Hi everyone, this is Kuroko Shirai and I am pleased to be able to present the opening comments. I was really worried the ape or one of the ape's friends would be doing it. After the first round of comments, I was worried those idiot boys would say harmful things about onee-sama. I was told I have limited time up here, so I will move on to answering as many questions as I can.
naruhinasakufan1: EWW. How could that even be a contest? Onee-sama is smart, kind, brave, beautiful, and all around perfect. Jason, I have to use his first name or the author will tell on me and he will use that stupid nickname again, is just an annoying guy. But, I guess I can admit he is a friend, a bad friend, but a friend. He OCCASSIONALLY seems like a good person. Let's say for a wild moment I was interested in him, I would never move on a friend's boyfriend.
Swoob: I met her mother, and her brilliance was indescribable. I hope to see onee-sama blossom as bright, if not brighter one day. As for the others, I would be surprised, onee-sama has not mentioned she has sisters, but I would make sure to treat them with as much respect as I do her. Though, my love for her would remain true. I would never cheat on her.
Handsomistic1: If the ape DARES to violate onee-sama's perfect skin, I will cut off his hand. As for Konori-sempai, since she is our direct supervisor, she is the first person we have to notify to take time off. I have texted Kamiko a couple times at the beginning of the trip. I told her our plans and she said she hopes I have a great trip. She's so kind and caring, almost as much as onee-sama.
wildarms13: Eww, that's almost as bad as naru's comment on Jason. There is no way I would ever have feelings for him. If we do it purely hypothetically, ONLY HYPOTHETICALLY, then probably. I am not one to hide my feelings. I don't understand what you mean I have been with him? You mean when I kick him after he dares to flirt with onee-sama?
Anon: It's not so much an out of body experience, but more my life flashing before my lives. I usually see a lot of scenes between me and onee-sama, so if it lasts for a while, it's not that bad. I really love when I relive our shower love and we have skin on skin contact. I also remember the first time she saved me. She looked so cool and heroic. As time goes on, her beauty just keeps growing.
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.
*Author Note*
Quick comment, because I saw something that needed to be answered. Yakutsu Zaishiro, I have not forgotten about those things, especially the ID. It will be revealed when the group heads back to Academy City. Well if, they could all lose to Carissa's forces. I let the story tell me the ending.
The ride back to the hotel wasn't pleasant, but it could have been a lot worse. Touma could tell Misaki was happy, though he wasn't entirely sure why. He thought it was because everyone got out alive, but he didn't realize the position he held her in just improved her attitude too. He could tell Mikoto and Index were staring at Misaki and radiating a dark aura, but Touma figured they were mad at Misaki for doing something stupid and dangerous. Touma mentally shrugged and realized he would have done anything he could to save his friends too. The conversation Shizuri had with Misaki was probably the most stressful situation, since they left the city limits. Shizuri had interrogated Misaki for several tense minutes, but all Misaki replied was she had already known about Body Crystal. She had picked up the case, when Rikou dropped it in the mall, and forgot to give it back. When she realized this, they were already in the field and she kept it as a last resort. It sounds realistic, though she even admitted she didn't know how her body would react to it. She really took a big risk. Misaki had never given Touma a reason to doubt her, so he believed her every word.
Shizuri on the other hand doubted everything Misaki told her. Her explanation is… reasonable, but there is a lot more then what she's saying. Damn, I don't have proof though. Someone had to tell her about it. I didn't even know about Body Crystal until Takitsubo told me about it. But, I looked into it and it wasn't disbursed to any of the level 5s. She crossed her arms and frowned. Now's not a good time to look into this, but she might have only survived because of this magic crap. When we get back to Academy City, I am going to interrogate any higher ups I can find, until I know just what happened.
Mikoto and Kuroko did not have any previous knowledge of Body Crystal. They also didn't know Rikou was in possession of some. The only information, they had, was what they learned from watching Misaki use it and from what they were told. However, they both felt like Misaki was concealing something and vowed to dig deeper, after they were out of harm's way. I'll have to talk to Kagere when we get back, Mikoto thought. He at least has some information about the drug. Kuroko had a similar mindset, though her thoughts were not quite as nice about talking to Jason.
The bus ride was long, as Itsuwa had to take a roundabout route to lose anyone who might be following them, before beginning to head back to the hotel. After Misaki's interrogation, they all became pretty subdue. Everyone was lost in their own thoughts and worries. When they finally arrived at the hotel, Mikoto, Touma, Misaki, and Index burst out first to see what happened to everyone else, and Kuroko trailed closely behind them. Touma was supporting Misaki, and his hand was still resting on her head. Shizuri followed them, but she was more subdued in her exit, still lost in thought and planning for future endeavors. Itsuwa waited until they left and pulled out her phone. "I'm back and dropped everyone off," she said. "How's everything on your end?" She listened to Stiyl for a moment and smiled. "That's great. I'll let them all know everything worked out perfectly then."
As soon as Touma, Mikoto, and Index entered the hotel, they were greeted by Kazari, Ruiko, Motoharu, Frenda, Rikou and Saiai. Ruiko was the first to reach them and threw her arms around Mikoto and Touma. Her eyes were slightly watering, as she pulled them into a hug. "I'm so glad you are all alright," she said weakly. "We saw the fight with the princess through the security cameras."
"I told you we would save them," Misaki said, smiling at her.
"I'm here too," Kuroko said slightly annoyed and Kazari patted her on the shoulder.
"We are glad you are safe too Shirai-san," Kazari told her. "Saten-san only has two arms." In response to her words, Ruiko threw her arms around Kuroko and gave her a hug.
"Let's get Misaki sitting down," Touma told them, as Shizuri entered the hotel. "Then we need to get one of the church healers to look at her."
"Mugino," Frenda said looking at her. "I knew you would be alright. Basically, we saw the entire fight."
"Did you," Shizuri said coolly, raising an eyebrow. She didn't like the fact others saw her being completely overpowered. "Could you hear everything?"
"Nope," Saiai said. "The cameras didn't have any sounds. What was that super white material she conjured out of the weird cut in the air?"
"The princess b#$%^ said her blade could cut through dimensions," Shizuri told Frenda, Saiai and Rikou. Her eyes followed the others as they say down in the distance, talking, before she continued. "The debris is what occurs after she makes the cuts."
"Huh?" Saiai asked looking surprised.
"Basically," Frenda added. "It sounds like fiction. Cutting dimensions?"
"That's what I thought," Shizuri said nodding. "Though, I can't rule it out, since we don't understand all this magic crap yet. What I know for sure is the b#$%^'s strength is real. She could even deflect my Meltdowner with her sword."
"…What is the plan…?" Rikou asked. "…Will you join the final attack…?" Shizuri glanced at her and raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"The church is super planning an assault to destroy Curtana once they rescued Kamijou," Saiai explained. Shizuri felt a grin form on her face as her eyes flickered over to Touma and the people around him. "I super like that look." Saiai grinned too and cracked her knuckles.
"Oh," Frenda spoke up. "Basically, I just remembered. We saw on a camera another faction seems to be fighting in London. It was led by a young girl called Eve. She took out an entire knight squad by herself by conjuring a giant octopus out of paper."
"Tell me everything you know," Shizuri said curiously. "I don't want to be left out of anything."
Touma had just sat Misaki down on a sofa chair, and then he continued to lean up against the back of it. His hand was never going to leave her head, until they could have her examined by the church. Judging by the fact Kazari and Ruiko didn't question the location of his hand, Jason must have told them about what he and Index discussed. Motoharu, on the other hand, stood behind the girls and gave Touma two thumbs up. Touma immediately gave him a warning look, about not opening his mouth, and then turned to the others. "How long till the church can look at Misaki, and what all has happened?" He looked around. "And where's Jason?"
