Sorry for the long wait! I KNOW I was going to do "Youkai of Zero" first... but this was on the tip of my brain, so I made it first. Thank you all for being patient! Life has been... life. Getting better though!
I have also realized that I was writing this story a bit too fast, so I am slowing down the story progression starting this chapter. It's a bit difficult because I am in a bit of a rush to get to the story parts I have in my brain!
Anyways, enjoy!
The micro-magical god Othinus was hiding at the bottom of the stairs at the apartment buildings Touma lived in. She had been waiting for her contact to pick her up. Suddenly, she heard someone say "Othinus? Is that you? I was told to pick you up. Come on, let's get going" a very quiet, blue haired boy told her. She felt he looked familiar, but she put the idea out of her mind. "Where are we going, human?" she asked him. "We are going to my apartment. My brother was the one to contact you. We are going to do a spell to increase your spell power so you can return to your normal size" he replied.
"ARE YOU MAD?! If you do that, the Church will come after me, and the human I live with will get caught in the crossfire!" she shouted at him.
"We know this. That is why you will have more power than a normal magician, but less than a saint. You will also have a size morphing spell placed on you so you won't need as much mana to maintain your size" he replied. After he told her this, and as she started to relax, his phone started to ring. He answered it, and a familiar voice was on the other end. "What's up, brother?" he asked.
"You pick up our favorite minute magical god?" the person on the other end asked. Othinus started to get angry when her courier stood up for her. "If you mean Othinus, then yes" the blue haired boy replied. "Excellent. Put the phone on speaker please" the person on the other end said.
After her transportation did as he was asked, the person he was talking to started to address the magical god. "Listen, as you have probably been able to ascertain by now, my brother who picked you up is a magician. Other brothers of mine are magicians as well. Now, Othinus, we are trusting you to behave yourself. Please don't abuse our trust" these words made Othinus scowl a bit. While they were right to have to say this, she wasn't about to abuse her word to the person she cared about, Touma, again. She had finally found what she was looking for, and she was not about to behave badly and lose it. "Now that I said that, aside from making you bigger, would you like us to give you bigger boobs too? I normally wouldn't ask, but some of your competition for Touma's love are a bit impressive in that department, so to speak. Hell, even the Railgun has a nice set of Ds now!" she glared at the phone as the person on the other end broke out in laughter. "Oh, my. I can just picture the look on your face. However, I was being completely honest. We can do that if you want" the person on the other side replied.
She thought about the offer for a minute. She had an average C cup, but he DID have a point. If Mikoto had a D cup (and all the Misaka clones would have one, by extension) then she would have steep opposition. Plus, there was that saint and the member of the Amakusa church that liked him as well. They were certainly no slouchers in that department. "Ok. But nothing over double Ds! I want quality, not quantity!" she replied. "As you wish! I won't be there, I have other things to attend to. I wish you the best of luck!" he said before he hung up.
"I am sorry about him. He is well meaning, even if he is a bit of a trickster" the quiet boy who was helping her said softly. "It's not your fault" Othinus replied.
Soon, they arrived at an apartment in a nicer section of town. As the boy carried her in, she noticed how gentle he was with her.
"I see Othinus is here. Ok guys, let's begin!" stated a green haired young man. Othinus was nervous, but excited at the same time. Finally, she would be able to be with the human she loved dearly!
Touma made it to school a little earlier than he usually did. When he got there, Worst was teasing Accelerator. Touma knew that Worst had feelings for the albino esper, but Accelerator was too dense to figure it out. He looked at them and chuckled. He turned to the door in time to see Ichiro and Kohaku enter the room shortly after he got seated. Motoharu and Aogami came in shortly after, and started conversing with Touma, Worst, Accelerator, Ichiro, and Kohaku.
Komoe came in shortly afterwards and got started. She noticed that Isamu Tanaka was not present. When she asked if anyone knew why he wasn't present, Kohaku raised his hand and simply explained that his classmate had texted him to tell him that he was sick with food poisoning and wouldn't make it today. Motoharu raised his eyebrow at that, but kept quiet. Something had been bothering him about his three new classmates that he couldn't put his finger on. He decided he would obtain and peruse their records, as well as their history prior to coming to learn in the city at a later time and date. For now, he had classes, as well as a certain harem king, who's life needed just a bit more misfortune.
