It looks like the fourth season is living up to most people's expectations. I actually had more free time this week to get this chapter out quickly. There is a lot of buildup in this one too, but I'm sure most of you can see the action pack chapters season four is bound to have. One comment I would like to point out, out of everything that happened last chapter, one small scene was on everyone's mind (or at least the majority). Two women talking about visiting their kids in Academy City? No idea who they could be, but the story wanted it so who am I to say no? Always lots of stuff going on, but a big question will be answered at the end of this chapter. Lots of misfortune for our favorite hero too, so I hope you all are hyped for what's to come. Now let's move to the reviews.

321jaz: Always excited for a new NT novel. Shame it's going to be focused on getting back Kamisato. There was a big death flag when he started acting like a hero.

Whwsms: Maybe. I write these chapters but the story isn't always clear until I'm done. I figured Jason needs to get smacked around this chapter, so we understand why Aleister and Noukan aren't worried about him.

Anon Guest: Should you vanish, we will know what happened.

Handsomistic1: Maybe there is a reason for these strange transformations? The festival is all planned out and I'm hoping everyone will have a good laugh.

FrodoFighter: Eh, a lot of people were already thinking it so Motoharu and Pierce just decided to roll with it to help their dear friend who never wanted to actually be Kami. Misaki even admitted it wasn't Mikoto's fault, but feelings sometimes are irrational. Eve doesn't waste time doing one thing at a time. She multitasks, so why not both? Don't talk about the mom scenes to loud, you might ruin the surprise.

Anon: Wow, "testicular fortitude," I like the sound of that. Sometimes, it's best to just talk out your problems with your rival to get to the best ending. We need World War G to happen at some point.

Generation Zero: AAA was just mentioned, but it hasn't been shown. When it appears for the first time, I guarantee it will be dramatic. Explosions everywhere, and drills, lots and lots of drills. Aleister spies on people by recognizing certain phrases. FALLEN would be one of those and Ricane knows it. This season will have several new and recurring people. Adam, Fiamma and Kihara Noukan, that does sound like a fun battle.

Kuroppy: The question is, would Touma accept a harem? He's a guy so….

Guest: I never really considered Seiri in Accelerators harem because she's not a loli. He's just surprised someone treats him like everyone else without fear. Maybe when the story is finished I might go back. That, or find someone willing to review it I can send my word documents to. A spin off? Haven't thought about that too much. A couple people mentioned to me about doing a side story on what Jason does behind the scenes, but I'm not trying to focus on him. Aogami isn't the number six. Sphinx is a shape shifter and he's the number six obviously.

Guest (Harem guy): Misaki was the only natural choice to start the harem.

RPGPersona: Keep up those comments, I like reading them and I use them as a summary when I need to remind myself of something that happened lol.

EletroMaster: Sometimes all you need is a good rant.

Salishious: You think? Nah, Touma doesn't experience misfortune. The learn how to be the only girl for a man of the Kamijou bloodline, one must acquire the secret passed down from wife to potential daughter-in-law. It is then, the harem spell is broken.

Syko-Soldier963: Obviously because Eve is madly in love with him and doesn't like others dating him. What other reason could it be?

mario ohara: I do know Doctor Who, and was just waiting for someone to comment on that. I don't watch it a lot, only seen a few episodes. The only crossover idea I have is Magical Index and Pokemon. I don't know enough about Doctor Who to write well in that universe.

flayjunior15: It's cool man, we all have our preferences.

Hilem: There is no rule that says only one or two conspiracies can be going on in Academy City at once. In fact, having so many shows how big the world really is.

Agent Nine: If Mikoto won't accept harem ending, time to boot her out. Misaki understands you have to take advantage of now, rather than wait.

nhokngok788: Most people seem to think so.

Somerandumguy: It is not in fact. When I made Jason, the plan was to make a foreigner and I just use a random name. (I think power rangers were playing in the background and made me think of the first red ranger so many years ago.) After his past, it wouldn't be out of character for him to want to know what everyone is doing and how it will affect him, but your point is valid. It's why I set up Noukan to smack him in the face this chapter. Hope you can spot it.

Jujudude: Witch! You are reading my mind and forecasting the events yet to come.

Disclaimer: Random people 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. Magic Gods own all so they can do what they want.

The silence was deafening for a moment as Eve's arrival sunk in.

"Will you quit pulling on my ear!?" Juliet cried finally. "You are about to tear it off!"

"We can't really talk in a public place like this," Eve told Touma, Mikoto, and Hyouka, but ignored Juliet's complaints. Her eyes darted to a couple people who begun to stare. "Unless you want a bunch of innocent people involved." Touma and Mikoto looked at each other, before giving Hyouka a quick glance. Something not missed by Eve. "If you try to run, I'm not responsible for collateral damage." She smiled sweetly and shivers went down everyone's spines. Juliet even stopped struggling for a moment.

"You won't try anything if we change locations?" Touma asked cautiously.

"You know I keep my word," Eve replied cheerfully. "Besides, even if I attacked, your friend behind you would just disappear, ruining any chance of capture or interrogation."

"I don't trust you," Mikoto spat out. "It's obvious to us you are up to something. How do we know you won't attack us if we let our guard down?"

"I'm always up to something," Eve agreed with a short laugh. "But most of it doesn't have anything to do with you. Now," she started to turn away. "Are you going to follow me to a slightly less conspicuous place or will all those people overhear us?"

"What do you think?" Mikoto whispered to Touma. She didn't answer my last question. That's a bad sign.

"She's usually been pretty good at not attacking when she said she won't," Touma admitted, but then he frowned. "It has to be she wants to try to convince us to work with her."

"That's not going to happen," Mikoto said instantly.

"What should we do?" Hyouka asked. "I don't know her well, but there was always something about her that didn't sit right with me."

"You don't know the half of it," Touma replied dryly. Hyouka didn't know about magic and they didn't have time to explain it to her. "It's up to you, but Mikoto and I should probably find out what she wants." His eyes never left Eve's slowly retreating form.

"I w-want to go," Hyouka stammered slightly. "I feel like I need to know why they are after me. We might be able to settle this peacefully."

"Then stay behind us," Mikoto instructed, as the three of them followed Eve and Juliet. "We won't let her try any funny business." Touma nodded and Hyouka looked slightly more at ease. They followed in silence, but never let their guard down. Eve didn't seem to care much and knew exactly where she wanted to go. Juliet appeared to have given up trying to get Eve to let go of her ear and just kept pace in order to avoid more pain. They crossed several streets before seeing where Juliet was heading. A couple tables were set up under a large tree and no one was currently occupying them. Eve and Juliet sat on one side while Touma, Mikoto, and Hyouka sat on the other. Touma was on Hyouka's right side while Mikoto was on her left.

"I know you three must be busy," Eve started out, finally letting go of Juliet's ears. "So I will cut to the chase. First, Juliet has something to say to you two." She pointed to Touma and Mikoto. "Let's get this out of the way now."

"Do I have to?"

"You know what will happen if you don't." Mikoto and Touma looked at each other in confusion.

"Fine," Juliet sighed. Her face betrayed she didn't want to what she was about to do. "Yesterday, there might have been some misunderstanding of my intentions and if you took it the wrong way, I apologize."

"Do it better!"

"In the heat of the moment, mistakes were made and you got involved in something that did not concern you…"

"Juliet, I will administer punishment if the next words out of your mouth are not sincere." Eve smiled while she said those words and a shiver went down Juliet's spine.

"I… well… I'm sorry for trying to kill you and your friends." Eve nodded, informing Juliet her apology was acceptable. Dictator. "I let my emotions get the better of me." Mikoto obviously didn't think the apology was acceptable and finally found her voice.

"You're sorry?" Mikoto asked incredulously. "You attacked our friends and tried to kill them, and you think an apology would suffice?!" She stood up and slammed her hands on the table. "You know how hard it is to keep myself from electrocuting you?! Nothing is worth attacking my friends over!"

"Like you could…" Juliet muttered before Eve kicked her under the table. "I said I'm sorry, what more do you want?"

"Juliet's circumstances are rather unique," Eve interrupted. She appeared to be trying to diffuse the situation. "Without her body, she's prone to sudden surges of emotions. I usually stop her before she does anything unnecessary, but she slipped by me this time. That is why I sent Cain out to stop her." Mikoto was sparkling slightly and glared at Juliet, who glared back. Touma realized he had to do something before this turned violent.

"Mikoto," he whispered. "I know how you feel, but please calm down." This was true. His hand was shaking in anger under the table at Juliet's lack of conviction in her apology. Eve's making her do this, but I'm positive Eve doesn't care about it either. She's putting on a show. Mikoto looked at him like she wanted to say something, but sat down after a moment. Touma gave her a brief nod in thanks before turning to Eve. "We know why Juliet is here and I don't suppose there is away for her to leave him alone?"

"Nope," Juliet replied instantly.

"They should probably have their own talk at some point," Eve commented mildly. "Assuming he can maintain his composer." She laughed again and Mikoto sparked up once more. Hyouka tilted her head slightly in confusion. She didn't know who they were referring to, but she could tell the situation hadn't been a pleasant one. She couldn't gather the nerve to speak up and sat in silence, listening. "But that's probably something they should work out on their own. I don't really care as it doesn't concern me or my mission." She smiled and a sinking feeling emerged from the pit of Touma's stomach.

There's more to this then she is letting on, Touma thought. I wouldn't doubt Eve is planning to use Juliet to manipulate Jason, but I know for sure she wouldn't tell us that. She also wouldn't show herself just to have Juliet apologize. "What do you want Eve?" Touma asked, resigning himself to the fact some of his questions wouldn't be answered. "You wouldn't show just to have her apologize."

