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.)

114. S5 Kami's Gift pt 2

I have to admit I am having some trouble writing this arc. There is so much I can add but I have to be careful to not go overboard and turn this into a crack fic. I have to draw the line somewhere, but there is still plenty of comedy. Really, what else did you expect? Our hero, who has an unnatural way with the ladies, is the only male in the most holy of grounds in Academy City. His harem could use another few dozen more girls. He doesn't even have to try; it happens naturally. Still, imagining the situation and writing it is two completely different challenges. Even Silverfang has trouble reviewing sometimes because he's laughing at this. Oh well, this is only part 2 of 3, so there is plenty of more challenges and misfortune for Kami, the Harem King! Index Season 3 needs to come out faster. I have been waiting way too long.

ReyKingKaiser: No! He is the worst character ever and will never show up! Hmm, Touma losing his mask. I wonder… gears are turning. Pretty much that's what the Fallen were based on. Betrayal can cause even a good person to turn evil.

linkjames24: Mikoto wouldn't be that mean and she has to keep up appearances. It had to be asked though. Things just keep getting better though.

St german: And all of that was only the beginning.

Inacio: No to all of that. Gemstone makes him sound even more special and he doesn't want that. Why would Gabriel appear?

mervinr170: Technically this is part 2 of a 3 part event.

reality deviant: Obviously Snuggle-chan is the magic god anime fans worship. That girl was incredibly brave.

St: Is that a good or bad thing?

MarkJ: Have to hate apps, reason I do most of it on my desktop. That skit was kind of… intense. Far more then what I would ever do unless I was writing about a yandere Mikoto. Way to out of character there. I usually get around 15-16k with author notes and that length has remained pretty stable. I have several friends/fans who like Kamikoto and then, yes, I do like to annoy SilverFang with them. Mikoto is really easy to write. She's beginning to realize why Touma's friends make fun of his misfortune so much. It's really entertaining if you aren't on the receiving end. Oh, the day has only begun, there will be many more situations that will leave Touma in fear for his life. Ayu has already showed up and made up with Misaki. Set up already.

AnderAl: This is Touma Kamijou. Problems always escalate quickly with only a few words. That's the simple way out of this, but panicking could cause him to shove his foot deeper into his mouth. Are you asking how more awkward this could be? Well, prepare to be amazed.

Salishious: It was glossed over for good reasons. One, I might not have been able to do it justice. Two, I can come back to it at a more opportune time. Touma needs to think before he speaks. Eve is busy, but I plan to have her show up the following day. Snuggle-chan tries not to get directly involved for her own reasons. Carissa will not show up at the school. Dark Matter will not fight those two anytime soon. Yes, that is what guys' night will turn into, along with some breaking and entering, a couple stolen power suits, and alcohol. Touma will have at least half of Tokiwadai under his thumb probably.

Phoenix 7.49: Mikoto won't vaporize anyone in school. Outside of school Touma might need to keep looking over his shoulder. Don't feel sorry for him. He has a harem. That means we have to look at him with distain and jealousy. Running is not an option here. Eh, he stops the railgun in the manga so we just have to accept it. Oh, the dorm mistress will appear again. Touma will add many girls to his harem before the day ends, probably. Snuggle-chan will be watching with popcorn.

plantkingman1: I am not planning for Mitsuko to learn about the magic side.

Bluejack222: Not really? I update pretty regularly.

wildarms13: It's the little things that are important. That question was going to get ask by someone. It was so obvious. Touma panicking and blurting out a terrible answer is so him. Making this worse is his forte, as long as no one else's lives are on the line. Seria is not going to be amused when she hears about that. Snuggle-chan is making Touma comfortable with sleeping with girls, yes. The more time he spends with them, the better chance IT will happen. Heh, Touma beginning to pull girls to him to cuddle when sleeping. Many of them would be ecstatic for the opportunity. Yes, the bed. HE GOT A BED!

edinosaur25: Wouldn't be Touma if he did. Maybe he protects his apartment with magic or something. Or maybe Snuggle-chan didn't destroy anything else except Touma's room.

general ironox: There will be many deaths… or there would be if Touma didn't step up and declare there will be no violence and he will accept everyone. Touma is a guy and his male brain wants what it wants.

Guest: Hmm, thought I answered those. 3) Confirming or denying that would lead to a big spoiler. 4) That I don't know offhand. I would have to research it. I also did know about Mitsuko knowing Imouto wasn't Mikoto.

Jujudude: If he adds more, I'll have to come up with names, ugh. 'I would have to get to know them first' translates into 'let's date and learn about each other' to them. It's called rotations for bed space. That prevents a giant dog pile. Accelerator will at least deal with it constructively.

Tsun: It's tough to be sarcastic in his current situation. He's surrounded by naïve rich girls who might not always get his sarcasm. It would lead to even more misunderstandings. Maybe in part 3 or so, I'll have him be a little sarcastic to change the mood. The thing is it deals like, if you start acting rude to people, it makes it easier to see them as an enemy. Touma may be sarcastic to some people, but he always tries to be nice, except when they do something to cause a fight, like threatening others. He never wants to see people as enemies, just someone who made a bad choice.

Sergio644: The One Bed to Sleep Them All. Hundreds of years from now, legends will speak of a bed that the legendary Harem King first consummated his harem there.

A certain guest: Older mature types is a common lie in Japan for when the person doesn't want to say. So it could be either one. That young girl has guts, Gunha would be proud.

Handsomistic1: She's like, I want him to pay attention to me like that, but I can't say that out loud in class. A few yandere tendencies would be funny, but she wouldn't hurt her rivals. She is much to kind for that. She wanted to tell Ruiko about her status with Jason and Kuroko. It would be too embarrassing to say it in front of Touma right then. I realize it wasn't as direct as I wanted it to be. This is HOMEROOM; it's not even first period. Misaki only makes things better when she shows up. I like both of my stories and it's why I alternate. They each have special things about them that make them unique.

maracle witout: Only 40? Nah, he can hit almost 10,000 at once.

Generation Zero: Mikoto's mom already loves Touma. He's the reason she let her stay in Academy City. The SISTERS is going to be an interesting situation since Ruiko isn't the most secretive person. Kuroko is going to be an issue for sure. They had a talk with Snuggle-chan off screen. It was pretty much, she showed up, they panicked, she overwhelms them and then explains what happened. Saving Index and Itsuwa only helped her cause and gave them a reason to at least listen to her. Index is actually pretty accepting and, once Lessar found out who she was, accepted her instantly. A magic god meeting level 5s, I don't see an issue there… heh. The question about his ability will be answered pretty early in this chapter. The girls are more interested in the boy directly in front of them. Who did you think was asking for his hand? If you have a good suggestion I could give her a name.

Agent Nine: One of the few people who commented on that. I can assure you, that will be a fantastic day.

FrodoFighter: Ah! There you are. As I expected you fawned over the Kamikoto parts. Touma should have been suspicious of the girl talk. Lying and keeping secrets always leads to a huge mess of problems. I tell people that all the time. Kuroko tries to be nice and gets zapped because she has a new collection, heh. It's why she was late. Besides, a boyfriend's shirt is perfect sleepwear for girls. "We all know Uiharu has the most perverted mind of everyone in this story." This is the most important thing to mention. Hmm, do I sense some Anti-Accelerator bias in your response? I'm imagining you panting over the head patting scene. Snuggle-chan just copied Pierce's sex dungeon. Why do you hate religious organizations? Lessar would be a great priestess! There would be so much cuddling. Yes… outfits. Need Mikoto and Misaki to discover them… or maybe Shizuri so SilverFang will get off my back. Naked aprons are Jason's fetish you pervert. I like the fact in his arc I can try to add some depth to Mitsuko. She doesn't get a lot of fanfics centered around her, so screen time is limited. Mikoto and Touma are two of the most popular students there, being together only increases the stares. An AIM field that doesn't exist is kind of hard to detect. I agree with this. AH! I need to point that out that he never denied dating all three of them! We don't talk about Accelerator x Touma doujins here.

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.

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"Uhhh…"

Touma was at a loss on what to say. He didn't think the girls from a respected school would ask him something like that. In hindsight, he should have expected it. Regardless of upbringing, they were still girls and would be curious; especially since they didn't know many boys around their age to ask such questions. He only knew Mikoto, Kuroko, and Misaki well enough from Tokiwadai to make any kind of judgment and all of them had wildly different personalities. Mikoto was acting a little more reserved since he met her, but he attributed that to the school enforcing social etiquette. The frustration and boredom probably drove her nuts.