"He's currently being healed," Kazari told him. "Once they finish with him, they will examine Shokuhou-san. Most of the church forces who acted as the bait have returned and the healers are prioritizing their injuries. One healer was tasked with helping us when you returned."
"Jason's still injured?" Touma asked. "I heard Knight Leader disappeared and he was supposed to go after Jason, but I thought he would have been healed by now." With the excitement of escaping the palace, he never had a chance to ask Mikoto and Misaki about everyone's condition. During the phone call, he was told they were all okay and only Accelerator was unaccounted for at that time. They only briefly discussed a couple people during their escape. Mikoto told him Accelerator was fine, he had fought someone strong and found the princess, but the details were unknown to her.
"He and I did fight Knight Leader," Kuroko started explaining, crossing her arms and looking slightly cross. "It wasn't going well and I got knocked out. From what he said, he used magic in an improper way and caused a lot of damage to himself. He seems to be fine, except his shadow is covering his right arm like a protective layer. Uiharu said the arm was causing him pain."
"Improper way?" Index asked. "Could you be more specific?"
"Something about channeling magic through an incomplete magic circle," Ruiko said thinking back. Index's eyes widened.
"That is dangerous," she said nodding. "There could be countless results, and it probably wasn't pretty. He's lucky to be alive, if he did it with any decent size circle or magical power."
"Stiyl wasn't too pleased about it either," Mikoto added, remembering Stiyl compared it to Touma.
"Is everyone back yet?" Touma asked. "I overheard Carissa talk about a couple groups attacking her knights."
"We are missing one small group," Itsuwa said walking up to them and taking a seat. "Stiyl is monitoring all the troops right now. There were some injuries, we expected nothing less, but the planned work perfectly. We are waiting for the Priestess's team to return. She contacted us and said everyone was fine and they were on the way."
"That's good," Touma sighed in relief.
"I told you it would be fine," Misaki said looking up at him. "Accelerator was with them and he's not one to lose."
"I'm glad it turned out well," Kuroko said. "If they had lost… I didn't want to be responsible for causing it. They were supposed to be a distraction for us."
"On a more negative note," Itsuwa continued, her face darkening. "Uiharu-san and Saten-san here saw Eve on one of the cameras." Touma, Index, Mikoto, Kuroko, and Misaki shared a look. "She took out a group of knights."
"What?" Touma said shocked. "Why is she helping us?"
"I doubt she is helping us," Misaki said and Touma looked down at her. She looked up and shook her head. "I bet she's just using us for her personal gain. Even when we saw her in Italy, she was just using the Herald to do her dirty work, even if she said he was out of control."
"Did she do anything unusual in her fight?" Index asked.
"She created a giant octopus out of paper," Ruiko said. "And then a giant fly swatter."
"Hmm," Index said crossing her arms. "Making a large physical object wouldn't be difficult, but she can make golems besides humans. It really looks like her book of Genesis is complete. Either way, it's not good for any side if she's getting directly involved."
"Exactly," Itsuwa agreed nodding. "Whatever she is planning, involves us fighting Princess Carissa's forces. You see, the group of knights she took out would have been in front of our route to pick you up."
"Ah," Ruiko said slapping her head. "I missed that, but now that you mention it. I do remember you going through that area."
"Oh Kamijou-kun," Itsuwa said turning her full attention to Touma. "While you were held captive in the castle, did she hurt you?" Her words were kind, but Touma felt a sort of strength radiating from her. Misaki, Mikoto, Ruiko, and Index turned to look at him too.
"No," Touma said quickly shaking his head. He suddenly felt a fire in Itsuwa's eyes he wasn't used to seeing, except in exceptional circumstances. "Index and I were locked up most of the day. Though," he paused for a second when he remembered meeting the knights. This pause was enough for all the girls' heads to turn in interest toward him. Touma's danger sense went off and he continued. "I was escorted by one knight named George Clark, and met some of the knights under his command. Part of the deal for allowing you all to leave the country was I had to serve under Carissa. She said it would be a good for me to learn about the knights. The only information I heard was Knight Leader was missing and a couple slips about the church's offense." Then he remembered something important. "Carissa is planning to kill the queen and the princess's," he added hastily.
"You can calm down," Itsuwa said smiling slightly. "We know that already and one of the princesses is here already. Look, here she comes with Stiyl." She pointed and they all turned to see Stiyl, Villian, Agnese, and two other nuns begin to approach them. Villian bowed slightly and Agnese, along with the nuns, nodded in greeting. Stiyl, however, walked right up to them with a serious expression on his face.
"You," he said pointing to Touma. "Come with me. I need to discuss a couple things with you in private." The words were simple, but Mikoto and Ruiko immediately jump between Touma and Stiyl. Misaki tried to get up and join them, but Touma put his other hand on her shoulder and forced her back into her seat.
"Wait," Mikoto told him. "You can't expect him to just go with you on some dangerous mission. He just got back."
"Besides," Ruiko said. "He has to keep his hand on Misaki to prevent the magic poisoning her body, right?"
"Damn it," Stiyl said rubbing his head and looking annoyed at the girls. "First, I just need to discuss a few things with him. There is no mission for him. We just got back from the field and are currently patching up. Second, when he comes with us, these two," he pointed to the two nuns behind him, "are going to heal her."
"Did they finish healing Jason yet?" Kazari asked.
"No," Stiyl sighed. "There have been complications. It's one of the reason's we need his hand right now."
"Wouldn't his hand negate any magic you try?" Misaki asked.
"It will," Stiyl nodded. "And that's why we want to use it. None of the normal healing methods are working and there may be traces of magic from his stupidity interfering with it."
"I'll go too," Index volunteered. "I should be able to analyze what happened and find a way to heal it. Though, running magic through an incomplete circle to cause destruction has a lot of possible side effects."
"He really makes things complicated," Kuroko mumbled. "So you want to use the ape's hand to remove any leftover magic."
"Exactly," Stiyl said. "Now come with me." He turned around and motion for Touma to follow. Touma gave the girls a, I'll be back in a bit, look and followed. Motoharu also went with them, but none of the girls paid him attention. They were either looking at Touma or Misaki.
"Please go with them," Itsuwa told Misaki and she nodded. The two nuns escorted Misaki down another hallway. Mikoto noticed Misaki staggered a bit and one of the nuns had to help support her. Itsuwa turned and looked at Agnese. "Did you have to go too?" Agnese shook her head.
"Not right now," Agnese responded. "I was asked to accompany the princess until we are ready to move out."
"The bravery you showed for your friends is quite admirable," Villian told them all kindly. "I wish I could have the strength to do the kinds of things you do."
"I could never leave one of my friends behind," Mikoto said waving her hand dismissively. "I would have done it for any of them." Well, I might have been a little more anxious because it was him. Kuroko, Ruiko, and Kazari beamed at her.
"What's the next step?" Kuroko asked. "I bet the princess isn't too happy we took her prisoners."
"Our spies indicated she actually went back into the palace," Itsuwa said frowning. "Yet her troops are moving out to the country side."
"They must have the location of my mother or sister," Villian said grimly. Her eyes were full of sadness.
"Now now," Ruiko said patting her on the shoulder. "I'm sure it will be alright. From what we heard, your family is quite capable."
"Ahh Saten-san," Kazari said quickly, reaching over and pulling Ruiko's arm off Villian. "You can't just go and touch a princess so casually."
