So the final chapter of Season 2 is here. It took longer to write because there were several things that needed to be settled before I could end the season. I have to say, there were a lot of comments last chapter and I enjoyed them. Knowing so many people enjoy the story enough to write their opinions means a lot. I know a lot of people are looking forward to certain characters that haven't been added yet. I'm proud to mention…
Season Three is currently in the works.
Whwsms: I'm interested in how far that documentary has spread. It could be dangerous if it fell into the wrong hands. So naturally, it has to.
Knight of the Iron Hammer Vita: At the time, there are no plans to add the movie characters yet. However, situations have arisen in the past that completely changes what I do. I usually let the story write itself, and only come up with major events.
d3mystic: Of course he needs a cat girl and bunny girl. No harem is complete without them. In the canon, Touma always says he's into refined older woman, so Kaori really does fit his preference. But like most guys, that could change. I know I was attracted to different types of girls in college then in high school.
Handsomistic1: Lot of questions there. Let's see, 1) Maybe, 2) Maybe, 3) Maybe, 4) Maybe, 5) No, 6) Yes. I'm so kind in answering as many questions as possible.
Brosephg: Careful with that middle part of your comment. It strikes a sore spot with a couple people who love the anime.
wildarms13 and salishious: Yea, Jason wanted to get Mikoto a full size body pillow with Touma on it. I bet she would have liked it.
Anon: Oh you, that would take a HUGE stretch to get anything even similar to that situation. I tried though, but it may take longer and work out a little differently.
On the plus side, I think everyone enjoyed the documentary. It was weird writing it, but I think in the end, it turned out well and, by the comments, I think most people enjoyed it. I wanted to try a different writing style and that gave me the perfect opportunity. It was also unexpected, but fit perfectly with Motoharu's character. Plus, If Pierce gets a copy, all hell will break loose.
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 was surprised how the rest of the trip turned out. After the excitement over the last few days, he had almost given up hope on an ordinary vacation. After Mikoto's party, Itsuwa and Agnese had sat down with all of them to go over some site seeing location options. Touma noticed they were purposely avoiding suggesting anything in London, like Big Ben, but almost everywhere else was fair game. There was not going to be enough time to see everything, so some small arguments broke out, but Touma was perfectly okay with them. When everyone else started fighting about a completely ordinary subject, it brought a smile to his face. It's great to be in a normal situation again.
Jason and Ruiko were adamant about visiting Stonehenge. Touma didn't know why Jason wanted to, but Ruiko wanted to investigate it because of the rumors of who created it. There were even rumors aliens designed it. Everyone else rolled their eyes at her but, since Stonehenge was a famous landmark, there weren't any objections. Misaki wanted to visit a smaller quant city and Itsuwa recommended The City of Bath. Kazari wanted to visit the Eden Project, a collection of unique artificial biomes containing an amazing collection of plants from around the world. Mikoto didn't really have any place she desperately wanted to visit. She was still reeling from the surprise party and was content to let others choose. Motoharu didn't care either, as he had been to England plenty of times before.
A surprising combination of Frenda, Saiai, and Kuroko appeared, as they all desired to visit at least one castle. Agnese and Itsuwa thought about it for a minute, before suggesting Warwick Castle. Their reason was many events and reenactments, from jousting festivals to fairs and concerts, were preformed next to the castle, so there was always something to do. There were also several nearby cities, along with the Cotswolds. It was an area in south central England which encompassed the Cotswold Hills, a range of rolling hills which rise from the meadows of the upper Thames River. Agnese had been there before and described it as a rural landscape, containing stone-built villages, historical towns, and dignified homes and gardens. The girls appeared satisfied and were looking forward to it.
Then there were people like Accelerator, Shizuri, Rikou, and surprising, Lessar. They just didn't care were they were going. Shizuri had been shopping already, though she lost the stuff she bought during the coup. She figured there would be shops where ever they went, so there was no point in focusing on a single spot. Rikou was very laid back and was content with just following. Accelerator was only planning to follow too, because he didn't have any preference. He was only here to act as a babysitter for Last Order, or that's what he told everyone else. He was having more fun than he expected, but he wasn't going to admit it. Lessar was paying attention to their plans and was writing them down. Touma wasn't sure why, until he caught her eye. She grinned mischievously and he felt a sense of dread. She's planning to follow us.
On the opposite side of the spectrum were Last Order, Index and Komoe. Last Order was excited to see as many things as possible, since she never left the city and was locked in a room during the coup. Index knew about all England's famous locations, but she didn't have memories of them because of her mind wipes in her past, so she wanted to see them all again. Komoe still believe the trip belong to Touma, because he won it, and she only gave an advice or opinion when asked. She was surprised, when Touma asked her and her only wish was to visit a park of some kind. It was late afternoon before they finally finalized the plans. Agnese and Itsuwa left to get all the preparations ready while everyone else relaxed.
To Touma, it looked like everyone was planning to take it easy today. After fighting for their lives, and then having massive hangovers, no one appeared to want to do anything crazy. Touma was planning to relax too and maybe watch some TV, he was interested in the news to see how the coup was being played off, when he saw something to cause chills down his spine. Motoharu had his arms around Jason and Accelerator and was whispering something. Jason looked curious and even Accelerator raised an eyebrow in interest. They got up, Jason said goodbye to Kazari, and headed upstairs after Motoharu. This is not good. He bid farewell to the girls and raced after them. He might have caught up with them sooner if Lessar hadn't jumped on his back, trying to persuade him to go off with her.
He managed to shake her off, with help from Mikoto and Misaki, and ran up to his room. He grabbed the door handle, right when he heard Motoharu's voice. "So guy's after last night's demonstration, I think we have to reevaluate everything. Plus, there might be information you two might be interested in." Touma threw open the door and rushed in.
"You idiot," he gasped. "If you show them that, someone's going to die, most likely me."
"Oh?"" Jason asked. "So you were going to show us the video you shot? I thought you were talking about the list."
"What the hell was so special about the video anyway," Accelerator mumbled. "Besides the brats acting like idiots."
"Don't show it to them," Touma told Motoharu. "You know it's going to backfire. Are you planning to blackmail all of us?"
"I sent it video to Aogami already," Motoharu shrugged and Touma's face went white. "I'm sure Accel-kun and Jason would be curious to see the damage they did too. You must have been teaching them Kami-yan. They have turned into real Casanovas. Nowhere near your level though."
"You made a copy of it?" Jason asked turning to face Motoharu. "Touma said he destroyed it. I should have expected as much from you. Let me see it."
"Nah," Motoharu replied, smirking. "I'll let Aogami see it first and decide if you two should see it."
"I think he's trying to blackmail us," Jason told Accelerator. "Should we let this stand?"
"Definitely not," Accelerator said, cracking his knuckles. "I wouldn't have cared about the tape if he didn't try that shit."
"Now guys," Motoharu said, stepping back. "Let's not get hasty." Touma felt a slight grin on his face, before he sighed and left the room, shutting the door behind him.
"He asked for it," muttered Touma and then looked up. "Hey Mikoto, Ruiko." Both of them had just stepped onto the floor, their arms full of Mikoto's birthday gifts. "Can I watch something on TV in your room?" he asked.
"Sure," Ruiko said immediately. "But why not in yours?"
"I wanted to check the news to see what was being said about the coup," Touma explained. "Komoe-sensei mentioned something about a terrorist attack, so I wanted to see if it was true. I can't watch in my room because Tsuchimikado took a joke too far with Jason and Accelerator." Sounds of shouts and a scuffle were heard through the door. "I wouldn't be able to hear it."
"That's not a bad idea," Mikoto said, as she unlocked their door. "I actually would be interested in hearing it too." Ruiko and Touma followed her. As the girls set down Mikoto's presents, Touma picked up the TV remote and started flipping through channels until he found the news station. As he listened, Mikoto sat next to him, and Ruiko sat on the other bed. It seemed like Komoe was right. The news gave them all a brief rundown of the events. An armed group of terrorists had attack the capital and other major cities. There primary purpose appeared to be to cause fear and assassinated the royal family. The English military had evacuated civilians in order to avoid casualties and round up the assailants. A couple of the terrorists had infiltrated the English Military and now they were creating additional precautions to avoid this situation again. No known deaths had been reported, but many military forces were injured and there was millions of dollars in damages. Buckingham palace was completely destroyed as a result and the city suffered a lot of damages. "Looks like they covered it up."
"Well they couldn't just say it was their princess causing a coup and using magic to do so," Ruiko shrugged. "This was probably the easiest way for them to explain the damage. You okay Touma?" She saw Touma fall back on the bed and stare up at the ceiling. Mikoto also turned to him when she had felt the thud on the same bed.
"Just glad the coup ended and everyone is safe," Touma sighed. "Here I thought we were going to have a normal vacation and it turns into a life and death struggle. It feels like my luck effects everyone." He didn't see Mikoto and Ruiko share a look with each other. When Ruiko sat down on his other side, he sat back up.
"There is no way you could have seen something like that happening," Mikoto told him.
"Besides," Ruiko added. "We just have to have a lot of fun the rest of the vacation to make up for it."
"I suppose we should do that," Touma agreed. "It was fun at the start."
"You can't dwell on the past," Ruiko told him. "You have to keep working toward too future. I did and finally got my ability."
"And it saved my life once," Touma added and she grinned.
"See," Mikoto said patting him on the back. "No one blames you."
"I'm excited you invited us in the first place," Ruiko said and she got an idea. She had wanted to find a way to get Touma's attention and now she had a perfect opportunity. She gathered her courage up before giving him a hug. "Thanks again for inviting all of us."
"I-it was no problem," Touma muttered, slightly red. Mikoto had also turned red at Ruiko's boldness. She knew Ruiko liked him and realized what she was doing. Mikoto took a deep breath and grabbed Touma's arm.
"Just focus on the rest of the trip," Mikoto told him. "And thanks again for inviting us. I know Kuroko isn't your biggest fan but…"
"It wasn't a problem," Touma said dismissively, trying to ignore the position he was in. He rather enjoyed it, but didn't want to admit it. "She helped us out in Italy too and she's… our… friend. I'm sure she will stop trying to hurt me at some…" The door to the room opened up, interrupting him, and Kuroko walked in.
"Onee-sama, are you here…?" she started to say and stopped, as she saw Mikoto and Ruiko holding onto Touma. They both quickly let go of him, slightly embarrassed.
