Tons of fun comments for last chapter I see. I'm glad a lot of people like the fact this story explains my take on the Imagine Breaker. I noticed a lot of people just go, oh it is what it is, but I plan to have the information build up and it will make a lot of sense eventually. But now there is debate on how far the research should go and what should happen. I saw some pretty interesting ideas.
Good advice from a Guest: "Never go full yuri rape Kuroko." Though I do feel sorry for her a little bit, Touma steals all the girls.
Okaidi, you have no idea how much I would love to see that. Not sure if it is possible yet, but we will see. I try to keep everyone in character, something I try to focus on but also allow them to change through experiences in this story, but not sure if Accelerator has the power to beat the Delta Force in a gal game.
Anyway, that's enough with my boring chatter, back to the story.
Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters.
In Joseph's Diner in Academy City, three girls were sitting at a table. One of them looked incredibly depressed while the other two were trying to cheer her up. Kuroko had her head resting on the table looking like Christmas was canceled while Ruiko was patting her on the back. Kazari looked sympathetic but was also enjoying her large sundae in front of her. Kazari had a big weakness for sweets. Ruiko and Kazari had been enjoying their afternoon eating sweets when they saw Kuroko walking by miserable and they pulled her over to find out why.
"Why was onee-sama so cruel?" Kuroko said through the tears.
"From what you told us," Ruiko said. 'It sounded like you forced yourself on her while insulting her friend. You really couldn't expect anything else."
"I'm just trying to express my love for her," Kuroko cried sadly.
"Shirai-san," Kazari said kindly. "You are Misaka-san's friend but she just isn't into girls."
"But I am a much better choice than that ape."
"Maybe if you tried to stop insulting Touma every opportunity," suggested Ruiko. "Try saying Kamijou-san."
Kuroko glared at her while Ruiko tried to smile, but under Kuroko's stare it was hard. "Kamijou-san," Kuroko finally spat out but her face had the expression of per disgust.
"See," Ruiko said. "That wasn't so hard."
"It was horrible," Kuroko replied. "You can just say it easier because you like him too. I can't understand your taste in guys."
"He's really nice," Ruiko said slightly red. "And he is always willing to help others."
"If you become his girlfriend," Kuroko said eyes sparkling. "Onee-sama will stop chasing him and come back to me. I'll root for your Saten-san."
"Ah, what?" sputtered Ruiko turning red.
"I'm sure Misaka-san will forgive you," Kazari said softly diverting the conversation back to the more serious matter. "Misaka-san wouldn't hold a grudge very long. She might have been stressed out about helping Kamijou-san. I would just let her cool down for a day or two and I bet it will all work out."
"You're probably right," Kuroko acknowledged. "I will apologize and see if she will talk to me again. It was so painful after school to not meet up with her." Her eyes started to water again.
"Oh Shirai," Ruiko said suddenly trying to change the topic to something more pleasant to get Kuroko's mind off Mikoto. "I'm going to be participating in a special development curriculum to try to advance to level 3 in a couple weeks."
"Really," Kuroko said curiously while wiping her tears with her sleeve. "That's great. You are finally going to get an ability. How did you get selected and who's leading it?"
"It was kind of an accident how she got selected," Kazari commented while taking a bite of her sundae.
"Kazari and I were talking about abilities and we were overheard," Ruiko grinned purposely omitting the most important details from Kuroko till the end. Kazari raised an eyebrow at Ruiko who continued. "Turns out Kagere-san is going to lead the development."
"That guy?" Kuroko choked on her drink. "He can't be trusted. He lies every chance his gets."
Ruiko and Kazari looked at each other and grinned. "Umm Shirai-san," Kazari said looking at Kuroko. "We really need to tell you something."
"What?" Kuroko asked.
"Kagere-san just jokes a lot in front of you," Ruiko said unable to contain her amusement. "He actually doesn't lie a lot when you aren't there."
"He also helps a lot with Judgment and Anti-Skill," Kazari added smiling. "He told us he just likes to mess with you."
"That guy," Kuroko said balling her hands into fists. "I will make sure to get my revenge on him for…" Suddenly she went quite and just stared blankly ahead. Kazari and Ruiko also were not moving and had the same blank look in their eyes. Sitting at the table next to them was Misaki twirling her remote. She had been using her mind control ability to avoid notice from everyone in the restaurant. She had noticed them and caught a few words about Mikoto and Touma in the early part of the conversation when Kuroko had been dragged into the restaurant. Curious, she sat next to them and read Kuroko's mind for more details while they were talking.
