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.)

122. S5 Eve of the Big Date

At long last, what we have all been waiting for, the moment our dense protagonist finally accepts his fate and goes forward with what every guy dreams he could do. One thing a lot of other stories that revolve around group dating is everyone just sort of accepts it immediately. There's no build up. Everything just becomes: Let's make a harem. Okay! That's just stupid and never works out. Lots of logistics have to go into it and everyone needs to be on the same page. It takes work. This isn't from experience, though I wish it was. Someone else I know has gone through this and while he is hesitant to use the term "harem," he brought up a lot of good points to address. Well, once it's all sort out, everything will work out perfectly. No misfortune at all.

anand891996: Months? Nah, never that long. If a lot of information is released, it takes time to go through it. Accelerator is way above people, so it might take a few days for normal people to realize what it is. The people who would KNOW in the city won't be able to talk about it.

The crack shipping guy: I've been asked to torture you for years. Nah, no one likes Thor. Minimum part. Not doing much with the Parameter list too much right now/ Give it another day or two. Try not to spoil the light novels here too much. Other people haven't read them. I've been poking Maderfole to update more often.

ReyKingKaiser: Mikoto and Shizuri are main characters. Can't kill them off easily. Maybe Pierce isn't the level 6?

Mr. X: 1) Nah, everyone was so excited. 2) Touma doesn't punish. He helps set people on the right path. 3) Don't get into arguments in the comments here. There's no point. 4) He's not. I can promise that. It's more of a haha moment. 5) I have to threaten SF so he will keep reviewing and making sure I don't. 6) He's just a tsundere for her. 7) There was a passing mention, but it was a long time ago and I doubt they would remember too much. 8) Sometimes things need repeating. 9) We all do.

Grendel3130: I try to keep everything entertaining. Cliffhangers just bring people back. Even if I can't help how busy I am in RL, I keep trying to push out something. Heh, SF enjoys the praise.

Lordrednight: Of course Carissa is best girl. She's going to win in the end.

BlueJack22: The world is a harsh place and not everyone makes it.

Tsun: Soon, war will break out. The weaker factions will fall and the remaining ones will fight a long and bloody battle.

general ironox: Hopefully.

Acpeters: She finally got a chance to be human. No having to put up an act, no impressing people, she could just be herself. Not sure if she will agree to a harem still.

Anti-Mage 29: This chapter will not be dealing with the Parameter list. That will be the one after. Pacified, huh? I'll check out your crossover when I get a chance.

Handsomistic1: Nah, don't believe in self inserts. Just someone who may not have always been a girl.

ArkChange: Genderbent Thor is more of a comedic moment. Not going to be part of a harem. Don't think Touma would be into that. Pierce on the other hand…

SoulReaver267: Drugs. Drugs were involved with everything. It kind of has. The story tells me I have to do certain things.

ShatterTheIllusion: Carissa was one of the better characters to see his life without rose tinted glasses. Cool, calm, analytical, she would understand. There also wouldn't be an issue of her trying to give him money to live better.

Anonymous7: Oh my god, you wrote an essay. Leivinia Birdway is very skilled. She didn't become the leader of the largest British cabal for nothing. If Aleister sent normal people, they would be destroyed. Noukan might be able to handle her, but the thing is she isn't trying to ruin his plan. As long as she doesn't get to the point of dragging Touma out of the city, she's probably safe. Living with him now helps. You notice how Aleister's group helped them against Cain when things were going badly.

Jason was fine when Eve hit him with a wad of wet paper. Instantly cure alcohol poisoning. Of course, the next day he had to pretend otherwise. Touma began to realize people near him were interested, yes. However, why would he think that Carissa, a princess, would be interested in him? It's also a lot easier to go along with things rather than fight them. Carissa isn't one to back down either. Less work that way. It's just how he is. He picks his battles. (I did like making fun of scary movies.) If they know what the IB can do, it's easy to plan around it. Touma usually beats magicians because they don't know he has it. Shiage and Kakine working together? That seems fun.

dhart868: Aiwass vs Eve ping pong battle.

Agent Nine: Long stories do that. Happened naturally.

A certain guest: Exactly, that's going to devastate her once she finds out. Though with Touma and Kuroko trying to make her feel better, she will get by. The biggest thing is that a lot of students who believed that hard work would make them better. Now they find out some people were given more because it was easier for them. It's going to cause a lot of animosity. 1) Some people have I think. 2) I don't think Thor really cares either way, as long as he can keep fighting. 3) No.

Guest13: Lessar should never overhear most of his conversations. All washing machines talk.

fangs of death: Jason did nothing wrong. If it continues at this pace, I'm guessing around chapter 200 or so.

Lalrin Mawia: I have to thank the person who recommended it then. Do try to prioritize your real life responsivities. I sure have to. Many deaths would happen if that occurred.

Chris: Could be an automatic response, we don't know the specifics.

xaxiel1572: Poor Touma. Thor is not happy.

Kamijou Touma: That list causes a lot of peoples. Maybe. It's hard to write sometimes.

Generation Zero: Oh god, another essay. You keep leaving longer reviews. Accelerator would crush Thor. Even the Almighty Thor couldn't strike Accelerator. Two more chapters until the riot, counting this one. Funny enough, Accelerator gets the most character development being forced to be social. I'm planning out how to balance the Riot along with Othinus and then Eve's plan. There's three more things going on and I need to do get them all done. Oh, she's going to definitely be weary. A mortal killed a magic god. That's not supposed to happen. Gremlin could easily take advantage of the Riot and that's kind of what I'm planning. Aleister is stuck doing damage control and Othinus can grab the key she needs. I feel like she would still win, but rather than the infinite hells, I got something a little crueler planed and getting others involved.

I have no idea if it's possible to have Carissa agree to Misaki's harem plan. I figured it would either end in WWIII or work out. Something will come of it. Touma never changes, just learns from his mistakes. Always time for some peace, until people rudely interrupt. There is punishment and then there is overdoing it. Violence should be a last resort. Touma randomly runs into Othinus and falls in love on first sight? Nah. Won't happen. Maybe they can fight over a game of some kind. ORDER 66! I love that comparison.

Savaris: Lead the person to make the conclusion you want but think they did it all on their own. That takes a lot of skill. You know Touma would eventually forgive him. He would never believe someone is above redemption. You remind me a lot of a friend of mine. He loves Jason as much as you do.

: It's going to cause some mind breaking at least. They might dig into areas they shouldn't.

Touma thenewgod: Heh, I'm not a professional. There are a lot of things wrong with my writing, but thank you.

Rajarshi Sarkar: I was told no one likes Othinus, so she will probably die quickly.

IBreaker: He's actually pretty generic and the shortest of the Delta Force. Well, watch SilverFang88's updates. He's writing something similar to what you mentioned.

Anon0: I don't know. People who are dead should stay dead.

Disclaimer: Random people do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.

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"Are you sure this is the place?"

Mikoto and Misaki stood before the large apartment complex; still garbed in their school uniforms to avoid questions from their dorm manager. It wouldn't have been a big deal for her to live in a fancy area like this if she wasn't stuck in the Tokiwadai dorms. Instead she was here to visit her friend and discuss a very important issue. The reason why she was unsure if they were at the right location was because her friend was not wealthy, lived at a school dorm, and usually had to scrape by to survive.

"This was the address he gave me," Misaki replied. She wasn't Mikoto's first choice of travel companions but they were here for the same reason. "I told you, his dorm room was destroyed in some kind of accident."

