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.)

112. S5 Escaping Dangerous Situations

Okay, so the big things that happened yesterday was Carissa appearing, Touma getting engaged, Shizuri going to meet the princess, and Teitoku returning to the land of the living. Out of everything, people really want to see Shizuri and Carissa talk about our favorite unlucky protagonist. Hopefully no one dies. Touma is there, so I'm sure he can prevent it, maybe. Sunday is a busy day and we haven't even gotten to what's going to happen Monday when Touma visits the Tokiwadai Middle School, alone… without his classmates to distract people. I'm sure nothing will happen. Then we have all the other big characters who haven't gotten a lot of time recently, Ruiko, Mikoto, and Misaki. Other than some hyping, don't really have anything important to say except still waiting for Index Season 3.

No wait, I do. I'd like to thank SIlverFang88 for reviewing it. My previous reviewer was fired so he's been kind enough to help out. I hope he does a good job. His comments so far have made me believe he has been.

plantkingman1: They aren't violent. They just know violence can solve problems. If it doesn't, they aren't using enough of it.

Twain apprentice: Can't really talk about that without spoiling something. Othinus/Touma battle will be different in this story though.

mervinr170: It's a good ship. Teitoku needs to mellow out first for it to work.

Phoenix 7.49: I could have, yes. Your hate fuels me and I only want to do more evil and cruel things. This chapter doesn't really have a cliffhanger this time. A lot of things are closed for now. His arm might be fake…

general ironox: I become more powerful through hate and angst. All of that will happen this chapter. I can't hold back after the amount of interest people have shown in it. Everyone needs a good rival. It is how they grow.

anand891996: Touma is going to be sore in the morning after all that S.

vietnamese guy: He should have kept running.

reality deviant: Misaki putting Carissa in the harem will be difficult, if not impossible currently. Carissa is too proud to share.

Guest: Teitoku never forgets or forgives. Kiharas are not normal and death isn't that scary to them. Ricane obviously has his own version of IT hidden in his arm.

Guest: You will find out soon.

ReyKingKaiser: Not sure who to feel more sorry for; Ricane or Touma.

wildarms13: I wasn't sure how the scene was going to play out when I started. Things just kind of worked out the way they did. Maybe that helped it be more believable. I didn't force it. Shizuri is not the type to share, so Carissa better make sure to keep her claim. Jason's magic centers on angel aspects, but like all magicians, he can use other types. Everyone has a type they can do better than others.

Maderfole: Some people figured it out pretty quickly. Only Leivinia Birdway was a possibility due to the extravagant pad. I might take you up on your offer when I start having more free time. Right now, writing takes up most of my free time during the week. I always like hearing ideas because sometimes readers' ideas are better than mine. Other times, they stimulate my own ideas and I can write scenes better. Ah, that power was pure coincidence. Accelerator tapped into the earth's rotation to pick up a building and check it at the windowless building. The length of the day increased by 5 minutes that time. Hibiki and Hanabi were supposed to be one shot characters for the tournament, but they keep coming back, haha. Accelerator's harem is different. He doesn't want one, but can't deny that power attracts people. Don't question Lessar's experience. You will go insane. Carissa accepting a harem will not happen anytime soon. Imagining Touma trying to explain to the other girls he accidently accepted Carissa's arrangement makes me laugh every time. You aren't the only one to see Shizuri and Carissa like that. A couple other people mentioned similar things. Touma will realize Snuggle-chan set it all up when he gets back. Touma has a mental blockage that makes him believe girls would not be attracted to him. Mental issues can be very hard to overcome. It happened slowly, but he finally did. Eh, I took it from Canon, so it was just a nice easy way to allow Jason to say his magic is a secret because of that. It wasn't a huge passage in the LN. The banning occurred after the dark ages, so all that stuff in the OT was commonly known already.

Bluejack222: Multiple stories do take time, but I always try to keep things moving.

edinosaur25: Balancing plot and slice of life scenes took time to perfect. Hmm, maybe, but probably not. I can tell you they are fine.

Inacio: After the battle with sloth he had surgery on his mind and it fixed the small part of his mind that kept blocking her out. Kuroko would just make Jason do something embarrassing.

St germain: Takes a lot of work to insult me. I just pretend to be insulted. Not sure why your comments keep line spacing like that, but it makes it hard to read.

Master Knight Trolling: Her presence is going to cause some interesting events in AC during the week. For not, it's mostly just two strong women arguing.

Sergio644: Maybe the princess and his mom already talked. Who knows?

Salishious: Snuggle-chan does a lot, but yes, she did. It will be obvious it was her when he sees it. Kaori Kanzaki will be mortified when she finds out, but Lessar would join in an instant. Teitoku's attitude will be a little different. He hasn't reached that special protection phase yet. A lot has happened in the spam of a week, hasn't it?

Acpeters: Thanks.

Chris: Touma isn't allowed to have peace. It's in the fine print on his hand. Carissa is the possessive type. She doesn't stand for others taking what belongs to her.

Kami: Arisa had a cameo.

Tardis42: It was the sheets the Dianoid had. It was just supposed to indicate wealth. Seria would know Carissa is here. I was planning to mention it.

Guest13: Misaki is the ONLY one who possible could.

Guest: 1) Hubb died. He was getting old and doing a bad job, so he had to be put down. In reality, he's been an ass lately and I got fed up with him. He was kind of slacking lately and missing a lot of obvious stuff. Silverfang was willing to review my stuff because I added Mugino. 2) Nope.

Otaku97: Oh, that's definitely going to be a thing. How could it not?

Generation Zero: Really? I thought it was obvious. Carissa is going to start all-out war soon with the level 5s, but this time it wouldn't be violence. Touma may have talked to his mom, but Carissa still scares him. Kind of like Shizuri still scares him. It's one thing to talk to someone calm like Ruiko or Misaki, something else completely with her. Both sides are used to getting their own way. There has to be a compromise somewhere. I had planned for Teitoku to show up here for a long time.

Savaris: Touma has to take the lead for Carissa to go all dere on him. Right now, he's acting more like prey than a hunter. Kaori still has the opportunity to join Touma's harem. It took over a million words, but Touma has broken through the denseness shell. What if Ricane was never there? Cue music. Truth can be different for people based on your observation. Poor Thor, no one talks about him anymore.

X the Reaper: Hmm, not sure if they will meet, but if she's in AC, it is possible.

FrodoFighter: Heh, diplomacy. It's really all word games and running away. Does Carissa like him? It is possible he's just the best candidate and she needs the best to cement her place in history. Zach, my self-insert, but don't tell anyone. Let them believe it's Jason. "Do I want to know why Lessar was chained to a cell?" Probably not, but it could make you laugh. "Poor Lessar, Touma got a kinky sex dungeon and you didn't know until now." The important thing is she knows now. "Kanzaki is Tachy, confirmed." Only our discord will get this. So, a knight named Steve made you laugh? I should make him more prominent now. Biology: Losing blood makes you pale. Who knew? "Everything is so kinky in the last few chapters." You like those fire whips. I can tell how much you love Jason with all your comments though. Frodo, you mess up. The correct saying is: One Does Not Simply Kill Kakine. That's a good guess about the arm.

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.

---

"STOP!"

Kuroko and Kazari yelled out in horror as Teitoku ripped Ricane's arm off at the shoulder. The girls couldn't say anything else, but the screeching sound of tearing metal echoed around the room. Teitoku glanced down and the girls followed with their own gazes. The arm looked normal, until they reached the end. Instead of even a single drop of blood, a few sparks, metal, and wires was all they saw. It was the same with Ricane's shoulder.

There was no sign of flesh.

His entire arm was robotic.

"Cyborg?" Teitoku asked, as he threw the arm across the room angrily. "Or just another one of your crappy robots?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," Ricane spat out and drew back his other hand into a fist. Teitoku rolled his eyes and slammed his open palm into Ricane's face. Metal being crushed was followed by Ricane's entire body flying backwards in to the wall. He collided with a strong bang and then a ringing sound from metal hitting metal. The body was now partially crushed and more wires and sparks were visible. The fake skin was peeled back to reveal a silver metal structure beneath it. "Heh…I knew you…kek… noticed…" The voice was no longer human and the number of sparks began to increase.

It exploded into a flash of light and fire a moment later.

Kuroko and Kazari cried out and ducked as pieces of metal flew across the room. The shrapnel hitting Teitoku collided into an invisible barrier and bounced off. The stuff wasn't reflected like Accelerator's ability, it simply hit something it couldn't penetrate. Teitoku gave the remains one last look of disdain before turning and approaching the remains of Ricane's computer equipment. Some of it had been destroyed by the debris from his earlier entrance and Ricane's explosion. He looked at the monitor for a second and then pulled out a walkie-talkie.

"I took him down. It was a fake though."

"How did you know?" Jason's voice came back.

"He tried to attack me knowing who I am," Teitoku answered. "If he was real, he wouldn't have even tried."

