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.)

119. S5 Guys' Night Part 2

Two big announcements first hand. Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates the holidays. I hope things are going well for all of you and you are surviving family. If you don't celebrate Christmas, enjoy your winter break/ other holidays. Stay safe, don't drink too much, and have fun. Second big announcement is this story finally hit over 3000 reviews! It would be the first story in the Index fandom if some people didn't just post hundreds of one word reviews on another story to prevent this one from hitting 3k first. As that author and I discussed, the numbers are there, but the spirit is not. Thank you to everyone who has continued to read this fanfic from the beginning. It has been a long crazy journey.

Other than that, just a short note on this chapter. After much debate about how I wanted to handle the point of view, I decided to do it from the guys. While you read this story, remember, that same group of girls are watching and listening. It should be a riot as you read the stupidity of guys, knowing the people who shouldn't be hearing this are. Other than that, a lot of set up, some serious conversations, and a lot of hilarious antics. Special guest stars too. This chapter has everything.

The Wolf Paladin: If this was a gamer fic, an achievement would have been unlocked. Ah, the final battle with Othinus is going to be a little different because of his experiences.

Iceflame55: While she's smart, she's still a young girl who has limited experience with love.

acpeters: Maybe Mikoto will spoil the surprise. I'm sure Touma would forgive her though.

general ironox: I wonder… We may never know. I debated going more in depth, but it's more of the fact you only needed a little description to understand.

Phoenix 7.49: They only had a cameo but they will let it slip eventually. Mikoto doesn't know Misaki knows about the experiment. However, I doubt she would want others to know about the embarrassment that happened around that time involving the lap pillow. This chapter has some serious talks, but humor throughout it all.

Tsun: Everyone felt a ripple in the force.

wildarms13: It's about time. Lessar was throwing herself at him and he wasn't getting the message. Yes, SF is a she.

YozakuraKyou: That few? Guess I have to take it up a notch.

reality deviant: Some of the Tokiwadai girls wouldn't know what traps are, but I'm going with the five people listening that they do.

UrsaMJR: I did put up a warning, so not my fault. A lot of people update around Christmas. Some big ones did. Lap pillows are very important and comfortable. SF has been busy working during the holidays and is very grumpy. Took him days to get reviewing.

Mr. X: 1) Reason: To prevent creeps from randomly messaging her. 2) Most of them know about his roommate situation. Shiage is kind of in the same predicament so he won't mention it. As for married women, when Touma flirts with one, they will add it. Besides, Touma would never do steal someone's wife. 3) Such is life. 4) I never sunk that ship. 5) Maybe. She was the first one to go on a date with him, so there's that. 6) Nah. Everyone has their own likes and dislikes. 7) I think I've heard of it, can't recall if I read it.

The crack shipping guy: Obviously he does. I have to kick SF's butt now and then. I don't know. Kicking butts is good exercise.

BlueJack22: Touma Kamijou has to show up all the time.

Inacio: It's a secret. He would kill me if I told. Maybe Accelerator watches a lot of porn?

mervinr170: Yep.

Salishious: Woah! Lap Pillows are far superior to Shoulder Sleeping. I told everyone on discord and they are making fun of you now. Learn your kinks. Wow, there's not a huge debate on if Shoulder Sleeping can ever get near the point of Lap Pillows. Word will spread around of the harem. Someone will make sure of it. Worst cannot have that knowledge. It is not made for mortal ears. If only there was one Magic God who would help Touma. Thor is not a trap since he is not biologically female.

anand891996: Now I have to have him cave.

WTFjusthappened: Thanks for letting me know. I did see. I was the first one to 3k in spirit, so it's not a big deal.

Kuvukiland: Everyone wants to know about his fetish. I figured they would, so that's why I trolled and didn't say. I shipped them too early on. Ruiko can get along with anyone. I should do more with Estelle, but I'm not really good at writing her. She may get a chance later on.

Handsomistic1: I feel a mass text would be kind of… impersonal. If he does it, it has to be face to face.

xaxiel1572: I've been told the slice of life comedy is my strong suit. Shizuri and Carissa are the hard bosses, the rest will come.

Valenmvic: Just because someone is okay with someone else, doesn't mean they will date.

Darkavengers: Many things are still to come.

Tardis42: You're assumption are correct. I wonder why probabilities pop up a lot. Looks at title. Maybe the guys didn't see them.

Guest13: Accelerator is awesome like that.

aGuestfromGreece45: It's tough to proofread. Your brain will automatically make connections or corrections that aren't there. They are the unnamed heroes of our time. I don't like to post huge chapters anymore, not after that one monstrosity. Fluffy tails are nice.

Ddraig99: There are a lot of casts in this series. Naturally, some have to be pushed back. Kaori is getting some screen time soon and so will the others. Unless I kill people off, there will always be some characters who get sidelined.

Wargame-sama: Nice, welcome aboard.

Healthcare: Thanks. I told myself I would write a long story when I started and I'm sticking to it.

Grendel3130: That means a lot and I do plan to keep writing for a long time.

ChancePluto: I'll keep that in mind.

Savaris: It only took 100+ chapters and a million words? Mikoto was the first main girl to appear and the others just got added later, especially for spinoffs. Mikoto has been limiting her Tsun in canon too. It just took a while before she could admit it to herself. Alpha Female is always just a joke around a strong willed girl in a harem. If you want it to work, people need to be equal partners. If someone knows they are being observed, they can't act natural. Add all the death flags! Someone will die by the next day! So it is declared.

X the Reaper: Probably not. I like him and Rikou. In canon, he got more respect after beating up Shizuri. As much as the fight with Oda helped, Frenda and Saiai just don't want to seem weak in front of him.

Master Knight Trolling: That's all in part two. The start has to be stupid. Touma did already go through a lot of internal debate already. He just needed the final push. The talk between him, Mikoto, and Misaki is going to be deep.

ultron emperor: You think?

Chris: Eh, never really bothered me.

Generation Zero: Out of all the guys, Accelerator has opened up the most. He needed some guy friends that were absent when he was growing up. Touma is going to have a very interesting conversation with the designers of the harem. I can't wait for Index to find out. Being religious, marriage is supposed to be between one male and one female. Why would it be a war now? Every nation can now join under Touma's banner.

DanganMachin: Defaults? Hah, this fic is perfect. No issues whatsoever. As long as you ignore the small grammar mistakes.

McdrilaX: Twenty years later, a reality shows go up titled: The History of Kami. It would make Academy City billions. WW3 isn't going to happen, but a different battle is going to happen. I can't go into too much details or I'll spoil a lot. Accelerator's fetish cannot be known by mortal men.

Anonymous7: If everything goes as planned, it should end around 200 chapters. I just like the slice of life stuff and that takes up time. I compensate by adding plot at the same time. Shiage and Kakine working together. That's thinking outside of the box.

King of He11: Yes.

Lordrednight: It took so long, but I think it happened a little more naturally than a lot of other harem stories.

Dragonrails: Maybe I deleted a review to make you 2999. Muhahaha!

Gh0st's buddy: Hey, man. Glad you enjoyed it.

Agent Nine: When you use first names, that means the people are really close. Nearly everyone calls Motoharu and Pierce by their last names. Ruiko Saten is in a similar boat. Kazari should be the closest one to call her that, but she always is so polite. The only reason she calls Jason by his first name is because they are dating.

MardGeer117: There will be some similarities, like what happened in England. However, due to changes in people's mentality based on past events, things will have significant changes. I can't figure out how to get Vento and Touma together.

Kami: Every guy has two sides. His public side and the side he shows his friend.

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.

---

"So now that you've agreed to the harem, what's your next step?" Motoharu asked, as the guys left the burger joint.

"Seriously? I have no idea." Touma shrugged. "Never thought this would happen." He glared at Motoharu and Pierce. "If you guys hadn't joked so much about it in the past, I might have noticed that girls actually liked me." Now I'm walking blindly into the tiger's den. I'd almost rather clash with Fiamma again.

"Don't try to blame us for your obliviousness," Pierce argued and smacked Touma in the back of the head. "We all knew they liked you, but you refused to accept it."

"Pretty obvious that the third rate was all over you." Accelerator huffed and rolled his eyes.

"Can't talk your way out of this," Jason added. "I realized Misaka-san liked you in less than a day."

"Yeah, I'm stupid, happy now?" Touma wrung out his shirt. Now that he knew she liked him, all her previous actions were obvious to him now. "And I'm still wet. I was hoping to avoid misfortune today. We were almost out before she spilt that tea on me."

"I think it was my fault," Shiage apologized. "I bumped into her first." I think she bumped into me, but she was so apologetic, I couldn't be mad at her.

"Obviously what you need to do, Kami-yan," Motoharu suggested. "Is-…"

"If this is something stupid or perverted, I don't want to hear it," Touma interrupted.

"Hey, now." Motoharu actually stopped smiling. "I'm here to give you some good advice."

"First time for everything," Jason said and Accelerator chuckled.

"I mean it." Motoharu threw his arm over Touma's shoulders. "Listen, man, here's what you got to do. Shokuhou-san and Misaka-san were the ones to confront you about it. The first thing you have to do is confront them back. Explain to them you thought about it and want to give it a try. Then set ground rules, make sure everyone is aware, and on the same page. Once this gets out, there's going to be more who want to join. I'm sure Shokuhou-san can suggest how this could be handled, but you need to figure out exactly what you want from this."

Touma's mouth fell open at his friend's suggestion.

It was actually useful.

More than useful, it was actually great advice.

"Are you really Tsuchimikado?" He asked, pushing Motoharu off him. "You never give me good advice like this."

"He might be a spy," Accelerator agreed. "Punch him in the face and see if he reverts back."

"Come on," Pierce protested. "We have lots of good ideas and he's our friend. Remember, we were originally the Delta Force. Now it's the…" he quickly counted. "Whatever the term for six is. The point is, we got each other's back when it's important. We only messed with him because of how dense he was and his own denial. Never once had we ever actually been serious. Sure, if he got a hot girlfriend, we would mock him like we do Kagere and Accelerator, but that's normal."

"Knowing you," Shiage suggested. "I think you were more serious about me lacking understanding of fetishes than Boss having a harem."

"…Pretty much," Pierce agreed with a nod, after a moment of thinking.

"That still worries me," Touma said, moving the conversation back to the important topic. If his friends were actually going to give good advice and not try to get him into trouble, then this was the opportunity to get as much information as possible. "Misaki mentioned there were other girls too. I think I can guess a few who might be interested, like those on that list. But there's the issue on what everyone's reaction will be. You can hardly go up to someone and say, 'Hey! Want to join my harem?' There are probably technical aspects I'm not aware of."

"That might work on Lessar," Jason said reasonably.

"Pretty sure he could go up to Lessar and say anything and she would take that as an okay," Motoharu pointed out, causing the guys to laugh.

"I would be more worried about what Frenda or Mugino would say when they find out," Shiage said. "They know about Mental Out's plan. I heard them discussing it a couple of times." His face darkened and he shivered. "They didn't sound pleased, that's for sure."

"She's going to hate that the hero is willing to try it." Accelerator grinned, laughing internally at the mental image of her frustrated expression. "Hey, I'll give you ten thousand yen if you give me a pic of her face when she finds out."

