I just love it when chapters virtually write themselves. All I need to do is find the time to actually write everything down. I have a lot of people I want to do shout outs too, so I might as well start quickly so we can all move to the main story.
First, Banditz. He has been around since near the beginning and he has helped me a lot with the story. He always has weird ideas and helps me plan out a lot of the story whenever I hit a wall or have writing blocks. His comments have helped keep the chapters flowing out smoothly.
Next I want to give out a shout out to someone, but I promised to keep his name hidden. He's a young guy who writes some good stories on fanfiction too. He's still old enough to be called a Mr. as a sign of respect, but we need to keep his face hidden. SO just imagine a black head picture whenever you think of him. Since you don't know his face, imagine a big question mark over his face to represent mystery. Let's call him Mr. Questionma…. Mr. Questionhead. He and I enjoy talking about the actual Index LN and have a lot of fun speculating on what's to come.
yakutsu zaishiro: I'll see what I can do. You should be pleased with the chapter though.
Agent Nine: Because for some reason, seeing people in underwear is embarrassing, but seeing people in swimsuits with even more being revealed is not. Society is weird.
Whwsms: Sure is, good times eventually.
EpicReads: I just thought it was hilarious you finished the story right when I started putting up chapter 41. Glad you enjoyed it.
Guest777: I do not have any plans at this moment of a Christmas chapter since it currently is late spring/ early summer. If I do, it will just be a small Omake chapter where the girls try to give him presents while Touma tries to stop Krampus from ruining Christmas.
Some of you have read the light novels, as everyone believes the woman at the end of last chapter is someone specific. You may start seeing very familiar stuff now with some interesting changes. Well played people, well played. Anyway, let's move onwards with the main story.
Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.
Touma didn't even stop to think, as he jumped over the guardrail and started running down the incline toward where the fight was taking place. To him, helping someone in trouble was as natural as breathing. He didn't have a plan, but there was a fair amount of distance between him and the others, so he planned to think of a plan on the way. His only thought was not to yell and hide his presence as long as possible. He got closer and the masked members still had not notice him. He couldn't see the faces of the knights, as they were hidden by armor, but the woman did notice him and she raised an eyebrow in surprise at his presence. He was about ten feet away when the closest masked man heard him and turned around.
"Behind us!" he yelled, but was to slow to raise his spear in time. Touma delivered his right fist into the golden mask of the man. The sound of breaking class echoed across the valley as everyone turned to look and the mask shattered. The faceless man fell backwards onto the ground. The body started to fall apart in strips of paper and disappear.
It looks similar to The Herald's body, Touma though as his eyes darted around. Does that mean that the Eve girl is here? He couldn't think too much about it because there were still nine more masked men with spears, which could kill with a single touch, still standing. The woman, however, laughed when Touma knocked the man out.
"Here I thought this would be a challenge," she said laughing. "But a single surprise attack from a boy throws you all into chaos." She pulled out a sword too, thinner than the knight's swords though, and spun it around in her hand. "I'm surprised you manage to break the Traveling Fortress enough to make it stop." She turned to look at the damage. "You must have used something that was specially designed to break it."
"It matters not," one of the larger masked men said stepping forward. He spun the spear spun around in his hand and it turned into a large curved sword. "He will die just like you." He raised his hand and pointed. The other eight masked men charged forward at the woman and her knights, while the leader turned and walked toward Touma.
Touma charged forward and reached out with his hand to knock the guy out. He realized that, like the museum, if the mask broke they would lose their powers. The man side stepped him effortlessly and tripped Touma as he passed. Touma rolled on the ground, but got quickly back to his feet. "You seem different," Touma said to the man.
"Some of us were given more intelligence to lead," the man replied pointing his sword at Touma. "We were specially made to kill that woman by our Lady Eve herself."
"I figured she was behind this," Touma said eying the blade carefully. Is the blade magical or just enchanted? He knew if the blade was created with magic, his hard would destroy it. If the blade was normal, but just enchanted, even if he touched it with his hand, he could still get sliced by the edge. The man was obviously skilled. But why didn't he strike me.
"It was my understanding you had made a deal with our Lady," the man continued. "If you get involved with us, she will not guarantee your safety."
"I don't care about that," Touma replied fiercely. "I'm going to help anyone who needs it." He quickly glanced at the fight, out of the corner of his eye. The woman and the knights seemed to be holding their own, but then a spear hit the knight's armor. It was only a glancing blow, but a piece of the armor was blown away. The woman frowned and swung her blade at the neck of the spear wielder who hit the knight. Her blade collided into the neck of the man and knocked him down. It did not, however, cause any noticeable cut along his skin. The woman looked annoyed as she fell back into formation with the knights.
The leader of the masked men turned his head to watch the fight too. "Your interruption was unexpected, but will not change anything." He pointed his free hand toward the fight. "Our weapons were designed to pierce their wards, our skin molded to avoid their blades. They may be strong, but they shall falter under our might." While they watched, one of the knights was hit by two spears in the chest and was blown backwards, his chest plate in pieces with his undershirt burned. The woman muttered something under her breath and her sword started to vibrate. With a quick downwards slash, she manage to cut one of the masked men and he fell apart into paper and then disappeared. "Eight versus three and both sides lost one. You can tell how this battle will go. If you leave now, the deal with our Lady will still be valid."
"No," Touma said fiercely, glaring at the man, and raising his fist. "I don't care about trying to protect myself if someone else is in danger. I'm going to take you out and help them." The woman heard him and glanced over at him curiously as she avoided a couple of the spear wielders. She really was quite graceful in battle. Touma figured she must have had a lot of martial training.
"Brave and foolish," the man said. "It's no wonder why our Lady took an interest in you." He raised his sword and started to walk forward. "I'm going to cut off your arm, and take it to her as a gift." Touma knew he would have one chance. He had to dodge the initial strike and touch either the sword with his right hand or hit the man's mask. He took a step forward and they charged each other at the same time. The man was a hair faster than Touma and he realized it too late. The blade swung down and was heading right for his shoulder. Touma gritted his teeth and tried to move inside the blow, but it wasn't going to be enough.
"Don't touch him!" a female voice called out at Touma felt a very slight breeze pass between him and the leader. Something invisible hit the sword and pushed it about an inch and it just barely missed his shoulder. As the sword came down, Touma manage to touch the side of the blade with his pinky as it skimmed the outside of his shoulder. The blade shattered into dust with the sound of breaking glass. Touma couldn't see the man's face, but he was sure it was one of surprise. The man's head turned and looked at who interfered and Touma reached up and hit the man's mask. The mask shattered, leaving the man faceless, and the body collapsed as it disappeared. Touma panted and looked up to see who helped him.
It was Ruiko.
Ruiko was standing there panting slightly. She was scared but, after seeing Touma rush forward, she knew she had to do something. She looked around and saw no one so she followed him to see if there was anything she could do to help. She had hidden behind a nearby tree and heard everything. When she saw Touma standing up to the man with the sword, she wanted to do anything she could to help him. As the sword came down, she used all her power and concentration to focus a sphere of air and threw it at the sword. She had just recently hit level 1, so her air manipulation ability was not very powerful. Unknown to her, because of the desperate situation, she had forcefully pushed herself to her limit, and then broke it. She had reached level 2 trying to help Touma. Level 2 was still not very powerful, but a small focus point of pressure at the end of a beam can move it quite easily due to leverage.
"Thanks," Touma said looking at her. "But stay hidden. I need to help them."
Ruiko nodded and moved back behind a tree. Her head was pounding and her vision blurred slightly for a moment. She pushed herself to hard and she was paying the price for it. She did not regret it at all though, because she had helped Touma. I was finally useful. Finish those guys off Touma, she silently cheered.