"Very astute," Eve nodded, putting her hands behind her head. "I figured since dear Kazakiri-san here wouldn't talk to me and then you wouldn't talk to her for me, I had to meet you both at once. She hasn't vanished yet because you are next to her giving her courage." She smirked at them.

"Are you really here just to talk?" Hyouka asked nervously, fidgeting in her seat.

"Yep," Eve replied, happy Hyouka finally spoke. "We got off on a bad start and all I really want to ask is if you can help me with a problem. You see, only you have the unique ability to help."

"Don't trust her," Mikoto whispered to Hyouka. "She's proven before she's manipulative and only cares about her personal gain." Hyouka nodded in understanding and turned to look at Touma.

"Should I listen?" she asked him, aware Eve was staring at them. To her, Touma's opinion was the most important one. He was the first person to discover what she was and still stood by her, even when she had become a monster. Mikoto seemed nice enough, a little outspoken maybe, but Hyouka had just met her.

"It's up to you," Touma admitted. He really couldn't do anything if Hyouka wanted to listen. "Eve won't tell you the entire story, so all I ask is you let me and Mikoto tell you what we know before you make your decision and do anything for her." Hyouka nodded again and turned to Eve.

"What do you need me to do?" Hyouka asked Eve.

"I know you come from the Imaginary District," Eve explained. "It's an area mirroring our own, but it's so thin, there really isn't anything substantial there. Except," she leaned forward, "for a single gem. A powerful individual residing in this city hid it there, how I don't know, but to get it we need to travel there." She leaned backwards away from them. "That's impossible though. You are the only one who is capable of going through the veil that separates that world from this world."

"A gem?" Hyouka asked confused. "I have never seen anything resembling one there."

"There's a perfectly reasonable explanation for that," Eve replied. "The world you are from is different to say the least, even I have a hard time understanding it, because I have limited knowledge of science side ingenuity. But I believe if you actively look for it, you would find it. You never bothered to try to find the gem, so you never did."

"So all you want is this gem?" Hyouka asked slowly. "What will you do if you get it?"

"We will leave this city and you will never see us again," Eve said instantly. "The only reason we have been here so long is because you kept avoiding me. See, we only approached you because we had no choice. We don't want to interrupt your life here."

"You could have just said that in the first place?" protested Hyouka. Eve only shrugged in response.

"That's not all," Mikoto muttered through clenched teeth. "Why don't you tell her what you plan to use it for?" This is just like Eve. Her words sound fine, but if you know what she's leaving out, you realize how devious she is. Hyouka frowned and looked at Eve, who sighed.

"That gem is part of our master and by collecting all twelve we can revive him," Eve explained dispassionately. "Our cause is noble."

"Part of your master?" Hyouka asked, completely confused. "What do you mean?"

"Wow," Eve gasped and grabbed her chest like she was having a heart attack. Everyone could tell she was being overdramatic. "They never told you about magic, that is rich." She started laughing and Juliet looked down while she shook her head to hide a smirk.

"Magic?"

"It turns out magic is real and they are trying to revive a fallen angel by the name of Lucifer," Touma muttered to her quickly. "Or more commonly referred to as Satan. Their plan is to revive him and kill God. We can explain everything in detail later about magic."

"They want to kill God?"

"She seems a lot more accepting then I was when you first mentioned magic," Mikoto commented.

"If I can exist," Hyouka said reasonably, trying to smile but causing only the corners of her mouth twitching. "It would make sense for something like magic to exist somewhere."

"Good point."

"But," Hyouka turned to Eve. "Regardless of trying to revive your master, I can't help someone who is planning to kill others, regardless of who they are."

"I see," Eve said crossing her arms. "It looks like that is your final answer. What do you think we should do Juliet?"

"Adam mentioned a plan B," Juliet responded mildly. "Maybe you could tell them about it?" Touma and Mikoto's blood froze. They knew how ruthless Adam was and how he could kill in a moment's notice. If he had a plan in case Eve failed, someone was going to get hurt.

"Oh yes," Eve said, in a tone that suggested she never actually forgot. "I only have a couple days to finish my part before Adam finishes his. If I have not gotten the wing by then, he's going to enact his plan. We have eleven of the twelve gems, so we have an option for the last piece. You see, there is a way for us to create a new piece as a substitute. Don't look so surprised." The shock must have shown on their faces. "You know it's possible to create artificial angels." Her eyes darted to Hyouka and Touma's face darkened.

That's nothing more than a goddamn fallen angel! And this is not just one of god's angels losing control! This is an ugly winged doll created by the hands of man! It is a pitch black sinner carrying sins upon sins!

The words from Vento of the front echoed through Touma's mine. He gripped his leg to stop his hand shaking in anger. Mikoto also remembered seeing something resembling an angel so long ago, which caused Index to ask her for help. Mikoto also noticed Hyouka was shaking slightly. She reached out a hand and grabbed Hyouka's hand. Their eyes met and Hyouka's eyes were filled with thanks. "How are you planning to create an artificial piece?" Touma asked, causing both of them to look at him. I'm going to keep the topic off of Hyouka.

"It's a rather fascinating spell," Eve answered. "Each of these gems represents a fragment of Lord Lucifer's power when his wings were torn asunder by Michael. Power can be duplicated, as long as we find a suitable energy source. However, there is no current single source of power great enough to create one of these gems, well, not any that would be possible in getting. They get rather moody if you ask. So, we have to go with numbers."

"What do you mean by numbers?" Mikoto asked and, a second later, she wished she didn't.

"What would you put the power of a human soul at?" Touma, Mikoto, and Hyouka's eyes widen.

"You can't be serious," Touma responded, his voice growing hoarse.

"Naturally a few human souls won't have the power equivalent to a fraction of an archangel's power," Eve said dismissively, waving her hand. "But, how about hundreds, thousands, millions, or even a billion souls?" Juliet shook her head while the others tried to find their words. "There are a lot of places with heavy population centers all over the world, Beijing, New York City, Mumbai, and even Tokyo. Most of these cities have little or no magical protection. A simple spell set up will convert all these people's souls into a gem. If one city isn't enough, we move to the next and the next until we have enough. Of course, the people won't survive long without souls, but Adam said that's a necessary sacrifice…"

"Bull shit!" Mikoto and Touma raged, standing up and slamming her hands on the table. Hyouka flinched at her friends' outburst.

"There should never be a sacrifice like that!" Touma yelled.

"How can you even consider something like that?!" Mikoto added.

"This is only a backup plan Adam came up with if I fail," Eve pointed out. "I have told you before, I try to avoid deaths. This plan will only come to fruition if two things occur. Adam completes his job and I don't acquire the last wing. I estimate I have a couple days before he can finish, so the choice is entirely up to our mutual friend here." Eve crossed her fingers under her chin and her eyes darted to Hyouka. "What do you say? The choice is entirely up to you. These two can't stop you if you are willing."

"If I do this," Hyouka asked slowly. "You won't hurt anyone and leave the city peacefully?"

"I promise."

"Don't believe her," Mikoto said quickly. "She never reveals her real plan. Besides, if they can revive Lucifer, countless people are going to be at risk anyways."

"Please Kazakiri," Touma pleased softly and she looked at him. "Mikoto is right. I can't stop you, but please trust us. It's going to be exponentially worse for everyone if you help her."

"Eve's pretty good at keeping her deals," Juliet spoke up. "She only owes me one thing still." Hyouka looked at all of them, took a deep breath, and turned at Eve. Her eyes betrayed her fear, but there was a look of determination Touma had seen once before. Before she even spoke, his heart relaxed, and he knew what she was going to do.

"I'm sorry," Hyouka told Eve. "I can't help you. Being in your presence, I realized giving you something like that would be a mistake for everyone, including my friends. I won't help you hurt anyone." Touma and Mikoto clasped her on her shoulder.

"A shame," Eve exclaimed, shaking her head. "But not unexpected. I will still be in the city for a couple days if your change your mind. All you have to do is pull the gem into this world and I will know." She stood up and turned around, with Juliet imitating her actions. "You might regret your actions."

"Is that a threat?" Mikoto asked, standing up.

"A warning," replied Eve, as she looked over her shoulder. "You see, even I have a limit to my patience. We are so close to reviving our master, I can't let you stand in our way." Paper appeared next to her and started to flutter into the air around them all. Eve gave them one last look and snapped her fingers.

The paper exploded into a torrent of flames.

Mikoto and Hyouka yelled in surprise as they were instantly surrounded by dark red flames. Eve wasn't even trying to hide the fact these weren't normal flames. It was as if fire had been mixed with blood. It's like fire from hell, Touma thought as he stuck out his right hand into the inferno. The heat was intense and Touma swore some of the hair on his arm was beginning to burn away. When his hand made contact, the flames broke apart at the contact point with the sound of breaking glass.. "Are you both okay?" he asked when the fire vanished completely.

"I'm fine," Mikoto answered, rubbing her eyes and noticing Eve and Juliet were also gone.. "Where's Kazakiri-san?"

"She must have disappeared," Touma said. "If you surprise her, she can involuntarily vanish."

"Will she be okay?" Mikoto asked. "Won't Eve try to track her down and force her to retrieve the gem?"

"There must be a reason she can't," Touma said, a small frown forming on his face. "Otherwise she would have come to us like this. Most likely Eve can't contain the AIM fields her body is made up of so trying to use force just makes Kazakiri-san disappear. I can't say I like it, but she will at least be safe. I definitely won't try to persuade her to help Eve."