"Sorry, my life isn't worth that," Shiage replied.

"Nine thousand."

"Why is the price going down!?"

"That's something you will have to talk about with those two," Motoharu continue, ignoring the banter. "But if you aren't considering dating either of those two seriously, you can't let them control you." He raised an eyebrow. "Do you actually like them that way?"

"That's… kind of complicated?" Touma scratched the back of his head. "Both of them are somewhat reserved, it's hard to tell what they are thinking. Frenda lets a lot of things slip but Mugino is…harder to get a read on. One second she's yelling and the next she's risking her life to help me." He sighed. "Sometimes I wish I had Misaki's power. It would be much easier to know what people were thinking."

"Trust me," Jason reassured him. "Having a powerful ability isn't as glamorous as people like to make you believe." Touma couldn't help glancing at Accelerator out of the corner of his eyes. With what he had gone through, Touma was sure Accelerator would speak up.

To his surprise, Accelerator's head jerked ever so slightly into a nod.

"No use in wishing for something impossible," Pierce added. "You simply have to play the hand that was dealt." Touma frowned ever so slightly at what could be a pun. He still wasn't sure if Pierce knew about Imagine Breaker. From the looks on Jason and Accelerator's face, they were thinking the same.

"So what do you suggest I do then to avoid being killed?" Touma asked.

"Be honest," Jason suggested. "Hiding it would only make Mugino-san angrier. You don't want that."

"Definitely not."

"I doubt she would be willing to just step aside for the third and fourth rate… heh. Still like the fact that she was demoted." Accelerator scratched his cheek. "Lay down the law, hero. Tell her this is what's happening and if she doesn't like it, she can scram."

"That would get me killed," Touma protested with an eye roll. "Want to stand between us as I say that?"

"Grow some balls."

"You're going to have to do that," Shiage agreed. "If she thinks you're playing around with her, it's only going to get worse. Frenda's the same way. As much as she humiliates me, she's sort of grown on me and she is Rikou's friend. I'd rather she learn if you're available or not sooner and not get more desperate or hopeful."

He shivered and had the feeling he might have dodged a bullet.

"I'll have to cross that bridge when I come to it," Touma muttered. "Talking to Mikoto and Misaki should definitely go first though." His hand slid toward his pocket. "I'll try to meet up with them tomorrow."

"Hang on!" Motoharu and Pierce interrupted, grabbing his arms.

"Save that for later," Motoharu explained. "No contacting girls tonight."

"Right." That was the main thing they agreed on. "Fine, I'll message them when I get back to my apartment. Happy?"

"Yes," Pierce confirmed. "But there's one thing you should think of before then."

"Oh?" Touma raised an eyebrow.

"Where are you going to take the first girls out on a date?"

Touma froze mid-step and all the guys stopped too.

"Crap! I didn't even think of that." Touma facepalmed dramatically. "I've been too worried on exactly how this would even work, let alone actually going out. Would it be like group dates or would I need to try to plan individual outings?"

"Pretty sure it would be a combination of both," Shiage pointed out. "I doubt they would all have the same interests."

"Heh." Accelerator actually laughed at that. "That's an understatement. The third rate's interests borders on children merchandise. I doubt the fourth and fifth would ever be caught dead with that trash."

It was a good thing Mikoto wasn't around.

"You say that to her face?" Jason asked.

"Every chance I get."

"It might not be a big of rush to think of one," Motoharu pointed out to Touma. "Shokuhou-san's waited this long, I'm sure she would be willing to wait a little longer. Shoot, she probably has ideas of her own."

"I don't doubt that at all," Touma agreed. "She's always a dozen steps ahead of me."

"Not like it's hard to do," Pierce said with a laugh.

"Maybe if he paid attention to his surroundings," Accelerator huffed. "He wouldn't be blindsided so often."

"You can't even keep up with your homework," Jason finished. "How do you expect to keep up with the complicated minds of girls?"

"I've long given up on that and use that brain power on school instead," Touma muttered, causing everyone to laugh. "I'll leave the complicated stuff to the smart people."

"He's saying we can get him to do anything we want," Motoharu said and elbowed Accelerator in the side.

"Pretty sure you do that anyways," he replied.

"We can't all have perfect relations like those two," Pierce said, slightly annoyed while gesturing to Jason and Shiage.

"Hang on!" Jason protested.

"Perfect?!" Shiage asked loudly. "Since when?"

Both of them had shocked looks on their faces.

"Always rubbing your relationships and talking about how great they are," Pierce explained. "Nothing ever goes wrong in your perfect world."

"You barely know about Rikou!" Shiage retorted, visibly annoyed. "She's very reserved, so it takes time to know what she's really thinking. I also mess up from time to time, shoving my foot into my mouth, so I have to make it up to her. We're humans too, idiot."

"Kazari and I argue occasionally." Jason continued from where Shiage left off. "And you all have seen how Kuroko and I interact." He shrugged. "Relationships take work from both sides. You can't just give up after one bad incident. There's no way you can stay in one that way." He glanced at Touma. "Pretty sure you already know there will be some challenges, but don't let them overshadow the good times."

"Like the hot make-up sex," Pierce interjected with a gleeful expression.

"Skipping over that," Touma continued, trying not to imagine that. "What would be a good idea for a first date… for my situation?"

He actually looked towards Jason, Shiage, and Accelerator, as they actually had girlfriends. Sure, he had read manga and seen anime, but real life vastly differed from those fictional sources. Misaki and Mikoto had done a lot for him, including being patient for him to reach a conclusion on his own. He owned them a good time and it should be his responsibility to do so.

His pride required, no demanded him to.

"Sorry, Boss." Shiage actually looked down at the fact he wouldn't be much help. "We've only been out a few times. Movie, shopping, normal stuff." Seriously, it's a refreshing change of pace from ITEM's jobs. Though, I wish I could say the shopping was for more than just tracksuits. She looks good in comfortable clothes, but still…

"Same." Jason took over. "There was the trip to England that sort of went out of control, but Kazari and I were only a couple. I'm… actually in the same boat as you. With Kuroko joining in, I need to plan how to go about this."

"I'm still impressive you managed to get her to join," Pierce congratulated. "It was obvious she wanted you, but to get Uiharu-san to go along with it. You're a sly dog."

"It was their idea," Jason emphasized. "Seriously, it was sprung up on me."

"What about you, Accelerator?' Motoharu asked. "Where have you and Bayloupe gone to get all hot and steamy. Besides your room, of course."

"Huh?" Accelerator's eyebrow rose due to the incredulous look on his face.

"You must have taken her somewhere nice right? You're rich and you wouldn't be caught dead in rundown areas, right?" Motoharu was the only one of them who may have known the truth of Accelerator's and Bayloupe's relationship, but it was never confirmed.

Accelerator's silence was all the answer the others need.

"Have you… seriously not taken here anywhere?" Touma asked in shock.

"So you two just hang out at your house after school?" Shiage prodded.

"Probably getting it on most nights after Last Order goes to bed," Pierce said and then laughed. "But seriously, man. You've got to take girls out now and then to keep them happy."

"I'm not an ATM," Accelerator snapped.

"Most things that are fun to do take a little money," Jason refuted. "Sure, you can take walks or visit museums on free days." Touma briefly experienced a flashback of the last time he, Ruiko, Jason, and Kazari went to one. "It limits costs, but you pay for food, movies, that kind of stuff. Bayloupe's older than all of us and seems pretty down to earth. I bet she doesn't expect extravagant outings or even you coming back with a bundle of flowers and chocolates."

"She better not," Accelerator muttered. "Or she doesn't know me at all."

"You're going to lose her if you just ignore her," Touma pushed.

Accelerator glared at him for a moment and remained silent. In all honesty, he and Bayloupe never did go out on any kind of date-like setting. The closest they ever got was going to a convenient store together without Last Order. Since Bayloupe would drink some of his coffee, they had to purchase more than he would have normally. With her help, they brought a greater amount than usual so they wouldn't have to go so far out of their way consistently. There wasn't a lot of talking, which he appreciated, but they did discuss a few things. She was smart and mature, things which most people around him lacked. Any subject they discussed, a lot involving magic and mana refinement, actually was fruitful.

I should do something to pay her back for all the help with the brats. There's also the fact we are supposed to be dating even if it's pretend. Yomikawa is probably already asking herself why we aren't doing shit like this. Accelerator wasn't completely oblivious. He just had very limited social interaction and wasn't always sure of what normal people do. This was going to be annoying and time consuming, but he felt like he did owe her.

"Maybe I should do something," he finally relented under his breath. "Unlike you lot, she's actually tolerable."

"You know you love every minute with us," Pierce translated.

"Good to hear, but that doesn't solve my problem," Touma piped up. "Maybe something simple would be best. A movie wouldn't be the best choice because we can't talk. Maybe the amusement park?"

"Looks at this guy joining the normalfags," Motoharu whispered to Pierce.

"All of them just love rubbing their girlfriends in our faces," Pierce replied.

"My sister is better than all of them though."

"I might have an idea that would solve all our problems," Jason suddenly said and everyone turned to him.

"This should be good," Motoharu joked.

"Might want to hold off those snide remarks," Jason retorted. "You're going to be involved too."

"Let's hear it," Touma relented and let out a long sigh. "Coming from you, there's a fifty-fifty chance it's useful."

"Ouch, that hurts." Jason covered his heart with his hand. "Heh, I don't blame you for being skeptical."

"Still better than those two," Accelerator added, jabbing a thumb at Motoharu and Pierce.

"Listen," Jason continued. "Thursday, the aquarium has half priced tickets. Kazari mentioned a while ago that she wanted to visit that place when she had the chance. Figured Kuroko might enjoy it too and I was planning to see if they both wanted to go. I was thinking, what if we made this a big group thing? It would be easy enough with this setting."

"Group dates are popular nowadays," Pierce admitted. "Online forums are full of people talking about them."

"What's the attraction of them?" Shiage asked, thinking. It wasn't like Frenda or Saiai would go on one of his dates with Rikou. If they did, it quickly turned from a date into work.

"It's a more relaxed setting," Pierce explained. "It usually works for less socially outgoing individuals. The idea of being surrounded by friends and other couples relaxes the atmosphere and encourages conversation. This allows people to get to know each other without being stuck in the awkward zone a lot of one on one contact has."

"Wish I had known about this before," Touma muttered. "So you want us to go too? Wouldn't that kind of cause issues with your first group date?"

"I'm pretty sure Kazari and Kuroko would be okay with this," Jason corrected him and then shrugged. "If things work out, we can… separate from you guys and go our own way. The aquarium's large enough to split off into groups. The group part is just to start off with." He looked around. "What do you think?"

"Thursday is kind of short notice," Touma muttered.

"I know, but isn't everything we do on short notice?"

"Touché."

"Can Rikou and I come?" Shiage asked. "Not sure if she's been to one. I haven't but I heard the one here is pretty popular."

"More the merrier," Jason answered immediately and then turned to Accelerator and Touma. "So, what do you say?"

"I would have to check with Misaki and Mikoto's availability," Touma muttered, more to himself as he thought. This seems like a good idea in all honesty. They should be able to have fun there. Not entirely sure what ojou-sama types like to do besides the stereotypes, though Mikoto could hardly be considered a typical one. If this crazy harem idea would work, everyone needs to be equal partners. These kinds of group dates would have to be the norm then. Not everyone would like the same activities, so the number of people, if his friends were right about the sheer amount, would vary. "You know what, if they're free, then I'm in."