"Damn it," Jason spat. "What about Kazari and Kuroko? Two girls should be there." Teitoku glanced over his shoulder for a second. Kazari and Kuroko started to rise to their feet, now that Teitoku had taken out their kidnapper. It was the first time he appeared to register their presence.

"They are fine."

"Pass me to Kazari, the girl with black hair." Teitoku tossed the walkie-talkie to Kazari, who caught it after juggling it for a second and almost dropping it.

"Jason!" she cried out. "I'm so sorry! We got captured and you got hur-…!"

"Kazari!" Jason interrupted. "I need you to listen to me." Kazari grew silent. "You're the only one who can do this. I need you to hack Ricane's computer and download everything into the hard drive Kakine is carrying. We need to know what his plans are and the details of the information he's researching. Lives could be at risk."

"Right," Kazari said, her voice growing firm. She had been in dangerous situations since she had joined Judgment. Her training kicked in and she rushed toward the computer. "Part of it is damaged, but I'll salvage what I can." She looked over at Teitoku. "The hard drive and if you have any connectors that fit-…"

She didn't have to continue, as the device and chord appeared in his hand. She never saw him pull it out of a pocket, but there wasn't time to question it. She grabbed the items from him and went to work. Her eyes flashing as data appeared on the still working monitors.

"This security is pretty elaborate, but I think that one weakness is still in the code…" She trailed off and tossed the walkie-talkie to Kuroko. "Shirai-san, fill him in on the details so I can concentrate."

"Right." Kuroko turned her attention to Jason. "Are you really okay?" she asked him. "After transforming into…whatever that thing was and then being attacked by Ricane?"

"I'm a little tired," Jason admitted. "But I knew this entire thing was a trap. That's why I brought back up. How did he prevent you from escaping? Keeping a teleporter in one spot is a challenge."

"He put shock collars on us," Kuroko explained and ran her free hand against it as she talked. "It also interfered when I tried."

"Hmm, can Kakine hear me?"

"Yes," Kuroko confirmed, after she glanced at Kakine, who had turned to look at her. He had been watching the data flash on the screens over Kazari's shoulders.

"Kakine, disable those collars, now! They could have tracking or explosives set in." Kazari turned around in shock. Teitoku sighed and rolled his eyes, but reached over to Kazari and touched her neck. The hissing of electronics frying was briefly heard before it went silent. He walked over and did the same thing to Kuroko.

"Thanks," Kuroko told him. Teitoku barely glanced at her and went back to looking at the data on Ricane's computer. Wow, such a conversationalist. Well, Kat wasn't much of one either. Maybe that's why Jason talks so much to us. She teleported the collar off her and repeated the process with Kazari. "Alright, Jason. They are off."

"I'll be there soon. Stick near Kakine in case there are any other surprises."

"Wait!" Kuroko yelled. "Who is this gentleman anyway?"

"He's the number 2, Dark Matter."

The line then went dead.

"You can't just say something like that and hang up!"

Kazari glanced over her shoulder for a second at Teitoku while Kuroko fumed in the background.

"Are you really the number 2?" she asked.

"Yes," Teitoku answered. "I'm a temporary member of LOCKDOWN."

"How did you get that position?" Kuroko asked, once she calmed down and joined the others next to the monitors. "And how do you know Ricane?"

"Heh." Teitoku laughed darkly. "That bastard Ricane tricked me into helping him. He said he was working for the city to increase my ability. Turns out he only wanted to experiment. He tricked some of my friends," Kuroko and Kazari missed the slight inflection in his tone when he said that, "and me to pass them out. I almost died when I used my dose. When the drugs were confiscated, the city was looking for a scapegoat and I was blamed. Once I recovered, the city decided I had to make amends and I got stuck working for Kagere."

"Then how do you know magic?" Kuroko asked. "Shouldn't your body reject using it since you were already part of the Power Curriculum Program?"

"Ricane taught me magic and a way around that limitation with my Dark Matter," Teitoku explained. "He said it was to increase my ability, but he only wanted me to make him certain equipment he couldn't acquire. I was used as a pawn." He made a fist and scowled furiously. "And just when I finally thought I found him, it turned out to be a robot."

"Thankfully you could tell," Kazari stated. "How did you anyways?"

"I could feel the metal when I grabbed his arm; I was only going to break it otherwise."

Kuroko and Kazari shivered slightly at his words. They were similar to Accelerator, but they let it go. Jason was watching him and he wouldn't let Teitoku kill someone, plus it was understandable he was angry. Ricane had almost killed him and his friends. They had no idea the story was rehearsed and Teitoku was laughing at them internally.

"What has Ricane been working on?" He asked Kazari, shifting the topic back to more important matters.

"A lot of things," Kazari answered, her eyes not leaving the screen. "These schematics for his robots, they are incredible, full bipedal movement, automatic stabilizers, and self-learning. The more of them you fight, the harder it gets." The screen flashed. "Then there is information on AIM diffusion fields. He did say he was adding abilities to machines; so this is natural. Last, there is this section where he must be combining magic with machines. I have no idea what is being combined though."

"Why?" Kuroko asked.

"I don't know the significance of these symbols or equations," Kazari explained and brought up some weird shapes. "These are runes…right, Kakine-san?"

"Fire, connection, and creation runes," Teitoku muttered. "Those I recognize, but I don't know the rest or the formula. It's all downloading, right?"

"As much as I can." Kazari continued to type furiously, her hands a blur. "Some of these files are individually encrypted and I have to break them or I won't be able to copy them over." She gritted her teeth. "This is going to take a while. Some information was lost too, due to the explosions taking out some data catches."

"Are you complaining?" Teitoku asked with a raised eyebrow. He really wanted to hit her, but she was being useful, so he wasn't going to interrupt. The information was important and his revenge against Ricane was the most important thing on his to do list.

"She's just informing us," Kuroko reassured him. "When she gets involved in this kind of stuff, you only get facts from her. If anyone can get that information, she can. Anything is better than nothing, right?" Teitoku grunted in annoyance. "Your replies remind me of Accelerator. He doesn't talk much." She didn't notice his eyes flash dangerously and his hand twitched.

Kuroko had been seconds away from being sent flying through the wall.

If Jason hadn't walked through the door at that exact moment, it was a real possibility.

"Glad to see everyone is up," he announced.

Everyone turned to face him. Kazari visibly brightened up at the sight of him, though she was quick to return to her work. She really wanted to get up and embrace him, but the task at hand was more important. There would be plenty of time later. A little fidgeting was the only outward sign she really wanted to get up. Teitoku glanced over his shoulder and gave a small nod of acknowledgment. Kuroko was the least restrained.

"About time you got here!" Kuroko yelled and instantly teleported to his side. Jason never got a chance to speak before she wrapped her arms around him and buried her head in his chest. "Stupid! You knew it was a trap!"

"Didn't have a choice," Jason replied with a short chuckled. He wrapped one arm around her and then turned to the others. "Kazari, I'm glad you are safe, but how is the-…"

"It's almost done," Kazari replied and beamed at him. "I think I got everything I could find. Now I'm just waiting for the download to finish." She glanced at Teitoku for a moment and then back to Jason. "So… how did you meet Kakine-san?"

"Long story," Jason sighed. "And not all that pleasant. Once we finish here, I'll tell you two everything."

"You better," Kuroko muttered, still not letting him go. Kazari was biting the corner of her lip and staring at them. "Then I'm going to hit you for risking yourself like that." Jason flinched and Kazari smiled.

"Think this will tell us where that bastard Ricane is?" Teitoku asked Jason.

"Probably." Jason shrugged though. "There's a good chance it's just his research, or part of it. At the very least, we can figure out how far his research has come along and what his overall goal is. Adding abilities and magic to machines is only a means, not an end. Once we know what he is after…"

"…we can figure out what he needs and where he has to go," Teitoku finished and Jason nodded. He crossed his arms. "Makes sense, even if I wish I could have crushed him here. There's no doubt he was monitoring us and knows I'm alive."

"Which makes me wonder why nothing has happened yet," Jason added, growing slightly more concerned. "How long until the download finishes?"

"About a minute," Kazari answered and then frowned. "Why?"

"Because I half expect Ricane to…" Red lights began to flash and alarms went off.

"Warning," a cool mechanical female style voice announced. "Security breach detected. Self-destruction will activate in one minute. Please evacuate the premises."

"…and there it is," Jason sighed.

"I blame you for this," Teitoku growled.

"The download will finish three seconds before this place self-destructs," Kazari informed the others in a panic.

"We need to get out," Kuroko declared. "I can take Uiharu and Jason with me. Kakine-san, can you fly out on your own?" He gave a curt nod and looked almost insulted.

"I could survive an explosion easily," he stated calmly.

"Then let's go," Kuroko continued. "Interrupt the download. It's not worth risking-…"

"No!" Jason interrupted firmly. "Kuroko, you take Kazari out and contact Anti-Skill. Kakine and I will stay back and make sure we get all the data."

"You can't be ser-…," Kazari tried to say in shock.