"Kuroko," Mikoto tried to explain quickly. "It's…"
"APE!" Kuroko yelled. "How dare you try to force yourself on onee-sama and Saten-san?!" She teleported, before he could respond, and hit him from behind, causing him to fall forward on the floor. Her yell attracted Misaki and Lessar, who peered in through the door, and the guys across the hall.
"How ca you have fun without me?" Lessar cried, leaping into the room.
"Touma," Misaki called out. "You know I'm always available for you."
"Seems like the mating ritual of Kami-yan is still in effect," Motoharu commented.
"Such misfortune," Touma muttered, lying face down on the floor.
The rest of the week blurred together. To Touma's relief, there were no more attacks, magical or otherwise. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves and there was only the normal amount of rivalry between the girls. The only thing he did notice was Mikoto and Misaki seemed to be extra careful around Shizuri. They seemed to never want him near her if one of them wasn't. Touma believed it might have been his imagination though. He had also been right about Lessar. Before they had left, Lessar declared she wanted to go with them. If they refused, she would just track them down anyways. Itsuwa had to pass her off as a friend to Komoe to allow her to go without raising suspicion. While the rest of the trip was what Touma wanted, a couple of events stood out for him. Besides the times were Lessar tried to sneak into his bed every night and occasionally accompanied by Misaki or Frenda.
They had arrived at Stonehenge and were walking around it, examining the structures. Agnese was giving them all an explanation on the monument and its magical properties, when Komoe was out of earshot. They had all decided not to tell her about magic. Motoharu took on the role of distracting her, whenever possible, to make sure she didn't hear about magic. "Stonehenge is still a mystery to everyone. While it is widely agreed the structures were built around five thousand years ago, the group who made them is still disputed. There are rumors that credit a number of people with building the strange collection of stones, the Danes, Romans, Saxons, Greeks, Egyptians, and even the great Merlin.
"Wasn't Merlin a wizard who followed King Author?" Misaki asked, and Agnese nodded.
"He was one of the most famous magicians of his time," Agnese explained. "There are also many legends surrounding Stonehenge, such as ancient druids using it for a sacrificial altars or giants being turned into stone to form the monuments."
"Sacrifices huh," Shizuri said, finally looking slightly interested. She kicked the ground lightly, as if hoping to uncover remains of a sacrifice.
"Aren't their rumors of aliens making them too?" Ruiko asked, eyes sparkling.
"Yes," Agnese acknowledge, but her smile was slightly forced, like she was tired of people associating Stonehenge with aliens. "It is very unlikely, as the stones have a magical purpose behind their arrangements. Magicians have been able to decipher the actual pattern, even with the monument being partially destroyed, and could feel the flow of mana through it. We know it was used for some magical purpose, but we have yet to discern what that purpose was for."
"Why?" Saiai asked, with her hands behind her head. This place didn't interest her that much, but she was a little curious about magic. "Wouldn't it be super obvious if you could detect mana?"
"It's not that easy," Itsuwa responded kindly. "You see, even if we can decipher mana, we don't know the theory behind the design. It was before many major religions had been established and the design doesn't match any known theories or procedures."
"Couldn't you have someone look at it?" Accelerator asked, not bothering to stifle a yawn. Only his eyes moved, as they watched Last Order run around the monuments. Worst was antagonizing her and Last Order kept trying to shock her. "Isn't the nun girl supposed to be able to understand magic?"
"I do understand it," Index told him, frowning slightly. "But if there's nothing to reference, we have to start from scratch and create our own theories. Even if we got a response, there is no guarantee it was the true purpose used at the time. Many religions and traditions are similar enough to get reactions from certain spells. There could also be combinations of different beliefs."
"It's more than just guessing," Jason said, as he started to walk into the middle of Stonehenge. "We would be throwing a rock into a dark room, hoping to hit a target, with hundreds of fake targets around it, and unable to tell if we hit the right one." Accelerator looked at him, but nodded slightly to show he understood.
"What are you looking at Jason?" Kazari called out.
"Just examining the circle pattern," he called back. "I have never been here before."
"Don't do something stupid!" Kuroko yelled at him.
"When have I ever done something stupid?" Jason asked innocently, looking back at her, and most of them laughed. Kuroko stuck her tongue out at him.
"I'm surprised the structures are still standing," Mikoto commented, looking at one of the stone monuments. "Most of the buildings nowadays wouldn't last this long and be in this condition. Could magic be part of it?"
"It's hard to tell for sure," Itsuwa conceded. "But it could be a possibility."
"It could be alien technology too," Ruiko pointed out. "They would have been able to build the monuments to last with their advanced technology."
"Aliens don't exist," Kazari pointed out.
"Can you honestly say that after learning magic is real?" Ruiko asked, winking. Kazari opened her mouth, but closed it, when she couldn't find the words. "You have to keep you mind open to all possibilities."
"But even so," Kuroko said. "Aliens? There's no proof they exist and we have been looking for them for years."
"They are probably smart enough to avoid us," Accelerator said, chuckling slightly to himself.
"Or they could have been placed here as a sign or market," Misaki said reasonably. She didn't believe in aliens but, after she learned about magic, she decided to try to be a little more open minded.
"Exactly," Ruiko said, her face brightening. "There could be any number of reasons."
"Keeping your mind open doesn't mean believing in absurdities," Frenda said, shrugging, with a look on her face like she was talking to a kid. "Basically, there is no way if aliens existed that they would come here and set up some monuments for fun."
"So it would be the punchline of a super bad joke?" Saiai asked her. "I would watch a movie based on that."
"You have the oddest tastes in movies," Shizuri yawned. She was pretty bored, because she wasn't interested in old monuments. Touma grinned to himself, glad everyone was enjoying the discussion on Stonehenge, and decided to use the moment to examine it up close. He looked around, as Lessar had disappeared shortly after they arrived, and he half expected her to jump out and tackle him. Out of all his friends, Ruiko, Jason, and Komoe seemed to be the most interested in Stonehenge. Ruiko was interested in the rumors, Komoe was interested in the history and had a pamphlet from an earlier stop, but Jason appeared to be examining it for magical purposes.
"Looks like you are trying to figure out the magic circle," Touma said, as he walked up to Jason in the middle of Stonehenge. "Think you can do what everyone else can't?"
"I would do it purely to bother them all," Jason laughed. "Even I can tell there's magical significance here. Something tells me this stone here," he pointed to one in the middle of the ring, "is important. Want to touch it with your hand and see if anything happens?"
"No!" Touma said immediately, shaking his head. "With my luck, the entire circle will collapse, the ground will start glowing, and demons would fly out."
"Has this happened before?" Jason asked curiously.
"Not yet," Touma sighed. "And I rather it not."
"You're no fun Kami-yan," Motoharu said, appearing from behind them and throwing his arms on their shoulders. "What's life without risks?"
"I think I have taken enough risks this week to play it safe the rest of the year," Touma told him. He didn't see Motoharu and Jason exchange winks. A moment later, he found himself falling forward onto the ground and his right hand brushed the rock. He heard the sound of shattering glass and his heart dropped. He turned over and looked up to see what happened. A small smoke trail was spraying out from behind the rock and into the air. He rubbed his eyes and looked again.
The monuments were moving slightly.
It took a second to realize it was his imagination and the smoke was playing tricks with his eyes. Besides the smoke, nothing was happening. He stood up and looked behind the rock. A small rune card was releasing smoke into the air. He turned to Jason and Motoharu, both of them were beside themselves with laughter. "You…" he said, making a fist.
"The look on your face," Motoharu gasped.
"Knew you would fall for it," Jason laughed. "Most magic circles can't be interrupted like that unless they are active."
"That's it," Touma said irritated and he put them both in a sudden headlock. Neither of them tried that hard to break free, both were still laughing at his reaction, as everyone else came to investigate. They had noticed the smoke and Motoharu explained he and Jason had pranked Touma. Most of them laughed when they heard, but Komoe scolded Jason and Motoharu about pranking in a national monument. Eventually, they left and Touma turned around for a second to get one last look at the monument. He noticed Jason looking back at it and, it might have been Touma's imagination, Jason had a serious look on his face.
The other noteworthy event was a lot more unexpected.
It was Friday afternoon and everyone was sitting on the bus. They had just finished a late lunch at an outdoor bistro and were currently traveling. From what they knew, they had visited everywhere they had planned to go this week, until Agnese and Itsuwa told them they had one more important stop to make. They were driving along the country side, when Ruiko looked out the window and saw a large structure in the distance. "Is that where we are heading?" she asked Agnese, pointing.
"Yes," Agnese confirmed. "We received notice yesterday we were able to register for a tour of Windsor Castle."
"Huh?" Komoe asked surprise. "Isn't that the residence of the royal family?"
"It is," Itsuwa called back from the driver seat. "They give tours of the castle and just restarted them today. We might not get a chance to see the royal family, but the castle itself is quite breathtaking."
"Think it's going to be as fancy as Buckingham palace?" Mikoto whispered into Touma's ear and he grinned. Misaki and Kuroko noticed that and pouted slightly in their seats.
"Now you get to see how royalty lives Uiharu," Ruiko said grinning, nudging her friend.
"The other castles were really pretty already," Kazari replied. "I can't wait to see how amazing the queen's residence will actually look."
"But we already saw a real princess," Jason whispered, making sure Komoe didn't hear. "I bet the castle is going to be as fancy as that dress she was wearing."
"I bet you just want Uiharu to wear a dress like that," Ruiko said knowingly. Jason winked at her and they both laughed, as Kazari turned slightly red, but still smiled.
"I bet I know what they want," Motoharu said, turning around to face Touma. "I bet they want to personally thank you."
"If they are going to give thanks," Touma replied, slightly defensively. "They should give it to all of us. Besides, they can hardly give it to us in front of Komoe-sensei. That would raise far too many questions."
"So basically," Frenda said leaning over to them. "We just meet them when she's distracted."
"This is why working with adults is such a pain," Shizuri muttered. "They will always get in the way if they know what you are doing."
"I agree with that completely," Jason whispered under his breath.
"I don't blame them," Kuroko told him. She had evidently over heard him.
"I just do what I want regardless of what others think," Accelerator yawned.
"I super agree," Saiai said. Somehow she managed to sit on one side of Accelerator, while Last Order grabbed the other side of him. She kept shooting looks at Saiai. Worst, who was across from Last Order, kept grabbing her head and looking annoyed. "Why let other people super decide what you should do."