"Sure." Everyone froze and gapped at the simple response from Accelerator. As his eyes met theirs, they narrowed. "What?!"

"Accelerator's… going along with it?" Pierce asked incredulously, his mouth agape.

"Without being pressured or blackmailed," Motoharu added in equal shock, his glasses slipping down his nose.

"I thought you were a loner," Shiage finished and quickly scooted a couple steps away under the fierce glare of Accelerator. It looked like he was planning murder in his head.

In all fairness, he probably was.

"As much as I hate to admit it, and I really do," Accelerator stated slowly and carefully, weighing every word. His face looked like he had just tasted a lemon. "You bastards are right. Bayloupe has helped me out with… some private matters. So I shouldn't pass up the chance when it falls so neatly into place in front of me." His eyes traveled over everyone one by one. "Once the opportunity arises, we're going off on our own. I don't want to deal with your shit. Got it?"

"More than enough," Touma reassured him. "Thanks a lot. I really appreciate the help."

"Tsk." He clicked his tongue. "I didn't do it for you."

His response caused Pierce and Motoharu to burst out laughing and Touma briefly saw a similarity between him and Mikoto.

"Don't worry, bud." Motoharu slapped Accelerator on the back. "We can be your wingmen."

"Huh?" Jason didn't quite look as confused as his statement should have indicated. All he did was raise an eyebrow. "Who said you were invited?"

"Didn't you-…?" Touma started to reply, but Accelerator was much faster on the uptake.

"Kagere said group date." Accelerator accentuated the last two words. His lips tugged upwards in a smirk. Payback felt so good. "Last time I checked, your relationship status was…" The smile grew. "Single?"

"Oooo," Shiage flinched at the low blow and scooted away from the others. Touma and Jason imitated his movement. None of them wanted to get involved in this argument.

"You know," Motoharu addressed coldly. "We always avoided aiming below the belt. But for your information, both of us could get a date."

"You underestimate us," Pierce added. "Just because we don't have one doesn't mean we can't have one. It's hard to find the perfect girl with Kami-yan here taking all the good ones."

"You just lost any bit of sympathy I felt for you two," Touma muttered irritated.

"Oh?" Jason decided to take this challenge up in stride. "So you two could get a date, huh?"

"Obviously," Motoharu confirmed. "We know some tricks of our own." Jason glanced over at Accelerator, who nodded with a smirk.

"Okay," he relented. "You can come, if you bring dates."

"Easy," Pierce flaunted.

"Hang on," Touma stepped up. He had way to much experience with these two making unfair bets against him. There was an obvious loophole he wanted to prevent. "There needs to be conditions."

"This should be good," Accelerator mumbled. "Think you're up for it?"

"First." Ignoring Accelerator, Touma held up a finger. "They have to be someone you actually would be willing to date. Not someone doing you a favor, or lying to someone about it being a friend date. You assholes pushed me this far, so I'm making you two follow similar rules. Tell them it's an actual date and not make it a surprise. Pretty sure no girl is going to be happy about finding out they are being used."

"Boss really knows a lot about girls," Shiage commented to Jason. "He wasn't always like this, right?"

"Lots of mistakes," Jason replied under his breath. "But mistakes pile up and you learn from them."

"Second," Touma continued and took a deep breath. "This is the first time I'm going to be with Misaki, Mikoto, and possibly someone else I'm sure to find out later on an actual group date. So, please… Don't antagonize them, don't try to get me in trouble, and let me see if this works out."

"Fine." They agreed. Touma glared at them suspiciously.

"It's that easy?" He asked uncertain.

"You do have a point," Motoharu explained. "We're your friends, Kami-yan, and as much as we enjoy making fun of you, we've got your back. There's no way we are going to ruin this for you."

"Doesn't mean we won't laugh about this afterwards," Pierce elaborated. "Expect no mercy on Friday."

"Fair enough." Touma would have preferred none at all, but that was asking for the impossible.

"I feel I should add something," Jason interjected suddenly and stared directly at Pierce. "This probably doesn't need reiterating, but I want to make something clear. If you bring a little girl, I will be forced to arrest you."

"Do it," Accelerator encouraged. "It's the only way he'll learn."

"You shouldn't doubt my prowess," Pierce informed those two. "It won't take me long to find a girl that will blow your harems out of the water."

"Hah!" Jason laughed. "Good luck with that."

"Prepare to be disappointed," Accelerator added. "I doubt you could pay a girl enough to date you. Remember during that crime game when you tried?"

"They were just being shy and I was coming on to strong." Pierce defended himself.

"Uh huh." Shiage dealt the finishing blow. "How many girlfriends have you had in the past?"

There was only silence.

"Guys!" Touma decided to put an end to this. "Let's just drop this. If those two say they can get dates, then we should let them come." However unlikely it is.

"You may not know this," Motoharu informed the others. "But Aogami was a hit with the ladies in middle school."

"Pssh!" Accelerator couldn't contain his disbelief.

"You'll just have to wait and see," Motoharu told him, smirking. "Contact the girls after tonight. For now, let's do something cool."

"Such as?"

"Stick Touma out in the open somewhere and see what happens?" Jason suggested.

"You suck!" Touma snapped.

"1000 yen says he gets kidnapped," Accelerator wagered.

"Boss would just get surrounded by girls," Shiage countered.

"Kidnapped by girls then," Pierce concluded.

"You all suck," Touma growled.

"So everyone cool with meeting up Thursday then?" Jason wanted to make sure everyone was going and it wasn't just bravado. Hope Kuroko and Kazari don't have work. That would be embarrassing since this is my idea. He looked at everyone in turn. When everyone gave an okay signal, he nodded. "Okay. Anyone can bring any number of their girlfriends. Just… try not to go overboard, Touma."

"Don't direct that at me!"

"Yeah, watch out for Accelerator," Motoharu added with a snicker. "He will surprise everyone with like a dozen."

"It'll be more surprising to see you two losers with a single girl," Accelerator snapped back. "How much you going to pay to rent one?"

"As easy as that sounds," Motoharu said to the others. "That should happen naturally and Kami-yan said we couldn't. Not going to ruin the surprise. So then, who wants to do what? We can't stand here all day."

"I have an idea," Jason said mysteriously. "But we have to wait for at least an hour until it frees up. Let's say it's not exactly… looked fondly of, but I think I can swing it."

"It's not illegal, right?" Touma asked. He facepalmed when Jason merely responded with a shrug.

"Might as well," Accelerator muttered. "Not like I want to get back too early. Worst won't let me hear the end of it otherwise."

"I got nothing planned except school tomorrow and that's not that important," Shiage added.

"Something we agree on," Accelerator gave a curt nod and for the first time seemed please at Shiage's presence.

"Don't let Saten-san hear that," Jason said with a laugh. "Kazari has a hard enough time convincing her to study." The guys laughed at the thought. When they crossed the street, Touma noticed a crowd was gathering around near a bench.

"What's going on there?" He asked.

"Let's take a look," Pierce ordered. "Might be something fun."

"Or another girl for Kami-yan to save," Motoharu suggested.

"Not funny guys," Touma muttered.

"If there is someone," Shiage asked. "Do we just watch him handle it?"

"Yes," The rest of the guys said except for one.

"Yeah and then I'm telling Shirai-san and Uiharu-san that their Judgment member boyfriend let it happen," Touma threatened.

Jason stopped laughing immediately.

"Not cool."

"What's happening here?" Motoharu asked one of the guys in the back.

"There's a girl doing some card tricks," the guy replied. "For 100 yen, if she can't guess your card, you win 1000. No one's able to beat her."

"Then isn't she a mind reader?" Shiage asked.

"I saw someone who thought it and pulled out a random card," the guy answered. "Didn't look at it and she still guessed it right."

"Clairvoyance?" Touma suggested. "I know someone with that ability."

"That requires her to look at it," a girl piped up. "I had her turn my card around for that reason. She will pretty much allow any reasonable request." The crowd began to thin. "Oh, if you guess her power, it's 5000 yen prize." She waved and left with the guy.

"Sweet," Pierce said to the others. "Let's try to win." Motoharu and Jason were interested with Shiage and Accelerator just tagging along.

If they are using an ability to guess cards, Touma thought. It wouldn't be fair if I participate. My hand would negate everything. As for the power, I might be able to guess based on observation.

As his group approached the table, he finally got a good look at the girl. Typical long black hair was the first feature he saw, though it was decorated artistically with varying streaks of pink, light blue, and purples. She was wearing a t-shirt with a band Touma heard of but knew nothing about and a pair of tight jeans. When she stopped waving to the last group, her eyes met Touma and widened.

Oh…. This is going to be awkward.

It was Suzuki Hibatani.

"Kamijou?" She asked surprised and then beamed at him. "It's been ages! Sorry I haven't been around to hang out recently."

"Hey, Hibatani," Touma greeted her, aware of his friends' eyes on him. "Didn't think I would run into you here." Motoharu and Pierce had amused expressions that were warning signs of obvious trouble momentarily.

"I'm just making a little extra spending money while playing a game everyone can enjoy." She placed the deck of cards on the table. "These guys your friends?"

"Unfortunately," Touma replied, earning a giggle from the girl. The guys might have actually hit him if it wasn't for the fact he was talking to a cute girl, without pressure from them. "Motoharu Tsuchimikado, Pierce Aogami, Jason Kagere, Shiage Hamazura, and Accelerator," Touma said, intruding them each in turn. "This is Suzuki Hibatani."

Her eyes widened in recognition of Accelerator, but she was polite enough not to say anything.

"Hey, Kami-yan!" Motoharu declared and threw his arm over Touma's shoulder. "Why didn't you tell us you knew such a lovely lady? Where did you meet?"

"Bookstore," Touma answered and shook his friend off. "What? You expected some kind of amazing story?"

"Well… yeah?" Pierce confirmed. "Didn't you save her or something? Maybe fight off a dozen armed men?"

"So disappointing." Jason sighed.

"Cooking section," Suzuki added, trying to hold back her laughter.

"What are you, a housewife?" Accelerator scoffed.

"Hey, girls love home cooked meals," Shiage argued. "Boss was just picking up some secrets."

The rest of the guys sobered at once and quickly agreed to this statement, while Touma smacked his forehead.

"So," Touma said to Suzuki, desperate to change the topic. "Using your ability to hustle money from people?"

"Hang on!" Suzuki glared at him. "I don't hustle and this game is completely fair. The rules are simple: One, you select a card from this deck. I don't do anything to it, so there's no cheating on my part. Two, you can do whatever you want besides destroying the card to stop me from guessing it. I had to add the destroying bit because I didn't want to keep buying a new deck. Three, I can't look at the rest of the deck. Four, I get one shot, if I fail, you get 1000 yen. If I don't fail, I keep the 100 yen. Ten times your investment." She smiled. "Since everyone obviously realizes I'm using my ability, guessing it earns you 5000 yen."

"Oh, does that mean I can play?" Touma asked with a smirk.

