doesn't make much sense to me. But basically, the eruption in Hawaii, the Natural Selector tournament, and whatever is about to happen here in Academy City are all part of her plan to assemble Gungnir?"

Touma nodded, "Pretty much, and that sort of led to Thor coming after me today. After I broke his disguise, he told me that GREMLIN is after a girl named Fraulein Kreutune who's being imprisoned in the Windowless Building. Apparently, she's some sort of immortal human that survived many witch trials, until the priests gave up on killing her. He also said that Ollerus is working with Birdway and two Saints to keep her away from GREMLIN. So he asked me to work with him to break her out and save her from both groups."

Mikoto raised an eyebrow and asked in a skeptical tone, "He wants to work with you against his own group? That sounds very suspicious."

The boy then rubbed his head in exasperation and complained, "That's what I said to him! But he mocked me for being too cautious because of what Birdway did in Hawaii and not wanting to save Fraulein. He actually started another fight with me in the restaurant we were in, and that's why I got briefly arrested by Anti-Skill."

The girl crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes, saying, "And let me guess, you're about to go meet up with him to rescue Fraulein."

Touma nervously winced at her expression, but nodded and firmly replied, "Yes. I know that Thor is just using me, and that he emotionally manipulated me to help him. But even so, I can't ignore the fact that that girl is suffering inside the Windowless Building! I'll just have to deal with Thor whenever the time comes."

Mikoto closed her eyes and let out a sigh. She had a lot of conflicted thoughts about the situation, but when she looked at Touma again, she said, "Well, as long as you know what you're getting into, there's nothing wrong in wanting to save someone. Do you want me to help, or do you think you two will have it covered?"

Touma shrugged and replied, "Honestly, I have no idea what his plan for breaking her out is. But he might not like it if I suddenly brought an extra person with me. How about this, I'll go meet him by myself, but I'll text or call you if I need help?" He felt a bit bad for offering yet another deal instead of just accepting her help, but he felt it was the best choice in this situation.

Mikoto smiled at him and said, "Sounds good." Before he left, she had one more thing to ask him. She continued, "You said he could use electricity-based magic, right? What kind of power did he use?" As an Electromaster, she was curious about how a magician would use electricity when compared to an esper.

Touma chuckled, thinking to himself, "Of course she's interested in another lightning user!" He told her, "He had these arc fusion blades made of electricity coming out of each of his fingers. He could swing his hand and slice things up with them. That was actually a big sign that he wasn't you, since even though you could probably do that, I knew you'd usually use an iron sand sword for close-quarters combat."

The girl replied in an excited tone, "Wow, that's actually kind of cool. I think I can actually do something like that." She held up her right hand and extended its fingers upwards into the air. She concentrated for a bit and focused her power so that she could produce spears of lightning from each finger. Once she did so, she looked up at her boyfriend and asked, "Like this?"

Touma looked at the blades of lightning, which were extending several finger lengths from her hand. He told her, "Yeah, but they were several meters long."

Mikoto nodded, raised her hand into the air, and extended the blades a bit more so they extended about a meter upward, saying, "I probably shouldn't make them that long, even if there aren't that many people around."

The boy replied, "All right. Oh, when Thor attacked me with those I dodged them, but he said if I had tried blocking them with my right hand, we would've been locked in a stalemate. Hey, could you try putting as much power as you can into those?"

The girl quickly caught on to his intention, "Oh, you want to test your ability against these? Sure!" Keeping the blades the same length, Mikoto focused her powers and increased their width and intensity.

Touma then looked at her hand with a determined expression and held up his right hand in a fist, saying, "If a power is continuous and strong enough, my right hand would get locked in a stalemate against it, so that's probably what he meant." He gently touched his fist to the lightning blades. His Imagine Breaker activated, but it didn't completely erase Mikoto's blades. Instead, the path of the electricity got deflected, and the blades curved away from his fist.

Mikoto also had a determined expression on her face, and she tried to maximize the amount of power she was outputting. Touma continued pushing his right fist against the blades. She felt some of the electricity getting negated, but her continuous output constantly regenerated the blades, and they kept curving backwards. This continued until his fist was perpendicular to the path of the blades, at which point they simply stopped at his fist.

Eventually, Mikoto stopped using her ability, and the lightning blades promptly disappeared. She felt a little tired from all the effort, but she was excited about having tested a new technique with her boyfriend. She said, "That was pretty cool! I think I'll stick with my iron sand sword, though."

Touma brought his hand up to his chin and said, "That's strange. My Imagine Breaker would get locked in a stalemate if I used it head-on against a continuous strong power, but when I attack from the side, it just gets deflected. I wonder why Thor said it would be a stalemate then."

Mikoto thought for a bit and suggested, "Well, his arc fusion blades might work a little differently to my version. Maybe they're really rigid, so you can't curve them like you did to mine. In that case, it would end up as a stalemate, just as if you were striking them head on."

The boy smiled at her and replied, "Yeah, maybe. I'll probably have to fight Thor at some point, so I guess I'll find out."

The girl didn't like the sound of that, but she knew that there might not be a way for him to avoid it. She asked, "Anyway, you probably have to go meet up with him, right?"

Touma nodded. Before he turned to leave, he gave his girlfriend a wave and said, "I'll see you later, Biri-Biri!"

Mikoto waved back and exclaimed, "See you later, Touma! And be careful!" She then watched him as he walked away from her, with a concerned frown on her face. She wished she could do more to help him, but that would have to wait until later. For now, the girl simply resolved to be ready to help him when the time came.