"Oh right," Ruiko said sheepishly. Villian had been nearby since the rescue operation began, she had forgotten she was royalty. "I'm sorry your highness."
"It's fine," Villian said smiling warmly at her. "You don't need to address me so formally now. Villian will be fine. If my sister succeeds, I really won't have any place as a princess anymore."
"Do you know why the princess isn't heading her forces?" Kuroko asked Agnese.
"Well," Agnese said slowly and looked over at Itsuwa, who nodded. "Thanks to your encounter with her," Agnese looked at Mikoto. "She started to use more of Curtana's power. This led her to understand it more fully."
"I noticed she did appear to get stronger," Mikoto acknowledged, and then she sighed. "Sorry I made things worse."
"No need to apologize," Itsuwa said quickly. "She would have figured out how to wield Curtana's power fully anyways. You are Mugino-san's fight could actually work to our advantage. She started to use a lot of power without preparation. The explosion she caused, near the end of the fight, made us lose connection, but we have a good idea what she's going to do next."
"Is she going to do some test runs with it before joining the fight?" Kazari asked. "That's what I would have done. If you start using something without fully understanding it, you could break it."
"Exactly," Agnese said and grinned. "But those two forced her to use more power than she was used to. She was originally only using it to strengthen herself and the knights gradually. So, during you fight, she probably didn't use it correctly or, at the very least, control the power properly. She would have to take Curtana and retune it to make sure it didn't start self-destructing. That's why she is staying in Buckingham Palace. The palace was designed to contain the power of Curtana. If it needs to be properly tuned or fixed, that would be the place."
"So now," Itsuwa added. "While most of the knights are away, we are going to try to attack Curtana directly. If we can either cause enough destruction to the palace, or disrupt the tuning ritual, we should be able to weaken Curtana dramatically."
"That would definitely make the fight easier," Kuroko mumbled. "If she could take on onee-sama and Mugino-san at once, her power shouldn't be underestimated."
"The issue would be getting near enough to the palace to interrupt the ritual," Villian explained. "I believe a key point should be in the basement, so we would want to hit there. But my sister would have guards stationed all around the palace and her strength would just be increasing."
"Wait a second," Mikoto said thoughtfully and everyone looked at her. "Would it be some kind of railcar down there?"
"Most likely," Itsuwa said, looking curiously at her. "It would make sense to be able to move the key component at will. Also, being underground would make it safer from aerial assaults." She frowned slightly. "But how did you know?"
"You are going to love this," Mikoto laughed and a huge smile appeared on her face. "The reason we took so long to get out of the palace was because…" She spent a couple minutes explaining what she, Touma, Index, and Shizuri had done in the basement of the palace. As she talked, Itsuwa and Agnese's faces became brighter and brighter, until Agnese burst out laughing.
"Ah!" she said through her laughs. "I love that boy. He always seems to do what we need without realizing it." Her words got her looks from Itsuwa, Mikoto, and Ruiko, but they didn't voice their thoughts externally.
"He does seem to help during the most crucial times," Villian added. "He even helped my sister before we were formally introduced."
"It's just the way he is," Ruiko said grinning. "He will save anyone and everyone he can, without even considering the consequences."
"And that is why he gets involved in so many messes," Kuroko sighed.
"Stiyl will probably want to know about this," Itsuwa said. "He was planning to lead the assault."
"If you have spies watching the palace," Kazari mentioned to Itsuwa. "How big of an impact would Curtana running out of control cause?"
"It really depends how much control the princess will be able to maintain," Itsuwa said, her grin slipping. "Out spies are a good distance away, but they can't use magic. It's the only reason they can still remain in the city. If Curtana completely runs out of control, it could level all of London."
"I don't think my sister will allow that," Villian said. "She will try to contain as much power as possible, though if the stories are true, she won't be able to contain it all without destroying herself."
"As long as she's weakened," Mikoto said. "It's definitely the first good news we had in a while."
Touma followed Stiyl down the hallway to a room near the end of the hotel. They passed several nuns running back and forth, delivering messages, food, supplies, and any other task that needed to be completed. They noticed Touma and he could feel them staring at him, as he passed, but he ignored them and focused on the task at hand. Also, he could feel a dark aura around Index, when the girls stared at him, and he knew getting involved with any of them was not a good idea at this time. He looked over at Stiyl, who seemed to be ignoring everyone, until they reached a room. "Try not to freak out and get all skirmish on me when you see his injury," Stiyl told him. Before Touma could ask anything, Stiyl opened the door and shoved him in. Index and Motoharu followed and Stiyl closed the door behind them. There were only three other people in the room, Jason and two nuns. Touma looked at Jason's arm and his jaw dropped.
Jason's arm looked like it had died.
Well, to be more precise, it looked more like a dried mummy arm. Jason's skin was rustic brown and his arm was withered, almost completely dehydrated. It looked like the skin was wrapped around the bone, with nothing much left in between, and Touma was surprised Jason could even be conscious. What could have happened to make his arm look like that? It probably hurts like hell. He felt slightly nauseous looking at it, but he was able to compose himself. "What the heck happened to you?"
"Sup Touma," Jason replied cheerfully. "You finally finished goofing around with the princess. I heard you wanted to stay with her. She must have been good, or you were good and enticed her."
"She's not good," Index said puffing out her cheeks. "Do you know they didn't feed me for over an hour?" Motoharu and Jason snickered.
"She does sound like a bad person," Jason said, still smirking.
"You don't know the half of it," Motoharu laughed. "Luckily Kami-yan's harem certainly was efficient in carrying out their duties."
"With his life on the line," Jason smirked. "They probably would have taken on more. How's Shokuhou-san?"
"Damn you guys," Touma growled at them, as Index started seeping a dark aura again. "I don't have a harem. The church is looking at her right now. Do you know what happened?"
"I had some theories after talking with Index," Jason shrugged. "But without all the Academy City equipment, I can't tell you for sure of any lasting effects or changes to her body."
"If you are done talking about the boy's unnatural popularity with females," Stiyl said lighting a cigarette. "Let's get on to why I brought him here. I would prefer to get back to the main problem in England. His arm is rejecting all forms of standard healing, correct?" He looked at the two nuns and they nodded. "We figured your hand would be able to negate any magic left that is preventing the healing. If that doesn't work, Index could analyze the wound."
"Okay," Touma said and moved next to Jason.
"Careful," Jason said. "It's pretty sensitive." For one wild moment, Touma debated punching him in the arm, for all the times Jason messed with him, but he couldn't go through with it. He reached over and touched Jason's arm with his fingers. He saw Jason flinch and realized even a light touch caused him a lot of pain. The skin felt rough and sort of sandpapery, like it was scabbed all over. Right when he thought he couldn't take touching it much longer, he heard the sound of breaking glass. Touma didn't immediately move his hand as he looked at Jason.
"Is it any better?" Touma asked.
"A lot actually," Jason grinned. "I no longer feel sharp agonizing pain when someone lightly touches it. Plus, I can move my hand." Everyone looked down at Jason's right hand, and watched his fingers move slightly. "Hmm, still can't get full movement. At least I'm left handed, so this shouldn't affect me too much."
"Looking on the bright side of things?" Touma asked, almost sarcastically, as he pulled his hand away. "Seriously, you need to take things more seriously."
"That sounds boring," Jason complained, and then he laughed. "I take things seriously when I have to. Right now though, putting up a strong front for the others is a better option.
"He's right Kami-yan," Motoharu agreed. "If he acted like a wounded puppy, it would just cause hassle for the others. They would be worried about him and unable to concentrate on what they need to do. You don't want them to be distracted in the middle of a life or death situation."