"Let's get out of here," Mikoto suggested indicating the burnt ground around them. "Those flames might have drawn attention." Touma nodded and they ran until they were several streets away. They slowed to a walk and started to make their way to a bus stop. "What do we do now? I hate sitting around and doing nothing while Eve is out there willing to attack innocent people."

"I need to let Jason and the magic side know what Eve said. I think she is planning to use Juliet to force him to do something."

"I wouldn't put it past her."

"Next," Touma continued. "The magic side needs to be notified so they can find Adam and stop his plan, which will force Eve to hold off on her part. Even though she hides the truth, she does seem to come up with plans to avoid deaths, which we know of anyways. I don't like the act I can't do much either right now, but all we can do is hope they have a plan. Also keep our eyes open for any signs of Eve plan to put a stop to them."

"What ever happened to my normal school life?" Mikoto mumbled.

"Welcome to my world," Touma muttered back. They both glanced at each other for a moment and then laughed. "All we can do is go back to our normal lives and appreciate the peace while we have it. It's why I enjoy spending time with all my friends." He looked at her for a moment and noticed she was biting the corner of her lip. "Is something wrong?"

"Ah no," Mikoto replied quickly, shaking her head. "Just a little nervous, but you're right. Tomorrow, Kuroko and I are introducing Uiharu-san and Saten-san to a friend of ours, that's sure to be a normal endeavor. Wish Kazakiri-san could have come." This was true, but she was also holding back another thought. Should I mention what Shokuhou and I talked about today? I mean, what if he DOES want a harem and only pretends not to… no that's silly. He's not that kind of guy. What would I do if he goes with someone else and I had the opportunity to join in? Could I do that? She started thinking about the outcomes and went quiet.

"Are you okay?" Touma asked worriedly. "Your face is rather red."

"I-I'm fine," spluttered Mikoto, but unconsciously shooting a bolt of electricity at him.

"Such Misfortune."

"Here are the ideas we have that are actually doable," Seiri told the class the following day, slamming her hand on the blackboard.

Touma shook his head and tried to concentrate on the topic of the cultural fair. He got back last night and sent out a warning to Jason and Motoharu about what Eve did, but he only got a response from Jason. Knowing Motoharu, he had forwarded it to Stiyl and Kanzaki, but couldn't tell Touma their movements. Mikoto had returned to her dorm without incident, but he still felt bad their good time was interrupted again. This is why I can't have a girlfriend. Whoever gets too close to me will get involved in these kinds of things on a regular basis. His eyes darted to the blackboard to read the ideas people had suggested.

The one on top of the list was something a girl suggested. She wanted them to do a kind of carnival game, like a ring toss or a dunk tank. The class got a big kick out of imagining Accelerator in a dunk tank, so that idea was added. The idea below that was a kissing booth. Jason had betrayed him as revenge for Touma not telling him who he used the tickets with. The entire class, except Touma, agreed he could get a lot of business and they could just alternate girls on a second stall. He had tried to protest but it was ignored. The third idea listed had caused a lot of suspicion among the class because Pierce and Motoharu suggested it. The class didn't trust their motives because of how normal their suggestion had been. They wanted to run a raffle with the prize to be determined at a later date, but the default could always be half of the money taken in. There were a couple of other crossed off ideas, but they had been eliminated, including Peirce's cosplay café idea.

"All three of these ideas are good," Seiri continued. "We just need to decide on one. If we can narrow it down to two today and vote tomorrow, we should have plenty of time to get everything we need. Does anyone have any objections?" There were whispering, but no one spoke out loud right away, except for one person.

"You crossed out the best idea though!" Pierce protested.

"We discussed this already," Seiri replied irritably. "Even if we ignore your perverted delusions, it just isn't feasible in the time we have to set up or our budget."

"You are just saying that because you don't want to dress up like an animal maid," Motoharu added.

"You two are just asking for another beating," Seiri told them, cracking her knuckles. Komoe looked up from her desk and shook her head, causing Seiri to put her arms down. Komoe was staying mostly silent, because she preferred to let her students decide what they wanted to do. "Besides, you two were acting all excited about your raffle. Speaking of which, you still haven't told us what you wanted the prize to be."

"It's taking longer to get approval," Motoharu replied, crossing his arms and nodding sagely. "You see, the city has so many rules and regulations, to set anything of note up, you need proper authorization. Aogami and I have been working hard trying to get everything we need. You know we wouldn't do anything against the rules." Almost everyone in the class rolled their eyes.

"But what's the prize?" someone called out.

"That is a surprise," Pierce explained. "It's not so much a tangible prize. It's something everyone wants, but no one can acquire easily. It's guaranteed to make us a fortune." His words reverberated around the class and a good portion turned to face Touma, including Accelerator and Jason.

"Does this involve me?" Touma asked suspiciously, fearing the outcome.

"Wow Kami-yan," Motoharu exclaimed. "Conceited much? Not everything revolves around you. Maybe this involves Accelerator."

"If it does," Accelerator snarled. "Out booth is going to be smash the piñatas with you two hanging from a tree."

"I have a feeling they are not telling us everything," Aisa whispered to Touma. "It has to involve you."

"I think so too," Touma agreed. Though, Jason's idea seems like it would impact me more. The entire class was yelling I was going to be in the stall all day. If those two have something worse planned… I don't want to think about it. Maybe they are actually going to do something normal and not involved me? He knew that wasn't possible, but that didn't stop him from imagining it. He tried to be an optimist when possible.

"Raise your hand when I call out the idea!" Seiri shouted over all their murmuring. "Top two will be voted on tomorrow. Game stall." She counted the hands and wrote it on the board. "…Kissing booth." More hands were raised and she wrote them on the board. "Can't believe you suggested that Kagere."

"Touma was so excited about it when I suggested it yesterday."

"No I wasn't. I told you specifically not to mention it."

"Nah," Accelerator added, betraying Touma too for a small laugh. "He was rather energetic about it."

"Not you too!"

"Besides," Pierce said to Seiri. "You can stand next to him and kiss all the guys that show up. Maybe being in close proximity will cause you to lose your resistance to Kami-yan disease. We need to know this for science. If you can still resist his charm for so long, we can finally start developing an antidote…" An eraser flew at him, hitting him in the face, and sent white chalk dust all over his face.

"I won't shirk my duties and skip out," Seiri fumed. "But don't suggest stupid things like that. Now, final vote, who wants the raffle?" The rest of the classes' hands went up and she counted, before marking the blackboard. "Looks like it's pretty close between the kissing booth and the raffle. Both will be easy to set up for this Saturday. Do you think you two can get everything approved by tomorrow?"

"Shouldn't be too hard," Motoharu nodded. "We just need one more signature."

"Then I expect you to tell the class what you are planning for the prize tomorrow," Seiri said, crossing her arms. "I think we should be the only one doing these. I asked a few other classes what they were doing and we seem to have a lot of food stalls. We needed something different."

"It's good to see you all working so well together," Komoe said, taking charge of the class as Seiri sat down. "Now let's focus on your lessons. We have a lot to cover today." Touma took out his notebook and glanced off into the distance. He was glad the day started off normally, but he was still worried about what Motoharu and Pierce were planning.

"I can't wait to get there," Index said, almost skipping down the street. It was after school and Touma had gone back to his dorm to pick up Index. They were heading to the all you can eat buffet he had promised to take her to. "It's going to be so great to eat until I'm satisfied. Plus, it's just us since Lessar went off on her own." While she really did want to go to the buffet, being alone with him during an afternoon outing was a dream for her.

"I'm always happy to spend time with you Index," Touma replied, smiling at her cheerful expression.

"Lately you are always off with other people," Index told him, glancing up into his eyes. "I've been really lonely, even with Lessar, Last Order, and Hyouka."

"You know you can always hang out with me when I'm with my other friends," Touma pointed out. "They like you and you know them all from our trip to England."

"I guess," Index muttered and shrugged. "As long as you are with me…" Her face flushed and she went quiet, before she turned her head and looked the other way.

"Sorry, I missed that."

"Nothing."

"Okay," Touma replied, raising an eyebrow. "You know Index, when we get to the buffet, please remember you can't just grab all the food with your hands now. You have to use the plate and take it back to the table."

"I know," Index said indignantly, rolling her eyes. "I can control myself you know."

"We have been kicked out of every buffet up to now. Do you remember what happened the first time we went to one?"

"No," Index lied, deliberately looking away from him.

"Don't give me that! You always brag about your perfect memory. You know what you did the first time you saw all the food laid out in on the buffet. You moved at speeds impossible for humans and started emptying trays directly into your mouth."

"You didn't leave me any food that day and I was starving!" Index protested. "What did you think was going to happen?! All they said was it was all you could eat, not all you could put on a plate and take back to your table!"

"What kind of person doesn't understand the basics of buffets? Even kids know they can't eat out of those trays. Didn't you see what everyone else was doing?"

"No, the food was what was important."

"I should have guessed," Touma sighed. "This time, you need to pace yourself. Fill up a plate, take it to the table, and then eat. Remember, others will be there so you don't want to make a mess."

"Stop treating me like a little kid!"

"I'm trying to prevent the same situation as the last few times!" They continued to bicker, but neither seemed to be really upset. They were having fun and eventually managed to laugh at Index's overexcitement when entering a buffet. They continued walking through the city, the topics changing as Index talked about a new anime she liked, and Touma's danger sense noticed something to their left. Right at the entrance of an alley, several guys were huddled around a girl, talking loudly. Touma couldn't see the girl, but the guy's words were obviously not pure.

"Hey girl, why don't you come and hang out with me and my boys. I'll personally show you the time of your life."

"Hopefully she's more fun than the last one."