"I feel bad we are leaving her out of this," Index said. "But we have already involved too many people in our affairs."
"I'm sure she would just be worried about us," Kazari said reassuringly to Index. "But it's all over now." Touma was relieved the fighting was over, but he knew everything was far from settled. Eve had admitted they were only one wing away from completion and she was planning to see them again. He felt a shiver go down his spine as he remembered her parting words. Their bus rolled up outside of Windsor Castle and stopped. When everyone had exited the vehicle, Itsuwa drove off to park and Agnese walked over to Touma.
"We had a second reason for bringing you all here," she whispered. "The Queen requested your presence, but we believe you would prefer your teacher not to be involved, correct?"
"We figured there was another reason," Misaki said truthfully. "The timing was too convenient."
"It would be best if Komoe-sensei didn't know about magic," Touma added, glancing at Komoe.
"Then just knock her out while we tend to our business," Shizuri suggested.
"I can't believe you want us to knock out a teacher," Mikoto said outraged, rounding on her.
"That's completely barbaric," Kuroko added. "I couldn't just sit back and watch that happen."
"I didn't say physically," Shizuri retorted, rolling her eyes in exasperation. She waved a hand to Misaki. "The fifth can go and put her to sleep, make her ignore us leaving, or anything else. Use your heads once in a while brats."
"Basically," Frenda told them. "Don't jump to the worst conclusion. Mugino knows what she's doing and can formulate plans as good as anyone."
"I don't think messing with someone's mind is a good thing," Index protested. With her history, it was obvious she didn't care for mental manipulation.
"I always take steps to make sure no one will get hurt by my ability," Misaki reassured her. "But I don't think I should." Her motives weren't pure, like not wanting to affect someone who had nothing to do with the situation on hand, but the fact she knew Touma wouldn't approve of it. She didn't even have to look at him to know that.
"We really shouldn't," Touma muttered. "Komoe-sensei is pretty reasonable, I'm sure we could just persuade her." He didn't feel right about manipulating his teachers mind, unless there was no other choice. He noticed Ruiko and Kazari were looking apprehensive from behind everyone. Accelerator glanced over at Komoe, who was taking a couple pictures of the castle. He frowned and then raised an eyebrow as something occurred to him.
"Wouldn't a distraction work?" Accelerator asked. "How long will the meeting take? The last one was incredibly long and tedious."
"I would say no more than thirty minutes," Agnese answered, looking at her watch. "Any longer than that and the meeting might get noticed."
"Hey brat," Accelerator called over to Last Order. She turned and ran toward him, followed by Worst. "I didn't mean you… actually, it's probably fine." He grinned. "I need you two to cause enough trouble to distract her," he pointed with his thumb over his shoulder at Komoe, "for about half an hour."
"Why, MISAKA asks as MISAKA tilts her head slightly in confusion."
"Would be easy, but why should Misaka help?" Worst asks.
"They don't want to get the teacher involved in a meeting," Accelerator said, waving his arm indicating the rest of the group. "I personally don't care that much, but it would probably be more hassle to involve her in the shit that's about to happen."
"I don't know MISAKA says slowly as MISAKA thinks of the implications." Accelerator raised an eyebrow. This was the first time he ever saw Last Order think of the consequences of her actions.
"You two are missing the point entirely," Motoharu said, stepping up behind Worst and Last Order. "If you do this for him now, you can make him owe you a favor in the future and he won't be able to refuse." He looked up and grinned broadly. Touma wasn't sure how Motoharu was smiling. The murderous aura and glare Accelerator was giving off would have been enough to make grown men run in fear. By the fact Kuroko, Misaki, Frenda, and Saiai stepped back from Accelerator, he wasn't the only one who noticed.
"Misaka likes the way you think," Worst said smirking evilly. "Misaka supposes she can do it."
"Really, MISAKA asks as MISAKA stares at Accelerator for confirmation." Accelerator had to force himself not to cuss. He was conflicted, but every part of him wanted to beat up Motoharu. If he said yes, it would be the easiest way to distract Komoe, but then he would have to owe his two biggest headaches something. He wasn't too worried about Last Order, she would probably just want him to accompany her somewhere, but Worst had a devious mind and there was no telling what she would ask for. He gave a very brief nod and Last Order's eyes widened. "MISAKA understands MISAKA declares as MISAKA salutes." She and Worst walked away from the group for a minute, then burst into a full out sprint. They ran next to a gardener and knocked over a couple plants. Accelerator grinned at how well they instantly planned this.
"Damn brats," he called out, but there wasn't any real motivation in his voice. "Get back here."
"Ah wait!" Komoe cried out to Last Order and Worst. "You can't run off on your own." She chased after them and Accelerator turned to face the rest of the group.
"Done," he said. "Now you brats can shut up."
"Thanks," Touma whispered. "If you need help with their requests, let me know."
"You already owe me help with the brat," Accelerator muttered back. "Start sometime next week." Touma nodded, remembering his promise.
"Nice plan," Saiai said, watching Komoe chase after Last Order. "But won't the security get super involved with them running around like that?"
"That will not be an issue," said a male voice from behind them. Everyone turned around instantly, but Kuroko and Jason jumped. They were more familiar with Knight Leader and recognized his voice faster. He was standing next to Itsuwa. "Security will cooperate to ensure your supervisor will not interrupt the meeting. Now if you all would follow me quickly, we need to avoid as many prying eyes as possible." He turned and began walking toward the palace. Touma noticed he was heading toward a side door, rather than the main entrance. Everyone else looked at each other in surprise, but followed.
"Is this wise?" Kuroko asked Itsuwa. She still did not trust Knight Leader, after the way he had assaulted her and Jason.
"He is following the Queen's orders," Itsuwa reassured her. "I know you had an unfortunate encounter with him, but he is completely loyal to England. He has no reason to cause an altercation now. I hope you can put the past behind you. He really is a good person." Kuroko frowned. She still remembered how easily Knight Leader impaled Jason with his blade. She looked over at Jason, expecting him to say something, but he was unexpectedly quiet. She might have imagined it, but he seemed slightly green, like he was getting sick.
"Don't worry Kuroko," Mikoto whispered, breaking into her thoughts. "Itsuwa-san has a point, and if something happens, we are all here." She wasn't entirely calm herself. Kuroko had given her a complete rundown of the fight with Knight Leader and she had been horrified at how ruthless he had been. Itsuwa and Agnese had told her about him, and the way he fought made sense with what she knew about his reputation. He was the type of person to carry out his orders to the letter. Though Touma told me he wasn't all bad, he was just following orders. But so many terrible things have happened with people following that logic. He did help us in the end against Carissa, so I should give him the benefit of the doubt.
"That's reassuring onee-sama," Kuroko replied with a small smile.
"Besides," Accelerator yawned. "We just have to take him down again if he tries anything." He didn't know all Knight Leader's ability but, with all the magic vectors he had been able to study during this trip, he felt like he could handle it. If Jason could take him down, I could too. I wonder how the brats are doing. I haven't seen the castle on fire yet, so I guess they aren't causing too much trouble. He wasn't that interested in seeing the royal family again, because the last meeting droned on for a while. Unless they told him information concerning The Fallen, he wanted it to end as quickly as possible.
"He's not the kind of guy to lead people into traps," Lessar spoke up. "He's more straight forward than that. If he wanted our heads, he would come and take it."
"Have you met him?" Touma whispered, keeping an eye on Knight Leader in front of them. Touma was sure he could hear everything they said, but was choosing to ignore them.
"Lots of rumors about his exploits," Lessar said, her hands behind her head and looking distracted. "I rather not meet the Queen. After all, my group was partially responsible for bringing the item."
"They cleared you right?" Touma asked. "I thought you were free."
"Doesn't mean they might not hold a grudge," Lessar shrugged.
"Don't worry," Touma reassured her. "We will protect you." Mikoto nodded in agreement. Lessar looked at him for a moment, and then grinned.
"You finally realized I'm the best girl?" Lessar replied with a wink. "Want to sneak away and go do something more fun instead?"
"That's not what he said," Misaki said irritated, stepping between them. "Don't go adding meaning that's not there." Lessar raised an eyebrow and turned to look at Mikoto, who also looked annoyed.
"It's been quiet since the princess fight," Shizuri commented. "We could use a little more action again." Shizuri was okay with breaks between missions and fights, but, if she went to long without a fight, she would get bored. That's right. We have that mission when we get back to Academy City. I suppose I can avoid causing unnecessary fights until then. Unless those brats keep annoying me… Kamijou is the only one of his group that doesn't annoy me constantly.
"I agree," Frenda added. "Basically, we just need an excuse to run wild again." Rikou looked at them, but remained silent. Her ability wasn't good for magic related incidents, as magicians didn't emit AIM fields. If a fight broke out, she wouldn't be much use. Saiai was walking between Shizuri and Accelerator with her hands behind her head. She was also a little bored with how quiet everything was, but she didn't mind downtime as much as Shizuri did.
"I rather just enjoy the peace and quiet," Misaki mumbled, more to herself the Shizuri. She was enjoying the vacation and spent as much time as possible with Touma. Once they were back in Academy City, she would have a lot more people around her. This would severely cut into her alone time with Touma. She also had to be careful were she was found with him. It was hard to go unnoticed in public spaces with him since she knew, being a level 5, she draws attention and the attention would get passed to him. Touma was never a person who liked to be gawked at, so she always balanced their meetings, even using her powers to erase other's mind of what he looked like. She would love to be able to show him off but, until he was ready, she resisted the urge. She turned to look at Touma and noticed he seemed lost in thought. "Something wrong?" she asked.
"Ah nothing," Touma answered. "Just wondering what was going to happen." He was aware Mikoto, Accelerator, Ruiko, and Jason turned their heads slightly toward him. It wasn't a lie from him, but it wasn't the entire truth. He had thought about it and hoped the Queen was planning to just formally thank them, but he had a feeling there was more to it than that. I bet the want to warn us about Eve since we got directly involved.
"I can't wait to meet the Queen," Kazari whispered excitedly to Ruiko. "Princess Villian was so refined, what do you think the Queen is like?"
"I bet she's going to be even more so," Ruiko whispered back, with a little less enthusiasm then Kazari. "Royalty always has to keep up appearances. I bet she will be like some of the girls from prestigious families at the fancy schools."
"I don't know about that," Jason said from next to Kazari.
"Why do you say that?" asked Kazari.
