A Certain Infinite Possibility

by Darkbetrayer

An ancient organization has emerged from hiding in order to bring the world into darkness. Will Touma be able to stop them or will his actions make everything worse. Will Touma finally develop the harem he deserves? Magic and Science will collide in ways no one thought possible. Touma X Harem (Maybe, he is really dense.)

70. S3 Tokiwadai Invasion pt 3

Hi everyone! It's Misaki Shokuhou again doing the opening announcements. I know a lot of you are anxious about what's going to happen, so I'll try to keep the announcements short, while still answering all your questions. I'm kind of disappointed I haven't had a big role recently, but I know I will be the one who eventually ends up with my prince. You can think of this as my declaration of war. Anyway, let's move to your questions before I say something I might regret and have to make you all forget.

Whwsms: Well, we have cooperated with each other in the past. It's just we are sort of rivals and like the same person, which makes us look like we fight a lot. We are actually pretty close friends.

naruhinasakufan1: That's not true, I know who she is. I was surprised they were so scared of her because I don't remember her having some powerful ability. There's probably something I'm missing but, if he's scared of her, that means he's not attracted to her.

Brosephg: I would do everything in my power to make him mine. If I could just make all the girls near him forget about him so he would only have me, I would do it. However, I know he would not like that and I don't want to hurt him or make him think badly of me. Thank you for the support. As for self-aware robots, that one doctor was doing stuff with AI, you need to check with him.

Yakutsu Zaishiro: For some reason, I don't think she needs an excuse to chase those two. As I am not sure of her power, it might be possible I could affect her. Hmm, that sounds quite pleasant and I will definitely plan to do that later.

Salishious: My ideal plan is not to share him. But if I had to, Saten-san would probably be a good choice. As a second choice… I think Hanabi-san would be the best option. She's not aggressive enough like Misaka, the hag, and Lessar to be a threat to me being the main girl.

Handsomistic1: It's obvious. They are trying to steal my prince from me. I actually thought about it, but I would never force myself on him like that. I simply put myself out there for him and one day he will realize he wants to be with me.

hubb2001: Of course I am. I knew the kind of things he gets involved with on the science side for ages, and now I know the kinds of things he gets involved with on the magic side. It doesn't matter if I need to stand beside him in a life or death struggle, or simply listening to his worries. I will do whatever is needed.

Guest: I would prefer no harem, but it seems like an impossible outcome now.

wildarms13: I am actually beginning to see that outcome. I'm going to do what I can to change it, but if it's the only option I'll accept it. I'll be able to stay with him otherwise.

MarkJ: Hmm, part of the reason we have such a strong rivalry is I saw she was spending so much time with him when I couldn't. I'm not sure how we would be close friends, she such a tomboy instead of being sophisticated and well dressed. I would just convince her I was the better choice and have her back off.

Guest: You should know better than to ask a girl her age. It was obviously love and my desire to be his perfect girl. I don't know if he's into bunnies though. I figured most guys are, but he's rather unique. Only one guy will get to know that.

Fantasinia: I would crush them with every means at my disposal.

Guest 10032: Well, that just won't do. I must change that.

Geust: I have a couple emergency plans for such a situation, but I rather not use them. Ruiko Saten is becoming a dangerous rival. I would do it. I knew I would have to exercise more to keep up with all the crazy things h gets involved with, I have just been putting it off.

321jaz: That's the perfect outcome I would like to see.

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 start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.

---

"How did it come to this?" Touma muttered, depression taking hold. Today had been one of his worst days that did not involve a life or death struggle. First, he made a fool of himself in front of the entire city, which also embarrassed his friends. Second, he was stuck on top of an all-girl's school's roof, surrounded by spectators and Anti-Skill without any viable exit strategy. Now, he had a tough choice facing him, fight Sogiita Gunha or face Seiri Fukiyose's wrath. He was actually leaning toward facing Sogiita, because he might be able to talk his way out of it. The only good news was all the girls, especially Misaki and Mikoto, seemed to have stopped arguing in face of the new arrivals.

"This is going to get messy fast," Mikoto moaned, rubbing her head with her hand. "I didn't expect to see Gunha-san here." I should have realized he couldn't resist showing up if a bunch of level 5s gathered.

"He's not the type to be reasoned with," Misaki added, sighing. Looks like being alone with Touma is going to have to wait.

"He wouldn't do anything stupid right?" Hibiki asked. "I heard rumors he tended to destroy his surroundings by being overzealous."

"That is a pretty accurate description," Accelerator said, nodding slightly. "When he gets interested in facing someone, nothing you can say will stop him." He turned to Touma. "Just go down there and face him Hero."

"I don't want to face him," Touma said, raising his hands. "Plus, did you forget, Fukiyose-san is coming."

"I'll hold her off as long as I can," Jason volunteered. "Try to find a solution to Gunha-san and then we can find a way to get you out. I don't know how much time I can give you."

"Good luck," Motoharu said, putting his hand on Jason's shoulder, like he was saying good bye for the last time.

"We will honor your memory," Pierce added, putting his hand on Jason's other shoulder. "May your sacrifice not be in vain." Jason nodded solemnly, spread his shadow into the form of wings, and flew off toward the direction Seiri was marching from.

"Was it my imagination," Kazari whispered to Hanabi, Yuna, and Ruiko. "But did it look like Jason was going off to fight for real?"

"From what I know of those guys," Hanabi said. "I think they are just being over dramatic."

"Or they just want to mess with all of us," Ruiko said, and then she smirked when she saw Pierce wink at them and Motoharu raise a finger to his lips. Looks like Misaka-san, Shokuhou-san, Hibiki-san, and Kumokawa-san didn't see them. She glanced over at Kazari, who still looked nervous. "See," she whispered. "He's going to be fine."

"I figure he would be," Kazari replied, but Ruiko thought she looked relieved. "He and his friends really like to go all out, don't they?"

"You mean they know how to have fun," Yuna laughed. "Hanabi, you got at least one of their numbers right? We should definitely hang out with them sometime. I really want to see what they do during a normal day."

"I don't," Hanabi replied, shaking her head. "I haven't been able to find a chance to ask."

"You can share with us," Ruiko said, pulling out her phone. "They are our friends so we can pass phone numbers around if you need them."

"Perfect," Yuna said, beaming, and pulled out her phone. The girl's started sharing numbers, while Kazari turned to see what the others were doing. The guys were discussing something in hush voices and Mikoto, Misaki, and Seria seemed to have joined in.

"What are we going to do about him?" Mikoto asked. "You guys seem to have a plan for everything."

"It's an honor you think so highly of us Misaka-san," Motoharu laughed. "But this is completely unexpected turn of events."

"I doubt that," muttered Accelerator. He had a feeling they knew something like this was going to happen and would have a contingency plan.

"You sure you don't want to face him?" Pierce asked Touma.

"No."

"Well I think he could win," Misaki pointed out. "But he is against needless violence."

"You have her fooled well," Pierce whispered to Touma. "You fight with us all the time."

"Only because you idiots start it," Touma muttered back. They start every fight just because they have some weird idea I go around and try to pick up girls to a harem. He looked around and frowned under his mask. Mikoto, Misaki and Ruiko liked me, I don't know if Hanabi still does, but the other girls don't. Uiharu-san is with Jason, Kumokawa-senpai and Hibiki-san are just here because they are part of the game, and Yuna is just entertained by our antics. The other girls down below are just interest in the Kami persona, not me. He noticed Seria was looking at him, and he turned to face her.

"I could try to talk with him," Seria suggested, when she saw him turn to her. "I'm sure I could make him see this isn't the time or place to initiate a duel."

"He's not the type to listen to words if a strong opponent is within his sights," Misaki spoke up. Though, if anyone could do it, she probably could. She doesn't even need an ability to manipulate me, so someone brutish would probably be easier. "It would probably be better for someone more combat oriented, like Misaka or Accelerator-san, to face him. I can use my ability to help him escape unnoticed." And if I can spend some time with him, well, that's just an added benefit.

"I rather Accelerator not fight him," Hibiki said, crossing her arms. "He's already caused enough damage to our school grounds with his UNNESSISARY force." As she emphasized the word, she glared at him, but Accelerator just chuckled.

"I held back," he pointed out. "Your school's still standing.

"Just ignore him," Mikoto said, putting out a hand to stop Hibiki from stepping forward and yelling at Accelerator. "He's always like that." He was a lot worse before, but has mellowed out. He still acts all arrogant and a jerk to most people. Last Order is the only one who he can't say no to. She smirked. His friends do a pretty good job at that too. "You should have seen how much of a jerk he was before Kami set him straight."

"What did you say third rate?" He turned and glared at her.

"Just the truth," Mikoto replied, sticking her tongue out at him. Hibiki laughed and high fived Mikoto, glad to have someone who knew what Accelerator was like. He huffed and turned away from them.