At least it made sense to him now why Mikoto was so eager to chase and challenge him at a moment's notice in the past.

"…You really should get to know someone before asking them out," Touma made up on the fly, deciding the truth here would help. "You shouldn't just ask the first person you see."

The girl nodded and the atmosphere in the classroom seemed to lessen a tiny bit, which caused Touma to let out a sigh of relief. A few girls had taken out a notebook and were actually taking notes. The teacher coughed and stood up, preventing Touma from saying anything right there.

"Please remember, ladies," she said. "Questions should be kept relevant and certain topics should be avoided. Does anyone else have a question?" A girl raised her hand and the teacher pointed to her.

"Kami-sama," she began. "If I may be so bold, would it be possible for you to demonstrate your ability? I have never observed negation in action and would love to see it."

"Not sure now is really the best time," Touma answered uncertainly, glancing over at the teacher, who understood his action and stood up.

"Abilities are not to be used in the classroom," she stated firmly and the class nodded in understanding. "However, I will see if it is possible for a demonstration to be arranged during your physical education class." Eyes and ears perked up as the girls looked between Touma and their teacher. "This is a valuable learning opportunity and it would be a shame to waste it. Assuming, of course, you are not against the idea of performing a demonstration, Kami-san."

She and the rest of the class turned to him in wait for his response.

"I… supposed that would be fine," Touma relented. He couldn't say no to all the hopeful expressions, even Mitsuko appeared excited about the idea. There was only one girl who was smirking at the situation Touma found himself in. His friend, and person who was supposed to help him, Mikoto wore an expression of utmost amusement. "At least then it wouldn't disrupt classes."

"Very well, I will pass on your agreement." The teacher told him with a small smile before glancing at the time. "I'm afraid we are going to have to stop questions here. There will be time during your breaks and after school to converse with him more. Let's see…" She looked around the room. "Kami-san, why don't you take the desk behind Suda-san? It appears to be free."

A girl with dark eyes and a long black ponytail raised her hand halfway, face slightly red at the attention she was receiving, so Touma knew who she was. She was to the right of Mitsuko, so that would place Touma next to Mikoto and diagonally backwards to Mitsuko.

Touma had a funny feeling the teacher planned this.

The girls may be a little open minded about a guy being allowed here, Touma thought to himself as the teacher began to start the class. But the adults know better and expect something to happen. Well, I guess I should be thankful my idiotic friends aren't here. They would just make things worse. He took out a notebook and received a surprised glance from Mitsuko.

"Are you planning to take notes?" she asked, unsure of what he was planning.

"I'm supposed to attend classes with you." Touma pointed out. "So I should be treating this like a school day. Besides, I'm curious as to what you and Misaka are learning about."

Mikoto had a small smile as he said this, but he was more focused on Mitsuko. She seemed to be satisfied with his answer and turned to face the front of the class.

It didn't take long for Touma to truly witness the difference in schools during the first subject, math.

Back at his school, Komoe used a standard blackboard and chalk. Here, everything was done electronically with a touch screen at the front of the class. She could flip through slides from her computer and had the touch markers that allowed her to write on the board. There were even short videos showing the explanation with visuals. Normally, Komoe would have to try to explain that to the students or bring in a portable TV to play a DVD. This was to be expected, as Tokiwadai had a lot of money from sponsors, and Touma doubted the annual tuition was affordable for most people either. Then there was the actual subjects themselves.

Touma struggled to keep up and barely understood what was being taught.

His pride would have taken a big hit, as he was two years older than the other students, but he already knew Mikoto and Misaki were much further along than he was. He wanted to sigh in relief that the teacher didn't call on him. On a more positive note, the information was something he could grasp. He had the foundation down and the teacher was only adding to it. It was easy to understand and he took notes diligently, planning to use these in the future when his school started teaching it. A small smile formed on his face when he thought about how Komoe would react when he knew this already.

He did feel slightly bad about the girl in front of him. It was clear after a few minutes she had no experience with boys. She kept twitching in her seat and nearly jumped anytime a sound was made when Touma moved. He tried to avoid making any more noise than necessary to prevent her from further discomfort. After what felt like ages, the first period finally ended and there was a short break before their next subject.

Several girls came up to him during this time.

"Could you tell us what type of hobbies do gentlemen like yourself have?"

"If someone like me wanted to ask a gentleman out, what steps would they need to take?"

All the questions were along similar lines and Touma was incredibly glad he had a mask to cover his increasing embarrassed face. He didn't know that much about relationships, even if a couple girls liked him, he hadn't found out all that long ago. There was also the issue about these girls being young and naïve. His advice could be misconstrued and get them into trouble. Most of these girls didn't know many, if any, boys and he was their only source of information. He wanted to be honest, but tried to make sure his advice wouldn't lead to these girls getting hurt.

"Hobbies?" Touma repeated. "It really depends on the person, which is one of the reasons why you should get to know someone first before asking them out." He nodded toward the girl who asked him the second question. "As for me, I hang out with my friends a lot. We do pretty normal things…" When we aren't fighting against rogue magicians or something. "Homework takes up a bit of our time, but we go to the arcade and bookstores."

Bookstores was code for manga, but this way it sounded better for ojou-samas.

"Oh, homework!" One girl clapped her hands together. "We are required to review our material outside of school to keep up, but we don't have actual assignments. I believe that is what homework is. Am I correct, Kami-sama?"

"That's pretty much the gist of it," Touma confirmed. "The idea was if our grades were impacted, it would encourage students to do it and allow them to keep up with their classes. Some people do get distracted with things outside of school and they forget to study."

"How clever," Another girl stated. "I know a few girls in the Ikebana club that might have had that problem if they weren't so organized. They are rather dedicated to their craft."

"It does sound like an interesting way to review the material covered that day," A third girl added.

"An arcade," The first girl who asked about hobbies said. "Ah! Is that the building with all those coin operated games? I remember one of the games outside where you used a claw to pick up a prize."

"That's a basic crane game," Touma explained. "They put a lot of different prizes in them so people can aim for the one they like." The girls seemed to find this a lot more interesting than he did. He vaguely remembered Mikoto standing outside one looking at a Gekota plushy.

"I wish to point out," Mitsuko interjected. "That you didn't fully answer Shiraki-san's question."

"Right," Touma realized and turned to the girl who asked about the steps in asking a guy out. Behind her, the small girl who had asked earlier if someone like Touma would go out with her sat quietly. "At my school, it's not uncommon to write a letter and either put it in someone's desk or their shoe locker. They usually say something along the lines of asking to meet behind the school or on the roof. Then the person who wrote the letter confesses. Since Tokiwadai is an all girls' school, you might just write a letter asking to meet up? I know guys like receiving those…."

Mikoto's ears perked up as she was talking to two other girls about something in class.

"… then I guess you start meeting up and going out," Touma finished. "Exactly what you do is really up to the two dating. Probably start with something simple?" The girls appeared satisfied with his answer and began to head back to their seats.

"That was nice of you to answer their questions," Mitsuko said to him as he sat down too.

"We all knew it was going to happen," Touma pointed out. "Sorry I'm not able to stay focused on you. If you want I could ask them to-…"

"No, no," Mitsuko interrupted. "I'm more than happy to have you share your knowledge with everyone. Besides," She leaned a little closer and her fan hid her mouth from view from the others. "A lot of the questions they ask pertain to what we discussed earlier."

"Ah, I guess that works out then." Touma rubbed the back of his head. "So what about you, Kongou-san? What kind of hobbies do you have?"

"Me?" She looked a little shocked at the sudden question. "Well… I'm into fashion and love to examine the seasonal outfits some of the top designers. I also like to spend time with my friends like you do, you met them earlier, remember?" Touma nodded. "And sometimes we spend time with Misaka-san and her friends."

"What was that about me?" Mikoto asked curiously, taking her seat next to them.

"Just talking about hobbies," Touma said quickly. "And Kongou-san mentioned she hangs out with you and Shirai-san."

"We do occasionally," Mikoto confirmed. "But haven't lately. Next time we get together with Uiharu-san and Saten-san, you should definitely come join us."

"That sounds lovely," Mitsuko replied. "There's several stores that just opened up we should visit. I know they will have something there you would love."

"That sounds… great," Mikoto replied, her smile forced.