The group of magicians had started the magic circle. As they were chanting an old Nordic hymn, Othinus could feel vast amounts of mana returning to her body. She looked around at each of the magicians helping her. As she did, she noticed something. Many seemed to have altered their part in the spell. One was doing it in a way that resembled Taoist magic. Another was doing it in a way that was distinctive to the Mongolian Steppes. The soft-spoken magician who had picked her up was doing it in a way that was similar to Tibetan magic.
Roughly 15 minutes had passed, and Othinus started to feel woozy. She lay down, and fell asleep. When she woke up, she was full sized, with a more impressive chest size than she was used to, and… naked!? No, she wasn't naked. There was a blanket over her.
"Hey! What happened when I fell asleep, humans?" the former magic god asked. "Nothing. However, you should thank the runt for covering you up. I was going to take a picture, just for some insurance. He was nice enough to stop me though" the large, spiky, red haired magician stated.
"Oh! Well, thank you human!" she stated to the quiet magician who was reading.
The young man simply looked her way, nodded, and returned to his book. "He also bought some clothes for you to wear. We didn't know your size, so we bought a variety of things. There should be a few changes in each size" the green-haired magician who was well groomed and well-dressed told her.
The once minute magic god was taken aback. In her world, few did things for others without the expectation of return. "Why are you going out of your way to help me?" She asked the group of young men.
"One reason is because it would make life easier, and happier for the Imagine Breaker. He HAS been through a lot already, as I am sure you already know" the green haired magician told her, giving her a knowing glance. "Another is because it will inconvenience HIM. This person is a monster on the level that perhaps only one other person on this earth can match" the same individual continued. "The last reason is because we will need your help in the future. The piper must always be paid his dues, after all. Don't fret, though. This isn't anything that is too terrible. Uncomfortable, perhaps, but not terrible." With that he finished his explanation.
A look of relief spread across the face of the once tiny magic god. While she was aware she would have to pay them back, she didn't expect them to be this upfront and honest with her. She was used to people hiding their true intent. Here, they laid everything on the table. They also gave her a way out if the favors that they required as payment were a bridge too far for her, in the realm of what was morally acceptable for her.
A couple points that the magician brought up bothered her, though. First was how did they know about her history with Kamijou? Few knew what happened between the God of Misfortune and her and her organization, GREMLIN. The second was who was the monster that this cabal (if she could even call it that) hated? She had dealt with many monsters in the past. Hell, she had BEEN one in the past. For them to consider her behavior pale in comparison to him? That made her worried.
The last point was that they KNEW Touma was the Imagine Breaker. While it may not be something he hid, he certainly did not announce it to the world. Almost all of those who knew his strange and mysterious powers were from the church, and she very much doubted these individuals had any sort of warm feelings for that institution. However, it didn't appear they wished to harm him. If anything, they seemed to want to actively help him. The question she had was: why?
Othinus walked into the bathroom, after being told where it was. She changed into the clothing she was provided, and looked at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a turquoise blouse, with a pair of form fitting yellow capris over a set of lacy purple underwear. She was also wearing white and black sneakers over white sox. She had to admit, the clothing they chose for her not only fit well, but accentuated her eyes, figure, complexion, and hair color quite nicely.
She left the bathroom and turned the corner. There was an envelope at the corner of the desk that a computer was stationed at. "Here is your ID, a little spending money, a cell phone with one a few of our numbers in it, and a bus pass" the quiet, be-spectacled, magician who was working on the computer told her. "There is an ID and a visitor's pass there, so that you may live in the city. I also have one for the two magicians you are living with as well" he finished as he turned his attention back to the work he was currently engaged in.
Othinus nodded, gathered the items they had acquired for her, and headed home. She was happy with how the day had turned out. As she headed back to the dorm, she thought that she should, perhaps, learn some homemaking skills such as cooking, cleaning, and sewing. Touma would like that after all, wouldn't he? Plus, it would put her leagues ahead of both the nun and the sexual deviant who practiced Norse magic.