"Uh… no." She rolled her eyes and flicked him in the forehead. "You know my ability, so that's hardly fair and you can block my ability without trouble. Your friends can play a quick game if they want. I need to pack up in a minute, but I have a little time." Touma nodded and Motoharu pushed him aside.

"I'll play," he declared, setting down a 100 yen coin.

"Here you go," Suzuki said, handing him the deck. "Choose a card and keep it, while shuffling however you want with the rest. Let me know when you finish. You can hide the card you chose any way you like." Motoharu fanned open the cards skillfully without a moment's delay and his eyes scanned the deck for the one he wanted.

"Looks like that bastards going to lose his money," Accelerator muttered.

"You think?" Shiage asked. "Seems like the rules are pretty fair."

"That's how suckers think," Accelerator retorted. "Whatever her ability is rigs this game in her favor." His eyes narrowed. "Probably touching the deck is involved." His eyes fell onto Jason. "What are you muttering about?"

"Hibatani," Jason answered. "That name sounds familiar and I'm trying to remember from where."

"Tsuchimikado has this in the bag," Pierce said confidently.

"Because he cheats at cards?" Accelerator asked.

"Not going to help him this time," Touma interjected. "Her ability is stronger than his cheating."

"I don't cheat, assholes!" Motoharu shouted over his shoulders.

"Sure." Even Shiage joined in with the others.

"Here you go," Motoharu said calmly to Suzuki, passing over the deck after one last Hindu Shuffle. The card he chose was slipped inside his pocket. "Good luck." Suzuki smiled back politely at him and pulled the deck toward her. Her hand then touched the top of the deck and she froze.

"Hmm," she murmured thoughtfully. "Seems like you didn't follow the rules. I did say one card."

"Hey!" Motoharu replied defensively. "I only took one card."

"So if someone checked your pocket," Suzuki asked and pointed. "They I wouldn't find the ace of spades and nine of diamonds?" Motoharu's eyes widened under his sunglasses and he grinned sheepishly, before pulling out two cards. He tossed them onto the table.

"I was going to pull out the opposite one you called," he confessed.

"Knew it!" Accelerator yelled triumphantly. "That bastard has been cheating at cards every time!"

"We knew he had to be," Jason agreed. "No one is that lucky unless they play one on one versus Touma."

"Hey!"

"That kind of thing normally leads to brawls in the back alleys," Shiage added. "Not cool." A lot of people were left bloodied in an alley for cheating over a few hundred yen.

"It's cool, guys," Suzuki reassured them. "He's the third one to try that." Her eyes then rested on Motoharu. "So, any guess on my ability?"

"No clue," Motoharu replied. "I would have assumed mind reading, but we were told earlier that wasn't it." He was pushed to the side as Pierce pushed forward.

"I'll go next," he said and threw a coin on the table. "But how about if I win, I get a date?"

"Wow!" Shiage commented. "He's already trying to find someone."

"And he's going to get shot down, hard." Accelerator finished. Suzuki looked Pierce up and down and then her eyes fell onto Touma, who sighed and shrugged.

"You have the right parts," she finally answered. "But I have a completely different instruction book; sorry."

"Nooo!" Pierce cried and fell onto all fours in desperation. "Whatever, keep the money, I lost the desire to play."

"At least she was nice about it," Touma tried to console him.

"Pretty sure that's what all girls say when he tries to ask them out," Shiage stated and high fived Jason.

"But I'm being honest," Suzuki explained. "I like girls. Always have."

"That would explain why she didn't fawn over Kami-yan," Motoharu concluded.

"So are you going to tell them your ability?" Touma asked.

"I don't know," she replied with a smirk. "Think they're worthy?"

"Accelerator maybe," Touma admitted. "He would be interested in your ability for sure." Accelerator raised an eyebrow at this. "Probably." His lips curved at the hint and Suzuki let out a soft chuckle.

"What are you blabb-…!" Accelerator started to demand when he was rudely interrupted.

"Ah ha!" Jason called out. "I know where I heard her name before! She has probability manipulation!"

"What?!" Accelerator, Shiage, Motoharu, and Pierce all exclaimed at once.

"Oh, he's good," Suzuki complimented. "Yep, that's my ability. Based on the Bertrand Paradox, I can define randomness and select the outcome of events I want, within limits of course. It's the reason it doesn't matter what people do to the cards. I just find the probability of drawing X card and finding the one that gives me a zero chance. That's what you pulled out. When you pulled out two, I saw both being zero."

"When we met before," Touma added. "She warned me against bettering against her."

"And you let us throw money away?" Motoharu demanded, punching his friend in the arm.

"Serves you right!" Touma shouted back, returning the gesture. "This is payback for all the times you've never warned me about stuff!"

"So you can manipulate reality?" Shiage asked incredulously. Damn, why can't I have that ability?

"Not quite…" Suzuki started explaining what she had told Touma before.

Accelerator was interested in this, as he was familiar with the Bertrand Paradox. Pretty much all abilities did that to some degree. It's how they were awoken in the first place. From her explanation, her ability to manipulate the randomness had a lot of conditions. Card and dice games were easy, due to the limited amount of outcomes. Still, being able to change one card to another is on the realm of changing physical aspects of the world.

Magicians in England mentioned something about Magic Gods that could do that on a global scale. Suzuki calmed his mind down slightly by mentioning it wasn't possible to reach into a box of red and green balls and pull out a blue one, unless someone put one in. There were limits. Something had to be possible and she couldn't create something out of nothing.

I should still watch out for her if she ever becomes a threat.

"It was nice meeting you guys," Suzuki said, as she collapsed the table she had set up. "I'm planning to see a movie with some friends, so I'm off. Catch you later, Kamijou." She waved goodbye and headed off.

"She was nice," Jason commented.

"How did you know her?" Touma asked.

"I work for the city. She has a weird power. Eventually you hear about it."

"Right."

"Shame's she's a lesbian," Motoharu sighed. "She was pretty cool."

"Crap!" Shiage shouted all of a sudden, causing the others to jump. "We could have had her help us."

"Help us with what?" Touma asked dumbstruck. Did I miss something?

"Maybe she could have manipulated the probability of Aogami finding a girlfriend."

Silence followed this statement.

Then everyone except Pierce burst into laughter.

"Holy shit!" Jason cried. "Hamazura, damn!"

"You are fucking alright in my books now," Accelerator added.

"That was perfect!" Touma congratulated.

"You're definitely one of us now," Motoharu finished, slapping Shiage on the back.

"Damn… I want to be pissed, but I can't." Even Pierce was smirking grudgingly. "That was good, man." He held out a fist and Shiage fist bumped it.

"She did say she couldn't make something out of nothing," Touma reminded them. "So think a girl actually exists for him-…ow!" Pierce hit him in the shoulder again. "I'm just getting you back you bastard. For all the times you did this to me."

"You strike where it hurts though!" Pierce replied angrily.

"So what you want to do next?" Motoharu asked the others, while Touma put his friend in a headlock.

"I don't know," Shiage admitted. "To be honest, I kind of want to see Aogami try to pick up girls."

"Second," Jason agreed immediately.

"This should be good." Accelerator actually looked like he was beginning to enjoy himself.

---

After much discussion, debates using flipcharts, and a good punch or two, they eventually decided to observe as Pierce tried to pick up girls.

"If that's the case then..." Said Touma, trailing off as he scanned the area around them. Eventually, he pointed at someone that had caught his eye. "How about her?"

Everyone's attention was drawn to the girl he was pointing to. What they found was a fairly attractive looking one, maybe a couple years older than them, with banged, bob-cut, black hair. She was wearing cut up black jeans, a sleeveless blue hoodie left partially zipped, and dark blue flat sneakers. The girl's attention was focused on her phone, which they could clearly see her messing with.

"Of course you'd go for someone that's in your strike-zone Kami-yan." Said Motoharu as he nudged Touma's side.

"Is that something to be complaining about?" Asked Touma, somewhat insulted.

"Not my type...she looks bossy." Piped in Shiage. "She has the same look Accelerator does when messing with his phone."

"So she's trying to avoid eye contact so people leave her alone." Accelerator explained curtly.

"Older women just mean more experience and skills," Pierce huffed. "I got this." He straightened his shirt and ruffled his hair for a moment, before taking a breath and stood up a little straighter. "Wish me luck, assholes."

"Don't fail so bad you need therapy," Accelerator said immediately. "I'll abandon you in an instant."

"Thanks, man." Pierce sauntered up to the girl. "Hello, beautiful. I seem to have lost my phone number, can I have yours?"

The girl, hearing this, sighed before turning over. All parties, observers as well, took note of two things. Firstly, the two hills where the partially zipped hoodie stopped under were covered by a simple white sports bra. Secondly, her right arm was covered by a cast and supported by a sling.

There was a third thing that became noticeable too; albeit only Aogami would clearly take note of it.

It was her lack of amusement with his introduction.

"...hun, for your sake, I hope you're joking." Said the girl flatly and with clear impatience. "I'm pretty sure I've seen that line on a T-shirt somewhere too."

"I was a little," admitted Pierce with a sincere smile. "But you can't deny it drew your attention."

"A little, huh?" Repeated the woman, seemingly mulling it over before shrugging. "Fair enough, you have my attention. Now, lemme see if you can keep it; what do you want?"

"I merely saw a cute onee-san who looked bored and wanted to get to know her," Pierce explained and held out a hand. "Pierce Aogami, at your service."

At first glance, she looked skeptically at the extended hand. Eventually, however, a very slight flicker of a smile showed on her lips as she tucked her phone away.

"Guess I did look the part," confessed the girl, smiling yet still not shaking the extended hand. "Your name suits you though. There a story behind that or is that the name you use when picking up girls with cheesy pick-up lines."

"There's a long story behind that," Pierce confirmed, unperturbed by the lack of a handshake. "Though, you might have to dig a little bit to find out." He laughed. "May I inquire about the name of the exotic girl in front of me?"

"You can," Retorted the girl with a laugh. "Doesn't mean you'll get one though. Keep digging hun, you might get something if you try."

"Is that an invitation?" Pierce asked, with an eyebrow raised. "If so, I'll have to accept." He bowed dramatically. "My lady, may this humble peasant have the honor of hearing your name?"

"Heh, in that case, let's go with….Queen then, hun." She said, a bit more amusement in her tone now than there was before. "So then, Pierce, what can this cripple do for you?"

"Cripple?" Pierce asked and then his eyes traveled down to her cast. "Nonsense. That cast only amplifies your mystic! It shows you're willing to go out and actually do things. No risk, no reward; right? Added to your bold appearance and willingness to reveal your undergarments shows you are bold and daring. As an onee-san character, there's no doubt you have traveled and seen things that most of us could only imagine!"

The girl actually blinked at his enthusiasm; twice even. At thrice, she actually took in her own appearance for a moment. Only for a moment before bursting out into a fit a soft laughter. No blush though, just pure amusement.

"That's so...so genuinely cute." She said eventually. "I have to hand it to you hun, you're a pretty good charmer."

"I try, but it's easy to just be honest," Pierce continued.

"Most boys aren't hun. Now what makes you different?" Challenged the girl in a lighthearted, almost teasing, way. "How do I know you're not just saying everything I want to hear?"