Mitsuko didn't notice, but Touma did and stifled a snicker. He knew Mikoto's fashion sense was a lot different than people like Kuroko and Mitsuko. They were then forced to return their attention to the front of the class when the bell rang, before any more conversation could take place.

Second period was English and Touma's jaw fell open when he found out what they were reading.

It was the play, Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare.

The play itself wasn't really that big of a surprise. It was common for high school students to read it. Reading it in English would make it a little more challenging, but that would be Tokiwadai's advanced curriculum. No, the reason that announcement affected Touma was the fact Romeo and Juliet were names he found out were related to Jason and Emiko. They had a rather tragic past too and Touma found himself glancing at Mikoto. Out of any of them, she would be the one who was most affected by it, considering she was the one who fought Juliet.

To his relief, she appeared to be fine and recited her section when called.

Able to relax, Touma listened attentively. He had not been very good at English, usually speaking in broken sentences. Spending a week in England did help his grammar lot and he could do basic conversations now. He could also understand the language to a degree. Today, he sat back and listened, trying to recognize the play. He had read it in Japanese and knew the story, but it was a little more difficult trying to listen to it in another language. A lot of the words did not translate too well and he had to concentrate to understand every part of it. When he found out later they had read the story in three different languages over the last two weeks, his pride received another heavy blow.

Eventually second period ended and all the girls rose out of their seats.

"What's going on?" Touma whispered to Mitsuko and Mikoto. The girl in front of him jumped again, but he didn't have time to feel bad for her.

"We have P.E. next period," answered Mitsuko and gestured to the girls at the front leaving. "We need to get going so you have time to change."

"Oh, okay," Touma remembered. "That bathroom, it's near the gym… right?" He grabbed his gym clothes stuffed at the bottom of his school bag.

"It's on the way to our locker room," Mitsuko informed him and the three of them set off. "I guess you can wait outside until I come get you? You're supposed to be accompanied at all times…"

"But there is no way I'm allowed to follow you in there," Finished Touma. "I understand that." An awkward silence fell over them until they reached the locker room. Several girls were entering and glanced over at Touma. Their faces grew rather red and they quickly entered into the room. To avoid any eye contact, he glanced around and located the private bathroom for him. "I… guess I'll go change and wait for you in the hallway."

The girls nodded and he rushed over and secluded himself from the wandering eyes.

At long last, he was alone and slumped against the wall.

This is exhausting, Touma thought to himself as he changed. All the attention I'm receiving… I guess it's not really me. They are interested in the Kami persona, not Touma Kamijou. He finished and looked into a mirror. Besides his hair and mask, he looked just like his normal self. His outfit bore his school's name and the cuffs were colored gold, but the T-shirt and shorts were similar enough to his normal uniform. He spun around and checked the name on the back. Yep, they put Kami there, bastards. He sighed and rubbed his face when he noticed one important piece of information.

The brace on his right hand was now clearly visible.

Crap, I forgot about that. My sleeve was hiding it. He took a deep breath and mentally shook himself to calm down. Guess it's not that big of deal. I'll just say I sprained it. Mikoto's the only one who's going to question it… maybe Misaki… crap. She's going to ask about it for sure when we meet and I can't lie to her. She can read me like a book!

He face palmed, took another deep breath and exited. The hallway was empty, third period was starting, and he leaned up against the wall to wait. A door to his right opened and a girl exited a room with a box. She didn't seem to notice him until she was almost upon him. He greeted her with a friendly wave and her eyes widened.

The box promptly fell out of her hand and crashed onto the floor.

"I'm so sorry," The girl apologized, almost fainting in embarrassment. Her face was crimson as she reached down to pick it up and collect some of the fabrics that had fallen out.

"Here," Touma offered and bent down to pick up some of them. "Let me help."

"That's not necessa-…" Her words trailed off and she just accepted Touma's help. "I apologize for the inconvenience," the girl said, sounding a lot more in control than she had originally. She still avoided direct eye contact though. "The embroidery club accidently left some of their supplies behind in our classroom."

"Accidents happen," Touma reassured her absentmindedly, as the two of them reached for the last piece of silk. Their hands met and the girl's hand froze. Touma didn't notice this and tossed the fabric into the box. "Sorry I can't help carry it, I'm supposed to wait here."

"Right," The girl agreed, obviously understanding the situation. It would be more of a surprise if someone in Tokiwadai didn't know he was here. "I-I have to go." She picked up the box and hurried away, her face still glowing bright red.

Weird girl, Touma thought to himself and then saw the door to the girl's locker room open. Mitsuko stopped out in her white and red P.E. A look of relief washed over her face as she came forward to meet him.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting." Mitsuko apologized. "I hope you weren't out here long." Her eyes fell down to his hand splint. "You're injured?"

"Only a few minutes," Touma dismissed, the memory of the girl fading away. Little did he know the kind of rumors that were about to spread. "And I'm getting the splint taken off tomorrow; so it's no big deal."

"If you're sure… then follow me," Mitsuko ordered and gestured for him to obey. "We have to go around since you obviously can't walk through the locker room." Touma nodded in agreement. "Again, I apologize for making you wait. Misaka-san and I had to answer a lot of questions about you. Many of the girls are a little… shy about meeting you face to face."

"I understand completely," Touma said and help up a hand. Though I think most of them believe some strange things about boys.

"As a member of the Kongou family, it was my duty to answer them." Mitsuko added, puffing her chest out proudly. "Misaka-san stayed behind to let the teacher know I'm escorting you." They turned a corner. "I believe you will be asked to demonstrate your ability for our class. That is not inconvenient for you considering your injury, is it? I-I don't want you to suffer any further harm."

"Thanks for worrying, but it's really no big deal; I'll be fine." Said Touma in reassurance before sighing; causing Mitsuko to raise an eyebrow. "Besides, I figured it was bound to happen sooner or later,"

"That tone reminds me of someone," she murmured thoughtfully and Touma realized he had to get out of these dangerous waters.

"I was wondering," Touma asked. "What is your P.E. class like? I figured it would be different from my school."

"A healthy body is important to house a healthy mind, as they say." Mitsuko answered. "So we usually do a variety of things. Endurance and stamina training requires running, some sports, and occasionally we are allowed to break up into groups to work on our abilities. Many students have similar abilities, even if the fundamentals may be different. My ability, Aero Hand, allows me to create ejection points on objects I touch. When I activate them, wind forms at that location and they become projectiles. To date, I can create 8,092 points simultaneously."

"That's impressive," Touma remarked, meaning it. "It has a lot more uses than mine does."

"It is my ability," Mitsuko said loftily. "It was only natural. Another girl in our class can manipulate air currents, so we tend to exchange notes and advice during those kinds of classes. The fundamentals are similar; we just use them in different ways."

"Makes sense," Touma agreed. "Though, it sounds like you're getting close to level 5."

"I will definitely reach level 5," Mitsuko declared. "Not only is my talent unsurpassed, I also work hard to achieve my goals. Just you wait." She pointed a finger into Touma chest. "It's only a matter of time until I join you and Misaka-san."

"Congratulations early then," Touma laughed, as the two stepped outside. "They say anyone can reach her…our level if they work hard enough and it sounds like you are doing just that."

"Of course." Mitsuko's proud demeanor flickered for a moment. "Now, I have a question for you now."

"Shoot."

"Would reaching level 5 cause unease from other gentlemen at your school?" She asked quietly. Touma blinked in surprise and she elaborated. "I've heard Misaka-san mention that some people like to put her on an unwanted pedestal."

"That's true," Admitted Touma dryly and thought about her dilemma for a moment. She had a boy she liked and seemed to put up a front around her friends. He had been Mikoto's friend long enough to know the answer to her question. "I'm not going to lie; some will see you just for your level." God, Kami was only a fake persona and Touma was sick of it the few times he had to put it on. "Which makes the people who see you for the girl that you are so much more important."

"And if I wanted to see a specific gentleman," Mitsuko prodded. "How can I tell he sees me for me?"

"That can be tough," Touma admitted. "I suppose just be yourself around him? Once they see you are a person like everyone else, if they see you for you, their attitude shouldn't change. Miko…Misaka and I tend to argue a lot, but we are still friends. A true friend will be there for you and won't be afraid to let you know if you did something wrong." He smiled, but his mask covered his face. "I'm sure whoever you like will see you as the kind person you are. I might suggest not trying to be above him? Maybe act as an equal?"

"I suppose you are right," Mitsuko relented. "And I plan to take that advice to heart. He… is a little unorthodox, but did seem to go along with my whims the last time we met. I feel I was a little forceful with him before he revealed his brave and noble self."

