I love and hate you guys. Some of you have such great ideas and some of you post the wildest things I would never think of. Then occasionally one of you guys post something so crazy it disrupts my thought process and made it really hard to write. I am talking about a Guest who posted in the comment section:
"And that was the moment Shizuri Mugino fell in love lol."
I laughed so much at this and thought about this seriously. Would she really fall in love with Touma if things were set up right? Probably not, she would only pay attention to him if he was useful to her in some way but I suppose there are other ways. Then this next person continued the chain of events and virtually destroyed my train of thought. It was posted by Anan who said:
"Suppose Kamijou in a rare moment of "being done with this shit" lets Mugino blow his right hand or right arm off, at which point, "Dragon" comes out to lay the smack-down on that Level 5 psycho-b^&%#'s candy-ass. After which (I'll be nice and let her live) she becomes an extreme "M", and also gets added to the harem (heh-heh-heh)."
You have no idea how much this crept into my mind constantly. I could not get it out and my brain started going through every possible idea to make it work. It didn't but that would be a hilarious crack fic if someone wanted to do it.
It seems like everyone enjoys Item and Mugino so I am glad they went over well with all the loyal readers. Anyways, back to the story.
Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters.
Shizuri watched as her Meltdowner ability shot straight toward her target, the spiky black haired boy. At this range and his lack of knowledge about her ability, there was no way she could miss. The last thing she saw him do was raise his hand to protect himself from her attack. That was probably the stupidest thing he could have done. All it would accomplish was his arm and half of his body would be instantly disintegrated while the rest of him would burn from the heat. She smirked and started to turn around when the sound of breaking glass stopped her. The green light from her ability disappeared. She turned back and looked at the boy, and her eyes widened in shock. The boy was still standing there completely unharmed. For the first time she could remember, since fighting Accelerator, she was completely speechless. No one else could have just stood still in front of her ability.
"Hey," the boy said looking over his outstretched hand. "I could have died, why would you just attack someone out of nowhere?" His words brought her back to her senses and she smirked.
"Are you still going to continue that shit you were spouting earlier?" she said watching him closely. "You took one of those most destructive abilities in Academy City head on without so much as a scratch." She was pissed because of this, but her interest in his ability surpassed her irritation for now. The boy sighed which made a vein throb in her head.
"What do you want?" the boy asked nervously.
"I want you to answer my damn questions without all that shit you were spouting," she told him. "Now, why don't you introduce yourself to me? I am not going to continue to call you that stupid made up name."
Touma thought about this for a second. He did not want to give any information about himself to this girl. She was obviously unbalanced and was prepared to kill him without a second thought. If she had information about him she might turn him in as the identity of Kami, but there was also the chance she would continue to hunt him down. The second option actually might be the most likely one. Also, she could look up his personal information, like where he lived and the school he went to. It might put other people in danger. His pause did not go unnoticed and only seemed to further irritate the girl.
"Answer the f#$%*#^ question," she yelled as two more orbs appeared around her and shot green beams at him again.
Touma was at least prepared this time. He rotated his body sideways to avoid the left most one and used his hand to negate the second one. He could feel a lot of heat from the one he dodged and realized it would burn his skin if the beam was just close to him. He probably shouldn't stick around much longer but he needed her to let her guard down. "Fine," he said.
"Glad you know your place," Shizuri said smirking again. She was going to get all the answers and then probably end his life if she wasn't impressed. She crossed her arms and said, "Again, what is your name… WHERE THE F&#$ ARE YOU GOING?!" As soon as she let her guard down, Touma turned and bolted down an alleyway as fast as he could. "YOU PIECE OF SHIT I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!" she roared and ran after him. When she entered the ally, she stopped and shot another beam of light at him but he turned and ran around the corner before the beam hit him. The ground where he was seconds ago was disintegrated. She cussed and continued the pursuit. She had told the other girls of ITEM to surround the area to make sure he didn't try to escape, but the surrounding areas had a lot of side routes so they couldn't cover them all.
Shizuri pulled out her phone and called Frenda. After two rings she picked up. "Frenda, he is heading your direction. Cut him off but don't kill him. His ass is mine."
"Umm Mugino," Frenda said hesitantly but her mouth seemed to be muffled. "That moff be touff."
"FREENNNDDAAA," Shizuri said dangerously. "Are you eating on duty? You know what will happen if he gets by you." She heard Frenda swallow.
"Yes Mugino," she said quickly. "Basically, I am looking for him now." Shizuri closed her cell phone more pissed off then she was before. If she had known that Frenda had actually left her post to get ice cream, Frenda probably wouldn't live to see the next day. Frenda did not doubt for a second Shizuri would take care of the weak looking commoner, so she thought it would be fine to get a snack. This was one of her shortcomings. She tended to not act professional during inopportune times. Frenda immediately threw her ice cream away with a sad look and ran as fast as she could back to her post.
Back at her post she kept looking around for the spiky hair boy. She couldn't understand how that boy escaped from Shizuri but he must have used some kind of trick. She didn't know how right she was. There were only a couple people out at this time so someone running would draw a lot of attention. After about 30 seconds, she saw the boy dash out of an ally at full speed and run towards her. She smiled, please Shizuri wasn't going to kill her, and she stepped forward to meet him. However, his eyes widened when he saw her and immediately dashed down another ally. Frenda frowned, he must have recognized her, and chased after him.