"Guys," Touma spoke up. "I think we are getting off topic. What are we going to do about…?" He was too late as Sogiita's loud voice echoed across the school grounds and interrupted him.

"I haven't received an answer so I am coming up!" Sogiita yelled. A loud boom of displaced air followed, and a moment later, he had leaped up onto the roof of the gym. He crossed his arms and looked around at everyone. His cape was blowing out behind him, even though there wasn't much wind. "Hello Uiharu-san, Saten-san, Misaka-san, Shokuhou-san, and Accelerator-san, it's good to see you all looking well. Accelerator-san, when I get a chance, I want to have a rematch. I'm going to show you how much my guts have improved."

"Not looking forward to it," Accelerator grumbled, while Kazari and Ruiko waved hello. Mikoto and Misaki gave a halfhearted wave, which Sogiita seemed to ignore because his attention had moved to everyone else.

"Greetings to all the unfamiliar faces," Sogiita continued to the others. "My name is Sogiita Gunha, also known has Number 7. Now," he pointed to Kami. "I challenge you to a duel!"

"This really isn't a good time," Touma told him, but Sogiita wasn't going to hear any of that.

"Now's the perfect time," Sogiita declared loudly. "You have just finished your conquest of Tokiwadai, you aren't facing any of the other level 5s, and the spectators are being dispersed. Nothing else is happening, so we can go all out to our hearts content."

"He's really not taking the hint," Hibiki whispered.

"He never does," Accelerator mumbled.

"Seriously?" Misaki said under her breath, while reaching into her bag to pull out a remote. If I hit him while his guard is down, maybe I can get him to leave. She had just grabbed the remote when Seria reached out and stopped her.

"You know what will happen if you try," Seria whispered. "He's going to say something about guts and block you from his mind. Then he will think you are challenging him to a fight and…. Actually, I'm sorry. Go right ahead and try."

"You may have a point," Misaki answered sweetly, removing her hand from her bag. "I'm sure it would be rude of me to interrupt a fight between men."

"Do we really need to go through this all again?" Mikoto sighed. "Gunha-san, you acted the same way when we fought before."

"That reminds me Misaka-san," Sogiita said, turning his head toward her. "We still need a conclusion to our fight. I know you didn't use all your guts the last time. But right now, I want to face him." He pointed toward Touma. "I can tell he has more guts than anyone else I have ever met, except maybe one person."

Did he connect Kami to Touma just now? Mikoto thought. Seriously, he doesn't think things through, but his intuition is usually pretty sharp.

He subconsciously linked the Kami persona toward my prince's aura, Misaki mused silently.

What an idiot, Accelerator thought.

"Excuse me Gunha-san," Hanabi said cautiously, steeping forward. "Would you please try to avoid causing anymore property damage? Our teachers are going to get mad at us for the amount of damage already. They wanted us to avoid causing a scene. We had promised to minimize fights in order to use the gym."

"I definitely want to face him," Gunha told her, frowned, and crossed his arms. "But I understand your concern."

"How about this?" Motoharu suggested. "Kami's better at defending then attacking. Why don't you two have a duel where you attack and he tries to blocks your attack? If you can bypass his defense, you win, but if he can stop your attack, you win."

"What are you saying?" Touma asked bewildered, turning to face him. "We should be planning on how to get out of here without being seen. Remember, Jason's stalling for us."

"Quit being a baby and just go do it," Accelerator told him, with a slight smirk. "He's going to continue to follow you until you accept. This way is just faster."

"An excellent idea," Sogiita yelled excitedly, pointing to Motoharu. "Let us put your plan into action." Before anyone could say anything, he grabbed Touma by the arm and leaped high into the air, off the roof, and towards the area behind the gym.

"Wait!" Touma yelled, as he found himself in midair and falling off the roof. "AHHHHH!"

"AHH!" Several girls mimicked Touma's cry and ran to the edge of the roof. Mikoto, Misaki, Seria, Kazari, Ruiko, and Hanabi were the first to run up in panic. All of them were worried if Touma would be okay after landing. Sogiita's unknown ability would protect him from the fall, but Touma's body was still human. They sighed with relief when Sogiita landed first and held Touma up, before lowering him to the ground. Yuna and Hibiki ran to see what was happening too, but more out of curiosity instead of panic. Accelerator, Motoharu and Pierce all laughed, before looking over the edge to watch.

"I just had a thought," Kazari said to Mikoto and Ruiko. "If Gunha-san had grabbed Kamij… Kami-san's hand, what would have happened?"

"I didn't think of that," Ruiko said frowning.

"If his abilities were sealed," Mikoto mumbled, her eyes widening slightly. "It could have gotten really messy."

"I'm sure Kami would have broken contact to prevent that," Misaki said, obviously overhearing them. "So that situation would have occurred." Who knows, Gunha might have actually noticed his powers weren't working.

"That's the kind of guy he is," Mikoto said. "He would have made sure Gunha-san was fine, even if he got hurt." Mikoto, Misaki, and Ruiko sighed, but they couldn't help the grins forming on their faces. Kazari noticed her friend's expressions and smiled herself, knowing how much Touma had affected all of their lives. Her only worry was what would happen when he eventually became steady with someone. Seria was listening to their conversation, but she was lost in her own thoughts. She was grinning too, but only because of how cute she believed Touma looked when he was trying to save someone, even if he had no obligation to.

"What are you talking about?" Yuna asked and the girls noticed she, Hanabi, and Hibiki were moving closer to them. "Is his power based on touch?"

"Kind of," Mikoto said, not wanting to reveal Touma's real ability. "He can negate long range attacks too."

"He's tough to face when I can't affect his mind," Misaki added.

"Have you both faced him before?" Hanabi asked.

"Heh," Accelerator laughed and everyone turned to him. "They faced him, but not in the way you think."

"They face his level 6 obliviousness," Motoharu added and he and Pierce high fived. Hibiki rolled her eyes and turned back to Mikoto and Misaki.

"How strong is Sogiita Gunha?" Hibiki asked.

"He's super strong and fast," Misaki explained. "He can move at what…Mach 2?"

"He caught my Railgun with his teeth once," Mikoto shrugged.

"What?" Hibiki, Hanabi, Yuna, and even Ruiko and Kazari joined in. None of them had heard about the time Mikoto and Sogiita fought.

"I held back so it was only about thirty percent," Mikoto added. "But still, his power is just ridiculous. He can also make random explosions."

"His regeneration is the most annoying part," Accelerator added. "Normally when someone gets their attack reflected back at them, they learn to quit. With him, he just regenerates and tries again. Bastard won't stay down."

"Both of them are not the type of people to willingly hurt others," Kazari said. "They saved me and Saten-san before, so I don't think they will go all out."

"I'm sure they won't," Ruiko added. "But I really want to see Gunha-san's power. We have such a great view from up here. "

"It is," Yuna agreed. "Today's been the best. I get to watch so many level 5s showing off their skills and the game was a lot more fun than previous years."

"I can't make out what they are saying to each other from here though," Ruiko said, leaning over the edge.

"I'll translate," Accelerator said with a sneer. "Something… something… guts. We don't need to show off our skills. Strong people fight with guts… blah blah blah" He shrugged. "It looks like they are about to begin." Everyone turned to look, but Hibiki glared at him.

"Do you ever say anything nice about anyone?" she asked.

"Only if they deserve it." He sneered back at her.

"You should see him when he's around his loli," Motoharu said grinning.

"Huh?" Hanabi asked, glancing over at them, but she wasn't the only one. Most of the girls were looking at them.

"He's a lolicon," Pierce elaborated, but Accelerator wasn't amused. He reached over and flicked Peirce, sending him flying across the roof.

"Oh?" Hibiki asked, and Accelerator scowled when he saw her sneer. "I guess the great Accelerator has his own secrets, even if it's completely immoral."

"Do you think you can fly?" Accelerator asked her, as he raised a hand.

"Come on Accelerator-san," Ruiko called over. "Let's just watch the show…" A loud boom interrupted her as several different color explosions appeared behind Sogiita.

"Yes," Yuna cheered and everyone except Accelerator and Hibiki joined in. Both of them were glaring at each other.

---

"You ready for this?" Sogiita asked, holding out a fist.

"No," Touma replied truthfully. I really don't want to fight. "But I doubt you are giving me much choice. How are we doing this?"

"Let's do what your friend suggested," Sogiita said. "I'll come straight at you, no tricks, and you try to block it. We will have a contest of guts!"

"You know I'm not crazy strong like you right?" Touma asked.

"Maybe not physically," Sogiita said, crossing his arms and nodding. "But you have more guts then anyone I have met. After all, how many people have dragons as guts? Losing an arm and summoning a monster, that was amazing."