"There you go," Touma pointed out. "You have to get to know people and in return, they get to know about you. Friends are formed once you get that opportunity."

"Seems that winning you for the day has turned out unexpectedly productive," Mitsuko mused, as they approached the field where the other girls and the teacher were waiting.

"I did promise to help you however I could," Touma reminded her.

"That's true," Mitsuko agreed with a laugh. "A true gentleman always keeps his promise."

Unknown at the time to them, the other girls noticed them approach, along with how they seemed to be talking to each other. Mitsuko appeared happy and excited talking to the person they knew as Kami. The ability to talk with a famous boy was sure to elevate her social position in the school. As for two other girls in the crowd, they didn't admire her as much as they were jealous.

"Ah, you're here," the gym instructor said when Touma and Mitsuko arrive. "I was just talking to the class about doing something special since you are here today, Kami-san."

"Oh?" Touma was a little confused about what that something might be. It was as Mitsuko took her position with the other girls that Touma came to notice something. There were a lot more girls than just the class he was participating with. It turned out Mitsuko's class had a joint P.E. session with another. Even though the girls from the original class were still infatuated with Touma, they were slowly getting use to him. The evidence that proved this was how they were no longer obviously staring at him. The other class did not provide him that luxury. All the girls wore expressions with a combination of interest, nervousness, and admiration. There was only one new girl who did not have that expression.

Misaki Shokuhou was grinning at him, her face etched with pure amusement.

Of course she would find this funny, Touma thought to himself. Mikoto was standing near her and didn't look completely happy with that arrangement.

"I heard there was interest in seeing you demonstrate your ability," The instructor told Touma. At her words, the girls began to whisper excitedly all around him. "Would you mind terribly?"

"No," Touma relented. "I figured this was going to happen at some point."

"Great." She clapped her hands and turned to the girls. "Who would like to be Kami-san's opponent?" Only half a dozen hands shot up and Touma was surprised Misaki didn't raise her hand. He supposed it wouldn't be that showy since her ability was all mental based. "How about… Misaka-san? Two level 5s demonstrating their abilities would be a treat for the class."

The girls nodded and Mikoto agreed without issue. A space inside Tokiwdai's field track for races was cleared for the two of them, while the class gathered on one side.

"Go easy on me," Touma muttered to Mikoto, who laughed.

"When has my power ever reached you," She pointed out and her eyes fell to the splint on his wrist. "Wait, when did you get that?"

"I fell," Touma lied.

"You fell," Repeated Mikoto unconvinced.

"Definitely fell." Touma was not ready to explain the magicians here and there. Her accusatory eyes made him feel guilty. "Fine, there's more, but it's not a big deal. I get it off tomorrow."

"Don't lie to me," She ordered, putting off the subject for now as she ran over how they would demonstrate his ability. "Anyways, I figured I'll shoot a few electrical blasts straight at you so they should be easy to block. After that, I'll raise my left hand and generate some iron sand for you to negate. I think that will be enough before class breaks up into groups."

"Sounds good," Touma agreed and they separated about twenty-five meters. The coach checked they were both ready and gave them the signal to start.

Their demonstration fight went without a hitch. Mikoto touched her head with her right hand before slowly pulling it away. Blueish-white sparks crackled between her hand and head before a quick flick of her wrist send them flying toward Touma. His hand moved instinctively to stop the attacks effortlessly and the electricity fizzled into nothing. He could hear the girls gasp and cheer after each negation. When they finished with simple electricity, Mikoto pulled a wave of black iron sand from the ground and send it towards Touma like a whip. The second his hand touched the sand, it dispersed and floated down to the ground harmlessly. Once the demonstration was finished, the two of them rejoined the class.

"That was impressive," Mitsuko complimented him as the girls began to spread apart. Misaki had disappeared into a group of girls and Mikoto found herself being asked for help by another girl who Touma didn't know at the time was a level 3 electromaster. "Misaka-san's the strongest electromaster and you can black her attacks so easily."

"My ability doesn't discriminate," Touma explained to her. "Regardless of whose ability it is, I can negate it. Though, the downside is I can't turn it off."

"Can't turn it off?" Mitsuko asked surprised.

"Nope, it's on all the time."

"Hmm. So can I observe your ability against my own then?" Touma looked curiously at her and she motioned for him to follow her to what Touma might have considered a Shot put field. In the middle, there was a metal pole with a large metal ball sitting on top. "Normally, my ability has been tested here. Using Aero Hand," she pressed her hand on the metal ball. "I aim at a specific target and they check my power and accuracy."

"That makes sense," Touma said and then he reached out and touched the same ball that she had. The sound of breaking glass went off and Mitsuko's eyes widened.

"I just lost my ejection point," She gasped and the blinked to compose herself. "So that's what negation is like. I expected something more obvious, but it's like I never made it in the first place." She touched the ball again. "Hmm, I can recreate it without issues. Is you power based on touch?"

"Usually," Touma admitted. "But there is a way I can expand the range."

"Do you find it weird?" Mitsuko asked out of nowhere.

"Find what weird?" Touma asked confused.

"That your ability seems to be the exact opposite of what Academy City is trying to accomplish," Mitsuko explained. "You are like the anti-ability user. If you were outside of Academy City, your ability would have never manifest."

"It's not like we get to choose our abilities," Touma points out and she nodded. Though she is wrong about not knowing my hand exists. Magic is still a thing, but she wouldn't know about that."

"Excuse me, Kongou-sama, Kami-sama?" The two of them turned to see three girls a few feet away. They had not noticed them approach. The girl in the front had been the one to speak. "We were wondering if you would be so kind as to allow us to get a personal demonstration of your ability." The two girls behind her nodded vigorously. "If we are being a bother, we can leave."

"Nonsense," Mitsuko spoke up. "He would be delighted."

She elbowed Touma inconspicuously and he suppressed a sigh.

"Sure," he told the excited girls. "That won't be a problem." It was a little weird to see so many people be excited about his ability. Mitsuko had touched on an important point. Unless someone used an ability, the Imagine Breaker was completely useless. The only time he expected reactions, mostly negative, was during a fight when they first found out about his power. Now that his 'negation' power has been spread around the city, he supposed this was to be expected.

He simply chalked up his feelings as simply the girls discovered something knew. Something he was used to.

The first girl had a water manipulation ability. The overall demonstration was pretty similar to Mikoto's. He simply negated the water with his hand as the girl controlled it near him. The main difference was she just manipulated the water near him, not at him like Mikoto had done. The second girl was supposed to have a telepathic ability and Touma just stood there a little awkwardly as her face turned slightly red from concentration. After about two minutes of trying to mentally connect to him, she gave up as her friends giggled. The last girl had an interesting ability were she created two clones of herself by manipulating light. All Touma had to do was wave his hand through each one and the clones vanished. Once he was done with the demonstrations, the girls politely bowed and left.

"That went better than I expected," Touma commented, more to himself than Mitsuko.

"What makes you say that?" She asked.

"Let's just say… I expected something more to happen."

"Something more?"

"I don't know, an explosion or something."

"That doesn't happen too often around here," A familiar voice pointed out with a laugh. "Unless you hear Misaka practicing her Railgun at the pool."

"Shokuhou-san?" Mitsuko said in surprise, turning to the new visitor. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you approach."

"There is a lot going on so it's not a problem," Misaki replied with a smile. "How are you, Kami?" Touma had no doubt she purposely left off the honorifics. "Enjoying our school?"

"I'm… adapting," Touma answered with only a slight pause.

His answer only seemed to amuse Misaki even more. To his surprise, Misaki was actually not alone nor was she surrounded by a group of girls. Instead, only one girl was standing behind her, looking extremely embarrassed. Touma recognized the girl as the one who earlier asked the question about if he would date someone like her. His face burned in embarrassment as he remembered that incident.

"That's good," Misaki told him with a smile and then turned to Mitsuko. "I'm sorry for intruding, but I need to speak with Kami privately for a moment. I hope you don't mind."

"I suppose that's okay," Mitsuko answered, slightly hesitant. She was supposed to be the one escorting him around, but the girls at Tokiwadai could rarely refuse a request from one of the level 5s. "But it would be up to Kami-san."

"It's fine," Touma reassured her. "Shokuhou and I are friends. I'll be quick." Mitsuko nodded and Touma walked with Misaki while the small girl followed. Once they were out of ear shot from everyone else, Touma noticed they were still attracting a few looks, he turned to Misaki. "So did you need to ask me something?"