"I'm only a level 0," Pierce retorted. "For me to know what you like, as this is my first time meeting you, I would need to be a mind reader. Would be nice to be able to. As for why I'm different it's easy. I can see the worth in any girl, big or small, young or old, otaku or sporty, pure or experienced." He looked her up and down. "You're obviously a giver and receiver. I wouldn't be surprised if you showed up in a dominatrix outfit sometime. Not that I would mind."

"Two out of three on the last part, not bad overall." Said the girl, her good hand rising to her chin. "But I'll give you some credit hun, you're bold and a charmer." Continued the raven haired girl as her smile widened a bit more. "And hell, as long as we're being honest here, you're not too bad looking yourself."

"Thanks, I work out. My friends and I get into a lot of scuffles because of someone's bad luck. Have to be prepared." He grinned. "But I really just want to get to know you. How about we go out this week for a little fun?"

"Hmm." The girl played with the thought in her mind for a couple moments. "...alright, hun, why not." She eventually said, still smiling. "Here, give me your phone for a sec."

"Really-... I mean, of course!" Pierce eagerly handed over his phone.

Once she was given the mobile device, her thumb practically danced across keypad. No hindrances, no issues, further showcasing how accustomed she was at typing one-handed. In the span of a few seconds, she had concluded her business and handed him back his phone. On the display, the name 'Queen' was clearly highlighted for his eyes to see.

On top of that, she also hit the call button on his phone as well. The stock ringtone of a phone from her pocket demonstrated that, indeed, it was her number.

"Don't be a stranger, Pierce." She said this as she moved herself well within his physical bubble. "I'm looking forward to making some beautiful memories." She then whispered, just for him to hear, before pulling away. "Aren't you, hun?"

It was a good thing his pants could hide his body's natural reaction to her advancement.

He hoped she wasn't a clairvoyant.

"I-I am," Pierce agreed, trying to suppress the slight stutter. Getting this far was unexpected, but not unwelcome.

"Good to hear." Remarked the girl with a wink as stepped further back. "On that note, I'd better get going." Just as she said this, she turned around to start walking away; but not before giving one last look over her shoulder. "Bye, Peirce~" Called out the girl one last time in cheery, teasing voice. "See you soon!"

Pierce waited until she was out of sight, clutching his phone tightly in his hand, before turning around and marching confidently back to his friends who were watching. There was nothing he could say that would express how right he was. Instead, he decided on an action.

He raised both hands up and flipped them all off before walking away.

"He's actually got game?" Shiage asked incredulously. "I mean, that dominatrix comment would have gotten me killed."

"I was expecting him to get slapped at the very least," Accelerator agreed. He still couldn't believe what happened. "That would have been funny, but this shit? What the fuck?!"

"Told you he could do it," Motoharu told them all, smugness oozing in his voice.

"Damn," Touma muttered. "I owe him an apology now."

---

"…would destroy him in one round," Shiage protested to Motoharu.

"You know American wrestling is fake, right?" Jason asked.

"Shut your whore mouth!" Shiage snapped.

"Pressed a button there," Touma commented.

"Let them talk about that garbage," Accelerator muttered. "Something not involving perversions, girls, or video games is a welcome change of pace." He didn't want the earlier situation brought up again.

Turned out Shiage was a pretty big fan of pro wrestling. Touma knew Motoharu and Pierce watched it occasionally on the internet, but didn't think they were that into it. Their discussion began pretty much after Pierce defied all laws of what they knew, or thought they knew at least, about girls. It felt good to avoid being the center of attention for girl related issues. Now, Pierce was the one that would have to deal with it. From the other side, Touma finally understood why his friends derived so much entertainment from poking fun at him.

"That thing you mentioned earlier," Motoharu whispered to Jason. "How much longer?"

"Thirty minutes?" Jason checked his phone's cloak. "Maybe a little earlier. Want to make sure people are long gone."

"This is legal, right?" Touma asked.

"I can't get in trouble with Anti-Skill again," Shiage added. "I've got some skeletons in my closet that I'd prefer not to dig back up."

"It's legal," Jason assured them and then paused. "…probably shouldn't mention it to anyone though."

"Heh." Accelerator let out a small chuckle. "That pigtail brat of yours is going to get so pissed if I tell her."

"But Accelerator's a bro," Pierce stated calmly. "He wouldn't betray any of us." He smacked Accelerator in the back with an open palm, causing him to stumble.

"Do that again and I'll break your arm," he growled.

He's still never actually lifted a hand against them, Touma thought amused. If Fukiyose actually knocked some sense into him like us, would he just take it? If England told him anything, Accelerator's ability was still just as destructive as ever. Huh? Something down a side isle caught his eye and his footsteps faltered.

"So what did you do to get Anti-Skill's attention?" Motoharu asked Shiage.

"Ah, that's… long story. Was part of Skill-Out and some of the members were a little more extreme than I was." Shiage shrugged, but his face betrayed there was something much deeper. Accelerator remained silent, though an eyebrow rose slightly. "Didn't want to be involved anymore and then Mugino and her friends bullied me into working for them when I needed money."

"Sounds like something she would do," Motoharu agreed.

"If she ever goes too far," Jason suggested. "You could have Touma give her a stern talking too." That got a laugh out of all the guys.

"I wouldn't wish that on anyone," Shiage muttered, shivering slightly. "Shoot, even Frenda can become pretty violent if you piss her off." Another involuntary shiver went down his spine. For some reason, I feel like she heard that.

"Speaking of Kami-yan," Pierce interjected. "He disappeared."

Everyone stopped and looked around.

Touma was nowhere to be seen.

"Where did he go?" Shiage asked.

"I wonder…" Motoharu had a smirk plastered to his face. Jason opened his mouth, but was interrupted by a familiar shout.

"Get away from her!"

"There he is," Motoharu declared. "Came from that alley."

"Sounds like a girl's involved," Accelerator commented, sounding almost bored. "He can catch up when he's done."

"That's no fun," Pierce responded. "Let's watch instead." A silent unanimous decision united the guys and they approached the entrance to the alleyway to get a better view.

Touma was standing in front of half a dozen guys with his arm outstretched in front of a girl with long black hair. If the guys noticed them watching, they didn't say anything. Their focus was purely on Touma and seemed to be pissed he was involved.

"Move it!" The big guy in front yelled. "We have business with that girl!"

"So you gang up on her in an alleyway?" Touma demanded, refusing to move.

"That girl froze three of my boys," the guy responded angrily.

"That wasn't me… Hibiki, why?" The girl said exasperatedly. From her voice and words, it was easily to deduce who that girl was.

Hanabi Nakano.

"That's Hanabi-san, right?" Jason asked.

"Yep," Pierce confirmed. "It's been a while, but I never forget a girl."

"Why am I not surprised?" Accelerator pointed out under his breath.

"So you're her sister?" The thug shrugged. "Then you can come with us and call her. She needs to apologize to my boys." That might have led to a reasonable course of action, if it wasn't for his sinister grin and the following words. "Maybe serve them until their wounds are healed."

"She's never left anyone hurt like what you are implying," Hanabi protested. "You are only trying to take advantage of her!"

"I've seen you're types before," Touma agreed. "I've encounter enough of you guys trying to get thousands of yen because someone accidentally bumped into you."

"Get lost if you know what's good for you," a gruff voice said from behind Pierce. Pierce and Motoharu moved aside while Jason and Accelerator watched. Another eight guys filed into the ally, boxing Touma and Hanabi in.

"Seems like we the cavalry has arrived," the leader mentioned, causing Touma and Hanabi to turn and register the newcomers. "Against a high level, you can't get mad at us for taking precautions."

"Damn," Touma muttered. "This could get messy." His eyes darted to Hanabi. "I might be able to make an opening for you to escape."

"Thank you for your concern," Hanabi replied. There was no doubt in her tone she was grateful for him showing up to help her in this situation. She reached up and put a hand on his shoulder. "However, this situation was caused by Hibiki, so I shouldn't get you involved." Flames erupted around her other hand. "This is getting to the point I can use my ability as justified self-defense." The inferno grew and began to circle her and Touma. "Stay close. I don't want to hurt anyone."

"Boss, we could be in trouble!" One of the underlings cried out.

"That's why we brought that." A large boom box was placed on the ground and the thug leader laughed. "Enjoy laughing at us low levels, bitch. Take this." He clicked the power button and booming music echoed around them.

"Ahh! My head!" The flames around them flickered and vanished and Hanabi fell down to her knees, clutching her ears. "I… can't… think…"

"An AIM Jammer!" Touma recognized. "How did you get one?"

"We're part of Skill-Out," the guy replied smugly. "Stealing a few things from Anti-Skill is easy for us." He turned to his gang. "Knock this bastard out, and let's take the girl." The guys started to close in around them when one of the new arrivals who just joined made an indistinguishable noise. Everyone turned just in time to see him fall to the ground, with two guys standing behind him.

"Starting the fun without us, Kami-yan?" Motoharu asked, his sunglasses glinting. "I thought he were friends."

"You start hanging out with others and forgot about us, already?" Pierce asked. "This looks like a great time to revive the Delta Force. How long has it been since we got involved in a scrap like this?"

"What the fuck?" The leader half muttered in shock and half growled in anger. "Who the hell are you assholes? Actually, I don't care. Show them what we do to people who stick their noses in our business."

"Hang on," Touma whispered, grabbing Hanabi's arm.

"Huh?" Suddenly her headache vanished and she could right herself. Hanabi blinked and looked down at his hand. I can't feel my ability and the jammer isn't working on me. Her eyes traveled up to Touma's face. Was Yuna right after all?

A loud crack reverberated around everyone, drawing their attention.

A shadow was impaled into the boombox. Above them, Jason was hanging from a windowsill by his ability.

"I might not have intervened if this was just a demand about an apology," Jason called down to the delinquents. "However, once you started blackmailing and using stolen tech, then you force my hand." He turned his head to the entrance to the ally. "Accelerator, don't let any of them pass, okay? Limit the casualties too."

"Next thing you are going to tell me is not to use my ability." Accelerator sighed in annoyance, stepping into view.

"That's the number 1 isn't it?!" Someone called out.

"Ignore the girl!" The head thug ordered. "If we take down Accelerator, we will become legends. He can't take us all on!" The guys yelled in unison and charged.

"They never learn," Accelerator commented simply, as a finger delicately touched the side of his neck. "Idiots."

A maelstrom formed around him, sending the gang members flying into each other, as well as the sides of the buildings and a dumpster. Anything he touched was his domain, including the very air around him. It didn't matter if one, two, ten, or hundreds came at him, there was nothing they could do. He was careful to avoid killing any of them with blunt force trauma, pulling his punches slightly.

That didn't mean he didn't want it to hurt.

In less than a minute, all the thugs except for the leader and two guys flanking him were groaning on the ground or unconscious.

"Can you handle the rest?" Accelerator yawned.

"We got this," Motoharu reassured him. "Go back to drinking your chai latte."

"What the fuck did you say?!"

---

Guy's night was interrupted as Jason was forced to talk to Anti-Skill about what happened. The others didn't doubt he would do something so that none of them would have to get any more involved than they had already. Shiage had decided to stay out of sight to avoid any awkward reunions. The leader of the thugs had tried to get away, but Shiage hit him over the head with a trash can lid out of nowhere. According to him, there was some bad blood between those two back in skill out.