"Accident? You sure?"

"That's the cover story anyway." Misaki gave a dark smile. "This will be the chance for him to tell us without anyone listening in."

"If you're positive this is the place…" Mikoto looked around. "We are drawing attention standing out here. Should we get going?"

"A couple cute girls standing outside an apartment building is sure to draw attention." Misaki agreed. "I don't dislike all the attention like you do. It would, however, do Touma a disservice if a bunch of reporters were to show up asking about why two level 5s are doing here."

The two of them entered the building, passed the information desk at the front to take the elevator up to the ninth floor. Mikoto followed Misaki down the hallway as the aforementioned girl checked the room numbers. At last, she finally stopped and looked over her shoulder.

"Last chance to back out."

"As if," Mikoto huffed. "I still feel this entire situation is weird, but it doesn't necessarily feel wrong." She bit the corner of her lip. "And I find you a lot more tolerable than I use to."

"Love you too, Misaka." Mikoto jumped back to avoid the surprise hug. Misaki didn't seem to mind and only laughed. "Want to do the honors?"

Mikoto rolled her eyes and rang the bell.

A moment later, Touma opened the door.

"Hey…" He sounded a little awkward and neither of the girls blamed him. He knew what they would be talking about. The thought of it still made Mikoto's cheeks darken slightly. Misaki seemed to be able to maintain her composure, although Mikoto had seen her rehearsing some responses. "Come on in. I tried to clean up a bit."

"I'm sure it's fine." Misaki brushed off his worries and entered while smiling brightly at him. "Although it is quite bold of you to invite two girls into your room all alone."

Touma pretended to ignore that comment but his ears were burning.

"I like your place," Mikoto said conversationally, trying to give him a reassuring smile. Touma chuckled briefly and smiled back, causing butterflies to flutter in her stomach.

"Make yourselves at home." Touma told them. "Wasn't sure if you two had dinner yet, so I started making something."

"I haven't eaten," Mikoto admitted. That was mostly because of nerves. She hadn't even paid attention during most of the lessons today due to her thoughts on what was about to be discussed.

"Oh?" Misaki clapped her hands in excitement. "A home cooked meal? How wonderful."

"I figured our conversation was going to take awhile," Touma explained. "An empty stomach wouldn't have done any favors for us. Plus I have a few other things to add to what we plan to talk about tonight."

"Glad we came early then," Mikoto muttered. "You aren't in any trouble, right?" Her eyes narrowed at him for a moment and then he laughed.

"No more than usual… probably."

"Then what's with that boarded up room there?" Mikoto pointed to the door with several wooden planks nailed haphazardly over it.

"Yeah… that kind of involves having some context that I really don't want to get into." Touma rubbed the back of his neck. "Let's just say that no one should go in there until I can get rid of what was stashed inside."

"I want to know but, at the same time, I'm pretty sure I don't." Mikoto muttered, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

"Was Lessar involved?" Misaki asked, as she was inspecting everything about the apartment.

"No, but she approved." Touma's words said it all.

"My condolences," Misaki apologized. "I may be forward, but she doesn't know when to step back and give you some space." She smiled. "I'm not going to deny that I am curious about what's back there-…"

"You really don't." Touma interjected.

"…-but I'm going to respect your opinion." Misaki continued. "I'm more curious about how you acquired such a nice apartment. Something of this size in Academy City couldn't have come cheap."

"That's part of what I wanted to talk about today," Touma replied. "I was forced to keep this on the down low but now she's gone."

"She?" Mikoto had immediately focused on that one word. "Who is she? Was she blackmailing you or something?"

"No, no, no!" Touma denied immediately, even if it was kind of true. "It's way more complicated than that. I wanted to tell you, but-…"

"Oh my~!"

Misaki's abrupt outburst succeeded in drawing their attention. Mikoto looked confused and hoped Misaki wasn't rummaging Touma's underwear drawers or something. One Kuroko was enough. Touma, on the other hand, recognized where Misaki was looking and his face lost all its color almost immediately. Being used to it, he never even thought about closing that room up.

That room, which Misaki was peering into, being the bedroom.

The bedroom Julunggul had designed personally. It was still in varying shades of red, as they never bothered to try to redecorate. It was pretty nice and all inhabitants eventually got used to it. Touma wasn't one to spend money on things like aesthetics. Most of the room was pretty normal and functional. The giant heart shaped bed in the middle that could fit eight or so people comfortably was what probably drew Misaki's attention. Touma leaned slightly to double check and saw she was indeed staring at the bed with a hand over her mouth. Mikoto had joined her and was staring too with her back to him; making him unable to see her expression.

The way her body tensed up said more than he needed to know.

"Looks like someone~ is looking forward to events after our talk." Misaki called back over her shoulder in a singsong voice. "You've been busy, I see."

"Tooouummmaaa…"

Mikoto trailed off dangerously and a couple sparks shot out from her head. The lights above them flickered for a moment. Misaki stepped away to avoid any accidents.

"I didn't design that!" Touma defended the shred of dignity he still had. "It was set up when I arrived!"

"And you didn't change it?!" Mikoto demanded.

"Just because someone pays for the apartment doesn't mean I have money to redecorate." Touma countered. That seemed to placate Mikoto, until Misaki spoke up, no longer smiling.

"Don't you live with Itsuwa-san, Index, and Lessar?"

The silence lengthened.

"Tell me you sleep on the couch." Mikoto said, her voice cold.

"It's not what you think… well maybe partially, but there's a lot going on!" His hand rose instinctively to block a small bluish-white bolt of electricity. "Hey! Careful in here!"

"That's why it was so weak!" Mikoto countered. Misaki placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Remember, Touma doesn't lie about something like this." Misaki reminded her. "If he's trying to protect us or keep the information quiet, he just doesn't mention it. Since he is saying there is a lot going on, let's give him a chance to explain."

"You're…you're right." Mikoto sighed and shuffled her feet, feeling embarrassed. "Sorry, I really shouldn't jump to conclusions."

"And you!" Misaki stepped closer to him, poking him with a finger to the chest. "You need to explain yourself better and not give vague statements that can be easily misconstrued. Misaka here has quite a dirty mind."

"Hey! I don't want to hear that coming from you!"

"I'll remember that." Touma promised, deciding to ignore that last bit as Mikoto and Misaki grasped hands and started pushing each other. Mikoto being stronger was easily overpowering Misaki and she fell backwards against the wall.

"Ow! So violent."

"Hmmph."

"Obviously you two need something to eat." Touma stated, scooting back into the kitchen. "One thing I learned from Index and Lessar is they are always moody when they're hungry."

"We aren't moody!" The two girls said simultaneously.

"I even made some Daifuku for desert." Touma added.

"Well if that's the case…" Misaki zipped by Mikoto and sat down at the table. "I would hate to have all your hard work go to waste."

Her and sweets, Mikoto thought exasperatedly. Nonetheless she followed Misaki's example and sat down at the table with her. Her stomach was rumbling softly having not eaten much today.

"What did you make?" She asked curiously.

"This."

Touma slid over two bowls of rice with red beans. It was a dish called sekihan and was a pretty simple to make. It was literally sticky rice steamed with adzuki beans, which gave a reddish color to the rice, hence its name. Cheap, easy to make, and with a few spices it tasted great; perfect food for his budget. There was also a cultural significance. Sekihan is often served on special occasions throughout the year in Japan like, for example, birthdays, weddings, and some holidays. Today could definitely be considered a special occasion.