"If you know…." Touma started to say, and then stopped. "What? You know who I am?"

"Oh course," Sogiita declared. "Regardless of your outer appearance, I could immediately tell it was you. I'm sure you have your own reasons for the disguise, I'm not going to judge. Heroes usually wear costumes to protect their friends and family. "

"I'm not a hero," Touma stated, shaking his head. Sogiita grinned and nodded at his words.

"The thing is," Sogiita continued. "Ever since we fought Misaka-san's weird transformation, I wanted to face you. Your dedication, resolve, and bravery inspired me. Even when things look dark, you charged forward. Your guts managed to manifest themselves as a dragon and destroy the monster that was consuming her. In Italy, I saw the same shadow of that thing. You made me rethink my guts. I always wanted to face you and now I have the perfect opportunity, even if it's just a moment."

"You give me too much credit," Touma replied. "Someone needed help and I was there. As long as everyone can smile in the end, we have the best outcome." Sogiita through back his head and laughed.

"That's the kind of person I respect," Sogiita replied. "Helping others, regardless of risk. We are a lot alike, but I still want to face you. Prepare yourself." He made a fist and thrust it up into the air. Several large, different color explosions erupted from behind him like fireworks. "Are you ready?" he asked, spinning his right arm link a windmill to stretch.

"Fine," Touma said, resigning himself to his fate and bending his knees. "I'll show you my guts by taking your attack head on." Touma didn't like fighting, unless it was to protect someone, but fighting Sogiita was different. It was more of a spar in order for them to test their abilities. Academy City encouraged students to use their powers to grow and even most of the level 5s sought to improve. Touma realized Sogiita saw him as a true rival and wanted to use him to grow in the most professional way. If I refuse, it's going to be rude to someone who wants to grow the right way. He's not trying to kill people or use underhanded tricks to be stronger. He fights honorably. He thought he heard girls cheering, but his attention was on Sogiita.

"You are an interesting guy Kamijou," Sogiita laughed, bending his knees. His face got serious as he focused all of his attention onto Touma. Sogiita saw him as a worthy opponent and was about to go all out. Touma had raised his right hand to defend himself and Sogiita decided instantly to target there. He wasn't planning to hurt Touma, but he wanted to see the extent of his abilities. He wasn't sure if he could defeat a dragon, but he was looking forward to trying if it arrived. He gazed at Touma and, even though his face was covered by a mask, Sogiita could see his eyes. He has resolve, good. The ground exploded as he pushed off, flying toward Touma had speeds near Mach 2. He made a fist and brought it forward at Touma's hand.

Touma had been carefully watching Sogiita crouch down, preparing to charge. Touma knew, based on Sogiita's personality, he wouldn't try any sudden changes in his attack to flank him. He would be coming straight at him. Touma raised his hand to cause Sogiita to focus on it. Instead of a fist, he had his hand opened, palm out. Touma wasn't planning to attack, but only defend. He was going to catch Sogiita's attack and negate it. He couldn't see Sogiita's high speed movement, but somehow Touma knew when Sogiita was going to move. Touma had already begun moving a split-second before Sogiita charged at inhumane speeds. Touma was only able to take a single step before Sogiita reached him, but that was all he was aiming for. Even if Touma could negate the unknown power in Sogiita's body, there was still momentum. Touma didn't know how much power Sogiita would lose when they collided.

The air exploded as their blows collided.

Dust and dirt was blown away by Sogiita's power, obscuring them from sight. Everyone watching from the roof couldn't tell what had happened. Accelerator was actually interested in seeing what transpired and flipped his choker on to redirect an air current, which push the dust away quickly. With the air cleared, they could see the two guys standing in the middle of the barren grounds. Sogiita had his arm outstretched, but his fist was clamped tightly in Touma's hand.

"That is some power you have," Sogiita claimed, staring straight into Touma's eyes. "I can't feel my ability at all." Touma nodded in thanks, but his mind was racing.

AHHH IT HURTS! Touma screamed in his head. His entire arm was on fire and he was quickly losing feeling in it. He clenched his teeth to avoid making any sound as he tried to ignore the pain. His hand completely negated the excess strength giving Sogiita his power and speed, but Sogiita was still a pretty strong person by himself. Plus, he was moving forward at high speeds, which caused him to have a lot of extra momentum. The only thing that saved Touma was he had moved forward enough to grab Sogiita's fist, right when Sogiita stepped on the ground. His speed died during the last fraction of a second and prevented Touma's arm from shattering. If he had been in midair when they collided, the momentum might have shattered both their arms. Now, Sogiita couldn't access any of his abilities and his arm was probably hurting too. They stared at each other for a moment, before Touma let go and his arm fell down to his side. "I can still feel your punch," Touma muttered, rubbing his arm.

"Only Accelerator was able to block my attack so easily," Sogiita told him, as he bent his knees slightly. "Let's see how you do against round two."

"I thought we were only going to do one clash?" Touma asked, putting out his sore hand defensively.

"I can't let our fight end with just one stalemate," Sogiita replied grinning. "I haven't had this much fun facing someone in ages. Let's give it all our guts until we have a clear winner."

"Wait…" Touma started to protest, but they were interrupted by a different female voice, obviously magnified, coming from the other side of the gym.

"This is Aiho Yomikawa of Anti-Skill," she yelled, sounding irritated. "The surrounding spectators have been cleared. This is a message to all members of Kami's group. Cease and desist your activities at once. You have five minutes to start evacuating Tokiwadai gym. If you do not, we will be forced to come in after you."

Oh shit, Touma thought to himself. It's Yomikawa-sensei and she does not sound happy. He turned to Sogiita. "I really think we need to postpone this. Can you take me back up to the roof?" Sogiita looked disappointed, but even he could tell the situation changed. He nodded and grabbed Touma, before jumping up onto the school. Touma was more prepared this time for the ride, but his stomach still churned, as his flew through the air. They landed and he stumbled. He tried to move his hand out to stabilize, but his right arm had just gone numb. He was about to fall when Mikoto pushed up and against him and he managed to stay on his feet. "Thanks," he muttered.

"That's what you get for taking his hit straight on," Mikoto reprimanded him, but she smirked. "It was pretty exciting to watch."

"You both were amazing," Kazari added, looking back and forth. "Gunha-san was so fast, but you were able to predict his attack and move to intercept it."

"The shockwave from his sudden stop was huge," Ruiko added excitedly. "We felt the explosion from up here."

"I can see why you both are considered level 5," Hanabi told them.

"If you two ever fight seriously," Yuna told them. "I really want to watch."

"Of course," Sogiita told her, giving her a thumbs up. "I'll make sure to invite everyone to our rematch."

"I'll pass," Accelerator mumbled.

"You really show off how special you are," Misaki said, pushing past Mikoto and standing next to Touma. She had to resist grabbing him in public, because of the camera drones circling above them, but she wanted nothing more than to jump into his arms and give him a kiss. "I was nervous, but knew you would win."

"It was impressive," Seria replied, patting Touma on the shoulder. "Are you okay though? You were having trouble standing there at first." In order to separate herself from the other girls, she purposely mentioned his injury to show she cared more about his well-being than his feats. She knew the other girls felt that way too but, by saying it out loud, it would resonate with him more.

"My arm was a little numb," Touma said. "But the feeling's coming back." He suddenly remembered something important. "Excuse me," he said, moving away from the girls and toward the other guys. "What are we going to do about Anti-Skill?"

"It's not like they could stop me," Accelerator pointed out. "Though SHE's out there and that makes things complicated."

"If you want some good news," Motoharu told them. "It appears Kagere returned alive." He pointed and the other guys turned to look. A shadow strand reached over the edge of the building and Jason pulled himself up. He definitely didn't look to be in the best of shape. His jacket was torn, covered in dirt, and had a large bruise on his revealed arm. "How did it go?"

"I held her off as long as I could," Jason called over to them, panting slightly, as he approached. "But she learned some new moves." He cracked his neck. "When did she learn how to do a German suplex? My neck is killing me."

"Are you okay?" Kazari asked, rushing over to him.

"I'm fine," Jason said dismissively, as Kazari grabbed his arm and looked at the bruises.

"That's all well and good," Motoharu told him. "But that's not important. Did you get a feel?"

"Huh?" Jason asked and Touma wasn't sure what Motoharu was talking about either.

"She pressed her chest up against your back doing the suplex right?" Pierce demanded to know. "That's how you do it."

"Hmm," Jason murmured, before raising an eyebrow. "Oh, yea I guess that did happen. It's hard to remember when you're being slammed on the ground."

"Damn you," Motoharu and Pierce growled, glaring at him.

