Life has been a bit difficult, but I powered through the difficulties, just so that I could get this out before the end of the year! I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Touma was heading home. His day, while eventful, was not bad. He had fun with his friends, managed to get a date from a very attractive young lady, and his misfortune had been minimal. He had yet to figure out why his luck as of late was rather good. Since he couldn't come to any sort of conclusion, he decided to let it go.

He arrived home to find his house in chaos. Lessar had assembled her steel glove, and was prepared to do battle with a rather attractive young blonde woman that looked an awful lot like…WAIT! That woman did not just LOOK like Othinus, the woman WAS Othinus! She was of normal height, and was sitting on his futon, albeit with an annoyed look on her face. Index was hiding in the bathroom, and a manila envelope was on the seat next to the once miniature magical god.

"Oh. Hello there, Touma-san. I am glad you are home. I missed you" Othinus said. Both Lessar and Touma noticed she had changed the way she spoke about him. "Why are you acting this way?! Who is controlling you!?" Lessar asked.

"Lessar, put your weapon away. I am sure if we give Othinus some space. She is probably more than willing to tell us if we just give her a chance" Touma told her.

Lessar stepped back, and got out of a battle stance, muttering something about "Being too nice will end up getting himself killed" under her breath. "Thank you, Touma. The truth is, for many years I have wished to be returned to my original size. However, I have not, due to the fact it would bring trouble to you, my human. Recently, I found a way to return to my original size, whilst limiting my magical powers. I am addressing you differently, human, for the same reason I took the opportunity to return to my former size. The reason I did so was because…" Othinus never got a chance to finish, as Lessar interrupted her.

"Well! I am ok with trusting her, as long as you trust her. Where will she stay, though? Not like we have a lot of room to spare" she said. The reason Lessar interrupted Othinus was because she sensed a confession coming on. While Lessar had yet to confess the full extent of what she felt for the one who currently possessed the Imagine Breaker, she wasn't going to let any more girls make progress with Touma while she was not.

Touma made dinner for the four of them, then worked on his homework. He got it done relatively quickly, with little hassle, and with quite a bit of accuracy. Othinus offered to check his work in the subjects she was knowledgeable on, and he agreed. As the day wound to a close, they decided to turn in for the night.

That night, Touma returned to sleeping in the bathtub. They decided before they all settled down for the night that they would need to buy some new furniture for everyone to sleep on soon, with the number of occupants in the small apartment now swelling in number as of late. Lessar and Index would sleep in the same bed (even though Lessar tended to get a bit too touchy during her nightly slumber), and Othinus would sleep on the futon in the living room.

The next day, Touma woke up, and filled the unending abyss that was Index's stomach, as well as feeding his other two freeloaders, as well as getting something to eat himself. As he was finishing cooking meals for all those who lived in his apartment, he got a message from Kou telling him when they were going to meet up, and where. There were also implicit instructions that this meetup was just the two of them.

Touma met Kou Misaka at the carnival shortly after noon. He had arrived only five minutes later than the time they agreed to meet up, which was, again, rather rare of a feat for him. The "Radio Noise" Clone he was meeting there was wearing a lovely red dress with yellow flowers on it. Her red hair with blonde highlights was held in place with a flowered headband, though her bangs were still falling forward, unlike a certain classmate of theirs.

After riding for a few hours, they took a break to get ice cream together. Kou Misaka insisted on feeding him his ice cream, an action Touma didn't understand due to god tier obliviousness. After sharing some conversation, they went back to riding rides again.

It was getting late in the day, so the last two rides Kou decided to go on were the "Tunnel of Love, followed by the Ferris Wheel. As it was nearing evening, the view on the top was fantastic.

"Thanks for inviting me, Kou. I really enjoyed the day" Touma told her. "It felt almost like a date" he finished. "I am glad you feel that way, Touma. I was hoping it would be somewhat romantic. After all, I do love you" Kou said, making a bold declaration of her feelings for the boy.