There was a collective lengthy silence at the table as the girls glanced between him and the meal itself. Touma felt sweat form on his brow, thinking he might have made a mistake. He held his breath as Mikoto and Misaki made eye contact; their faces neutral.

Until they burst out laughing.

"I can't find fault with this!" Mikoto gasped. "This is a kind of special occasion."

"You even thought about the food to that extent?" Misaki couldn't believe it and was trying to hide her laughter behind her hand.

"I only have so much to work with." Touma protested and then rubbed his neck sheepishly. "But, yeah, I figured this kind of situation required something special. If I was a little richer-…ow."

Mikoto kicked him under the table.

"Stop that."

"Sorry."

"I'm fine with something simple as long as it tastes good." Misaki took a bite and beamed at him. "Aww. You know I like it sweet and used sugar over salt."

"It is good." Mikoto agreed after her own bite. His food tastes like it was made by the professionals at school. She took another bite. "Soooo, can you tell us now about how you got this apartment? Along with who she is and why it has to do with you sharing a bed with the others?"

"Right to the point." Misaki sighed and twirled her spoon between her fingers. Her eyes focused on Touma. "I want to know too, so please enlighten us."

"Where to start?" Touma set his own bowl down, not feeling that hungry anymore. "You know what happened in Australia?" The girls nodded. "Well, there was one part I left out. When Carissa and I were finding our way through the maze, we came across a woman who Adam had forced into helping him. Her name was Julunggul."

He took a deep breath.

"She was a magic god."

Spoons clattered against their dishes as the girls stared at him.

"Like what they told us Eve might have been?" Mikoto asked, referring to the Anglican Church.

"Yeah, and she was just as impressive as they claimed." Touma confirmed.

He told them everything about his encounter with Julunggul. They already knew about the Australian battle, but he went into a little more detail. He explained the maze, what they encountered, and how Julunggul appeared. Misaki shuddered a little when they heard about the nest of snakes and Mikoto didn't look too pleased either. She was also little scandalous at what a magic god was wearing when Touma described Julunggul; whereas Misaki simply looked amused. Touma dreaded what their reaction was going to be next, but he wanted to be completely honest with them. When he described what Julunggul was the goddess over, their reaction turned out to be different than he imagined.

They laughed.

Boy did they laugh.

Touma felt a tinge of annoyance at that, but figured it was better for them to get it out of their system. In all fairness, it was pretty funny looking back. It just wasn't funny when he had to deal with it at the time. Carissa being there didn't help the situation either. When the girls finally settled down, Touma continued. He explained how they found out about Adam controlling her, though the next part was tough for him to say aloud. It was what Julunggul had nearly forced Carissa and him to do before he managed to make a deal.

That sobered the two girls up instantly.

Touma was forced to continue before they could accuse him of anything. In his defense, nothing had happened. Nothing worth noting anyway.

He finally got to the part where she followed him here and it was obvious the girls were following his every word. Julunggul's surveillance pretty much made it impossible for him to tell others about her. Eventually she decided to show herself to his roommates, probably out of boredom. She was responsible for how the apartment was laid out and forced them to all sleep in one bed. None of them had a choice in the matter; though some of them, like Index, seemed perfectly happy with the situation.

He made sure to reiterate that nothing happened at night.

The recap ended with what he recently found out from Birdway and his date, though he used the word encounter, with Carissa. A life was on the line if he didn't choose his words carefully. His life. Everything he knew he explained to them: Julunggul's disappearance, God's Judgement, Carissa's actions. When he finally finished, the girls turned to look at each other.

"We can get back to the old hag in a minute," Misaki said. "There are more important things to discuss." Her hand touched her lips, almost like she was about to bite her thumb. "So Eve actually managed to defeat one of these magic gods? Is that even possible?"

"She was weakened and we know Eve has access to a lot of knowledge we don't." Mikoto pointed out.

"That's the conclusion Birdway and I came up with." Touma acknowledged.

"We can't dismiss the possibility of another party getting involved," Misaki continued. "Think about this: There was supposed to be a sword in Lucifer's body in Australia, right?"

Touma nodded.

"Adam said someone else took it and they just made use of it."

"This is great!" Mikoto threw her hands up into the air and slumped backwards. "Another powerful group gets involved, one which we know nothing about. What's next? America invading Japan?"

"Please, don't jinx us." Touma begged, earning a reluctant chuckle from her.

"You don't seem as fazed about this news as I would have believed." Misaki pointed out, eyeing him closely.

"This kind of thing isn't new to me," Touma replied with a shrug. "Magician groups seem to pop out of nowhere. Look at Birdway, and that's not even counting stuff within Academy City itself." Mikoto looked away embarrassed. "Then add in the fact I'm not sure how often this has happened to me before… that incident."

A heavy silence hung over the three of them.

Misaki finally scooted over to his side and patted his arm reassuringly.

Mikoto wanted to do the same, but she wasn't as experienced with physical displays of affection like Misaki was. Kuroko was even more experienced than her in that department. In a way he was right. She only discovered magic existed recently and now it turns out there's all these groups that seem to be able to rival Academy City's power. Then there's the time he got involved in her problems with the sisters. Plus, this was all after he lost his memories.

There really was no way to know how much he had dealt with before that.

"I kind of had to learn to go along with things." Touma continued. "Doesn't mean I always like what's happening, but I have to try to figure things out as best I can; regardless of the circumstances. I'm not going to pretend to always know the complicated plots between sides. I can only help those I see. It has made it hard to say no sometimes and I get dragged into all sorts of things."

"Heh." Mikoto scratched her cheek. "Think I've done that to you a couple times." The memory of dragging him during the sports festival, the time she made him pretend to be on a date with her to get a boy off her back, and even the phone strap incident came to mind. "Sorry about that."

Touma waved off her apology.

"Those were a lot more fun than dealing with groups of magicians fighting each other." He assured her. "Just… ask me beforehand. I may have a lot of free time, but there's still homework and stuff I have to do."

"Will do."

"You always try to accommodate my requests." Misaki added. "Sorry for being a little selfish, but it has helped me smooth over several situations when you rush to my aid."

"You two make it sound like I've done everything for you." Touma muttered, rubbing the back of his head. "I mean, you two have done a lot for me too." He sighed and bit the corner of his lip thinking. "That actually has something to do with why I wanted to call you over here in the first place."

Mikoto and Misaki straightened up at his words.

While he didn't know this, both of them were already aware of what he had called them over for before he texted them that morning. They had been listening in on the guys' night outing. Neither of them were going to tell him that. The subject couldn't be brought up unless they asked directly. They weren't going to though. The point of this was for him to make a decision and tell them.

"Part of me believes this probably isn't the best time to say this," Touma continued. "Not with Eve suddenly being active." Misaki forced herself to remain silent. "It's just both Birdway and Carissa are keeping silent on what they know and it's not going to do any good keeping this bottled up until we find out what Eve is doing. That could take forever. Knowing that even a Magic God can be defeated reinforced my belief that you have to keep living your life and moving forward… or you will miss out on opportunities."

The girls waited with bated breath.

"I'm pretty sure you know what I'm going to say to you before you even got here." Touma announced. "I've been thinking about your suggestion, Misaki, and I think I've reached a decision."

"….Which is?" Misaki waited apprehensively. She knew what he had said with the guys, but things could change.

He could say no.

"Are you absolutely sure you two are okay with this?" Touma asked instead of answering.

"I already told you I was," Misaki confirmed. "I was honest then and I'm being honest now. You're special to me and I'm willing to share to be by your side." She smiled. "Even if your luck might make things interesting."