Far across Academy City, in an extremely tall building that lacked proper natural lighting, a nigh immortal androgynous being was displaying behavior he rarely to part of: he was displaying emotions outwardly. In this case: frustration and anger.
Why was Alister Crowley upset to the point of displaying his displeasure outwardly? Someone had decided they absolutely needed to take large quantities of money from the bank accounts of several ghost accounts that were used to fund the dark science projects in Academy City. Now, it would be a lot harder to do research of the illegal, unethical, and immoral variety.
What was perhaps more vexing than taking money that he couldn't possibly claim as missing (due to the sort of accounts the funds were kept in paired with the way it was laundered through several offshore accounts to end up where they finally ended up) was that the person or persons who were taking those funds had the most outrageous names for the accounts.
Who the hell left notes as to the use of any sort of account as "Kami-yan's Harem Mansion", "Kami-yan's Harem Hotel", "Kami-yan's Compensation Funds", as well as "Siscon Sergeant's Love Villa?"
What made it even more annoying what that someone also had added notes to the payment program that Touma Kamijou was to be compensated the same amount as what all the level 5's were being paid. This change wouldn't enter into effect until 3 days from now. Touma was going to be given more money a month than Accelerator! Such a thing was unheard of.
These people had even gotten the signatures of all the board members of the city to make everything seem legal and binding. He knew getting the payment plan reversed was going to be a nightmare and a half, especially considering there were individuals who had personal feelings about the young man in question. He also knew that most of the board members were not only aware of the dark projects in Academy City, but complacent with keeping them running. This move was sure to shake many of them up, as well as make it a great deal more difficult to point out the electronic signatures were forged. If one did that, how long would it be before people digging into things uncovered a bit more than they were supposed to?
The last problem he was facing was the escaped "Gemstone Project" clones. Crowley knew that the control he exerted over his strongest piece in Academy City would wane, and that that piece may eventually turn on him, especially given how that piece had dealt with both his side, and the other side's players as well. That is why he hired that British War Criminal to work on producing copies that could be better controlled that the original version.
Then the immoral genius had to lose said experiments when a certain level five decided to go and attempt to attack the man she wanted to force to copulate with her. That was when his plan went awry.
While Crowley realized it wasn't the team of scientists' fault, it WAS a major setback. He also KNEW that said escaped projects were behind this. While he had no evidence they were, the timing was far too convenient. One did not live as long as Mr. Crowley did without learning to trust your instincts.
Crowley brought up his screen to his secretary. He needed her to make some arrangements to meet with said lead scientist that he suspected was involved with his current predicament.
"Susan" he addressed the middle aged Japanese woman with blonde hair and spectacles "Please arrange to have Dr. Cooper meet with me by the end of the week. I need to speak with him about a few things" he informed her. The woman nodded and started typing on her computer as Crowley shut down the communication channel.
After he did so, he got an incoming video call from his least favorite Archbishop. "This is going to just increase my irritation, isn't it?" He muttered to himself as he prepared to take the call.
Classes had let out at a Certain high school. Touma was heading back to his apartment, when he received a slew of texts. One was from Misaki, asking he what he would like to do on their date. He responded that he would like to go to a movie, and possibly get something to eat afterwards. He then offered to pay for the date, but Misaki would have none of that, refusing to have him pay for a date she invited him on.
He then got a series of texts from Kou Misaka, reminding him that they were going to hang out on Saturday. She told him she wanted to take him to a carnival that was going on in the city, followed by going out to eat. She also told him she would pay, despite his protests.
Touma was now feeling a bit nervous. His luck had been rather good as of late. His misfortune had been at a minimum. "What was the reason this unexpected change in luck was occurring?" he wondered to himself. Usually, if his day was going well, that would only mean that a disaster was on the not too distant horizon. There had been quite a few weeks that had gone by without a major incident, and he was curious as to why that was happening.