"Come back here!" she cried at the retreating boy.
"Why?" Touma called over his shoulder.
"Basically," Frenda yelled back. "So Mugino can kill you."
"I'm definitely not stopping now," he yelled back. "I didn't do anything, such misfortune."
Frenda continued to chase after him. She was not slow and was fit enough to run continuously for an extended period of time, but the boy ahead of her was larger and definitely just as athletic. She could have tried to shoot him but with his speed, she had to focus on keeping up with him and couldn't risk slowing down to aim. There was also the possibility she might accidently kill him and she knew Shizuri wanted that pleasure. She wasn't sure what would upset Shizuri worse, the boy getting away or him dying to Frenda so Shizuri could not enjoy doing it herself. Frenda decided not to shoot, if the boy got away, they could always locate him again with his description. If he was killed, Shizuri would never be happy with Frenda.
However, the boy managed to continue to out run her and got to a main street. He slipped out of sight and disappeared into a crowd of people still out this late. Frenda stopped and gulped, Mugino is not going to be happy with me. She didn't have a chance at finding him now and she knew it. She pulled out her cell phone, her hand shaking, and called Shizuri to give her the bad news.
Touma woke up the next morning exhausted. He ran around a lot last night trying to get away from that crazy girl and her friends until he finally lost them. He then headed back to his dorm but took the long way to make sure he wasn't being followed. How many other people have to deal with so many level 5s constantly? When he got back to his dorm he found Index waiting for him and upset he was back so late. It turned out that Index had disappeared because she sensed mana and went to investigate the source. When Jason noticed, he immediately followed her because he was also interested in who caused it. They found out the source was just a rune used to make colored lights and some kids, out past their curfew, were playing around it. Neither Index nor Jason knew who set it up but when they looked around Touma was gone. They had completely forgotten about him. Jason had advised Index to wait back at Touma's dorm until he got back. Touma was relieved at this; at least Jason did something good for me. Searching for Index would have been even more trouble if those girls were still looking for me.
He left his dorm early to get to school as soon as possible. When he got to school, only three people were in class, two of which were Jason and Motoharu. They both looked at him when he arrived and grinned. Touma knew, he just knew, they were both thinking of his weekend trip and were laughing on the inside. Touma walked over to them.
"Sup Kami-yan," Motoharu said still grinning.
"Hey Touma, where did you disappe…" Jason started to say but Touma interrupted him, not with words but with a fist. Touma delivered an uppercut directly into Jason's jaw with all the force of his misfortune and stress the last couple of days. The blow was powerful enough to lift Jason a couple feet off the ground and fly over the desk behind him before he crashed to the ground. Touma stood there breathing deeply, quite pleased with himself.
"I didn't get a chance to give that to you yesterday," Touma said smirking. "Too many people around." Motoharu was watching their exchange with interest. The other guy in the room looked at them briefly then went back to sleep thinking this was pretty normal for them all.
"I…regret…nothing…" Jason said weakly from the floor.
"You two seem to have some unresolved issues," Motoharu remarked grinning.
"Don't think I forgot your part in this," Touma said glaring at him.
"I have no idea what you mean," whistled Motoharu innocently. "We were simply talking about your amazing achievement with two girls from Tokiwadai."
Touma sighed, "I am not in the mood to argue whatever weird ideas you two have. I am really tired form last night, being chased by a psycho and all."
"A psycho Kamijou?" Pierce's voice suddenly came from behind him. He had entered the class while they were talking and Touma didn't notice. "I didn't know that was your type. Bold move, but I expect nothing less from you. Psychos are known for being amazing in bed but have a lot of drawbacks if you make them mad outside the bedroom."
"Get your mind out of the gutter," Touma said irritated. "I wasn't trying to get anyone. I was running for my life."
"Did you try to pick up the girlfriend of a psycho?" Jason asked from the floor. "Or was your next girl the psycho?" Touma gave him a swift kick in the side. He still didn't feel sorry for Jason.
"I'm not picking anyone up you idiots," Touma said.
"They come to him naturally," Motoharu said then turned to Pierce. "Touma now has two Tokiwadai girls clinging to him now."
"Kamijou you bastard!" Pierce cried and tackled Touma to the ground. "How could you keep getting girls when I can't have anyone?"
"Maybe if you weren't a pervert," Touma said kneeing Pierce in the gut while Motoharu joined in. "Besides, even if I did get a girlfriend, why is everyone surprised? No one was surprised at Jason for getting one." He pointed to Jason with his free hand who still wasn't moving from the ground.
'Well Jason has looks, brains, money, and he's funny, girls love funny guys," Motoharu pointed out. "It would be strange for him not to have one. Kami-yan, you are…well…you."
"That's what I said," Jason remarked.
"You all suck," Touma said tripping Motoharu during the fight with Pierce. All three of them were too busy trading blows to notice Accelerator walking up. He gave them a quick look and then glanced at Jason. It looked like he knew exactly what happened but decided to confirm it.
"So this is…?" he said gesturing with his hand.
"Just talking about Touma and his millions of girlfriends," Jason said still laying on the floor clutching his side.
"I don't have millions of girlfriends," Touma tried to yell but his voice came out muffled as Pierce got him in a headlock.