"We saw a glimpse of her near the end of the fight with Eve remember," Jason told them. "She seemed… rather laid back for a queen? Yea, I think that's a good word for it."
"I have to agree," Mikoto laughed slightly. "We met her once before that too. She's really interesting."
"The Queen is known for being different," Agnese added.
"Really?" Ruiko asked surprised. Maybe she is one of those who don't conform to stereotypes, like Misaka does at Tokiwadai. She found herself looking forward to the audience more than before.
"I hope it doesn't take too long," Index said next to Touma. "Royal audiences are always mentally taxing."
"They said it shouldn't be very long," Touma reassured her.
"And I'm hungry."
"We just ate before coming here," Touma protested. "How are you hungry already?"
"I need to be prepared," Index said, as if explaining the obvious. "Who knows when I might be able to eat again? I can't wait until I'm starving to look for food."
"This isn't the wild," Touma replied. "Food is easier to obtain. If you eat every time you are the least bit hungry, you are just going to get fa…"
"We are here," Knight Leader informed them, interrupting Touma's response. It was a good thing he stopped Touma, or Index might not have let Touma get away unscathed. They were standing in front of a large wooden double door, with a knight standing guard on either side. Touma hadn't really been paying attention to his surroundings, as he was lost in thought, but the decorations seemed to be similar to Buckingham Palace, though maybe a little more subdued since foreign diplomats did not come here. "This is the royal throne room. As the members of the royal family are here this is considered an audience, please be mindful of your words." His eyes darted in particular to Accelerator and Shizuri. "I'm sure you will have questions, but please save them to the end." Knight Leader threw the doors open and they were ushered in. As Touma passed, one of the knights gave him a slight nod, but he couldn't see who it was under the helmet.
Rather than a throne room seen in many types of games, it wasn't decorated like a grand ball room. It was longer then it was wide, like an extra wide hallway. The walls were decorated with expensive paintings on one side and several large windows on the other. The floor was a rich royal blue and the ceiling held several golden chandeliers. There were two rows of golden chairs, facing each other, down the room with a space between the rows to allow a walkway. The chairs had soft blue cushions, the same color as the rug. Touma's eyes moved down to the end of the room and saw Queen Elizard sitting on a white throne, watching them enter. On one side of her was Villian, in a green dress, and Rimea was on the other side, in a blue dress. All three of them sat with passive faces as Touma's group walked silently in. Knight Leader closed the door behind them, and gestured to the seats. They sat down with Touma and Mikoto the closest to the Queen. When they were all seated, Knight Leader was standing in the back, Elizard stood up.
"I like to thank you all for coming at such short notice," Elizard said loudly, her voice reverberating through the room. Even at her age, she was still full of youth and vigor. "I'm sure you are wondering why I called you all here, so let us cut to the chase." She took a step forward and suddenly gave a bow. "On behalf of England, I would like sincerely thank you all for helping us end my daughter's coup and fight with us against The Fallen's leader Eve."
"It wasn't a problem," Mikoto said quickly, turning slightly red at being thanked by royalty. "We just did what we had to do."
"She did capture our friends," Misaki added. "We couldn't just sit back and do nothing."
"Nerveless," Elizard said dismissively. "You all were drawn into a fight you should never have been part of. From what I understand, you were just here on vacation."
"It's the kind of luck we expect with Touma," Jason said with a smirk. "He tends to get involved in everything."
"Not on purpose," Touma hissed at him.
"He's a damn hero," Accelerator said leaning back in his seat. "What did you expect?"
"Always playing the hero," Saiai shrugged.
Elizard smiled. "I see the rumors of you are true then," she said to Touma. Her eyes darted toward Kazari and Ruiko, who were sitting in the back. Both of them were watching her intently, but their eyes kept darting toward Rimea. "I forgot some of you might not know. You have met my second daughter Carissa and my third daughter Villian. This is my first daughter Rimea." Rimea gave them a short bow with her head as acknowledgement.
"Oh," Kuroko said, eyes widening, as she turned to Rimea. "You were the one who broadcasted the second princess's plans near the end of the fight."
"I was," Rimea confirmed. "When I realized my sister was after us, I left the palace. I am capable of defending myself, but I prefer to use my intellect, over brute force, to win battles. It took some time, but I finally pieced together her plan and used her reasoning to bring the knights back to our side."
"It was a good plan," Frenda said. "Basically, you weakened her forces, while strengthening your own."
"Enough of the small talk," Shizuri said, crossing her arms. "What happened to the Eve girl? Do you have any news on her?"
"She has currently disappeared off our radar," Elizard said, for the first time a slight frown appeared on her face. "Her power is formidable and we can't approach her without a plan. The other issue, which was over looked, was her companion Adam. We received reports the Vatican, the stronghold of the Roman Catholic Church, had been sieged by a single man. Since Adam has St. Peter's body, it had to have been him."
"Adam did it all by himself?" Agnese said with a gap. "But the defenses… the magicians there… it should be impregnable."
"He managed to achieve it," Knight Leader spoke up. "There were rumors he even fought a member of God's Right Seat, the Catholic Church's elite force."
"Those bastards…" Accelerator muttered angrily. His eyes darted to Villian, who noticed, and her eyes looked at the ground. He still hadn't completely forgiven her for letting Acqua, now William, go, even if he did help out near the end of the coup. Everyone else looked at him, because only Touma knew he had fought William and that William was a member of God's Right Seat.
"We believe he waited until the church sent out one of their elite members on a mission before attacking," Villian explained, and her eyes met Accelerator's. It was her way of telling him Adam attacked because William had come to England.
"So what happens now?" Mikoto asked.
"As we do not know Eve's next step from here on out," Elizard told her. "The only thing I can advise is to watch yourself. The Anglican Church keeps close ties with Academy City, so security will no doubt be increased. I do apologize we can't give you an award for your help, as you no doubt know we cannot allow this event to go public."
"You passed it off as a terrorist attack right?" Ruiko asked and Elizard nodded.
"We could explain the damage and evacuation of the citizens with that explanation," Elizard said. "Rimea and I discussed several possible other options, but many would take too long to implement."
"A terrorist attack can be hard to trace for the media," Rimea added. "Even if they did not believe us, they would have a hard time explaining the damage without magic. Our explanation was enough for a reasonable individual to conclude it was a terrorist attack. There are always rumors circling around through the internet, but those cannot be contained."
"Speaking of magic," Knight Leader said from the back of the room. Everyone turned to look at him and saw he was looking directly at Index. "Have you come up with any new information on The Fallen leaders?"
"I've been running over all possibilities," Index said. "Eve's Book of Genesis replies on Christianity principles, as I have mentioned before already. After seeing her fight, it is obvious she is not restricted to normal golems. What worries me the most was what she said before summoning the phoenix. 'I have access to the creatures God deemed unworthy to exist in his world.' The phoenix wasn't just a golem, it was truly alive. The only way this is possible is for Eve to have knowledge from God. This means, she would have to have access to an angel or angels at the minimum."
"So this means our worst fears are realized," Elizard said seriously. "You think they have access to Lucifer's knowledge."
"Unless we find information proving otherwise," Index replied. "We should assume so."
"Lucifer?" Frenda asked.
"He's an Archangel," Touma whispered back. "A being with insane power. Curtana was made from the Archangel Michael's power, the one who struck down Lucifer."
"This super sounds like a plot of a bad movie," Saiai replied. Shizuri and Rikou remained quiet. Rikou didn't really have anything to add, but Shizuri was lost in thought. Before this trip, if she had heard someone speak of magic and angels, she would pass them off as stupid or insane. After seeing the power of Carissa wielding Curtana, she had to admit there were power and rules she didn't understand. The nun seemed to know a lot of it, and Touma's friend Jason could use it with his ability. She would have access to the knowledge after leaving England, so for now she was content to wait.
"What about her companion Adam," Knight Leader asked. "You saw his ability in the first place."
"He used the Plague of the First Born," Index said grimly. "It was the spell Moses channeled from God in the Book of Exodus that finally forced the Egyptian Pharaoh to release his people. If Eve uses Genesis, then it would make sense for Adam to use the next book in the bible, Exodus. I've been contemplating the meaning of their names too after I realized this. Adam and Eve were the first people God created. They lived in paradise, called the Garden of Eden, until they were tempted by Lucifer and ate the forbidden fruit. The fruit was on a tree and contained the knowledge of good and evil. When they disobeyed God's rule, they were cast out."
"You told us magic required traditions," Shizuri said speaking up. She was following the conversation, but she wanted to confirm something. She believed in evolution, but she needed to make sure she followed the myths if it related to Eve's power. "Then by taking the names of the first two people in your religion, they could gain their powers?"
"It's more complicated than that," Jason spoke up. "But in a way, by deriving a spell or set of spells based on the principles of Catholicism, using objects to represent things, people, or places, you can construct spells to give similar results."
"The bible's first book is known as the Book of Genesis," Index explained, mainly for Shizuri's group. "It explained how god created the world and all life on it. Making golems based on this principle is not unheard of, but making sentient golems or actual living beings are."
"What if Adam and Eve were actually the first people created?" Ruiko asked. "You said they ate form the tree of knowledge, so would that explain how they have the knowledge of these spells…" Her voice died off as everyone turned to her. It wasn't her friends that made her quiet. It was Knight Leader, Elizard, Villian, Rimea, Index, and even Jason who gave her serious looks. "…It was just a thought…"
"You wouldn't understand how serious that would be," Villian said softly.
"If that was true," Index said, almost as softly, to indicate the seriousness of the situation. "That means they would have made direct contact with God. The knowledge at their disposal would be unfathomable. They would easily surpass magic gods if they could use the knowledge."
"But it explains why they want to revive this Lucifer," Frenda said. "Basically, they want revenge from being thrown out of paradise."
"We should not entertain that possibility right now," Knight Leader interrupted. "It would cause unnecessary worry and it is incredibly unlikely. If we find evidence it might be true, we will have to take precautions. For now, they do not appear to be similar to magic gods as they can be injured. They are strong, but not immortal."
"We should save such unpleasant talks for a later time," Elizard said. "I wanted to make sure you were informed of the current situation, since you helped us immensely. Right now, Michael's blessing is beginning to fortify the country and should keep them at bay. I would rather turn to the subject to something more pleasant. I heard you were touring our country, did you find it enjoyable?"
"Yes," Kazari said speaking up. At first she had been star struck meeting the royal family and then the conversation turned serious. Now that the atmosphere had lightened, she found her voice. "It was a lot of fun and the countryside was beautiful."