"Maybe you're right," Touma conceded. "You know you can just tell us if you need help. We are friends you know." Jason looked at him for a second and grinned.
"I usually try to avoid situations I can't handle myself," Jason replied. "But…" He stood up and lunged at Touma hugging him, knocking him down. "I knew you cared. Are you finally returning my feelings?"
"What… huh?" spluttered Touma, shocked at the turn of events.
"Geeze Kami-yan," Motoharu said, looking down at them. "Kami disease is moving to guys too. I think you got a level up after seducing the princess. I think I need to put some distance between us."
"Toouuuummmaaa," Index said dangerously.
"You damn idiots!" Touma yelled, punching Jason in the stomach, and kicking Motoharu in the shins. Jason rolled off of him with a grunt, and Motoharu fell to the ground with a crash. "Even in a serious situation like this, you two still spout all this garbage?"
"Feeling better though?" Motoharu asked, still grinning up at him. "You seemed pretty down so we needed to cheer you up. Everyone here chose to participate in your rescue. Kagere purposely risked himself, of his own choosing, to set up the access to the security system. You can say anything you want, but that fact still remains."
"We talked a bit, when you were on the way, and decided to bring you back to your normal everyday life," Jason said rubbing his gut. "But ouch, did you have to hit so hard?"
"You'll heal up quickly with the pride mark," Touma commented, but all the anger he felt disappeared. "Thanks."
"Well if you idiots are done messing around," Stiyl said. "Have you finished analyzing his arm Index?"
"Yes," she nodded. "Touma's hand destroyed a layer of magic that was causing problems." She turned to look at Jason. "It feels like a normal arm now, right?"
"Yes," Jason confirmed. "If I didn't look at it, I would swear it was fine. Though, I'm trying and still can't really move it. I was using my shadow to control my arm."
"Well if the problem is gone," Stiyl said looking over at the two other nuns, who were watching the guy's exchange in interest. "Then you two should be able to heal him." He looked over at Touma. "Your hand is going to interfere with the healing process, so leave and take him with you." Touma nodded and he and Motoharu left. Stiyl felt Index pull on the hem of his robe and he leaned down to listen.
"I have something to tell you privately about my analysis," Index whispered. Stiyl nodded curtly and he and Index left the room, and then walked into a nearby empty room.
"Do you know what he did?" Stiyl asked. "While his explanation appears plausible, the odds of this outcome are virtually nonexistent."
"I think so too," Index agreed. "His arm, at first glance, appears to be burned. This isn't accurate. The arm's been purified with refine Telesma. It was faint, but it was definitely there. A human body still carries sin, so it caused the mummified state we see. If he had the power of God's Right Seat and reduced the sin in his body, he might have taken less damage."
"Refined Telesma?" Stiyl asked. "But there's only been two cases in history were that has happened. Both of them required an artifact, unless you think he actually found a way into the domain of god."
"He definitely did not do that," Index said shaking her head. "His body would have been saturated with it, if that was the case. I think for him to have found one of the two artifacts would be a better guess. The issue is I don't sense the artifact on him. I suppose he could have it hidden away, but I would have noticed it if he used magic. His ability might be able to hide it without me noticing…"
"Hmm," Stiyl said staring at the ceiling. "It would explain how a kid defeated Knight Leader and obtained a serious injury like that." He sighed. "Seriously, if he has it, he should have just used it on the princess and end this entire coup. He's obviously up to something."
"Maybe he was afraid of using it?" Index suggested. "This is of course all hypothetical. We have no hard evidence he has one of them anyway. He's also a good friend of Touma, so I doubt he could do anything bad." Stiyl's lips tightened a bit at Touma's names. "Also, it could be possible his incomplete circle fused with Curtana's Telesma and created a similar effect. This would be another unlikely case, but it is possible."
"I guess," Stiyl agreed and sighed. "It's still suspicious and I intend to keep an eye on him. He did help us and even if he has one, he's broken no obvious laws."
"Uh Stiyl, I have something important to tell you." Stiyl and Index turned to the door and saw Touma standing there.
"What?" Stiyl asked.
"While we were at the palace," Touma told him, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a piece of paper. "I was given this letter from a guy who risked his life to deliver it." Touma held out the letter. Stiyl took it and read it silently. His eyes narrowed at first, then widened slightly in surprise. His face became passive as he looked at Touma.
"Did you manage?" he asked calmly.
"Yes," Touma nodded. "Index found the location and I used my hand on the circle." Stiyl glanced over at Index and she nodded to confirm Touma's story.
"Well," Stiyl said. "I'm going to say something I never thought I would have to." His face looked like he ate something sour. "Good job. This was actually our next objective. Now that you have already performed the task, we can focus on taking the fight directly toward the princess." He grinned. "Final battle is about to take place. You both should grab something fast to eat. I plan to martial our forces as soon as possible." His grin faded as he remembered something. "Oh yes, since we require your presence, I take it your friends are going to want to participate. Make sure they UNDERSTAND this. We are fighting to take her down, if they are not willing to risk their lives, make them stay here."
"Yes," Touma nodded, though his mind was now thinking of ways to try to convince his friends to stay behind. His mind was still in high gear as Stiyl left the room. Mugino will be impossible. She has a grudge against Carissa. Mikoto gets mad if I leave her behind and she will obviously follow regardless what I say. Misaki should stay behind because of her condition, but she won't want to stay behind either. I might have luck with the others, except Shirai. He sighed. This is going to be tough. It would be an understatement to say he was afraid of actually fighting Carissa, after she had demonstrated her power, but he knew he had to fight. He was going to save all his friends, both from Academy City and the Church, the countless civilians who got caught in the middle, the knights, and even Carissa. Too many people are relying on us to stop her.
"Touma?" Index asked tugging on his sleeve. "What are you thinking about?"
"Oh just what we are going to have to eat before we leave," Touma lied.
"Yay!" Index cheered. "I'm starving." They both left the room to join the others and then grab some food. Index knew Touma was lying about his thoughts, because even she could guess what he was thinking. She didn't want to make him worry either and decided to focus on her hunger issue. He will tell me when he's ready.
That night, control of Curtana Original was lost.
A powerful explosion erupted from Buckingham palace, and passed through the entire city of London. The explosion was completely magical and normal people would not be able to detect it. Every window in the palace shattered and glass shards flew outwards, away from the palace. Other buildings throughout London shook slightly, like they were being impacted by sound normal people couldn't hear. An eerie yellow glowing mist began to converge above the city, making the sky look like dawn was arriving, even though the sun had already set and the sky had been dark. Inside the palace, one individual stood, panting and coughing up blood, but she was still alive.
"Damn it!" Carissa raged at the knight across the room. "How the hell did this happen?" She held up a hand to her mouth. as another coughing fit covered her glove with blood.
"L-lady Carissa," the knight said nervously. "We found out the main railcar in the basement, the one that acts as the key for the containment, was disabled. While it wasn't destroyed, it was no longer operational. We are starting to repair it now, but we couldn't detect it until it was too late."
"I see," Carissa said, standing up straight. Her voice became normal again, and she glared coolly at the knight, who remained petrified under her gaze. "I understand what happened. Though, I was still able to suppress Curtana by myself. I no longer can focus on playing around anymore and fully examining Curtana. We need to crush all resistances and my mother. You may leave and pass on my instructions." The knight bowed, and hastily left the room. Carissa walked over to the broken window and stared out across the palace gardens into the distance. The garden was lit by an eerie yellow tint. Well played boy. I knew you were the one I needed to keep an eye on. If circumstances were different... If we meet on the battlefield, I will most likely be forced to kill you.