She was upset for several reasons. One, Mikoto was getting close to Touma and Misaki did not want Mikoto to take her prince away. Two, for some reason, it looked like the rank 4 had met Touma based on Kuroko's memories. Misaki had met Shizuri once and neither of them liked each other. Shizuri was just outright violent while Misaki was noble and lady-like. She was not sure if Shizuri would be interested in Touma but she wouldn't be surprised if Shizuri tried to kill him. Misaki would have to watch her closely now too. How many girls are going to get near my prince? I'm going to have to be more aggressive publically. She had stopped the other three girl's conversation because she didn't really care about Jason or Ruiko's ability. She already found out Jason was part of curriculum development and that did not interest her at this time. She got up and left the restaurant while hitting her remote one last time to cause the other three girls to resume talking. She only heard one more thing from them before she was out of earshot.
"SATEN-SAN, stop stealing my sundae!"
Touma woke up early again the next morning. When he had returned back to his dorm last night, it was pretty late and Index had initially been quite angry because of how hungry she was. Her anger quickly changed to excitement when Touma held up a bunch of groceries and promised to fix her a large supper. He went to bed shortly after eating. However, he didn't fall asleep easily because his mind was going through all the new things he learned about the Imagine Breaker including the wave of light. He also looked at the mark on his arm and couldn't figure out why the wave if light didn't negate the curse. It had skipped his mind due to the new discovery earlier. He didn't remember when exactly he fell asleep, but he woke up early even though he was tired. He had to meet the guys at school early to prepare for the game challenge. He quickly made breakfast and lunch for Index and stored them in the fridge. Then he rushed out of the dorm.
As he reached the first floor and rushed out into the street, he almost ran smack into Misaki who was waiting outside his dorm. When he saw her he quickly stepped to the side and slipped falling on the ground. He looked up and was glad when he saw Misaki was fine. "What are you doing here Shokuhou-san?" he asked in surprise.
She reached down with her hand and helped him to his feet. "To see you silly," she said smiling brightly. "I have something to give you." She reached into her bag and pulled out a bento. "I thought you would prefer a homemade lunch."
Touma stared at her in surprise. He was not expecting something like this. This flag was something he thought only occurred in video games. He reached out and received it. "Thanks Shokuhou-san," he said gratefully. "This means a lot." When he took the bento, he saw there were some bandages on her fingers. She must have hurt herself making this for me. He had no idea how right he was. His heart beat faster when he looked into her eyes.
Since yesterday, Misaki found out Mikoto had been steadily getting closer to Touma. Misaki started to plan on how to monopolize Touma's affection. She remembered he mentioned long ago home cook food was one of the best gifts a girl could give a guy so she set out to make him a lunch. However, she had absolutely no experience making anything since she either bought food or one of her clique members made it for her. The initial results were not pretty and it was almost to the level of Last Order's cooking skills. Several memories were modified heavily as a result. She eventually decided to use her power to get a couple other girls to help her. While she still tried to do everything herself, she used their knowledge of cooking to make sure everything came out correctly. Touma was the only person in the world who she would have done this for.
"I knew you would like it," she said blushing lightly. "And you can call me Misaki," she added. 'After all, we have been through a lot."
"Sure Misaki," Touma said smiling and she turned redder. "And it is only fair for you to be able to call me Touma."
"I need to get going," Misaki said still smiling. "I don't want to be late for school. I'll see you later Touma." Before he could respond, she leaned up and kissed him on the cheek and ran off. Touma felt his face turn red. He instinctively looked up at Motoharu's window to see if he saw anything. Touma breathed a sigh of relief when he didn't see anyone.
If someone from school saw that, I wouldn't hear the end of it. He put the bento into his bag and headed to school. Misaki looked extremely cute.
When he got to school he found Jason, Motoharu, Pierce, and Accelerator already there in the back of the class holding their new games. When Touma got close Pierce tossed him his copy. He looked at it and turned it on. The screen showed the world but it did not continue past the start menu. Instead a timer in the upper right corner was counting down till it was unlocked. "So what's the plan?"
"We were just discussing that," Motoharu said. "I think we decided we should all play it though by ourselves to see how well each of us does. Then we compare notes and work on whoever does the best."
"Soon we will complete the most difficult and important game in history," Pierce said punching the air.
"Make sure everyone takes detailed notes on what they do," Jason reminded them. "We need to collaborate to make sure we can clear every route."
"I'll just complete it the first time so I don't have to put up with this stupidity any longer," Accelerator said offhandedly.
"Good luck with that," Touma said rolling his eyes. "If you do that I'll be your slave for a week."
"Pssh," Accelerator spat. "Who would want someone as useless as you as a slave?"
"I bet some girls would," Jason said smirking and Touma punched him in the arm.
When eight o'clock came around, all five of them started playing simultaneously. Touma stared at the character development screen. He didn't have any plan for what strategy to try so he just decided to make his character based on himself. He gave the avatar spiky black hair and medium height. When he got to the stats screen he put most of the points into stamina and strength. He smirked to himself while he decreased his character's luck as far down as it would go. He glanced up and saw everyone else was concentrating on their own game. He looked back down and pressed start.