"It was quite fun," Kuroko added. "We saw all the major sites except in London, for obvious reasons."
"Being in a city all the time," Mikoto said. "You forget how nice the countryside is."
"I am glad to hear that," Elizard told them kindly. "I know you don't have long here, so is there is anything else you wish to ask?"
"I have a question," Touma spoke up suddenly. "What is going to happen to Carissa?" There was a sharp intake of breath from several people around him, Many, like Misaki and Mikoto, were trying to avoid the topic, while others, like Accelerator and Shizuri didn't care if she was executed. Touma purposely avoided eye contact with them all and focused on Elizard. Out of her peripheral vision, he saw Rimea look at him curiously, but Villian had a kind knowing look on her face.
Elizard frowned for a moment, but returned his gaze. "What she did was a serious offense, even worthy of execution if she had been a normal citizen." Touma felt a sense of dread in the pit of his stomach, but kept his eyes focused on her. "Even as Queen, there are limits to what I can do about her actions. If I show weakness to someone who threatened the country, what kind of leader would I be?"
"Weakness?" Touma sputtered. "She's your daughter."
"Idiot," Shizuri and Accelerator sighed, face palming.
"Touma…" Misaki tried to say, but Touma ignored her.
"What would you suggest I do?" Elizard asked him, eyeing him carefully. "Are you suggesting I let her walk free after starting a civil war? Should I lock her away for life, never to be free again?"
"I-I-I don't know," Touma admitted. He knew he sounded childish, but he didn't care. He figured the only reason she was humoring him was because he had helped stop Carissa and chased off Eve. "I'm not saying what she did was right, but she was doing what she thought was best for her country. She was planning to stop The Fallen and she wanted to help all the civilians. She purposely moved them out of the warzone, didn't she?"
"The path to hell is full of good intentions," Elizard said dismissively, but Touma saw something else, a glint of amusement, similar to how she acted when they first met her. "You are right in away, but it does not absolve her of her crimes." She sighed and smiled kindly. "Do not worry. Even though I am the Queen, I am also a mother. Death and life imprisonment are off the table. I would prefer her working to pay her debt back to the country and citizens." Touma leaned back in his chair and sighed. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mikoto, Misaki, and Kuroko look relieved too. He didn't turn his head enough to see everyone else's reaction, but they probably had similar reactions, if they cared about her fate. "Now if you don't mind Mr. Kamijou. I have a question for you."
"Okay," Touma said confused. He had no idea what she would ask. She stared at him intently, and crossed her hands under her chin.
"You speak of my daughter in quite a familiar fashion," she pointed out. "What occurred when she brought you to the castle? Knight Leader seems to be strangely reluctant to give me any information on the subject."
"W-what…" Touma sputtered again. Whatever he was thinking she was going to ask, wasn't that. He felt several dark glares from behind him and he didn't want to turn around for fear of his life. He also felt three very amused glares and he knew who those had to belong to. "What are you asking?"
"Rimea had determined Carissa's plan," Elizard explained. She had an odd combination of emotions on her face. It was the combination of amusement at a funny event and the eyes of a predator, like when a mother examines a daughter's new boyfriend. "There was no doubt she was planning to use your unique gift to act as a failsafe incase the power corrupted her. But when I heard from many of the knights about her treatment of you, I had questions. You weren't treated as a normal prisoner or a pawn for her to use purely for your hand. Now I'm asking you again, what occurred between you two?"
"Eh?" Touma asked shocked. He didn't know how to respond. Cold sweat formed on the back of his neck as the glares behind him intensified. He remembered Carissa saying he intrigued her, but he always thought it was his actions that confused her, not himself. There's no way a princess could fall for me. "I don't know what to tell you," he said thinking fast. "She gave me the condition of staying and becoming a knight in exchange for my friends being able to leave. Then I met some of the knights who were on standby in the palace. Shortly after that, Index and I were rescued by Mikoto and Mugino."
"I heard about the rescue operation," Elizard nodded. "But having you join the knights, a unit she oversees directly, was highly suspicious. Then add the fact you were locked in one of the guest rooms, instead of a holding cell." She turned to Rimea. "It seems unusual, don't you agree?" She wasn't even trying to container her amusement now.
"My dear sister usually prefers the direct route," Rimea added. "But she never was honest with her feelings."
"It's not like that!" Touma protested. He could feel Misaki and Mikoto fidgeting, but their glares never left him.
"Well you did say that you wanted to save her," Elizard clarified. "Did you not?"
"Yes but…"
"And," Elizard continued. "Many of the knights have mentioned they respect you and believe Carissa does too. This leads me to believe there is something going on between you two. What do you think Rimea?"
"I have trouble believing Carissa of all people would be able to find a man before me," Rimea commented. "With her being so focused on the military."
"You do tend to distrust people dear," Elizard told her.
"I only don't trust people who know who I am," Rimea replied evenly.
"Well if his status gets elevated to knight like my daughter had planned," Elizard said. "Marriage would be on the table. After all he has done, I don't think anyone would object. He might be a little young. We usually wait until they are at least eighteen."
Touma could only stare in shock as Elizard and Rimea continued to politely bicker. The stares behind him had intensified tenfold and he was terrified to turn around. He couldn't believe the royal family would act like this. He gathered his courage and gave a brief glance behind him. Mikoto, Misaki, and Index were predictable. Each of them had a dark aura around them, as they glared at him. Kuroko, Kazari, and Ruiko were staring at the royalty with a shocked expression, like they couldn't believe what was happening. Motoharu, Jason, and Accelerator were cracking up. Shizuri had a dark aura around her too, but Frenda just looked worried and was biting the corner of her lip. Saiai was watching them with amusement plastered on her face, like she was watching an exciting movie. Rikou was watching unblinkingly, though she didn't have any expression, she appeared to be a lot more focused then she usually was. Knight Leader had his face in his hand and looked exasperated.
"How could you two say that?" Touma finally asked, finding his voice. "How come Villian is the only one who acts like a proper princess?"
"Oh," Elizard said, looking at him. She had noticed his familiar tone with Villian. "Is she more your type?" Villian's eyes widened and her face went scarlet. "I suppose I could offer them both to the hero of The Battle of Buckingham Palace, but polygamy is looked down at by many. I don't think the knights would argue too much though. I have to say, you must enjoy a challenge."
Touma coughed, as he choked on his words. He didn't know how the conversation came to this. One minute they were having a serious conversation on The Fallen, the next, they were talking about Touma going out with a princess. What kind of logic is that? He felt the dark auras behind him intensify again and he had a sudden premonition of another dark aura from far away. This aura felt like it would cross any challenge to strike him down if he so much as looked at Villian improperly. One of the dark auras behind him started to seep through his skin, and he was forced to turn around. Mikoto and Misaki were definitely not amused, but they didn't come close to the darkness coming from the small white nun. "Don't believe it Index," Touma said holding up a hand.
"TOOOOUUUMMMAAAA!" Index growled, as she revealed razor sharp teeth. All etiquette was forgotten, as she leaped into the air.
"Such Misfortune!" were the only words Touma could utter before he yelled out in pain. In the back, Jason, Motoharu, and Accelerator were beside themselves with laughter.
"Best queen ever," Jason said again, as he reached into his pocket to pull out a bill. He handed it to Motoharu, who pocketed it.
"What was that for?" Kazari asked him.
"We made a bet that Touma couldn't seduce a princess," Jason told her.
"You underestimated the power of Kami Disease," Motoharu told him. "He doesn't even try, it just happens naturally."
"I can't believe how right you were about the Queen," Ruiko admitted. "She's nothing like how I pictured. She's so… cool." She really didn't have a better word to describe Elizard.
It took a while for the excitement to settle down and Touma could resume sitting down, without an angry nun clamped on his head. None of his friends came to his help immediately, but eventually Mikoto and Misaki helped Index off him. It seemed like they were all use to it by now. They were about to leave, when Kazari mustered her courage and asked if she could get a picture. Naturedly, the results were not fitting for royalty and Knight Leader face palmed again. He knew about the Queen's love for festivities. Instead of resuming order, he snuck over next to Touma unnoticed, a surprise given his demeanor, and leaned over and whispered. "I need you to come with me for a minute." Touma nodded, confused, but could hear the seriousness in Knight Leader's voice. While everyone else was getting set up for pictures, he moved with Knight Leader. They left out the door and walked briskly down the hall.
"Leaving without saying good bye?" asked Shizuri. Evidently, she had noticed them and decided to follow. She was not someone to bother with pictures, as she preferred her image not being widely distributed.
"I needed his assistance," Knight Leader said briskly. He didn't break stride after hearing her voice, so it was obvious he knew she followed. "You may come, but keep up."
"What is the problem?" Touma asked as the followed him.
"It's more of a solution now," Knight Leader replied. "Remember when you first came to the palace, I told you Eve had attacked. We still have a few men transformed into snakes. If your hand can negate her spell, we would be able to save my men."
"I'll so anything I can to help," Touma said quickly, and Shizuri shook her head. It would be a lie to say she wasn't interested in seeing people transformed though. Knight Leader led them to a room with two knights standing guard outside. They entered and saw two more knights sitting next to a table. They stood up, when Knight Leader entered, and moved to the side to give a view of the snakes. They weren't in a container and were lying docilely. Touma looked at Knight Leader and he gave a slight nod as a go ahead. Touma walked forward and one of the snakes moved toward him. He put his hand out and the snake bumped into his fist. The sound of breaking glass was head and the snake disappeared in a flash of light. In its place, a full grown man awkwardly sat. What made it awkward was the fact he was nude.
"Get him some clothes," Knight Leader ordered one of the knights and he rushed out of the room immediately. "It seems her magic can easily be dispelled by your hand. This makes it simple."
"Maybe you could give me some warning something like that might happen," Shizuri sighed. She was looking up at the ceiling and rubbing her eyes. "I'm not going to get that crap out of my head for a while." Touma sort of felt bad, but he also had to avoid seeing anything to scar him too. He turned the rest of the knights back to normal, and Knight Leader escorted them back to the others.
"I'm glad everything finally ended," Touma sighed in relief.
"Your assistance was greatly appreciated," Knight Leader told him. "From the moment you entered the country. You may not think it, but Lady Carissa does have an eye for talent and she did notice you for that reason." Shizuri made an impatient noise with her tongue.
"I just did what I could," Touma answered, almost dismissively. Knight Leader glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, but didn't say anything immediately.