"Hey Accel-kun," Motoharu called. He and Motoharu had finally decided on this nickname at the end of last week since they were getting tired of calling him Accelerator. "You hang out with Touma a lot. How many girls does he have?"
Accelerator glanced at Touma and Jason. Jason gave him a thumb up from the floor and Touma shook his head at him frantically to not make things worse. A very evil grin appeared on Accelerator's face as he decided to add fuel to the fire. "Not sure of the numbers," he said taking his seat. "I have to say at least three that I saw yesterday, he insisted they hang out with us, and I remember seeing him with four at once at the mall." This made him feel good watching the aftermath directed at the hero.
"Why Accelerator?" Touma cried still trying to beat up Pierce and Motoharu.
"Dang it Kamijou!" Pierce yelled at him and doubled his effort to destroy Touma for daring to get more girls. Motoharu continued just because it was fun.
None of them noticed Komoe entering the class and gasping at them all fighting. She tried to get them to stop but all of them were too distracted to notice her. They did notice when they heard the sound of bones cracking as Seiri stood over them cracking her knuckles. They all immediately lost to the final boss of the class.
All four of them received detention, even though Jason had been laying on the floor injured and wasn't currently trading blows, it was assumed he had been part of their fighting. They were being forced to write reflection essays for their fight, but they decided to get side tracked with one of their usual discussions.
"Come on," Motoharu said. "One piece bathing suits are infinitely better than a two piece. By hiding a lot of skin, it leaves more to the imagination."
"Bull," Touma scoffed. "Two piece suits let you enjoy the female's curves. One piece covers too much."
"One piece is fine," Pierce added. "But it has to be a school swimsuit. It fits best with younger girls."
"You are just a lolicon," Touma said. "Anything is fine for you if it involves younger girls."
"That's not true," Pierce huffed indignantly. "Adults can wear school swimsuits. Imagine it tightly pulled over their chests and around the waists."
"Looks like Jason is the tie breaker," Motoharu said looking at Jason. "Come on, which style is best for the beach?"
"Hmm," Jason thought out loud, his mind thinking hard. "Well swimsuits are fine, but I think skinny dipping is definitely the best."
"No way!" they all replied united for the first time since the conversation started.
"That completely defeats the purpose of swimsuits," Pierce argued.
"Exactly," Motoharu agreed. "Any suit is better than nothing."
"You can't even enjoy the different designs which really make the beach unique," Touma added. "Otherwise it would just be an entire wall of drab color."
"You miss the point," Jason said trying to defend himself. "The best time is at night under the full moon, the light shining off a girl's wet skin. If it's a little foggy when they get out and the light reflects through the fog…" Everyone stops for a moment and think about it.
""Well in that particular circumstance," Pierce said. "I can see your point, but the fact is over all school swimsuits are the best."
"Bull!" Motoharu yelled. "There are plenty of one piece suits so much better than a boring school one."
"You both are delusional and…," Touma started to retort before the teacher watching over them interrupted.
"Enough of your stupid conversation!" he yelled. "Finish your reflection essay and get out of here. I don't want to see you all here again." Everyone got quiet and immediately started to finish their essays. After a few minutes Jason whispered to Touma so no one else could hear.
"Jokes aside, what did you mean by a psycho?"
"Last night after you and Index left," Touma whispered. "The forth rank level 5 decided she wanted to talk about me being a level 5. Then she tried to kill me just because I tried to tell her I was a level 0."
"Well," Jason said quietly shrugging. "That was your problem. Sometimes you just need to bluff. If people think you are a level 5 and you act like it, many times they will back off. If you say you are a level 0, a lot of assholes will try to bully you."
"So in other words," Touma said grinning slightly despite himself. "Lie a lot like you?"
"Exactly," Jason said. "I avoid a lot of trouble just with reputation when needed on the field but I also have the strength to back up if needed. You do to, but if you can bluff well, you can avoid unnecessary fights."
"I'll keep that in mind," Touma said.
"Well I got a date so I got to go," Jason whispered back grinning. He stood up and presented the teacher with his essay and left the classroom.
Dang, Touma thought to himself. I'm not even halfway done.
"Chaser!"
Mikoto kicked the notorious vending machine in the park that loved to steal people's money. A second later, a drink popped out. She picked it up and drank deeply. She sighed and just stared off into space. She has been kind of spacey today because she kept thinking about yesterday. "I finally get the courage to ask him out and now I can't think of what to do," she said loudly grabbing her head in frustration. She kept reliving the moment he agreed to go on a date with her on Saturday but she couldn't think of what to do on the date. Since it was going to be their first official real date, she wanted to do something memorable they both would enjoy. Calm down and think rationally, you have plenty of time. She took a few deep breaths and ran through ideas, but most of them were boring or cliché. I could ask someone for ideas but it would be really embarrassing. Uiharu would give something out of a romantic novel and I can't ask Saten because she likes him too. Kuroko is not even an option. I suppose I could ask Jason… She actually glanced down at her phone debating that last option then shook her head. That would be a last resort, maybe I can offhandedly ask someone from school.
"Hi Misaka-san," a cheerful voice said from behind her.
Mikoto turned around quickly and saw Ruiko walking toward her waving. She had been too busy with her own thoughts to see her approaching earlier. She quickly turned red. I hope she didn't hear me. Mikoto regained her composure and smiled at her friend. "Hey Saten-san, what are you doing?"