Shortly before the explosion, she had been sitting down in the middle of the room, with Curtana on her lap, while the railcar was being moved into place. The sword was continuing to vibrate rapidly and she knew the power had to be contained soon. She started to perform the complicated ritual to remove the power from Curtana, stabilize it, and put it back. At the same time, she would tune the blade to fit her needs. Everything was going well, until she removed too much of Curtana's power. She discovered, too late, the power was not stabilizing. Before she could put the power back, the instability caused Curtana to start emitting massive amounts of Telesma, far faster than Carissa could control. The power flowed into her and damaged her body, before she was forced to release it into her surroundings. If she hadn't, she would have died. The power she had sent to the knights was fading, and she could feel herself lose some of her own power too. Curtana has released about half of its power, and it would be many days before it could regain all the power it lost.
Carissa knew she now had to contend with the knights doubting her leadership. She usually used Knight Leader to pass on her orders to the knight organization, as a whole. Now that he disappeared, the knights had begun to question if she truly was worthy of being their leader. At first, they were suspicious of her, when she brought a common boy into the palace, but their doubt was dispelled by the display of his power. Given time, Carissa was confident, even if Knight Leader was dead, she would still have their complete loyalty. But because she lost control of Curtana, even for just a moment, the knight's doubt would definitely return, stronger then ever.
"I suppressed it," Carissa said, louder then was needed. She wasn't talking to anyone but herself. "They tried to cause it to self-destruct, but I held on. This is proof I am destined to wield Curtana Original. Even my mother wouldn't have been able to contain it this well." She laughed loudly and then narrowed her eyes. The church won't let this opportunity pass. They will attack, and most of my knights are after my mother. The Telesma they received is gone too. They aren't weak, but those science kids have a lot of power at their disposal. I guess I don't have a choice. I will welcome them, and then take care of them personally. Though Curtana's overall power was weakened, it actually made the blade easier to control, if she just focused the power on herself.
Right now, she was even stronger then when she fought Touma and his friends before.
Touma's prediction was perfect. The girls did not take it well when he told them what Stiyl said. Misaki was the most passive. She simply told him she was going to go, with or without his permission. After all, Misaki told him she could sneak into any place manned by people. Mikoto looked at him for a moment, and then shot a bolt of electricity at him, and then yelled at him for a couple minutes for even thinking he could leave her behind. When he talked to Shizuri, she didn't say anything, but immediately punched him in the gut. He fell to the ground while she looked down at him. Frenda sighed and shook her head, but when Shizuri left, mumbling something about idiots, Frenda helped him back up to his feet. The good news was Jason seemed to be better, though his arm didn't look normal, and he and Motoharu watched Touma try to persuade the girls not to participate.
"You could have helped," Touma said glaring at them.
"But I'm just a normal friend of yours Kami-yan," Motoharu said grinning. "How would I persuade a bunch of level 5s not to do something they wanted to?"
"Well," Jason said. "I'm not in really in any position to tell them anything either. They know the dangers and chose to continue. Shokuhou-san is even fully healed, unlike me. I still plan to help out, since I'm healed enough too…" His words were interrupted by a loud cry. They turned around and saw Kazari marching toward Jason. "Ah shit," he mumbled.
"Jason," Kazari reprimanded him. "You aren't in any position to go. You're seriously injured and you can't possibly be healed yet."
"But…" Jason tried to explain.
"No buts," Kazari interrupted. "If you were fully healed, you wouldn't be using your shadow to protect your arm." She grabbed his uninjured left arm and pulled him down the hall. "I'm not going to let you go." Jason tried to argue, but she wouldn't hear any of his excuses. Motoharu and Touma looked at each other for a moment, and then burst out laughing.
"I always pegged her as the quiet type to get dragged into everything," Motoharu commented.
"Usually," Touma agreed. "But occasionally I see her stand up to Jason and Shirai-san. She's really the only one who seems to be able to control them." They conversation was interrupted when they recognized a familiar person entering the hotel.
"Hey Accelerator," Touma called out, as he and Motoharu walked over to him. "Glad to see you are back. Everything ok?"
"Of course everything is ok," Accelerator snapped. "Why wouldn't it be? I am the strongest after all. I'll be right back. I need to check up on the brat and the bigger brat." He left them and headed up to their room.
"He doesn't want to admit he was worried about them," Motoharu grinned. "He's totally a mother bird watching over his loli."
"Don't let him here you say that," muttered Touma. "He's likely to make you regret it."
"Yo Kamijou!" a males voice called out, causing Touma and Motoharu to turn around and look at the new person. The guy was in his mid-20s and wore loose clothing, including an oversized t-shirt with a red cross on it. His hair was black and spiky, like Touma's, but was shorter and messier looking. He walked up and gave Touma a slap to the middle of his back. "It's been awhile."
"Tatemiya-san," Touma greeted him. "It's good to see you again." The man's name was Saiji Tatemiya, the former Substitute Supreme Pontiff of the Amakusa. The last time Touma saw him was when he and Index stopped the Roman Catholic Church from attacking Venice. Saiji was a little strange, but he cared deeply for his comrades and would sacrifice himself in a heartbeat if it would save the others. Recently, Kaori had taken up the Supreme Pontiff title again and she currently led the Amakusa. "I didn't know you were here."
"You think something this big would happen and I wouldn't take part in it?" Saiji laughed. "We owe a lot to the Anglican Church, and we are also part of it now. We can't stand back and do nothing. I was part of the smaller distraction group when your friends rescued you. I have to admit, your friends are strong. That guy, Accelerator, never saw anything like him before."
"He's known as the number one in Academy City," Motoharu said, and then held out his hand. "Oh, my name's Motoharu Tsuchimikado, a good friend of Kami-yan." Saiji nodded and shook his hand.
"We actually saw you guys earlier this week," Saiji told them. "We were supposed to keep any eye on you in case The Fallen got involved. Did you enjoy the swimsuit contest?" He grinned.
"Did you set that up?" Touma asked surprised.
"We didn't run it," Saiji explained. "But we persuaded some college students to hold it every night, since Itsuwa and Agnese planned out the trip. We blended in the crowd and cheered for our companion."
"Ah," Motoharu said. "That's why Itsuwa-san won. I thought for sure Mugino-san was going to win."
"This actually makes a lot of sense," Touma sighed. "Don't you guys normally keep an eye out on Itsuwa?"
"Well yes," Saiji laughed. "We just wanted to see when she was going to get the courage to admit she lo…" he suddenly stopped and Touma and Motoharu understood why. A dark murderous aura caused them all to freeze in fear. They could feel their bodies start to be covered in cold sweat. Before they could see who it was, someone moved and smashed a chair on Saiji's head, knocking him to the ground unconscious. Touma and Motoharu turned around to see who it was, but the person was already gone around a corner. They only saw a hint of cloth disappearing.
"Umm," Touma asked, looking at Motoharu. "Who was that?"
"Eh," Motoharu shrugged. "Probably just someone who gets embarrassed easily, and had a grudge against him." He put his arm around Touma's shoulders. "Let's go grab some food while we can. You don't know when the church is planning to move out. Touma sighed, and figured he was probably right. He followed Motoharu and glanced back at Saiji, who gave Touma a thumb up from the ground, before hoping back up to his feet. Touma grinned slightly, glad to see he was okay, and headed off in slightly better spirits. Motoharu remembered he had to stop at their room, so they both took a detour before heading back downstairs.