"I do have one other thing for you," Knight Leader said, almost like an afterthought, and reached into his pocket. He pulled out an envelope, sealed with the royal mark, and handed it to Touma. "Do not open that until you get back to Academy City. It contains some important information you will find useful."
"Uh thanks," Touma said confused. He had no idea what information the letter held. Due to Knight Leader serious tone, he planned to wait before opening it. They walked back to the throne room and opened the door. Immediately, Touma was besieged by Lessar and Misaki. He grunted slightly, as the air was knocked out of him.
"Where did you go?" Misaki asked.
"I just helped some people who were cursed by Eve's magic," Touma explained quickly, as most of his friends were waiting to hear his answer. "Mugino-san accompanied us."
"You missed the pictures," Mikoto told him. "They had to leave and attend other important matters." She walked up and pulled Misaki and Lessar off him.
"And here I thought he was going to meet his new bride," Accelerator yawned. His hand covered his mouth, but it was only to hide his smirk, because afterwards he gave Motoharu a fist bump. His words caused another spectacle and it took a while before they could leave and meet up with Komoe. When they finally did, they found Last Order and Worst sitting down while Komoe scolded them.
Saturday finally came and Touma and his friends all had to pack their bags. Their flight was due to arrive at 3pm and they had just arrived at the airport. They were greeted by Kaori and Stiyl who came to see them off. Kaori was nice enough and wished them luck and to be careful. Stiyl was obviously there just to say good bye to Index and threaten Touma with pain beyond his imagination if anything happened to her. Touma watched Kazari, Ruiko, Kuroko, and Mikoto say good bye to Itsuwa and Agnese. He heard Jason yawn and turned toward him. "You feeling okay? You've been sleeping a lot recently."
"Tired myself out with the vacation," Jason laughed. "Can't wait to go back and rest up at work." He grinned and Touma laughed. "Have to say, having the church finally seal away all these sin marks last night has lightened my load. I do miss the Pride and Envy Mark. Regeneration fast enough so I don't have to waste time dodging and transformation to prank people was really useful. They wouldn't let me keep it though." He sighed.
"As long as you are back to your normal self," Touma said, walking to the others. "But maybe a little less pranking would be nice." Jason rolled his eyes.
"I had a lot of fun," Misaki told Touma, hanging onto Touma's arm as he got close. "Thanks again for inviting me. Though I have to admit, I'm looking forward to going home."
"You'll stay in contact with us right?" Ruiko asked Itsuwa.
"I have you numbers," Itsuwa reassured her. "You can text me anytime."
"It's was great to get to know you all," Kuroko told Agnese.
"I know the beginning wasn't what you thought the vacation would be like," Agnese told her. "But I hoped you all enjoyed yourselves."
"We did," Kazari told her.
"It was great to have a change of pace from our usual routine back home," Mikoto added, not taking her eyes off Misaki clinging to Touma.
"MISAKA wants you to notice her, MISAKA says as MISAKA pulls on Accelerator's shirt." No matter what Last Order did since they arrived at the airport, Accelerator had been busy messing with his phone and ignoring her. Worst had noticed this too but, when she tried to see who he was in contact with, he already hid the phone. "What is so mesmerizing about your phone? MISAKA whines."
"He's obviously chatting with his new girlfriend he met at the party earlier this week," Motoharu said grinning.
"It's good to see Accelerator-chan making friends," Komoe said proudly.
"That super can't be true," Saiai said, shocked. She also still couldn't believe Komoe used the suffix chan to describe him.
"MISAKA has caught him in the act of infidelity, MISAKA yells as MISAKA points her finger at him in disbelief and anger."
"Ahh," Worst said grabbing her head, as Last Order's jealousy flowed through her. "Misaka doesn't care, but now I want to punish him too." Accelerator sighed and put away his phone.
"Shut up brats," he said, irritated, to Worst, Last Order, and Saiai. "You are all annoying the hell out of me." He glared at Motoharu, who shrugged at him. "I was getting a couple questions answered idiots. Oh, that reminds me, hey hero!" Touma turned to look at him. "Bayloupe said the Lessar brat packed her things and disappeared. She warned you should be on the lookout for anything unusual."
"Great," Touma sighed and hung his head. The last thing he wanted was Lessar sneaking into Academy City and pulling her usual stunts. He could just imagine her breaking into his classroom in the middle of the day and starting a riot.
"Don't worry," Misaki reassured him. "I'll make sure she doesn't do anything bad, but you may need to stay near me as much as possible…
"No you don't," Mikoto interrupted. "I know what you are trying to pull. If he has to stay near anyone, it can be us." She was referring to herself, Kuroko, Kazari, and Ruiko. Kuroko glared at Touma, as if daring to take Mikoto up on that offer. Ruiko was kind of hoping he would take her offer so she could spend more time with him. Kazari was just watching the exchange, slightly worried, next to Jason. While Mikoto and Misaki continued to argue, Shizuri turned to Frenda and Rikou.
"When we get back," Shizuri whispered to them. "We are going to meet at the usual place to find out what our next mission is. Someone…" her eyes flashed dangerously onto Frenda, who gulped, "forgot to mention it earlier." Frenda hit the side of her own head and smiled innocently. "I don't have much information on it yet, but it seems like someone has started breaking into research labs."
"…Any idea who…?" Rikou asked and Shizuri shook her head.
"We will get more information when we contact them," Shizuri answered.
"Will we need him?" Frenda asked, looking at Touma.
"Possibly," Shizuri said, her eyes darting to him too, and then she smirked. "Think you need him to save you again?"
"It's not like that," Frenda denied instantly. "Basically, if we are going against an ability user, his power will be useful." There was truth to her words, but she also blushed, which revealed her other feelings.
"We will see…," muttered Shizuri, glancing over at Touma, who had started to talk to Index and Last Order. She grabbed her luggage and walked over to everyone else, as their plane began to board.
Touma entered the plane first and sat down in the aisle seat. He was tired but, he had to admit, minus the coup, the vacation was really everything he wanted. They visited most of England's sights, he was with his friends, and no one was hurt. With his luck, he always worried about the last one. He heard a couple girls arguing and sighed. I wish Mikoto, Misaki, and Shizuri would get along better. Misaki and Mikoto are at least polite to each other and usually don't yell. He remembered the way they cheered him up when they found out about his memory loss. Though, I'm really glad they are my friends. I still need to tell Index when we get back. That is going to be tough. He was so distracted, he didn't see someone stand next to him.
"Hey Touma," Ruiko said. "Can I sit next to you?" Touma blinked in surprise.
"Sure."
Ruiko grinned happily and sat down in the window seat. She was quite pleased with herself in taking the initiative. Though, to be honest, Kazari and Jason pushed her into it. While Mikoto, Misaki, and Shizuri were arguing, Kazari and Jason inched around them. The girls didn't bother them, since neither of them was going to sit next to Touma, but they had hid Ruiko in between them. Kazari and Jason sat behind Touma and Ruiko, Kazari got the aisle seat, and she poked Ruiko into action. Ruiko gathered her courage and asked to sit next to him. I can't waste this chance to get him to notice me. As she sat down, the other girls realized what happened.
When did Saten get over there? Mikoto thought. She must have snuck past us, but when did she get so bold? I have trouble mustering the courage to sit next to him unless I'm pushing Shokuhou away.
Oh dear, Misaki thought. Saten was always so outgoing, but shy with her feelings. She actually may be as big as threat as Misaka. She's really nice and that will score major points with him.
That girl again, Shizuri thought to herself. She actually managed to befriend Frenda this week. She didn't seem that bold, but then she goes and does this.
There wasn't much they could do and everyone took their seats. Mikoto and Kuroko took the seats across the aisle from Touma. Misaki took the seat in front of Mikoto. Accelerator and Motoharu sat in front of Touma and Ruiko. Shizuri sat with Frenda, and Saiai and Rikou sat behind them. Last Order and Index sat in front of Misaki and Worst was in front of them. Komoe sat in the back again, to be able to read away from the loud students. The plane took off and everyone started talking. Kuroko was happy, because she wasn't sure if she was going to be able to sit next to Mikoto, but Misaki was upset she wasn't next to Touma this time.
"It's going to field weird to be back in Academy City after all this time," Ruiko said to Touma. "I don't remember the last time I've been gone this long."
"I've been out a couple times," Touma said thinking. "But usually only for a little bit, not an entire week."
"And getting involved in something dangerous right," Mikoto said smirking. Touma crossed his arms and thought about it.
"I think there was one time… no things happened then too," Touma replied. "I think the last couple days were the longest I've been out of the city and nothing bad has happened."
"And now you just jinxed yourself," Jason laughed from behind him.
"I'm pretty sure he was jinxed long before he said that," Kuroko commented with a slight smirk.
"And Kuroko comes out of nowhere with a slam," Jason said, slightly impressed.
"I feel better now with everyone teaming up on me," Touma said sarcastically, rolling his eyes, and everyone laughed.
"You can always come over to me if you're feeling lonely," Misaki told him, winking.
"Hey Jason," Motoharu called back. "I sent you something interesting I found online."
"Oh?" Jason asked curiously and opened his phone. There was silence as he read it and burst out laughing. Touma heard Kazari make a strange noise and realized she must have read it too. "Hey Touma," Jason said, holding out his phone over the seat. "You should read this. It's some rumors about the 'terrorist attack' on London." Touma frowned and took the phone.
"What kind of rumors?" Ruiko asked, her eyes sparkling.
"Read it out loud," Mikoto said and everyone leaned closer to hear him, except Index, Last Order, and Worst, who were having an argument over some anime show, and Komoe who was absorbed in her book. Even Shizuri's group wanted to hear the news about the coup.
"Okay," Touma sighed. "Let's see. According to the news, the terrorist attack on England's capital of London was thwarted by the English Military."
"We know that," Shizuri snapped. "Hurry up."
"The Queen has made an official announcement concerning the terrorist's actions and has vowed to find the source to prevent this from happening again," Touma continued. "We know who she is talking about. However, many questions and rumors have arisen do to some unusual circumstances." Touma frowned slightly. "Many people are whispering about an internal strife occurring in the royal family and the resulting destruction of Buckingham Palace was a result of the struggle. They believe the damage is to spread out to be a focused terrorist attack."
"So some people actually know the truth?" Mikoto whispered.
"But they don't have any proof," Misaki pointed out.