"No," Misaki answered and then reached out to wrap her arms around the small girl. "I'm just here as support for her. You see, she has something to apologize for."

"Apologize?" Touma asked confused. "You mean asking those questions this morning? That wasn't a big deal and I kind of expected something along those lines." Since Misaki and Mikoto had both told him about the girls at their school having limited experience with guys, he knew someone would ask about if he was dating someone.

"That's not it," the girl squeaked and her eyes darted over to Misaki. Misaki looked back at her, though her eyes were slightly cold. "Thank you for answering those honestly, but no, I have something different to apologize for." She took a deep breath before suddenly bowing. "During class, I tried to use my power to see who you were under your mask."

"Huh?!" That was not something he expected to hear.

"I'm really sorry!" The girl continued hastily. "I couldn't restrain my curiosity and tried to invade your privacy."

"Did… did you see my face?" Touma asked hesitantly. Crap this could be bad. "Actually, how did you try to see my face?

"My ability is Clairvoyance," the girl admitted. "It's similar to X-ray vision. I was only planning to look through your mask, honest."

"Ah, I know someone with that ability," Touma muttered, thinking to Mii back at Kazari and Kuroko's Judgment office.

"But I didn't see anything," the girl added, sounding mildly desperate. "Your mask was growing transparent, then suddenly my ability stopped working and everything turned back to normal. I believed you might have detected that I tried something and was just acting like nothing happened."

"Eh," Touma replied, trying to not say anything one way or another. He must have scratched his cheek during the interview and touched his mask at just the right time. There was no way he could have detected her ability.

"So what would you like to do?" Misaki asked.

"What?" Touma was now loss again.

"Technically," Misaki explained. "She used her power against a guest. This is a strict taboo at our school. Additionally, we were warned last week about using our powers to try to identify you. The principal herself explained doing so would result in severe discipline."

The girl hung her head and tried to remain composed, but Touma could tell she was shaking slightly.

"What kind of discipline?" Touma asked worriedly.

"It's possible she might be expelled," Misaki elaborated with a sigh. There was a sharp intake of breath from girl. "Tokiwadai is really strict on making sure we act proper at all times." She then suddenly beamed at him over the girl's shoulder. "However, since I know you, I figured you would want to handle this a little more… discreetly."

Everything clicked.

"She was honest and apologized, I'd say that's good enough for me," Touma said quickly. Misaki was giving him the opportunity to prevent that action. The guilt of what she did might cause her to tell someone and then they would be required to let the teachers know. It was also possible the girl believed Touma might inform the teachers someone tried to use their ability on him. "Plus, like she said, she didn't see anything, so it's fine. I feel she's sincere and believe she won't try something like that again."

"I won't," The girl interjected quickly.

"So I don't feel any punishment is warranted," Touma continued. "It was just a minor lapse in judgment. Let's just let bygones be bygones." Misaki beamed at him again.

"See." Misaki wrapped her around over the girl's shoulders for reassurance. "I told you he would understand."

"Thank you so much, Kami-sama," The girl told him and bowed again. "I promise to never do something like that again. If there is anything I can do to repay your kindness, you only need to ask."

Misaki's smile faltered ever so slightly at this.

"I didn't really do anything," Touma dismissed. "You apologized and that takes courage." The girl smiled at him and, for the first time, appeared to be looking at him directly in the eyes.

"Now, with that little bit of unpleasantness is taken care of," Misaki said brightly. "I'm sure Kongou-san wishes-…"

A loud boom echoed across the grounds and the three of them turned toward the source.

Bright light suddenly appeared above a group of girls. A second later, small balls of fire started to rain down in all directions. The girls underneath it were safe, but everyone around them was in danger. Some of the girls took action immediately. Touma witnessed Mikoto summon a wall of iron sand to protect her and all the girls near her. Mitsuko knocked a bench into the section coming toward her and another girl. Several other girls managed to put up some kind of defense, so Touma had a second to realize these kinds of things must happen every now and then. He couldn't dwell on that as some of the fire began to rain down upon him.

Too many to negate with just my hand, Touma thought, as his eyes darted to the two girls near him. Time for drastic action.

He threw his left arm around the small girl and pulled her toward him, while simultaneously stepping in front of Misaki. The girl gasped, but he ignored her for now. As the fire rain approached, he held up his hand and timed his defense. A white light pulsed out form his hand to cover the three of them and the fire disappeared. The light faded and the ground around them was charred, but the ground under them was completely fine.

"Are you two okay?" he asked the girls.

"I'm fine," Misaki reassured him. "That was some quick thinking." As expected of my prince, throwing himself in harm's way for me.

"…Fate…" the girl mumbled softly that Touma missed it. When he looked at her to check if she was okay, she merely nodded.

---

Touma found out the details of what happened by the time the class ended.

A group of three girls were experimenting with combining their powers and things escalated faster than they expected. The coach was not happy about the trouble they caused. Tokiwadai actually encouraged students working together, but they would have to take responsibility for any damages caused. The girls were required to help clean up the field, which was rather light considering other students had been in the line of fire. Touma heard they wanted to impress someone and decided then and there not to pry anymore into the situation. He was simply relieved the class ended without further incidents.

The next period was supposed to be Japanese history and he figured it would be similar to the first two periods.

Boy, he could not have been more wrong.

The class had just gotten seated and quieted down once the teacher walked in. They had been discussing what happened last period, along with how Touma had saved Misaki and another girl. Misaki was just as well known as Mikoto at Tokiwadai and saving her earned him an even greater reputation on top of what he already had. While he appreciated this one wasn't about him being some kind of player, all the attention still made him uncomfortable. He was fortunate that, unlike the other Level 5s, he could discard his persona and slip back into anonymity. A shiver went through him when he thought of himself fortunate.

That was tempting fate.

"Good morning class," the teacher greeted them.

"Good morning, sensei," they chanted back.

"Now," She began. "I know we are planning to continue where we left off yesterday, but there has been a slight change of plans." The class glanced around in confusion at each other. "While history is important and those who do not learn from it are doomed to repeat it; current events are just as important. You should know what is going on around the world because no nation can isolate itself anymore. Large scale events in one region will no doubt affect others." The class understood her reasoning, but no one knew what the event was. They waited patiently while the electronic blackboard turned into a TV screen and the lights dimmed. "A very important person has arrived at Academy City and is about to conduct a live interview. This is a rare opportunity."

Warning bells rang loudly in Touma's mind.

Noooo, it can't be. Please don't let it be!

The universe did not listen to his pleading.

"The second princess of England has just arrived," the announcer on the screen said.

"A real princess!" one girl squeaked.

"She's actually here?" Another one asked out loud.

"Do you think we will have the opportunity to meet her?"

"Please pay attention," Their teacher reprimanded and the class went silent once more.

Touma could feel a pair of eyes on him in the dark and he refused to turn his head to verify the source. For now, he concentrated on the interview. There were countless reporters in front of Carissa, who stood behind a podium. She wore a regal red dress, but it was missing the leather style he had come to know back in England. It seems she truly knew how to dress for the occasion. Her commanding presence was not lost through the screen and the girls who didn't know her were captivated. After a short greeting, the actual questions began.

"Can you tell us why you decided to visit Academy City?" One reporter asked.

"Naturally," Carissa replied. "England deeply values its relationship with Japan and Academy City. In order to strength ties, an invitation was sent to the royal family to attend a demonstration of some of Academy City's newest power suits. Running a country is no easy task and regretfully the Queen could not attend. It was determined I would come in her stead."

"Are you excited to be here?" another reporter asked.

"I have heard many things about Academy City," Carissa began. "And while I have only just arrived, it seems the stories did not do it justice. I am looking forward to the demonstration along with examining other aspects of the city. It's quite different from my homeland."

"What sort of applications do you believe Academy City's updated power suits could perform?"

"In this day and age, security is always a concern for a nation," Carissa answered. "Taking steps to improve our military, even in times of peace, is an ever occurring struggle. However, there are also constructive purposes for the civilian populace. They can help with building public structures like bridges and hospitals, and assist with rescue operations during national disasters. Really, their applications seem to be only limited by one's imagination. Once they become available outside of Academy City, England plans to start putting them to work immediately."