"Stop!" Jason held out his hand. "Listen, we don't have time for arguing. If we don't get this data, other people are going to die because of Ricane. Trust me, Kakine can keep us protected." Both girls opened their mouths to argue. "I'm pulling rank! As your superior officer I'm ordering you to go!" The girls looked shocked and their eyes widened. "Please," Jason added, in a much softer tone than before.

"Fine," Kuroko relented and grabbed Kazari's arm. "If you die, I'm going to kill you." The corner of Jason's lips twitched.

"Come back safe," Kazari whispered and gently put her hand on his. He nodded and the next moment they were gone. Jason saw a slight movement above him as the girls teleported up the hole Teitoku made. Jason sat down in the chair Kazari had vacated and scanned the screen.

"I thought I was going to vomit at that scene," Teitoku commented. Jason rolled his eyes.

"Thirty seconds until self-destruction," the unfeeling voice announced.

"Learn how to feel emotions you ass," Jason replied and typed furiously, knowing time was of the essence.

"Do they know the real you?" Kakine asked.

"No and they don't need to. Staying with them keeps up appearances." His eyes widened. "What the hell is this?"

"Looks like hundreds of weapons combined into one battle suit," Teitoku commented. He had been observing over Jason's shoulders.

"Enough to destroy a fortress," Jason mumbled. "But it's mostly the runes around a piece of it, like a core." Teitoku leaned forward to get a closer look.

"Fifteen seconds until self-destruction."

"Looks like everything is centered on it," Teitoku said.

"That's what I thought. This can't be a normal weapon."

"The Anti-Art Attachment," Teitoku read out loud.

"Could be useful," Jason added. "You can remake everything we need."

"Crushing Ricane with his own device," Teitoku said and a dark smile spread across his face. "I approve."

"Five seconds until self-destruction."

"Hurry up!" Jason growled and put his hand on the hard drive.

"Four."

A message on the screen flashed.

"Three."

"Hah!" Jason unplugged the device.

"Two."

Teitoku raised his hand and a couple of white wings erupted from his back.

"One."

The ground shook as explosions tore through the facility.

---

Kazari and Kuroko couldn't do much when the explosions went off inside the facility.

It took another five minutes for Anti-Skill to arrive and by then, the building was reduced to rubble. Half of it was underground, so the nearby streets started to crumble. Kuroko volunteered to help the rescue teams remove the debris to find Jason, Teitoku, and anyone else who was caught in the blast. The girls only knew of one other person in the building. His fate was uncertain, but there wasn't a lot of hope for him.

"I found someone! He's… alive! I need a medic!"

Until one of the Anti-Skill members had called out for assistance.

Several people rushed over, including Kuroko. Everyone was in shock at how a boy could have survived that. His clothes were burned and his arm looked broken, but those injuries were nothing compared to what he should have received. The adults couldn't understand how that was possible. The only unusual thing was a piece of paper with a weird shape on it.

Kuroko recognized it as a rune.

Did Jason put it on that guy? Kuroko thought, as she racked her brain. When did he have time? Was that why he didn't have me teleport him out? Or was it after Kakine-san shut off those jammers? Damn it. That idiot better be okay!

She suddenly understood what Mikoto had gone through with Touma.

Kazari had finished briefing Anti-Skill on what happened. After that, she couldn't do anything. The adults wouldn't let a kid into that zone without a reason. Kuroko could teleport blocks of debris away to help clear areas. Kazari did not have that luxury. All she could do was pace along the edges of the scene and wait for some news. She briefly thought about calling some of her friends, but dismissed that notion. There wasn't anything they could really do. Anti-Skill wouldn't want them to interfere and it would only cause more concern.

Come on. You won't die to this. Besides, Kakine-san is a level 5. He won't let you die.

"Clear the area!" one of the rescuers shouted. Some of the debris piles began to move. "It could be collapsing!" Kazari watched as everyone moved and Kuroko ended up teleporting next to her.

"Any luck?" Kazari asked in a hush whisper. Kuroko only shook her head solemnly. The two girls stood there with stony expressions as the pile of debris began to shake with greater intensity. To everyone's surprise, the pile didn't collapse in on itself.

Instead, it exploded seemingly from below.

Debris rained down in the area but luckily, everyone had moved or they would have been buried. From below, several white wings reached up from the ground and separated to leave an opening. A shadow tendril followed and the two boys who had stayed behind lifted themselves out of the ruined building.

"You cut it kind of close there!" the girls heard Jason berating Teitoku. "I swear I saw my life flash before my eyes."

"You're the one who said we had to wait until the end," Teitoku replied and rolled his eyes. "Don't blame me for your stupidity."

"Jason!" The two guys turned to see the two girls calling for him.

"Your fan club is here," Teitoku pointed out unnecessary.

"Take the information back to Kat," Jason said. "She knows what info to remove before forwarding it on. I'll make sure your appearance doesn't leak out to certain people."

"Oh, yeah. Your friends would love to know I'm alive."

---

As soon as Jason was free to leave, he found himself almost knocked off his feet by Kuroko and Kazari rushing at him.

"Woah! I missed you two too." He wrapped an arm around each of them.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Kazari cried, tears flowing freely. "When you didn't come out, I was afraid the worst had happened."

"I won't die that easily," bragged Jason, but his hug tightened ever so slightly.

"I know I promised to hit you," sniffed Kuroko. "But I'll put that off until tomorrow."

"I knew you cared."

"Shut it."

"So what's going to happen now?" Kazari asked. She had released him from a hug, but her hand was still tightly clamping his. Kuroko backed off too, but was still hanging onto Jason's arm.

"We take that information back to HQ," Jason answered. "And we figure out what all is in there. Naturally, anything relating to magic will be selectively edited for the normal branches of Anti-Skill." He sighed. "We need to find him. He's a threat to Academy City and he's willing to manipulate anyone. Kakine actually got played by him and he isn't one to be manipulated easily."

"Is it true that Kakine was given the drugs?" Kuroko asked. "And he and his friends used them?"

"Yes." That single word caused silence to hang over them. "Then the board of directors decided to place the blame on him since they didn't know about Ricane at first. They were going to lock him in solitary, but his temper can mimic Accelerator occasionally. He wouldn't accept that." Both girls nodded. Level 5s were not easily contained. Academy City had anti-ability technology, but things could happen to them when in use. "Instead, I get told he's a new member and to train him so he can repay the city for the damage he caused. Stupid logic on their part, they just didn't want to deal with him. Could you tell he works with me rather unwillingly?"

"I think I caught that," Kuroko confirmed with a nod.

"He's also supposed to be confined for the most part," Jason added. "I had to call on his help because I didn't have much choice. I suddenly get a call from Ricane about your abduction… and I couldn't risk it alone. We all knew it was a trap."

"You really shouldn't have come knowing that," Kazari pointed out softly. "Proper procedures dictate letting Anti-Skill know and have them perform the operation. Being close to the people kidnapped causes a lapse in proper judgment."

"Yeah," Jason mused. "But screw that." Both girls stared at him. "I wasn't going to let two people I care about get used by some madman." A faint tinge formed on the girls' faces. Jason was deliberately not looking at them. "So I bent a few rules. I'll get some old guy yelling at me, fill out a few extra forms, and then things will go back to normal; all worth it to get you two back."

They started walking down the street, neither girl letting him go. There wasn't really a destination in mind. They were just finding a spot a little more isolated to talk about sensitive topics.

"You were the one who put that rune on that one boy, right?" Kuroko asked suddenly. "I don't think anyone else could have done it."

"Yeah," Jason confirmed. "He was close and I had just enough mana left to do that. I figured Ricane had some kind of failsafe in case I beat him and rigging the lab to explode was a very likely outcome. His older robots exploded on defeat. It's a way to ensure people can't research his designs."

"That magic you did," Kazari said softly. "He mentioned it was… blood magic? It's something bad within the magic side, not that nearly bleeding out is a good thing."

"What the heck was that?!" Kuroko demanded.

"It's complicated, that's for sure." Jason sighed. "I wasn't taught magic the normal way, you know that." The girls nodded and looked slightly guilty bringing it up. "The magician who taught me magic was from a small village in Russia. She didn't conform to normal magic practices. I didn't know. Most magic requires some kind of cost, certain organization of items, mana, and so forth. Blood is a catalyst like everything else. That magic is one of my last resorts and it still doesn't work when someone is prepared. I'm lucky Kakine was willing to come."

"Do you want us to stay quiet about that magic?" Kazari asked. "Index-san, Lessar-san, and a few other magicians we know might not mind because of the situation, but some of the others like Stiyl…"

"…will want to punish you for using it," Kuroko finished. "He's such a jerk."

"I would appreciate you keeping it between us," Jason told them and bit his lip. "I know our friends won't mind, but the more who know the greater the chance it gets leaked out by accident. Same goes for Kakine; can you two keep his involvement quiet?"

"Why?" they asked.

"Level 5s draw a lot of attention." Kuroko smirked at this. The number of times Mikoto complained about that was endless. "Plus, several groups know of his involvement in the drug fiasco. There are concerns about some of them trying to get revenge; especially if they believe he was responsible for giving out the incomplete drugs."