"Basically," Frenda told them. "If we don't say anything, it should die down eventually."
"Keep reading," Jason said. "It gets better." Motoharu was cracking up in the seat in front of Touma, and Touma frowned again.
"There are other rumors, including aliens, government conspiracy, and space debris falling down to earth," Touma continued. He paused and shook his head. People will believe anything. "One other rumor is gathering worldwide attention, as the unusual event occurred shortly after a recent public announcement." Touma looked around and saw similar looks of confusion on everyone's faces, except Jason and Motoharu, even Accelerator was watching him closely. "Recently a young man from Academy City… what the…" He rounded on Jason and Motoharu. "Did you do this?" he demanded.
"No," Motoharu denied, shaking his head, but still laughing. "We had nothing to do with this, but I wish we had. This is great."
"I'm going to back him up on this," Jason added.
"What is it?" Misaki asked leaning closer to Touma. Ruiko was trying to see over his shoulder and Kuroko and Mikoto were staring straight at him.
"Oh I think I know where this is going," Accelerator said, unable to keep the smirk off his face. Shizuri had a similar look on amusement. Both saw were this was going from a mile away.
"Come on," Saiai said loudly. "Tell us or I will super make you."
"I want to know too," Frenda said.
"Tell them or I will," Jason threatened from behind him and Touma sighed.
"This isn't my fault," Touma told them and took a deep breath. "Recently a young man from Academy City, named Kami the Harem King, had made a declaration he was going to England. Shortly after he supposedly arrived, there was violence in the capital. Many believe Kami had infiltrated the royal family and the internal strife was the princesses fighting over him." He face palmed as his ears burned. Seriously, who comes up with this stuff? He looked up at the others. Jason, Motoharu, Accelerator, Shizuri, Worst and Saiai weren't even trying to conceal their laughter. Kuroko, Ruiko, Kazari, and Frenda were at least trying to conceal their surprise, but even they were smiling slightly. Mikoto, Misaki, Last Order, Rikou, and Index were all staring at him, as if debating how to react to this new information. Eventually smirks appeared on their faces, except Rikou, who gave him a slightly pitying look. Touma felt that was actually worst.
"It's kind of true," Ruiko told him, patting him on the shoulder. She was trying to be supportive, but she was laughing slightly too. It seemed that because the girls knew what happened, they could laugh at Touma's luck, even with the rumors being about him flirting with princesses. If they hadn't been there, the situation would have been much worse.
"No it's not," Touma denied. "The Queen was obviously just messing with us." He tried to keep his face passive, as he felt Mikoto, Misaki, and Shizuri's eyes on him.
"Uh huh," Motoharu said, sarcasm dripping in his voice. "There's a little more you might be interested in."
"Seriously?" Touma muttered, and he heard Jason snicker. "Academy City was not available for comment and refused to give any information on the individual known as Kami. The Queen…. However, was available for comment. Oh crap… Queen Elizard mentioned she had met the one known as Kami during the past week, but was not aware of any problems between him and her daughters. At least she didn't say anything embarrassing… dang there's still more? She continued to say he was a charming, polite young man and admitted if one of her daughters wanted to court … I can't read this, I knew she would do something like this." Accelerator, Jason, Motoharu, Worst, and Saiai were still beside themselves with laughter.
"The Queen has always been eccentric," Index told him, but the look in her eye made Touma sweat. He knew he had to be careful when speaking about the princesses.
"It's not like he needs anyone else," Misaki said lightly. "He has me."
"Someone's being delusional," Mikoto muttered dryly.
"Did you say something Misaka-san?" Misaki said, pretending to be friendly, but giving her a piercing glare.
"I have no idea what you mean," Mikoto replied, feigning ignorance.
Kuroko was watching them all closely. Even though she had learned more about Touma, she still couldn't see the attraction every girl around him saw. Why is he so popular? He just has the strange power in his hand. I suppose it's because he saves everyone. He even saved me once, but I haven't fallen for him. He doesn't hold a candle to onee-sama and even Jason is better than… Eww did I just think that? She shook her head and looked up at the luggage compartment above Touma. It might have been her imagination, but she swore she saw it open up a crack. Kuroko looked around at the others to see most of them were making fun of Touma, arguing like Mikoto and Misaki, or went back to their business like Shizuri's group or Accelerator. Kazari and Jason were looking at pictures on Jason's camera, so everything was calming down. She sighed. I guess when we get back, I need to set up some alone time for me and onee-sama.
Eventually, making fun of Touma's predicament lost its excitement and everyone calmed down. The conversations became move subdued, turning to memories of the vacation, pictures, and what they were going to do back at the city. Motoharu was still bugging Accelerator about his new magic side girlfriend and a vein was twitching in Accelerator's forehead. He and Jason still didn't know their part in Motoharu's documentary. Kuroko and Mikoto were talking about school, and Misaki was talking to Touma. Ruiko was leaning over the seat and talking with Kazari and Jason about photos. Shizuri was reading a magazine and Frenda was talking with Saiai. Worst had fallen asleep, bored the excitement died down. Index and Last Order were still chatting, like they never would run out of conversation topics.
Thump.
Touma looked up. What was that? He looked around and no one else appeared to have heard anything. Am I going insane? He heard a slight thump above him again. This time, Ruiko appeared to have heard it, and she looked up to the luggage compartment. "Did you hear that?" he whispered to her.
"Think it's a gremlin?" Ruiko asked, slightly excited. "They are supposed to love causing mischief on airplanes."
"I sure hope not," Touma muttered. "I've had enough mischief this vacation." Ruiko giggled softly. Touma sighed and stood up. "Might as well check it out." He reached up to the luggage compartment.
"What are you doing?" Mikoto asked, noticing him. Since he hadn't put anything up there, she thought it was odd he was trying to access it.
"Thought I heard something up there," Touma shrugged. "I just want to make sure to avoid any surprises."
"It could be a gremlin," Ruiko said excitedly to Mikoto.
"I doubt it," Index said turning to face them all. "Gremlins wouldn't bother with something trivial like airplanes. They are usually summoned to curse someone for a transgression. I suppose if someone owned an airline, it might, but I doubt any would be on this flight." She got several looks, but they decided not to delve into more details right now.
"Be careful," Misaki told him. Her power only affected humans, so something like an animal or a gremlin would be outside her ability. Touma took her warning to heart and he opened the compartment. He didn't expect what happened next. A girl fell out and collided with him, causing them both to fall to the floor.
It was Lessar.
"What…" he said, looking at her from the floor of the airplane, aware everyone had turned to look at them in surprise, and even Komoe in the back took notice.
"Happy Birthday!" she said excitedly.
"It's not my birthday," he said, stunned.
"Oh," Lessar replied, but her face didn't hold any disappointment. "It's okay, you can still unwrapped me. " Touma had a chance to notice what she was wearing. Over her normal clothes, she was wrapped in a bright red ribbon with a bow in her hair. His face went red and his eyes widened in shock. Luckily, or maybe unluckily, he was saved.
"W-what," sputtered Mikoto, but her anger took over. "Get off of him." She hastily stood up and pulled Lessar off of him. Misaki didn't take her actions lying down either and stood between Lessar and Touma.
"Oh no you don't," Misaki told her, a remote clutched tightly in her hand.
"Lessar-chan," Komoe said shocked. "You can't be here and that kind of language is unbecoming for a young girl."
"How did you get aboard?" Kazari asked shock, while Jason just looked amused.
"When you're as skilled as I am," Lessar said, making a victory sign. "Squeezing my body into tight things unseen is easy. I also can use those skills in reverse." She winked at them and Kazari, Ruiko, Komoe, and Frenda turned bright red. "I had to wait long enough so the plane couldn't be turned around. Looks like you are all stuck with me."
"You wouldn't even be able to get into Academy City," Kuroko pointed out. "Visitors have to go through a lot of security and either have to apply a week in advance, or have someone sponsor them for a purpose."
"To be fair," Jason said speaking up. "It wouldn't be that hard to sneak one person into the city."
"Jason!" Kazari replied shock.
"Kagere-san," Komoe reprimanded him. "Don't talk about breaking the law."
"You're supposed to be part of Judgement," Kuroko snapped.
"Woah," Jason said, putting his hands up defensively. "I was just saying it would be possible. With an electromaster, a mental manipulator, and a teleporter, it wouldn't be hard."
"They have to all agree though," Motoharu pointed out and Jason nodded in agreement.
"Not happening," Mikoto, Misaki, and Kuroko said all at once. Kuroko had a different reason than the other two to reject it.
"Looks like she is super not getting in," Saiai said.
"Basically," Frenda laughed. "She's out of luck."
"We really shouldn't break the law," Touma admitted, as he stood up.
"Guess I have to sneak through the security when I get there," Lessar said wistfully, putting her hands behind her head.
"I would like to see that," Shizuri spoke up, grinning. "Would be a great show to see how much trouble she could cause trying to break in. Would be entertaining at least."
"Mugino-chan," Komoe said loudly. "Don't encourage her to break the law."
"I feel bad if Lessar gets stuck," Kazari whispered to Jason and Ruiko. "She shouldn't have snuck aboard, but leaving her outside of Academy City feels wrong."
"She's a magician too," Ruiko whispered back. "So she might be able to break in, and she probably will try. How many problems would it cause?" She posed the last question to Jason.
"Depends if she gets caught," he shrugged. "But I might have an idea." He pulled out his phone. "Hey Lessar!" he called out and, when she turned to look at him, he snapped a picture. "I might know someone who can grant a visitor pass." He started typing on the phone. "Assuming he agrees, it's up to you to find a place to live while you're here."
"Obviously she's going to live with Kami-yan," Motoharu said.
"Absolutely not," Mikoto, Misaki, Frenda, Index, and Komoe said all at once.
"He doesn't have room for anyone else," Index protested.
"You can't have them sleeping under the same roof," Kazari said, her face turning crimson.
"If she has money," Kuroko pointed out. "She could rent a small apartment outside the school districts." She didn't actually dislike Lessar, after all she saw a bit of herself in her. The part about seeing something you really want and working hard to obtain it, even if she didn't understand what Lessar saw in Touma.
"I'm completely broke," Lessar said, not appearing to be bashful at all.
"Well then," Shizuri said, looking back down at her magazine. "It looks like she gets to sleep in the streets then." She could have offered one of her safe houses for her to sleep in, but she didn't have a reason to. Kamijou might think better for me if I offer, but I don't like her. She can go die in an alley.