Touma was flabbergasted by her statement. He had thought she was joking, but the look of determination in her eyes, as well as the fact she kissed him, proved that she was, indeed, being completely honest with him.

They left the carnival, and headed out to eat. While things were awkward between them at first, things started to become comfortable again as they headed for dinner. They ate at a diner nearby, and talked a bit about things as they did. Kou got him to agree to hang out with her again, and to promise to go on a real date sometime.

When Touma got home, he started on his homework. Othinius checked it for accuracy, then he fixed dinner, and went to bed. While he DID have trouble relaxing, he eventually fell into a deep restful sleep in the bathroom that night.

The next day was Sunday, and the day that Touma was to have his date with Misaki. He turned on his phone and checked on his messages from Misaki as to where they would meet up, and when after he arose from slumber. After briefly texting back and forth with her, did his daily hygiene duties, prepared meals for the girls that were currently staying with him, and prepared for his day. Since he would be meeting Misaki in the late afternoon, he decided to restock his food reserves.

As he was about to leave, Othinius offered to help him with his shopping. He agreed to it, as he knew he would be buying more than he normally did. They reached the store in record time, and not only was there a better deal than in the flyers, but there were still items such as meat, poultry, and fish that were in stock. As they were checking out, Othinius even managed to convince the store manager to give them an additional percentage off, the reason being that Touma slipped on some water that was leaking out of a freezer. The manager quickly agreed (much to Touma's protest) and they were off.

When they got home, Touma started cooking lunch for himself and the girls, as well as preparing dinner for them, and putting it into the fridge. He labeled them for each girl, knowing that Index would try to eat all of the meals he made for the trio if he didn't think ahead regarding such matters. He then chatted with the three of them as he finished the last bit of his homework. He then prepared for his date with Misaki. As he left his apartment, he didn't notice a certain magician following him shortly after his departure.

Across the city, Yomikawa was in her apartment, giving a look at the two young women seated across from her in the living room of her apartment. One had a look on her face that was a combination of bored, irritated, and amused. The other looked somewhat terrified, seemingly trying to disappear in the seat she was in. The reason these two ladies were sitting before her had to do with a certain white haired esper she was legally responsible for, and whom she regarded as her child.

"So," Yomikawa started on the two girls "I KNOW you both have a thing for Accelerator. Thing is, he is almost as dense a certain student of mine. Therefore, I thought it necessary to have this chat with you" she told them.

"If you are about to yell at Rin Misaka for perusing Tou-san, save it. I don't care whether you approve or not" the Misaka clone formerly known as Worst stated. "While I do have feelings for master, I would like the approval of his caretaker" Estelle stated.

"I think you girls have the wrong impression of why I am talking to you. The reason I called you here is to let you know that you will have to be upfront about how you feel about him, or he will not understand. He doesn't really get subtle hints well, at least when it comes to romance" Aiho told them. "In other words, if you want to be the one to win his heart, be open, honest, and blunt with your feelings towards him. Either that or go the harem route like that other student of mine seems to be heading" she said as she opened a beer. "I want him to be happy, and having a romantic relationship will probably add to his happiness" she finished.

"Really? This Misaka unit will have to think on that idea" Koto said, while Estelle blushed with embarrassment and whispered "So she really is okay with me pursuing master."

Meanwhile, in a Church in England:

Laura Stuart was in the midst of laying plans for the temporary removal of the Imagine Breaker and his new friends from Academy City. While she may find her blonde spy annoying, she did trust the information he gave her. She also had her trackers look into his movements, as well as his activities. While, on the surface, it appeared the accounts were set up by the Feng Shui magician, upon closer examination, they came up with nothing. Tracking the route was nearly impossible for both her I.T. department. Also, the scryers she had used to ascertain the identity of the hackers did not come up with Motoharu. While the language DID point to him as the main culprit, the evidence did not. One could simply be naming the accounts those names to throw both Alister and herself off the trail. That seemed like the most likely answer.