"Oh." Kazari looked thoughtful for a moment. "Okay, I can do that. A lot of stuff we do for Judgment is confidential, so we can classify this under that."

"Feel free to let everyone know how amazing I was in rescuing you two," Jason added with a grin.

"So you want us to lie?" Kuroko asked, mirroring his grin with her own. Jason gasped dramatically while Kazari giggled.

"Good to have you back too."

The three of them continued walking through Academy City, a little slower than normal. The girls could tell Jason was a little unsteady and that was one of the reasons they were holding onto his arms. Kazari was the first one to notice he was distracted and made a hand gesture to Kuroko out of his line of sight. Kuroko nodded and looked up at his face. Now that the excitement was over, they needed to know something else. Something they knew was going to come eventually.

Jason had said he was going to decide by now.

"Since you mentioned we were the two people you cared about," Kuroko spoke up, cursing silently that her face was burning. "Does that mean… you thought about what we discussed yesterday?"

Kazari and Kuroko felt Jason tense up slightly.

"It's okay," Kazari reassured him immediately. "We talked about it, remember?"

"Do you realize how awkward this is after what just happened?" Jason asked.

"Yes." Both girls answered simultaneously. They were both crimson, but firmly held their gaze.

"I need to know," Kuroko stated clearly.

"I pushed her into telling you," Kazari added. "You need to give us a proper answer."

"You did?" Jason asked with a raised eyebrow.

"She did tell me first," Kazari muttered and diverted her eyes. "And I thought it would be best for her to confess. The three of us are close and work together, so having unresolved feelings would only cause us to grow apart."

"I thought she was kind of strange for pushing me into it too," Kuroko told Jason.

"Shirai-san!"

"But I do what to know," Kuroko continued bravely. This is it. "I can't stand not knowing. Uiharu and I talked, because I would never be able to live with myself if I stole her boyfriend. Remember when I said she wanted me to confess, I was being completely honest." Kazari nodded.

"We promise to accept whoever you chose," Kazari continued quickly before Jason could get a word in. "Both of us want you to be happy. If you would be happier with Shirai-san, I would understand." Kuroko shifted uncomfortably and Jason stared at her.

"I keep telling you to think more about yourself," Jason said softly.

"And I told myself I want you to be happy," Kazari replied firmly.

"And if you reject me to stay with her," Kuroko added. "I will understand. This way, I won't keep wondering if things could have been…" She trailed off. Jason bit the corner of his mouth.

The silence lengthened.

"Jason?" Kazari prodded.

"Kuroko did surprise me with her confession yesterday," Jason commented. He stared up at the sky and stopped walking. "And I told her I would give her a proper answer today." He sighed and closed his eyes. "No matter how much I thought about it, I kept arriving at the same conclusion. No matter who I chose, one of you would get hurt. Even if both of you said you wanted me to choose and the other would be fine with it, it would do something to your friendship. Exactly what, I wasn't sure, but things would change."

"We promised each other it wouldn't," Kazari interjected. "And we would stay friends."

"Kazari…" Jason said softly. "You might believe that now, but…" He turned to Kuroko. "Do you believe if I turned you down things could go back to how they were?" Kuroko opened her mouth. "Truthfully, Kuroko. Do you think we could joke around like we have been or that you wouldn't subconsciously put distance between you and us?"

She closed her mouth, frowned, and then shook her head.

"No," Kuroko admitted. "I would try, but I couldn't guarantee it." Kazari looked at her, wide-eyed.

"I didn't think so." Jason frowned and his face darkened. "Then Ricane contacted me and said he would kill you both if I didn't play his game. When I heard that, everything seemed to stop." Both girls let go of his arms. "I… didn't want to lose either of you and I swore I would get you both back by any means necessary." He put his hands behind his back and grasped them together. He started walking forward. "Both of you are important to me and I don't think I can make a decision that would hurt either of you."

They vaguely heard something along the lines of, impossible choice and responsible for ending a friendship.

Kuroko and Kazari's eyes widened as they watched him walk away.

"You didn't tell him about the third option?" Kazari whispered, once the initial shock passed.

"Uhhh… no," Kuroko whispered back. "I mean, won't most guys want that option. It had to be his decision. So does this count?"

"I think so," Kazari whispered. "He truly cares about us and his decision was made based on not hurting either one of us. Should we tell him now?"

"How about we show him?" Kuroko asked with a devious smirk. Kazari raised an eyebrow and then smiled when Kuroko raised a finger to her lips. The two of them chased after Jason and grabbed his arms.

"Hang on-…!" he gasped, but his words were quickly silenced.

The girls pulled him down and kissed his cheeks simultaneously.

"I think we can share him, Shirai-san," Kazari said in a cheerful tone.

"That would be for the best," Kuroko agreed with a huge smile.

"…huh?!" Jason snapped back to reality. "W-what?! Don't I get a say in this?!"

"No," they answered.

"We agreed to share you if you truly loved us both," Kazari told him. "Your reaction proved you did."

"And it's not like you are going to complain," Kuroko added and rubbed her cheek against his shoulder. "You should be happy two cute girls are willing to do that."

"Gah! I feel like Touma now and I somehow think this is all his fault somehow." The girls laughed.

"Don't worry," Kuroko reassured Jason. "You are much better looking than him."

"Yep," Kazari agreed and pressed her body against his arm.

"How would this even work?" Jason asked. The silence lengthened. "Okay, so neither of you thought that far ahead?" Kazari looked away sheepishly, but Kuroko stared directly at him.

"So are you going to say no to dating us both?" Kuroko asked directly. Jason stared back and opened his mouth. A second later, he closed it and Kuroko gazed triumphantly at him.

Got him.

"I don't think there's a guy who can say no in this situation," Jason relented. "Especially since I do love you both." He freed his arms and pulled both of them into a one armed hug. "You do understand how weird this is going to be? People are going to give us funny looks."

"I don't care about them," Kuroko huffed.

"Pretty sure our lives are already weird," Kazari muttered and the three of them laughed.

"It's that ape's fault," Kuroko declared.

"Shirai-san!" admonished Kazari. "You know that's not-…"

"Nah," Jason interrupted. "She's completely right. Let's blame him." Everyone laughed again.

"What happens now?" Kazari asked. Kuroko and Jason stared at her.

"I was planning to ask a teleporter I know if she will take me back to my apartment so I can lay down before I collapse," Jason answered. Both girls blinked and Kazari shifted her weight so he could lean on her. Kuroko managed to click her brain into gear fast enough for a comeback.

"You know another teleporter?" Kuroko asked in a fake hurt tone.

"Yeah," Jason followed up. "But she only teleports me in coach. If you're free, I would enjoy the first class seat."

"Since you asked so nicely." Kuroko pretended to sigh. "I'll accommodate."

"Can I bring a guest?" Jason asked and pulled Kazari around.

"That can be arranged." Kuroko was trying really hard not to burst out laughing. Jason's lips were twitching from him holding it in and even Kazari joined in.

"Will there be refreshments on this trip?" she asked. No one could hold it in any longer. They all burst out laughing. None of them could stop for a good couple of minutes. Kuroko was the one who finished first and wiped a tear from her eyes.

"That's enough of this. Let's get you back to your apartment." She grabbed Jason's and Kazari's wrist before teleporting up into the air.

No matter what happens, Kuroko thought. I know these two will be with me. Even though Jason didn't specifically choose her, this ending was probably the best she could have hoped for. Her relationship with Kazari would not be strained and she could still be with the person she loved. Onee-sama is going to be shocked.

I forgot how weird teleporting is over long distances, Kazari thought to herself. But I'm glad everything worked out. Shirai-san and I can both be happy with Jason. It was the best outcome she could imagine and there might have been a few images in her mind derived from some adult literature she read once. They were the ones that involved three people. Saten-san is going to be shocked.

Jason had to deal with a few other issues while they teleported. Luckily, the girls thought he was still in shock about what happened.

So, came Emiko's voice in his mind. If I get a body, can I join your harem?

Shut it.

---

"If I get caught giving this to you," Saiai said and set down the black box in the empty railway cargo storage. "Mugino is super going to kill me."

"If she has any complaints," Accelerator huffed. "Tell her to take it up with me. She can fuck off." He knelt down next to the brick sized box. "It really is seamless." He glanced up at Saiai. "And if I try to break it, it explodes?"

"We tried a couple different ways," Saiai answered and shrugged. "Even a small hole will super cause it to go off."

"Sneaking off to meet with another girl?" Worst teased from her position of leaning up against a railway car. "What will your girlfriend say? Poor Bayloupe will be devastated when Misaka tells her."

"She's open to new things," Accelerator spat back.

Worst's and Saiai's mouths fell open in disbelief.