The dining hall was packed with tables and most were occupied. Many of the nuns didn't get to eat since that morning, and were devouring the food as fast as it was being made. Touma noticed there was a small crowd gathering around a table, where a familiar white garbed nun was eating through a mountain of food. The other nuns were having fun and trying to see what the limit of Index's stomach was. Index, of course, was enjoying the food, but was slightly confused at why she was getting so much attention. Touma looked around, and saw most of his friends, the girls, at a large table. Accelerator and Jason were sitting at a smaller table and there were two spots open with them, so Touma and Motoharu joined them. As Touma approached them, he overheard the ending of their conversation.
"… They weren't nearly as strong," Accelerator said. "But the vector direction was completely different from the other magicians I encountered. Shit, what is with these rules?"
"Magic is based on traditions," Jason explained. "Different traditions and beliefs will have different magical bases. I can't tell you exactly how the vectors work, but I bet every magician is slightly different. You can't just create a basic formula to cover everything. I bet you would even find my magic to be different…. Hey guys," he said as Touma and Motoharu approached. "Grab a seat. What kept you all?"
"I needed to talk to a couple people," Touma said sighing. He sat down and reached for one of the sandwiches resting on the table.
"I remember that and it was priceless," Jason said pointing over to the girls table. All the guys glanced over and saw many of the girls looking at them, Mikoto, Misaki, Shizuri, Saiai, Frenda, and, to Touma's surprise, Kazari. "I know who Kazari is glaring at, and I assume I know who the others are glaring at. You still couldn't persuade them I bet."
"Yes," Touma acknowledged.
"You should know how stubborn they are," Accelerator yawned. "You would have better luck sneaking out."
"Pot calling the kettle black?" Motoharu asked him and Accelerator scowled.
"Do you…" Accelerator snapped, but was interrupted as Last Order bounded over to their table and stood next to Accelerator, looking at them all.
"What are you all talking about MISAKA asks curiously as MISAKA looks at you all for information." Hey eyes did not have any malicious intent, she was just curious because she was just worried about Accelerator being gone constantly and off fighting. She wanted to spend more time with him and so she wanted to join their conversation. "Nothing," he said, changing direction. "Pull up a seat and eat something brat. We are going to leave soon and I can't watch you all night."
"Ok MISAKA agrees as MISAKA grabs a chair." Last Order pushed a seat over to the table, moved it so it was right next to Accelerator, and looked at everyone else again as she grabbed a sandwich. She stuffed her face before asking them, her mouth full, "Soaf what were you talking abouf MISAKA asks as MISAKA tries to tolf with a mouf full of fud."
Before Touma could say anything, Motoharu spoke up. "We were just beginning to question Kami-yan on his ideal girl." There was the sound of a glass falling over, but Touma ignored it. His attention was focused on Motoharu for saying something like that out of the blue.
"What the hell are you saying?" Touma demanded as Accelerator grinned. "That wasn't happening at all…"
"Well we were starting a list," Jason interrupted. "Using all the information we have gathered but, from what he told us in school, the type of girl he is into is a little strange compared to the girls around him. It's made the order difficult to pinpoint." Touma didn't know, but several people at the nearby table got quiet, as they listened to the boys talking about Touma's preference in girls.
When the girls arrived in the dining hall, before any of the boys, they managed to grab one of the slightly larger tables so they could sit down together. This was one of the few times Mikoto, Misaki, and Shizuri all agreed on the same thing. None of them wanted to stay back while everything else was planning to go off and fight. They were joined shortly by Kazari, Ruiko, Kuroko, and then Frenda, Saiai, and Ruiko came over together. They had let Shizuri be alone for a little while, as she had been emitting a murderous aura and her friends didn't want to be anywhere near her, until she cooled off. At another table, Worst was bulling Last Order and stealing food from her plate. Last Order's response was waving her arms angrily and throwing food at her.
"I can't believe that idiot wanted us to stay behind," Mikoto muttered, not really hungry, but forcing herself to eat a little before they left.
"If you knew him as well as I do," Misaki pointed out. "You wouldn't be surprised. I bet he knew we wouldn't agree with it, but wanted to try to persuade us anyways."
"I know that," Mikoto snapped indignantly, annoyed Misaki would even consider Mikoto didn't know him that well.
"Nothing is going to prevent me from getting my revenge on that b#$%^," Shizuri said coolly, but her eyes had a dark gleam in them. Though this was her primary goal, part of her did not want to let Touma run off on his own. She tried to tell herself it was because she would lose a powerful pawn if he was killed, but a small honest part of herself said there was much more than that.
"At least we super get to participate," Saiai said grinning. She and Frenda had been really upset they didn't get to participate in the earlier fighting. "They need anyone who can fight."
"Yea," Frenda nodded. "I heard some of those nuns talking about how they couldn't attack the palace yet. Basically, they are waiting for something to pass."
"I can tell you why," Itsuwa said and the girls turned to look at her, as she sat down with Agnese. "Thanks to the valiant efforts of Kamijou-kun, Misaka-san, Mugino-san, and Index, Curtana ran out of control a little while ago. A massive amount of Telesma leaked out and is currently hovering over the city."
"What does that mean?" Ruiko asked. "Does it have something to do with the delay?"
"Think of it as a massive amount of explosive material sitting right on top of the city," Agnese said. "If someone lit a fuse, in this case use magic, it would cause a chain reaction and wipe London off the map in a large explosion."
"Then it's perfect," Shizuri said. "Someone use magic and we wipe out all of her forces."
"That could be a last resort," Itsuwa acknowledged. "If it wasn't for all the civilians being held hostage in movie theaters, hotels, and other large buildings, we might consider it. Our job is to save those people. The princess doesn't appear to care about people's lives so we have to stand up to her, but we can't storm the city until it thins out. Your abilities shouldn't be affected but, if you attack, one of her forces might use magic."
"Do you know when the Telesma disperse?" Kuroko asked.
"We predict shortly before midnight," Agnese said. "By then, we will have already begun to move into the city. So we leave in one to two hours."
"When will we know our responsibilities?" Misaki asked seriously.
"I would say about thirty minutes or so," Itsuwa said and she and Agnese stood up. "There are a couple details Stiyl is working on. Please be certain if you wish to go. None of you are under any obligation to." She bowed slightly and they both left. There was silence, but none of the girls, who were planning to go, looked like their mind was going to be changed. Mikoto sat in silence before she noticed a worried look on Kazari's face.
"You don't need to worry about us," Mikoto reassured her. "We are all going to get back in one piece."
"I believe that," Kazari nodded, but the look on her face said differently. "I'm also worried Jason is going to try to sneak off with them. I overheard him telling Kamijou-san he was planning to go." All the girls glanced at where Kazari was looking and they saw Accelerator and Jason sitting at a nearby table, talking in undertones about something. Jason appeared to be trying to avoid eye contact. Accelerator saw them watching, but he just ignored them all.
"So that's why I saw you dragging him down the hall and yelling at him," Ruiko said wide-eyed. "I was wondering what he did."
"I wasn't yelling Saten-san," Kazari denied.
"It was pretty close," Ruiko said shrugging, but she was grinning.
"I think that was the first time I saw him actually look sorry," Kuroko said satisfied. "About time you started reining him in."
"Didn't he get injured because he super saved you?" Saiai asked.
"That's not important!" Kuroko exclaimed, but a slight pink tinge appeared on her cheek. "We both fought together, so it wasn't a save each other thing. Besides, he's so full of secrets and just lies all the time."