Komoe entered her classroom and immediately knew something was wrong. It was too quiet and there didn't seem to be anyone fighting. She looked around and there did not seem to be anyone absent. However, she noticed several of her students had turned around in their seats and were watching the students in the back. She stood up on her stool and looked at the back of the classroom. She saw five of her students focused entirely on a handheld game. Tears immediately filled her eyes as they thought the game was more important than her lesson. Several of the students in the front row noticed this and immediately started barraging the students in the back with insults. Chaos followed and the most important game of history was put on hold.
Our five heroes met again at lunch on the roof of the school building to discuss how far they managed to get. They constantly played throughout the morning except for Touma who, whenever he started to play, got caught by the teacher every time he tried to play and he had to keep putting it away. It seemed like Pierce had gotten the farthest but even he felt he missed several girls.
"Wow this game is tough," Pierce said concentrating on the game. "It feels like the routes led you to choose one of two girls and then you lose the second one. There has to be an opportunity to loop around and raise flags with them."
"Love the younger sister on here," Motoharu commented. "She's the perfect example of sisterly love."
"I thiff you got sisterly love confuthed with perversion," Jason remarked with his mouth full of bread.
"Sisterly love is the greatest form of love on earth," Motoharu argued back.
"Can't we just hack the game and unlock all the girls?" Accelerator asked. 'It would save a lot of time."
"No way!" Pierce, Motoharu, and Touma all said at once. "You can't just cheat when you are collecting girls," Pierce added. "Besides someone tried that already, it's all over the forums. It turns out they have ways to detect if you hack the game."
"I barely got to play," Touma said depressed pulling out the bento he got from Misaki. "I kept getting caught."
"That's because of your…" Motoharu started to say glancing at him then froze going wide-eyed. "Kami-yan, is that a bento?"
"WHAT?!" Pierce said jumping up and grabbing the box from Touma. "Jason pin him down."
"What are you doing?!" Touma shouted as Pierce grabbed his lunch while Jason tackled and pinned Touma to the ground. "Damn it Jason, get off!"
"Open it," Motoharu said leaning over Pierce's shoulder. Even Accelerator looked up in interest. He had just bought some food from the cafeteria.
"Let's see what we have here," Pierce said opening it. "KAMIJOU, you glorious b#$$%&#$. Which girl gave you such a high-class bento? Assorted seafood dishes and there is even a heart drawn in the rice. I don't think we can let him eat this."
"Obviously not," Motoharu said shaking his head. "How dare Kami-yan progress so far and leave us all alone with no girlfriends?"
With a sudden burst of strength, Touma knocked Jason off of him but for some reason he felt Jason wasn't trying that hard to keep him down. He stood up, kicked Motoharu and the gut knocking him down and punching Pierce in the face while grabbing the box. "All of you idiots need to quit stealing my food." Touma yelled at them. He took a couple steps away from them sat down and started eating. He found out Misaki was indeed a good cook, it was delicious.
"Stealing another man's food," Jason said shaking his head. "That's low guys. I couldn't participate in that."
"He has around five girls," Accelerator said shrugging. "I'm not surprised at least one of them can cook. I wish I knew one that could cook." He muttered the last line.
"Maybe you are right Jason," Motoharu conceded. "We can still beat up Touma but stealing his food was definitely a step too far."
"You're right," Pierce agreed hanging his head in defeat. "How could I lower myself to stealing food? As punishment I won't beat him up for having that lunchbox."
Touma wasn't entirely sure what just happened but it allowed him to eat his lunchbox in peace. He gave a quick glance at Jason and was surprised to see him smirking. This was not a good sign for Touma. I'm going to regret eating this in front of them. The food was really good though that he decided to worry about it later. I need to remember to thank Misaki.
"Where are we going?" Mikoto asked Ruiko. Mikoto had woken up that morning and left again without talking to Kuroko. Mikoto wanted to talk to her but she was still really embarrassed how mad she got even though she knew Kuroko deserved it. It was just really awkward and she didn't know how to approach Kuroko. Kuroko probably assumed she was still mad at her because Kuroko didn't talk to her last night or meet her after school today.
"You'll see," Ruiko said mysteriously as she led Mikoto to their destination. "You seemed down, so this should cheer you up." Mikoto looked at her confused.
"What are you planning?" she asked but Ruiko just kept smiling. Ruiko led them into a diner and Mikoto saw why. In the corner of the room, Kazari and Kuroko were sitting in a booth. "Ah no..." she started to say but Ruiko pulled her to the table anyways.
"Found her Uiharu," Ruiko said cheerfully and pushed Mikoto into the booth and sat on the outside so Mikoto couldn't run. Mikoto couldn't look Kuroko in the eyes.
"We both feel you two need to sit down and talk about this," Kazari said softly looking at both of her friends. "You both are obviously upset with not talking to each other."