As he was pondering this positive turn of events, he got a text message from Motoharu. His friend was asking what he was doing at the moment. When he replied that he was free, the double agent asked if he would want to hang out with him, Aogami, as well as the three new classmates that he had befriended. Touma agreed, and texted Ichiro and Kohaku to ask if they could make it, as well as Isamu to find out if he was feeling any well enough to make it with them, as Tsuchimikado had been a bit insistent that all three of them meet up with Delta Force. The first two had reluctantly agreed. Isamu took 3 minutes longer than the former two to reply. He agreed, but informed them he would take a bit to get ready.
Isamu requested they meet at a local sports center when he replied to Touma. Touma told Motoharu where they were going to meet up at, and they all made their way there. The sports center was near both the dorms and the school they all went to, so it was easy for them to meet there. Touma had also had the foresight to ask Motoharu if his sister, Maika, could feed Index and Lessar again, as the reason he wasn't going to be home to prepare food for his houseguests was because his schoolmate was delaying his arrival home.
When Touma had arrived at their rendezvous location, Motoharu and Aogami were already there. "Kami-yan! Good to see you made it! Ready to celebrate your recent improvement in class with a little bit of fun?" Motoharu asked him. "What are you talking about? With how I do in classes, I will probably need remedial lessons again this summer" Touma replied. "Oh, Kami-yan? I wouldn't be so sure. If you didn't have to, what would you do, try to add more girls to your harem?" Motoharu replied.
Touma was starting to rebuke the idea that he had a harem, when their squabble was interrupted by a new arrival on the scene. "Are we talking about Touma's harem again? Come on, guys, I know it is amusing, but he clearly doesn't try to pick up girls" The blond told them. "Thank you, Ichiro" Touma sighed. "Of course. He doesn't TRY to do so, it simply happens naturally for him. Probably something to do with genetics" the blond responded as he tried to hide his smirk.
"Come on now! Really?" Touma yelled out. The argument continued until another person arrived, a few minutes later. "Guys, while I am loathed to admit this, the idea that Touma can pick up girls easily is not based on any sort of scientific inquiry. Therefore, it is a bit pretentious to conclude anything one way or another as to his gifts, or lack thereof, in obtaining the attention of the opposite gender. Or the same one, I won't judge" The red haired esper replied.
After Touma thanked him, the teasing of each other continued. Shortly after, the last person they were waiting for arrived. "Yo! Guys! What's up?!" the tall redhead with the spikey hair replied.
"We were just talking about Kami-yan's unnatural ability to pick up girls" Aogami replied as they approached the pay gate of the complex.
"I told them it was lacking in its scientific methodology, so the point should be considered a bit moot" Kohaku replied. "Hrm, he does have a good point, you know" Isamu told them as they were approaching some batting cages. "How would we settle this, do you suppose?" he pondered.
"What if we chose some girl at random for him to ask out? If she says yes, I suppose Kami-yan cannot deny he has a harem" Motoharu said. "Indeed. However, if she rejects him, should he not get some sort of reprisal?" Kokaku stated. "Surely, if he has to put the ability to reject being a Harem king, then the three of you should be willing to take a punishment as well, if we are to be fair, correct?" Kohaku replied. "Sounds fair to me" Motoharu responded.
"I propose we have Isamu chose the girl. He seems to be the most neutral in this matter" Ichiro said. Motoharu's face fell slightly on this suggestion. He was hoping to be able to choose the person himself. He knew there were magicians who had snuck into Academy City recently, and he wanted Touma to pick up some of them, as a few were girls that liked him. The magicians that infiltrated the city were trying to find out why the cabal that attacked the city were attacking, and were also trying to find some information of the rumored "Project Gemstone." While the likelihood of the project existing was not that great, it was worth investigating. In addition, the cabal HAD been defeated by rogue magicians that the church did not know about, which was troubling, to say the least.
"Sounds good to me" Motoharu said. While he was suspicious about the new students, he had no reason to suspect them of any wrongdoings. Were he to object here, not only would Touma be suspicious, and thus the chance to mess with him would be destroyed, but the three students would be put on guard around him. One of the first thing a spy learns is not to arouse suspicion in the people you had infiltrated.
They had started to use the batting cages, inserting tokens in exchange for time in the arena. Isamu told them after they got a few rounds in, he would choose a suitable candidate, which everyone felt was reasonable.