Ruiko put her arm around Mikoto's shoulders and whispered. "I am on a super dangerous reconnaissance mission and I could use your help."
This surprised Mikoto and she stared wide-eyed at Ruiko. "What do you mean?" she asked curious and slightly worried. She hoped Ruiko wasn't in any trouble. "What's happening?"
"Uiharu is on a real date," Ruiko explained. "And as her friend, it is my responsibility to watch and make sure everything goes ok."
Mikoto let out a loud sigh. Of course this was her plan. "Why are you spying on her?"
"I want to know how well it goes and it might give me ideas for when I want to date someone," Ruiko said as if stating the obvious.
"I can't..." Mikoto started to say but stopped. This might be what I need. Saten is right, they could give me ideas. Jason seems like the person to know this stuff and it would be less embarrassing then asking him directly. "You know what," Mikoto said. "I'm free because Kuroko is busy with Judgment, so I will go with you. At the very least to make sure you don't interfere with them."
"Of course," Ruiko smiled at her knowingly. Together they walked carefully off the main path and crouched behind some bushes. In the distance they saw Kazari sitting on a park bench in casual clothes instead of her school uniform. She was wearing a light pink dress and, of course, her normal flowery headband. They were looking for Jason when Ruiko spotted and pointed him out. He was dressed in a black undershirt, an open button down navy blue shirt, and jeans. They watched him sneak up behind Kazari and cover her eyes. "I wish we could hear them," Ruiko muttered and Mikoto nodded in agreement. After a couple seconds Jason removed his hands and Kazari turned around and hugged him. After that they held hands and continued through the park.
"Let's go," Mikoto said and Ruiko followed her. They walked through the park too but kept far enough back so Jason and Kazari were just barely in sight. Mikoto and Ruiko had to duck behind a tree once because they thought Jason has turned around and looked in their direction. However, it seemed like he didn't notice them and they breathed a sigh of relief. They watched as Kazari sat down at a wooden table while Jason stood in line for ice cream for them. After a minute, a couple guys walked up and started talking to Kazari.
"Looks like Uiharu is getting hit on," Ruiko said grinning. "She always tries to tell me guys aren't in to her."
"Well she does look pretty cute," Mikoto said watching to see what would happen. Kazari was obviously uncomfortable by the way she was fidgeting but the guys didn't leave. Jason walked up with two cones and simply moved one of the guys out of his way and sat down next to Kazari. He wrapped his arm around her while handing her the ice cream. He gazed up at the other two guys and Mikoto saw him glare at them. The boys shook their head and left. "Ha, Jason's pretty aggressive when it comes to her. He always seems laid back."
"I heard dating someone does that," Ruiko said watching them closely. She seemed to be taking notes in her head.
Mikoto thought about this and wondered if she would be possessive once she started dating Touma. Then she thought about how she always gets mad at Misaki for jumping on Touma all the time. Am I already possessive? She shook her head and went back to watching them. After a short walk through the park and talking they left the park and headed into the city. Mikoto and Ruiko kept them in sight and it was a lot easier for them to hide in the city since there were a lot more people. Jason and Kazari headed into the underground mall and they followed.
Nothing really exciting happened in the mall. Jason and Kazari were just browsing through the mall. Ruiko and Mikoto stopped waiting for them to leave the current store. "Ah," Ruiko sighed. "I thought they would do something interesting."
"There's still time," Mikoto replied even though she felt the same way. The only thing she noticed was both of them seemed to be happy doing anything. I wonder if it's because they are with the person they like. Will Touma and be like that someday? She leaned up against the wall and was lost in her own thoughts when Ruiko's voice broke her out of her thoughts.
"They are moving." They immediately started following Jason and Kazari again. Another couple of minutes passed then something actually happened. Kazari went into a clothing store while Jason waited outside. He waited a little bit then looked around through the windows to the store. They did not know what he was looking for, but then he left and walked away from the store Kazari was in. Mikoto wasn't sure what he was doing and Ruiko voiced her thoughts. "What is he up to?" Mikoto shrugged in response. "Let's find out." They trailed him a little bit and they saw him standing at a small kiosk that sold flowers. He was pointing to different ones and talking to the vender. "Awww," Ruiko squealed. "He's buying her flowers."
"Wow, he is good," Mikoto said. "Uiharu doesn't even know he's getting them in the middle of the date." Jason bought a small bouquet of flowers and headed back to the store Kazari was in. They noticed he seemed to be keeping the flowers out of view from the store entrance. Kazari came out about five minutes later. Mikoto and Ruiko watched with excitement and then amusement at Kazari's reaction. She turned completely red and looked like she was going to pass out. Jason put his arm around her to make sure she didn't fall and Kazari took the flowers holding them tightly against her chest. They saw her saying something and Jason laughed. He leaned forward to the side of her face. It was on the other side so Mikoto and Ruiko couldn't see it but by Kazari's eyes going wide it had to be a kiss. Ruiko squealed softly again. Jason grabbed Kazari's hand then they continued around a corner.
"Hurry or we will lose them," Ruiko said and Mikoto hastily followed her. They just rounded a corner and saw Jason and Kazari looking right at them a couple feet away.
"Told you they were watching us," Jason commented calmly leaning up against the wall.