Touma rushed over towards where the main fighting was going on. One of the masked men saw him and tried to stab him with the spear. Touma reached up and grabbed the head of the spear and it shattered. The man lost his balance and Touma destroyed the mask as the man fell. He looked up and another masked man was about to spear him through the chest. Shit, I got to confident. He wasn't going to be able to dodge fast enough or block it with his hand. He would have been killed, if a sword blade didn't come out of nowhere and knocked the guy backwards. Touma looked up and saw the knight and the woman standing next to him. "Thanks," he gasped relieved.
"Save the thanks till they are defeated," the woman reprimanded him as she watched the remaining four masked men surround them. Touma noticed the knight was barely on his feet and most of his armor was broken. "We took down a couple, but they have really powerful defensive abilities. It seems like you are able to bypass their spells, right?"
"Yea," Touma nodded. "If I can destroy their masks they will fall apart."
"Then we will give you the opening you need," the woman said curtly. "Just be prepared to move quickly."
"Is this wise?" the knight asked.
"Be quiet," she snapped. "They were designed to kill us. You should be embarrassed that boy took out more of them then you." The knight nodded in silence and turned his attention to the remaining enemies. All four of the enemies charged forward at the same time. Touma felt a hand on his back as the woman pushed him forward. She, Touma, and the knight charged a single opponent. The knight knock the spear from the man's hands, as all three of them rushed forward, leaving Touma free to use his hand and punch the gold mask. The masked man fell down and dissolved. Touma looked behind him and saw the woman making quick sword movements as she parried the other two spears. The last masked man's spear was too far away to hit them and Touma understood why they rushed forward.
She's a pretty good strategist, Touma thought. He couldn't spare too much time, thinking about who the woman was, because one of the spears came dangerously close to stabbing him. He reached out and grabbed the spear, causing it to shatter. The woman moved around him and shoved her sword through the golden mask, taking another one down. The knight swung his blade knocking the third one to the ground and allowed Touma to grab the mask. The last one looked at them, set the bottom of the spear on the ground, and dissolved all on his own as he realized he could not win. Touma took a deep breath and turned to the other two. "What now?" The woman didn't answer him and walked over to the fallen knight.
"I suppose we should thank you," the knight said. "Though your timing is rather convenient." His grip on his sword tightened. Touma was about to respond when the woman's voice interrupted him.
"Get up you fool," she said kicking the unconscious knight. There was a groan and the knight slowly got to his feet. "Thanks to you, we needed some random boy's help. Go make yourself useful and reattached the wheel. It should be enough to get us back." The knight saluted and immediately went to work. After she appeared satisfied, she turned to Touma. "At ease," she said to the knight and his grip relaxed. "If he was with them he wouldn't have helped us. He also seems to have a girl with him." She motioned to Ruiko who was peeking out from behind a tree. "Thanks for the assistance I guess. You should forget everything you saw here though if you know what's good for you."
Touma nodded, turned around, and left rather quickly. He had a weird feeling about that woman, like she was someone important and was quite prideful. She probably didn't appreciate my help. He also felt like if he stuck around, she would drag him into something misfortunate. He grabbed Ruiko's hand and they left back up the hill to head back toward the hotel. I need to tell Agnese and Itsuwa about this.
"Is it wise to let them go," the knight asked the woman as they watched Touma and Ruiko leave.
"No," she said simply as she sheathed her sword. "But it would be worse to keep them here. The SOS signal went off so if we don't hurry, help's going to arrive. I do not want to explain to mother we had to be saved by some random teenage boy. She will probably make me marry him." She sighed and got into the carriage. "I doubt we will see him again." The second knight managed to get the wheel back on and the horses up, so the first knight followed the woman into the carriage and they took off.
A young girl was sitting on a tree branch, far away from where the carriage battle took place. She had bright blonde hair, blue eyes, and was swinging her legs over the edge of the branch as she watched the fight. Magic was concealing her presence, so she knew none of them would find her. She was wearing a simple green t-shirt with the word 'Love' on it in pink letters and blue shorts. She looked extremely happy, even though the men she sent to attack had been defeated. "Who would have thought he would be here?" she sung out excitedly. "I see he didn't honor our deal. So sad. What do you think we should do now?" She looked down at the base of the tree to see another girl leaning up against the trunk.
"Even if I recommend anything," the girl replied. "You would just do whatever you want Eve. All I care about is you honor our deal." She had long dark brown hair that reached the middle of her back. Her eyes were also a dark brown. Her face seemed to hold the appearance of a kind elder sister, but if someone looked closer, it was now etched with dark lines. She had a single rose tucked behind her left ear and wore a shoulder less red dress that ended at her knees. She couldn't be more than fifteen or sixteen.
"My dear Juliet," Eve giggled. "I plan to honor our agreement completely."
"I hate when you call me that," Juliet sighed. "I wish you would use my real name."
"But Juliet suits you so well," Eve said jumping down from the branch and onto the ground. She turned and started to rub Juliet's cheek, while looking at her directly in the eyes. "A tragic love, cut short by fate. But I'm willing to give you a chance to reunite with your lost love."
"And kill that harpy who stole him," Juliet mumbled.
"Yes yes," Eve laughed. "You have been blessed by our master with your gift, just like him. You two belong together. Of course, I would like it if the young man who wields the Imagine Breaker would join me too. He is quite cute."
"I don't even know why you play these games," Juliet said slightly exhausted with Eve's attitude. "You have only been making weak minions to bother England. If you made use of the cabals under your control or create stronger users like The Herald, you could do so much more."
"It's all part of the long term goal," Eve sung out spinning in a circle with her arms outstretched. "I may be chaos and life, while Adam is law and death, but you cannot have one without the other. So our goals will always join in the long run. We need to make it appear as if England is weakening. So I am simply causing mischief wherever I feel like it."
"Why though?" Juliet asked.
"If a single important individual thinks England is too weak to face the rest of the world," Eve explained in her sing-song voice. "She will do something drastic and chaos will erupt all over England. During the change of power, the defenses of the wing will be weakened. Right now, it is still under the Archangel Michael's protection. You can feel the influence on yourself just being here." Juliet nodded.
"Now we know the Imagine Breaker and many more from the science side are here," Juliet said thoughtfully. "More than we expected anyways. I assume they will cause more problems during the transition."
"Based on how he reacted, yep," Eve said happily. "His action may have even sped things up. I am sure that woman will not be happy she needed his help. I might need to thank him for breaking out deal." Eve stopped spinning around and pulled out her book. When she opened it, hundreds of papers flew out and spun around her. Masked men appeared as the papers started to join together. "Your job is to simply cause mischief," Eve told them. "Spread chaos and make all of England fear the shadows as they realize their own weakness." All the men nodded and disappeared in flashes of light.
"Why do you make them with masks instead of just faces?" Juliet asked. "The masks are just their weak points."
"I happen to like them," Eve replied, pretending to pout. "Ever since they first started using those centuries ago." She wagged her finger at Juliet. "I never make anything I don't like. Besides, the weakness only exists as long as I will it to. When I'm ready to win, I will remove it."
Juliet sighed and turned to leave, but not before giving the hotel, far off in the distance, one last look. You will be mine again, she thought. She and Eve started walking away into the woods. Eve waved her hand and the air itself cracked and fell apart, leaving only a void for them. Juliet shook her head, she hated traveling this way, as darkness flowed out from under her dress and surrounded her, creating a few stairs, and she stepped into the void.
