Hello readers! See, see? Here's chapter eight! I told you all I will continue this fiction:D
Oh, and also, I would like to thank anyone who had given reviews and opinions in my last stories. "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Stars" and "The Hero of the World"
On to the story!
Chapter 8: Prelude of the Clash 2
Mugino Shizuri was unaffected by any other kind of smell and aroma that were wafted from the medicine in the hospital room. She remained lifeless, lying on the cozy white bed as her fabulous orbs of eyes were closed, blocking the sight of the ceiling above as her only proof of life was the movement of her chest. Her new artificial left hand was hidden by the folding bandage that was plastered on her skin; one of her eyes was concealed effectively by the eye patch, so much too horrible for various wounds that could be burdened to a woman. Of the lifeless characteristics that she kept doing, occasional sound of hers was heard through rare snores, triggering everyone to see her condition once more, only to see the familiar resting figure of the Meltdowner.
Staring at her with such concern that was rare for any other human kind to show, a certain messy haired guy, or Hamazura Shiage was standing at one side of the room which allowed the calm breeze from the nature to enter. His vision was stabbed on the figure of the resting woman as he analyzed every probability of her awakening. Part of him was somehow afraid of abundant scolding that he would get when the girl was awake, and another part of him really wanted to slap himself for even thinking of that thought. As his eyes watched the figure of Mugino Shizuri only, he widened his eyes a little just in the time when her snores were audible, but dismissing the thought of it with a mere blink as the Meltdowner continued her rest.
The sight of the resting Meltdowner was changed immediately to the figure of another girl beside him; concerned look was the one that adorned her beautiful black eyes, imitating the previous action of Hamazura Shiage. Takitsubo Rikou watched her with worried face even though the resting woman was the one who wanted to kill her, but she erased that thought just when she saw the bandaged figure of hers. She appeared to be ready to give the resting woman a hug once she was awakened, fully forgetting any bad intention of Mugino Shizuri once to take her life. She folded her hands in front of her stomach, lowly whispering a prayer that consisted the name of the said ranked 4th esper only.
Hamazura's green jacket that covered his T-shirt was fluttered slightly when all parts of his body faced his love and affection secret (even though it couldn't be considered secret anymore); eyes staring at her gorgeous face as his corner of lip turned upwards, forming a concealed smirk that he rarely showed. Of every woman that he had met until now, Takitsubo Rikou was really a different one. She didn't hold a grudge towards Shizuri, and moreover, she was in the state of worrying the said Meltdowner now. It was also, her underhanded nature that invited the attention of Shiage, as every thought of her being a friend changed entirely to a thought of her being more special than a friend.
"You seemed to be worried so much about her, speaking of an individual that nearly killed you," Shiage said.
Takitsubo's corner of eyes caught the sight of Hamazura Shiage, turning her head a little as though she didn't want to show her figure and the whiteness of her shirt. That question appeared to leave a thought to her as she returned her gaze to the resting woman in the front. For a fraction of seconds, Shiage frowned his eyes for the silence that was triggered by the lack of answer from Rikou. Nevertheless, a smirk from the corner of her lips was the signal. For that, she closed her eyes, dismissing any other thought other than the obvious answer that she would always give to her loved one.
"I don't know what feelings that I have right now. Afraid, hatred, fear, or anything, I don't understand," Takitsubo said. She paused for a a fragment of time, looking at the individual called Mugino Shizuri deeply; a stare which was so warm that Shiage was sure that even Shizuri could feel it in her sleep. Her brain worked hard, arranging any words that had been created into a sentence, that would be said just in the time when the other serene breeze penetrated the room. "But seeing Mugino like this, those thoughts... I don't have them anymore. They were all changed to concern, Hamazura," she said.
Shiage chuckled slightly upon hearing the answer from the individual beside him. He returned his sight to the resting woman who kept doing her pattern of activity as his smirk grew even wider, filling his brain with a thought of the luck that Mugino had for having such faithful comrades. His smirk faded as another scientific, yet stupid thought flew to his brain, and for that, he created a question that he threw to Takitsubo quickly.
"But I still don't understand why Mugino's hand and eye were blown like that. Isn't that too...cruel?" Shiage said, rolling his eyes to Takitsubo Rikou slightly as he demanded the attention from the smarter individual beside him.