"Saten-san," Kazari said a little angrily. "Why did you follow us?"
"Ah," Ruiko said sheepishly but still grinning. "I couldn't let my best friend go on her first solo date without seeing how it goes." Kazari stilled glared at her but she seemed to be pacified.
"Sorry Uiharu," Mikoto apologized clasping her hands together. 'Saten convinced me into it."
"How long did you know?" Ruiko asked.
"Jason told me shortly after giving me these flowers," Kazari said. Mikoto realized it wasn't a kiss but him whispering to her they were being watched.
"When did you know?" Mikoto asked Jason
"In the park," Jason shrugged. "I thought it was a coincidence but I caught glimpses of you constantly so I figured it out."
"Well since you are here," Kazari said cheerful again. "Why don't you join us for some food?"
This led all four of them to go and sit down at a restaurant and eat while talking about their weekend. Kazari and Ruiko were telling Jason about meeting Misaki and her friend. Jason looked quite amused and Mikoto was avoiding his eyes or she would definitely burst out laughing. Mikoto went back to thinking about her future date instead. She saw a lot of Jason doing romantic things but she didn't know how that was going to help her. It felt like it was up to the guy to do everything but she definitely didn't want to be that kind of girl. She liked to take the lead and wanted to choose the first date since she asked Touma. Her eyes wondered around the restaurant and she saw someone had left a piece of paper on the table next to her. She reached over and picked it up. It was a flyer for a special carnival coming to Academy City this weekend. It looked like it would have special performances from all over the world and tons of unique events and food. This is perfect.
"What you got there?" Ruiko asked. Mikoto hadn't noticed she was grinning while reading the flyer and that attracted Ruiko's attention.
"Ah just a piece of paper I found," Mikoto said shrugging but Ruiko was too quick for her and whipped it out of her hand.
"Hey it's a carnival this weekend," Ruiko exclaimed showing Kazari and Jason. A knot formed in Mikoto's stomach.
"I knew about it," Kazari said sadly. "I have to work a lot this weekend because of all the people coming in from outside Academy City."
"They are forcing me to work Friday night and Saturday," Jason said dropping his forehead on the table. "It's not like I have enough to do already." He muttered something incomprehensible on the table while Kazari gave him a pat on his back.
"No point in going alone then," Ruiko said a little disappointed.
Mikoto felt the knot in her stomach unwind. If they can't go, that means Touma and I will be alone all day. I'll have to make sure Kuroko is busy that day too but this could work out. Mikoto stood up. "I have to go," she said. "See you al later." She waved and headed off on her own. She was thinking of the carnival and all the activities she wanted to do with Touma but there were many things to take care of first. She hoped Misaki would not interfere but Mikoto knew it was going to be tough to get the jump on her.
Back at the restaurant Ruiko was still talking to Kazari while Jason was still depressed and kept his head on the table. "She's acting suspiciously."
"Do you think she plans to ask someone to the carnival?" Kazari asked quietly.
Ruiko slapped her forehead, "That's it she must be planning or she already asked Touma. Ah, she beat me." Now it was Ruiko's turn to be depressed. "How am I supposed to compete against Misaka-san and Shokuhou-san? Both of them are really pretty, smart, talented, and level 5s."
"From what I know about Kamijou-san," Kazari said thinking. "He doesn't seem to be a person who cares about levels."
"Still," Ruiko said. "He recently got promoted and it seems like he gets involved in a lot of dangerous things. I wish I could help. During the museum and the tournament I couldn't do anything to help and he and Kagere-san saved us." Jason stirred slightly and rotated his head so one of his eyes was looking at Ruiko. "I wish I had an ability."
"I'm sure you will get one," Kazari said encouragingly. "You are right at the border to level 1 right?" Ruiko nodded.
"If you were a high level," Jason asked suddenly. "What would you do with that power?" Both Kazari and Ruiko looked at him.
"I would help people," Ruiko said with fire in her eyes. "Not just my friends but anyone who needs it, doesn't matter if they are powerful or not. Everyone at some point needs help and if I can help I will. I know what it's like to be powerless and needing help. When someone's in trouble, no matter the challenge, it won't stop me." Kazari and Jason grinned at the truth that rang in her voice.
"Would you be interested in going through a special curriculum then to get to level 3?"
"What?" Ruiko and Kazari said turning to him in shock.
"You know how I lead a research division for ability development?" Jason asked still not lifting his head up but just turned it to look at them. They nodded. "Well I got into an argument with an old fart and he doubted my ability. They want me to raise a level 0 to a level 3 in a couple weeks because they were not happy with the ordinary changes to the curriculum I wanted them to do. So now I have to complete this bet with them. So would you be interested?"
"I would be able to hit level 3 in just a couple weeks?" Ruiko asked almost dumbstruck. Ruiko was looking back and forth between them.
"That's the plan," Jason said. "But there is a chance it won't work. You might end up lower like 1 or 2."
"That's fine," Ruiko said excitedly. "Even if it is just a low level ability, I don't care. I want to do it."
Jason smiled. "I hope if we succeed, you will still remember what you told me about why you wanted the ability." Kazari smiled at his words.
"Of course," Ruiko said putting her fist out in front of her. "I will use my power to help people like Misaka-san and Touma."