Bitch, Accelerator thought. That wasn't true at all, but it was easier than arguing with her. His relationship with Bayloupe was only a front so that she could stay within easy contact. A magician was needed to provide him with information about anything Eve tried in AC. There was also the fact she wasn't that big of annoyance as most of the other people he knew. Last Order had also grown attached to her, so there was another good reason to keep her around. She was in the room with me when I contacted this girl for one of the boxes. His eyes fell on Saiai, who was still staring at him.

"Seriously?" she asked him in an undertone so Worst didn't hear.

"Don't worry about it," Accelerator snapped and touched the device. The metal felt normal and he traced the entire box to see if there was a spot that was different in texture.

"You remember your promise?" Saiai asked.

"Tsk." Accelerator clicked his tongue in agitation.

Saiai had been willing to get him one of the boxes they had stocked up to try to figure out what they were for, but it wouldn't be for free. She demanded Accelerator spend a day with her doing what she wanted as payment. Threats didn't change her mind and he didn't know where she kept the boxes, so he gave in. It gave him a reason to escape Worst for a bit at the very least. Spending time around Touma and seeing the number of girls who threw themselves at him made the number one suspect that Saiai actually lusted for him.

"Well?" Saiai crossed her arms.

"Yeah, yeah," Accelerator relented and went back to examining the box. "Let see if anything is being emitted." He started adjusting his vector manipulation around the metal, slightly diverting gravity, light, electromagnetic waves, and anything else he could think of. The metal shifted color for a moment from black to a silver and he stopped. "There was a reaction there."

He focused on that and began to make even more refined adjustments. Finally, something triggered and he recognized those special vectors.

"Fuck!" Accelerator's outburst caused Saiai and Worst to jump slightly. "This device is compatible with magic!"

"What?" Saiai asked in shock. "Isn't that super impossible? Doesn't it have to do with life force or something?" Accelerator gave a noncommittal shrug and continued inspecting the device.

"There's something here," he muttered, more to himself than the others. "The vectors are disappearing the second they hit the metal casing." When I messed with the magic vectors of the case, some slipped out. Okay… so if it's that type, maybe it was worth it letting Worst follow me here. "Hey!" He glanced over his shoulder. "There are some electromagnetic waves inside this box. Check it out without breaking the box; it will explode otherwise."

"Oh?" Worst raised an eyebrow. "You expect Misaka to do this for free? This is going to cost you."

"I'll get that stupid game you want if you shut up and do it," Accelerator snapped, annoyed. The only way to get Worst to do anything was to bribe her. He wasn't one to plead to her sense of decency, if she had any to begin with.

"Move over," Worst ordered and pushed passed him to take a look. She put a hand on each side of the black brick box and started humming. There was a tiny spark from her hands, but she controlled it so the box wouldn't explode on her. Her cocky expression quickly turned into confusion. "Weird…."

"You found something?" Saiai asked.

"There is a circuit of some kind inside," Worst reported. "But it's not connected. It's like a circle with a section missing. Misaka can't get an accurate reading."

"Try forcing a connection," Accelerator ordered. Worst frowned and then forced a small bit of electricity in-between the gap.

"…so he brought him back from the dead to help? That was a miscalculation on my part."

A male voice suddenly erupted from the box like it was a speaker.

"That voice," Accelerator growled. "The Doctor! Ricane!"

"That guy Mugino warned us about?" Saiai wondered out loud.

"…This is a surprise," Ricane said. "Accelerator, how nice to speak to you again. If you don't mind waiting, I have something to attend to first."

"Bullshit!" Accelerator shouted. "I'm going to tear you apart when I find you." He turned to Worst. "Track where the signal is coming from."

"I can't have that," Ricane stated firmly. "Though, I am curious as to how you managed to bypass my security. Even Academy City experts haven't been able to discover the purpose of these boxes."

"Wouldn't you like to know," Accelerator said with a mild amount of superiority in his tone. It wasn't like he was going to tell Ricane.

"I would," Ricane agreed. "But if you want to be disagreeable, I can always listen in on your conversation prior. Right now, I have to deal with an annoyance that actually managed to bypass my firewalls. Who would have thought a threat would come from such an innocent source? Have a nice day and do try to die a painful death, would you?"

Accelerator acted immediately and pulled Worst back as the box exploded. The metal debris deflected off of him harmlessly while Saiai's offense armor absorbed the impact.

"He can super remotely detonate them to cover his tracks." Saiai muttered and kicked a piece of the debris. "We can't find him like this."

"Could you trace the source?" Accelerator asked Worst.

"No, he cut the line before Misaka could." Worst crossed her arms and frowned. "Misaka doubts she could have anyways. The signal came from inside that device, it wasn't receiving it. Misaka isn't sure how that is possible."

He must be using magic combined with that transmission technology he stole, Accelerator rationalized. It would prevent Academy City from intercepting his plan. These boxes allow him to transmit and receive signals, but that doesn't make logical sense. They are too easy to find and had to be shoved into secluded areas. That defeats the purpose of spying, so what are they really for? The transmission technology might be able to transmit and receive signals, so what's the purpose of the magic? There has to be something we aren't seeing.

He glanced over at Saiai, who seemed to be staring at the remains in thought. She caught him staring and looked up.

"It wasn't a complete waste," Saiai told him. "We super verified Ricane was involved in this. You've met him before?"

"Suppose so," Accelerator reluctantly agreed. Maybe Kagere isn't responsible, even though I'm not going to apologize since he was suspicious. "I'm leaving since there's nothing else."

"Next Friday," Saiai told him. "I'll message you."

"Tsk." Accelerator clicked his tongue again. He didn't argue and she took that as a confirmation he understood.

Take that Frenda, Saiai mentally congratulated herself. I win!

It might not have been the most romantic way of getting a date, but it worked.

"We done?" Worst asked and followed Accelerator. "When we get back, Misaka is going to tell Bayloupe you are planning a date with another girl. She's totally not going to appreciate it."

"Shut it," Accelerator muttered darkly.

"You also know that she won't!" Worst continued gleefully. "This is going to be great. Misaka can't wait to see the fireworks."

Strangely, Accelerator had a feeling Bayloupe might be a little annoyed.

---

Touma regretted every decision he had made that lead up to this point.

Each second that ticked by felt like an eternity.

He was sitting in the middle of a couch, trying to make himself as small as possible, as Shizuri Mugino, one of the seven level 5s in the city, stared down Princess Carissa of England from across a table. A trembling maid set down tea and Carissa dismissed her with a wave of her hand. The relief on her face was evident as she scurried away.

Touma couldn't blame her.

A small, guilty, part of him even envied her.

Even Frenda doesn't want to approach, he thought, glancing back at Frenda who was leaning against a wall, away from the other two. He really wanted to speak up, but the atmosphere was almost choking him.

"So," Carissa started the conversation. "I appreciate your tact in returning the boy without issue. You may leave now."

"Nonsense," Shizuri replied and sipped at her own cup. Her demeanor and poise was equal to Carissa, although her eyes were sharp and unrelenting. This wasn't the first time Touma considered the idea that she was from a wealthy family. "He came to me and needed some support against someone who was pressuring him. Anything you can say to him, you can say in front of me."

"The affairs of a member of the royal family are hardly your concern," Carissa pointed out. "You are merely a student in this city and have no authority to insert yourself in such matters."

"I'm surprised you have the audacity to say such things," Shizuri said with a smirk and set down her cup. "Because of everything that happened in England, I find it hard to believe your status is fully restored. Perhaps you are here for an apology tour? You could start with me. After all, you interfered with my vacation."

"I only apologize to individuals who deserve it," Carissa answered calmly. "A child will never receive one from me when they speak of things they don't understand. The boy and I simply need to talk. We didn't get a chance to finish our conversation before he so rudely left." Her eyes fell on Touma, who shrunk down even more in his seat. The tea in front of him remained untouched. "You and your companion may wait out front until we finish."

"I don't think so," Shizuri stated firmly. "You see, when I see a member of my group fleeing from your knights, I tend to get irritated. I'm forced to get involved directly."

"Your childish group does not concern me," Carissa huffed. "This deals with adult matters."

"Ah!" Shizuri nodded in sympathy. "You must have reached that age; my condolences."

Touma had no idea what she meant. Carissa, whose eyes narrowed as the temperature around her dropped ten degrees, obviously did.

"Such a vulgar child, as expected." Carissa responded in a voice of determined calm. "One day, you might mature into someone capable of standing before me. You are only receiving my attention because he brought you."

"Capable?" Shizuri laughed. "I stood before you in England at the height of your power. Your peons still have my power etched in their minds."

"Do you remember what happened when you did?" Carissa asked smugly. "You and that one girl were powerless before me. It took an army to beat me."

"Would you like to reenact that scenario here?" Shizuri asked with a raised an eyebrow; her voice soft and deadly. Touma actually started to rise in his seat at her tone. It only took a quick glance from her to cause him to sit back down. "I don't see Curtana anywhere. You might have to rely on your own power. Your knights can clean up your splattered remains."

"If you think I would be powerless," Carissa scoffed. "You are even more immature than I gave you credit for. Royalty would never travel overseas without protection."