That question successfully attracted the attention of Rikou for her action could resemble so. Her gaze to Mugino Shizuri was changed entirely to the one who had thrown a question. She observed him a little; eyes rolling with so much speed that if it was not because of the muscle that bound them, they would likely fall in despair. Then, she sighed slightly, removing the praying figure of hers, changed completely as the arms were hung loosely on her shoulder. For thinking of any good explanation that she could tell to the chauffeur of ITEM, thirty seconds were needed, just until she began speaking.
"Do you know Louis De Broglie, Hamazura?" Takitsubo started her explanation, even though she threw another question to Hamazura Shiage. Surrounded by the occasional snore of Mugino Shizuri, Hamazura Shiage's brain began working to reach its limit, eyes rolling to the ceiling, hoping for a scientific answer that could be given to the AIM stalker. He mumbled slightly, as Takitsubo looked at him with a frown, clearly waiting for an answer from the said level 0. "Umm..," Shiage started replying. "That retired English teacher from my school?" he answered, giving a goofy smile that decorated his face.
"And who are you talking about?" Shiage said, face palming her face as she closed her eyes, lamenting the stupid answer that was given previously to her. Really, he could beat Mugino Shizuri even though he was a level 0, but he couldn't give any good answer regarding a scientific question. Takitsubo even thought that perhaps an 'I don't know' answer was way more acceptable by her, but still, he was really impossible. "Louis De Broglie was the one who made the theory of 'Dualism of Matter'," she said obviously.
"Dualism of Matter?"
"It means that a matter basically had two distinguished characteristics. They were discrete particles and continuous wave. Nonertheless, one characteristic will dominate the other characteristic. For example, electron is best described by its wave characteristic, because its mass is so little. Mugino's ability allows her to manipulate the balance between these two characteristics. She can release a beam because she manipulates and strengthens the particles around her. It means that that particle will have 'mass' and 'velocity' that were needed to produce a beam, having a momentum to strike the object. Nevertheless, this equilibrium is unstable. A little miscalculation can blow herself. Well, this will happen if she didn't calculate well," Takitsubo said, as she returned her gaze to the Meltdowner, as though it was her face that could make her giving the said explanation, even though the said Mugino Shizuri was stiffened in her current position, not giving a slight of change at all.
Hamazura Shiage followed Takitsubo's vision as he too looked at the resting woman of Mugino Shizuri. He didn't really understand what Takitsubo had told him, as what he could understand was only the first three sentences. For a slight moment, his attention that was previously given to the Meltdowner was gone, changed entirely with the sight of the grey thick cloud above, just like what his brain had intepreted so. Indeed, the rain was not falling, but the occasional hue of thunder could be heard, blinding the sight of his as the crackling sound was heard, signaling the incoming rain that would likely fall. He sighed; instinct to be the one who lead him to a conclusion which said that something would happen this day, and for everything that he would fear about, he and the rest of ITEM would be involved.
Thunder was the one that greeted Raven Huer first when he exited the airport.
Indeed, he was one of the priests from the Church of Satan. Nevertheless, being a member of a somehow 'wicked' church didn't mean that he always liked creepy things. He would better be greeted by flowers or drinks, or maybe even some womans who would lead him to the nearest hotel to take a rest (no, not what you were thinking about, you perv!). He was not wearing a robe or so, just like what other magicians would wear, but rather, a black shirt and blue pants could be seen on his body; attires became the only proof of his tendency to follow the trends and new customs. He threw a black card box nonchalantly as he kept looking at the panoramas that Academy City provided whilst another wind fluttered his messy hair. His blue eyes followed the motion of some townspeople as their activities attracted him slightly, eyes moving to and fro until finally, they were all set to another thunder which was crackling above.
"Waiitttt!"
Raven Huer turned his head, catching a glimpse of silhouette of a woman; shadow became fader and fader until it was all clear, changed into a figure of a woman who was running to him. It only needed some steps for her until she was right next to Raven, even though he just looked at her with a corner of his eternal spheres. She panted heavily, holding her knees tightly as a grip, sweating, closing her eyes as she resisted another amount of loss of breath. The wind greeted her, fluttering her long, silky hair as it was trying to lift her short-loose violet dress slightly, inviting the attention of some passerbys as her 'inner covering' was seen a little. Nevertheless, her nonchalant behavior wiped everything, standing again hastily, fully blocking the sight of her underwear again, much to everyone's displeasure.
"You sure are late, Phil," Raven said nonchalantly.