Touma relaxed as the questions continued in a similar manner. All her answers were rather diplomatic, which reminded him that she was a princess. Someone who, no doubt, was properly educated in handling these sorts of public appearances. She appeared diplomatic and elegant; similar but noticeably different compared to the forceful dominating persona he was used to. He thought he could tell Carissa was extremely bored with the questions and was only doing this because she had to. Everyone was being professional and Touma figured nothing would come of this except his friends would know she was in Academy City. Mikoto and Misaki were bound to question him about it after the day ended.

That might have been the case if it wasn't for one male reporter near the end.

"There have been rumors that you have a possible suitor in Academy City," he asked. "The timing seems a little too coincidental. Would you care to comment?"

"Do you believe that is an appropriate question to ask at this venue?" Carissa asked him in return, her eyes narrowing in disdain.

Her look quelled him into silence and a lesser man might have run away; Touma sure would have. The problem was the damage had already been done and several reporters began to hound her.

"Is it true the second princess has finally found a romantic partner?"

"Our viewers have been questioning that piece of information too! Do those rumors have any merit?"

Carissa sighed and looked like she wanted to smite all of the insects in front of her before becoming impassive once again.

"I suppose I should answer that question," She relented. "If nothing else to stop those ridiculous rumors." She took a sip of water from a glass on the podium. "My mother decided to go behind my back and talk with possible candidates without consulting me. It is true one of those individuals lives here in Academy City. The reason he was chosen was his assistance back in England saved my life from a terrorist attack. His bravery was one of the many factors the Queen considered. As a formality, I did meet him last weekend and discusses the situation once I was informed."

Touma tensed up as the room and reporters grew silent.

"He and I have agreed to make the courtship official."

The interview exploded as reporters were nearly pushing each other over to get closer as they shouted countless follow up questions. Carissa turned and left, announcing she was no longer answering questions, the hint of a smirk showing on her face. Her security team had to block all the reporters who didn't seem to take the hint and kept trying to question her.

Touma didn't really pay attention to that.

The reason was simple.

Murderous intent was being directed at him from Mikoto. No names were announced by the Princess, but it was obvious to them who she was talking about. There really were no other option available, especially since the Queen at made jokes about it to them. Mikoto might not have been able to say anything in their current situation, but he knew he was going to answer a lot of questions later. The fact several nearby girls involuntary shivered at the intent before Mikoto managed to get it under control was a good indication how the conversation was going to go.

Touma also swore, at the time, he could feel several other dark auras erupting around the city.

---

The rest of the class went by in a blur once the interview ended.

The girls were excited to learn there would be a new prince and gossiped about who it could be. Touma ignored them to the best of his ability and just stared at the front of the class. He could feel girls occasionally looking at him. This was to be expected after hearing about the princess's engagement and being the only boy in the area. One pair of eyes was constantly boring into him and he was going to regret ignoring her. There was less than half of class time remaining and it passed quickly enough. When the bell rang, Mitsuko and Mikoto stood up immediately.

"We need to hurry," Mitsuko whispered to Touma. "If we want to find a good spot in the cafeteria. Seats fill up fast and… with your presence today…"

"Got it," Touma agreed and stood up to leave with them.

"So," Mikoto struck up conversationally. "What do you think about the princess's announcement?" Her words were deliberately calm, but Touma could feel the sharp edge hidden within.

"It was surprising," Mitsuko replied, blissfully unaware. "I don't know much about her, but I did hear she was really picky. Whoever caught her eye must be something special."

"Special… yeah," Mikoto agreed halfheartedly. Her eyes drilled into Touma.

"Good for her, I guess?" Touma said warily, trying to ignore the death glare. "I was more surprised that interview was shown in class."

"I would be surprised if it wasn't," Mitsuko corrected. "A princess is in Academy City; that is important news. It would be more unusual for a school not to show such an important event. I wonder if we will get a chance to meet her in person."

I would rather not, Touma and Mikoto thought in unison. The entered the cafeteria and Touma froze for a second.

Comparing it to his school, the layout was roughly the same. Tables and chairs filled up most of the area with the food service being on the far side. The biggest difference was how fancy it looked. The floor was sparkling clean, the food from what he could see was leagues above the slop at his school, and while conversations were going on, it was a lot more subdued. However, nearly all the chatter stopped when they saw him enter.

Going to have to get used to the girls treating me like a celebrity, Touma thought dejected. He really did not like standing out.

"This way," Mitsuko directed him, unperturbed at the attention as she gestured for him to follow.

"Everything's free for students," Mikoto whispered to him, as they stepped in line behind her. "So don't worry about having to pay for anything."

"Right, you mentioned that before." At least one good thing came out of this trip. There were a lot more options than as his own school and settled for a sandwich, soup, and salad. The three of them found an empty table and sat down. Touma sat next to Mitsuko and Mikoto sat across from them. While the chattered resumed, Touma felt dozens of eyes on him and could just imagine what the topic of discussion was.

"I hope you two don't mind if my friends join us," Mitsuko said to Mikoto and Touma, as she waved Kinuho and Maaya over.

"Hello, Kami-sama, Misaka-sama," the girls greeted and sat down. Both of them were too nervous to sit next to Touma, so Maaya took the seat on Mitsuko's other side and Kinuho across from her.

"Well, Kuroko's going to join us regardless," Mikoto responded. As if her words were a summoning spell, Kuroko appeared in a blur and sat down next to Mikoto.

"Hello, onee-sama," Kuroko greeted and her eyes fell on Mitsuko and Touma. "Kongou-san, ap…Kami-san," She added stiffly. Touma could tell her opinion of him improved somewhat over time. There were no direct insults. What he didn't know was that Kuroko was just acting ladylike at school and part of her disdain was directed at Mitsuko. Rivals existed everywhere. Fulfilling her duty of greeting them, Kuroko turned back to Mikoto. "Did you watch the… interview last period?"

"I'm pretty sure every class saw it," Mikoto confirmed. "I'm just worried what someone else is going…"

"Miiisssaakkkaaa!" Misaki called out in a sweet voice as she approached their table with a couple other girls.

"Mmmm." Mikoto rubbed the side of her head for a moment before turning to face her. "I knew you would show up sooner or later."

"How could I miss the chance to spend time with you and Kami-sama?" Misaki asked innocently. "It's such a shame we are in different classes."

"Hey, Shokuhou," Touma greeted her and she smiled, before taking the seat next to him. The attractive girl with hair in ringlets, who Misaki introduced as Junko Hozake, sat down across from her next to Mikoto. The other girls took a seat nearby because the table Touma and the others had sat down at only held eight.

"Hello, Shokuhou-san," Mitsuko greeted. "We were just about to discuss the interview we saw involving the second princess of England."

"Right!" Shokuhou exclaimed with a clap of her hands. "Wasn't that unexpected?"

"Do you know who the gentleman is?" Kinuho asked. "No one in our class even knew the princess arrived in Japan." Kuroko shared a brief look with Mikoto.

"She mentioned he saved her from a terrorist attack," Misaki reminded the girls, though her eyes flickered to Touma every now and then. "So we can conclude he has to be brave. Still, without a description, we don't have much to go on. It's not like we have records on who all visited England over the last few months."

"Queen," Junko pointed out. "You took a trip to England with your boyfriend and his friends." She turned to Mikoto and Kuroko. "I saw the pictures she kept and know both of you accompanied her…"

"B-boyfriend?" Mikoto stuttered and Touma was trying really hard not to choke himself.

"Of course," Misaki said superiority and smirked. "That's how I was invited. His friends from school also came. Spending a week with other gentleman from his class was certainly entertaining. Their little adventure at Tokiwadai high school was a good representation of their sense of humor." Touma noticed she was carefully phrasing her words to move the topic from who Carissa's mysterious suiter could be. "Besides, I'm not the only one here with a boyfriend. Doesn't Shirai-san have one?"

All the girls turned to Kuroko.

"I do," Kuroko huffed, as she set down her fork. "And I can assure you, he's not involved with the princess."

"Kongou-sama," Maaya spoke up and Mitsuko turned toward her. "What about the gentleman you are with? From how highly you speak of him, he must be similar to the princess's finance. Perhaps he might even be acquaintances with him."

"I suppose that's possible," Mitsuko agreed with a nod. "I'll check with him later and see if he does." She puffed out her chest slightly. "I have excellent tastes and I can only accept the best. There's no one better than him."

Mikoto sighed, knowing Mitsuko was just putting up a front because of her pride.

She really doesn't need to do that. She thought. Two other people didn't seem to take her comment as lightly.