"But you two will never know the feeling," Jason shrugged. "So…" He stopped when a dark aura started radiating form beside him. The look of shock on his face told Touma he had completely forgotten Kazari was next to him. He was so use to arguing with Pierce and Motoharu in class, he must have forgotten where he was. "It's not like that," he whispered to Kazari, who had turned away from him.

"And here I was worried about you," she sniffed. Jason focused his attention on her and was trying to explain, while Pierce and Motoharu had triumphant looks on their faces.

Whew, I feel bad for Jason, but at least it's not me this time. Touma thought.

"He's right you know," Accelerator sneered, turning to Pierce and Motoharu. "Though, the hero there has more experience with that than both of you, including Kagere."

"W-what?" spluttered Touma. He could feel several dark auras behind him, informing him the girls were listening to their conversation. "I don't have that happen to me."

"Pssh," Accelerator rolled his eyes. "The fourth over there," he actually remembered the ranks changed this time, "has done it on several occasions, plus some of the girls in England. Seriously, are you like in denial or something?"

"Bastard!" Pierce yelled, grabbing Touma and putting him in a headlock. "How dare you rub in your conquests?"

"You idiots are the ones who keep saying those things!" Touma yelled back, breaking Pierce's grip and throwing him to the ground. I can put up with this when we are by ourselves, but everyone is in ear shot. He glanced out of the corner of his eye at the girls to see how they were reacting. Misaki looked slightly smug and Mikoto was crossing her arms, looking annoyed. Hibiki was scowling, as if she couldn't believe what they were saying. The rest of the girls had different levels of amusement and embarrassment on their faces. Sogiita was nodding slightly, but that was more of his admiration of the guy's guts in their forceful conversation. He can't read the mood at all.

"But you are always in those kinds of positions for us to mention," Motoharu pointed out. "So you are partially…" He was interrupted by Aiho speaking through her megaphone again.

"Your time is almost up!" she yelled. "We expect to see some movement."

"I hope you guys have a plan," Mikoto said seriously. "Unless you are actually going to just leave peacefully. Though, I seriously doubt you all will." Her eyes darted to Accelerator, Motoharu, and Pierce."

"I can leave whenever I want," Accelerator stated simply. "And Kagere can too. It's these three that don't have any special way out."

"We don't really care if we are caught though," Pierce added. "Fukiyose-sama already knows we are involved."

"So even if we do escape," Motoharu continued. "We are just going to die on Monday."

"But Kami doesn't want his identity to be revealed right?" Hanabi asked. "Is there anything we can do to sneak him out?"

"If he does get unmasked," Hibiki added. "It's kind of his fault."

"Hey," Misaki told her. "You're smart enough to tell he was dragged here by his friends."

"He could have said no," Hibiki said reasonably. Misaki opened her mouth to argue, but Touma put his hand on her shoulder.

"She is right," Touma told her. "Thanks for sticking up for me, but it was partially my fault."

"I might be able to persuade a couple girls to help you escape," Yuna said thoughtfully. "Give me a minute and I'll see what I can do." She ran to the door leading to the gym and disappeared down the stairs.

"I wonder what she had planned," Ruiko said curiously.

"I'm not in a position to deny any help right now," Touma sighed and everyone except Hibiki laughed.

"It's unusual to see you so worked up," Seria whispered to Misaki, the corners of her mouth twitching. "Maybe you are turning into one of his many fan girls."

"I'll be the one to win in the end," Misaki whispered back. "He won't want an old hag like you when you are sagging and covered in wrinkles."

"Time's up!" Aiho yelled across the grounds to them. "What is your answer?!"

"I think there is only one answer we can give," Motoharu said seriously. The girls got quiet as they heard his tone change. The thought, he's' planning something big, crossed all of their minds.

"If we are going to die," Pierce added. "We die as heroes to everyone watching us. Let's inspire them."

"What are you guys talking about?" Touma asked.

"I have a funny idea I know," Jason said, joining them. "Give us the specifics."

"It's going to cause her blood pressure to rise, isn't it?" Accelerator asked, and Motoharu grinned.

"Come on you guys," he laughed, leading the guys to the edge to face Aiho. "Here's what we are going to say…" He whispered the plan and Pierce, Jason, and Accelerator burst out laughing too. Touma could only face palm.

"That will certainly be our downfall," he muttered, aware the girls were watching them closely.

"Hands in," Pierce said, stocking out his hand, face down. "Come on guys, show your support."

"For glory," Motoharu laughed, putting his hand in the pile.

"To give Fukiyose-sama a heart attack," Jason added grinning.

"I give up," Touma sighed, putting his hand in. "Let's get this over with and I can go crawl in a hole and die." All four guys turned their head to look at Accelerator.

"No."

"Come on," Motoharu prompted.

"No."

"I'll go!" Sogiita said loudly, putting his hand in. "You all have a lot of guts and it would be an honor to join you." His ability must give him super hearing or something, so he knew what their plan was.

"Heh," Pierce laughed. "Don't be the only one left out Accel-kun."

"You can do it Accelerator," Mikoto called out, trying hard not to break out laughing. She was enjoying getting revenge for the mean things he had said to her.

Damn third rate, Accelerator growled in his head.

"Maybe he's too scared," Hibiki laughed. "I thought he was supposed to be all that."

"Be nice," Hanabi whispered.

"Fine you brats," Accelerator snapped, sticking his hand in. I swear I'm going to get my revenge on that ice girl and the third rate. All the guys raised their hands into the air and brought them down in unison, before turning and walking toward the edge of the gym, nearest to Aiho and Seiri.

"What do you think they are going to say?" Kazari whispered to Ruiko.

"If it was just Touma, Accelerator-san, and Kagere-san," Ruiko replied honestly. "I would guess they would surrender now just to end everything, but with Aogami-san and Tsuchimikado-san there, it's going to be something rebellious."

"Why are boys such idiots when they are together?" Mikoto asked, face palming.

"It's a guy thing," Seria told her. "Since most of you go to an all-girl's school, you might not understand. Guys, have this weird desire to show each other up at every chance they get. It must be some hormone in their brains. It's why you see Accelerator getting dragged along with them. He can't ignore their taunts and look weak. You will see a lot more of this in high school."

"In short," Misaki said. "Most guys are idiots." Except Touma, he's just brave and selfless.

"Definitely," Hibiki agreed.

"To be fair," Kazari interrupted. "We have done some pretty stupid things when we all get together." Hanabi smirked when she remembered a couple things she and Yuna did as first years.

"Especially when Shirai-san is here," Ruiko laughed. "Speaking of which, I haven't seen her today."

"Now that you mention it," Mikoto said, crossing her arms and frowning. "I would be surprise if she didn't know we were all here. Everyone else in the city does. She was after Kagere-san because of that bet." She sighed. "Seriously, where could she be?"

"What is your answer?" Aiho called up to the guys, who were all lined up along the edge of the roof. "Will we be forced to come after you?" There was silence as all the girls watched in apprehension.

All the guys looked at each, nodded slightly, smirked, turned back to face Aiho, and simultaneously yelled out at the top of their lungs.

"YOU WILL NEVER TAKE US ALIVE!"

All the girls' mouths fell open. It had been a consensus the guys weren't going to surrender quietly, but they had never expected an outright declaration of war against Anti-Skill and Seiri Fukiyose, the only girl who seemed to be able to cause terror within the guys. Sogiita had ever made several bright explosions behind them to make them look even more dazzling. Before she could stop herself, Mikoto started snickering and then burst out laughing. Ruiko, Hanabi, and Misaki followed almost immediately, and soon every one of the girls was laughing, even Hibiki. The sheer absurdity of the guy's statement was just too much to bear. Mikoto heard Seiri begin to speak and it was obvious she was not as amused as the others.

"YOU IDIOTS!" Seiri roared up at them. "Don't think any of you are getting away. I know where you all live, even Accelerator and Kagere!"

"Tsk," Accelerator clicked his tongue. "Damn, our teacher must have told her."

"See if I ever write down my real address again," muttered Jason.

"You can come and visit anytime!" Pierce yelled down to her. "But there's a dress code. I have a cowgirl outfit I bought from America. You should be able to wear it…." A megaphone flew through the air and smacked Pierce in the face, knocking him backwards onto the roof.

"If that is the way you want it brats," Aiho finally said, after recovering from shock. "I'm going to let your classmate come up and talk with you. I will be here, taking an important phone call, so I may not be paying attention." She paused, letting the threat sink in. "Then we will come in and take you by force. Oh, expect gym all day Monday you guys."

"Oh crap," Touma muttered, before rounding on Motoharu and shaking his shoulders. "You just caused them to execute a death sentence on us."