Mikoto knew they both where right and she had wanted to apologize to Kuroko for awhile but couldn't find a good opportunity to. This was probably the best she could hope for. Mikoto opened her mouth but Kuroko beat her too it. "Onee-sama," she said looking at the table. "I'm sorry for stalking you and then forcefully undressing you." A couple guys in the nearby table suddenly coughed on their drinks.
Mikoto sighed, She's still not sorry for insulting Touma. Oh well, I'll take what I can get. "I'm also sorry for over reacting so much too. But Kuroko understand, if one of my friends needs help, I'm going to go and help them regardless of when or where."
"I know," Kuroko said nodding. "And that is one of the things I love about you, but I wish you would tell me instead of just lying to me about it. You know I will help you save anyone right?"
"Yea," Mikoto agreed and smiled at her friend. She suddenly felt like this conversation was familiar. Then she realized it was the same conversation she had with Touma at the end of the beach vacation. Kuroko was upset Mikoto was running off and leaving her behind. She suddenly felt really guilty because she knew exactly how Kuroko felt. 'Ok, I will try to keep you informed of anything like that. But some stuff is private for a reason, so stop following me around and taking those pictures."
"Of course onee-sama," said Kuroko happily. Mikoto doubted if she would stop but Kuroko seemed to be happy just being back on speaking terms.
"Also, stop trying to grope me all the time."
"Onee-sama is so mean!"
"Yay, everyone seems to be friends again," Kazari said happily clapping her hands. "I can call Jason over now. He needs to drop something off for Saten-san." She pulled out her phone and texted him.
"Why does Kagere-san need to see you?" Mikoto asked turning to Ruiko.
"Ah you don't know," Ruiko said beaming. "You know how he is part of the ability curriculum development?" Mikoto nodded. "I don't know all the details but it seems like he got into an argument with someone and now has to develop away to fast track a level 0 to around level 3. We were actually discussing something else and he asked me. So over the next couple weeks I am going to be participating in some additional ability development curriculum. My school just told me about it today. It seems they received some information about it."
"Wow," Mikoto said smiling at the good news. "That's great. You are finally going to get an ability."
"I still don't think it's possible to just develop an ability that quickly," Kuroko said frowning. "I hope there aren't any side effects." Mikoto silently agreed but she didn't want to ruin the good news for Ruiko. She also had the nagging worry about the discussion she had with Accelerator and Touma about Jason. She didn't think he could be up to anything bad, but she would make sure to constantly check up on Ruiko to make sure nothing happened.
"I'm sure he knows what he is doing," Ruiko said dismissively. "He did warn me I might only get to level 1 or 2 but an ability is an ability."
"I hope you get one you like," Kazari commented.
After a couple minutes of waiting and talking, Jason entered the diner and headed toward them. "Glad it was nearby, but I don't have a long. Got to meet the guys in a little bit."
All the girls greeted him, except Kuroko, who glared but he just smirked at her when no one else was looking. "You said you had something for me?" Ruiko asked.
"Yep," he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small music player. "This has a song you need to listen to once every day. It's only thirty minutes long but you need to listen to it every day from now until Sunday."
"That's it?" Ruiko asked.
"Yep," Jason said. "Though, I did rig this player to not play more than once every 23 hours. In the past we had some overzealous people who tried to get ahead and overload themselves. I know you wouldn't do this," he winked at her, "but I always take precautions. After that, I'll need to take some readings on Monday to see the progress. If you develop any sort of ability before then stop listening to the music immediately and let me know."
"Sounds pretty simple," Ruiko said picking up the music player.
"Any side effects?" Kuroko said watching him closely.
"Umm," Jason said thinking. "Slight headaches are not uncommon while listening to it, but they usually disappear about a minute or two after the song ends. If you get a serious headache stop using it and let me know."
"Yay," Ruiko said pocketing the music player. "I'm going to listen this when I get back to the dorm tonight."
"How was your day Jason?" Kazari asked. 'And what are you doing tonight?"
"Touma and I, along with some other friends from school, are trying to win a contest by being the first people to beat a new game. We played a lot in school," he grinned, "but we didn't get very far. So we are going to marathon it tonight."
"What game?" Ruiko asked interestedly.
"Ah," Jason said his ears turning red. "Secret."
"Ah come on," Mikoto said. "Tell us." Jason just shook his head. She opened her mouth but her brain made a connection first. "Is it one of 'those' games?" Her face turned red and when Kazari and Ruiko saw her expression they realized what she meant and they turned red too.
Jason narrowed his brow in confusion. "I am going to assume that it is not, based on your reactions," he said slowly. "But I am still not saying."
"You and your friends are perverts," Kuroko scoffed.
"Thank you," Jason said turning to her and smiling.
"That wasn't a complimen…"
"So anything interesting happen at your school?" Kazari asked cutting across Kuroko. "Nothing ever happens at ours and, from what you and Kamijou-san talk about, a lot of fun stuff happens at your school."