That led the others to talk with Hanabi, who was soon joined by her sister.

"Hanabi!" Hibiki cried out anxiously. "What happened?"

"What happened?" Repeated Hanabi, her tone growing ice cold, which was ironic coming from a fire manipulator. "I was ambushed by a group of people you angered by freezing them with your ability! If it wasn't for Kamijou-san and his friends here jumping in, things could have gotten bad."

"They did?" Hibiki's eyes went wide in surprise as she scanned the others, stopping on Accelerator. Her expression suddenly turned guilty and she bowed out of nowhere. "Thank you very much for helping my sister."

"It was nothing," Touma said quickly, embarrassed at the sincerity. "I just happened to see her."

"Don't be modest, Kami-yan." Motoharu punched Touma in the arm lightly. "You immediately took action and shielded her like a knight. We wouldn't have noticed if you hadn't intervened."

"He kind of did," Hanabi added, smiling. Her cheeks also flushed slightly. "We might have been able to solve things peacefully, but then they took out a stolen AIM Jammer. If it wasn't for these gentlemen, we might have been in trouble."

Hibiki's eyes flickered to Accelerator once more, who had a smug smirk of satisfaction on his face.

"I'm sorry for the rude things I have said in the past about… some of you," Hibiki apologized. "I fell to my own prejudice and I hope you can forgive me. If you hadn't arrived, Hanabi could have been hurt because of my actions. If there is anything I can do to repay you, please don't hesitate to ask."

"You don't have to do anything for us," Touma deflected immediately. "We just did what anyone should have done in that situation."

"Just another day for us," Pierce added with a laugh. "Your apology is accepted. Water under the bridge."

"I might take you up on that offer," Accelerator said and everyone stared at him in surprise. "What? According to her, I'm a bad influence on the brats. She can babysit them for a day and realize I have the patience of a saint."

Touma, Motoharu, and Pierce had trouble keeping a straight face.

A lot of trouble.

"Looks like Kagere is about done," Motoharu informed the others. "We should be on our way. Nice to see you two again. Say hi to Ishikawa-san for us."

"Goodbye and thanks again!" Hanabi called after them, waving. Once they were out of earshot, she turned to her sister. "See, I told you they were nice people."

"Fine, you were right." Hibiki didn't seem to overly upset about being wrong. "They saved you when you were in trouble, so that makes them okay in my book. Besides, we already knew Kamijou-san was like that. It was his friends I was worried about."

"Speaking of Kamijou-san," Hanabi lowered her voice. "I think Yuna was right about him."

"She said a lot of things about him, which one particular?"

"His identity."

"Oh…" Hibiki blinked in surprise. "How do you know?"

"He touched me when the AIM jammer went off. My ability disappeared and I wasn't affected by the jammer anymore."

"Should we tell her she was right?"

"Wouldn't that give her a big head?" They both laughed and watched the boys disappear around a corner.

"Let's not mention it and if she does find out for sure, we pretend we always knew," Hibiki suggested. "Her reaction would be funny."

---

"That was a pain," Accelerator complained. "Can't you go one day without getting involved in some shit?"

"Not if I run into someone who needs help," Touma argued. "I would like a day where I didn't have to help anyone, because that means I'm not running into people who need it."

"He's really lazy on his days off." Motoharu pointed out with a laugh. "I half expected him to have a stock of alcohol in his dorm he uses to take the edge off."

"Maybe he does and is always out because he needs it every day?" Pierce suggested, causing everyone to laugh, even Touma.

"Even if I wanted it, I couldn't afford it," Touma explained. "I have a hard enough time with basic necessities."

"Except now that Itsuwa helps out and you have swarms of girls bringing you bentos," Motoharu countered.

"It's not swarms," Touma sighed. "There was only a few. You've seen how much Index eats and Lessar is freeloading now too."

"You're the only person who would complain about a bunch of cute girls living with him," Pierce said, shaking his head. "Seriously, there has to be something wrong with you."

"Life isn't like anime," Touma informed him. "You have to cook, clean, buy extra supplies, it's tough if they don't pull their own weight. It's only been manageable thanks to others."

"Must be extra tough without a part time job," Shiage added.

"I thank my parents everyday they send me a monthly allowance." Touma looked up gratefully at the sky. "Occasionally, a few odd jobs help out when I'm behind, but my luck doesn't let me keep money for any extended period of time."

"If I have to listen to you moan, then I better not have to do this sober," Accelerator huffed.

"Then let's get some alcohol," Motoharu suggested. "Celebrate Kami-yan's last night of bachelorhood and Aogami's success."

"I don't know," Touma said hesitantly. "I remember what happened last time we drank."

"That wasn't meant to be consumed like that," Motoharu explained. "Regular alcohol won't do that. Vodka, good?"

Accelerator, Pierce, Shiage, and Jason nodded.

"How are you going to get it?" Touma asked. "Pretty sure no one will sell to us."

"Figured Kagere would do it," Motoharu admitted.

"That's one thing I can't do," Jason stated apologetically. "Working for the city and Anti-Skill doesn't give me that kind of access unless I go and steal something."

"That sucks!" Motoharu kicked the ground. "Want me to?"

"Don't be stupid," Touma snapped. "I'll kick your ass before that happens."

"I could get it," Shiage volunteered.

Silence followed his pronouncement.

"Why didn't you say anything earlier!?" Pierce demanded.

"Didn't get a chance too," Shiage answered reasonably.

"Looks like you have your uses," Accelerated added, sounding slightly impressed.

"How?" Touma was the only one to question him. "You aren't going to steal some, right?"

"Nah." Shiage waved his hand dismissively. "I have a fake ID. Kinuhata had me make her one to get into some weird old movie and I made myself one in the process. What she sees in those…" He shrugged. "Point is, I got one." He reached into his pocket and pulled it out to show the others. "Give me five minutes."

"You're the man!" Motoharu cheered and slapped him on the back.

"You know the best people," Pierce said to Touma.

"Then how do I know you?" That remark got him punched in the arm.

"Here you go," Shiage said, returning in record time, holding up a brown paper sack around a bottle. He eyed Jason. "Don't bust me."

"I see no evil," Jason replied, covering his eyes with his hand, before peeking through the gaps of his fingers. "Assuming you share."

"Gotcha." Shiage opened the bottle, took a swig and passed it over. Jason immediately repeated his action and held it out.

"Who's next?"

"Hand it over," Accelerator demanded and took an extra-long drink. "No one should have to deal with you idiots this long and stay sober."

"Why can't you be honest on how much you like us?" Motoharu asked, taking the bottle for his own, before tossing it to Pierce. "So, you going to tell us what the surprise is?" The question was directed at Jason.

"We are almost there," Jason replied and pointed down a street. "That large building over there."

"Isn't that an Anti-Skill training facility?" Shiage asked, squinting as it was getting dark.

"Yep."

"What…are you planning?" Touma asked exasperatedly.

"Last weekend," Jason explained. "There was some target practice using some outdated powered suits. Mostly to get some newer members experience in aiming. Naturally they didn't use live ammo, that shits expensive. Instead, they use paintballs."

"You can't mean..." Touma trailed off.

"Paintball with mech suits!" Motoharu yelled.

"Aww, yeah!" Pierce echoed and high fived Jason. "Epic idea."

"Huh." Accelerator raised an eyebrow. "I'm impressed this wasn't some pointless suggestion to waste time."

"You just want to own us because you have experience," Touma accused, but couldn't hide his anticipation. He was looking forward to it. There was no guy they knew of who wouldn't like this. "This even legal?"

"I have access to use it when I have time," Jason puffed out his chest proudly. "And there are no rules for bringing guests to assist if needed. As long as certain people don't find out, it's fine."

"Like Shirai-san?" Touma guessed.

"Kazari too; let's not tell them." Jason's eyes narrowed. "I'll rat you out on everything you said today to your girlfriends if you try."

"My lips are sealed."

"Pretty sure if we get caught with alcohol, we are all going to get in trouble," Motoharu reasoned, throwing his arms over their shoulders. "So let's get out and have some fun!"

"No one will hear about this shit from me," Accelerator confirmed.

"No one would believe him if he tried," Pierce amended.

"You're going to die in a fire."

---

"Here we are!" Jason announced, as the large metal doors slid open when he swiped a card. "Let's see, where's the control room." He peaked down both corridors. "This way."

"So you haven't been here before?" Shiage asked.

"Layout should be the same as other buildings," Jason assured him and opened a door. "Ah, here we are." The room had a row of consoles in front of a large glass window looking out into a darkened room. "Hit the lights, someone." Motoharu flicked the switch and the lights flickered to life to reveal a huge empty room except for a large steel structure made of up meter sized metal blocks. Large metal doors lined the walls on both sides.

"Cool," Touma stated looking down. "But it's pretty empty."

"Not much that can be done about that since it's a small facility," Jason mumbled, logging into the computer.

"While he's getting everything set up," Motoharu said to the others. "How do we want to set up teams?"

"Jason's the only one who's done this before-…" Touma started to say before Shiage interrupted.

"I got a little experience piloting one of those, Boss. It's not that hard. There are two joysticks for most of the controls and the buttons are on the sides."

"And don't talk about us like that," Pierce added and gestured to Motoharu. "We know how to pilot these."

"Really?" Touma raised an eyebrow in disbelief, but didn't press the issue. Since he lost his memories, he couldn't be entirely sure. To hide this, he turned to Accelerator. "I don't suppose you have?"

"Do I look like I needed to learn how to pilot one of those?" Accelerator asked back sarcastically.

"So Accelerator and Kami-yan have to be on opposite teams," Motoharu decided. "Well, Kami-yan can be on ours, so the Delta Force can show these noobs how we party."

"You're going down," Shiage countered boldly. "I've piloted one of these under real gunfire."

"Maybe you want to up the stakes then?" Motoharu asked confidently.

"NO!" Touma cried out. "You don't want to bet with these guys, Hamazura. They always know something we don't. Trust me, I found out the hard way."

"If you say so," Shiage relented.

"I'm not going to risk it either since I'm involved," Accelerator declared firmly. "I'm just going to take my time and show you the same difference in skill as I did at the arcade."

"Shots fired," Pierce stated with a laugh and then his expression grew serious. "The Delta Force never backs down from a challenge!"

I feel this friendly game is going to end up with all of us in the hospital, Touma worried silently. It's been a while since I've been to one, since Mugino treated me secretly. That thought amused him for a moment until Jason's voice broke his internal monologue.

"Okay, I got three suits powered up on both sides. Touma, Pierce, and Tsuchimikado can be the red team, and Accelerator, Hamazura, and I are blue. Take the elevator back the way we came down one level and you should see three rooms labeled that are unlocked. Climb into the suits and I'll give an overview of the controls before we start." He picked up the bottle they brought with him and took another swig. "Last call before we start!"

After the vodka was passed around both teams went their separate ways.

"So what's the plan?" Touma asked his friends, as they climbed into the elevator.

"Take a minute to figure out the controls," Motoharu explained. "Once you got the hang of it, we can do what we always do when confronting superior forces."

"Use me as bait while you two flank them?"

"Exactly!" Pierce slapped him on the back. "I'm glad to see you remember our default strategy."