"Your apartment is big enough right," Touma asked Jason, who shook his head quickly.
"Having an unrelated guy and girl living under the same roof would be highly irresponsible," Jason protested. Touma figured he denied it so strongly because Kazari was next to him. He also saw Kuroko watching him closely.
"You didn't defend me when Tsuchimikado wanted her in my dorm," Touma said and Jason shrugged innocently.
"I would offer," Komoe said. "But my apartment is a little crowded though." Touma remembered Himegami lived with her since she left her old school. However, he didn't think it was wise for Lessar to live with someone who didn't know about magic. She was rather, forthright, about her actions and she might let it slip about her magic, even though she was a magician. "If you can't find her a place, I can do it." She walked back to her seat and sat down, picking up her book.
"Then it's settled," Lessar said happily.
"I don't think it's the best idea for you to live with her," Touma told her. "You can't reveal magic to her you know."
"Of course I know that," scoffed Lessar. "This is why I would prefer living with you." She winked at him.
"But it's not happening," Misaki said and Mikoto nodded her head in agreement.
"If it will shut all you brats up," Accelerator said out of nowhere. "I know someone who will probably let the brat crash at her place." Everyone turned to him in shock.
"Her?!" They all said together. Accelerator made an annoyed sound with his tongue at their disbelief.
"He actually knows people?" Shizuri asked.
"And here I thought he was a neet," Jason said.
"This super can't be happening," Saiai gasped.
"MISAKA knew you were cheating on her MISAKA cries as MISAKA points a figure occasionally at Accelerator."
"Misaka will have to punish you when we get back," Worst said mischievously, but grabbing her head as Last Order's emotions flowed through her.
"Will she be okay with a magician living with her?" Touma asked.
"She's a magician too," Accelerator shrugged. "So I doubt it would be too much of an issue… What?" Everyone was staring at him intently.
"You know magicians?" Mikoto asked surprised.
"How long have you known about magic?" Ruiko asked interested.
"I met her awhile back," Accelerator said, rolling his eyes in annoyance of having to explain it. "She told me she used magic, but I didn't believe her at the time. It was only recently do I actually believe it's magic. Now shut up and let me call." He pulled out his phone and dialed. "Hey, it's me… No, I'm not back yet… We got a stowaway magician with us and she needs a place to stay for a couple days… Yea, that's it. You don't have to do anything for this brat… Okay, I'll let them know." He hung up. "She said it's fine." He leaned back in his chair and went to sleep, completely ignoring everyone's stunned looks.
"Wow," Jason said impressed. "I bet I know who she is." He grinned at Motoharu. His phone beeped and he looked down. "Good news, there will be a visitor pass for Lessar when we get back to the city." Judging by the expressions on Mikoto, Misaki, Frenda's and Shizuri's faces, they didn't consider that good news. "Ah dang," he muttered. "He's going to make me help with that. I guess that's a reasonable payment, but, arg, I hate that work." Kazari and Kuroko were the only two who paid attention to that.
"Guess you will be seeing me a lot more," Lessar said grinning.
"Please don't come bursting into our school," Touma sighed. He realized he lost the argument and Lessar was coming back to the city with them. He felt his peaceful days were coming to an end.
He didn't know how right he was.
Back in Academy City, in an underground research area, two scientists were walking between rows of equipment. Both of the scientists had jackets, because the temperature in the room was near freezing. With so much high tech equipment running constantly, a lot of heat was being produced. If the lab wasn't kept cold, they would start overheating. The lab itself, officially, didn't exist. The main purpose of this lab was to cryogenically freeze certain individuals. One was a rich businessman who was suffering from an incurable disease and was waiting for a cure, another was an ability user who went insane but was too valuable to be disposed of, and many more the two scientists didn't know why they were here. Someone was transported to their lab and their job was not to ask questions, only to make sure they could be thawed out if the situation required the specimens.
"Everything checks out here," the first one said. She was a middle aged woman with brown hair.
"I don't know why we bother doing it every hour," the second one said. He was an elderly man with black hair, but also had a touch of grey. "If anything goes wrong, we will know about it immediately without these routine checks."
"We do it because we were told to," the woman said. "If you don't want to, you can get another job."
"I doubt I will get a job if I leave this one," the man sighed. "I would probably disappear without a trace."
"I suppose it's better than being in the ability development research areas," the woman said. "You heard about all the break-ins right? There weren't any survivors. Whoever did it really doesn't show mercy, but they can't be a normal criminal. They were stealing research involving raising the level of abilities."
"So it has to be an ability user who is stuck where they are at," the man shrugged and yawned. "This stuff happens all the time."
"You would think so," the woman nodded. "But the damage caused to the labs was extensive. They have to be at least level 4."
"I don't know why you are so interested in this," the man said. "It's not like we are in any danger…" He was cut off as red lights started flashing and an ear splitting alarm went off. "What?" he gasped. "That's the intruder alarm." They ran to a monitor and started flipping through the cameras. "Damn it, where are the guards." He stopped when he found them.
"It's a massacre," the woman said. There wasn't a single sole left, and the trails of blood made it look like a wild beast came through. The elevator behind them dinged and they turned around in shock. The doors slide open and the person who entered briefly stunned them.
A single young man walked in through the door. He had shoulder-length dirty blond hair, almost brown, and a dark maroon colored suit, with a white collared shirt, both unbuttoned, revealing a red v-neck underneath. He was wearing a smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. It was full of cockiness and his eyes were cold and dark. "Who are you?" the man said, drawing a small handheld gun from his pocket.
"Compared to you," the young man said. "I'm a god. Put that gun away fool or you will become a brand new corpse. If all your men couldn't take me, what makes you think you could?" His grin widened. "But I suppose it doesn't make a difference, as I only need one of you alive." The man raised the gun up and fired several shots. The sound echoed across the room, but the young man didn't get hurt.
Instead, the bullets were blocked by an unknown white substance. Six white wings emerged from his back, like angel wings, as he continued to walk forward. One of the wings moved in front of him and blocked the bullets. A moment later, the man gasped and blood ran out of his mouth. One of the other wings had stretched and speared itself into his torso. The wing retracted and the man fell to the ground with a thud and the gun clattered away on the hard floor. The woman opened her mouth and screamed. "AHHHHHHHHH…!" The young man had moved forward and clamped his hand over her mouth to muffle the sound.
"Shut up," he said. "If you don't run away and follow my orders, I won't kill you. Do you understand?" The woman nodded and he removed his hand. The young man reached into his pocket, pulled out a piece of paper, and held it up to her face. "This man is here, find him and thaw him out for me." The woman nodded and walked stiffly to the computer console. She ran through a list of names until she found the man. She quickly started typing and selecting options on the computer, all under the watchful eye of the intruder. She sighed in relief and started walking toward a capsule in the far corner of the room.
"This is him," she said, as she pushed a button on the side of the capsule. "It will take roughly two minutes to thaw and he will be disoriented for a little bit afterwards."
"Excellent," the young man said, looking at the man's face through the glass. The man frozen below him was old, as he was balding and his hair was white. His focus was completely on his objective, and the woman realized this.
"Well if that's all," she said nervously. "You don't need me anymore…" She turned and started running. A second later she gasped in pain, as one of the white wings stabbed her in the back. She fell down into the ground in a pool of blood.
"I told you not to run," the young man said, without turning around. He grabbed a chair and sat down and waited. For some reason, the cold didn't seem to bother him at all. When the timer on the capsule went off, and the lid automatically opened, he stood up again. "Welcome back to the world of the living," he said, as the elderly man opened his eyes.
"Who are you?" the man asked weakly. "I was sure he would wake me, not a random stranger."
"Let's say I am a big fan of your work Dr. Ricane," the young man said. "But I wanted a more, hands on, lesson."
"All the information I have on robotics and spatial displacement should be in the databanks," Ricane responded. He tried to sit up, but he was still too weak.
"I'm more interested in your side projects," the young man told him. "A project you went so far as to clone yourself to study the dangers."
"Oh?" Ricane asked, raising an eyebrow. "So you have done your research."
"I want all the information you have on the occult," the young man said, his grin widening. "I want to know everything you know about magic and have you work for me."
"It will take a long time to replace all my equipment."
"That won't be a problem," the young man said dismissively. "I can make anything you require."
"Make?" Ricane asked, focusing on the unusual response. "Again, who are you?"
"My name is Teitoku Kakine," Teitoku replied. "But you may know me better as the second rank level 5, Dark Matter." There was a moment of silence as Ricane took this in.
"I believe this will be an interesting partnership." Teitoku's smile grew, but it wasn't a happy smile. It was a smile with darkness that made him look less human.
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.
Season two has officially ended. I will probably take a couple days off from writing to collect my thoughts, hand out with friends, and generally do things. Then I have to work on procuring funds for season three. You know it takes time to get money, hire people, especially with all the new characters, people want raises, cost of props, drugs, and food. It just gets expensive to run a TV show... I mean story. As soon as the funding gets in, Season Three will start.
Unlike the anime, I am looking forward to making a season three. (This is purely a jab to a certain friend of mine.)
Speaking of this friend, there has been a lot of rumors circulating around him. My friend is a popular writer on this site, MrQuestionMark, author of A Certain Unknown Level 0. A lot of people think he may secretly be Kamichi, the writer of Index. I had my doubts at first, as his writing is a lot more detailed then the light novels. He and I have been talking for a long time, about the series, characters, Pokémon, philosophical questions, math, and random other topics. (Ghost Eevee using tackle would NOT be OP!) After reading all his stories, and talking to him, I think there may be warrant in the rumors around him. Naturally, I don't have complete proof, but when I confronted him, he seemed to deny it way more strongly than he should have. What was that saying, "Me thinks thou protest too much." Anyway, I don't have proof, but maybe someone else could get him to admit it. I think he might be using this site to write on topics he can't for the light novel, or use alternative character styles.
Anyway, I hope everyone has enjoyed the story so far. I have received a lot of positive reviews, along with suggestions people had to improve the story. I have a lot of fun writing it, but it is good to know other people are having fun reading it. You, the readers, make writing this story worthwhile. A lot of things are happening and there is a big list of problems that need to be addressed.
Issues:
What is Eve's and Adam's next step?
What is Kakine planning?
What happened to Touma's student ID?
What could Lessar possibly do in Season 3?
What horrible punishment does Jason have in stored for Kuroko?
What will be Carissa's fate? (Seriously, some of you commenters.)
…And many more.