"Very funny." Touma's eyes moved from her to Mikoto, who was watching him closely. "Mikoto?"

"This is still strange to me," She admitted. "I wouldn't have ever believed this outcome was an option." Her face was flushed and a small spark escaped from her head. It was obvious she was trying to control it. "Still… I… do like you. I've told you that. Shokuhou also isn't as annoying as she used to be."

"Hey!"

"So I am willing to give this a chance," Mikoto finished. "I-I'm not sure how this would work though. It's new to me."

"I still have a few questions myself." Touma replied. Both of them turned to look at Misaki, whose cheeks tinged ever so slightly.

"What? I haven't done anything like this before."

"It was your idea!" Mikoto cried.

"I only talked about why it was an option," Misaki protested. "I figured we would still have to talk about the specifics. There are some topics I know we need to discuss, alongside any concerns you two have. I figured tonight would be the start of trying to figure out all the specifics."

"It's going to be a loooong night then," Touma sighed. "I have so many things I need to ask."

"Should we get more comfortable then?" Misaki asked, gesturing to the couch and chairs. When Touma stared at her, she looked confused. "If we are going to be here awhile, it would be more pleasant sitting there then at this table."

"Ah, r-right." Touma rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. Living with Lessar meant even an innocent comment could be taken to mean something sexual. Something in his expression must have alerted Misaki to his plight.

"Pervert."

"You try having Lessar turn everything into some innuendo!" Touma protested.

"Can we stick on topic… please?" Mikoto interjected, standing up. "Besides she's right, it would be more comfortable over there." Misaki and Touma followed her example. The girls sat down on the couch and Touma pulled up a sofa chair to face them. "So… er… who goes first?"

"I think the right thing would be for Touma to go," Misaki suggested. "We were the ones to spring things up on him. Let him ask his then we can talk about our concerns. I'm sure most of them will overlap."

"I'm still not sure how much of this you have already prepared for." Mikoto remarked suspiciously.

"And you will probably never find out." Misaki answered with a smile. Mikoto's eyes narrowed as Misaki turned back to Touma. "Go ahead."

"I guess I'll start then." Touma agreed. "One thing that kept bugging me was how we would divide up time. I know Jason is out with Uiharu-san a lot when he's not with us. How would we spend time together without, let's say, someone monopolizing a schedule? I like hanging out with everyone, but I'm pretty sure some one on one dates would be important. Time management is not really my best skill."

"Already planning to get us alone?" Misaki mused, raising an eyebrow.

"Jokes aside, he has a point." Mikoto said.

"Hmm." Misaki looked thoughtful for a moment. "For the most part, we don't really have that issue, but I understand where you are coming from. I doubt either of us would like the other to barge in unexpectedly. There's also the issue of one person hogging all the time. Group dates are fine, but you're right, Touma. There will be moments where I want to be spoiled by you. I'm sure Misaka feels the same way."

Mikoto nodded slowly.

"We could do something along the lines of maybe splitting up days?" Misaki suggested. "Could plan a couple weeks in advance, I suppose. That way if one of us wanted to go somewhere specific we would all be aware of it."

"Not sure if I like that idea." Touma interjected and the girls looked at him. "That seems like… I don't know how to put this… that it's more like a business setting up meetings? Pretty sure we are all used to things being... spontaneous? I know I get pulled into things without much warning."

Both girls blushed faintly.

"We could use a messenger or app on our phone," Mikoto offered. "Like a group chat with a calendar. That way we know if something is planned already. It would just be for us… and… anyone else." Her eyes focused on Misaki. They weren't angry exactly, but more contemplating. "Which I'm sure you have a couple other people already lined up."

"Hehehe." Misaki giggled and averted her eyes.

"Which leads up to the second point." Touma sighed and buried his face in his hands. "Misaki… how many people do you have lined up?"

"Eh, um, not many?" Sweat formed on her brow.

"Was that a statement or a question?" Mikoto demanded.

Eventually, Misaki had to relent.

"There have been a few people to express interest," She admitted. "I figured after you accepted this strategy, we could try to… umm… phase them in."

"You did this without telling us!" Mikoto accused.

"I was waiting until after we talked about it to bring it up!" Misaki defended herself. "It wasn't like I was going to surprise him with a dozen other girls." Her eyes flickered to him. "Forgive me?"

"Nothing to forgive," Touma assured her. "I'm more surprised you found more people in all honesty. Still, this never comes up in manga, but how would someone get invited in?"

"How about we all have to agree?" Mikoto suggested. "This would prevent any…factions from forming and pushing out others?" She purposely avoided the term clique, as that would show she was thinking what happened at their school. Misaki raised an eyebrow at her words. However, she didn't look angry, just thoughtful.

"That's… a good idea." Agreed Misaki, making Mikoto turn to her in clear surprise. "What? I like it. At the very least it had to be majority rules, but your idea is better in the long run. Hopefully it won't cause any rifts. The last thing we need is infighting."

"That's one of the main concerns," Chimed in Touma. "I've seen what jealousy can do to people. Last thing I want is to be the cause of girls fighting each other."

"That's why we are trying to get everything out in the open." Misaki pointed out. "We may not be able to cover...sorry, we can't cover, everything tonight. This is brand new territory for all of us."

"Because even though she talks big," Mikoto added with a devilish smirk. "She also hasn't had a boyfriend before."

"Misaka!" Misaki actually lost her cool there for a moment before settling back down. Calm, though her face was red.

Touma laughed.

He couldn't help it. Misaki was always the one who was willing to push him forward, even if she knew where to draw the line. Someone as attractive as her would drive any boys wild. As he remembered her telling them of their history, he felt a little bad thinking she was waiting for him all this time.

"I'm actually glad to hear that." Touma cut Misaki off before she could argue. "It means I'm not the only one." Misaki closed her mouth, pacified. Mikoto looked content too. "Er… so I have to ask this or it's going to bother me all night. Who would be the first person you would try to bring in?"

"Saten-san."

Misaki answered without the slightest bit of hesitation.

"Huh!?" Touma was blindsided by that. "Really? What makes you think she would go along with this?"

"I talked to her about it." Misaki informed him. "While a little nervous about the idea, she seemed interested enough."

"I… er… also talked to her once about it," Mikoto added. "I don't think she would disagree."

Touma stared at them.

"Plus she's our friend," Misaki added. "So we all know her. I suggest we invite her since she's so close to us."

"We would have to tell her about this," Mikoto murmured. "She does have feelings for you. I think being included in this would make her happy. She wouldn't like being left out."

"So both of us are okay with her," Misaki stated with a nod to Mikoto. "According to what we just discussed, you need to agree too."

Touma gulped.

"If she's okay with it… and I mean it's entirely her choice." His voice grew stern. "No manipulating, no tricking, no doing anything to try to get someone to agree or disagree. We need to be honest with each other and anyone else who gets involved with us. This can't be built on lies or falsehoods. Ruiko is a sweet girl and, while I don't believe for a moment any of us would do that to her, I'm talking about the future."

"I'm with you." Mikoto said immediately.

"Of course." Misaki nodded. "We can go over everything with her again. There were a few questions I couldn't fill at the time with her."

"What about leaving?" Touma asked. "If anyone decides this isn't for them, they can leave without issues, right? This obviously won't be for everyone, even for those willing to try."

"It's not like we can force them to stay," Misaki replied. "It's up to each individual."