"We got this covered Kami-yan," Motoharu told him, removing Touma's hands from his shoulder. "Code red guys. Accelerator, you fly off in that direction. Kagere, you go in that direction, it's going to divide their forces. Gunha-san, if you can, dash another direction to distract them. Aogami and I will head off Fukiyose-san. Kami, you head down stairs and find Ishikawa-san, she should have an escape plan set up by now and she's pretty smart." He looked around. "What are you guys waiting for, GO GO GO!" Accelerator nodded and walked to the edge of the roof away from the others. The wind started whipping around his back after he flipped on his choker. Four tornados formed as he jumped up into the air and took off. Sogiita jumped to the edge of the building, before propelling himself through the air.

"Give me about an hour to lose them and change out of these clothes," Jason called back to Kazari. "Then we can spend the rest of the day together."

"Call soon," she replied, waving, any animosity she had to his early comments long gone. She watched Jason jump and glide to a nearby building, over the Anti-Skill members surrounding the gym.

"I'll contact everyone later," Touma called over his shoulder, throwing the door open. "Thanks for all of your help." He ran down the stairs with Motoharu and Pierce right behind him. The rest of the girls looked at each other and then looked over the edge as they heard voices. They could finally see Seiri up close and she wasn't able to enter the gym because all the other girls were beginning to leave.

"She doesn't look happy," Mikoto said, glancing down at Seiri.

"After what Aogami-san said," Misaki pointed out. "Can you really blame her?" I really want to go with Touma, but I'm just going to draw attention to him. Once we get out of this, I'll find him. It should be easy enough with my network.

"Oh look there's Aogami-san and Tsuchimikado-san," Seiri commented, as the girls watched. It looked like the guys were about to say something to Seiri, when she proceeded to pummel both of them, as everyone watched.

"Oh my," Kazari said softly.

"Those two deserved it," Mikoto said, shaking her head. If someone said those things to me, I would probably shock them unconscious. "It seems like she really is the only one who controls those guys."

"Do you think they are going to be okay?" Hanabi asked.

"They should be," Seiri reassured her. "I hear there are a lot of these kinds of incidents at school."

"I just want to see her beat up Accelerator," Hibiki said, crossing her arms. "It would make my day to see that jerk lose."

"You sound slightly fond of him," Kazari pointed out. "It kind of reminds me when Misaka-san was talking about Kami…. in the early days." She stopped before she accidently said Touma's name.

"It wasn't like that," Mikoto denied, turning slightly red. Yea, I use to always call him an idiot, but that was back when I couldn't be honest with myself. He still does stupid things from time to time, like today, but he's either helping someone or his friends make him do this. She had a few flashbacks of all her complaints to Kuroko, Ruiko, and Kazari about Touma never taking her seriously in fights and running away. He only did that because he doesn't like fighting, unless someone is in trouble.

"I seem to remember I may have been a little curt with Kami the first time I met him too," Misaki reminisced. She had a quick flashback when Touma stumbled upon her during one of the worst days she had ever had. She had been about to erase her own memories when he arrived. She had tried to erase his memories of meeting her, but his hand kept negating her ability. In the end, he had accidently cheered her up and she decided not to erase her own memories.

"Oh," Hanabi said, her eyes glinting deviously. There was always something about siblings where they liked to joke with each other. "I didn't realize you were into guys like Accelerator-san," she said with a smirk.

"W-what?" Hibiki stammered. "I hate rude, selfish people like him. People like that only think about themselves."

"I think she does," Seria said, grinning. She could read Hibiki like an open book. "She's trying to convince herself she doesn't. I bet she likes guys with a strong will."

"That sounds about right," Misaki added. "When you two weren't insulting each other, you seem to be getting along well."

"Why is everyone teaming up on me?"

This reminds me of Misaka-san before she confessed to Kamijou-san, Kazari giggled to herself. If it wasn't for Saten-san pushing her into it, she might never have done it. Though, it kind of backfired on her. Speaking of which…. She looked around. "Where did Saten-san go?"

"Huh?" Mikoto asked, also looking around. "She's gone."

---

Touma ran down the stairs and stopped at the bottom. Pierce and Motoharu continued passed him and ran to the exit, where many of the girls were already beginning to leave. Touma looked around, ignoring the girl's stares, and finally found Yuna, who was waving to him. She was standing next to the door that led into the main high school building. He ran over to her, panting slightly. "Do you have a plan so I can escape unnoticed?"

"I do," she grinned. "We got one of our electromasters to unlock the school. Since Anti-Skill is under the impression we are only in the gym, they don't have the entire school surrounded. Rookie mistake for them, right? You should be able to escape straight through the school. We checked and the gate's unlocked too."

"How can I ever thank you?" he asked gratefully.

"Come and visit our school again," she said with a wink. "Today was a lot of fun for everyone and a few people are sad they didn't get an autograph. You need to make it up to them."

"I don't know if I will be allowed too," Touma admitted. I'm not going to come anywhere near this school ever again. He had never been so embarrassed in front of so many attractive girls. He had been surprised at how nice most of them were, instead of the stereotypical ojou-samas. I must have lived every guy's dream, so I should be at least a little happy, but I wish I didn't have to embarrass my friends.

"I figured as much," Yuna sighed. "Get going you two, you don't have much time."

"Two?" Touma asked confused, and turned around. "Ruiko?"

"Hey," she said grinning. Touma hadn't heard her following him. "I figured going with you would be the best way to sneak out of the school." Her real reason though was to leave with him so they could spend time together, even if it was just as friends. She waited a moment, but Touma appeared speechless. "Umm," she said slowly. "We should probably get going." Touma finally nodded.

"Yea," he said. "You're right." They ran through the open door and down the school hallway. "Thanks a lot for your help Ishikawa-san," he called over his shoulder. She waved and shut the door behind them. Their footsteps echoed down the empty hallway and they had a chance to look at the inside of one of the top schools in the world. Touma felt a twinge of jealousy at how nice the school looked, including the lockers, equipment, and classrooms. They finally reached the doors leading outside, and Ruiko opened it slowly, before peering out.

"Coast is clear," she said and they ran the short way to the open gate. "Street's clear too." They ran across the street and took shelter in a side alley. Touma removed his mask and wiped his face.

"Can you grab me a bottle of water to wash this dye out of my hair?" he asked. "I can't go out in public like this."

"No problem," she said, before pulling off her green jacket. "Hold this please. I'll draw less attention without it." Touma nodded and took her jacket. His eyes unconsciously darted up and down her white and red tank top she had been wearing underneath it. Ruiko left the alley and Touma hid in the shadows, praying no one would find him. A couple Anti-Skill vans drove down the main street, but none of the patrols seemed to be coming after him. A very short time later, Ruiko handed him a bottle of water. "Here you go."

"Thanks a lot," Touma replied gratefully. He leaned over and poured the water on his head, while scrubbing. The dye was designed to be washed out extremely easily with water, so even with only a little water, he managed to get it all out. "I'm glad I didn't have to permanently dye my hair." He took off his jacket and wrapped the mask in it. "We should probably find a place to store these until everything calms down."

"Why don't we use one of the storage lockers," Ruiko suggested. "We can use one near our schools. That way, we can just pick them up Monday morning."

"Good idea," Touma said.

"Then we can go do something fun," Ruiko said, fist punching the air.

"Oh yea," Touma said. I completely forgot we were planning to hang out after this game. The urgency of the escape made it slip my mind. "You said you wanted to go to the batting cages right?"

"Anything really," Ruiko shrugged. "I'm not too picky. It's been a long time since we did anything with just us two."

"As long as you don't drag me after a crazy ability user or a rogue magician," Touma told her with a grin.

"No promises," Ruiko laughed, before grabbing his arm and pulling him after her. "Let's go and have some fun!"

---

Can we leave already? Mikoto thought to herself, bored, as she and Misaki were leaning up against a wall of the school gym. She was planning to leave with everyone else, but one of the Anti-Skill members stopped her and asked for her to stay behind because they needed to talk with her. Mikoto had frowned, but agreed because she didn't know what they wanted. She waved good-bye to the others, but it turned out Misaki also was asked to stay behind. There was a brief moment Mikoto thought Misaki was about to use her powers to escape, but was pleasantly surprised when she didn't. Anti-Skill was monitoring everyone else leaving so they had to wait a few minutes. "I'm surprised you decided to wait quietly."

"It's not like I had a choice," Misaki replied lightly. "With all the drones flying around, it would have been broadcast all over the city I was using my powers on law enforcement. That would cause more trouble than I would like to deal with."

"Looks like they didn't find him," Mikoto said, watching the Anti-Skill members running around the school. "A couple of them were discussing his disappearance."

"That's good," Misaki nodded. "I know he wouldn't want to be unmasked publically. It would be harder to save everyone if he's that well-known." Plus, I would have more competition to deal with.

"Any idea why they want us here anyways?" Mikoto asked.