Those types of guys again, Touma thought annoyed. Why don't they quit harassing girls like that? "Index," he said quietly. "Can you wait for me at the end of this street for a minute by yourself?"

"Why?" Index asked, looking around before noticing the group of guys. She frowned as they made her feel uneasy. "Are you going to do something stupid and dangerous which will cause you to come back injured?"

Maybe? "Of course not," Touma lied, waving his hand dismissively. "Someone just needs a helping hand with something quickly. It should only take a minute. You know I'll come back."

"I know," Index admitted. "You always come back." She gave him a brief smile and kept walking, giving Touma time to turn toward the guys harassing the girl.

Well, guess it's time for the old standby. It almost never works but, when it does, it ends without violence. He took a deep breath and walked toward them, pushing past two of the four guys. "I'm sorry, did you wait long?" He reached out a hand toward her and his eyes widened slightly when he realized who it was. Oh shit… He had never gotten a good look at her, since the group of guys had been surrounding her, but he never would have expected her.

Hibiki Nakano was leaning up against the wall, giving him a slightly surprised look.

"Who's this loser?" one of the guys asked.

"Does she already have a boyfriend?"

"Damn it."

Come on, Touma pleaded with his eyes. Take my hand and I'll get you out of this. She looked at him for a moment, before reaching out her hand and grabbing his. Relieved, Touma led her away from the other guys, who slunk off looking irritated. He tried to move quickly enough so the guys wouldn't think of chasing them, but slow enough so he wasn't pulling Hibiki's arm too hard. They crossed the street before Touma turned around to make sure the guys had truly giving up. "I think we lost them," he said. "Sorry about that, but I'm glad you caught on so quickly."

"If we are done," Hibiki stated. "Are you going to let go of me?"

"Ah sorry," Touma apologized, letting go pf her hand immediately. "Since you are safe, I'll be on my way…"

"Looks like Hibiki was saved by prince charming," an amused voice said, causing Touma and Hibiki to turn around. Yuna was walking up to them with Hanabi right behind her. "Hanabi and I were debating if someone would help her or if we would have to thaw those guys out."

"If you saw those losers," Hibiki snapped. "You could have come and helped me out. I'll get in trouble again if I freeze every creepy guy who hits on me."

"I'm glad you restrained yourself," Hanabi told her. "The teachers are getting tired of reprimanding you."

"But then you wouldn't have met this gentleman," Yuna said brightly, reaching over and grabbing Touma's shirt as he tried to slink away. "You don't need to run off. We didn't even get your name."

"Er… it's Touma Kamijou." This isn't good. What if they recognize me? Ishikawa is pretty sharp. I don't want anyone to know I'm Kami. Touma felt the sweat form on the back of his neck, as he gazed at the three girls. Yuna looked at him with a smile on her face, Hanabi looked nervous, and Hibiki had her arms crossed.

"My name is Yuna Ishikawa," Yuna introduced herself. "This is Hanabi Nakano, and the one you rescued is her sister, if you couldn't tell, Hibiki."

"It's nice to meet you three," Touma said. "Now I really need to get going and meet my friend…"

"Leaving already?" Yuna asked, with a twinkle in her eye Touma was used to seeing in Motoharu's. "Come on Hibiki, you should give him some kind of reward. How about a kiss?"

"Yuna!" Hanabi gasped. "How could you suggest that? You know Hibiki likes…mumph." Hibiki had covered Hanabi's mouth with her hand and her face had turned scarlet.

"Be quiet," Hibiki hissed at Hanabi. "Or I'll tell you-know-who about what you were mumbling in your sleep last night. I'll be extremely graphic." Hanabi nodded quickly and Hibiki removed her hand. Hanabi slunk into the background, determined not to say anything else. Touma didn't know why, but he felt embarrassed.

"It's just on the cheek," Yuna prodded. "Besides, it will give you more experience with guys." They seemed to have completely forgotten about Touma's presence. "He did help you out, a small kiss is nothing."

"I'll just be going…" Touma said meekly, beginning to turn around. A second later he regretted it, as a girl surrounded by a dark aura appeared.

"TOOUUUMMMAAAA!" Index yelled dangerously. "You told me you were just going to help someone and now you are getting a kiss?"

"I can explain Index," Touma replied, raising his hands defensively. All three girls turned to watch his and Index's encounter. I'm dead.

"Repent for your sins!" Index yelled jumping and flashing her unusually sharp teeth.

"AHH!" Touma cried in pain as he tried to get Index off her head while the three girls watched in stunned silence. Hibiki and Hanabi were completely baffled at what just happened, while Yuna was torn between laughing and trying to help.

"Is that a nun?" Hibiki asked Hanabi, who nodded.

Before Touma could get Index off him, he heard another familiar voice. "Jumping on the savior looks like fun MISAKA laughs as MISAKA joins her friend on the dogpile." Touma felt another person jump on his back and wrapped their arms around his neck to hold on. "Hi Index, Misaka adds." It was hard for Touma to breath, but Last Order's sudden appearance caused him a little relief.

"Lath Orher?" Index asked, her words muffled by Touma's head. Her friend's sudden appearance caused her to release Touma in surprise. "What ae you doing here?"

"MISAKA is on a date MISAKA brags as MISAKA holds her hand out in a victory pose."

"Who's on a date brat?" Accelerator asked, chopping her on the head. Last Order mumbled something about child abuse, but Accelerator ignored her and turned to look at Index and Touma. "Should have known she saw you two the way she ran off. What...?" He had been about to ask them what they were doing when his eyes fell on the three girls staring at him. He always expected Touma to have a girl clutching onto him, the issue this time was he recognized them and they weren't the other level 5s he was use to. A small sneer appeared on his face. "Heh, it's you lot."

"Hi Accelerator," Hanabi said softly, giving him a small wave from the back of the group. He gave a brief nod of his head as acknowledgement. Hibiki, on the other hand, wasn't so held back.

"Why are you with a young girl?" Hibiki asked suspiciously. That girl looks a lot like Misaka-san. "Were… were your friends actually not joking about you being a lolicon?" Her face twisted slightly in disgust.

"He is MISAKA confirms as MISAKA attempts to insert the statement as fact to prevent you from going after him…ouch!" Misaka clutched her head as Accelerator gave her another quick chop.

"Never say that world about me again," he snapped, before his eyes darted back to Hibiki. "So, it's you. Heh." He smirked again. "Your tribute didn't cause me to run to the bathroom, so I guess it was acceptable."

"Hey," Hibiki responded irritably. "I worked hard on…" Her face turned red and Accelerator's smirk grew. That jerk, he did that on purpose to make me say it. Yuna also smiled and looked between them, before speaking up.

"So you got all the gifts?" she asked. "I checked around and no one heard anything back from you guys."

"It cluttered all of our desks," Accelerator said in a bored voice. "But we got them. I'm surprised the two idiots didn't call every number they could find."

"Do you know Kamijou-san?" Hanabi asked, gesturing to Touma. "Your friends appear to know each other." She gestured to Last Order, who was still determinedly standing in front of Accelerator, clutching tightly to his shirt. Index was next to her and they were whispering in hushed voices, but Last Order kept glaring at Hibiki and Index kept glaring at Touma. "He helped out Hibiki from being harassed by some other guys." Accelerator snorted, but not for the reason the girls thought.

"Yea, he's in our class." Of course the damn hero would save one of them. Doesn't look like they know he's Kami. Should I tell them now or save it for later?

"I saw you three on the news when they invaded your school. Our class was really amused by that. Though, I'm surprised you all seemed okay with it." Touma invented this lie quickly to try to prevent any connection between him and Kami.

"We are old enough to have interactions with guys," Yuna replied, waving her hand slightly. "Though, it is true a lot of girls came from distinguished families and have limited opportunities to talk with them. If you had gone to the middle school, I bet most of the girls besides Misaka-san and Shokuhou-san would know what to do. I'm glad they chose ours." She laughed. "Out of curiosity, what is your ability and level?"

"I'm just a level 0," Touma said quickly and it took a lot of control for Accelerator not to say anything.

"Nothing to be ashamed of," Hanabi reassured him. "I'm sure you can improve if you keep at it."

"Thanks." I knew she was nice. She barely knows me and is so understanding.

"Do you hang out with low levels because the other level fives don't like you?" Hibiki asked Accelerator.

"The other level 5s annoy me," Accelerator replied, leaning forward. "Almost as much as you."

"Good," Hibiki replied, crossing her arms. "I would hate for you to be happy. I was debating giving you a laxative, but I'm above such childish pranks."

"If you did, I would have gone to your school and hunt you down."

"They are so cute together," Yuna commented, shifting over to Touma and putting her arm around him. "They clicked the first time they met."

"You think so?" Touma asked doubtfully. They seem like rivals at the least. He could feel a slightly dangerous aura coming from Index, and he glanced over at her. She was watching him closely, not attacking, but he knew if anything even remotely looked like it could happen, she would pounce.

"As a girl I can tell these things," Yuna informed him while nodding. "Oh, do you know who Kami is under his mask? Hanabi really wants to talk to him, but she can't get the nerve to ask one of his friends for his number."

"Don't tell him that!" Hanabi protested, as her face turned red.

"Sorry I don't know him," Touma said quickly. "Only Accelerator, Aogami, and Tsuchimikado know."

"Shame," Yuna said, slightly depressed, before she turned her attention back to Hibiki and Accelerator. Both of them were still arguing and their faces were close.

"MISAKA doesn't want her to steal you away MISAKA shouts as MISAKA attempts to push Accelerator away from the other girl." Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at Last Order trying to push Accelerator away from Hibiki, unsuccessfully. Touma, Yuna, and Hanabi laughed at the sight, but Accelerator and Hibiki didn't look that amused. The tension between them grew until a faint noise surprised them.