"Not really much of a strategy," Touma muttered. It actually was just a guess. He didn't know for sure. It's just with his friends' personality, it was an obvious answer. The elevator stopped and they left to line up in front of the robotic suits.

"Good luck!" Motoharu called out to them, before climbing inside. Touma nodded back and did the same thing.

The suit was large and bulky. It sort of resembled a thicker Western suit of armor, like what the knights wore. There was a big difference in the head piece though. It was a large cylinder and when it lowered over his head, he felt like he was in a fish bowl. Other than that, it was humanoid in shape and bluish-green in color. Hanging on the wall next to the suit was a large automatic rifle. He moved his arms into position and then Jason's voice was suddenly in his ear.

"Everyone in? Good, quick rundown of the controls…"

For the most part, it was relatively simple to operate. Touma just had to move like he normally did and the suit mimicked his motions. There was almost no resistance. The controls his hand gripped were mostly for firing the gun. Everyone spent about twenty minutes getting use to the suits and aiming. The ammo was already loaded with paint due to this being a training facility, so that saved time. At last, both teams separated to opposite sides to have one last strategy meeting. A red digital clock started counting down from one minute in the suite, letting Touma know when the games would begin.

Touma, Motoharu, and Pierce gathered, using a different channel frequency for their team.

"So, to recap," Motoharu stated. "Kami-yan will go first along the right side, drawing their fire. Aogami and I well then flank them on the left side."

"How do you know they will be on my side?" Touma asked. "I could be the one to flank them."

"That's Plan B," Pierce explained. "But do you really think your luck would allow that?"

"Got me there," Touma admitted slowly. "All three of them will probably be on my side."

"It's about to start," Motoharu informed the others unnecessarily. "Get in positions and good luck soldiers."

"You who are about to die," Pierce added. "We salute you!" Motoharu and Pierce saluted Touma as one.

"Very funny," Touma growled, as a beeping sound echoed in his ear. "I'm going. You better not abandon me." He darted forward and leaned behind the large structure. After taking a deep breath, he stepped out with his gun raised high. His team's gamble paid off, as he came face to face with Shiage. "It's them!" He yelled and started firing. Aogami and Pierce began to move around the side. For a moment, it looked like their strategy was going to work.

"Shit!" Motoharu yelled. "They got us!"

"What?! How?!" Touma jumped back, already covered in blue paint. Shiage wasn't in any better shape. There wasn't any point system. The object was just to have fun and shoot each other. It only took a few seconds to realized what happened. While Shiage had distracted him and caused his teammates to rush forward, Accelerator and Jason had climbed the metal structure. The two of them were raining down bullets upon Pierce and Motoharu, forcing them back.

"They took control of the high ground!" Pierce called. "Take them down!"

Touma raised his gun and started firing, which caused Accelerator to shoot back. Paint splattered his helmet and Touma was forced to wipe the glass with his free hand, only to have Shiage join the battle again. Touma was being forced back by two people rapidly pelting him.

"Some help would be great here!" He roared at his teammates.

With Motoharu and Pierce laying down cover fire, Jason and Accelerator were forced to retreat or risk being caught in a precarious spot. They emerged again, this time on ground level, and started shooting as fast as their guns would let them. Touma and his team returned fire. At some point after that, everything went to hell and things quickly became a free-for-all. If anyone let their guard down, someone started shooting them. Touma saw an opening to separate from the madness and dived behind the metal blocks. He took the opportunity to wipe his helmet again and something caught his eye.

He could have sworn he saw movement in the observation room above them.

I thought we were the only ones here? Touma thought, squinting. The glass was dark and the movement could have been a trick of the light. There wasn't much time to think, as Pierce found him and starting laying a round of ammo into him.

At long last, clicking echoed around the room as everyone ran out of ammo.

"Already?" Shiage said on the public frequency. "That went by way too fast."

"Limited ammo for practicing without authorization," Jason explained. "Okay, time to put them up guys. If we try to use up anymore, I'll never hear the end of this."

"That was awesome," Pierce told him. "See if we can do this again."

"I'm surprised at how interesting this was," Accelerator added. "I'm use to not having to dodge."

"Even Accelerator had fun," Motoharu mocked. "I think we can call this night a success."

"Night's not done until we finish the alcohol," Shiage reminded them.

"Obviously," Jason agreed.

"We are going to regret it in the morning," Touma warned, as he moved into his suite's hanger. It was a little harder getting out of the suit and he almost fell face first on the ground. Glad no one saw that. Before he left, he looked back at the suite now dyed in blue and red. Shouldn't we clean it or something? Eh, guess it's Jason's responsibility. He met the others up at the empty observation room and they left, after waiting for Jason to lock up.

The plan was to pass the bottle around, but there were too many people nearby and the guys didn't want to get busted for underage drinking. They eventually found their way to the river near a familiar large bridge and left the road to walk along the bank. It was a good thing Shiage bought the large bottle, as it was disappearing quickly after being shared among six people.

"A toast to Kami-yan!" Motoharu declared. "For finally freeing himself from his lifetime of ignorance!"

"Hear, hear!" Jason, Pierce, and Shiage called out.

"What about Aogami and his amazing reversal," Touma countered.

"Looks like I'm the only single one here," Motoharu agreed. "Oh, well. My sister's better than all of your girls anyways."

"Bullshit!" Came the unified sound of disbelief at his statement.

"Rikou is thousands of time better," Shiage argued.

"Kazari and Kuroko beat her by miles," Jason added.

"Did all that alcohol turn your brain into shit?" Accelerator asked.

"Maika's nice and all," Touma said, his words coming out slowly. "But would she ever sheggest a harem?" He hiccupped at the end.

"Sounds like you hit the bottle a little hard there, boss," Shiage commented.

"Eh, let him have fun," Accelerator muttered. "That horde of girls that hound him every day, he needs a break. I deal with a fraction of what he has and that puts me to my limit."

"Sounds like Accelerator's drunk too," Shiage muttered to Pierce.

"I doubt his body is used to handling alcohol," Pierce replied back amused. "Kami-yan has always had a weak tolerance for it. I'm more worried about Kagere. He drank a lot and is already staggering. He's probably going to drop any moment."

"So the number one is getting soft, huh?" Motoharu said confrontationally. "Remember when we nearly had to force you to come? You love us, don't cha."

"You all annoy me every moment of every day," Accelerator admitted and then glared at him. "But yeah, you guys are okay."

"He's plastered," Shiage agreed with Pierce. "Why aren't you and Tsuchimikado drunk?"

"Probably the same reason as you," he replied. "We have had alcohol before." Shiage nodded and accepted that explanation.

"Should we tell everyone that?" Touma asked, smirking.

"Shut it, hero!" Accelerator snapped. "Just because you annoy me less than the others, doesn't mean you can go blabbing shit to others. If I hear those brats that follow you around find out about this, you're going to regret it. The number one can't appear weak."

He totally just admitted Kami-yan/boss was his best friend, the other conscious guys thought in unison.

"Didn't I beat you once?" Touma asked smugly, obviously drunk if his flushed face was any indication.

"Just because you're my friend doesn't give you the right to bring that up!"

"Shots fired," Shiage commented and handed the bottle to Pierce, who took it looking just as amused. Both of them caught Accelerator's friend remark.

"I mean," Motoharu said diplomatically. "If you are number one and someone beats you, doesn't that mean they are number one?"

"No," Accelerator argued childishly. "There is-…" He never got a chance to finish as he fell forward.

Jason had snuck up behind him while he was talking and shoved him.

"Hah!" he declared. "I beat Accelerator. I'm the new number one. I told you guysh I could beat him if I wanted!"

"Why you!" Accelerator pushed himself up off the ground and was prepared to extract unholy vengeance when Jason wobbled and fell backwards all on his own. Accelerator blinked in surprise. "Huh, guess he was drunk. Idiot." Accelerator kicked him in the foot and all that got out of Jason was a grumble.

"And he's down," Shiage commented.

"Lightweight." Motoharu laughed.

"Oh, well." Touma shrugged and accepted the bottle from Pierce. There was only a little bit left and he finished it off. "Probably a good idea we drank mosh of thish after the power shuitsh." He stumbled slightly as he set the bottle on the ground. "Would be throwing up otherwish."

Noting the increasing slurring of his words, Motoharu made eye contact with Pierce and they nodded.

"So, Kami-yan," Motoharu pushed. "When you going to call Misaka-san and Shokuhou-san tomorrow?"

"After classh," Touma answered. "I'll let them know about my ansher." He laughed. "Pretty shure, Mishaki already knowsh thish shomehow. Miko-chan will probably get all embarrassed. Though, she'sh adorable when she blushes."

"Careful or you might try what Kagere does to Uiharu-san," Motoharu warned. "But Misaka-san won't take it lying down." He made a noise similar to the crackling of electricity.

"I'll jush have to keep my hand on her then," Touma replied.

"Where was this confidence when they were throwing themselves at you?" Accelerator demanded. Touma shrugged.

"Alcohol is powerful, isn't it?" Shiage picked up the bottle and looked at the back. "Should have a warning: may cause honesty and courage." Pierce and Motoharu laughed.

"Try not to pick up any more girls," Motoharu warned Touma. "Shokuhou-san would have to incorporate them into your harem. Don't make it too difficult for her."

"It's probably a full time job already," Pierce added and high fived Motoharu.

"Even if it'sh jush thosh two," Touma continued. "I think I would happy."

"Things change when you get a girlfriend," Shiage warned. "So be ready for that."

"Everything changes!" Jason cried from his spot on the ground.

"Can't be that bad," Touma replied dismissively.

"Not necessarily for the bad, just different," Shiage clarified.

"Then I'm in for an adventure!" Touma shouted, fist pumping the air.

"Keep it down!" Jason moaned from the ground. "The world's spinning. Accelerator, make it stop."

"World's always spinning," Motoharu pointed out.

"At least slow it down." The guys looked at Accelerator, who shrugged.

"I could probably do that."

"Best you don't," Motoharu advised him. "Just let Kagere suffer."

"It's getting late anyways," Accelerator stated. "The brat's going to start annoying me soon if I don't head back."

"Running back to tell Bayloupe about your date?" Pierce asked, cupping his hands together and making kissing expressions.

"Heh." Accelerator chuckled and looked back over his shoulder with a smirk. It wasn't sinister in anyway like he was known for. Instead, it was full of amusement. "I was thinking, if you could defy the odds and get a girl to agree to go out with you, I might as well show you up and bring multiple."

"Fuck you!" Pierce declared and raised his finger as Accelerator laughed.

"Catch you bastards, tomorrow," Accelerator waved without turning around again and started heading back up to the road.

"He's got a point," Shiage said, trying to stifle a yawn. "It's late and I have to actually be up tomorrow. I'll see you Thursday? Send me the details when you work them out." Motoharu threw his arm over Shiage's shoulder.

"No sweat man. Just be prepared for an army of girls following Kami-yan." Shiage laughed and left.

"Good luck," Touma called out and then rubbed his head. "Damn. I need to get back too. There'sh only sho long Itshuwa can keep the other freeloadersh in line and the numbersh just increased by two."

"Wouldn't want to keep your possible harem candidates waiting," Pierce mocked.