Touma and Ruiko were heading back towards the hotel as fast as they could. They were moving a lot slower than they wanted to, because Ruiko was still a little unstable on her feet. Her head was constantly pounding and it was interfering slightly with her balance. She was holding onto Touma's arm, as they walked as fast as they could without Ruiko falling. "Sorry about this," she said apologetically.
"You have nothing to be sorry for," Touma reassured her. "It was thanks to you I got out of there alive. I should be thanking you." He was looking forward, so he didn't notice the slight pink tinge on Ruiko's face.
"I'm glad we saved them," Ruiko continued. "But wasn't it really dangerous for you to charge into the middle of the fight like that?"
"And stupid," Touma laughed, but then he got serious. "I couldn't just leave someone in trouble though. I saw a mask when one of their hoods slipped and knew I had to help."
"It's one of you best qualities," Ruiko said laughing slightly. Touma thought she was joking at first, but her tone felt more truthful. There was a short silence, and then Ruiko asked the question he was thinking about, but wasn't sure what he should do. "Are we going to tell the others about this?"
"I don't know," Touma said truthfully. "I know there is a lot of tension between the magic and science side. When we went to Italy, that was a special occurrence. I don't think the magic side would want us getting involved. The problem is I think I got us involved without thinking." He sighed and Ruiko patted his shoulder. "Technically, Index and I, plus Jason now, are the only people who are supposed to be allowed to work officially with the magic side."
"So what do you want to do?" she asked.
"I figured the first step would be to talk to Agnese and Itsuwa," Touma answered thinking. "They should be able to warn their side and they might be able to give us an idea of what they want us to do. It's also possible we might have to leave England early, and I know several people who won't like that. Until we talk to them, we shouldn't tell the others."
"It might be hard convincing everyone if we don't mention magic," Ruiko said thoughtfully. "Most of us were involved in Italy."
"Yea," Touma said hanging his head. "But I know Komoe-sensei, Mugino-san, and her friends won't believe in magic." They walked in silence as the hotel grew close. Suddenly, Touma remembered something. "Hey Ruiko, you said you had something important to tell me. What was it?"
Ruiko's face went red as she immediately realized what she had wanted to say. The fight had completely removed it from her mind. I could tell him now, but is it really a good time? She thought about it for a moment and finally decided. "I don't remember," she lied. "The excitement pushed it completely out of my mind. I'll let you know if I remember." She didn't want to distract him from the important matters at hand.
"Ok," Touma said nodding. Ruiko was feeling better and was no longer using him to steady himself. They walked in through the back door and entered the lobby. Touma saw two girls sitting on opposite ends of a couch and glaring at each other. When he and Ruiko entered, they both look up and noticed him. Mikoto and Misaki both immediately rushed over to him, pushing each other in the process.
"Touma," they said together. "Where did you go?" They both glared at each as they said the same thing.
"Long story," Touma explained. "I was just enjoying the weather and met Ruiko. Excuse me," he added as he moved pass them. "I need to use the restroom." He ran off before any of them could respond. Both Misaki and Mikoto knew he wasn't telling them everything, so they turned and looked at Ruiko.
"What happened?" Mikoto asked and Ruiko felt sweat form on her brow.
"Well…" Ruiko replied thinking fast and coming up with no good explanation. Misaki moved up beside Ruiko and put her arm around Ruiko's shoulder.
"I'm sure you had a perfectly good reason for being out alone with Touma," Misaki said smiling, but the smile did not reach her eyes. Ruiko felt a very uncomfortable talk was about to take place and she unconsciously took a step back. Mikoto glared at Misaki again.
"Don't you dare think of threatening my friends," Mikoto snapped.
"I would never dream of it," Misaki replied faking cheerfulness. "I just want to talk with her because she feels the same way we do." Mikoto and Ruiko realized what she was talking about. Ruiko's nervousness doubled as she, Misaki, and Mikoto walked outside to talk.
Touma knocked on Agnese's and Itsuwa's room and was let in. They both looked surprise he had come to visit them, but there were too many important things he had to discuss with them to feel nervousness about it. He sat down in a chair and quickly explained what happened. He told them about the masked men attacking a fairytale like carriage and how he had interfered. They both listened patiently while he explained and, when he finished, Agnese looked exasperated with him. Itsuwa tried to hide it but, he felt like she was thinking similar things as Agnese, though probably a little kinder based on her personality.
"You got involved in something you shouldn't have boy," Agnese sighed. "But I suppose it is just like you. From what you told us, you probably could have avoided jumping into that fight. She could have handled herself."
"How was I supposed to know that?" Touma asked incredulous. "I know how dangerous those guys are."
"Did you not recognize her?" Agnese ask raising an eyebrow.
"I've never seen her before though," Touma said. "How could I have recognized her?" Agnese face palmed.
"Do you know any…?" she started to ask then shook her head. "Actually, never mind. I know how you are boy."
"What the…" Touma asked incredulously.
"Kamijou-kun," Itsuwa interrupted. "You wouldn't know, but she is quite capable of defending herself. I feel we should move on to the more important part. We were told about the deal you made in Italy. Since you got involved, your deal may no longer be valid. The Fallen may come after you now."
"I realized that afterwards," Touma sighed. "I didn't tell everyone else about the incident because I wanted to know what you two thought. What should happen now? Should we even stay in England or go back to Academy City?"
"Y-you don't need to leave," Itsuwa said hastily turning slightly red. "Neither of us are suggesting it."
"Besides boy," Agnese said crossing her legs and waving her hands dismissively. "If they are after you, it would be better for you to be near us. While Academy City is well defended, magic should be dealt with magic."
"Are you suggesting I should just ignore what happened?" Touma asked surprised.
"Not ignore exactly," Agnese said shaking her head. "You shouldn't let your guard down completely, but continue to enjoy your vacation here with your friends."
"The purpose of us coming with you," Itsuwa added. "Was not only to thank you and your friends for helping us, but we were told, at the beach, our job was to watch over you guys discreetly. It seems the higher ups were worried that Eve and Adam would not keep their end of the bargain."
"I guess that makes sense," Touma said thinking. "It would explain why both of you were assigned to us." They nodded and he stood up. "Well, now I need to think of a reason I was gone. I'm going back to my room then." He waved good bye to them, left, and then entered his room. To his surprise, he found not only Accelerator, Jason, and Motoharu sitting at a table playing cards, but also, at the table, were Shizuri, Frenda, and Rikou.
"What's going on?" he asked shutting the door behind him.
"They came to see you," Jason said throwing his cards on the table in anger. "You were not here so Mugino-san decided they would wait."
"Then we started to play cards," Motoharu continued.
"You sure took your sweet time to get back," Shizuri said slightly irritated, as her eyes moved to look at him.
"I'm surprised you got Accelerator to play," Touma said.
"Shut it hero," Accelerator grumbled. "I don't have anything else to do so what the f#%$ is wrong with playing cards."
"You look pretty dirty," Frenda commented looking him up and down. "Basically, what happened?" Touma noticed everyone stopped playing and looked at him.
"Well," Touma started to say when he was interrupted.
"He probably was rescuing a girl," Motoharu answered.
"Then got attacked by people trying to hit on the girl," Jason added.
"Then he ran away after the fight," Accelerator finished with a bored tone. He threw down his cards in disgust too. The three girls looked between Touma and the other guys. "You going to stand there all day or join us hero."
"I guess," Touma said pulling up a chair between Jason and Shizuri. He decided to avoid mentioning anything as long as possible. "What are we playing?"
"Poker," Motoharu replied. "I've had a pretty good winning streak so far."
"Cause you're a damn cheater," Jason muttered.
"Don't be a poor sport," laughed Motoharu.
"You are a damn cheater," Accelerator added.