"Excellent," Jason said. "I found someone I can trust with power then. I'll text you the information later but for now, I am going to enjoy the rest of the afternoon with Kazari." He looked at Ruiko. "I trust you won't stalk us." Kazari laughed.
Ruiko shook her head but as she watched them leave, her insides were jumping around. I'm finally going to have an ability.
Finally done, Touma thought to himself. He didn't really know what to write for the reflection essay as everything was Motoharu's, Pierce's and Jason's fault. He was the last one done and it was easily another 15 minutes after Pierce left. Motoharu left about 10 minutes after Jason and Pierce kept talking to Touma so they both were a lot later. The teacher even fell asleep reading his magazine while waiting for them. When he presented the essay to the teacher, the teacher didn't even read it. He just told Touma to leave and stop getting in trouble. I guess he was annoyed he had to stay late too.
When he got back to his dorm late, Index immediately attacked him and demanded to know why he was late and to make her dinner. He opened his refrigerator and used up what was left of the vegetables and some meat to make a stir-fry for them. The only thing he had left in the dorm was a lot of rice and some spices. He really needed to restock on food, but last weekend he was outside the city and couldn't go shopping. He sighed and started going through the papers and flyers he had on hand and one caught his eye. The sales on the front page were unreal, easily 75% off, and it was a one day special only. Then his stomach dropped when he saw the date was today. He looked at the clock, it was almost 7 and the store closed at 8. If he hurried, he could just make it in time. "Index," he called out as he grabbed his wallet and keys. "I have to run out to get catch a special on food for tomorrow. I will be back in a bit."
"But Touma…" Index began but he didn't hear the rest. Since she had just eaten he figured she wouldn't be too angry at him. He ran off at full speed to catch the train. The store was across the city but he couldn't make it if he ran and his only option was to catch the train, He actually managed to get onto the machine without his ticket getting destroyed or eaten or blown up. The train also left on schedule which surprised him. Ok, I am having some good luck that means the universe is setting me up for something big. I will worry about that after I get the food. Touma always tried to keep a positive attitude but he knew how his luck worked. He got off the train and looked around. He did not know the area well and he only had about 30 minutes to find it. He quickly looked at the map and ran off in the direction toward the store.
Because he was in a hurry he missed the short blonde haired girl in the dark beret coming out of the convenience store. She however did not miss his very obvious spiky black hair as he ran past her. She dropped the small bag she was holding and pulled out her phone. "Mugino," she said following Touma. "I found him."
"You understand what will happen if you lose him."
"Basically, I will not let him out of my sight."
"That is what I expected to hear."
Touma's luck ran out. He got lost and wondered around the streets for half an hour before finding the store five minutes after they closed. He couldn't believe his luck. Well he could, but he had to try because the deal was too good to be true. He was depressed, but he figured he could always find another sale. Touma never let his bad luck control him and started walking back to the train station. He noticed he could cut through an abandoned lot and it would save him a good 5 minutes then trying to go around the buildings. Maybe my luck is changing. Then the universe reminds him of just how much it hates him.
"I finally found you," a cold voice said from behind him. He turned around and saw the soft tea colored hair of Shizuri Mugino standing on the sidewalk right in front of the abandoned lot. He eyes were watching him but it was clear she was pleased with herself. Behind her were the three other girls Touma saw at the restaurant yesterday. "You left before we could finish our talk. That wasn't very nice." Her voice seemed calm on the surface but he could feel the cold fury radiating through it.
"Well," Touma said taking a step back. "I had important things I had to do so sorry about leaving." He knew going one on four was not going to work at all. One of the girls was a level 5 and he figured the girls behind him had to be high levels to. He shifted his left hand into his pocket to grab his phone and he moved his right hand between Shizuri and himself. He knew pulling out the phone would just cause trouble so he hoped he could call the right number without looking.
"Are you trying to be f$%^$% funny?" she asked her eyes narrowing. "You do understand what is going to happen if you piss me off."
"Basically," the blonde girl called out to him. "You are so dead."
"I still don't understand why we are after him," the young brown hair girl said. "This plain guy super can't be Kami." The black hair girl didn't say anything and just watched him.
Shizuri sighed. "I suppose you should see why I am after him." An orb of green light appeared in front of her then short a large green beam right at Touma. Frenda and Saiai just shook their heads. Both of them knew what happened if someone was hit by Shizuri's Meltdowner. It wasn't pretty and always messy. They froze and looked up in shock when they heard the sound of breaking glass and the green light disappeared. Standing in front of them, appearing uninjured, was the spiky haired boy with his right hand held out in front of him. "That is why."
"How?" Saiai asked.
"B-basically, that is i-impossible," stuttered Frenda. "He really is the Kami guy."
"Now that you understand," she turned back to Touma. 'Do you have anything to say?"
Touma looked up over his hand at her. He didn't want to give her his name but then a conversation with Jason came to his mind. Sometimes you just need to bluff. Touma figured he wasn't going to get out of this with just giving her the information she wanted so it was worth a try. "What can I say? This just isn't your night."
She gave a brief laugh and asked. "What do you mean by that?"
"I just wanted to remain anonymous then I get dragged into all this mess," Touma said trying to glare at her. "Your ability won't work on me. Just leave, I don't want to fight right now."
"Oh really," she said. "I suppose I could keep trying till it worked. Maybe if I hit your legs so you don't run away?" Several orbs floated around her but didn't fire.