"My attacks are even more lethal than the last time we fought," Shizuri bragged. "Are you interested?"

"An opportunity to teach a disrespectful brat a lesson?" Carissa asked, her eyes gleaming. "Why not? As long as the city doesn't mind losing one of their students."

Touma saw her hand reach down to her waist and his danger sense started sending our warning sirens. Frenda shifted in the back and Touma knew she was reaching for her own weapons.

Things were about to spiral out of control.

"Wait!" Touma shouted and the two turned to look at him. "Violence isn't needed here. Uh… we can settle this without it and… I did come back to talk to her, Mugino."

"Tsk." Shizuri clicked her tongue in annoyance. Carissa merely raised an eyebrow.

"So...er…" Touma tried to continue, but his brain wasn't working correctly.

"Why did she bring you here in the first place?" Shizuri prodded. His lack of useful information was beginning to irritate her more. "Let's start with that." Her curiosity increased when Touma looked like a deer in the headlights.

Okay, he needs to learn to speak up when someone isn't about to die or he's going to be the one on the receiving end of my Meltdowner.

Unfortunately, Carissa decided to answer for him.

She did not pull her punches.

"We were discussing my mother's involvement in our engagement."

The room fell silent.

Touma had a brief opportunity to appreciate, if the situation hadn't been so dire, how funny the change in Shizuri's expression became. She had started off with a combination of superiority and contempt for Carissa. At her princess's announcement, it changed instantly into shock and disbelief. Touma hadn't remembered seeing a face like that since the first time he negated her attack or Carissa deflected it with Curtana. A second later, her expression changed into cold fury as her eyes slowly turned to stare down Touma.

All possible amusement was lost there.

"W-wha…!?" Frenda cried out, the first time she spoke since she and Shizuri arrived. Her shock temporarily overrode her fear. "Basically, what does she mean by that Kamijou?!"

Touma never had a chance to explain before Carissa spoke.

"I told him my mother wanted to make him my suitor and he accepted." Carissa sipped her tea while letting her words sink in.

I'm dead, Touma thought to himself as he could feel death glares coming at him from the two other girls.

"T-that's not what happened!" he protested, aware that being silent would get him killed.

"Oh?" Carissa asked. "I asked you and you agreed. What's so hard about that?"

"The way you asked was completely different! Stop saying it like I actually knew what was happening!"

"So that's it," Shizuri murmured. "That makes a lot more sense. You tricked him into accepting, knowing full well once he promises something, he will try to follow through with it." Damn, that was brilliant. I should have done that. "Not bad for an old hag."

"Your opinion means very little, brat," Carissa replied.

"The problem is," Shizuri continued. "He may already be tied down." Even Touma stared at her in shock. None of them knew what Shizuri was talking about.

"Your attempt at a joke wasn't very amusing," Carissa stated. "If for some insane reason we believe your lies, do you honestly expect me to believe he wouldn't have mentioned that as an excuse to avoid the arrange marriage? The excuses he gave me were… weak to say the least."

"That's because he's an idiot," Shizuri stated flatly. "Or just in denial." A vein throbbed in Touma's head.

"True," Carissa agreed. "That still doesn't explain your words earlier."

I'm right here! Touma thought annoyed. Even so, he didn't say anything for a variety of reasons. One was that Shizuri and Carissa could kick his ass up and down the street with ease. Second, being the focus of their ridicule stopped the two from antagonizing each other. Academy City would be damaged if these two titans clashed. Maybe they can find some common ground this way?

His hopes were dashed only a few moments later.

"There is another group currently trying to get his attention," Shizuri explained. "And it's being led by one girl who specializes in information gathering and underhanded schemes."

"Huh?" Touma was completely confused and Frenda didn't look any better. Carissa raised an eyebrow in interest.

"And who might be leading this group?" Carissa asked and Shizuri smirked.

"You met her once before." Shizuri crossed her arms and looked smug. "After all, Misaki Shokuhou was in our group when we visited your country."

Touma's face grew ashen.

"Nooo…" Touma whispered in horror. "Don't tell her that…. please…"

This was a mistake.

Shizuri's smirk widened sadistically and Carissa only grew more interested. Frenda was still completely confused at what Shizuri was referencing.

"Go on," Carissa prodded. She would never say it out loud, but Touma's expression was turning her on.

"It appears she has realized she can't win and has grouped up with others to try to form a harem for him," Shizuri explained. Touma buried his face in his hands as Shizuri refused to remain silent. By her expression, he could tell she knew exactly what she was doing.

"W-what?!" Frenda gasped. "She actually tried that? It's not just his friends mocking him by saying that now!?"

The sound of fine china shattering caused the three of them to look at the princess.

Carissa's expression remained unreadable, so Touma wouldn't have gotten anything from that. He almost would have believed Carissa didn't care about it. The teacup she had set down told a completely different story. Half of it was broken into multiple pieces when Carissa set it down with far more force than necessary. She glanced down at it and let the cup go, before looking up again. Her eyes fell onto Touma and he shivered. It felt like she was staring right through him. After what felt like ages, even if it was only a few seconds, she turned back to Shizuri.

"Sounds like the delusional rambling of a child," Carissa stated. There was nothing unusual about her tone to Touma, but Shizuri smirked at her. "Even if her power centers around mental manipulation."

"Done some research on us, have you?"

"Did you expect anything less?" Carissa asked.

"No," Shizuri acknowledged. "I would have done the same in your position. Strengths, weaknesses, anything of note. If we fought you once, we would likely do it again." She shrugged. "Standard procedures, even if you aren't up to date." She smirked at Carissa.

"I do doubt this, though," Carissa continued and glanced at Touma. "He doesn't have the spine to do something like that."

"Of course not," Shizuri agreed. "He lacks balls in that department…"

"I'm right here," Touma muttered, but they ignored him. Frenda slunk up to him and patted his shoulder. He glanced over at her and her expression simply said, deal with it.

"…so as long as she doesn't corner and persuade him," Shizuri continued. "He won't do shit."

"Do you know if he did?" Carissa asked. It wasn't like she liked Shizuri, but the Meltdowner had information she needed. Likewise, it was similar to why Shizuri was willing to talk. She had an ulterior motive.

"Good point." Shizuri turned to Touma. "Did she?" Carissa also glanced over at him.

"She… er…" Touma wanted to lie and was actually planning to, or at least omitting a lot of it. He was considering something along the lines of, she came to apologize for dropping that in front of my mother. The problem was he hesitated.

That was all it took.

"That bitch," Shizuri growled. "I knew that wasn't the end of it; trying to take my property!"

"Seems he's being unfaithful," Carissa mused. "I might have to train him thoroughly."

"When did I become your property?!" Touma protested. "And you only mentioned the Queen setting this up today!"

"You joined my group," Shizuri dismissed. "That means you're mine until I see fit."

"Yep," Frenda agreed.

"Doesn't matter," Carissa interjected. "Some silly children's group has no authority. As you have already agreed to my mother's offer, reneging on it could be detrimental to your health. For reasons I explained earlier."

Touma gulped.

He was doomed either way.

The look on his face was obvious to everyone.

He's going to run, Shizuri determined.

He's going to run again, Carissa surmised.

I wonder if he can make it, Frenda thought, concerned.

The door opened and a nervous maid stepped in.

"Pardon my intrusion," she said. "Would you like-…" A blur was already passing her before she realized what happened.

Knew it, the three girls all thought in unison.

"No," Carissa told the maid. "Now go." The maid quickly nodded and left, shutting the door behind her. Her gaze grew cold at Shizuri. "I'm a busy person and don't have time to entertain brats. You two can leave and I advise not getting in my way."

"So it's not the Queen who wants him," Shizuri replied, equally as cold. "The old hag turns out to be a cradle robber. Can't find anyone your own age so you have to grab a boy who doesn't know better?"

"You're lucky this city is our ally," Carissa hissed. "Or I would execute you on the spot."

"You're lucky Kamijou would be angry if I killed you," Shizuri snapped and a green orb appeared next to her, only to disappear a moment later. "Plus I don't want to have to deal with fucking politics."

"You have quite a mouth on you now that the boy has left," Carissa pointed out. "Ah, I see. You have a crush on him. That's why you're so against this arrange marriage."

"M-Mugino?!" Frenda asked nervously. She had always expected this, but wasn't entirely sure if Shizuri actually had feelings for him. There had been the possibility she only wanted him for the sake of entertainment and usefulness. Now it looked like her and Saiai's theory had been proven correct. Shizuri's only response was to click her tongue and scowl.

"Children and their crushes," Carissa added. "Too young to know how to express themselves."

"Don't tempt me, bitch," Shizuri hissed and stood up. "Frenda, we are leaving. There's no reason to stay here anymore. Let's find Kamijou and wrestle out every piece of information he conveniently left out."

"Right!" Frenda wanted to know more too. How dare that bitch try to force him into marriage? Kamijou is mine! Well… Mugino's and mine.

"Good luck in trying to find him before my knights," Carissa said as they began to depart. Let the hunt commence.