"You know the usual," Misaki said, waving her hand dispassionately. "We are level 5s and shouldn't be getting involved in such childish things like rising to Kami's taunts."

"It was kind of childish," Mikoto admitted. "But, you have to admit, it was fun." They glanced at each other and immediately looked away, both of them trying to suppress their laughter. Mikoto's eyes widen slightly. When did we start getting along? She frowned slightly as she thought about it. Because we are both after Touma, we spend a lot more time together, but she still infuriates me all the time.

"I wish I could have gone with him," Misaki sighed. "It's so boring waiting here, but I would draw too much attention until the excitement dies down." I guess talking to her is okay, but she's nowhere near Touma.

"I was planning to spend the day with him," Mikoto commented. "But we got interrupted. After this, I'm going to find him."

"Not if I find him first," Misaki countered. "He much rather be with me. After all," she grinned, "He prefers my well-developed body over yours."

"He's not the kind of person to go with someone based on look," Mikoto snapped.

"That may be true," Misaki replied. He's a prince, of course he doesn't, or he would have taken my offer to be his a long time ago. "But he's still a guy. He reacts to it unconsciously."

"You wish," growled Mikoto, but secretly knew she was right. Guys were idiots and only focused on chests or butts. She always gets on my nerves. There is no way I'm going to give Touma up to her.

"Excuse me," Aiho said walking up to them. 'Sorry to interrupt your conversation, but I suppose you wonder why we asked you both to stay behind." They both nodded. "We had someone request we pull you aside in order to talk to you. We only agreed because she's a supervisor at your school."

"Who is it?" Mikoto asked nicely, but before Aiho could answer, her question was answered. A stern looking woman stepped out in front of them and both Mikoto and Misaki turned ashen. The Dorm Supervisor stood in front of them, arms crossed, and her glasses glinting. She did not appear to be happy, as she gazed down at them.

"I'll leave them to you," Aiho said, gave a salute, and left. Mikoto and Misaki both wanted to call out to her not to leave, but they were silent under the watchful eye of their Dorm Supervisor.

"Thank you," she said and didn't say anything else until Aiho was gone. "So," she said, her voice turning ice cold. "Let me see if I understand what happened. You two," she pointed to each one of them in turn, "decided to answer the juvenile taunt of another student. As level 5s, you know you are supposed to set an example for the other students. I couldn't believe the childish behavior I saw on the news today, five of the level 5s acting so immature. Those guys are lucky I do not have any jurisdiction over them."

We really didn't do anything wrong though, Mikoto thought to herself, but she wasn't stupid enough to say it out loud.

It's not like she can punish us, Misaki thought triumphantly. She didn't say anything, but The Dorm Supervisor must have caught a gleam in her eye.

"I can't actually punish you for this," she continued. "You did participate in the game and didn't break the rules. You also didn't actually go against Anti-Skill's orders," Mikoto and Misaki both sighed in relief. "However, I am well within my authority to have you both come back to the dorm with me for a short meeting. If I happen to lecture you both on the way there, that's perfectly within the rules."

Mikoto and Misaki glanced at each other, while thinking the same thing. Damn it.

---

Well that was an interesting day, Jason thought to himself as he jumped from rooftop to roof top. He took off his mask and was able to breath freely again.

Yet you didn't seem to benefit in anyway.

I needed a break from my work. You have been out of it for too long. Now be quiet, I need to get back to my room and change. Jason was a couple blocks away for Tokiwadai before jumping down into a deserted ally. His shadow rescinded and he started pulling off his jacket. While it was very lightweight, the weather was getting warmer. Jason wasn't paying attention, which turned out to be a big mistake. Something hit him in the back of the head and he flew forward. A moment later, his arms were locked in handcuffs behind his back. His head was pounding and he grimaced. "Owe, my head."

"That was easier than I thought," a triumphant girl's voice said and Jason felt someone sit on his back. "I was right in thinking all I had to do was wait until you let down your guard. You tend to get overconfident and ignore your surroundings."

"Can you at least let me lay on my back?" Jason asked. "Having my face in the street isn't pleasant." There wasn't an immediate response, but the weight on his back lessoned and he shifted around to look up at Kuroko, who sat back down on him, a huge grin on her face. "You know I can escape this easily, right?" His shadow began to spread out on the ground to demonstrate.

"I know," Kuroko admitted, but her grin never left her face. "However, this is more than enough to be considered caught. Our bet was I would be the one to catch you and I succeeded."

"Huh?" Jason asked, thinking back to the exact dialogue of their previous conversation. "Damn," he muttered and Kuroko's grin widened. I wonder if I can come up with a good reason why this shouldn't count. Unable to come up with a valid reason, that didn't sound childish, his shadow started to recede back into him.

"Now, as the winner, I get to decide on what I want you to do," she laughed triumphantly.

"Oh," Jason asked, raising an eyebrow. His expression changed from frustration to amusement. "I can't wait to hear this. What are you going to make me do? Serve you for a day? Wear an embarrassing costume?" He glanced down at their position. "I see," he muttered, then pretended to nervous. "Please be gentle."

"Don't think you are going to get off that easily," Kuroko told him, ignoring his last joke. "We never had a time limit on how long I had to decide. I'm going to make sure I come up with the perfect revenge."

"Not bad," Jason said, slightly impressed. "Looks like you learned a lot." He suddenly got slightly serious. "You do understand I won't do anything that will hurt Kazari right?"

"I wasn't going to suggest anything like that," Kuroko sniffed. "While it might hurt you, she's my friend and I won't hurt her."

"I thought I was your friend too."

"Barely," Kuroko responded. "But…" She froze when she heard a familiar voice.

"Shirai-san," Mitsuko said, appearing around the corner to the ally. "I thought I saw…." She stopped, speechless, as she looked into the alley. Kuroko was sitting on a guy, who was laying down in the street with his hands cuffed behind his back. She had seen the report of Kami on the news but, by the time she arrived, the problem had already been solved. "Umm, what's going on here?" She hid part of her face behind her fan. Kuroko had no idea what to say, so Jason took it in stride.

"Hey," he greeted cheerfully. "Don't mind us. Kuroko is just into some weird things."

"I'm sorry," Mitsuko said, turning red. "I didn't know you were meeting someone." She turned and left before Kuroko could find her voice.

"Why did you say that?" she demanded, grabbing him by his collar and shaking him vigorously. The rumors I have a boyfriend is going to escalate again, ARG!

"Eh," Jason shrugged. "I wasn't sure who she was, but I recall seeing her at your dorm when Touma and I were there. You know her?"

"Yes," Kuroko sighed. "She's almost as annoying as you are."

"Almost?" Jason asked. "I must be slacking off. I guess I need to work harder."

"Don't work harder on something stupid," Kuroko snapped, while chopping him on the head. She jumped off him and turned in the direction Mitsuko ran off. "I have to catch her now and think of an explanation. Don't forget our bet though. I'm going to make you regret every joke and prank you ever pulled on me."

"I look forward to it," Jason laughed and watched her leave. When she disappeared from sight, his shadow flowed out of his sleeves and into the handcuff locks, opening them. He pocketed them, planning to give them back to Kuroko, and started walking to his apartment. I wonder what she will come up with. I'm sure it can't be that bad. If it was Shokuhou, I might actually be worried.

You and that girl just need to go all the way already.

Eh, I'm seeing someone else.

I believe there's a word for this, polygamy?

Harem is a better word, but I'm not interested in dealing with the stuff Touma does right now.

---

Shizuri stood in the bathroom, looking at a broken mirror. Damn it, the pain is getting worse. Her eyes were bloodshot, her hands kept trembling, and her head felt like it was being bashed with a sledgehammer. She staggered out of the bathroom and threw herself in a sofa chair. The table in the living room was smashed, the TV was broken, and the remains of a lamp were in the corner. Rikou handed her a glass of water, which she drained and looked up at the ceiling. I'm lucky the pain isn't constant, but when it hits, I can't do anything. That bastard didn't say it would be this bad. She glanced at Rikou, who was watching her. "I'm fine now."

"…Do you need anything?" Rikou asked.

"I need these fucking headaches to end," snapped Shizuri.

Rikou frowned ever so slightly, trying to decide what to say. There was nothing she could do to stop Shizuri's suffering until her powers ran out of control. Rikou could only tend to Shizuri's demands and try to make her comfortable. She only had to dodge the lamp, everything else Shizuri broke was either with a punch or a kick. It was probably a good thing the others left when they did. Hamazura might have gotten seriously hurt. I think Kamijou is the only one who could keep her calm through this. She briefly considered contacting him, but decided, unless the situation was dire, she would avoid doing so. She didn't know how his hand would affect her overloading ability. "… You should get some sleep while you can," she suggested instead.