"Excuse me?" In a rare show of unison, Misaki and Kuroko spoke in similar tones of indignation. Mikoto was actually a little amused how easily Kuroko was protesting Mitsuko's statement. They are dating for real now, so I guess that's to be expected.

"A gentleman that Kongou-sama allowed to be her boyfriend cannot be anything less than perfect!" Kinuho said to Maaya, who nodded.

"I'm sure whoever your dating is nowhere near the level of mine," Kuroko huffed.

Why is Shirai-san so defensive? Touma thought to himself. Wasn't the rumor between her and Jason? They didn't have a real relationship. Still, Kongou-san should probably not antagonize the others about it. The guy she likes isn't her boyfriend yet. It's up to her to take that step unless he decides to confess.

Getting involved in an argument about boys while surrounded by girls was suicidal. Touma decided to eat his food quietly and tried not to draw attention to himself.

"Now, now," Misaki said diplomatically to Kuroko and then addressed Mitsuko. "He must be quite the gentleman for you to gush over this boyfriend of yours so much. Why don't you tell us something about him?" Mikoto face palmed and Junko leaned over toward her.

"I've met the Queen's boyfriend once," Junko whispered and a vein throbbed in Mikoto's forehead. "I know you liked him, but I hope you can cheer her on." Mikoto bit down hard on the corner of her lip. "I haven't met Shirai-san's or Kongou-san's boyfriend before. Do you know anything about them?"

"I know Kuroko's," Mikoto whispered back in a determined calm. "And he's… interesting. He's friends to Shokuhou's…b…" She couldn't utter that lie, but Junko understood and nodded politely.

"O-of course," Mitsuko answered with a hint of a stutter to Misaki.

A flicker of a smirk appeared on Misaki's face. She could read people like a book and Mitsuko was definitely lying. It's not like she would call her out on it though. She was lying about Touma being her boyfriend too. At least for now; he would be hers eventually.

"Where to start… He's a natural gentleman. Always helping others, keeps a positive attitude even when things don't go as planned. He's chivalrous and holds doors open for me, yet will just as easily do it for anyone. He can dress sharply and even saved me from a vicious animal once."

"He sounds amazing," Kinuho and Maaya mused.

Sounds like someone from those rich kid schools, Touma thought to himself, still refusing to get involved. Good luck to them and hope it works out. It didn't involve him this time.

"My boyfriend saved my life before too," Kuroko retorted and the table focused on her. "He's part of Judgment and helped me out of a situation." She had to lie a little bit to not talk about certain events. "He also has a sense of humor and things are never boring around him."

Am I missing something? Touma thought. When did she start defending Jason? Is this a girl thing I'm missing?

Just like with me, Mikoto sighed internally. Once she attaches to someone, she sees them as perfect beings. It took ages for her to stop with me and start acting like herself. She used to not ever argue with me when we first met.

"Hehe," Misaki giggled. "I can assure you my boyfriend has all of that and more. He knows me much more intimately than anyone else. It is as if we shared the same body."

Several girls' issued a spit take and Touma realized her words were far from what was expected. Even Misaki's friend's face had turned scarlet, while Mitsuko's friends covered their mouths. Kuroko and Mikoto appeared as if they had been clubbed over the head. The silence was deafening as the girls stared at an unabashed Misaki.

A cough echoed across the table.

Touma drew everyone's attention.

"Maybe," he started slowly. "We could change the topic of conversation. And Shokuhou, it's not nice to tease people."

It took every ounce of self-control to not betray his shock. It was fortunate he had not been drinking or Mikoto would have been covered in tea. His mask also prevented anyone from seeing his face burning because he knew exactly what Misaki was referring too. It did not involve anything sexual in anyway. She had just purposely phased her words that way.

Mikoto and Kuroko knew that too. It was just hard to argue against her without revealing sensitive information.

"Can't pull anything over your eyes, Kami," Misaki said with a laugh and then addressed the table. "It's not like that, I'm still a pure maiden. What I meant is my boyfriend and I know and trust each other completely. Sorry, that earlier was just a joke." There was a collective sigh of relief and then Junko giggled.

"You've really changed the last two months," She said to Misaki. "You joke around much more than you use to. It must be because of that gentleman."

"I can't argue with that," Misaki said. Touma almost jumped in his seat when her hand touched his leg.

What are you doing?! He thought and tried to look at her, but Misaki was acting like nothing happened.

"You really need to phase your words better," Mikoto said through gritted teeth.

"But you're so fun to tease," Misaki protested and pretended to pout. "You always forgive me though, because we are such close friends." Touma could almost hear Mikoto's teeth grind. Junko clapped her hands together excitedly.

"I knew the two of you would grow close." She beamed at them. "It only required you spending time together."

"Uh, huh," Mikoto said absentmindedly.

"We even dropped honorifics," Misaki pointed out and Junko beamed even more brightly. Meanwhile, Kuroko and Mitsuko were continuing to discuss boyfriends. Kuroko obviously didn't believe Mitsuko, but was avoiding calling her out directly.

"So how come we have never seen this gentleman of yours?" Kuroko asked. "Mine has escorted me from the dorm before."

"His school is not in the vicinity of ours." Mitsuko replied and there was a faint tinge of pink on her cheeks. "It would hardly be fair to him if I kept asking him to come over. I'm more than willing to go and meet him."

"I have an idea," Kinuho suggested. "Why not do one of those… double dates? Dating would be safer in a group and would give you the opportunity to meet both gentlemen."

"I don't have a problem with that," Kuroko said immediately. "I would love to meet this gentleman of yours."

"Well…," Mitsuko said hesitantly and noticed Kuroko's smirk. "Yes, that will be fine. I'll contact him later to find out when he's available." Kuroko raised an eyebrow at this. She really hadn't expected Mitsuko to continue the bluff.

I thought she would back down, Kuroko thought. Well, at least this time it won't be fake. I know he will be willing and I won't have to get embarrassed from his antics. She smiled slightly at the memory. They were a little fun and he never went overboard.

"If it's not too much trouble," Maaya added. "Could we have the opportunity to meet them?" Kinuho nodded in agreement. "I use to think boys were scary but Kami-sama is really nice." She leaned forward so she could see him. "Thanks for answering our questions earlier today."

"It was no trouble," Touma told her. "I'll answer anything I can."

"I'm okay with that," Kuroko agreed to Maaya's request. "Though, fair warning, Jason's pretty different from Kami."

"And so is mine," Mitsuko added.

"Do guys differ drastically?" Kinuho asked Touma.

"Completely," Touma admitted. "Even my close friends differ. We are people, you know. There are good and there are bad."

"That is understandable," Kinuho said with a nod. "Awatsuki and I really need to meet more, but it's kind of nerve wrecking. It's why we wanted to meet boys we know are nice through people with more experience." She gestured to Mitsuko, who turned slightly red, and Kuroko.

"It's probably better that way," Touma admitted. "Shirai-san… has a good head on her shoulders and interacts with a lot of people through Judgment." Kuroko raised an eyebrow in surprise at his compliment. "And Kongou-san here is trustworthy from what I've seen." Mitsuko bit the corner of her mouth and didn't act as proud as she had earlier.

"Kami!" Misaki interrupted in a singsong voice. "We got distracted earlier, but we wanted to discuss the princess's interview some more and we could use your input."

The hand on his leg tightened and Touma flinched slightly.

"How so?" He asked tentatively.

"What kind of gentleman do you think the princess would be attracted too?" Junko asked.

"Errr… I don't really know her type." Touma said after a brief pause. "I heard she's rather… intense? So whoever it is would have to be, maybe… strong-willed?"

"I could see that," Misaki agreed. "I mean, he wouldn't have agreed to a marriage proposal recklessly in that case." Touma could feel her grip on his leg tighten, even as she adorned a pleasant expression. "It has to be true because the princess wouldn't lie about something like that. Right, Misaka?"

"Of course, Shokuhou," Mikoto replied in an unnatural display of comradery. She was catching on to what Misaki was doing. "And there is absolutely no way that gentleman would agree if he hadn't responded to any other maidens who confessed. That would be incredibly rude and there is no way a princess would marry someone like that. Someone who is willing to get involved in a terrorist attack is bound to have stepped in to help other people before. I bet he's popular with the ladies."

Touma would have slunk down under the table if it was possible. Junko held a finger up to her cheek in polite confusion at the pair's conversation.

"I am interested in finding out who her betrothed is and it appears Misaka is with me," Misaki continued. "What about you, Kami?"

"I don't really pay attention to political marriages," Touma answered awkwardly.