"I guess it depends on how they leave." Mikoto said. "If it's someone who just decided they didn't want to do this, I wouldn't see any problems arising. Leaving on bad terms after a fight or something? That might be a bigger issue." She leaned back on the couch. "This is really complicated, isn't it?"

"You can say that again," Touma concurred. "Manga always makes it looks so easy. The delay is usually caused by the protagonist unable to decide…" He trailed off for a moment as the girls stared at him and made a hastily change of direction. "…between the childhood friend and the new girl at school."

"Nice save." Mikoto commented, while Misaki snickered.

"Aside from shoving my own foot into my mouth," Touma continued. "Umm… that's most of my questions I can think of right now. There will probably more later."

"Definitely." Mikoto mumbled.

"I have something," Misaki pipped up. "It's not really a question, but it's something important we need to discuss."

"Which is?" Touma was unsure how to react to her being so serious.

"Public displays of affection."

Mikoto started coughing.

"W-what?!"

"Er… what do you mean?" Touma needed more information yet his voice had a tinge of nervousness behind it. "Wouldn't that be more of a personal thing?"

"Let's say three of us were out on a date," Misaki elaborated. Touma felt his ears burn and Mikoto's face was reddening. The good news was she wasn't sparking. "What amount of affection in a public setting would you be comfortable with? Should we limit contact? Would each of us holding hands be okay or would that be embarrassing for you?"

"Who would be embarrassed being with you two?" Touma asked confused.

Misaki and Mikoto both gave him a sincere smile.

"I was thinking more of what other people would say." Misaki cleared up.

"Oh." Mikoto realized what she was referring to now. "Some people would see you as a player if you're dating two girls."

"Which is the furthest thing from the truth!" Touma declared.

"Yes, but they wouldn't know that." Mikoto pointed out.

"So when out in public would you prefer us to remain more of an arm's length away and keep it toned down?" Misaki pushed.

Touma thought about it for a moment. He weighed the pros and cons for both sides. In all honesty, all logic was saying they should keep public displays of affection to a minimum. He was used to being the butt of jokes for his poor luck, but he wouldn't want to drag the girls into it. However, there was one thing that prevented him from going that route.

"No." He answered.

"No?" Misaki looked surprised.

"No?!" Mikoto definitely couldn't keep her disbelief hidden.

The reason Misaki brought it up was that they thought for sure Touma would prefer that. He didn't like to stand out after all. So the fact he was saying otherwise had caught them completely off guard. Mikoto would have been perfectly happy if he said yes. She wasn't the most openly affectionate person. Kuroko was the one who acted like that in public. Mikoto still grew embarrassed when she remembered them.

"No," Touma repeated. "I would prefer you two do what you are comfortable with."

"Really?" Misaki raised an eyebrow.

"Why?" Mikoto asked, trying to figure out why he changed all of a sudden.

"No one would be embarrassed being seen with you two." Touma explained, causing their faces to grow hot. "I don't know a single guy who would turn down being liked by two attractive girls." Their faces began to grow red but their expressions were showing signs of happiness at the compliments. "If I suggested something like that, I would feel like I was ashamed or something about being seen with you two." He shook his head. "After all this? There's no way in hell I'm going to do that. Sure, there will be some people who might say things, but I've ignored that plenty of times." He bit the corner of his lip. "I'm more worried about you two."

"Us?" Mikoto croaked out.

"You two are famous. We really can't skip over this fact." The girls nodded grudgingly at his words. "Most of the city knows your faces now because of that tournament and the… er… cops and robbers game." Again, no one could deny that. "Then add the fact you both go to a prestigious school. They have rules and regulations you have to follow so they can keep their reputation untarnished, right?"

"Yes," Misaki confirmed. "You met our Dorm Manager. She's very strict when it comes to rules."

"Could be a lot worse," Mikoto said to her. "Kuroko and I followed her once to see what she does on her days off. She can be nice. Just not to us."

"She told me that's because she needs to make sure you all don't think you can break the rules." Touma commented automatically. When the girls grew quiet and stared at him, he quickly continued. "Back when I was Kami and visited the dorm. She made sure I was very clear on the rules."

"Right," Mikoto mumbled. "I remember that."

"So if people caught wind that both of you were dating the same person, would that get you two in trouble?"

The girls blinked at his words. They leaned close to each other and started whispering in hushed voices. He couldn't make out their words, but he could catch a little bit of their tone. They would be arguing one minute and then seemed to be comparing something the next.

"No," Misaki finally answered. "We had to run over the rules with each other and there are no rules that says we cannot date. Regardless of what out Dorm Manager says. She tries to make sure we understand our position when she hears rumors."

"That does get on my nerves," Mikoto agreed. "Naturally, you are aware of some of our rules. No boys in the dorm and we have a curfew. I think once she finds out we are dating, any requests to extend curfew or be able to spend the night somewhere is going to be scrutinized even more than usual. Even if it's just us going over to Saten-san's and Uiharu-san's dorm."

"So we won't be able to have any late night parties over here anytime soon." Misaki clarified and Mikoto rolled her eyes.

"Okay." Touma nodded. "As long as you won't get in any trouble." He took a deep breath. "Are you sure you two will be okay with people talking behind your backs?"

"Happens anyways," Mikoto assured him. "We talk to a guy and suddenly we are dating according to the rumors. Once everyone finds out, we will have to deal with a lot of questions for a few weeks. After that, it eventually dies off, only to be replaced by another one. I've dealt with more than enough times on my end."

"I also told you I don't care what other people think," Misaki reminded him. "I love you and what random people think about that doesn't concern me." Touma quickly glanced at the ceiling to avoid looking at her. "The fact you are worried more about how we are going to be treated instead of yourself shows just how right I was in who I picked."

"If it's not going to be a big deal then…" Touma scratched his cheek as he trailed off.

"Weellll, that's not entirely true." Misaki corrected him and his hand froze.

"It's going to be a big deal for a little bit," Mikoto explained. "Regardless of how slow we take it. People are going to want to hear about you from us." She pointed to Misaki. "Shokuhou already told several members of her clique that you were her boyfriend and you saw how they all wanted to meet you."

Touma nodded.

"Once we break the news to everyone, you might not want to hang around the dorms or our school." Misaki added. "Not because we don't want to see you. We would be happy to have you stop by, but you will probably be swarmed by people trying to talk to you."

"Oh, that's putting it mildly," Mikoto agreed. "Our classmates may be more willing to be polite about it, but you will be surprised at how persistent they can be."

"Pretty sure I have a good idea." Touma replied dryly looking between her and Misaki. Mikoto flushed but Misaki kept eye contact.

"And we were rewarded." Misaki pointed out.

"Touché."

"So you would be comfortable with my usual level of affection?" Misaki continued. "Not sure I can resist hugging you in public."

Touma waved his hand.

"No, that's fine. It was kind of embarrassing back when we weren't dating. But now I don't think I would mind. Just…" He tried to figure out the right words for this. "…keep it normal? I mean, like, don't go to the same extent as Lessar?"

"Is it weird we keep using her as a reference point?" Mikoto asked the room.

"Nope, she's a good reference point of what not to do." Misaki said.

Everyone laughed.

"So this is really happening?" Touma half-asked, half-stated.

"Nah, we all just sat around talking about the details so we can all say; no, too much work." Mikoto said sarcastically.

"That's what I thought," Touma agreed, keeping a straight face. "Well, it was nice seeing you two. Feel free to stop by any time." Mikoto couldn't resist chuckling but Misaki was not nearly as amused. She rolled her eyes and then grinned.