"Like I can sleep when my head keeps fucking feeling like it's going to explode," she growled and sighed. "I suppose you're right though. I didn't get much sleep. The worst thing is being cooped up here all day. I'm going to rest a bit and then we need to go out and purchase some more of my tea, we are out."

"…I could go by myself," Rikou offered.

"And what would happen if my power went out of control while you were gone?" Shizuri pointed out. "You are not allowed to leave my side until this is over, not even for a minute. Understood?" Rikou nodded. "Good, I'm going to try to sleep, maybe I should drug myself and see if that helps." She entered the bedroom and collapsed on the bed. Rikou walked back to the living room and sighed.

I could really use some help, but Mugino didn't want anyone to know about this yet. I hope the others are okay since she sent them away. It should just be a routine security mission, but something tells me this day isn't going to be normal. She used her AIM stalker to find Frenda, Hamazura, and Kinuhata to determine if they were safe. Not detecting any abnormalities, she stopped concentrating and pulled out a magazine. She couldn't even sleep in case Shizuri needed her.

---

Accelerator flew over the city at full speed, glad that he brought extra batteries for his collar. He didn't want to participate anymore in this stupid game and took off his jacket immediately. I can't wait to get back and sleep. I hate getting up early. Maybe I will be lucky and the brats will be out doing something so I have the place to myself. Yomikawa will be too busy with Anti-Skill to bother me for a while. He landed in the street about a block away from the apartment and walked the rest of the way. He unlocked the door and stepped in, before he heard several voices. Damn, they're here and they brought company, great. He shut the door and walked into the living room.

The TV was on to a news station, but the three girls weren't watching it. Last Order, Worst, and, to Accelerator's surprise, Estelle were sitting in a circle, each of them playing a handheld game. Worst seem to be laughing at Last Order, who kept grabbing her head in frustration, but her back was to Accelerator so he couldn't see her expression. Estelle looked much more normal without her cloak that she liked to wear. She seemed to be trying to help Last Order, but her skills in video games must have been subpar. Accelerator was planning to sneak unnoticed into his room, but Worst saw him when she looked up. "Well well," Worst said sarcastically. "Looks like the star of today's game has finally graced us with his presence."

"What are you talking about?" Accelerator snapped.

"We were watching your adventure on the news," Estelle said, looking up from her game. "You were really impressive in your fights sensei. The cameras kept giving close ups."

"Misaka noticed you seemed to have found a new friend," Worst laughed. "You and that ice girl seemed to be hitting it off. The moderator kept Misaka entertained with her negative thoughts."

"Huh," Accelerator replied and he frowned. The part about negative thoughts Worst said made him realize something important. Normally, when he arrived back at the apartment, Last Order would virtually tackle him in order to tell him about her day, even completely normal things like eating cereal. Right now, she still had her back turned him and seemed to be focused on the game. "You okay brat?"

"MISAKA is fine MISAKA lies as MISAKA tries to keep her attention on her game." Worst smiled evilly, but Estelle felt like she should remain quiet and try not to draw attention to herself. Accelerator knew for sure something was wrong, because he was beginning to see a dark aura around the normally cheerful girl.

"What misunderstanding did you come to this time?" Accelerator sighed, knowing Worst said something to further make her believe something that didn't happen.

"Misaka thinks you should see it for yourself," Worst snickered, as she grabbed a remote and pointed it at the television. "Misaka made sure to record it specifically for you." Accelerator knew this wasn't going to be good, judging from the fact Worst looked so happy, and looked at the screen.

Accelerator was greeted by a view over Tokiwadai High School. He recognized it from one of the droves that were monitoring the entire situation after they had stolen one for their announcement. He and the others were standing on the roof talking. The camera wasn't close enough to catch their words, but it zoomed in on their faces. From who was there, this was before Misaki and Mikoto showed up, but after they had made their announcement. Accelerator hadn't been forced to leave the roof and deal with the first couple waves of intruders, so he was talking with the others, but the camera decided to zoom in on him and Hibiki. "That's obvious the number one level 5 Accelerator," a male announcer said from off camera. "You can recognize him from his build and white hair. He's a known friend of the level 5 Kami. It looks like he is showing some interest in the girl from the tournament a couple weeks ago. Her name is Hibiki Nakano, a level 4 from Tokiwadai High school."

Fuck, he thought, as Worst fast forwarded to the next couple scenes. I'm going to find that announcer and kill him. He saw another couple of clips, where it was he and Hibiki were talking, more like arguing, but the camera didn't catch that. The announcer continued to make stupid comments about them and Accelerator was getting irritated. It was obvious Worst only recorded those sections, but the announcer still had the nerve to say those things. Accelerator didn't know it, but the announcer was saying all sorts of comments about everyone, including praising Accelerator about his powers. Worst just made sure to edit those out. The few minutes of footage was enough for Accelerator to realize what was happening. Unlike Touma, he wasn't completely dense. "The trash that idiot was saying is not true," Accelerator snapped. "There is no way I would be attracted to someone so fucking annoying."

"You tell MISAKA she's annoying MISAKA states sadly as MISAKA turns around." Accelerator saw Last Order eye's appeared to be slightly watery and he felt slightly guilty.

"Arg!" Worst yelled grabbing her head. "Misaka doesn't care about if Tou-san likes her, but she can't help it. Fine" She moved over to Accelerator and grabbed his arm. "Just cheat with Misaka so the brat will finally give up on you."

"Get off," Accelerator growled. "You are the most annoying one of all."

"Misaka isn't going to take that lying down," Worst said, dashing off into the kitchen. She returned a second later and threw a plastic cup full of water at him. He ducked and it flew over him, but Estelle wasn't so lucky. She got drenched and her black underwear was quite visible through her white top.

"That's cold," Estelle said unbashfully, trying to wring out her shirt.

"Cover up MISAKA yells as MISAKA waves her arms in shock. You are completely exposed MISAKA adds urgently." Estelle looked down at herself and tilted her head in confusion, which just made Last Order turn redder. Last Order turned around and looked at Accelerator, who looked away slightly red. "MISAKA knew it MISAKA accuses. Accelerator likes well developed girls MISAKA adds as MISAKA is on the verge of tears."

"What the…?" Accelerator started to say, but Worst saw a chance and interrupted him.

"That's why Misaka has a better chance than you," Worst said to Last Order, leaving forward and emphasizing her assets. Last Order's mouth fell open and Worst headed to her room laughing.

"Fine MISAKA shouts." Last Order stood up. "MISAKA knows when she's not wanted MISAKA says as she storms off to her room." Before she slammed the door shut, she glanced out the door. "If you don't need MISAKA MISAKA informs you. MISAKA will take back the network MISAKA says as MISAK revokes Accelerator's access." A second later, Accelerator fell onto the ground, unable to stand up, as Last Order's door slammed shut.

"Are you okay?" Estelle asked, trying to help him up. Because Accelerator couldn't move his body at all, all she could do is help him onto the couch. "What happened?"

"Don't worry about it," Accelerator mumbled. At least she left my speech center up. "She will eventually get bored and come back." He purposely diverted his eyes away from Estelle's shirt, which was still soaked and revealing her underwear.

"I think you should apologize," Estelle told him.

"I didn't do anything," Accelerator rebuked defensively.

"Even so," Estelle continued. "She believes you did and she's just a little girl. You can be the bigger person." Accelerator glared at her for a moment and sighed.

"I'll let her cool off and see what happens," he muttered. She can be perspective sometimes, yet she is still completely oblivious about her appearance. He looked at the time and sighed, before he realized Estelle was taking off her clothes. "What are you doing?!" he yelled.

"I'll catch a cold if I continue to wear wet clothes," Estelle stated simply.

"Do it somewhere else!"

---

"Everything running smoothly on your end?" Teitoku asked, as he sat in a chair access from Ricane, the young man with goggles, and a strong looking man with a long suitcase on the floor next to him. He was speaking to a girl on a speaker phone, so the others could hear her.

"Looks like the formula combination has yielded positive results," the girl said. "We are ready to mass produce it when you give the signal."

"Excellent," Teitoku laughed. "Dr. Ricane, your assistance has been most helpful."

"It is all give and take," Ricane replied. "You recreated my lab perfectly. I can finally focus on my work. Don't forget you agreed to retrieve a piece of technology for me."

"I have one more task for you," Teitoku told the girl on the other end of the line. "I'll send you the address, but a delivery is scheduled to be dropped off at a lab. You will need to give them about an hour to connect the device to the other half. Dr. Ricane will send you the data on what it is and how to transport it. Take some of those puppets we helped. They should be willing to do anything to show off their new abilities."

"You give them a little power and all they want to do is use it," the girl laughed. "Trash will always be trash. That's fine. I was getting bored anyways. A little field work is exactly what I need." The line disconnected and Teitoku stood up, looking pleased.