"We all have secrets," Shizuri said glancing over at Jason. She had unfinished business with him too, but she couldn't question him when Accelerator was nearby. Accelerator wasn't the kind of person to leave if asked.
"Besides," Ruiko said, unable to resist joining in. "I heard from Tsuchimikado-san he carried you on his back."
"So what?" Kuroko demanded, her face turning slightly red. "It's common Judgement practice to evacuate anyone who's injured. There's not like there was any special meaning behind it." Of course, no one believed her and Misaki, Ruiko, Saiai, and even Frenda needled her about it while Mikoto turned to Kazari.
"I don't really believe they would be together," Mikoto told her. "It's just kind of fun to see her reaction." She thought she saw worry in Kazari's eyes, before she smiled and nodded.
"I know," she said. "I'm just glad everyone's spirits seems to be better. Everyone was quite solemn while we waited for news. Though," her smile flickered, "I'm still worried for you all tonight. I know they need Kamijou-san to stop the princess, but please be careful."
"We will," Mikoto nodded. "Someone has to save him when he gets in trouble."
"I'll take care of that," Misaki said turning to them. "You can stay behind and keep the others company."
"Like that's going to happen," Mikoto said. "I already told that idiot I was going."
"You still insult him?" Misaki asked. "You really should be more lady-like."
"If he does something stupid," Mikoto told her. "I'm going to call him out on it. It's good for him if he knows when he makes a mistake." Before they could argue anymore, they noticed Ruiko turning and looking at someone with interest. Both of them turned to look and saw Touma and Motoharu enter the dining hall. They immediately turned away to see if there were open spots at their table, but there wasn't. Mikoto and Misaki both had the same thought
Damn it.
They watched Touma and Motoharu sit at the same table as Jason and Accelerator. Mikoto and Misaki were the closest and they could just barely hear the guys through the noise in the dining hall. Shizuri noticed them listening and a small smirk formed on her face, as she looked over at the guys table. All three of them were watching the guys, and they noticed Jason pointed over at them to Touma. The guys had just begun to talk about Touma asking the girls to stay behind, when Last Order had bounded over to their table to see what they were doing. What came next shocked the girls.
"We were just beginning to question Kami-yan on his ideal girl." Mikoto accidently knocked over her drink and quickly picked it up, embarrassed. Misaki and Mikoto both leaned back in their seats and focused on listening to the guy's conversation. It was lucky for them the others were still needling Kuroko about her supposed relationship with Jason, they weren't being bothered. Shizuri was the only other one who noticed, and she leaned over to listen too. They frowned when Jason mentioned a list and waited anxiously to hear more.
"What is this about a list?" Touma asked.
"Oh we were placing bets on which girl you would finally go out with," Motoharu stated. "But it wasn't going anywhere, so we started putting a list together of the most probable candidates."
"Why?" demanded Touma.
"Mostly boredom," Accelerator shrugged, but he was grinning. "You kept denying you had a har…"
"Because I don't!"
"Lies or just denial," Jason said. "But let's assume we believe that. What type do you prefer?"
"Why should I tell you?"
"He's into older girls," Motoharu said, betraying Touma's trust. "He specifically mentioned dorm manager onee-sans types before."
"Don't the Tokiwadai dorms have a dorm manager?" Jason asked sarcastically.
"So that's why your friends with the third and fifth," Accelerator laughed. "You just want to get invited over."
"Is something wrong?" Kuroko asked Mikoto and Misaki. She noticed both of them had their hands over their mouths and looked slightly ill. Shizuri also put her hand to her mouth, but it was to prevent herself from laughing loudly.
"Ah nothing," Mikoto mumbled and pretended to continue eating while turning her attention back to the guy's conversation. Misaki was frowning slightly, because she wasn't entirely sure how to proceed if this was true. Shizuri enjoyed her current feelings, because she was older then Mikoto and Misaki.
"No," Touma said. "I hang out with them because they are my friends and I like them." Misaki and Mikoto blushed slightly.
"You like them huh," Motoharu said winking. "So which one do you prefer?"
"Huh?"
"He's asking which one would you asked on a date," Jason elaborated. Before Touma could respond, Accelerator stepped in.
"Well if he likes older girls," Accelerator said. "Then wouldn't the fourth be a better option?" This time, Shizuri could not hide the look of pure amusement on her face, while Mikoto and Misaki thought the same thing.
No way in hell!
"There's also Kanzaki nee-chin," Motoharu pointed out.
"Why are you only focusing on me?" Touma protested, trying to evade the question. He had a strange feeling, if he said anything on the subject, his luck would kick in and his life would be forfeited. "What about you guys?"
"Well," Jason said. "I'm happy with my relationship, Tsuchimikado's a pervert, and Accelerator's a lolicon." This time, Misaki, Mikoto, and Shizuri all had to stifle a laugh.
"There's nothing perverted about honest love," Motoharu declared passionately. The girls didn't have any idea who he was talking about but, they had to admit, the line sounded good.
"Who's a lolicon?" Accelerator demanded. "I'll kill you."
"You're totally a lolicon," Motoharu pointed out. "I bet you're totally into Mugino-san's friend. She has the right build for you." Shizuri made a mental note to tell Saiai everything later.
"F$%^ you!"
"He has never told us his type," Touma pointed out.
"Maybe he doesn't have a type," Jason said reasonably. "Or he's into guys?"
"That makes sense," Motoharu said nodding. "Or maybe, remember he has an interesting relationship with that one girl, he's like Aogami."
"Don't you EVER compare me to him!" Accelerator snarled, beginning to stand up in unyielding rage.
"Who is Aogami-san? MISAKA asks as MISAKA doesn't know him." All four of the guys turned around and looked at her in shock. They had been so involved in their argument, they had completely forgotten Last Order was there. They also conveniently forgot her appearance started the entire conversation. While they enjoyed making fun of each other, as most guys do, they knew they shouldn't do it in front of her. Especially since Accelerator was very overprotective of her.
"Brat," Accelerator said grabbing her by the collar and tossing her away. "Go bother them." He pointed to the girls at the nearby table. "You don't need to hear this." Last Order protested, but Accelerator was hearing none of it and she grudgingly walked over to the other girls.
"Hello Last Order," Ruiko greeted her, scooting over so Last Order could drag a chair over and sit down. "How are you?"
"MISAKA got thrown out of their conversation MISAKA complains as MISAKA is overwhelmed by the feeling of rejection." She sat down and pouted, while Kazari patted her on the back. Kuroko, Frenda, Saiai, Rikou, and Ruiko looked over at the guys, who were slowly getting louder as they continued arguing. The issue was the guy's argument was slowly turning from an actual discussion or debate into just them insulting each other. It was impossible for the girls to know what they had been talking about, though Mikoto, Shizuri and Mikoto knew.
"What are those idiots arguing about?" Kuroko said turning her attention to them. After a minute or two, she sighed. "Can't boys have a civilized conversation? What on earth are they arguing about?"
"I wonder indeed," Shizuri said sipping her drink and grinning at Mikoto and Misaki. Both of them glared back at her thinking the same thing.
She overheard too.
"MISAKA knows MISAKA declares proudly as MISAKA has valuable information to share." Mikoto's eyes widened and, before she could speak up, Last Order started explaining everything she overheard of the boy's conversation. Misaki almost smiled, as the conversation was pretty funny a second time, but she was too busy trying to decide what to do if Touma was really only attracted to older girls. She didn't believe he was, so she was just planning out a couple different tactics to try later. Ruiko and Frenda were quite interested in the information about Touma and everyone, even Rikou, was listening intently. Kazari turned slightly red, when she heard the topic, but she seemed quite pleased at Jason's response. Kuroko slammed her head on the table in disbelief.