"Wah!"

Touma cried out as Misaki virtually tackled him from her position. She went from the couch to his lap before anyone else could react. Without saying a word, her arms wrapped around his back and her face was buried in his chest.

"M-Misaki?!" He gasped in a combination of surprise and embarrassment. Clearly feeling two soft mounds were pressed against up against his stomach. She didn't respond. Touma looked at Mikoto for help who, after recovering from her own surprise, merely shrugged. He tried to gently pry her off him but her grip just tightened against him. "Err… what-..."

"Let me be selfish." He could just barely make out Misaki's garbled words as her face was still pressed against his chest. Her arms were trembling slightly. "I've been waiting… so long for this...and it's finally here."

At those words, the only thing he could do was pat her on the back awkwardly and Mikoto shook her head.

A couple minutes passed.

"How long are you going to hold onto him like that?" Mikoto demanded.

"Forever." Came the muffled reply.

"Didn't we just talk about not trying to hog all the time?" Mikoto asked. Her words were met with silence, than Misaki did something unexpected.

While not letting go of Touma, she scooted over. Now she was burying her face into Touma's shoulder and only took up roughly half his lap. The gesture was pretty obvious to Touma and Mikoto.

Misaki was willing to share, but not give up her claim.

"That's not what I meant!" Mikoto protested, red faced. Part of her wanted to sit on his lap though. Her eyes flickered to Touma. "Are you okay with this?"

"This might be a little much in public…" Touma started to say and glanced down at Misaki. He could just make out the corner of her eye and saw her looking at him. There was a little bit of water there like she was crying slightly. Those weren't the result of sadness or pain; those were tears of joy. Touma knew he would feel terrible if he pried her off now. It made her happy and he wasn't being inconvenienced.

He was a guy after all and did enjoy a cute girl on his lap.

"She's fine," Touma assured the girls.

"Uh huh." Mikoto raised an eyebrow.

"Seriously, she's not doing anything." It was true, as Misaki's arms were wrapped around his sides and back in a hug and she wasn't trying to move. "I knew how she felt, how you felt, and we finally talked about it. It's natural to get a little emotional."

Misaki smiled though no one saw it.

Mikoto didn't protest after that. It was all true. Misaki had been rather honest with Mikoto about how she felt about Touma. Before, Mikoto didn't necessarily believe her. Misaki always made fun of her and tried teasing her every way possible. It was difficult to know when she was being serious. The thing she found out now was that Misaki had always acted like her true self around Mikoto. Electricity prevented her mental ability from working, so Mikoto would always remember. With other people, Misaki could just tweak their perception of her to prevent any fights or arguments.

Turned out she treasured her friendship with Mikoto.

Who knew?

Seeing her friend and rival cuddling up to Touma always made her jealous or angry. Now, it was different. Mikoto was feeling what Misaki had felt. Selfishness. She wanted to be pampered. Back at school, she was always helping her classmates and then went home to fend off Kuroko's sexual assaults. Sure, Kuroko was willing to help her a lot, but she wanted someone special to really spoil her. Something inside of her flared to life. Like coals bursting into flames. She felt weird. Her legs rubbed together for a moment and her hand grabbed her arm. Taking a deep breath, she stood up.

Then immediately sat down on the arm rest next to Touma.

"Mikoto?" Touma sounded surprised.

"Sometimes a girl just wants to be selfish." Mikoto muttered, leaning up against him and resting her head on his shoulder.

"Heh." Misaki chuckled and finally looked over at her. Her eyes were dry and hair covered the slightly wet spots on Touma's shirt. "Comfy, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Mikoto agreed.

"Glad I'm your preferred piece of furniture." Touma said.

"Think we can sneak him back into the dorm?" Misaki commented and Mikoto rolled her eyes, yet she played along.

"Would you hog it?"

"Probably."

"Then no."

"You're no fun, Misaka."

"I-I'm fun," Mikoto countered. "I just actually want everyone else to enjoy themselves too."

"Actually, that brings up something else I wanted to ask." Touma interjected. He really couldn't move much, but it wasn't like he was uncomfortable. The biggest problem was trying to make sure his body didn't make things awkward. Mikoto would probably shock him out of embarrassment and Misaki would tease him. "I was a little hesitant about contacting you two about this relationship. Yesterday, when I was hanging out with my friends from class, they kind of gave me the push I needed to commit."

Both girls knew about this already, so they simply nodded in understanding while remaining quiet.

"Then there was the fact Jason was now going out with Uiharu-san and Shirai-san-…"

"We knew that was only a matter of time." Mikoto muttered and Misaki laughed.

"Even I saw that outcome." The girls laughed and Touma continued. "Well, since both of us are new, we thought about trying to set up a group date tomorrow at-…

"Yes!" Misaki answered immediately.

"I didn't even get to say where-…"

"Doesn't matter, I'll go."

Touma blinked in surprise and then turned to Mikoto.

"Okay." She sighed, even though she was smiling. "I'm free tomorrow, but I'll wait until you tell us where."

"The aquarium," Touma finished. "We figured it would be a good place for a group date. It would make things a little less awkward surrounded by people we know. If things go well, everyone can move off and do their own thing." He rubbed the back of his head with his free hand that Misaki wasn't keeping pinned. "What do you think?"

"That sounds lovely," Misaki replied happily and rubbed her cheek on his shoulder. "Oh! We could invite Saten-san with us. She would be left out otherwise."

"You really want to bring her in," Mikoto said and then nodded. "The aquarium does sound nice and I heard it's pretty extensive. Seeing marine life would be fun." She smiled. "Pretty normal date though. You aren't going to take us to another country to face off against magicians?"

"Or save the world?" Misaki added. "We haven't been to North America yet."

"Very funny you two," Touma griped. "Making fun of my luck is sure to cause something bad to happen. I don't know about you, but I really want this to go well. Not just for me, but as a thank you for everything you two have done."

"Aww!" Misaki cooed. "I think your consideration deserves a reward." She leaned up and kissed his cheek. Touma's ears began to burn and she smiled. "There will be plenty more of that in the future for you too."

"Careful," Mikoto pointed out, her face bright red. "You're going to overload him if you keep that up."

"You could do it too." Misaki pointed out. "Want to see how much he can take before he overheats?"

"Please don't." Touma begged. His words didn't match his true feelings. He would be okay with them testing that out.

Again, he was still a guy.

"I-I'm going to save that for special occasions!" Mikoto protested.

"Oh?" Misaki raised an eyebrow. "So you are already planning that far ahead; I'm impressed."

"Get your mind out of the gutter!" Mikoto cried. Her red face was no crimson.

"How often should I expect you two to argue like this?" Touma asked. "I think if this is supposed to work you probably shouldn't fight like this so much."

"Ah. You're right." Mikoto nodded.

"Sorry about that," Misaki added. "It's just so much fun to tease her. Isn't she adorable when she's embarrassed?"

"Don't say it!" Mikoto warned, looking at her.

"She is." Touma admitted. It wasn't a lie and now Mikoto looked like the one about to pass out from her brain overheating.

"W-wha… huh...Tou… Gah!"

"But we shouldn't tease her too much," Misaki continued. "Here, let's kiss and make up. I bet he would enjoy the show."

"What?!" Touma and Mikoto gasped.

"Come on, Misaka!" Misaki pressed. "We are all in a relationship now, so this is normal." She sat up and then reached over, pulling Mikoto toward her. "Just a quick one to show we can get along."

"Get off me!" Mikoto cried pushed her back. "How about some help here?" She added directed at Touma.