"Nothing big happened," Jason said thinking again. "We were involved with our new game all day. Only thing that caused any commotion was Touma had a bento from some girl but none of us knew who it was from."
There was a sound of a glass hitting the table and everyone turned. Mikoto had accidently hit a glass of water over on the table. She quickly picked it up and started wiping the water up with napkins but she looked embarrassed. Ruiko also looked shocked but Kuroko looked oddly content. Kuroko assumed, because Mikoto had reacted so strongly, she didn't give him the bento. So that meant someone else might grab Touma so Kuroko could have Mikoto all to herself.
"Thanks for waiting for us to finish our conversation Jason," Kazari said beaming at him.
"Anything for you," he said and leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. Kazari turned red and deliberately avoided everyone's eyes. Jason waved and left the diner.
Kuroko looked at the bright red Kazari and smirked. "I see your relationship is progressing." Kazari opened her mouth but nothing came out. She was still very embarrassed about public displays of affection beyond hugs and holding hands. Kuroko may not be a big fan of Jason but she does notice how much Kazari likes him.
"So what type of game you think they are playing?" Ruiko asked changing the subject. Kazari shrugged.
"Probably something perverted," Kuroko said. She was close but not quite there.
"What about you Misaka-san?" Ruiko asked.
Mikoto was preoccupied in her own thoughts, she didn't hear Ruiko. She was too busy thinking about who gave Touma the bento. She didn't know every girl he knew, but she had a good idea of who it could be. It has to be Shokuhou. Why did she suddenly decide to make it for him now? She had no way of knowing it was because Misaki had read Kuroko's mind. However, she was too busy trying to figure out what her response should be to think about why Misaki did it. If she tried making Touma a bento, the girls at her school would obvious learn about it and hassle her to no end. Her next idea was just to spend as much time with him as possible before Saturday to limit Misaki's opportunities.
"MISAKA-SAN!" Ruiko called out waving her hand in front of Mikoto's face. "You still here?"
"Ah sorry," Mikoto replied sheepishly. "I was thinking about some stuff. What was the question?"
"Do you have any idea what game they are playing?"
"No idea," Mikoto said. She played a couple of fighting games in the past, but she didn't keep up with all the new games comings out.
"Ah, oh well," Ruiko said her mind roaming around for the next topic to discuss. "How's it going with Judgment on those intruders?"
"Horrible," Kuroko sighed.
"We have no leads," Kazari explained. "Higher ups believe the museum and the tournament were isolated incidents so they aren't trying to look too far into it. Instead, they just want to know how they slipped into Academy City undetected."
Mikoto forced herself to remain silent. She knew this was not an isolated incident but she didn't have any proof to present to Judgment or Anti-Skill to show Touma was the target. Jason knew, but he probably wasn't enough to cause the city to move. She was also worried Touma might get in a lot of trouble if they found out. For now, she would keep an eye out for him. Accelerator and Misaki were also watching for this organization, but Mikoto did not want Misaki near Touma too much.
"For now," Kuroko explained. "We are just told to watch out for suspicious people and report them. We have permission to detain them if we have reason to suspect they might be accomplices of those guys."
"Like those two?" Ruiko asked pointing out the window to a pair of unlikely people. Everyone turned to look at who she was pointing at. A male and female were walking together but neither of them looked like they would belong together. The female looked to be around eighteen and was tall with long black hair tied up in a ponytail that reached her hips. She had on a short white T-shirt tied into a knot at the bottom, revealing her stomach, and her jeans had one pant leg cut off to be very short. Her clothes were really casual and just showed off her curves. The guy next to her had flaming red hair with a barcode tattoo on his very young looking face. He was dressed in black robes and a cigarette in his mouth. He also had a look of being extremely displeased.
Kanzaki? Mikoto thought to herself stunned. She was not sure of who the red haired guy was but was sure she saw him hanging out with Touma before. Since he was with Kanzaki, he must also be part of the magic side. Why are they here? She thought about it and the only reason she could think of was they were going to meet Touma but they seemed to be going the opposite way of his dorm.
"That girl is really beautiful," Kazari said in awe. "But only the guy looks suspicious."
"We can't just follow them based on their looks," Kuroko sighed. "They have to do something to warrant that and I am not in the mood to stalk them right now."
Mikoto stood up. "I have to go." She turned to Ruiko. "Thanks for bringing me here, I really needed it." Ruiko smiled back at her. "Kuroko I'll see you back at the dorms."
"Don't be late onee-sama," Kuroko said. "The Dorm Supervisor is checking more frequently," Mikoto nodded and casually left the restaurant to avoid attracting attention. When she was out of eyesight from the restaurant she dashed after Kanzaki.
"Why couldn't he just be at his dorm?" Stiyl growled irritated.
"Lots of reasons," Kaori replied indifferently. "But we can't wait at his dorm as long as Index is there, unless you want to involve her."