"Seriously?" she said. "They are so stupid. How would that even be possible? There's no way the dorm manger would even consider him."
"I don't know," Mikoto said neutrally, well she tried, but her voice shook ever so slightly. "Looking back, we have had some pretty stupid conversations too."
"AH!" Last Order exclaimed. "MISAKA was so involved in their conversation, MISAKA forgot to ask them MISAKA's important question, MISAKA says as MISAKA is saddened be her forgetfulness."
"What was it?" Misaki asked interestedly.
"Since they were talking about girls, MISAKA says. MISAKA was wondering if Accelerator saw MISAKA as a girl, MISAKA explains as MISAKA is unsure of the answer." All the girls either cloaked on their food, or their mouths fell open in shock. Mikoto made a mental note to do everything to kill him if he tried anything on Last Order.
Itsuwa finally got a break, as everyone had been served food, and she was sitting down in the back room, glad everyone was finally fed. She might have overreacted when Saiji had been talking to Touma, but her mind had gone blank with embarrassment and, before she realized what happened, she knocked him out. She was nibbling on a sandwich, thinking. She had debated going out to the main dining hall and getting the nerve to sit with Touma, but she saw he and his friends were arguing over something and decided not to intrude. She was suddenly joined by another person, his unexpected entrance nearly causing her to fall off her chair in surprise.
"Itsuwa," Saiji called out. "You shouldn't be sitting here all alone. You need to go out and enact the Cinderella Plan!"
"Why are you suddenly jumping out of nowhere?!" Itsuwa demanded. "And what's this about a plan?"
"Naturally after this event is over," Saiji said confidently. "You need to go up to him wearing your newly acquired Mythic Spider Web Maid Swimsuit."
"I couldn't do th…" Itsuwa said nervously, and then her voice got harsher. "How do you know about that?"
"We cheered you on in the crowd," Saiji said giving a victory sign. "We all wanted you to win to attract the boy you love."
"You mean this was planned?" Itsuwa asked weakly, as she became slightly dizzy.
"Yep," Saiji replied confidently. "If we win, there is sure to be an after party. It will be the perfect time for you to go up and confess. Of course, if you aren't satisfied with it, I also have this. Ta dah!" He held up another outfit. "Great Spirit Revealing Maid outfit." He pushed it into Itsuwa's hand, before she could protest, and she instinctively held it up.
"When did you have the time to spare to be able to do something like this!? And how did you get my personal information!?" She was freaking out how well the size seemed to fit her.
"You need something to fight against the priestess," Saiji said. "As a favor to her, I saved her outfits, the Fallen Angel Maid and the Fallen Angel Ero Maid. This reminds me, I have to go present them to her." He left the room before Itsuwa could say anything else. Itsuwa gazed at the pink design and the fairy like wings of the outfit.
There's no way I could, she thought, but then got more honest with herself. I wish I knew if Kamijou-kun liked these sorts of things, or which one he would prefer. You know what, I will. If we stop the princess's coup, I will confess in one of these outfits. He has a lot of attractive girls around him and Tatemiya is right. I need to be more assertive.
That night, the church forces began to move out toward the city of London. There were over twenty large trucks carrying the troops from different directions. The plan was to assault the palace from three different points. The church decided these routes would be the best positions for a straight on assault, rather than getting caught up in smaller back roads and wasting valuable time. The city was eerily quiet. Touma frowned as he didn't see any inspection points, or even signs of the knights or military police. It was like the knights gave up on defending most of the city. Itsuwa and the other Amakusa had prepared to blast their way through this points. I suppose they are consolidating their forces around the palace, Touma thought. That actually might make the fight tougher since we can't take out the knights in small groups.
He recalled the arguments that arose when his friends were told what group they would be part of. Stiyl had a good grasp of his friend's abilities, based on his observation and reports, and he chose to divide them up, to even out the assault group's power. Touma's group contained Kaori, Mikoto, Itsuwa, Index, and surprisingly, Villian. She had refused to stay behind while the people of her country were in trouble. She had a small cross bow in her lap, but Touma doubted she would be able to use it. The second group contained Accelerator, Saiji, Saiai, and Agnese. The third group had Stiyl, Shizuri, Misaki, and Frenda. Each group also had a number of Agnese's nun forces and the Amakusa. Touma knew Misaki was not pleased with the arrangements, but she eventually caved in. Stiyl purposely divided Touma's friends, because he wanted powerful offensive abilities in each group.
The church's objective was clear. This time, they would stop Carissa, or fall trying.
"Remember," Kaori told them all. "Our job is to reach the palace is fast as possible. The fastest way to end the coup is to take down the leader."
"Will the knights really surrender if we defeat the princess?" Mikoto asked.
"Yes," Villian nodded. "The knight's hearts should be weakened by the loss of Knight Leader and my sister losing control of Curtana. If Curtana is destroyed, it would break their resolve."
"This is true," Index said, speaking up. "But it is easier said than done. She probably can't feed her knights Curtana's power, but she most likely wields most of it on herself. She's going to be just as strong, if not stronger, then when we fought her the first time."
"I'm surprised we haven't seemed to be noticed yet," Touma commented. "I thought for sure the knights would have intercepted us by now."
"Our spies told us most of the knights left the city," Kaori said frowning, as she looked at the palace. "The princess must have found another objective she considered more important than us. She still has some forces near the palace, so we will meet them sooner or later…"Her words were interrupted as an arrow flew form a nearby building and hit one of the truck's tires. The driver, Itsuwa, grabbed the wheel and tried to regain control. The truck swerved to the side of the road and scraped against several abandoned cars. "Looks like now." She pulled out her sword and jumped up toward the building, where the arrow had come from. Itsuwa grabbed and assembled her spear, and then jumped out of the truck.
"Get out," she called to the others. "We can't continue in this one. Get into one of the others while we take care of this. Misaka-san, can you help?"
"Yep," Mikoto confirmed and she used magnetism to propel herself up to a nearby building. Touma lost track of her, but saw the familiar light from her electricity shocking someone. He, Index, and Villian got out and ran to another one of the trucks. The other forces scooted over to let them in and they continued to move forward. Touma occasionally saw flashes of Kaori, Itsuwa, and Mikoto near the edges of the roofs. He wished he could help them, but he couldn't just instantly get to the top of building, like they could. He had one responsibility, to touch Curtana Original with his right hand.
The battle for Buckingham Palace had begun.
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.
Me: Good job Shiri, glad you finally admitted your love for Jason.
Jason: Seriously?
Kuroko: WHAT?! THAT NEVER HAPPENED!
Mikoto: We can't see her comments, so…
Kuroko: Onee-sama, don't believe their lies.
Kazari: Shirai-san?
Accelerator: Pssh, I bet it's not true. I don't think the brat can say something like that.
Kuroko: Finnally someone who believes… wait, whose a brat?
Frenda: Basically, you.
Saiai: Can I super do the comments next time?
Me; Sorry, Mugino threatened… I mean persuaded me to let her. I was surprised.
Everyone: Really?
Shizuri: Yep, I felt like I should be able to answer some of those questions.
Touma: Everyone, next chapter we are fighting the princess, be careful.
Motoharu: Just walk up to her, and say you will marry her if she surrenders.
Touma: THAT WOULDN'T WORK! Besides, I would never do that. Wait… why is everyone staring at me? Mugino, please put those orbs away. Mikoto you don't need to be sparking. Misaki, you too? AHH SUCH MISFORTUNE!