"Go die in a ditch." Shizuri yanked open the door and Carissa decided she had time for one last jab.

"Back in Australia," Carissa called out. "I found out the stereotype for Asian men being small was false. Your friend can vouch for it." Frenda's face flushed crimson as she recalled the sight. Shizuri paused and slowly turned around. Carissa's display of dominance was not lost on her.

People in the streets around the Dianoid saw a green beam of light fly from somewhere near the top of the massive building.

---

"Have you found him?" Carissa asked when her phone rang.

"No, ma'am," the knight on the other end replied nervously. "I'm only reporting in. The target, Touma Kamijou, seems to have disappeared."

"Do you have any good news to report?" Carissa pressed, determinedly keeping her voice calm.

"I sent Zach to tail Shizuri Mugino's friend," the man reported. "She is still in the process of looking for him, so I do not believe they have found him either."

"I suppose that's acceptable," Carissa mused. This has drawn on too long. I needed to keep a low profile until they officially announce my presence here. Shit. Not much I can do at this point. That brat drew too much attention. "Call all the troops back," she ordered. "This has gone on too long. The boy will return to his residence at some point. There's no point in wasting any more time with everything else we have to do."

"Understood." Carissa disconnected the call and stared out the window.

It's not like he can escape, though the information about the other girl does require some consideration.

---

Where the hell is he?!

Shizuri sat at a table at one of her safe houses. Rather than looking for Touma herself, she had done the smart thing and sent him a message.

We need to talk, meet at the usual location. Understand there will be consequences if you don't.

As a safeguard, she also sent Frenda to check if he was hiding somewhere. Time passed and there was no sign of him. Her frustration increased, but she considered the likely outcomes based on what had happened and his personality.

We teased him too much. Shizuri understood that. But if that bitch of a princess didn't keep getting involved in everything that didn't concern her, none of this would have happened. Now, Kamijou fights without issue if someone's life is in danger. Otherwise, he would rather avoid confrontation. It makes sense he would find somewhere to lie low until the heat dies down. Meeting a friend seems like the most prudent move at this stage. Maybe someone who could provide protection? He can't get with Mental Out or Railgun because their dorm doesn't allow males, so that leaves Accelerator or Kagere. If it's Accelerator, I'll have to drop it for now. If Kagere, that just requires scoping his place out. Once we find him, I'll have to teach him what it means to ignore my order.

---

I think I lost them!

Touma put a hand on the side of a building and tried to catch his breath. He was panting heavily from all that running and his sides were killing him. Getting out of the Dianoid was a lot simpler the second time and he only had a narrow encounter with a couple of knights at the exit. They had started chasing him, but his frequent encounters with delinquents in Academy City as well as escaping from them paid off. Touma knew the back streets and alleyways much better than the knights did and he slipped in and out of crowds before his pursuers could react. Eventually, he could no longer see them and slowed down, acting like a normal citizen until he found a place to rest and think.

I can't go back to my dorm, Touma realized. It exploded and I have no idea where that other apartment Index and Itsuwa went to. I'll have to contact Kanzaki about it, but then Carissa will know where to find me. Should I see if I can crash at Jason's apartment? No, that won't work. Mugino will probably know where he is lives. Crap! What do I do? Never going over to Aogami's place again and Tsuchimikado never lets me spend the night. That leaves Accelerator. If I prostrate myself before him, maybe he will let me? He sighed. If I was a girl, Mikoto or Misaki might be able to give me refuge, but then I wouldn't be in this situation. He stood up and walked out of the alley without looking both ways.

This caused him to promptly crash into someone.

"Ow!"

"Crap!" Touma apologized as he knocked the smaller girl down. "I'm so sorr-…Ruiko?"

"Touma?" Touma held out a hand to help her up and then she dusted herself off. "Where did you come from?"

"I'm kind of… hiding from a couple people?" Touma replied meekly and she immediately looked concern.

"Why?" Ruiko asked in alarm. "You aren't in danger, right?"

"Just a little trouble." Touma tried to play it off. "Trying to find a place to hide out until the heat dies down. Mugino might be a little upset with me."

"Oh." Ruiko understood what that meant. "She is a little… aggressive when someone upsets her. What did you do?"

"I met with someone who she has a grudge with," Touma answered softly. "But I can't really talk here. I need to find a place to hide out for a bit until everyone calms down."

"If it's not that bad," Ruiko muttered thoughtfully. "I know somewhere you can hang out for a couple hours. Would that be enough?"

"That would be plenty!" Touma exclaimed in a mixture of happiness and relief. He clamped both his hands around Ruiko's. "You're a lifesaver! Thank you!"

After everything that happened today, a small gesture of goodwill was more than enough to make him emotional.

"It's not a big deal," Ruiko replied, her face flushing slightly at his praise and the fact he was holding her hand. "We are pretty close, so follow me!" She grabbed Touma's hand with hers and pulled him after her.

"Where are we going?!" Touma asked.

"It's a surprise!" Ruiko declared and Touma found himself laughing.

"That's just like you," he said. "Fine, I'm in your care." Ruiko felt her cheeks burn again and didn't turn around to face him. The two of them got on a bus to avoid attention by walking out in the open and Touma soon found himself outside a school dorm.

"Wait!" Touma turned to face Ruiko. "Is this what I think it is?"

"Yep!" Ruiko exclaimed. "It's Uiharu's and my dorm. Welcome!"

"I'm allowed, right?" he asked a little wearily. He was used to Tokiwadai dorms being girls only and it took someone like Misaki to sneak him in.

"Of course," Ruiko reassured him. "Certain floors are gender specific, but the entire building is coed. We can also bring guys onto our floor, but they have to be gone by curfew. Kagere-san has been over many times to see Uiharu and help me with schoolwork." She grinned. "I've been over to your place before, so I thought this was a good opportunity to visit mine. It's not much, but it would allow you to lay low."

"No," Touma said quickly. He didn't want to sound ungrateful. "It sounds great. It's more than I could have hoped for." They entered the dorm and Ruiko checked them in. A few people looked at him curiously, but there wasn't anything hostile about them. It was more they hadn't seen him around before.

"Here we are," Ruiko announced and let him in. "It's not much, but it's home. Have a seat wherever."

Touma looked around. The room was a little bigger than his. Though, that was mostly because it housed two people instead of one. The bunk beds were in the corner and the top one was made. The bottom one's sheets were balled up at the bottom. Two desks were on either side of the room. One was neat with a nice laptop, which Touma assumed was Kazari's, and the other desk was cluttered with paper, books, and an assortment of other stuff. There was a short cupboard with a plant on it near the window and in the middle of the room there was a table with cushions around it. Touma didn't feel comfortable sitting on the bed and took one of the cushions.

"I take it you have the bottom bunk," he said, grinning.

"I haven't had time to clean up," Ruiko defended herself and sat down across from him. "And I've been trying to catch up with my homework this weekend… kind of."

Oh, shit! Touma's face fell when he remembered the homework he had completed was in his dorm that had been destroyed for some reason. There goes that plan. I'm screwed! My grades were just beginning to pick up too. His head fell forward onto the table.

"Was it something I said?" Ruiko asked confused.

"Just realized I haven't done my homework either," Touma responded slowly and raised his head. He didn't want to scare her by talking about his battle with Thor. "Maybe Komoe-sensei will give me an extra day to complete it tomorrow."

"Umm," Ruiko interjected. "Don't you have to go to Tokiwadai tomorrow?" Touma opened his mouth and froze.

"I forgot about that!" he yelled and grabbed his head. "So much has been happening today it slipped my mind!"

"Don't worry too much," Ruiko said, trying to reassure him. "Kongou-san may be a little… rough around the edges at first, but she's actually pretty caring and kind once you get to know her."

"I'm not worried about that," Touma lied. "It's more of the fact that I'll be in an all-girls' school by myself. I have no idea how I'm supposed to act." Ruiko had to giggle at this for a second.

"You'll do fine," Ruiko assured him. "I wouldn't be surprised if they look up to you for being older. Most of the girls there have been isolated from boys their age, so it's not like they have someone to compare you to. Plus, Misaka-san and Shokuhou-san will be there to help out if you need it."

"You do have a point," Touma conceded.

"Misaka-san was actually telling me about that earlier today," Ruiko said. "She's in most of the same classes with Kongou-san, so you will have someone to back you up."

"I'm glad for one piece of good news today," Touma muttered. "Did you hang out with her today?"

"With Uiharu, Shirai-san, and Kagere-san doing their training stuff, we were both free." Ruiko shrugged. "We hit the batting cages for a bit and then I found the opportunity to talk to her about her sister." Touma blinked and tried to maintain a neutral expression.

"Oh? She told you everything?"

"Yep," Ruiko replied proudly. "She was kind of cute being all nervous, but she explained her family situation…"

That reminds me, Touma realized. Mom leaves tonight. I need to see her off before I head back to my dorm… new dorm.