"I know," Stiyl sighed. "But the ban on magic while we are here unless we see them is a pain."
"Do you want to advertise we are here?" Kaori asked.
"Yea yea," Stiyl said bored. "Our job is to protect him and locate the spy. This organization is becoming way to much hassle. One of them was able to fight with you, which in itself is a huge cause for concerned." Kanzaki didn't say anything to this but continued walking until a voice came behind them.
"Kanzaki-san."
They both turned around instantly but for two completely different reasons. Stiyl did not recognize the female voice but there should be few, if any, females on this science side who knew Kaori's name. Kaori turned around because she recognized the voice. They turned around to see a middle school girl in her uniform with short brown hair. Kaori recognized the girl as the one who saved her life against the individual known as Wrath. "Ah it's you," Kaori said.
"What are you doing here?" Mikoto said walking up to them.
"Who is this?" Stiyl asked Kanzaki.
"This is the friend of Touma Kamijou that saved my life during my last mission." Kaori explained.
"Ah that's right," Stiyl remarked and looked at the girl in front of him. "If I remember, she is the boy's stalker?"
"I'm not a stalker," Mikoto said indigently turning red. "I'm his friend. I take it you are from the mag…other side from science."
"Very good," Stiyl commented grinning. "You are certainly smarter than him. Perhaps you could help us with another problem. We went to see him at his apartment but he was not there. Due to unusual circumstances we are to abstain from using our abilities for as long as possible. Where is your friend Touma Kamijou? We need to meet with him as soon as possible and that idiot turned off his phone."
"I think he is currently with some of his friends from school," Mikoto said. "I can give one of them a call to see if Touma is there."
"That would be most helpful," Kaori said politely cutting across Stiyl. Mikoto pulled out her phone and called Jason.
"What's up?" Jason asked.
"I need to talk to Touma and his phone is off," Mikoto said. "You're with him right?" She heard several people yell around in the background on Jason's side.
"What the f&#% is with this game?!" This voice sounded familiar.
"Don't destroy it, we need the data!" A voice of someone she didn't know shouted.
"Yea hang on," Jason said. He then yelled at Touma on his end. "Hey Touma, your girlfriend is trying to contact you and your phone is off." Mikoto's face immediately grew red in embarrassment.
"Which one?" someone else yelled back and Mikoto didn't recognize the voice but she immediately switched from embarrassment to irritation.
"Misaka-san," Jason replied.
"Ah the third rate." Mikoto knew now that had to be Accelerator.
"The Railgun?" the first voice she didn't recognize said. "Kamijou, you b#$&#*!"
"Wow Kami-yan," the second voice she didn't know said. "Nice, how far have you gone?" Now Mikoto was back to being embarrassed.
"Shut up you moron!" Touma's voice reverberated through the phone. "Hey Mikoto, I'm sorry about my phone. I forgot to charge it."
"That doesn't matter," Mikoto said quickly looking at Kanzaki and her companion. "Kanzaki and a red haired guy are here looking for you. They said it's important they talk to you." She heard him groan and she got worried.
"It's never good when they want to see me," he said. "Can you lead them to Jason's apartment in an hour so we can clear out the other guys?"
"Yea," Mikoto said. "I'll let them know."
"Thanks a lot Mikoto." Touma hung up.
Mikoto turned to Kaori. "He said give him an hour to clear the other guys out so you can talk in private. I can guide you to where he is then."
"Thank you," Kanzaki said. "Oh yes, this is Stiyl Magnus."
"Are you friends with Touma?" Mikoto asked interested.
"No," Stiyl said flatly without hesitation. "We keep our relationship purely professional. He is just a means to an end when we need his power." Kanzaki shook her head slightly behind him with the corner of her mouth twitching.
"I see," Mikoto said trying not to smirk. This guy reminds me a lot of Accelerator. "I figure you can't tell me anything out here, so do you want to grab something to eat since we have time to kill?"
"Your hospitality is most kind," Kaori said. Stiyl shrugged and followed anyways.
It took a little bit, but Touma finally manage to get Accelerator and Pierce to leave. Pierce thought Touma was trying to clear everyone out so he could go meet Mikoto who just called. Pierce decided Touma needed a lesson for abandoning his friends and proceeded to fight with him for a good five minutes before heading out. Accelerator knew something was up, but he left too after watching the fight. Touma let Motoharu stay because he was also part of Necessarius and involved in the magic side.
"So I take it something happened?" Motoharu said looking at Jason and Touma.
"Yea," Touma said. "Stiyl and Kanzaki are coming here to talk about something."
"I bet it's about that organization," Jason said leaning back in a chair.
"I haven't been in contact with them for a bit," Motoharu said thinking. "But I think I know why they had trouble finding us."
"Why?" Touma asked.
"Since those guys form the organization seem to know about us," Motoharu said. "It's most likely there is a spy in Academy City. If they use magic, it's like broadcasting a beacon on their location. If they avoid using magic, their presence would remain secret, at least for a bit."