"He did get an unusual amount of good cards when it's his turn to deal," Shizuri said narrowing her eyes. "If I catch you cheating, you are going to find out why I'm called Meltdowner."
"Come on now," Motoharu said raising his hands innocently in front of him. "There's no need to get violent over a game." Touma had a funny feeling he was cheating.
"How about a new game then?" Frenda asked. "I'll toss you a grenade and we see how much damage it does." Everyone laughed, except Touma because he wasn't sure if she was joking or not. Jason was about to deal when Shizuri spoke up.
"It's boring without risk," Shizuri said while leaning back in her seat. "How about we make this more interesting?"
"Oh," Motoharu said his eyes twinkling. "Like?" Touma got a bad feeling about where this was going.
"I suppose we could gamble," Jason shrugged. "Money? But then Touma can't play." He, Motoharu, and Accelerator laughed at him. Touma made a rude gesture and even Shizuri laughed at his reaction.
"Nah," she said. "That's too easy. As we are all high schoolers, let's do something fun." She wore a devious smirk which caused everyone to stare at her with anticipation.
"I'm going to regret this," Touma said. "But what did you have in mind?"
Shizuri smiled; a smile of pure wickedness and evil. "How about some strip poker?" Touma's jaw dropped and he wasn't the only one. Frenda's jaw dropped too, and everyone else looked at her in surprise. Even Rikou and Accelerator, though, they managed to keep their faces more passive.
"MUGINO!?" Frenda called out embarrassed. "How could you suggest that?"
"You can't be serious," Touma said still shell shocked.
"Tsk," Shizuri replied annoyed to Frenda. "We just spent an entire day at the beach, they saw you wear almost nothing anyways. Why do you care about that now?"
"Basically, swimsuits and underwear are completely different."
"I have to say no too," Jason said and Touma thought for a brief moment that Jason was going to help him. "None of us," he motioned to Motoharu, Accelerator, and himself, "Want to see Touma naked and he's going to lose."
"What makes you think I'm going to lose?" Touma instinctively said defensively.
"You need luck to win poker," Motoharu pointed out. "With your luck, even if you manage to get a decent hand, all of us would have better."
"I agree with Jason," Accelerator said adding his opinion. "I don't want to see him naked either."
"I-I'll play," Frenda stuttered turning red face. Her motives for playing were not completely pure though. She in fact wanted to see Touma lose his clothes. She also thought if she lost, Touma wouldn't be able to keep his eyes off her.
"…I don't care either way," Rikou said. Touma felt like she just went along with whatever Shizuri told her to.
"So it looks like I's three for and three against," Shizuri said irritated because everyone didn't jump on her idea. Touma noticed she counted Rikou's response as a yes. "So, Tsuchimikado what do you say?"
"Ok," he said and Touma groaned.
"That's it," Accelerator growled standing up. 'I'm out of here."
"It's cool," Jason said. "It's natural to run from something you can't win at." Touma saw Accelerator give Jason a death glare at the mere mention of him not being able to win. Accelerator sat back down.
"After I win," Accelerator growled. "I'm throwing you out into the hallway, so all those brats can see you nude."
"It would be funnier if you did it to Kami-yan," Motoharu said and he and Jason laughed.
"Are you ladies going to deal or not?" Shizuri said smirking as she got them all to play her game.
"Hang on," Jason said standing up and grabbing a piece of paper. "Just going to put a sign up not to disturb us so we don't get unexpected guests." He quickly opened the door and put the sign up and closed it. Touma, who didn't really want to play but at the same time could not refuse Shizuri's demands, was glad Jason was taking steps so the other girls didn't see it.
"Ok," Motoharu said shuffling the deck for a minute or two. "Let's play." He started to deal out the cards. Touma looked at his hand and was overwhelmed by despair. They all turned around as they heard a voice from outside their room.
Mikoto and Ruiko were taking the elevator up to their room in silence. They had talked for quite a while after Misaki dragged them outside. Mikoto was relieved to learn that nothing happened, but when she had that thought, she suddenly felt like a bad person. She knew Ruiko had feelings for Touma, so she was torn about wanting her friend to be happy and her own feelings. She noticed Misaki had also appeared to be pleased nothing happened, but Mikoto could not read anything more from her. She is really good at guarding herself. Ruiko finally cracked and admitted they saw a magic fight happen and Touma was going to talk to Agnese and Itsuwa about what they should do now. Mikoto did not want to leave, but she could see that as a reasonable outcome. It's quiet, so he must still be talking to them. She and Ruiko walked into their room to see Kuroko and Kazari talking.
"Onee-sama," Kuroko said jumping at her. "What kept you?"
"I was just talking with Saten-san and lost track of time," Mikoto said truthfully, but left out the topic at hand. "What are you two up to?"
"We were watching television," Kazari replied pointing to the TV. "They have a lot of interesting shows we don't have back in Japan. I wish my English was better though, I'm just lucky they have subtitles."
"What are you watching?" Ruiko asked sitting down at the end of her bed.
"Some romance drama," Kuroko said. "It's a couple episodes in, but it's really interesting."
All three of them were watching it while Mikoto shook her head. She knew Kuroko wanted her to watch more adult type shows, but romance dramas were never really her thing. She also knew Kazari loved them and Ruiko had some experience with them. She sat down on her bed and watched with them for a bit while glancing at the clock. After waiting for a short time, she figured Touma would be done with his conversation by now for her to be able to talk to him. She got up and said to the others, "I'll be back in a minute." Then she left through the room, closing the door behind her.
"Onee-sama," Kuroko called out before the door closed completely. "Where are you going?"
Mikoto didn't respond. She took one more step out into the hallway, turned, and saw Misaki standing in front of the guy's room reading a sign that was posted. This surprised her for a moment, and then irritated her. "What are you doing?" Mikoto demanded marching up to her. "Don't keep trying to sneak into his room."
"I wouldn't sneak into this room," Misaki said pretending to pout. "I would march in boldly to be by his side. No, I was just reading this." She pointed to the sign on the guy's door. Mikoto frowned, walked up and read the sign over Misaki's shoulders.
High school students only.
"What does that even mean?" Mikoto fumed.
"I believe it means only students who are in high school are suppose…" Misaki began.
"I know what it means," Mikoto snapped. "I mean, why is it up?"
"Then you should have asked that in the first place Misaka-san," Misaki replied evenly. "It's really unladylike to ask silly questions."
"Why you…" Mikoto said angrily.
"Onee-sama," Kuroko said from behind her and Mikoto and Misaki turned around. She, Ruiko and Kazari had entered the hallway. "What are you doing?"
"Reading this sign," Mikoto pointed and they all moved up to see what it said.
"That looks like Jason's writing," Kazari said.
"But why would he put up that sign?" Mikoto asked.
"Maybe they just want guy time?" Ruiko answered reasonably.
"Then why not just put up 'guys only' or 'do not disturb' if they want to be left alone?" Kuroko asked.
"We are in middle school," Misaki muttered softly.
"…Except for Mugino and her frien...," Mikoto continued slowly, and then stopped. "You don't think?" Her mind was suddenly filled with delusional and he inappropriate thoughts of a young girl.
"There's no way that could happen," Misaki said dismissively. "Accelerator aside, Touma couldn't do that, and Kagere-san doesn't seem like the kind of guy to cheat. It's possible Tsuchimikado-san might, I don't know a lot about him, but I doubt it."
"You're probably right," Mikoto said. "I think we are overthinking things."
"Why are you even worried about what the guys do?" Kuroko said exasperatedly.
"Technically," Ruiko said. "Uiharu is the only one who really should be worried about the sign."
"What do you mean by that Saten-san?" Kazari said surprised. "I trust him."