"You should," Mikoto pointed out, her eyes betraying her real intentions. They bore into him. "Remember what our teacher said last period? It's important to keep up with current events."

"Leader sure, but marriages?"

"Many of the girls here would love to marry an exceptional gentleman," Junko explained to Touma. "It's really an amazing thing to witness, along with an actual princess. That in itself plays into the reason we wish to know this gentleman's identity; as we all wish to meet someone of similar traits."

"I guess that makes sense," Touma muttered. Misaki's left hand disappeared into her bag and Touma's mind was suddenly filled with her words.

I know there's something to this, but I trust you. Misaka does too, but a little teasing at your expense was to be expected here, no? Touma gave a short jerk of his head in a nod. Her method of communicating only allowed her to put words in his mind, not read them at the moment. Good, we expect a full explanation later. And I mean a FULL one. I'll change the topic for now.

"So, Kami," Misaki said brightly. "Any idea on what your class is planning to do with the lottery winnings? There were a great many people there during the drawing."

"Eh… actually, I don't." The plan had been to discuss it today. "I'll contact my class when I get a chance and see what they decided on."

"They are going to decide without you?" Mitsuko asked, turning to him. "That's not very polite. I mean, you were the one to agree to be the prize. Surely you should have some say."

"We usually do votes democratically," Touma assured her. "So unless it's a tie, my vote really won't matter much."

"Every vote matters," Mitsuko pointed out. "If too many people think that way, then the outcome could very well be affected."

"True," Touma relented. "I guess I don't really mind. There are a few people in my class who would want to spend it on something stupid, but then there are others who will put their foot down."

"Like what?" Kinuho asked interestedly.

"You really don't want to know." Mikoto, Misaki, and even Kuroko chuckled at his words. The three of them had enough experience with his classmates.

I am actually kind of curious now, Touma thought to himself now that the subject had been brought up. Please don't let it be something stupid.

"Excuse me, Kami-sama?"

Touma turned around and saw two girls standing behind him. One of them was hiding partially behind the other. She seemed to shrink even more when the rest of the table focused on her.

"Yes?" Touma asked back, trying to sound polite.

"My friend has something to ask you," The girl said and pushed the second one forward.

"Umm… K-Kami-sama," The girl stuttered. "I-I know you d-don't really know me a-and t-this might be presumptuous of me, b-but I really would like to get to know you… so h-here!" She shoved a letter into his hand and then bolted away. Touma stared at her dumbfounded, before glancing at her friend.

"She's really shy," The girl sighed. "And I think you might be the first boy she's said more than three words to outside of her family. It would mean a lot if you could answer her."

At this, she turned and followed her friend out of the cafeteria. Touma felt like he had just been hit in the face.

A love letter, He realized looking down at it. I actually received one.

This was a huge milestone and something he and his friends have always talked about. Sure, he had been confessed too, but there was just something about receiving a handwritten one. It was a sacred commodity and one of the joys of youth. As you got older, these things tended to disappear. His happiness was cut short as he shivered.

Dark aura was seeping out from more than one person behind him and he realized the timing of the letter was not at the most opportune one.

Such misfortune.

---

Earlier that day back at a Certain High School, a fight was taking place.

"We have more than enough money!" Pierce declared and slammed his fist on the table.

"Yeah!" Motoharu and several guys cheered behind him.

"That doesn't matter!" Roared Seiri back at them. "We are not petitioning the school to buy new uniforms paid with the money we earned! Especially not with those designs!"

"Maid styles are extremely popular nowadays!" Motoharu countered. "And the short skirts will help bring in attention. The number of students who would want to enroll would skyrocket!"

"The wrong kind of people!" A girl behind Seiri shouted back. "I wouldn't be caught dead in that!"

"Calm down, everyone!" Komoe cried out, trying to keep the peace. "I'm sure if we talk it out, we can come up with an idea everyone is satisfied with."

Accelerator yawned in the back seat.

Time and time again, he questioned why he even showed up instead of ditching school. The subjects were boring, his classmates were mostly idiots, and he had to wake up early. Still, every day, he found himself getting up and heading to school without Aiho yelling at him. Whatever his class decided to do with the money didn't really bother him. He didn't care about it. The only reason he wanted the arguments to stop was because they were loud and annoying. He stretched and for some reason, Komoe thought he had raised his hand to offer a suggestion.

"Yes, Accelerator?" She said, pointing to him. "Did you have an idea?"

Fuck, don't call on me.

"Tsk." He clicked his tongue and noticed the class staring at him. "Why don't you fix that damn pool? Half the time the water could be mistaken for a sludge pond."

"That's an idea with merit." Seiri agreed. "We use the pool, so it would benefit our class and it helps out the school. We have more than enough."

"Maybe with a better pool," One of the guys said excitedly. "We can negotiate more pool time."

"Girls in swimsuits!" Several guys cheered and the girls eyed them with disdain.

"Hah!" Motoharu laughed and slapped Accelerator on the back. "Look at you. Participating and giving out great ideas; usually you just sleep."

"I was trying to, you bastard." Accelerator growled. "But you lot kept shouting about stupid things."

"Well it seems like the class is mostly in agreement about this." Komoe declared and wrote 'Fix Pool' on the blackboard. "I believe we have an estimate in the staff room on it and we were waiting for enough money in the budget to do so. This will free up more for other needed repairs. I bet you could negotiate for extra pool time too, especially since a few of you are in the swimming club." Two girls nodded. "I wish Kagere-kun was here so he could give his input."

"He ate something bad yesterday," laughed Motoharu. "He should be back tomorrow."

"Well, let's hope so," Komoe agreed. "Kamijou-chan, you look like you want to add something."

Accelerator's eyes darted toward Touma.

More precisely, the person pretending to be Touma.

Accelerator, Motoharu, and Pierce had convinced the rest of the class Touma and Kami were two different people. The thing was, with Kami supposed to attend Tokiwadai today, Touma's seat would be left open. This would be suspicious. Without telling him, Jason decided to take his place by using magic. Motoharu nearly fell over laughing when he found out and Accelerator didn't care one way or the other. The only reason he kept thinking about it was because of one person.

Pierce Aogami shouldn't know about magic.

Yet, when Jason walked in disguised as Touma, he barely batted an eye.

I can't tell if that idiot actually knows about magic or if he just doesn't care and went with the flow. Accelerator though irritated. I suppose those two could have told him some weird story I haven't heard. Damn it. It wasn't so much that he was concerned for either Touma or Pierce. The cause of his irritation was something happened right in front of him he didn't know. He did not want to be kept out of the loop, especially with something that could backfire so spectacularly. Guess I'll question those bastards after class.

Magic was something he wanted to keep an eye on, ever since Eve's arrival threatened Last Order. Knowing who knew about magic was an important first step.

"Well," Jason said hesitantly, doing a good job at impersonating their missing comrade. "I was thinking if we have money left over, maybe the class could treat you sensei. You put up with our shenanigans long enough."

"M-me?!" Komoe stuttered at this thoughtfulness. "I-I really appreciate the kind offer, but you all worked hard on this and it should be used to benefit-…"

"No!" Seiri interjected. "That's a great idea!"

"Yeah!" Someone else agreed. Soon the entire class had backed up Jason's idea. Water began to form in Komoe's eyes.

"I'm…sniff… so happy to be teaching you all," Komoe told them, as she wiped her face with her sleeve. "I couldn't ask for better students."

"T-there's no need to cry, sensei," Jason said in surprise. "Think of all the times you went out of your way to help us. This is the least we could do." His words only made her eyes water even more.

"Look at Kami-yan," Pierce laughed. "Going straight for sensei. It's only a matter of time before he gets every girl in class." Several girls glared at him, yet most of them turned slightly red.

"Shut it!" Seiri snapped and punched him in the stomach. "It's a good idea and Komoe-sensei really does deserve it. She has always supported us."

"Doesn't change the fact he triggered all those flags on her." Aisa muttered from the back of the class.

She tried to suggest something earlier, but no one noticed her in all the commotion. Accelerator was the only one who heard her and he actually raised his eyebrow at this.

Did he actually suggest that idea for the damn hero to get closer to her?

---

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.

Ah, so much happening and only half the day has progressed. I wonder if everyone sees the consequences of some of our hero's actions. Some are obvious; some are a little more subtle. Enjoy finding them.

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

SF88: Fuck you Dark; fall into a well and die screaming.

I'll kill Shizuri Mugino off. (YOU'D BETTER NOT!)