The question then became "Who would have close enough contact with both individuals to know about the nickname Motoharu gave Kamijou?" That narrowed down the pool of suspects. That list also happened to overlap with a few individuals that her annoying blond spy had found suspicious. Pair that with reports of a secret Academy City project codenamed "Project Gemstone," and the fact that her spies had yet to find any hints as to what its true nature was, worried her as well.

She had decided that she needed to lure the Imagine Breaker away from Academy City on the pretenses of a vacation. That sort of ploy worked before. However, getting said individuals that her spy had found suspicious was a different matter entirely. In addition, she knew she would have to invite some of Kamijou's love interest as well, as much as she hated to do so. They would not let him out of their sights, and were they left behind, it would only sow the seeds of problems in the future.

Doing all these things would be difficult. Aleister had been far more restrictive regarding the magicians he let come into the city to take care of rogue elements in the magic side. That would mean that he probably would be far more restrictive in who he let out as well, especially the level five espers who were residing in the city, many of whom would have to be invited along as well.

The other problem was where to take them, and who to have escort them. Itsuwa and Kanzaki were two of the strongest candidates, but Agnese and some of the battle nuns, as well Orsola were people she could use as well. While all the aforementioned ladies had feelings for Touma, that fact would only play to her advantage. One of her long-term goals for going against the science side again was the removal of the bearer of the Imagine Breaker from that accursed city, by either turning him to her side (with the use of the underlings of hers who had feelings for him), or by eliminating him. Having a group of the girls that liked him from her church, if not all of them, would only serve to accomplish her goals.

The where to send them was the biggest challenge. Great Britain was out. If her immediate targets were to be offered a trip to the island nation she resided in, they might decline it, sensing a trap. In addition, the fact there was a rise in tensions between Academy City and the Magic Side would only cause Crowley to instantly veto any movement of his strongest pieces into what was, essentially, enemy territory. Should a war start between any of the magic side factions and the science side again, they would not be able to count on the support of nations to back them. In addition, she knew that after World War III, Academy City would have started to develop countermeasures to magicians. It was only inevitable for them to do so after magicians had attacked them so often.

In the end, Laura decided that the best place to send the Imagine Breaker and his friends for surveillance would be somewhere somewhat tropical, yet still in the authority of the Anglican Church.

While plans were being laid in England, others in Academy City were laying their own. "Nokuhan, how goes the development of our latest anti-magician weapons?" the Director of Academy City asked one of his top scientists. "We have finished development, Aleister, and have begun production of such tools" the Kihara stated. "Good. I need you to be brought on board another project I am working on. The lead scientist has had a few setbacks with the production of his research" the Greatest Magician told the golden retriever. "Understood. Do you suspect the one in charge of the 'Gemstone Project' is planning to betray you?" Nokuhan asked.

"No, I do not. However, he is very secretive as to his data. In addition, his projects seem to have been more successful than he originally thought they were. They were the ones to escape a while back" Aleister told him. "Have you been able to get any leads as to their whereabouts?" Nokuhan asked. "While we have leads, it would be disastrous if we try to capture them too early" Crowley stated.

After Nokuhan had left the windowless building, A scientist from England was brought before Aleister. "So, Dr. Cooper, how goes the continuation of 'Project Gemstone'?" Crowley asked. "Despite the setback due to the actions of the Railgun, we have taken the data from the original subjects, and improved on it" he told the director of Academy City. "We have started to clone the original subject as well, after altering the genes to make them more predisposed to infiltration missions biologically. In addition, we have started to work on producing units based off several of the most powerful espers in the city" Cooper continued. We have even begun to break grounds on completing a dream that only seemed like a dream three years ago."

"Oh, really? What, pray tell, might that accomplishment be?" Aleister asked.