The said woman looked at him with an infuriated face as her eternal emerald eyes shot a sharp dagger to Raven Huer. She puffed her cheeks a little until she was back to her composure, staring at the male magician angrily, hands on her hips which only accentuated her nice figure. Eventhough she was wearing a long-sleeves loose shirt, her 'courtesy' in choosing clothes wasn't applied into all parts of her body, bare and exposed, yet so slender, flawless, and sexy legs as a proof of everything, covered only with a mini skirt which appeared to have only two centimeters proximity to her underwear. Raven Huer always frowned at her eccentric clothings; beauty became the thing that she could always expose regardless the awkward attires.
"My name is Phillar! Phillar Alestovron!" the woman said, sighing in exasperation as she tried to catch another breath that was gone just because of the six words that she had thrown to the individual next to her. The chill that the wind provided was ignored completely by her awful emotional states; shout became the only thing to channel everything from her. "Just call me Phillar! Don's abbreviate that easily with your clumsy brain, idiot!"
"Woa, you're one to talk," Raven said casually, not intending to be involved in the endless bickering that the woman had started. He began thinking about the negative side of making her the partner, really. Nevertheless, he needed a person for him to accompany him to Academy City. Even though he knew that there were so many options beside Phillar that he could choose, he chose her anyway, being the only one that existed in his brain just in the time when he wanted to leave Vatican. "Beside, we're here to have 'fun' in this city, right? Be more serious, can't you?"
The woman gave him a trademark grin, being absolutely cheerful even though her brain should have been drenched by a great amount of fear by now. Nonetheless, it was Phillar's place in the world; to be an optimistic woman compared to others. She was a kind of woman who could smile in the endless trench, not because of the enjoyment that she could get there, but rather, because of the thought that she could exit that trech eventually. No matter how many times he hated it, Raven Huer must admit that her underhanded nature was something that he really needed right now. She was his childhood friend, after all.
"It was very rare for you to obey the other church's order, Raven, moreover the Vatican Church. What's with you? Good change of mood?" Phillar said between laugh, as her giggle attracted some other pedestrians who looked at her in an unknown expression, smiles becoming their only evidences of happiness as they saw the laughing figure of Phillar Alestovron.
Of the smile and comfortable aura that Phillar Alestovron had emanated, he suddenly felt a stab in his heart; cry became the thing that he really wanted to do as he mumbled inaudibly, cursing the said church slightly as another flash of thunder gave the proportional background with his emotional state. Afterwards, his brain was filled entirely with the words that Fiamma of the Right said to him, closing his eyes as he did so. For a span of seconds that had been created by God or Devil, he was left alone inside the circle that he created himself; invisible barrier became the things that blocked everything as he was in his own hell momentarily.
"Raven? Are you okay?" Phillar said in concern. Her smile faded instantly by the sight of her childhood friend that appeared to be thrown into the place where children never smiled and the sky was never blue. She tried to put a whimsical smile to melt the atmosphere but the effort was unmotivated by her brain which worked hard to acknowledge the thought that Raven was thinking in futile. For seconds that were similar to hours, Raven eventually opened his eyes, staring straightly forward with a blazing, yet so freezing flame of endless, for there is no any bluntness in his eyes; a determined face that he rarely showed.
"Let's go, Phillar. We must start using your tracking spell."
Phillar was taken aback a little, looking at him grimly for the surprise for the right name that he mentioned just a while ago. It was very rare for Raven to call her with the name 'Phillar', not 'Phil' or something else that made her resisted an urge to slap the cheeks of the said Raven Huer. Of the surprise that Phillar was thinking, Raven began walking slightly, eyes carefully tried to find a panorama where the breath from men wasn't audible, for a silent place was needed to cast the tracking spell. Phillar successfully knew her lateness as she gave a chase to him; thunder became the witness of everything; crackling sound became the thing which created the similar tempo with her running pace to Raven Huer.
Kamijou Touma ate his crepes in relief.
After carefully examining the way of life of Fukiyose Seiri, Touma couldn't think of anything that could satisfy the girl when it came to food. Oh, of course it was truly right; no food was fully healthy, right? Such thought gave shiver to him when he remembered the promise of him to her. Not because of the fact that she would likey couldn't eat if the health maniac continued her antique in choosing, but rather, because he knew that the healthier the food, the more expensive it would be. For Touma, whose lonely life in dormitory forced him to anything as long as it was edible and cheap, that was unacceptable.