Touma shook his head exasperatedly. "You know my power is negation," he said remembering the information he read in his classroom when he first found out about his promotion. "Do you think just blocking an attack is a level 5 ability? What do you think will happen if I become serious?" He knew his last statement had an impact when her facial expression changed.
This time her eyes narrowed at him. Shizuri was not stupid and even she realized that he had a point. The number of people who could survive her Meltdowner could be counted on just one hand. Someone who saw her ability would quickly cower and run. But this boy was different, even after her attacks. He continued to look her directly in the eyes. She thought he was just a coward but now she thought there might be more to him then she first thought. His words intrigued her. Maybe he could permanently negate powers? She was weary of this but she still wanted to see his full power. "There is only one way to see, isn't there?" she said. "If I go all out on you, I bet you will be forced to show me everything you got."
"I'm not going to leave without fighting am I?" Touma sighed and began to resign himself to his fate.
"I doubt you will leave at all until you die," Shizuri said smirking.
"Fine," Touma said. "I will fight on one condition."
"Basically, you aren't in a position to make…" Frenda started to say but Shizuri cut her off.
"What is your condition?" she asked. "If I don't like it, I will just ignore it." A vein throbbed in her head. For some reason this guy really annoyed her.
"Let's move to a more open and secluded spot," he said. "There is a field near a bridge I have fought at before. This way we won't risk being interrupted by others."
Normally, Shizuri would have told him to f$%^ off but this time she thought about it. Because of the intruders, security has been heightened all over the city. If they fought seriously, it wouldn't be unusual for Anti-Skill or Judgment to find them. While she could kill a lot of them without any repercussions, it would still be troublesome. If too many people saw her, it couldn't be covered up. She didn't want to admit it, but his words made sense and she might be able to fully enjoy this fight before killing him. "Fine," was the only answer she gave. The other girls looked at each other in surprised but they kept silent and followed.
A short time later all five of them were sitting on the train heading toward the bridge. There was a station close by so it would save a lot of time and they managed to catch the last train of the night. Touma was sitting on one side and Mugino was directly across from him staring at him impatiently. The blonde hair girl and the black hair girl were sitting to his right and left while the brown hair girl stood off to the side watching him with a slight smirk on her face. At first he wasn't sure why she was doing this but realized they were the only ones on the train and Touma was surrounded by girls. He figured she must have a very wild imagination.
Touma had lied about why he wanted to switch places. His real reason was a lot nobler. He had a couple glances of Shizuri's ability and saw its pure destructive power. He was worried some innocent person would get involved. She didn't seem like she would care if she had to kill someone who got in her way. He would have loved if a Judgment or Anti-Skill stopped her but with her being a level 5, the odds were high someone else would get hurt. At least this way, he could avoid casualties. When the train stopped and they got off he pointed to the bridge. "The field is right next to it."
"About time," Shizuri said. "You better be worth this trouble or a swift death will be a mercy for you." Touma gulped, he did not doubt her words at all. The other girls looked at each other and wondered why their leader was being so accommodating. They did not have the intelligence or planning skills she had. They arrived at the field about 10 minutes later and she turned to face him about 30 feet away. "Now let's see what you are made of." Three green orbs appeared around her and shot beams toward Touma.
Shizuri watched him jump back dodging the first two and blocking the third one with his right hand. She had thought he would have run towards her to close the gap and she adjusted two accordingly. I was right. He has a lot of combat experience. This could be fun. She continued to fire a barrage or beams at him and every time he seemed to barely dodge and only block one of them at a time. He seemed to be running in a circle around her with an occasional change in direction when she aimed her beams in front of him. She was annoyed for two reasons. One, he didn't seem to be able to do anything but dodge and block. Two, he face wasn't showing fear but seemed to be concentrating on more than just dodging. He was still a good 25 feet away. WAIT 25 FEET? This entire time he was dodging by circling around her but he was slowly gaining ground on her. What kind of guy is he and why is he only using his hand to block?
Touma was busy trying to predict how the beams were going to come at him. He had a second or less to decide how he was going to move without getting killed. She seemed to be keeping at least one targeting him but then she fired one to three other beams around him to catch him as he tried to dodge the first one. Shizuri was obviously someone who has fought a lot of people before so he couldn't take her lightly. He needed to get close but he had to keep moving to make her think all he could do was dodge. He continued to circle her. He then noticed a slight change in the pattern of her green orbs and knew it was time. How he knew, he wasn't sure but the instincts that led him through countless battles was steering him. He slid slightly then moved a couple feet toward Shizuri as several beams flew right through the location where he would have been if he continued circling. Now he was a couple feet closer to her. He had to keep this up.
"Wow," Saiai said watching the fight. "He can super keep up with Mugino."
"Basically, it is just his power," Frenda said shrugging. "He can't beat her and it is only a matter of time."
"I still don't see an AIM field…" Rikou said softly and the other two looked at her briefly.
"Stop dodging and accept your fate like the pest you are!" Shizuri yelled at him.
"How often do people do that when you ask?" Touma yelled as he dodged two beams and blocked a third with his hand.
"Shut up you piece of shit," she yelled and a large orb appeared in front of her.