"How can you trust him when he lies all the time?" Kuroko asked.
"Only to you," Ruiko pointed out.
"I suppose I can wait till later," Mikoto sighed and was just about to turn around when Saiai emerged from her room while complaining loudly.
"Where did they go?" she fumed. "I get back a few minutes after them and they just super disappear." She turned and noticed all the other girls in the hallway. "What are you all super up to?" Mikoto's and Misaki's eyes widened and they leaned up against the door listening. Saiai walked over and read the sign with a surprised look on their face. Everyone else tried to lean up against the door and listen too.
"Hah, I won again."
"You are a damn cheater!"
"Check the b#$&%*& sleeves for hidden cards."
'Why are you two even mad? Kami-yan is the one who lost."
"Such misfortune."
"Sounds like those apes are just playing a card game," Kuroko said and Mikoto, Misaki, and Kazari sighed in relief.
"I guess," Mikoto agreed.
"And here I thought something interesting would happen," Misaki said disappointed.
"So nothing super fun is happening," Saiai said with her hands behind her back. "Now, where did Mugino go?" Then they heard Shizuri's voice.
"Quit your whining and take them off," she said. "Or I'll have Frenda here force you to." The girls jaws dropped and they all looked at each other.
I'll kill her, Misaki thought to herself but managed to avoid bursting out in anger. Her hand trembled slightly in anger though. Mikoto was not as silent.
"What is that idiot doing!" she yelled and grabbed the door throwing it open, while using her ability to bypass the electronic lock. She and Misaki barged in while the other girls stood at the entrance way looking in slightly red faced. They had expected to see something highly inappropriate.
They were disappointed.
Mikoto and Misaki burst into the room and looked around. All they saw were Touma, Accelerator, Jason, Motoharu, Shizuri, Frenda, and Rikou sitting around a table. There were cards spread out proving they had been playing cards. Motoharu was covering Touma's mouth with his hands. Shizuri looked back at them, with a clearly smug look on her face. "I told you there were some brats listening at the door," she told everyone at the table.
"Huh?" Mikoto and Misaki said while everyone stared into the room in surprise.
"You were right," Accelerator said grinning as he leaned back in his chair. "It was pretty entertaining to see their reaction."
"What's the point of putting up a sign if no one read it," Jason said sighing.
"Yea," Frenda agreed. "Basically, it's high school students only. You all can come back later." She noticed Saiai in the back giving her a thumb up. There was a bang as Touma finally threw Motoharu off him and onto the ground. He looked at Mikoto and Misaki apologetically.
"Sorry," he said. "I didn't realize what they were planning until it was too late."
"They were remarkable quick on the update," Shizuri said commending them.
"We do stuff like that all the time," Motoharu said grinning as he stood back up.
"So it was all a joke," Ruiko asked and Touma nodded.
"We heard Misaka-san and Shokuhou-san's voice first," Jason explained. "Then everyone else joined up. She's the one who wanted to mess with you all the most." He pointed to Shizuri.
"And here I thought you would appreciate a good prank," Shizuri said dismissively.
"All of my pranks are tailored specifically to one person," Jason bragged. "Each one is planned out to the smallest detail to maximize their effectiveness. It's why I can mess with Kuro-chan so easily.
"Stop calling me that," Kuroko snapped angrily. "I knew you were a ter…." She was interrupted by Touma.
"Anyway," Touma said sighing again but trying to prevent a fight breaking out. "Why are you here?" He looked at Misaki and Mikoto.
"I needed to talk to you," Misaki answered.
"We needed to talk to you," amended Mikoto.
"Ah sure," Touma said wondering what they wanted to say to him. Then he saw Ruiko make an apologetic face. Ah, she must have told them about what happened. He didn't blame her because both Mikoto and Misaki could be quite persuasive. "One minute." He turned to Jason. "Before I forget, whatever you were planning to do with those things you got from the beach, I doubt you should." Everyone looked at him and Jason sighed.
"Fine, ruin the surprise for everyone." He walked over to his side of the room and pulled a bag from under the bed. He opened it and looked inside and frowned. He looked up at everyone and asked, "Has anyone seen Worst?" Everyone shook their heads and he turned to Accelerator.
"What am I," he snapped annoyed. "Her keeper?"
"Well," Jason said as he closed his bag. "I would recommend everyone check their rooms, thoroughly, before going to bed tonight." Everyone stared at him and Touma face palmed, while Kuroko started yelling at Jason. Kazari tried to keep the peace between them, but Touma left with Mikoto and Misaki before he saw much more.
Touma got up the next day and was relieved to see none of the girls snuck into his bed that night. Last night he had told Mikoto and Misaki what had happened and explained what occurred during his conversation with Itsuwa and Agnese. While they both asked if they would stay in England or leave, they seemed relieved when he told them they would stay for now. Then he saw something he didn't expect. Mikoto and Misaki looked at each other and agreed one of them should be with him at all times, if Jason or Accelerator wasn't there, to help him if needed. Touma was going to say they wouldn't need to, but they both gave him a look that said his opinions would be ignored. They went to bed shortly after that. He actually was glad someone cared about him enough to be willing to go into harm's way to help him.
Touma got up and looked out the window. The sun was up and when he looked at the clock, saw it was about nine. One of the nice things with vacation and separate rooms is Index isn't waking me up early to make breakfast. Accelerator and Jason where still asleep, but Motoharu's bed was empty. He used the bathroom, got changed, and went downstairs to grab breakfast. He saw Motoharu, Itsuwa, and Agnese talking at one table, and Shizuri, Frenda, and Saiai at the other. He wasn't sure who to sit with, but his decision was spared when Motoharu waved him over after he grabbed some food.
"Sup Kami-yan," he said. "I see you didn't receive another eventful night." At his words Agnese purposely looked away from Touma.
"Yea," Touma agreed relieved. "It helped a lot Accelerator found Worst and threw all the sea slugs out of the hotel."
"How far did you think they went?"
"Probably to the sea." He and Motoharu laughed at the idea of a bag of slugs flying through the air.
"So Kamijou-kun," Itsuwa said. "After everyone gets up and has breakfast, the plan is to tour London today. I know Index wanted to visit her church so we felt we should start with that. Anyone who is not interested in can continue on to the mall. Several of your friends had mentioned they were interested in shopping. Afterwards, we planned on giving a tour of the sights. Tomorrow, the royal family will make a public appearance, so we planned to stay in London till after that. Is that ok with you?"
"Sounds great," Touma said. "I know Index will like that. I'm glad you are our guide because I would have no idea where to go here."
"Hey," Agnese said indignantly. "I helped plan this too."
"I know," Touma said quickly. "Thank you too Agnese." She seemed slightly mollified by his words.
"Oh," Motoharu whispered leaning close to Touma. "About what happened yesterday, try to keep it on the down low until we get to the church. I know Misaka-san and Shokuhou-san know about it, and obviously Saten-san because she was there."
"You always know everything," Touma whispered back.
"All part of the job," he replied and leaned aback in his chair.
Everyone else joined them a short time later and Itsuwa explained the day's plan. No one voiced any objections. A few people ran upstairs after breakfast to pack a day bag, but they all still left shortly after everyone finished eating. They left in their bus and headed into the main part of London. They stopped at the mall first and dropped off Shizuri, Frenda, Saiai, and Rikou. To Touma's surprise, Worst got off to saying something about not caring about churches. There was a slight pause, and then Komoe took off after her. It turns out, after yesterday's incident, Komoe decided she needed to watch Worst. The bus continued forward and Index was bouncing in her seat next to Touma.
"We're almost there," Index said happily.