It appeared that the reality was much nicer to him... or maybe Fukiyose was nicer to him. She didn't choose anything fancy; only a crepe that she was now holding whilst they were pacing through stores. Nonetheless, he looked at her with raised eyebrow and wide gaze regarding the topping that she chose previously: broccoli with low fat milk, with a little blueberry and strawberry on the top. Of other options that she could choose, it seems that her eyes had caught the glimmer of the topping already, and for heaven's sake, he didn't dare to take a bite of that.
"This crepe is good," Fukiyose said straightly regarding the food through her audible munch. Compared to Touma's, her crepes didn't in the verge of being thrown to the trash bin immediately, as she pulverized it completely patiently and carefully (he remembered that he was once scolded by her for eating too fast, mumbling something about munching at least 32 times or something that he had forgotten). "The shopping is fine, and I only had to wait for the items to be delivered eventually."
After five minutes of back-torturing and heavy-panting from the said spiky haired guy, Fukiyose finally ackowledged that she could be reported for human usage and enslaving if Touma couldn't walk on the other day because of his lack of strength in lifting the items. She chose to deliver the items to their school finally, much to Touma's pleasure. Fukiyose scolded him again though, interrogating him of food that he ate that was really lack of nutrients.
Not that he denied it though, his source of protein was only some eggs and no more than that.
After the one-sided talk that Touma replied with a frowned face, the God of silence had presented them the lack of words for a slight of moments. They walked silently through the store, fully enchanted by the various stores and the colorful light from the neon lamps around them, destination to be the only key of link of their whereabouts as they fixed their destination only to the exit gate of the Underground Mall. Fukiyose Seiri eventually finished her meal, wrapping the leftovers happily and throwing it to the nearest trash bin. For the silence that had been created, she broke it with the trigger of a smile.
"I haven't properly thanked you for saving me in Daihaseisai incident," Fukiyose said gently with a low tune; a facial of gratitude adorned her face in sync. The words caught Touma's attention, and he must say that it was so comical to see the change of distinct disposition of hers in a fraction of minutes. "My fellow had said that if it were not because of your quick thinking, maybe I would not be here now," she said.
And she smiled gently, as though the peripheral atmosphere had made her so. She should know that her smile was a best interpretation of beauty, even though she was so obstinate regarding dignity and whatever it was that blocked her exploit of awesomeness. Kamijou Touma found it hard to resist an urge to smile once he saw that, only until he lowered his gaze and found out that she crossed her arms between words and whoa, he didn't need to see the cleavage there.
He blushed furiously, flustered completely because of the mischief of his underhanded nature. Purposely avoiding any eye contact to her, he pretended that one of the bill boards caught his attention, only to find himself in a more awkward situation that could be sensed by Fukiyose Seiri herself.
"Hey, Kamijou! What's wrong!" she said in an annoyed tune, a good sign of two days staying in hospital or maybe longer. "Geez... just when I thanked you a little. Can't you give me better reply other than that?" she said, and of everything that he feared of, he swore that a knukle of fist of irritation was formed on her forehead.
"No! It's not like that!" Kamijou Touma said between his wild gesture, leaping to the space right in front of Fukiyose Seiri as he walked backwards, hoping that it could make her better. "I really appreciate for thanking me, and..."
His speech was left when the spiky haired guy felt a light pain on his back, together with a company of shriek reached his ears. Out of the blue, he could feel a cold thing which drenched his back part of head, and also, a widened eyes of Fukiyose Seiri was in sight. For that, for everything of them, Touma could conclude as his brain worked to its finest: this must be another curse of misfortune.
The cold thing, or to be precised, the ice cream finally fell to the ground, leaving only a certain mischievous sweetness that he really didn't need on his hair. Every thought of apologizing to Fukiyose had turned into the lamenting of misfortune, and also, every sight of Fukiyose Seiri had changed into a middle school girl who walked to his front, watching him with a horrified face, and also, a little amused look.
Kamijou Touma sighed. This really was a long day.
There was something that Kamijou Touma really regreted regarding staying in Academy City. It was –other than giving Tsuchimikado Motoharu his name- that he couldn't fill himself with brute courage when Fukiyose Seiri had forced him to do something. He was inferior compared to her, or else, he must call a certain doctor for the best treatment after one sided physical bicker with the said girl. It was lucky that Fukiyose was originally a good girl, for she didn't force him to do anything just like a certain magical Index. But it appeared that now was not the past.