"Meow."

Touma recognized the sound and turned to Index, along with everyone else. Index tried to hide it, but a small head of a calico cat poked it's heard out of her garment. The head was visible on her chest as the cat struggled to escape the hot oven. "Index…" Touma asked slowly. "Why did you bring Sphinx?"

"Because, he would be all alone without us. Besides, I want him to experience the buffet with us."

"You can't bring pets into a restaurant! They might throw us out."

"What kind of horrible people would throw out a cat?"

"There's health concerns they need to take into effect!"

"Sphinx is healthy though."

"That's not what I meant!"

"Hi Sphinx MISAKA welcomes." Last Order crouched down and scratched under his chin. "You sure seem happy MISAKA adds as MISAKA hears his purr." Index pulled him out of her habit for Last Order to be able to rub Sphinx's belly.

"Aww," Hanabi and Hibiki swooned. "He's so cute." They crowded around Index to play with the cat. Yuna smiled and joined them.

"See Touma," Index bragged. "Sphinx is popular wherever we go."

"Yea yea," Touma replied, glancing at the cat between the girls. Sphinx's head turned and looked at him with an expression that almost said, this is how you attract girls.

"I have a feeling that cat is mocking us," Accelerator muttered to Touma.

"I get that feeling a lot too," Touma agreed. "But we aren't going to be a jealous of a cat are we?" They looked at each other and then at the girls. Neither of them said anything.

"Oh," Yuna said, standing up and moving toward them. "Did you guys say you were heading to a buffet?

"I promised Index I would take her," Touma confirmed. "Why?"

"Because we had been debating where to grab dinner."

I can't believe I'm doing this.

Misaki Shokuhou was standing outside of an expensive looking apartment, once again debating with herself. She really didn't want to meet this person but, if her backup plan was to succeed, she needed their help. She had been distracted the entire day thinking about how to go about this. Rather than sending a message ahead of time, she simply chose a time after school she was sure they would be home. She took a deep breath, questioned the wisdom in this decision for the hundredth time, and rang the doorbell. She waited impatiently, knowing the person she came to meet was most likely purposely taking their time. Finally, she heard the click of the lock and the door opened.

"My Misaki Shokuhou," Seria said pleasantly. "What do I owe this unexpected pleasure? If you had let me know you were coming over, I would have cleaned up. Don't forget to take off your shoes, it's rather rude if you don't."

"Seria Kumokawa," Misaki replied, stepping into the apartment when Seria moved back to let her in. She removed her shoes before saying anything else. "I have something important to discuss with you."

"Naturally," Seria replied, heading to her kitchen and checked on her kettle. "You wouldn't have come to see me otherwise. You came at a good time. I was just putting on some tea." Misaki sat down on Seria's couch and she came out a minute later. Misaki took a cup of tea and Seria sat down in a sofa chair. "Now, why did you come here?"

"It concerns our mutual interest," Misaki said slowly, running over everything she wanted to say and how to say it. She sipped her tea to by herself time I can't let too much slip like I did with Misaka. I have to be direct but can't give her too much ammunition against me.

"Oh?" Seria replied, sipping her tea. She raised an eyebrow in interest. Something happened, but what? "This was not unexpected, but I would like to know more specifics. As far as I know, he is not in any immediate danger."

"Ever since he could remember me," Misaki elaborated, setting down her tea cup. "I have taken steps to ensure I will be part of his life. When you found this out, you did the same."

"Indeed. I am slightly ticked off you didn't tell me when he could remember you. Our deal to stay away from him was only when he couldn't remember you."

"It slipped my mind," Misaki lied. She of course remembered, but she had no intention at that time to let Seria near Touma. I suppose I did forget the first day, but I remembered soon enough. "You could understand something like our deal slipping from my mind during that miracle."

"True." I know she's lying, but let's see where she is going with this. I have a feeling I know what, but it's unlikely.

"Spending so much time with him," Misaki continued. "I only realized the extent of his popularity with other girls. I knew he had always been popular, but it even defied my expectation when I joined."

"I know what you mean," Seria said with a small smile. "He doesn't even know how to flirt, yet his honesty and the ability to run into problems randomly is quite adorable."

"Your opinion on him still hasn't changed," Misaki pointed out. "Do you think you even have a chance with all the competition?"

"What competition?" Seria asked with a small laugh. "The Railgun? She's not his type and the most they will ever be is friends. His ability to friend zone is legendary. Meltdowner? She's too dark to form a long term relationship with him. She would be a fling at the most, until he learns everything she has done. You? I'm sure I could beat you if I put my mind to it. I'm his type. I'm the older onee-san type that can make him feel safe and secure, while having the adult body he enjoys." She smiled and gestured wordlessly to her figure.

"I see you still underestimate me," Misaki replied. "But assuming you can, what about the countless others? You saw how many admirers he acquired at Tokiwadai High School. Most of them only paid attention to him at first because of his disguise, but many grew to like him after just talking to him. Plus, there are quite a few young women he knows from outside the city." Misaki smiled, but it was closer to a smirk. "I believe that's outside your area of surveillance. Many of them have rather impressive proportions. You have more competition then you know. Itsuwa-san and Kanzaki-san to name just two."

A frown appeared on Seria's face.

"I have the added benefit of being his senpai." Her eyes twinkled knowing that was something Misaki could not overcome. "But I could go on for ages on why I will win. Discussing this was obviously not what you wanted to see me about."

"Oh that is not entirely true," Misaki replied, holding a finger up to her cheek. "It's kind of what caused my current thoughts on the matter. We both care about his happiness, even if we consider each other rivals for his affection. My concern is, after seeing the number of girls falling for him, is this. What would happen if or when he finally chooses someone? What would all the other girls do? Some would give up sure, but would all or even most of them? How many people would be devastated if he was taken off the market? Would the person he chooses be able to handle it? What if they can't? You know as well as I do, that he cares about others happiness more than his own. He would suffer in silence alone if it meant others could be happy."

The silence in the air was palpable.

"You seem to have given this quite a bit of thought," Seria said, breaking the silence. "The old you would have never considered she would lose."

"I'm older and therefore wiser," Misaki replied, putting a hand on her chest. "Isn't that what you always said?"

"I think I am beginning to understand where you are going with this and why you came to see me. Have you given up on winning his attention?"

"Of course not," Misaki huffed indigently. "I'm still planning to be his only but, if that turns out to be impossible to protect his happiness, I will be happy as long as I can be by his side."

Seria sat in silence.

"I lost him once," Misaki continued. "It was the worst experience I have ever experienced. I thought I finally accepted it, but now I have another chance. No matter what happens, I will be with him, even if others are too. The question is, can I count on your support if that happens?"

"Hmm," Seria murmured lost in thought. "I have to give this some thought. I have always planned to be the one to win in the end, but you bring up some good points to factor into my plan. I will let you know what I decide."

"It's important we work together and are on the same page if this has a chance of succeeding," Misaki said, standing up. "There are others who, right now, are opposed to the idea. They either need to give up or be persuaded."

"The most difficult person to persuade would be him," Seria said thoughtfully, tapping a single finger on the table next to her chair. "He is the type of person to be happy with just a girlfriend. He is a boy though… I doubt he would be against it for long."

"I believe he would accept it if there was a real possibility it would work. Once he sees how happy the girls are with him, he would go along with it."

"I suppose if I accept this, I could use my skills to persuade the holdouts. A child like yourself wouldn't understand the experiences of an adult like me."

"As long as your wrinkly skin and sagging breasts don't get in the way," Misaki retorted, heading toward the door. "This one time I will be glad to have the help of an old hag."

"Hurry Uiharu," Ruiko called over her shoulder. "We are so late."

"I'm coming," Kazari panted, trying to keep up with her friend, as they ran toward the planned meeting spot with Mikoto and Kuroko. "I didn't expect that meeting to go on for so long. They were giving me a lot of information."

"Are you going to do it?"

"I think so," Kazari replied as she caught up. She gave Ruiko a brief nod. "It would give me the opportunity to help the city and it won't interfere with school, so I don't see a reason why not." I'll have to make sure it doesn't interfere with studying and homework though.

"Don't forget to tell the others," Ruiko reminded her. "Misaka-san said her friend also worked for the city so she might give you some advice."

"Sounds good." They ran around the corner, stopped, and looked around. "There they are." Kazari said pointing. They saw Mikoto and Kuroko sitting with a blonde haired girl around their age. The girl was wearing a blue track suit with headphones dangling around her neck. Ruiko started making her way over to them before Kazari realized it. She quickly followed, not wanting to be left behind. They waved when their friends spotted them.

"You're late," Kuroko sniffed.

"Sorry," Kazari apologized. "I got held up at school and Saten-san waited up for me."

"Hello," Ruiko said cheerfully to the new girl. She pulled up a seat and Kazari imitated her. "My name's Ruiko Saten," she added.

"Nice to meet you Saten-san," the girl said. "My name is Patricia Birdway."

"I'm Kazari Uiharu. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Ah," Patricia exclaimed, her eyes widening in recognition. "I know who you are. I thought I recognized you. You're Jason Kagere's girlfriend right?"

"I am," nodded Kazari, slightly confused she knew that. "How did you know?"

"They actually work together," Mikoto told Kazari. "I thought I mentioned it. It's how we actually met her in the first place. Kuroko," she turned to her, "misinterpreted a situation." Kuroko tapped her head with her fist and pretended to look innocent.

"I have no idea what you mean onee-sama," Kuroko said, avoiding eye contact with everyone. "We randomly stumbled into them after they escaped work."