"I know," Touma said as he tried to keep her sitting down. "You shouldn't be standing up on a bus while it's moving."
"I don't think I've ever been in a church since I've been in Academy City," Kazari said to Ruiko and Jason.
"Me either," Ruiko admitted.
"Been a couple years for me," Jason said offhandedly, but Touma noticed the dark look that appeared briefly on his face.
I guess he doesn't have a lot of good memories about churches, Touma thought.
"Being part of a city dedicated to science really doesn't focus a lot on religions," Mikoto said turning around to talk to them.
"That's because they believe things without any proof," Kuroko said dismissively. "At least with science we have evidence to back up claims and disprove false ones."
"Shirai-san," Kazari warned her. "You shouldn't say things like that when we actually get there. People take their religions seriously."
"I know," Kuroko sighed. "But still, I would like to see some proof."
"Wouldn't magic be proof?" Misaki asked from across the aisle. Touma was the only one she really liked to talk to, but she was still listening to their conversations since they were all close together.
"What they call magic is just abilities that follow different laws," Accelerator said in a bored tone as he laid back in his chair with his eyes closed.
"MISAKA thinks you should be more respectful of magic reprimands MISAKA as MISAKA recalls the magic event in Italy."
"There is more to magic then that," Agnese said irritated as she turned around. "As people of science, we don't expect you to know much about magic."
"Magic is a complex system of arts, disciplines, and traditions that are firmly grounded in laws and knowledge," Itsuwa said trying to prevent an argument from breaking out. "It is true though the laws are wholly unknown and beyond the normal grasp of science. We use it to manipulate and distort certain aspects of reality."
Kuroko opened her mouth to say something, but Jason interrupted her. "Think of it like personal realities. Magic, instead of being based on an individual, is based around a certain ideological premise. Because of this, ideas are broader than just an individual. This leads to magicians being able to use broader arrange of abilities, but in exchange, we have to use certain structures to be able to cast magic, like circles and runes."
"Exactly," Agnese said. "I'm still not sure what to make of it as having a group of science members knowing about magic. The sides are supposed to remain separate."
"Yea," Jason said grinning. "I broke that rule a long time ago."
"No surprise there," muttered Kuroko.
"We didn't really have much choice," Touma said.
"What's this magic you all keep talking about?" Motoharu said room from the back of the bus. Most of the girls jumped, except Agnese and Itsuwa. They had forgotten he was there and remembered they were not supposed to talk about magic in front of others.
"Well," Mikoto said unsure of how to answer.
"Let me take care of this," Misaki said pulling out her remote.
"Wait!" Motoharu raised his hand quickly. "Don't erase my mind, I know about magic. I have known Kami-yan for a while."
"He does," Touma said putting his hand on Misaki's shoulders. "Please don't erase his memory yet."
"What's with the yet part Kami-yan?" Motoharu asked quickly and Accelerator and Jason laughed.
Before Touma could reply, Itsuwa called out, "We have arrived." Everyone looked out the window and saw St. George's Cathedral towering over them. "We made sure to arrive after mass so it should not be overly crowded." Itsuwa and Agnese got off first and everyone followed. Touma looked up at the church impressed. He had seen a couple churches before, but none as magnificent as this one. He remembered it was the Anglican Church's headquarters so it made sense for it to be large and imposing. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the other's look at it with similar expressions, except Accelerator who barely acknowledged it. They started heading to the entrance when they saw another nun standing next to it. Touma's mouth dropped open in surprise.
"O-Orsola?" he asked bewildered. Before him stood a woman, dressed in a nun habit, unmodified unlike Agnese's. She was wearing her headdress which covered her short blonde hair, but he could still make out her face and her blue eyes. While the habit was unrevealing, Touma had firsthand experience on her womanly figure as he had walked in on her by accident once when she was in the shower. Her chest was still quite prominent in her outfit. She was very kind, but was pretty aloof, while moving at her own pace. He heard a lot of people refer to her as somewhat of an ahead.
"It is good to see you again," she replied smiling at him, apparently not disturbed by his shocked expression. "Hello," she said turning to everyone else. "My name is Orsola Aquinas and I welcome you to St. George's Cathedral. I hope you will enjoy your visit."
"She seems nice," Kazari whispered as everyone started to follow her.
"Yea," Ruiko agreed. "How do you think Touma knows her?"
"The hero probably saved her," Accelerator mumbled from behind him. "Are you just going to stand here or move?" They quickly followed everyone else in.
Mikoto on the other hand was having an internal fight with herself. How many girls does he know? Since she is part of the church I assume she's part of the magic side. She spared a quick glance at Misaki who had a hand on her cheek staring after Orsola as if thinking. However, her thoughts were interrupted by Index who spoke to her like an old friend.
"How are you?" Index asked. "We haven't seen you since Italy."
"Italy?" whispered Mikoto to Touma. "We didn't meet her there."
"Separate instance," Touma muttered back. "It was near the end of the Daihaseisai. I sort of got roped into it."
"Sounds like you," Mikoto said smirking while nudging him in the side with his elbow.
"I have been busy," Orsola explained. "Since the Anglican Church has been kind enough to accept me, I have been studying to complete my nun training. I also help out others in the library, mainly Sherry." The name sounded familiar for Touma, but he couldn't remember who she was.
"How did you meet Index and Touma?" Misaki asked curiously and Mikoto realized by asking how she met both of them, it didn't sound as rude. She, however, wanted to know about the woman who kept appearing around Touma. He has done so much I don't know about.
"They helped me out when I was at a low point in my life," she said holding a hand up to her cheek. She appeared to look at Touma, but he could see her eyes travel over his shoulder to Agnese. Orsola smiled and Agnese diverted her eyes.
"Onee-sama," Kuroko said. "Isn't this place amazing?" They had just entered the actual church and were looking at all the decorations and Kazari, Ruiko, and Last Order gasped. Everyone else looked around in awe at church, and even Accelerator was glancing around with a slightly interested look on his face. The decorative stained glass windows reflected a myriad of colors in the sunlight over the rows of seats. They depicted scenes, Touma guessed form the bible but he didn't know much about religions, in the stained glass. There were white decorative arches throughout the chapel. A large glass chandelier hung from the ceiling.
"It is," Mikoto agreed taking in the sights.
"It's like from a fairy tale," Kazari said looking around.
"Always thinking of those books, eh Uiharu," Ruiko said grinning. Kazari grinned sheepishly.
"I had a similar reaction when I first saw this place too," Itsuwa reassured her.
Orsola started to explain the history of the cathedral to Mikoto, Kuroko, Kazari, Ruiko, and Last Order. Index already knew it, but she listened to it too. Accelerator was leaning up against a pillar and was only half listening. He felt something when he first entered the church, like something trickling down his back, and flicked his choker automatically. He felt his vectors manipulating something, but they were weird. The calculations on these vectors were different than usual. He didn't really care about the history of this church so he studied them to figure out how these unknown vectors would operate. Is this some kind of their magic? I might as well learn about it in case I ever face it.
While they were listening, Agnese pulled Touma aside. "Hey boy," she said. "I know Stiyl wants to talk to you today. He's down below dealing with some other matters."
"Huh?" Touma asked surprised. "He wants to talk with me?" He sighed. "Every time he 'talks' with me, I usually end up in a dangerous situation."
Agnese laughed and smacked him on the back. "I'm sure it's not that bad. An important person from our church is looking forward to meeting you. Stiyl is with them."
'Why would they want to meet me?" Touma asked and Agnese face palmed.
"Are you dense boy?" she asked. "You've helped us so much and a lot of people owe you. You even saved me…" She died off for a moment then shook her head. "I believe they want to thank you in person."