"You've been right so far," Touma agreed. "Sho you're probably right about thish. I'll leave the detailsh with Mishaki, she would be the one to know for shure."

"Already learning the secrets of a harem," Motoharu announced proudly. "Having everyone use their skills to the fullest."

"Not going to lie, some of that sounds good."

"And you get to have a bunch of attractive girls at your beck and call," Pierce added.

"They aren't dogs." Touma sighed. "Doesh shound nice." He rubbed his head and then started climbing up the slight incline to get back on the road. Hopefully, the cool night air would help sober him up. He didn't feel drunk, but the road was moving a little and a small part of him knew that wasn't supposed to happen. "You guysh are lucky Mishaki or Mikoto didn't hear you. You would desherve whatever she does to you."

"They know we are just joking around," Motoharu called out. When Touma finally staggered out of sight, he turned to Pierce. "Guess this is where we part ways." They fist bumped.

"I purposely forgot to do my homework," Pierce replied. "So I may have to stay after class tomorrow."

They shared a laugh and separated, leaving Jason sleeping on the ground. Motoharu lived in the dorms and Pierce had his own living arrangements. When no one was in sight any longer, Motoharu stopped and pulled out a small device from his pocket.

Really, I knew they were listening in from the beginning, he thought and then smirked. They shouldn't have been so obvious in their tailing. He coughed once and then held the listening device up to his mouth. "Hey ladies, I hope you enjoyed the show. If you want to do something like this again, try to be more discreet. I noticed that one waitress with stars in her eyes place this on Hamazura. Not cool." As punishment, he dropped the device onto the ground before slamming his foot down upon it.

Motoharu smirked again as he imagined the feedback the girl's just received.

---

"He didn't have to destroy it," Misaki mumbled, as the girls gathered around the location the guys had vacated. "These things cost money."

"It's only a drop in the bucket for you and you know it," Mikoto replied, rolling her eyes.

"How did he find that device so fast?" Frenda asked. "Basically, I could understand him noticing us, but he didn't have the opportunity to frisk Hamazura."

"I don't know much about him or Aogami-san," Mikoto admitted. "Besides a few things we learned in England, he's pretty mysterious."

"Is he okay, Shirai-san?" Ruiko asked.

"He's not waking up anytime soon," Kuroko answered, as she poked his cheek. "Seriously, how irresponsible can those guys be? Leaving a drunk person unconscious out here?"

"They were doing a lot of questionable things tonight," Mikoto muttered. It was dark so the average person couldn't see, but her cheeks were quite flushed.

"And we can hardly tell them we know," Misaki pointed out. "Tsuchimikado could tell them, yes. However, I don't think he will. Us listening in on them was more amusement to him than anything else."

"So now that you two know what's going to happen," Frenda asked. "What are you going to do? Wait for his call and pretend to not know what he wants?"

"Unless he says something else in his message to us," Misaki explained. "I would have assumed he would be contacting us about our proposal." She smiled. "Tomorrow is going to be an important day, so we should get back. If we hurry, we can just avoid curfew. I rather not get reprimanded by…her."

Mikoto and Kuroko shivered along with her.

"I should get back too," Ruiko agreed. "Uiharu would get worried if I'm out again." A soft giggle escaped her lips. "It's like she thinks I get into trouble if I stay out late." That statement caused a round of laughter from the girls, as her trip to Australia was still on their minds. Her eyes then traveled to Jason. "What are we going to do with him?"

"I'll take him back," Kuroko volunteered. "With my ability, I should be able to get him home and then get back to the dorm before curfew. At the very least, I can sneak in."

"Good luck with that," Frenda said. "Basically, I would have just left him there. He's going to question how he got back."

"I'll say I ran into him or something," Kuroko replied with a shrug.

"Kuroko…" Mikoto said slowly.

"What is it?"

"Don't do anything."

"I have no idea what you mean," Kuroko's nervousness was evident as she averted her eyes.

"I mean it. Take him back to his apartment and then come straight home to the dorms."

"Okay, onee-sama." Kuroko nodded and reached down to grab Jason by the arm. The next second, they were gone as she teleported away. Mikoto turned and saw Kuroko flicker in and out as she teleported through the city until she was no longer in sight. She bit her lip anxiously.

"She'll be fine," Ruiko reassured her. "Shirai-san wouldn't do anything to him now that they are dating."

"Maybe…" Mikoto remembered all the times Kuroko felt her up while in their dorm when she was sleeping. Half the time, she woke up and found herself partially dressed as Kuroko wanted more skin ship. Now that Kuroko and Jason were a thing, Mikoto was worried things might escalate.

"I agree with Saten-san," Misaki piped up. "She's pretty inexperienced and won't go past that line, regardless how much she liked to feel you up." Mikoto's face grew crimson in a combination of anger and embarrassment. "Pretty similar to that girl, Lessar, that hangs around with Touma."

"I trust her," Mikoto stated firmly, though that may have been a way to convince herself. "And she was right about the fact we couldn't leave an unconscious person out here. Let alone someone we know."

"Then let's let her do what her Judgment nature tells her to do," Misaki continued, putting her arm around Mikoto. "That leaves us time to talk about what's going to happen tomorrow." Mikoto took a deep breath. She knew this was going to happen eventually.

"Will you be okay getting back?" Mikoto asked over her should at Ruiko.

"I'll be fine." She flashed the OK sign. "Frenda and I are heading the same direction."

"Right," Frenda agreed. Mugino needs to hear about what happened tonight. If she finds out I knew about this and didn't tell her…

She gulped.

---

"You're heavy, you know?" Kuroko stated, as she and Jason appeared in his room.

With a little effort, she lowered him on his bed and stepped back. He was still sleeping and, besides a little bit of mumbling as they traveled here, he had been silent. He's going to regret drinking in the morning. She sighed and walked into his bathroom to rummage around for some pain relievers. As irresponsible as he had been, he was still her boyfriend and she cared for him deeply. She took the medicine and a glass of water to his bedside table and set it down. That would help him in the morning. Hopefully enough for him to get to school. Her foot also pushed the trashcan a little closer to the bed in case of an emergency during the night after she left.

While I'm here…

A devious smile tugged at her lips as she silently crept toward the dressers and a small creak broke the silence as Kuroko pulled open a drawer. Her hand rummaged around and pulled out an article of clothing. It was quickly shoved under her free arm and then she repeated this process two more times. Once satisfied, the drawer was pushed shut and she tiptoed back over to Jason.

"You owe me," she whispered, leaning over him. Her hand found its way up to caress his cheek. "I'll make sure you know I brought you home safe." She took another moment to keep her hand on him before starting to turn around. Someone brushed against her leg and she nearly jumped. Spinning around on the spot, she saw his hand reaching out to her.

"…Kuroko…" Jason mumbled and then grew silent.

He's dreaming of me, Kuroko thought fondly.

Every part of her wanted to stay and just lay down next to him. When the morning finally came, he would wake up with their bodies intertwined. The image made her drool slightly and she was forced to shake her head to get rid of the image. There were a couple reasons she couldn't, well shouldn't, do that. The first was it was a grave betrayal to Kazari. They decided to share him together and if she did something like that on her own, the entire plan would collapse. The second; he was drunk. There was no way she would take advantage of someone like that. There was also the possibility he might vomit and cleaning that junk out of her hair was not worth it. Instead, she decided to settle on the next best thing.

"Good night," Kuroko whispered and bent her head down to kiss him on the forehead. She would have aimed for his lips if it wasn't for the strong smell of alcohol coming from them. Maybe next time? The next second, she vanished from the room and appeared outside. In moments, she was gone, heading to her own home.

About ten minutes passed when something became obvious.

Jason wasn't the only one in the apartment anymore.

A young girl stepped out from the corner of the room. There was no way she could have been there if Kuroko had, or she would have been spotted. It was as if she appeared out of thin air. The girl brushed her blonde hair back as she stepped forward. Without missing a beat, a book appeared on her hand and she tore out a single page. The paper suddenly crumbled and softened, as if it was soaked in water. When the girl stood over Jason, she held out her hand holding the paper over his face.

Then she dropped it.

A squishy sound tore through the silence.

"I'm up!" Jason cried sitting up and raising his arms defensively. He blinked, looked around, and noticed the girl. "Eve? How did I get here? Did you bring me back?"

"Nope," Eve answered truthfully. "Your new girlfriend was kind enough to drop you off. Seems like you're pretty weak against alcohol."

"Heh, I thought England was a one-time thing because of their special brand," Jason replied with a chuckle. "Looks like I'm going to have to watch future consumption." His expression grew serious and he glared at Eve. "You're here, so I take it you want me to carry out what we discussed earlier?"

"The timing is perfect," Eve confirmed and then pulled out a small metal case. "These are also fully charged. Have to say, mimicking the right kind of Telesma was a challenge."

"You want me to kill a Saint," Jason pointed out. "It's not like I can walk up and beat one in a fair fight." He swiped the case from her hand and peaked inside. The case was quickly closed with a loud snap. "Looks good. Anything I should be aware of?"

"I'm going to distract the city and any magicians who might be around," Eve explained. "You will meet the Saint at the designated location. I'll make sure I lead her there." She smiled. "Kaori Kanzaki isn't a threat by herself. The problem lies with how many enemies we have. Quantity versus quality. If enough ants gather, they can take down much more powerful foes."

"Yeah, yeah." Jason yawned. "I heard the speech before." He rubbed his chin. "So Kuroko brought me back and saw I was drunk?"

"Yep," Eve nodded. "Why? Going to thank her personally?" She smirked deviously.

"Just thinking that she gave me a perfect cover," Jason replied. "Even if someone were to find a way to tie the attack to me, what proof would they have? I was hanging out with friends, got drunk, passed out, and was brought back to my room by my girlfriend. I have a perfect alibi."

"It's almost like someone planned that all out," Eve pointed out. The two looked at each other and laughed. Eve was the first to calm down. "Go. Complete your mission. After that, keep your head down and I'll inform you of the next step."

"I'm going, I'm going." Jason opened his window and then stopped. "One last thing. Juliet say's your waist is looking a little tight. Cut back on the sweets." He dived out the window as a knife flew by his head, conjured out of a piece of paper. His laughter carried back up to the window as Eve crossed her arms in annoyance.

"I'm tempted to unleash his true nature early," she muttered and plopped down on the bed. The pages of her book fluttered as if a breeze was blowing it open and a single sheet came out. It twisted in midair and changed color to a bright gold. The page fluffed up until it become soft and fluffy, like sheep's wool. On the wool, there were dyed symbols, which might have resembled hieroglyphics. Eve ran her fingers over the object.

She smiled.

This smile was unlike her playful ones. In all honesty, it more resembled something Adam would have done. Her smile could chill the blood of man, cause fear in their hearts, and even rob their very lives.

"You threw me away once so many years ago, so it's understandable I'll make you suffer a little bit."

---

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.

There were scenes in this chapter SilverFang and I wrote together, and it actually made us feel bad. I thought I killed emotions like sympathy. Boy, was I wrong.

SF88: We both admittedly feel bad about it. Well, sorta, I personally can't stop laughing about it.

DB: This was supposed to come out on Christmas, but SilverFang slacked off.

SF88: Fuck you, Dark. Anyways, Merry Late Christmas everyone; I'll hopefully see you all on new years!