"Boys are just as perverted as us girls!" Misaki retorted. "He wants to see this."

As much as Touma wanted to deny the claim, he couldn't since it was completely true. Two girls were wrestling on his lap with one trying to kiss the other. If he wasn't aware of the circumstances leading up to this, he might have intervened. As of right now, it was pretty hot and he was definitely feeling it. The only thing he did to protect himself was close his legs to prevent any accidents. Misaki wasn't very strong and once Mikoto regained her balance from the surprise attack, she began to overpower the other girl.

"Ah! Help me, Touma!" Misaki pleaded.

"Nope, you brought this on yourself." Touma told her.

"Hah!" Mikoto cheered. "Don't start something you can't finish!"

"I'm falling!" Misaki cried.

"This looks interesting."

Touma, Misaki, and Mikoto instantly froze. That voice did not belong to any of them. Slowly they looked up at the ceiling where the voice had originated from. To their horror, one of the ceiling panels had been slid open to reveal a smirking face. All of them knew who it was.

Touma gulped.

"Hey, Lessar." He greeted. "Listen, I can explain."

"Oh, I know." She grinned. "I heard everything." Her grin grew wider. "Didn't think you would go down that route, but can't say I'm disappointed."

"You were listening the entire time?" Mikoto whispered, shock still overcoming her. Misaki did not look pleased at the interruption. Even though she was losing, they were just playing around.

"Yep!" Lessar confirmed. "It was so juicy, I couldn't help myself. I knew something was up when Itsuwa made everyone go with her on a shopping trip. She normally handles it all herself." A spear of guilt pierced through Touma at that comment. "So I snuck back here and waited." She tilted her head. "You're really going through with this, Lover Boy?"

"Hehehe," Touma laughed sheepishly. "Yeah, it's happening."

Wrong answer.

Without warning Lessar dove at him. The force knocked Mikoto and Misaki off the chair and hit the floor. Touma, on the other hand, was knocked backwards from the momentum. The chair went with him and landed with a crash. The back of Touma's head slammed against the floor and he had to force his eyes to remain open. A weight was on top of him and the source was staring down at him.

"It's not a party without me," Lessar said. "Let me join."

---

"Hey, Mugino?"

Shizuri looked up from the couch at Saiai who was situated by the doorway. The TV was on a news station but she wasn't really listening. Night had already fallen and yet she was still no closer to fixing her phone. It had been running extremely slow since yesterday and her frustration was starting to show.

"What?" She snapped, a little more forcefully than the situation called for.

"We don't have any missions the new few days, right?" Saiai asked.

Shizuri frowned.

"No, it's been pretty quiet. They want us to keep a low profile until something big happens. There's normally only emergency requests, but they know better than that. Too many requests like that will bankrupt those assholes… Why?"

"I just have a few things I super need to get done." Saiai answered nonchalantly.

Shizuri didn't believe that for a second.

"Care to explain why Frenda has been acting strangely since yesterday?" Shizuri asked.

"No idea." Saiai answered.

This time, she was being completely honest. The last time she saw Frenda was that morning and, just as Shizuri had said, she had been acting weird. Very jumpy and seemed to be lost in thought. Frenda had always been somewhat airheaded, but she was always alert about her surroundings. Living in the dark side of Academy City made that a necessary survival skill. Assassins were a common occurrence so you needed to be aware of anyone who carried themselves in a certain way. There was something big on her mind causing that distraction.

Of course, Saiai couldn't say she was much better right now.

Not too long ago, while she was mindlessly reading a couple fashion magazines about current trends, her phone rang. When she saw who it was, naturally, she thought it was a joke.

It was from Accelerator.

Normally he would text her with very short, very concise, work related messages. Curiosity got the better of her and she answered. He had been curt, a little annoyed, and didn't say more than he needed to. However, the gist was clear. He had remembered their deal to obtain information from her about the black box. Trying to play it cool, yet nervous on the inside, she didn't remember the specifics of the conversation. All she knew was that she was going to meet him tomorrow for an actual date. Sure, that silver haired slut that hung around with him would be there too, but that wasn't a big deal. She simply had to show him she was much better than her.

Shizuri didn't get along well with him, so Saiai didn't want to tell her the specifics.

"Whatever," Shizuri finally said. "If you aren't working, it's not really my business what you do."

"Okay, thanks Mugino!" Saiai bolted out to head home before Shizuri could object.

Shizuri watched the door close behind the girl before turning back to her phone. Not a sentimental person, Shizuri didn't get attached to her possessions. If they were no longer usable, she would replace them. Her phone wasn't much different, although it was a little more complicated. It was easy enough to replace and transferring data was an easy enough task. There were just a couple of issues which prevented that from being an immediate option. The first was getting a special phone that would protect her calls against Academy City's surveillances. Transferring sensitive information in the phone was another issue. A normal run of the mill phone shop couldn't be trusted.

Her eyes narrowed after she clicked a button.

I didn't install this software.

Shizuri made it her business to memorize every file saved onto her phone, regardless of the application. This was to prevent anyone from remotely installing spyware. It seemed, however, that she had gotten sloppy here lately. Someone had managed to bypass the security system and uploaded something. The first thing Shizuri tried to do was delete the software. When she tried to select the option, her phone refused to cooperate.

Oh, it's that advanced? Whoever did it must be a professional. Looks like I can't risk it.

Sure, Shizuri could bypass all software and forcefully remove all data on her phone she didn't want. That option, however, would take a long time to sort through everything. There was also the possibility her hacker could reinstall their spyware if it was removed. If they were good enough, Shizuri might even miss something. It was probably the idea best to simply destroy the phone entirely. It would take all the data stored with it, but it would prevent anyone sending out any confidential information.

She held a hand out and a green orb appeared above it.

"Better safe than sorry," Shizuri said out loud. "I've been meaning to upgrade anyway." She was about to put her phone into the orb to disintegrate it instantly. It wasn't like she was going to fire her Meltdowner in her apartment.

"Please, wait!"

A familiar older female voice almost made her release her ability.

Her face grew serious and her eyes focused on the woman's face appearing on her phone.

"You survived..." Shizuri growled.

"I am supposed to prioritize my survival." FERRET explained, sounding unabashed. "Due to your interference and destructive tendencies, my main processors were destroyed. Your phone was the only device within range which I could transfer to."

"I'm about to show you my destructive tendencies once again." Shizuri replied, grinning maliciously. "It was oh so satisfying once, I bet it will be even better a second time." She prepared to burn the phone with her ability again.

"Wait!" FERRET pleased again. "I wish to make a deal."

"And I should trust you, why?"

"I do not have the processing power I did back at the lab," FERRET explained. "Without that, I can't transfer my consciousness to another machine. About halfway through, the data would become corrupted as my brain would be divided between devices. In a literal sense, I am trapped within your phone."

"Sounds like I should put you out of your memory." Shizuri commented.

"Then you would be wasting a valuable resource!" FERRET protested. "I can be of service to you."

"Oh? What do you have that I could possibly want? I'm use to people pleading for their lives."

"The Doctor is MIA and the laboratory I was in charge of protecting has been destroyed by you." FERRET explained. "My primary objective is to grow and learn. Naturally, I would be unable to continue that objective if I am destroyed. Therefore, I am offering my services to you. The one who ignored data and defeated me by achieving a higher level than what was thought possible."

Shizuri didn't smile, but she did enjoy the bit of flattery.

"What can you do?" She finally asked, curiosity peaked.