"Is that what we are calling it now?" Mikoto asked. "I'm pretty sure you were hunting him."

"I think I know what happened," Ruiko said with a laugh. Shirai-san probably ran into them together and thought Kagere-san was cheating on Uiharu. Maybe she was even jealous. I think she likes him but won't say anything in front of Uiharu. "So you work with him in the ability development division?"

"Not quite," Patricia corrected her. "I was recently employed in the energy research division. The buildings are next to each other due to the excessive power demands. I know Kagere-san because we are the two youngest people there. Everyone else is over thirty at least. I don't know what exactly he does with ability development, but I'm working on new sources of energy. We grab lunch occasionally when we work all day and he showed me a picture of you on his phone once."

"How did you get scouted to work for the city?" Kuroko asked. "They normally don't let students work in the advanced divisions."

"I'm not a student," Patricia pointed out. "I already have my PhD." Kazari and Ruiko save a soft wow and she continued. "I have already worked on a number of university-run project sponsored by Academy City and have also been invited to join labs and research ships as a guest researcher. Several of my thesis papers have been used by the city and they asked if I wanted to help develop new forms of energy. Since Academy City has the best labs in the world, I didn't want to pass this chance up."

"Makes sense," Mikoto nodded. "Academy City is supposed to be thirty years more advanced than the rest of the world. A lot of the technology developed here has its specs reduced and sold outside the city. If your thesis drew the city's attention, it must have been extremely advanced."

"It was just a couple theories I had for some renewable energy sources," Patricia replied modestly, with a slight pink tinge on her cheeks. She wasn't used to people her own age complimenting her like this. Her sister would always make fun of her when they were together.

"You mean like solar power and wind energy?" Kazari asked. "Since those are wildly used outside the city, we even have them here," she pointed to the wind towers. "Are you working on the efficiency of the energy process?"

"I'm actually working on a different source of energy," Patricia explained. "Our goal is to create an abundant energy source capable of providing enough energy to meet the world's demand, while at the same time being clean and efficient. Solar and wind, while clean, have the downside of not being able to be used all the time. They are too reliant on the weather. Fossil fuels are abundant and can be used efficiently, but have the problem of pollution and eventually they will run out. They are the most commonly used energy sources. Nuclear power has been on the rise with its ability to produce an abundant amount of energy, but there are dangers of radiation explosions and the nuclear waste. Our goal is to develop cold fusion."

"Did they actually manage to develop it?" Kuroko asked. "Last I heard no one was able to successfully produce it. It was only hypothetical."

"Our teacher said once it was discovered it would change how the world used energy," Mikoto added. "I bet his head would explode if he heard this." She and Kuroko laughed.

"What's cold fusion?" Ruiko asked. "I know I have heard that term before, but never actually researched it."

"It's a type of nuclear fusion," Mikoto explained. "Nuclear fusion is when two or more atomic nuclei are forced together and merged into different nuclei or even other particles. A large amount of energy is released during this process. This process accounts for the energy in stars. Hydrogen atoms are fused together into helium and energy is released." She simplified the process immensely to make it easy to understand.

"The biggest issue," Kuroko continued. "Is that it takes an extreme environment with a lot of heat and gravity to force to nuclei together. Since nuclei are positively charged due to the protons, they don't want to be forced together like the same polarity in magnets. You have to force them together."

"So does cold fusion not have to be in extreme environments" Ruiko asked.

"Cold fusion is theorized to be possible at room temperature," Mikoto informed her. "Most scientists think it's impossible, but that doesn't stop people from trying."

"The theory I worked on involved the process." Patricia jumped back into the conversation. "There were still some gaps in it, but the overall theory was sound. It turns out the gaps I ran into were solved by Academy City and some gaps they had were ones I solved. We started combining the information we had, made some adjustments, and we think we have a really good shot."

"What would the benefit be for cold fusion?" Kazari asked. "Besides the amount of energy."

"No radioactive materials are used or produced," Patricia said, counting on her fingers. "Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, and there are no harmful pollutants like in coal burning. There really is no downside." Her eyes sparkled with enthusiasm.

"Glad to see someone working so hard to help people," Mikoto commented. "I hope it goes well."

"Thank you."

"Is it hard working for the city?" Ruiko asked.

"There are some really long days," Patricia admitted. "But they usually occur when we hit a breakthrough and don't want to stop. A lot of the people I work with are really nice, though devoted to their work. Some of them seem off, but that might be the age gap. It's really rewarding to see how much is accomplished when you work hard."

"Looks like you don't have anything to worry about Uiharu," Ruiko said, turning to her.

"I guess not." Kazari looked relieved.

"Huh?" Kuroko asked confused. "What are you two talking about?"

"I'll let her tell you," Ruiko said, leaning back in her chair. "It's why we were late and I know she is dying to talk about it."

"What happened?" Mikoto asked, a flicker of worry on her face.

"It's nothing bad," Kazari said quickly, aware everyone's eyes were on her. She sighed and continued. "Right before the bell rang to left us out, I was called down to the office. A representative of the city came to talk to me about what happened Saturday. I kind of expected it to happen eventually since I had to hack the facilities security to prevent the thefts."

"You didn't get in trouble right?" Kuroko asked. "You prevented the intruder from stealing classified data."

"They recognized it was an emergency," Kazari confirmed. "So any rules I broke were excused. They still had to ask routine questions and figure out what I saw and learned. I told them the same thing I told Anti-Skill. Then they surprised me with a request. Hacking an advance security facility got the attention of someone high up in the city. They asked for me to meet them tomorrow after school to discuss working with his group to help increase the city's security. They also heard how I designed Judgement's security, which persuaded a couple of people about letting me work with the city's security systems."

"You definitely did a good job with ours," Kuroko admitted. "I haven't heard of a security breach since you improved it."

"That's amazing," Mikoto exclaimed. "They finally realized your skills."

"That's what I said," Ruiko agreed.

"Any idea who you are going to be working with?" Patricia asked. "I have heard about a lot of the higher ups and I know most of their reputations. It might alleviate any worries you may have."

"They did mention his name," Kazari said. "I never heard of him, but I was told he was pretty well known." She reached into her bag and pulled out a piece of paper. "Let's see, his name was… Noukan Kihara." She paused when she saw Patricia's mouth drop open.

"Noukan? Really!"

"Do you know him?" Kazari asked nervously.

"Not personally," Patricia admitted. "But he's famous. He's a genius and involves himself in only the most advanced research operations in the city. I'm so jealous you will actually get to meet him!"

"Really?" Kazari felt slightly faint now. She thought she was just going to be meeting a group of people designing a security system. Meeting one of the most famous people in Academy City was not something she expected. Wow, I'm so nervous. I'll ask Jason if he is free to accompany me. He might know him and it would be easier to face with him. Ruiko noticed her friend was trembling slightly.

"It's going to be fine," Ruiko said, clapping her on the shoulder. "You will do fine. We all believe in you."

"I know how skilled you are," Mikoto said, beaming at her. "This will be nothing. It's just a guy, no matter how famous he is. It will probably be boring technical information anyways."

"You have faced a lot worse things than a single man," Kuroko added.

"I'm going to go," Kazari told them. "I just didn't expect someone that high up in the city."

"I kind of want to go with you to see if I can meet him," Patricia said with a small laugh. The others laughed too because they couldn't tell if she was serious or not.

"Oh Birdway-san," Mikoto said to Patricia. "I met your sister. Did you know she was in the city?"

"I did," Patricia nodded. "She and her club were on a fieldtrip and she visited me for a little bit. I wish she wouldn't keep making fun of me though. She keeps saying I'm a crybaby, and I'm not!"

"Heh sisters," Ruiko laughed.

Club and a field trip? Mikoto thought. Does Patricia not know about magic and her sister's involvement? Or is she just not telling us? I shouldn't mention it if she doesn't know. I bet this is what Touma has gone through. He can't mention all the things going on around him to keep us out of harm's way. He gives up his normal life so others can keep theirs. He really is the nicest guy I know. Would I be okay sharing…? Dang it, I can't get Shokuhou's words out of my head. It distracted me all day. She was rather quite as her friends continued to talk. The time passed and Patricia eventually had to leave, but not before getting everyone's phone number. "Hey Saten-san," Mikoto said, as they all started heading back to their dorms. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Sure. There's a sale I need to catch, so can we walk in that direction while we talk?" Mikoto nodded.

"I'll meet you back at the dorm onee-sama," Kuroko said and Mikoto waved good-bye to her. Kazari waved goodbye to Ruiko, and then she and Mikoto headed off.

"What did you want to talk about?" Ruiko asked.

"It's something Shokuhou said to me and it's been driving me mad," Mikoto admitted. "I'm hoping I can talk to you and see what you think." Ruiko tilted her head slightly in confusion.

"I'm bringing them to you two!" Frenda cried into her phone. "Basically, don't mess up the timing or I am so dead. This means you Hamazura."

"Focus on running instead of me!"

"You're super going to get caught at this rate," Saiai added. Frenda was currently running through an aisle in a large warehouse as three humanoid robots pursued her. ITEM had been tasked with examining several warehouses scattered around Academy City. Shizuri had told them their contact didn't give them any details on what to look for except make sure the buildings are secure and free from any signs of intruders. This was their fourth warehouse. The first three yielded nothing and they were beginning to think this entire endeavor was pointless, until Frenda kicked a crate in frustration, causing the robots to activate. Frenda tossed a bomb at them and the explosion had alerted the rest of her team about their presence.

"They are tougher than the ones we fought before," Frenda informed them. "Armor and systems are more advanced." She dove to the side as a hail of gunfire peppered the wall where she had been a moment before. "What aisle did you set it up in?"