Touma was prepared to dodge as he kept moving but he realized a second before the beam was fired, the other three girls where behind him and they were in the path of the blast. Shizuri was to focus on him to notice the danger to her friends. "Get out of the way," he yelled to the girls the second the large beam flew at him. The girls saw the danger and tried to move but they were going to be too slow. He saw the look of fear on the blonde girl's face and she would definitely be hit directly by it. The other two would just get hit by the explosion that would follow. Touma's body was already moving before his mind could think.
Frenda fell backwards in shock as the large green beam came right at her while Saiai and Rikou jumped out of the way. She was about to yell when a shadow appeared between her and the beam. The boy reached his hand forward and right as Shizuri's Meltdowner hit his hand, it stopped. He moved forward pushing the most destructive ability in Academy City forward with a single hand. The beam died down and he stood unhurt with his back to her. The way the moon was positioned over him and in her view from sitting on the ground, he looked oddly tall.
"You ok?" he asked without turning around.
"Yeah…" Frenda muttered. It was dark so it was hard to see but she felt her face flush.
"Watch where you aim those things," Touma yelled at Mugino walking toward her. "You could have killed her." This was the first time any of them heard him angry.
"Frenda," Shizuri called out. "Get far back I don't want this to happen again. You two go with her. I am going to finish this guy." All three of them quickly got farther back and Shizuri looked at Touma with interest and annoyance. She could not figure him out. He wasn't angry at Shizuri for trying to kill him, but for threatening someone else he didn't even know. What goes through that idiot's brain? She also wasn't happy that he was now walking toward her like he had already won. Four orbs appeared in front of her as she watched him but he didn't stop. "It is going to end right now," she said when he was 10 feet away.
"You're right," he said making a fist. "It is." He started to run toward her as she fired. Instead of trying to dodge to the side or move back, he dived forward. One beam had been aimed to his right and left while the last two were aimed at his head and chest. He dived below three of them and his right hand grabbed the lowest of the middle ones causing it to disperse. He then used the momentum to carry him forward right in front of Shizuri. Several orbs appeared but before they could fire he jumped up and grabbed her left wrist with his right hand and the orbs disappeared instantly. The momentum also carried Touma to tackle Shizuri to the ground. Her right arm was trapped beneath her and his right hand was pinning her left arm to the ground. He was sitting on top of her holding her firmly to the ground.
"Get off you pest," she spat at him while struggling but couldn't get free. She couldn't even feel her ability. Damn it, he is negating my activation. I was stupid and let him get close. Shizuri was prideful and tried to be a perfectionist but even she made mistakes. When she did, she immediately found out what she did wrong and learned from it to never make that mistake again. In the middle of life or death on battlefields, one mistake will cost you, like it did right now. She glared at him while struggling. She wasn't a weak little girl but Touma's weight along with his physical strength was enough to keep her pinned.
"Give up," he said staring at her right in the eyes. "You can't win."
She glared at him and it pissed her off to no end but he was right. Right now she couldn't do anything and if he wanted to he could easily kill her. She knew it was entirely her fault but this boy didn't seem capable of murder. In the worst case scenario, he might be able to permanently negate my ability. If he does he would have to let me up afterwards and then I will kill him when he lets his guard down. However, part of her was interested in the kind of person this boy was. He didn't seem to care about himself but when someone else was threatened he suddenly changed the entire tide of battle. She didn't understand why he didn't flaunt his power. Shizuri lived in a world where the strong survived and ate the weak so she didn't understand about protecting others. In fact, the only reason she worked with others was to accomplish an objective. If they could not perform their job, they were removed. Maybe I should see what makes this guy tick. She looked up at him again and narrowed her eyes. "Those are some interesting words, especially in the position you are in."
Touma looked down and saw that he was sitting on her thighs and with his right hand was holding her arm onto the ground. The other hand however, was grabbing her rather ample chest while pushing her down and keeping her other arm pinned below her body. Her chest was really soft but he realized what this looked like. He was pinning a girl to the ground and telling her to give up. "I-it's not like that..." he started to sputter turning red but Shizuri just seemed slightly amused at his reaction. However, the universe decided to give him another punch to the gut.
"YOU IDIOT WHAT ARE YOU DOING!"
He turned and looked to the bridge. Coming toward him, at the worst possible time, was Mikoto sparking wildly looking at him and the position he was in. His stomach dropped and he realized how bad this looked. "Mikoto," he called out. "It's not like what it looks like." She continued to walk toward him grinning slightly and the electricity doubled around her.
The other three girls were discussing what they were looking at since none of them knew what was going on or why the Railgun was there. "Mugino…" Frenda cried out softly.
"Wait," Saiai asked. "Was this whole thing just a lover's quarrel?"
"I'll be rooting for you Mugino…" Rikou said softly.
Longest chapter so far for this story but I had a lot of stuff I wanted to put in it. This one set up a lot of things for future chapters. Now Shizuri Mugino is interested in Touma, though maybe not in a romantic way. Maybe she won't cause too many problems for him… hahaha. If you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you. Tried to think of away to have Touma beat her without just punching her in the face.
Ruiko should have some fun escapades too. No idea how the readers will react to this, some will probably like it and others will want her to stay a level 0 because it is part of her charm.
Oh, help settle the Delta Squad's argument. The best type of swimsuit is?
Feel free to let me know what you think. I enjoy reading reviews, comments, and suggestions.