"…I could see it being kind of awkward for her twin sister to be a much lower level," Ruiko continued. "Tokiwadai only accepts level 3s and up, and her sister is level 2."

"No doubt," Touma agreed. So Mikoto went with Imouto being her real sister and go to different schools? I guess the truth would be kind of tough to process. Maybe down the road we can tell them the full story. "I bet people compare them all the time."

"That's what Misaka-san said!" Ruiko exclaimed and pointed at him. "Her sister doesn't like being in the spotlight and tries to keep her distance. That's so sad, isn't it? But you can tell she loves Misaka-san though, because she wears a Tokiwadai uniform as motivation to improve herself. I bet you she wants to match up to her older sister. Shirai-san should be careful, or Misaka-san might have a new vanguard." Both of them laughed at that.

Mikoto, Touma thought silently. I hope this doesn't explode in your face. You did realize Ruiko's going to tell Uiharu-san about Imouto and they will want to meet.

"After that," Ruiko continued. "I thought about it for a while as we hit the arcade and wandered around the city. Misaka-san worked so hard for her level, yet her sister remains a lot lower. I understand the depression that can be caused by such a large gap, but between sisters… it probably was a lot worse for her." She looked a little depressed.

"But Mikoto would never judge someone on their level," Touma interjected. "So you know she loves her sister."

"Naturally," Ruiko agreed. "And I'm sure her Imouto loves her back. It takes time to overcome those feelings when you feel like people reach a realm you never could."

"All we can do is keep moving forward and do the best we can with what we have," Touma told her. "Being jealous of others isn't going to make us better people."

"It took me a long time to realize that," Ruiko admitted. "Using the Level Upper and going into a coma really opened my eyes." Touma grimaced slightly at this. "But I made it out and having friends like Misaka-san and Shirai-san really put things into perspective."

"I'm glad you did," Touma told her. "We wouldn't have met otherwise. I remember our first meeting was during the sports festival when I borrowed that good luck charm from you."

"I was impressed how determined you were to finish," Ruiko responded, her cheeks tuning a slightly tinge of pink at his earlier words. "So I wanted to help out."

"I am sorry our first real outing got interrupted by a magician," Touma apologized.

"You already made it up to me multiple times," Ruiko interjected. "Uiharu and I even got a trip to England, thanks to you. Even with the princess causing those issues, we still had a fun trip the rest of the time."

"Thanks for looking on the brighter side," Touma sighed. "I've always been worried about getting close to others because of my luck. I don't want to get my friends involved in dangerous situations."

"No one wants to be involved in those," Ruiko agreed. "But it's not like you purposely get us involved. We are your friends, so if you ever need help just ask. We want to help."

"Mikoto and Misaki made that painfully clear yesterday," Touma reminisced.

They did? Ruiko thought. Was it about the plan to form a harem around them? Shokuhou-san's explanation made it seem like it was the only logical outcome, but what does he think of it? Normal guys would jump at the chance. Touma could hardly be considered a normal guy. He's surrounded by really attractive girls of all ages and he still likes to hang out with someone plain like me. Should I ask him directly if he wants to go out with me as a couple… no. Not after what happened yesterday. It's too soon.

"They definitely don't like it when you put yourself down," Ruiko said instead.

"I'm trying not to," Touma answered. "But I still see myself as a normal student. I don't think that's going to change. I struggle in school, hang out with friends, and try to avoid trouble; though that last part always happens anyways." Ruiko laughed loudly.

The two of them began talking about school and complaining about homework for much longer than they probably should have. They didn't have a TV and neither was interested in setting up Kazari's laptop to watch anything. They enjoyed the normality of just talking with someone who understood what it was like to be a normal person in a city surrounded by special individuals. It turns out Touma had been right about something in their early conversation. Ruiko was interested in meeting Imouto and bringing Kazari along. He made a mental note to talk with Mikoto about what they could do. Eventually, Ruiko pulled out a scrapbook from their England trip and they started talking about that.

They were laying low, so it wasn't like they could leave and do other stuff.

"Remember Uiharu fawning over those castles," Ruiko laughed and pointed to one. "You can tell she wishes she could live in one." She held a finger up to her cheek. "I wouldn't mind either, if I was rich enough to hire help. I can barely keep our room clean, let alone a castle."

"Uh huh," Touma teased and gestured to her desk. Ruiko responded my pushing him in the shoulder.

"T-that's because I was studying," Ruiko protested. "My desk is normally pretty clean. Uiharu just keeps hers ridiculously organized so it looks bad by comparison."

"I'm not judging." Touma laughed. "I'm not that neat myself and I can assure you a couple of my friends are worse than both of us put together." Ruiko had a good laugh too and Touma flipped the page of the scrap book. "Some of these pictures I don't recall seeing when I got mine."

"Some were taken by us and we kept them for ourselves," Ruiko admitted. "We submitted group ones to be complied with everyone else's."

"Makes sense," Touma admitted. "Heh, look here." Ruiko leaned over and glanced at a picture of their entire group hanging out at an outdoor restaurant. "Is it my imagination or does Accelerator look happier than usual?"

"Do you mean less grumpy?" Ruiko asked innocently and they laughed again. She had to admit he had a point. Accelerator wasn't scowling as Last Order was talking to him. Everyone seemed to be having a great time once the chaos of the England Civil War had ended. Even Shizuri's group looked like they didn't regret coming. "I hope we can do something like this again," she said softly.

"A vacation?" Touma asked to clarify.

"With everyone," Ruiko elaborated. "Maybe during the summer or next year we could do another trip. It doesn't have to be overseas," she added quickly. "It could be somewhere in Japan, just as long as everyone can come."

"I wouldn't mind that, I had a blast there." Touma admitted and leaned back. "Maybe we can have a normal trip without someone trying to topple a country." Ruiko burst out laughing as Touma looked resigned that such a thing would never happen.

"Don't worry." Ruiko patted him on the shoulder. "With your luck, we can expect a global catastrophe."

"Not you too!" Touma moaned and Ruiko covered her mouth to stifle the giggles. Touma was just being over dramatic because he knew she was kidding. "I get enough people making fun of my luck. But I thought you, Ruiko, of all people, would support me in an attempt to disappear into the realm of mediocrity."

"Nah," Ruiko cooed and poked him in the cheek. "I like the you who tries so hard to be normal and then ends up saving someone." Touma raised an eyebrow and then looked away. His ears were burning. Ruiko was in a similar state and quickly put her hands up to her cheeks.

What did I just do? she thought in dismay.

"At least someone I know doesn't yell at me when I do that," Touma said, trying to chuckle and playing her words off. He turned the page of the scrap book and froze. Ruiko didn't notice immediately.

"I could if you really want me to," Ruiko replied and turned to face him. "Though I bet you get enough of that… from… Misaaa…" Her words failed when she noticed the picture that had caused Touma to freeze.

On that page was a picture of her, Kazari, Mikoto, and Kuroko having a pillow fight in their dorm. This might not have been a problem normally. Sure, guys like to imagine girls having pillow fights all the time at sleepovers, but that doesn't happen very often. That particular instance was a little teasing gone wrong.

The issue was that they were mostly dressed in their underwear.

Ruiko had completely forgotten that picture existed.

"Ahhh!" she cried out and jumped toward him. "Don't look!"

"I'm sooorrryyy!" Touma cried and tried to back away. His sudden movement was a mistake. Ruiko had moved next to him when they were looking at the scrapbook. When she lunged at him she aimed for where he had been, not where he suddenly moved. She hit the side of the table and tripped over Touma's leg. Touma saw her falling and time seemed to slow down. He stuck up his arm and pulled her down at him so she landed on him instead of falling head first near the corner of the table.

"Ow," Ruiko moaned softly and opened her eyes. Her face grew instantly hot as she saw Touma's face only a few inches from hers.

"Are… are you okay?" Touma asked. His head hurt because the weight of Ruiko falling against him caused his body to fall back and his head hit the floor. It was a victory to him though, Ruiko wasn't hurt.

"I'm fine," Ruiko reassured him and made no attempt to get off. "Umm… thanks for the save. I forgot that picture was there. This is the first time I looked at that book since it was made."

"I should have quickly flipped the page," Touma muttered.

"It was an accident."

"So… do you want to get up?" Touma asked hesitantly. He didn't want to sound like he was accusing Ruiko of being fat. She really wasn't, but he couldn't get up until she did, unless he wanted to throw her off him.

Ruiko really didn't, but she couldn't just say that.

Before she could reply at all, the door to the room opened.

"Saten-san!" Kazari called out happily. "I'm back and I have so much… to… tell…" Her words died out as her eyes fell onto Ruiko and Touma. They were in too much shock to immediately reply. "I see you are busy; sorry for intruding."

The door closed slowly as she said that.

"IT'S A MISUNDERSTANDING!" Ruiko and Touma cried out after the door had fully shut.

---

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.

Soon, Touma's solo adventure in Tokiwadai will begin.

Again, thanks to SilverFang88 for reviewing. Any mistakes are his fault.

SF88: Fuck you Dark.