"7B," Shiage replied. "Ready when you are." Don't die on us Frenda.

"If you mess this up," Frenda warned. "I'm giving Kinuhata permission to kill you."

"I will super honor your last will and testament." Frenda grinned at Saiai's words and turned another corner. A thin wire flashed in the distance and she jumped over it without missing a beat. The robots heavy metal bodies were not as agile and they plowed right through it. A moment later, several dolls rained down upon them. When the dolls made contact, a chain of explosions went off in the aisle. Several boxes were burnt to a crisp, but Frenda had her bombs measured to prevent them from causing too much excessive damage. Their contact had warned them, if they caused too much destruction, their pay would be reduced. Frenda stopped and turned around to admire the collateral damage.

"Take that you dirty stupid…" she stopped when one of them stood up and looked at her. "Ah damn, we missed one." The robot raised an arm and was about to shoot at her.

"Got it," Saiai yelled jumping down from a top shelf. She pulled her hand back and punched the machine through the chest. Her hand went through it like paper as the concentrated nitrogen she controlled magnified her piercing power. The robot's eyes faded away and it crashed to the floor. "Ha!"

"Good save," Frenda thanked her. "If Hamazura set the trap right, the bombs would have gotten them all."

"Hey!" Shiage called down to them as he descended a latter. "I placed everything perfectly. Maybe you didn't arm the explosives correctly."

"Are you blaming me?" Frenda asked, marching over to him, passed the robot remains on the ground. She reached under her skirt and pulled out a handheld missile. "Basically, do you want me to shove this up your… AH!" She felt the cold metal hand wrap around her leg as one of the robots grabbed her. It stood up and lifted her into the air, upside down. "If you look Hamazura, I'll kiiiillll yooouuu!" The robot shook her and turned to the others. The armor was broken in places, with small sparks and circuitry visible, but it still seemed to be able to operate normally. It raised its other arm to shoot them, causing Saiai to move in front of Shiage.

A green beam flew from the aisle next to them, causing the robot's torso to disappear in an explosion.

"Ouch," Frenda cried, hitting the ground. "Thanks Mugino."

"You are too relaxed," Shizuri said, exiting the aisle she was in and entering theirs. Her arms were crossed and she looked annoyed. Rikou was following her silently. Frenda tapped her head with her fist and tried to look innocent. "Never turn your back on an enemy until you are sure they are dead. Machines like these you need to be extra careful. They won't stop like a normal person or Kamijou." She glared at them for a moment, as if daring them to say something. "Your bumbling did activate them though, so we know something is going on. I thought Kakine was in charge of these machines, but it looks like someone else is pulling the strings."

"What makes you think that?" Shiage asked.

"Because of these robots are newer models than the ones we fought before," Saiai told him, rolling her eyes. She crouched down next to them and poked one. "Their armor is a lot more advanced. It's super synthesized metal for sure, lighter and more flexible than steel, but stronger too. They also ran differently, more human like rather than mechanical."

"Someone's upgrading them," Frenda agreed, dusting herself off. "Any idea who?"

"No," Shizuri answered, shaking her head. "But I bet this is why the city hired us to check these warehouses. The first few didn't have any and we still have two more. At least now we know what we are looking for. We should be able to finish up sooner than planned."

"That's great," Frenda said happily. "There's a store having a sale on canned mackerel today. I need to restock."

"Why can't you just eat fresh food like a normal person?" Shiage asked.

"Because, shut up, that's why!" Frenda kicked him in the shin and Saiai laughed, as Shiage hopped on one food while grabbing the other.

"Where does she keep it all?" Hibiki asked, staring in shock at the pile of plates next to Index.

"And she's still going at it," Hanabi added, equally surprised.

"It's one of life's great mysteries," Accelerator huffed, leaning back in his chair. He, Touma, Hibiki, Hanabi, Yuna, and Last Order had all finished eating and were talking among each other, while watching Index continue to eat vast quantities of food. Index finished another plate, put it on the pile and rushed to the buffet to fill another one. Accelerator could understand their disbelief, but he had experience with Index's black hole of a stomach.

"MISAKA thinks she has already consumed more than double her volume in food MISAKA comments as MISAKA wonders how her friend's stomach can hold that much. She doesn't get heavier at all MISAKA adds."

"Every girl in the city would want to know that secret," Yuna told her causing Touma to laugh. She looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"I have no idea how she eats so much either," Touma said, watching Index sit down again and dig into her plate of food. "At least she's using a plate this time. We got banned from so many other buffets because she couldn't control her enthusiasm."

"Ifs noff my falt," Index protested, her mouth full of food.

"You shouldn't talk with your mouth full," Hanabi lectured kindly. "It's not lady like. You need to finish chewing and then speak." Index looked at her for a moment and then swallowed all her food.

"I told you it wasn't my fault," Index repeated. "The instructions were unclear I had to take the food back to my table." Touma face palmed while everyone else laughed.

"You finished yet," Accelerator asked, pulling out his phone.

"We probably should get going," Yuna added, pointing to the corner. A guy stood near a door to the kitchen, biting his thumb, while he watched them. "The manager over there looks like he is about to have a stroke."

"But I'm still hungry," Index replied.

"How?" Hanabi asked her.

"I'm a growing girl and need nourishment."

"If it gives the manger a heart attack," Accelerator sneered. "Eat away."

"Are you ever nice?" Hibiki asked.

"Sometimes, if someone deserves it."

"MISAKA is going to learn how to eat as much as Index MISAKA declares."

"Don't you try," Accelerator warned, glancing over at her. "It will just make you sick. You tried that once and threw up."

"He's really good with kids," Hanabi whispered to Hibiki. "You can tell by the way Last Order looks at him."

"I think his friends were right about him being a lolicon," Hibiki replied quietly with a trace of disgust. "Who knows what he does with her when they are alone?"

"Jealous?"

"No," protested Hibiki. "Why would I be jealous? I'm concern for her."

"Uh huh," Hanabi said with a sly smile. As her sister, Hanabi knew Hibiki was not being completely honest.

Touma tried to avoid laughing and looked away when Accelerator caught his eye. He turned to Yuna, who was watching her friends. I remember they are second years, so they should be older than us. Hanabi-san is definitely my preferred type. She has the onee-san aura and is really nice. Her sister is a little tougher, but she is a good person too. Her fear of Accelerator is gone and their conversations remind me a lot of him and Fukiyose. Yuna… it's almost like she's one of the guys. She's funny, smart, and likes to joke around. If I didn't know better, I would swear she's been hanging out with me and my friends for years. Yuna caught him looking at her and winked.

"Looks like Hibiki is jealous of Last Order being so close with Accelerator," she whispered to him quietly so the others couldn't hear.

"You think so?" Touma whispered back, barely moving his lips. "They seem friendly enough, but does she actually like him?"

"Hibiki was hurt by a guy she went out with before," Yuna told him. "I won't go into details, but he acted like a really nice guy. She started distrusting guys after that. I think she's okay with him because he says what's on his mind and doesn't play games. Accelerator seems scary at first, but is really soft on the inside. I noticed the way he treats Last Order. She's like family to him."

"He didn't have the best past either," Touma said. "Maybe that's why they get along."

"I wouldn't like to be a level 5. Everyone treating you like some kind of idol, the city wanting to experiment on you constantly, and always being careful not to accidently hurt someone."

"Well you might not have a choice," Touma laughed. "You could wake up tomorrow and have advanced. If you keep working hard, who knows how far you can get?"

"Maybe," Yuna admitted and shrugged. "So what about you? Are you seeing anyone?"

"W-what?" Touma coughed.

"You know you are pretty cute when you are flustered," Yuna pointed out with a grin, causing Touma's ears to burn. "I just figured since we were talking about our friends relationship, why not ask you yours? Hanabi is really interested in your classmate Kami, so if you see him you should let him know."

"I'll mention it," Touma mumbled. Really? She likes Kami? As a person or the figure? To keep the topic off Kami, he decided to answer her question. "I'm not seeing anyone. I have been on a few dates but it was really with friends. I don't think I'm ready to see anyone at the moment."

"Too bad," Yuna said with a small shake of her head. "I was rather impressed by you helping Hibiki without even knowing her. It should be easy for you to get a girlfriend if you are always a gentleman like that."

"I don't know about that." He really didn't know what else to say, but he suddenly felt sweat form on the back of his neck. He turned to locate the source of the fear and saw Index staring at him. He gulped and quickly tried to look innocent.

"Toooouummaaa," Index said dangerously, causing everyone stop talking among themselves and look at him. "What were you talking about?"

"Er…" Touma replied, aware all eyes were on him.

"We were just deciding if we wanted to date or not," Yuna volunteered. She either didn't know the problems she was about to cause Touma or didn't care and found them amusing.

"W-what?" spluttered Hibiki and Hanabi.

"The savior sure works fast MISAKA comments impressed while MISAKA crosses her arms and nods her head."

Accelerator just rolled his eyes with an expression on his face saying, Damn hero's doing it again. Touma wasn't paying attention to any of them though. All of his focus was on Index. Her dark aura intensified tenfold at Yuna's words. He saw his life flash before his eyes as the sparks flew from Index's eyes. Touma raised his hand in a defensive posture and, before he had the opportunity to utter a single words, Index pounced, her fangs glinting. The pain on his head caused him to yell out.

They were all kicked out moments later.

"I'm really sorry," Yuna apologized for the fifth time. "I didn't think they anyone would take my joke so seriously."

"It's fine," Touma muttered again, rubbing his head. "I know you didn't mean it."

"I might have overreacted," Index muttered too.