Touma had met up with Misaki at the locale she told him to rendezvous with her at. Their locale was the underground shopping complex. The first thing they did was to go shopping. Misaki told Touma that he would help her pick out some outfits. What she failed to tell him was that she was also going to be picking out some outfits for him as well.

After they went shopping, they went out to dinner together. Misaki picked a restaurant where the food was a bit higher in cost than the places most students in Academy City were used to, yet not high priced enough to make Touma uncomfortable. They talked as they ate, and got to know each other a bit better over a good meal.

After dinner, they started out together towards their dorms. Due to them enjoying each other's company, they didn't notice the individual who was following them, nor did they notice the ambush set up for them.

The had started to walk through a park that was near their dorms. As they approached an open area, Touma noticed something was off. Once inside the clearing, a group stepped out of the shadows cast by the surrounding foliage.

These individuals wore light cuirasses that were maroon in color, as well as purple helms fashioned to resemble cherubs. Each wielded a weighted cudgel, and sported a buckler made of synthetic materials. To each of their hips was strapped a firearm of some sort.

As Kamijou stepped in front of his date with the intent to protect her, Misaki reached into her bag and pulled out a remote. She discreetly pointed it at one of their attackers. Her intent was to manipulate their minds to give them the suggestion that they simply didn't want to attack her or Kamijou, but, instead, desired to leave the two of them be. She was surprised to find that her ability didn't have any effect on their attackers.

One of them charged Touma. He was dodging the blunt weapon when another rushed him from the side. He kept dodging their attacks. Eventually, one was able to land a shield bash onto the Imagine Breaker, staggering him. As he was recovering, another swung their mace at him. He attempted to block it with his right hand.

Out of all the things that Touma had expected to happen when his hand contacted the weapon, having a few thousand volts of electricity go through him was probably not high on that list. The fact he was unable to block it meant the attack was neither based on an ability, nor magic. As he was recovering, a teenage girl jumped in front of him, swinging her steel glove at his attackers.

Misaki was texting her friends from both Tokiwadi, as well as A Certain High School. She was seeking help from her friends regarding saving Touma. She did this after texting the crime hotline to report both the location and nature of the crime.

"Hey! I just got a text from the Queen saying she needed help!" a girl with purple ringlets shouted out at the Tokiwadi High School's commons. Several girls looked at her, wondering what their former classmate could be texting about. "Wasn't she on a date with that Kamijou guy she left Tokiwadi for? Do you think he did something to hurt her?" a girl with glasses and dark hair replied. This caught the attention of a tea haired girl sitting nearby. "Touma went on a date with Shokuhou-san? Deal with that later, Mikoto. He probably ran into some trouble" the Railgun thought to herself. After listening in to find out where the attack was taking place, she proceeded to leave the room quickly and quietly, calling Kuroko as she did so.

Mikoto was walking quickly to her dorm room while her phone was dialing. On the second ring, Kuroko picked up. "What's up, onee-sama?" Kuroko asked. "Listen, Kuroko, one of my friends is in trouble. I need you to teleport me to a park near the Certain High School Dorms" Mikoto told her. "Isn't that where that ape lives?!" Kuroko howled. "Now is not the time, Kuroko! His is in real trouble! I need your help to save him!" the Railgun shouted into her phone. "I will meet you outside our dorm room. We can head to that locale from there. I will help you, even if I don't like him being near you" Shirai said, being sure to mutter the last part to herself.

Meanwhile, one of the assailants saw Misaki texting out of the corner of her eye. She pulled the firearm, pointed it at Misaki, and pulled the trigger. The level five esper close her eyes shut, preparing for the end. It never came, as Touma had taken the projectile for her. The projectile was a common tranquilizer dart.

As Touma started to fall unconscious, he wished he could have protected Lessar and Misaki. He saw the assailant point the gun at Misaki. Lessar was starting to get overwhelmed, by their attackers, and was eventually hit with the stun mace, rendering her unable to fight. Touma finally blacked out as they started to put him into a sack, preparing to take him to a destination unknown.