"I don't really like publicity," Touma said leaning against a pillar. He noticed a couple nuns entering through a door and stop when they noticed him. They whispered and waved to him. He felt his face turn red and he waved back before they disappeared out of another door. "How's the rest of your group doing Agnese," he asked her. "Are they are here in London?"
"Some are," Agnese said leaning up against the pillar next to him. "Most are currently in Scotland. There have been some strange signs over there. It seems like a magic cabal has been doing some excavation in some ruins and we are investigating." She sighed. "I kind of wish I was there, but they choose me specifically for your guide so…" She shrugged.
"Think it has anything to do with The Fallen group?" Touma asked quietly.
'I doubt it," Agnese said dismissively. "There have been random skirmishes with them, but this group seems to be small, but skilled. I suppose they could be working for them though…" She trailed off thinking.
"But you shouldn't have to worry about it though Kamijou-kun," Itsuwa said. She obviously over heard them. "The Anglican Church is quite skilled with routing out magic groups if needed."
"TOUUUMMAAA!" Index called out and all three of them looked at her. "Come and join us. Don't go off by yourself." Touma noticed Mikoto and Misaki, who just noticed he was standing off with alone with Agnese and Itsuwa, started glaring at him. He didn't really have much choice, and he joined them. Misaki immediately clung to his arm, while Mikoto stood close to him on his other side. Index grabbed the front of his shirt and started trying to explain everything he missed as fast as she could. They continued to learn about this history of the church, when Kazari looked around.
"Where did Jason and Tsuchimikado-san go?" she asked.
"I don't recall either of them saying anything for a while" Kuroko said looking around. "They better not be planning something."
"Try calling him," Ruiko suggested to Kazari. She did, sighed, and hung up.
"It's turned off," she said a little worried. "I hope they are ok."
"I'm sure they are fine," Mikoto reassured her. "Kagere-san can take care of himself and Tsuchimikado-san is Touma's friend so he can probably handle a little bad luck." That got a small chuckle out of everyone. Touma thought about it for a moment and realized he didn't recall Jason or Motoharu entering the church with them. He realized they must have snuck away before entering. Jason's words from last night echoed in his mind.
I plan to sneak away for a bit and have someone investigate these marks. Tsuchimikado is planning to introduce someone to me. If we disappear, just try to make an excuse for us so no one else worries.
"Jason mentioned something important he had to take care of yesterday," Touma said and they all looked at him. "So he probably thought now was as good as time as any. As for Tsuchimikado, he probably just went with him out of boredom."
"Knowing them," Accelerator commented. He had obviously heard their conversation even if he pretended to be ignoring them all. "I bet they are planning a prank or something."
"MISAKA believes that sounds plausible MISAKA agrees as MISAKA nods her head furiously."
"He better not," Kuroko fumed. "I had enough of that last night."
"He said he wouldn't be pulling any more pranks though," Kazari muttered and Ruiko patted her on the back.
"He's fine," she reassured Kazari. "He's too smart to get lost. I bet he meets up with us later." Kazari nodded, but still looked worried.
Touma sighed softly under his breath, glad his half-truth covered Jason's disappearance. Out of the corner of his eye, Touma noticed Misaki staring at him. "What is it?" he whispered.
"I can tell you are covering for him," Misaki whispered back. "Just tell me if it's something you know and we don't need to be concerned about it. I'll trust you."
"He told me yesterday," Touma replied softly. "It's just private so he didn't want me to spread anything around." She nodded, apparently satisfied with his answer. Then noticed Mikoto looking at him and he smiled reassuringly at her. She turned red and immediately looked away. They heard a door opened near them and noticed a familiar man enter the cathedral.
Stiyl walked in in his usual black outfit looking really annoyed. He looked over at Touma and his friends, and gave them a curt nod in greeting. He turned around and held the door open for another person. A woman walked in and Touma's eyes widened in shock. The girl looked to only be around eighteen years old, but she was like a porcelain doll. She had crystal-white skin, sparkling blue eyes, and shining golden hair that was incredibly long. She was wearing a pink robe and she closed a white umbrella. She turned her head and looked at them. She gave them such a dazzling smile, Touma thought light was actually shining from it. The girls were in similar states of shock, and even Accelerator was staring at her in interest. The unknown woman walked up to them and stopped before Touma.
"Wow," Ruiko said star struck.
"She's like a princess," Kazari added. She was having some of the best days of her life. First she got to go on a trip with her friends and boyfriend, then they went to the beach, afterwards they entered a cathedral that looked like a scene from her romance novels, and now they got to meet someone who looked like a splitting image of royalty.
Kuroko gazed at the female with her mouth slightly opened. She has the same aura as onee-sama, no, even more so. I hope, as an adult, onee-sama aura will be as brilliant as this woman. Her eyes glazed over slightly as she imagined Mikoto slightly older and more ladylike. She snapped back to reality quickly and continued to gaze at the noble woman.
"She's really beautiful," Mikoto said softly, more to herself than anyone else. Even being part of Tokiwadai, which was full of talented girls from famous families, this woman was in a league of her own. She glanced out of the corner of her eye and saw Touma staring at the woman with a similar expression as everyone else. She felt a wave of annoyance. Is he interested in those noble types? I can't really blame him for staring though. It doesn't look like he knows her. She didn't let her guard down and vowed to make sure Touma didn't fall for her.
Misaki watched the woman carefully. She was also briefly captivated by the woman's beauty. Touma's staring at her. How could he like someone like her? She's just physically attractive. Misaki was quite skilled in reading people, with and without her power, after having years of experience. While the woman looked attractive and innocent, there was something dark behind her eyes. I feel like she is not as kind as she appears. Misaki vowed to watch the woman to make sure Touma was not bewitched by her charms.
"Is she royalty asks MISAKA as MISAKA tugs on Accelerator's shirt to get his attention."
Itsuwa and Agnese did not say anything as both of them knew who she was. They were surprised she was here. The last thing they were told was she was in northern England. Stiyl was being quiet as he had a specific mission he needed to do and was waiting for the right opportunity.
"No," Accelerator said simply. While the woman looked highly attractive, he doubted a member of the royal family would be in the church at this time. He didn't care either way though. He was more focused on the weird feeling he felt coming from the woman. It was a similar feeling he felt from people in the dark side of Academy City. They could appear to be pleasant, but secretly plot behind your back. She's not normal.
"Hello Touma Kamijou," she said sweetly, her voice was like silk, as she held out her hand. She was speaking to them in Japanese, but Touma thought her accent was a little weird, like she was speaking an archaic form. He decided not to mention it to her though. "I have wanted to meet you for quite some time. Stiyl speaks quite highly of you." Touma's eyes darted to the look of disdain on Stiyl's face and he doubted Stiyl said anything good about him, except his use as bait.
"It's nice to meet you too," he said a little confused as he shook her hand. "Umm, you know who I am, but who are you?"
"Oh my," she said holding up her hand to her mouth looking slightly embarrassed. "My name is Laura Stuart. I am the Archbishop of the Church of England. Your assistance in helping many of our members has been most appreciated."
"Oh," he said as recognition took hold. Archbishop? That means she's one of the ones who ordered the memory wipes on Index. He had mixed feelings meeting her now. Index had to have her mind magically wiped every year as a form of control, and it was ordered by the church. As the leader, Laura must have known about it. He didn't want to bring it up, but he doubted he could fully trust this woman. "It's… nice to meet you too."
Laura smiled at him and then turned to everyone else. "It's nice to meet you all too." She delicately shook each of their hands as they introduced themselves, Kazari looked like she was about to faint when their hands touched. Last Order shook her hand way more enthusiastically then was needed. Accelerator just gave a brief nod as recognition, while Last Order introduced him. "How are you all enjoying our country so far?"