"You nearly gave us a heart attack," Hanabi told Yuna. "That came out of nowhere. Shame they kicked us out though."

"I think the manager was looking for any reason to eject us," Hibiki said slightly annoyed. "He must have thought it was losing too much money over Index's appetite."

"Can you blame him?" Accelerator asked. "I still don't think I've seen her fill up. She might stop eating for a moment, but she will eat any food offered to her."

"Have you ever been full? MISAKA asks as MISAKA genuinely wants to know the answer."

"There's been once or twice," Index said thinking. "I usually only get seconds and thirds, not as much as I would like to eat."

"Do you want to come over and play a new video game MISAKA got? MISAKA asks as Misaka interrupts."

"Umm," Index said hesitantly, glancing at Touma. She had been prepared to spend the day with him, but he did keep his promise to take her to the buffet and she was feeling satisfied.

"Please? MISAKA begs as MISAKA uses her famous puppy dog eyes." They really were famous because even Accelerator couldn't resist the strength of her eyes. Index had seen them before and knew they produced results, but this was the first time they were used on her. Her resistance disappeared and she nodded.

"Okay," Index replied.

"Yay MISAKA cheers."

"Accelerator," Touma asked. "Is it okay with you?"

"I guess," Accelerator shrugged. "As long as the nun is with her, the brat doesn't bother me as much. If Worst antagonizes them, it only gets problematic when they all team up on me. Usually they just war among themselves."

"Sounds like you have you hands full babysitting," Hibiki laughed.

"Keep it up," Accelerator replied. "I'll drop them off at your dorm and let you handle them for a day."

"Maybe I should, it would let me undo the damage you probably inflicted on them with your foul language and attitude."

"I might take you up on that offer." He turned and smirked at her, causing a chill to go down her spine. The smile was mocking her slightly, but there was something more. It was as if she knew Accelerator was planning to use her to make his life easier. She wasn't going to lose and stared right back at him until he looked away. "Let's get going brats."

"Have fun Index," Touma called out, waving good-bye to her. She turned and waved back.

"We should get going too," Hanabi added, checking the time. "There's still time before curfew but if we want to stop anywhere beforehand, we might be cutting it close." She turned to Touma. "It was nice to meet you Kamijou-san and I'm sorry for Yuna causing you problems."

"I said I was sorry," Yuna protested, but she smiled all the same. "Night Kamijou. Oh, if Kami, Tsuchimikado, Aogami want to hang out, let them know they should contact me. Okay?"

"Sure," Touma said rubbing his head nervously as the three girls waved goodbye and left. Even Hibiki waved, but Touma thought that was probably something they were taught to do at Tokiwadai. I don't really have anything else to do, maybe I should head home. I could benefit from studying I guess. He turned around and started walking back to his dorm. He was humming to himself, being in a good mood, but was completely unaware of someone watching him and his friends. A single girl stood up on the roof, set her binoculars down and picked up her bag holding other equipment. She ran to the edge of the rood, slid down the fire ladder, and landed with a soft thud. She stuck her head out and watched Touma further down the street. She had finally moved when everyone else had left.

(Operation Savior Separation is a go, MISAKA 10032 informs the others. Beginning 'unexpected encounter' stage now.)

The Misaka Network had been discussing options all week to figure out how they were supposed to get closer to Touma Kamijou, their savior. The biggest problem was that Misaka 19090 demanded she be the one who would encounter him this time, but Misaka 10032 was closer and more familiar with him. The discussion over the network caused no end of amusement for Worst. Finally the network had a vote and Misaka 10032 won by a slim margin. The next issue was deciding how to approach him. Based on their observations, he was almost never alone. The one time he was, he was looking for someone and they couldn't bring themselves to interrupt his search. About an hour ago, Last Order was the one who had contacted them, saying Touma was with her, Accelerator, and a few others.

(MISAKA did her part and the savior is alone MISAKA tells you all as MISAKA expects to be justly compensated for her troubles.)

(You did your part perfectly and will receive her limited edition Gekota t-shirt, Misaka 10032 says calmly to reassure the moderator.)

(Remember Misaka 16543 reminds Misaka 10032. It has to look like an accident or the savior might be suspicious.)

(Perhaps you should carry a piece of toast in your mouth, run down the street, and accidently bump into him Misaka 17934 suggests. Misaka is reading this manga where the main character meets the main heroine that way.)

(Misaka has also read that book Misaka 14187 informs. That situation would not work here as Misaka 10032 does not go to school and it is also evening rather than early morning.)

(Misaka has a plan Misaka 10032 states. Misaka is going to disconnect from the network in order to concentrate on the situation at hand. As promised, she will share all information received afterwards.) The other sisters wished her success on her mission and she separated herself from the network. Instead of running up behind Touma, she ducked down a side street and ran down a parallel street from him, before taking another street back to the original one. Right before she stepped out into view, she slowed down, composed herself, and walked calmly out into the street.

"Mikoto?" Touma called out surprised, and then he recognized the googles on her head. "Oh, you're Misaka Imouto."

"Hello Misaka replies. How are you?" She gave a short bow.

"Not bad," Touma told her, stopping in front of her. "Just ate with some friends and was planning to head back to my dorm. What are you up to?"

"Misaka just got back from the pet store, Misaka lie…explains. Petting the cats is an enjoyable experience." Misaka 10032, also known as Imouto, had to catch herself from saying she was lying. Judging by the look on Touma's face, he didn't notice and she sighed with relief.

"I'm glad you are having fun," Touma said sincerely, thinking the sighing meant she really enjoyed playing with cats. They started walking down the street together. She seems to be able to act more normally now and less emotionless since when I first met her. Being out and exploring the world is really good for the sisters. "Any other plans?"

"No Misaka answers truthfully. Since we have this random encounter, would you like to spend time with Misaka?" She looked up with a glint of hope in her eyes. Everything was going to plan. She had outlined all possible scenarios and had responses for whatever answer he gave. When she stared up into his face, her heart skipped a beat. He was smiling at her. Her face was still expressionless, but there was a pink tinge to her cheeks and a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"I have some time," he admitted. "It's still pretty early and I haven't seen you around lately. What do you want to do?"

"Really, Misaka questions, with a surprised look on her face." There was actually a faint amount of confusion on it. She did not expect it to go so easily.

"Sure," Touma said with a laugh. "I'm usually up to anything normal."

"How about…" Imouto started to ask, when another female voice interrupted them.

"Sorry to interrupt your flirting, but we have more important matters at hand." Touma and Imouto turned in surprise to see Leivinia Birdway and Lessar walking toward them. Both of them had smirks on their faces as they looked between him and Imouto. Leivinia was also crossing her arms and held her Lotus Wand in one hand.

"Birdway?" Touma asked shocked. "W-what are you doing here?"

"I told you I would be back," she said deviously. "You didn't think after fighting Cain I would just leave?" Touma actually did, but decided not to say anything.

"It looked like Sparky was making a move on him," Lessar added. "That's so rude, especially without me. I would have joined you two at a hotel and showed you every enjoyable part of the body." She paused and looked at the googles on Imouto's head. "What are those goggles for? Are you trying to make a fashion statement?"

"These are Misaka's…"

"Who cares?" Leivinia snapped. "We don't have time to discuss this right now. The plane leaves in thirty minutes."

"What plane"" Touma asked. "Are you two leaving the city?"

"We are," Lessar confirmed. "And you are coming with us."

"Why?!"

"Because we found out where Adam is and he is causing a lot of problems," Leivinia explained quickly with a trace of irritation, looking annoyed she had to tell them. "We were contacted and told your hand is needed to break one of his defenses. So, guess what? You are coming, even if I have to drag you by force."

"How do you find out where Adam is?" Touma asked, aware Imouto was listening into everything, but the matter at hand was too important to try to hide. He trusted her to be able to keep this a secret.

"You're the one who told us," Lessar reminded him. "It's the most God forsaken place on earth. That information helped us a lot in checking several locations."

"Do you mind telling me where that is?" Touma asked exasperatedly. They actually found it?

"It's obvious," Leivinia announced with a smirk. "There's no other place besides Australia."

Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.

Me: Most God forsaken place on earth has been revealed. Now let's spend a few moments getting all the stereotypes out of our system before getting serious and moving forward. I have nothing personal against Australia, but there is no denying they have a lot of stereotypes.

Mikoto: What stereotypes?

Motoharu: The biggest one I heard is, "Everything there is trying to kill you."

Touma: That's not true right? Oh crap, I'm being dragged there.

Jason: Not everything is trying to kill you. I think they have a couple dogs that probably won't try.

Frenda: Mugino isn't there.

Motoharu: Not everything trying to kill him is in Australia, but what is tries to.

Misaki: I heard it's really hot and desert like there too. Not good for the skin.

Motoharu: I'm looking at the map and most of the cities are not in the desert.

Shizuri: Do they at least have decent fish? Oh, Frenda, I heard what you said. Come here.

Frenda: Ahhhh!

Aogami: Sure, you can put it on the barbie and serve it with vegemite.

Ruiko: What exactly is vegemite?

Mikoto: Wikipedia says, 'brown Australian food paste made from leftover brewers' yeast extract with various vegetable and spice additives.' Well, that sounds…. good?

Touma: I know this is a stupid question, but Australians don't ride kangaroos like horses, right?

Motoharu: Don't be silly, of course they don't.

Touma: Aww, I kind of wanted to see…

Jason: They ride in the pouches like normal people.

Well, now that the jokes are finished, we can move forward. Shout out to all the Australian readers out there. They exist because I can see on reader stats which area people come from. I know one personally and he fact checks everything for me. Did you know they have McDonalds there?