"Now," Teitoku said, looking at the young man with goggles. "Your next assignment is to find Shizuri Mugino and her friends."

"Why?" he asked and Teitoku made a fist. The guy immediately gulped and remained silent, knowing he should have just agreed.

"That bitch ruined my plan once," Teitoku replied. "I'm going to kill her and her friends. You are going to locate them, hack every security camera you can until you do. If you fail, you know what's going to happen to you."

"I can find them," the guy said confidently. "No sweat."

"That's what I expected to hear," Teitoku growled, before turning to the last man, who had remained silent the entire time. "I doubt they will all remain in the same place. You are going to help hunt them down, but the Meltdowner is mine, you can kill the others." The man nodded in agreement. "Anything else I missed doctor?"

"After he finds the Meltdowner's group," Ricane said slowly. "I could use him to investigate a new lab that was recently set up."

"Oh?" Teitoku asked. "Is this your research or ours?"

"Both," Ricane replied leaning forward and crossing his hands. "While not magic related, it has to do with an interesting ability. The lab is studying the eighth rank level 5, Kami."

"That idiot? He seems completely useless."

"If they developed a lab," Ricane continued. "They must have found some information to study to examine his negation ability. Think about it. What if he can negate your dark matter?"

"Then I'll kill him with magic or drop a car on him," Teitoku replied. "But, I see your point."

"I only had a brief glance, but the lab appears to be almost fully electronic. A very small number of people have access. Security is top class."

"If all the locks are electronic," the guy with goggles spoke up. "Should be easy to bypass. If there's no external links, most of the level 5 databases are separate systems to avoid data leaks, it makes it even easier. No accidental alarm signals going out to notify Anti-Skill."

"You still have your other priority first," Teitoku reminded him sternly. "You can sneak into the lab afterwards. Just copy their data and bring it back when you're done." The young man nodded. "It's going to be a good day. First the formula is finally complete and now I can kill that weakling and her friends for daring to interrupt my work." He looked over at Ricane. "You said you are going to show me a powerful piece of magic today. What is it?"

"Since there doesn't seem to be a limit on the number of clones you can make," Ricane stated. "And you have the option to link them together or not. We should be able to produce spells that rely on numbers, more than raw magical power. "I'll teach you a spell I learned from the Roman Catholics, but can't actually perform myself. It's called the Gregorian Chant and its destructive ability should make the Meltdowner's attacks look like a mosquito's bite."

---

"How are you so good at this?" Ruiko asked, leaning back in her chair.

"Practice," Touma grinned, on the other side of the game machine. They were playing a one on one fighting game at the arcade and Touma was dominating. A couple people had even stopped and started watching in awe of his skills. "My friends and I come here a lot, so I've gotten pretty good at predicting moves."

"Maybe you have real world experience helping you," Ruiko suggested, pretending to be suspicious. They both laughed and got up to play another game. "Now it's my turn to win," she declared, pulling him to virtual batting cages. "Let's see how good you are."

"Now this isn't fair," Touma pointed out. "At least the other one we both agreed to. This is blatantly one sided."

"I don't know what you mean," Ruiko laughed, as they grabbed the gear and took their spots. The game was pretty simple, someone stood in the marked spot and the virtual screen pitched a ball, while they swung the bat. Motion sensors tell exactly how hard and where you hit the ball. The game went exactly at Touma predicted. He did relatively well for not playing the game a lot. He managed to hit most of the balls and even a few home runs, but he didn't make it into the high scores. Ruiko on the other hand blew the top score of her machine out of the park. She hit every pitch and most were home runs. She was only a couple pitches from a perfect score. After putting her initials in the top spot, she stepped out, looking triumphant. "Virtual sports aren't the same. Nothing beats the feel of actually hitting the ball."

"You still are amazing," Touma told her, looking at her score. She blushed, but he missed it.

"Let's get something to eat," she suggested, trying to hide her happiness at his praise. She wanted this day to just be two friends hanging out, rather than an actual date. While she would love if it was a date, she knew he needed a normal day to relax. She finally had him to herself and wanted to enjoy it too. "We passed a hamburger place we could go to."

"I'm game," Touma agreed and they left the arcade. While they ate, they discussed everything that happened that morning, including exactly how Touma's friends dragged him into that mess. After they had escaped the school, they found a coin storage locker to hide their uniforms. They then stopped and watched the news, which was still reporting on the invasion of Tokiwadai during the Anti-Crime event. Touma finally got to see what it looked like from the outside, and he believed the announcers didn't understand the problems they caused. The drones focused more on the level 5s, so Ruiko didn't get seen much, something both of them were relieved about. The issue was the announcers kept focusing on Hibiki and Accelerator. Accelerator's not going to be happy about that.

Once they finished that topic, they started talking about their friends and school. They still had around a month left of school before summer break and both of them were not looking forward to final exams. Out of all Touma's friends, Ruiko was perhaps the most normal academically. It wasn't as if he disliked his other friends, but she always reminded him of what he was returning to after a life or death struggle. He was glad she was one of his friends. She also wasn't a huge pervert like Motoharu and Pierce. When they finally left the restaurant, they still hadn't decided what to do next.

"Didn't you say you wanted to go to the real batting cages?" Touma asked.

"It's too hot right now," Ruiko said, pulling at her tank top. "I think I would actually like to go someplace with air conditioning."

"There's the underground mall," Touma suggested. "We could walk around there until we come up with an idea."

"That reminds me," Ruiko said, reaching into her pocket. "I almost forgot I had these. I think they expire soon." She fished around until she pulled out two tickets. "Tada, two tickets for a free round of mini golf in the underground mall."

"Mini golf?" Touma asked, raising an eyebrow. "Like what kids play?"

"Adults play it too," Ruiko huffed, but then she winked at him. "Though, wasn't today 'Act Like a Kid' day?"

"Huh?" Touma asked, completely confused. "What do you mean?"

"Let's see," Ruiko said, pretending to think. She started counting on her fingers. "First, you go and sneak into an all-girl's school…"

"You know that was…"

"Then," she continued. "We played video games, ate hamburgers, and complained about school work. I'm pretty sure we are acting enough like kids today to play mini golf without being embarrassed." Touma opened his mouth, closed it again, and smiled.

"Touché," he said. They looked at each other for a moment, and then burst out laughing. "You know what, let's do it." Ruiko nodded happily and they had just started walking toward the underground mall when a girl's voice interrupted them.

"Excuse me. I'm terribly sorry for interrupting your fun, but I need to talk to you.

Her voice made Touma freeze but Ruiko didn't recognize it. After all, she hadn't participated in the attack on Buckingham Palace and never actually heard her voice in person. Touma turned around on the spot and took a step forward to put himself in between the girl and Ruiko, his arm outstretched protecting her. Ruiko turned around right afterwards and her eyes widen in recognition. They both could only speak a single word. "Eve..."

"In the flesh," Eve smiled. She was wearing a bright yellow sun dress and a broad brimmed hat. Her blonde hair, normally shoulder length, was now much longer and braided into two long pigtails that were hung over her shoulders. She was smiling at them and her blue eyes were twinkling. "I'm sure you know," she continued. "I need to talk to you about something important that concerns all of us."

Touma glanced over at Ruiko, who was completely speechless with a combination of shock and fear. He sighed, remembering Juliet's words. Eve's going to make us go with her, one way or another. Such misfortune.

---

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.

I also have some interesting news. Turns out someone I know has gotten into drawing anime. .I talked with them and they are going to look at the anime. Once they familiarize themselves with it, they are going to try drawing some scenes for this story. I'm looking forward to this and I'll post updates as I find out anything new.

Pierce: Looks like things have gone back to normal again.

Motoharu: Yep, and looks like Kami-yan is back to his usual tricks.

Touma: You make it sound like it was my fault. What happened to you guys anyways?

Pierce: Fukiyose-sama killed us.

Seiri: The rest of you guys are next.

Mikoto: Looks like Accelerator got what he deserved, but why did I get stuck with the Dorm Supervisor and Shokuhou?

Misaki: If you didn't act so childish and cause a scene with Accelerator…

Mikoto: I didn't ask you.

Kazari: Be careful Saten-san. This is your first time encountering Eve.

Ruiko: Don't worry, Touma's here. He won't let her do anything.

Me: I suppose I should choose someone to do next week's chapter….

Kuroko: Wait, stop!

Me: Huh why? You did one recently.

Kuroko: I need ideas for the punishment game from the readers.

Jason: Woah now. You need to come up with your own ideas. Don't steal others.

Kuroko: All is fair in love and war.

Accelerator: So is this love?

Mikoto: She finally admitted it?

Kuroko: No! This is war.

Kazari: Why is everyone staring at me?

Me: You know what? Fine, people give her ideas. THIS FIC IS RATED T! Do not forget this.