"It's lovely," Kazari answered immediately and Laura beamed at her then turned to Agnese and Itsuwa.
"Have they seen any of the sights yet?"
"No ma'am," Agnese replied. "We are planning to start touring them this afternoon."
"Excellent," Laura said clapping her hands together then turning to everyone else. "I know it is early, but how would you all like to join us for some tea and biscuits." Kazari, Ruiko, Kuroko, Mikoto, Index, and Last Order quickly agreed, but Misaki and Accelerator were hesitant. When Touma followed the other girls, they decided to go too. They left the main room and went down a hallway to another, more private, room.
There was a large round table in which everyone sat down around it. Mikoto and Misaki sat down next to Touma, with Kuroko on Mikoto's other side, then Ruiko, Uiharu, Laura, Accelerator, Last Order, and Index. Stiyl declined to join them and stood up against the wall behind Laura, while watching the clock on the wall. He kept denying Laura's invitation to sit down. A couple nuns came in with trays of tea and cookies, which Index immediately attacked. Everyone else took a cup of tea and started talking between themselves and to Laura. Accelerator looked at the tea and pushed it away, he rather have coffee. Also, the girl talk around him was driving him nuts, since Jason and Motoharu disappeared.
"How are you enjoying being back in England Index?" Laura asked.
"It's great," Index said with a mouth full of cookies. "The food is really good too."
"How long have you been the Archbishop Stuart-san?" Kazari asked.
"Quite a while actually," Laura laughed.
"You look so young," Ruiko said surprised. "What's your secret?"
"Thank you for the compliment Saten-san." She smiled and Kazari beamed up at her. Kazari felt like nobility at the table, using fine china, and sitting next to the Archbishop of a major church. "I don't think I really have any secrets," Laura continued. "I do enjoy long baths with herbal remedies." Kazari made a mental note to look into those.
"Onee-sama," Kuroko whispered. "You're holding your cup wrong. As a perfect representative of Academy City, you should make sure your actions are presentable."
"Come on," Mikoto sighed. "We are on vacation." She enjoyed the tea, but hated formal events. If I'm not careful, Kuroko's going to try to make me do this back at the city.
"How very unladylike Misaka-san," Misaki said from the other side of Touma. "As a member of Tokiwadai, you should be at least able to present yourself properly." She sipped her tea looking smug.
"I don't want to hear it from someone who spends all their time lying around doing nothing," Mikoto hissed back.
"I don't lie around doing nothing," Misaka responded indignantly. "I'm a very busy person. Anytime I have some free time I prefer to spend it with Touma." She leaned up against him.
"Hey," Mikoto said putting down her cup and grabbing Touma's other arm.
"Can you both stop arguing?" Touma asked nervously, painfully aware Laura and Stiyl were watching him. "Isn't this being rude?"
"My Kamijou-san," Laura said laughing slightly. "You are quite popular with the ladies. Many of our members talk about you often." She gazed over at Agnese and Itsuwa who both turned red and tried to avoid her look. They have been quiet most of the time since they sat down, only answering when someone talked to them directly. Touma felt like they were nervous in front of Laura. Laura's words had good and bad results. The good news is Mikoto and Misaki let go of him, the bad news was he felt three glares aimed at him, the third one was Kuroko.
Stiyl glanced at the clock again, moved silently behind Index, and whispered something into her ear. She looked up and nodded while grinning, got up and went through the door they had entered. Stiyl then moved behind Touma. "I need to talk to you privately," he whispered. "Come with me." Touma felt something fall into the pit of his stomach and he left with Stiyl, aware of all eyes on him.
"I'll be back in a bit," Touma said to them. "Just catching up with Stiyl." Stiyl didn't turn around, but frowned at the way Touma was casually addressing him.
"They are such good friends," Laura added. Stiyl's frown deepened.
When they exited the room and started walking down the hall Touma looked over at Stiyl. "What's happening?"
"You've grown perceptive," Stiyl said simply, but didn't answer his question immediately. They exited through a backdoor of the building and Touma saw Index standing next to a fancy black van. It had three rows of seats and looked to be armored. A man in a black suit was standing next to it, apparently waiting for them. The door closed behind them before Stiyl finished. "Index has been summoned to a meeting with a very important individual. As her guardian, you need to come along too. As much as I dislike it, I do not believe we require your presence at this meeting."
"Don't be mean to Touma," Index reprimanded Stiyl and he looked at her.
"My apologies," Stiyl said quickly and Touma, once again, had that thought that Stiyl liked Index. Otherwise, he would never have apologized to Touma. "It has been a stressful day. Our Archbishop should distract your friends long enough before they realize we are gone. We require Index to examine some magical disturbances that may be related to the organization you are familiar with." Touma gulped as Stiyl continued. "As it involves magic, we would prefer your friends not get involved, even though they now know about it. It is the reason I asked you to talk privately."
"Who are we meeting?" Touma asked as curiosity overpowered his nervousness. Touma noticed the man near the van opened the doors for them.
"For security purposes," Stiyl continued. "I can't say until we arrive." He frowned and rubbed his head. "I wish Kanzaki was here. She's better at these things then I am."
'Where are we…?" Touma asked nervously, but before he could finish he was interrupted as the door banged open. Touma turned around and saw Mikoto barging through the back door, and, to his surprise, Accelerator was following her with the expression of mild amusement on his face. "What are you two doing here?"
"Why is Short-Hair here?" Index asked.
"You think I'm going to let you go off on your own with that weird guy?" Mikoto demanded ignoring Index. Stiyl's face twitched at the term 'weird guy.' Mikoto did not notice, or didn't care, and continued. "Every time you go off on your own, something bad happens if I'm not there to save you."
"Hey," Touma said indignantly. "It's not every time, and why is Accelerator here?"
"He followed me?" Mikoto said shrugging.
"I was not going to spend another f##%*& minute in that room listening to brats talk about stupid things like beauty secrets and clothes," Accelerator said rubbing his head. "Following you seemed a lot more interesting. Plus I was curious why you looked like you were about to head into a firing squad. Judging by the third rates whining, I can see why."
"Whining...?" Mikoto replied indigently rounding on Accelerator, but was interrupted by Stiyl, who looked annoyed.
"I tried to bring those two quietly to avoid this," he said face palming. "We are in a hurry and I know you two are stubborn as mules. Fine, get in the back and you can come. Just be quiet when the meeting starts." Accelerator and Mikoto climbed into the back row, Index and Touma took the middle row, while Stiyl took the front passenger seat. The man in the suit was obviously the driver. Once they set off, Touma felt it was ok to ask again.
"Who are we meeting so urgently?" Touma asked again.
"One of the most important people in England," Stiyl said without turning around. "We are going to meet the queen."
Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.
Mikoto: Hah, I managed to get involved in Touma's adventure. Take that Shokuhou-san.
Misaki: You win this round, but mark my word. Tonight, I will make sure he is mine.
Mikoto: Maybe he won't get back in time tonight. We might have to stay out for a while.
Misaki: You are growing bold Misaka-san. I hope you don't choke.
Shizuri: You two are such kids. We all know he will somehow meet up with me.
Misaki & Mikoto: Yea right.
Kazari: Everyone just split up into groups. I hope no one gets lost.
Ruiko: I think the author did it because he was having trouble giving everyone screen time when we were all together.
Kuroko: NOOOOO ONEE-SAMA, don't leave me behind for the ape! The author better give me alone time with her.
Last Order: MISAKA gets a line down here MISAKA interrupts as MISAKA makes sure the audience is aware of her presence.