"Makes sense," Jason said. "I haven't really been disguising my magic, but no one really cares and they already know about me."
After waiting for a bit there came a knock on the door. Jason opened it and Mikoto, Stiyl and Kanzaki walked in. Jason has never met Kaori and he definitely looked her up and down. He did however recognize Stiyl and his eyes narrowed. He never forgot about Stiyl throwing fire cards at him. As he closed the door and everyone sat down, he called out, "Hey it's the flaming guy." No one expected that and Touma and Motoharu burst out laughing before they could stop themselves. Even Kaori smirked slightly at this. Mikoto didn't get the joke but she quickly got it when Stiyl pulled out a run card and threw it at Jason. It exploded into flames right as Jason's shadow engulfed it to prevent the room from catching on fire.
"So why are you guys here?" Touma asked trying to prevent a fight from breaking out.
"We came to tell you what we found out about this organization," Kaori said. "And also to explain our future movements since it impacts you."
Touma raised an eyebrow. He wasn't sure what their movements had to do with him but they usually meant he would find himself in a dangerous situation. "Ok," he said hesitantly. "What's the news?"
"Well," Stiyl said lighting up a cigarette. "It seems that after they retrieved the Virlerud of Neptune, the artifact at the beach, they moved west into Russia and stole another grimoire."
"They stole a grimoire? Touma asked. "Aren't those books some of the most protect objects on the magic side."
"They are," Stiyl said nodding. "But it's not just one. That one makes 26 of them in total."
"26?" Touma asked wide-eyed.
"Excuse me," Mikoto asked. "Why are these grimoire valuable?"
"They are books of magic," Motoharu explained. "But they are so potent they are harmful to people who try to read them. Normal people would be driven insane just by reading one. We can't even destroy them because the words themselves become magical circles and make the books virtually indestructible. Well except for maybe one way," he gave a brief glance at Touma's hand, "But they are too valuable to just randomly destroy. Most magicians could only comprehend a small handful of these books."
"Anyway," Stiyl said. "With the information from the latest grimoire and from what they have stolen, we believe we know what they are after."
"It can't be good," Touma muttered and everyone nodded in agreement.
"Indeed," Stiyl says. "They look like they are planning to revive someone or summon something. Both options are possible with the knowledge they have at their disposal."
"You don't know?" Mikoto asked.
"There are a lot of possibilities Misaka-san," Motoharu said. "Magic knowledge can be used many different ways depending on how you focus it."
"We believe at this time," Stiyl continued as if he wasn't interrupted. "They are planning to reform the leader of their cult. The knowledge they took will not be complete enough to try to pull a deity class being into our world. They would need one other grimoire and we have that locked up tightly with extra security. "
"At least we have some idea of what they are after," Touma said. "But that does not explain why they want my hand."
"Well," Motoharu said. "They use Christian style magic so their leader probably died during a period of turmoil or they wouldn't resort to magic to reform a long dead person. It would be a lot easier to collect the remains and revive them that way. They wouldn't need several grimoires then. I would bet it was during the Crusades or the Dark Ages."
"Reviving the dead," muttered Mikoto more to herself than anyone else. She had started to delve into the world of magic and already it seemed like a dream, or maybe a nightmare. She never thought it would be possible to revive the dead. She looked over at Touma who was watching her with concern. He mouthed it's going to be ok. She smiled at him and resolved herself to listen.
"This leads us to why we are here," Stiyl continued. "Because we have the real grimoire under heightened security, it is possible they will come here to capture Index. We KNOW they are after you," he pointed to Touma, "so we can watch two of their targets at once."
'So you two will be staying at Academy City?" Touma asked. He was both relieved and nervous. Both of these two were very strong and reliable. However, Stiyl had a sort of interesting relationship with him that usually involved a 3000 degree Celsius fire sword being swung at him.
"Yes," Kaori said. "Since Index is not use to Stiyl," Mikoto and Touma noticed a dark look appeared on Stiyl's face, "I will be staying at your apartment in order to guard both you and her when you are isolated from others."
"What?!" Touma and Mikoto said simultaneously embarrassed. Touma immediately thought of the dream he had when Sloth attached and his ears turned red. He could still picture Kaori in the maid outfit. Mikoto's embarrassed reaction was because another very attractive girl was hanging around with Touma and worse, she was going to live with him. It was for his protection, but she was still worried something would happen for Kaori to steal Touma from her.
"I on the other hand," Stiyl said ignoring them, 'will be patrolling the city as much as possible in order to see if I can detect them if or when they enter the city. I still need a place to stay. I would stay with you and Index too, but we want to spread our forces so we can cover more ground and avoid a single target."
"Then might I make a suggestion," Jason said speaking up for the first time in awhile. Everyone turned and looked at him. "You can stay here Stiyl. I have a lot of extra room and since I don't hide my magic, the remaining traces should help hide your presence longer."