After a few rounds in the cages, Isamu pointed to a tall girl with flowers in her hair. "You should ask that girl out. Besides, she is pretty cute. Here are some tokens, offer to go duel go-carting with her. After you chat her up a bit, try asking her out" he told Touma. "Fine. After I show you guys how wrong you are, you can't say I have a harem ever again, got it?" Touma said. "Fine. Think about what your penalty will be for us if you fail to get her to agree to date. We know you will… but I will humor the possibility it won't happen" Ichiro said.
Touma gave them a rude gesture as he approached the girl. The closer he got, the more he recognized her. "Saten-san?!" he cried out. "Oh, hey Kamijou-san! How are you?" Saten replied. "Er… I am pretty good. Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to do ride the two-person go carts a few times. We could take turns driving, if you want" he said, scratching the back of his head nervously. "Sure! That sounds great! Did you want to go first?" she replied. "No, it's ok. You can be the driver first" Touma responded.
They spend a few rounds on the go carts. Ruiko then asked Touma if he and his friends wanted to get some food from a fast food place nearby. When he asked them if they wanted to tag along, they all mysteriously become involved with a competitive round of mini-golf. Since it was a very close game, they probably would need to play a few rounds to see who would come out on top.
Touma and Ruiko talked to each other as they ate. They talked about sports, hobbies, and school. They both enjoyed their time, but it was getting to the point where they would start to need to head back home.
"Erm…. so, Saten-san….. while I enjoyed hanging out with you today, the reason I approached you is my friends and I bet on whether I could ask a girl out on a date or not" Touma admitted to her. "Oh, I get it! Well then, let's make them eat their words! When are you free to go on our date?" Ruiko responded. "Thanks for being so understanding, and…. wait….. WHAT DID YOU SAY!?" Touma asked. "Well, you said they bet whether you could get a girl to date you or not, so let's prove you can! Besides… I really had fun with you today, Kamijou-san" she replied with a light blush.
"She doesn't understand the nature of the bet! I can't turn her down now, since she looks like she wants to hang out again. Besides, the guys DID say I had to try to pick up a girl, even if it was unknowingly" he thought to himself. "Sounds good. How is next Saturday at noon for you?" He asked her. "That sounds great! I will see you then! Text me with where you want to meet up at!" she told him.
Sooo….. Kami-yan, good moves there! Or should I just refer to you as the 'Harem King'?" the obnoxious blond asked him. A massive fight broke out a few minutes later.
Meanwhile, in a church in England: Laura Stuart was furious. To the point where she was starting to show her frustration, which was rare for the woman. Someone had been stealing vast sums of money from her church. The notice of what the reason was for was termed "compensation for services rendered." When she had the computer tech people look into where the money went, they found a couple of massive funds that simply had the note on it "Kami-yan's Harem Mansion" and "Kami-yan's Compensation Funds" on them. The owner was none other than Touma Kamijou, the one who controlled the Imagine Breaker, who currently resided in Academy City.
The net worth of the bank account was more than the funds that were taken from her church. She figured they were stealing from other organizations as well; most likely Academy City. Convinced of this turn of events, she proceeded to contact the churches' diviners, who read into the cause of the recent turn of events. In their divinations, they saw two people: one was renowned heads of the noble house of Cooper, an estate that had recently fell into disrepair and shame. The other was the Imagine Breaker himself. She found it odd he would be capable of stealing the funds and routing it through several IP addresses, making it nigh impossible to find where the hack first started, nor was he knowledgeable of the tax havens and untouchable banking trusts. She also felt his personality was such that the chances of him doing so would be almost non-existent.
Hence, she contacted the head of Academy City. He was certainly irritated. Someone must have stolen money from accounts there as well. Alister looked irritated, for once. He denied knowing what was going on, but the fact he was showing emotions, especially negative ones? Someone was making a headache for him, more than likely intentionally.
She needed to plan a way to get the Imagine Breaker out of the city for observation by her agents in the Church. They might not be able to force him away from the city, but they COULD attempt to persuade him to leave. They also needed to observe him, and a few new friends he seemed to have met. Ones who her least favorite spy had mentioned in his last report.
She began planning her next moves very carefully.