He chose not to be indifferent when Fukiyose Seiri persuaded (forced him with intimidating look and knuckle fist) him to apologize to the middle school girl he bumped into, and also, to get the said girl a new ice cream for that. The middle school girl, or Saten Ruiko just like she introduced herself, appeared to be reluctant when she heard the suggestion from the high school girl. Nonetheless, she joined the group anyway, and it seemed that she had no regret for that, for she licked a portion of her parfait from the nearest store happily.
It was hilarious how a cheap ice cream cone from the nearest fast food restaurant must be paid with a glass of expensive parfait from a store whose fanciness could be sensed by Touma's wallet from a distance.
Such misfortune.
"Heee so you're from Sakugawa Middle School right? I remembered that the said school had some feats in the last Daihaseisai Festival," Fukiyose said, sitting on the chair beside Ruiko Saten as Touma watched them chatting from the opposite side with a bored look and a portion of thought to his thinning wallet. "Anyway," Fukiyose said whilst her palms were folded beneath her chin. "What are you doing?"
"I'm just loitering around after my friend went for Judgement's work," Saten said between her munch of another spoonful of parfait. Of anything that he could imagine, the spiky haired boy's brain somehow created an image of a certain girl with pigtails that became Misaka Mikoto roommate. He remembered that she would stalk her in her sleep (it was easy. Same room, same privilege to do anything) and she would likely murder him in his slumber if she knew that he stayed with the Railgun. Yet another threat for him to face. He found himself shivering because of the thought.
Ruiko Saten looked at the figure of the spiky haired guy that rested his face on his palm as she gulped the ice cream. "Thank you for buying me the parfait, Kamijou-san!" she said cheerfully while leaving some presences of the cream on her delicate lip. Fukiyose gave him an intense glare, as if she was warning him to say properly to the said wearer of Sakugawa Middle School's winter uniform. Whether it was because of his fear or his habit to be so polite to a stranger, moreover a girl, he spoke courteously.
"No problem."
And she returned her gaze to the short-forgotten parfait, invading the existence of it as the glass became loss its fullness each times a spoon was drawn from it. She ate the parfait as if it was the first time she tasted the said food, or maybe, it was because of the delicacy from the parfait that drove her crazy. The long haired middle school girl wiped her lip with the nearest napkin and took another spoonful of the parfait. After a fraction of minutes of easy chit-chat, she finished her meal and smiled cheerfully at both of them.
"But I'm really sorry for bothering you two!" she said with a satisfied look on her face; cheerfulness became the thing that overwhelmed her brain because of the kindness from the high school students. "You two are in the middle of dating right?" Saten said as she gave an amused grin.
"No!" Fukiyose said, half-shouting, half-blushing. "How could you tell that we are couple or something?" she inquired and Touma could swear that he saw that the said girl backed away and widened her eyes because of the sudden shout. "I'm just his..." Fukiyose said, looking at Touma, analyzing a good word that could describe himself or herself. "... superior, or maybe just someone who orders him around... and also, someone who is bound with his bad luck."
Kamijou Touma released a certain comical tears after he had heard the previous words from the said girl. "You don't have to say that so straightforwardly," he said, dropping his head as he could feel that a knife stabbed his heart because of that.
And the knife was changed entirely with an axe.
All of the sudden, the light was turned off; darkness was spreading the area faster than light was disappearing from the space. The atmophere became so tense and tight, and he could feel that his sweat began flowing fast because of the change of aura. For a fraction of second, he couldn't remember any happy moments or anything cheerful, as his brain was overwhelmed with nothing but bad thoughts, sorrow, sad moments, and becoming the top of them: fear. In the dim light, he observed that every passerbys were gone, leaving him, Fukiyose, and the middle school girl alone, with similar expressions that showed their current condition which could be considered the same with him.
Then, without any trace of life just like footsteps or so, a silhouette of a man was approaching them, finally revealing his facial just in the time they wanted to get out of there. He stopped his pace in front of their table, much to their horror. He was wearing a black shirt and blue plants, all in dark color that could resemble the space. A messy hair was the one that adorned his crown of head, as he played the cardbox by throwing and catching it by his hand nonchalantly. Then, he began speaking.
"Good evening, ladies and gentleman. Sorry to bother you for a while. I'm afraid you all can't continue your chat if your answer doesn't satisfy me."