Stiyl looked at him thinking with the expression on his face saying he would rather eat dirt then stay near this kid. Finally he nodded. "I can't think of a better solution at this time." If anything, Stiyl was a professional and would take the best option available to him. "Are there any other questions?"
"Is the information about the curse marks and Saints accurate," Touma asked. "If Kanzaki-san is protecting us, wouldn't that make it risky since they would be coming after us?"
"We don't know for sure," Motoharu admitted. "So we would prefer not to run into that situation but making sure you and Index do not fall into their hands is more important. They have a lot of power already, and we do not want to know what they want you for."
"Then I guess we can call this a night then," Jason said. "I assume you will share with us any further developments?"
"If it concerns you yes," Stiyl said narrowing his eyes at Jason. "Anyway, thanks for letting me stay here."
"No problem," Jason replied. "Just don't set the place on fire."
"No promises."
Touma was walking back to his dorm with Kaori. Mikoto left them just a short while ago because she had to take a different route to her school dorms. Before she left she gave Touma 'The Look.' Touma knew if he tried anything to Kaori, Mikoto would not be pleased with him. It wasn't like he was going to try anything anyways. He was too nice and wouldn't even consider it. Kaori was extremely powerful and could easily beat Touma into the ground if she was serious. When Mikoto left everything was silent for awhile until Kaori spoke.
"So that was Jason Kagere," Kaori said to Touma. "I heard a bit from him from Stiyl and Tsuchimikado. I didn't think someone could use magic and science ability so easily."
"What all did they tell you?" Touma asked.
"Stiyl doesn't trust him at all," Kaori said simply. "He thinks Kagere is a spy for some group and is more then he lets on. Tsuchimikado couldn't dig much dirt up on him and, besides doing some advance research for the city at a young age, doesn't really do anything unusual."
"He is a little strange," Touma admitted. "But I'm surrounded by so many strange people I don't really notice it until someone mentions it." Kaori's lips twitched into almost a smile. When they entered his dorm they were immediately greeted by Index.
"TOUMA!" she cried. "You are late! Ah Kaori," she just noticed her. "What are you doing with Touma?"
"Hello Index," Kaori said smiling warmly. "Due to some circumstances I need a place to stay for a little while. Kamijou-san has been kind enough to let me stay here."
"Humph," Index said looking at Touma. "You should have talked to me first but we can't leave a good person out in the cold. Of course you can stay with us."
Touma rolled his eyes. Since when was Index the owner of his apartment? But he knew better then to mention it.
"Thank you," Kaori said smiling going along with Index. "As thanks, why don't I make dinner?"
"Yay," Index cheered. "Finally Touma brings back a nice girl." She follows Kaori into the kitchen. Touma could only shake his head in amusement at Index's reaction. At least she didn't bite him in the head for bringing Kaori back. Maybe my luck is changing.
Dinner was really good. With a combination of the ingredients Touma bought yesterday and Kaori's skills, everyone was satisfied. Touma was worried about the sleeping arrangements since his apartment was small but Index was perfectly happy to share the bed with Kaori. It was getting late, but Index had her eyes glued to the TV watching a late night anime about teenagers who could use magic. Touma got up and stretched. He was exhausted and wanted to use the bathroom before bed. His first mistake was opening the door without knocking because he was not use to having guests late at night. The second he opened the door he saw Kaori who was right in the middle of changing. His second mistake was not backing up, apologizing, and closing the door immediately. He could only stare at her smooth skin and amazing body before finally getting his words out. "Ah, I'm sorr…" He didn't get the words out fast enough as a shampoo bottle came out of nowhere smacking him the face knocking him backwards and out of the bathroom. The door slammed shut in front of him.
"TOOOUUUUMMMAAA!" A very angry Index said standing over him as he laid on the ground. She started to reveal her dagger like teeth.
"Such Misfortune," he muttered before Index chomped on his head.
Well, that ends a very uneventful Wednesday. That means only two more days before the weekend and Touma get's to go on a date with Mikoto. I'm sure nothing could go wrong in between then. It's just two days before Touma's big day. What could POSSIBLY go wrong?
Touma: It sounds like you want something to happen.
Frenda: It will be my time to shine.
Shizuri: Shut up Frenda.
Me: I'm sure it's going to be fine Touma but just to be safe I'll decide on someone to replace you.
Accelerator: It's obviously going to be me.
Mikoto: Yea right.
Accelerator: What makes you so sure third rate?
Motoharu: Until you can get a non loli girlfriend, you won't have the drama to be a main character.
Accelerator: I have a girlfriend.
Everyone: WHAT!
Me: Who?
Accelerator: Why would I tell you morons anything?
Me: Jason, stop trying to take over the world and find out who she is.
Jason: Understood boss.
Touma: Dang, I might get replaced.
Misaki: I'll still love you Touma.