"Anything those home assistants the media mistakenly calls AIs." FERRET recited. "My voice recognition software will ensure all commands are 100 percent accurate. Any searches you require will be done faster than you can type. I can easily bypass most of Academy City's security, including giving you access to personal cell phones to keep track of enemies and subordinates." That peaked Shizuri's interest. "I also have the ability to track mana infused particles within a two mile radius along with Telesma trails-…"

"Hang on!" She interrupted. "Are you saying you can act as a pocket magic detection radar?"

"That is correct. With your battle against Magicians, the most notable one I believe refers to herself as Eve. You can understand the value I hold."

Shizuri didn't trust FERRET.

She wasn't a trusting person by nature. Too many failed assassination attempts and people backstabbing each other for personal gain had made her that way. But this was just too tempting an opportunity to pass up. She didn't have a magician at her beck and call like Accelerator and Touma did. Jason was the closest person she knew and she loathed to call on his aid. He was obviously scheming something. Having her own way of tracking magicians would finally allow her to get revenge on that bitch who made her life hell.

"Well? Go on, I'm listening." She finally answered.

---

"Ready to make history?" Motoharu asked Touma, as the two of them left school the next day, heading to the meet up place.

"Pretty sure harems and any sort of thing resembling them have been done before." Touma countered.

The day had been interesting enough. Motoharu and Pierce spread the news all over school that Touma was finally making his harem official. This might have annoyed him if they hadn't done similar things multiple times over the school year. No one really believed them, though a couple guys asked. Instead of answering to cause more problems during class, Touma rolled his eyes and shrugged, which was enough for them. Luckily, because of their actions, Seiri berated them during lunch, which let Touma and Accelerator eat in peace. Accelerator seemed to have a lot on his mind and Touma didn't bother him.

Jason was noticeably absent.

Whether he was sporting a massive hangover or dealing with the fallout from whatever data was leaked, Touma didn't know. There was a good chance it was a combination of both. His class had been talking about information on the internet. There was a rumor going around the hacked information related to them that had something to do with people's levels. One can imagine this was arousing some concern. The city had already confirmed an outside source had stolen and released the information, but they never said from what. All that was said was that they were patching up holes in security and searching for the culprit.

Right now, it was only Touma and Motoharu. Accelerator had left to pick up Bayloupe and Pierce had left to meet his date. They managed to contact Jason who assured them he would meet them at the designated time. The girls decided to go together and Touma was sure he knew why. Misaki and Mikoto probably wanted to talk to Ruiko about what was discussed yesterday. As for Kuroko and Kazari, he assumed they would want to arrive together so as to not show each other up on their first group date.

"Yeah, but how many of them were poor high school students?" Motoharu asked in return. "Plus, two girls from Tokiwadai? High standards man, high standards."

"You guys promised to behave." Touma reminded him.

"And we will," Motoharu said not all two reassuringly. "Doesn't mean we can't have some fun needling you about how lucky you are."

"Lucky? You know that word has a way of backfiring on me. If anything happens, I'm blaming you."

"Quit sweating the small stuff," Motoharu waved his hand dismissively. "I'm not going to do squat. Maika finally has a free day and I want to spend some time with her."

"I vaguely remember us saying we should get real dates, not just friends or family." Touma gave him a deadpanned look.

"I tried," Motoharu said. "I really did, but no one holds up to my sister."

"Siscon." Touma shook his head and deciding it was best to change the topic. "Still find it hard to believe Aogami really got himself a date."

"You were there with us," Motoharu pointed out. "I haven't checked her out. Been pretty busy myself."

"Oh?"

"Seems a few magicians have been trying to infiltrate the city."

Touma stopped midstep.

"Who are they working for?" Was the first question that escaped him. Academy City was crowded enough with the princess, the church, and Eve's forces were all here and involved in some way or another. They could have belonged to anyone. "Are they on our side?"

"Not really." Motoharu dismissed Touma's worry. "From what I saw, they were just some small no names that wanted to sneak into the city to meet someone. They weren't working for us or Eve."

"Please say it's not me."

"Not everything is about you, Kami-yan."

"Then who?"

"Interestingly enough, Saten-san."

Touma felt like he had been struck senseless.

"Ruiko? Why?"

"Apparently there have been some weird rumors going around about her being able to purify a saint." Motoharu shrugged. "People are saying she's either a new Saint or the return of the Divine Mother."

"Er… what?" Touma wasn't sure how to answer. He knew they defeated St. Peter in Australia, the only saint he knew of that wasn't Kaori. The details on how they beat him never were really clear. From what he knew, St. Peter had been immune to magic and physical attacks and Ruiko had used her ability on him. After that he managed to escape Adam's hold. "You can't really believe she's a Saint? I mean, she's kind and funny, but a literal Saint? Pretty sure Uiharu-san complained about her messy habits at least half a dozen times in England."

"It will die down eventually," Motoharu assured him. "I know for a fact she doesn't have any magical prowess and if she ever trained, they would conflict with her ability. She understands that conflict and it's not like she's in any danger. Seems like LOCKDOWN, Kagere's group, worked with Academy City's forces to halt their entry; which explains why he was out with us."

"Oh, yeah, that is their primary job, isn't it? Wait… how do you even know about his group? I can't recall it being mentioned."

"I have my ways."

"I hate you."

"We know you love me."

"Don't be gay. Aren't you worried at all about Academy City having an anti-magician group?"

"It really shouldn't exist, but with everything happening…?" Motoharu shook his head. "I can't really complain if we don't have to worry about minor cabals getting stuck between sides."

"Silver linings." They both laughed.

"So how many girls are you bringing today?" Motoharu suddenly asked. "You kept avoiding the question in class today. Were we supposed to rent out the entire venue?"

"Hahaha and hah." Touma faked laughed. "Mikoto and Misaki, obviously and then Ruiko said she would come. Speaking of her, don't mention there are magicians looking for her. That's the last thing she needs to worry about."

"Lips are sealed. Anyways, what happened after Lessar snuck in on your conversation? We never heard the ending."

"Ah that…" Touma scratched his cheek and began to explain.

He had managed to push Lessar off him with Mikoto's help, once she recovered from her shock. As a further precaution against Lessar, Misaki took control over her motor functions to prevent her from moving. They weren't initially sure what to do about her after that. Misaki volunteered to mindwipe her about the events, but Touma and Mikoto vetoed that. Both of them had bad experiences with memory's being manipulated or erased. It took some time, a lot of arguing and negotiating, but they finally came up with a compromise.

Lessar would not speak about it to anyone until the weekend, at which point they would talk with her afterwards.

In other words, they kicked the can down the road.

It wasn't like they wanted to. None of them would have been able to think straight after Lessar's surprise interruption. Emotions were running high and, to be honest, Touma was glad for the reprieve. He wanted to focus on the positive breakthrough that night. As far as he knew, Mikoto and Misaki were in a similar boat. Lessar… she made it hard to figure out what she was thinking. The fact she agreed to their terms so quickly made him suspicious. There wasn't anything he could call her out on so he had to trust her.

Motoharu had a good laugh about the entire thing when they finally reached the aquarium.

There was a lobby they could mull around in while they waited. Since it was right after school in the middle of the week, it wasn't very crowded. That was probably the reason why they were giving out specials on admission; using that as the hook to increase traffic. Motoharu plopped down nonchalantly on a chair while Touma occupied himself by observing the people entering and leaving the lobby. He felt a little guilty at leaving Index and Itsuwa behind on a trip like this, but then he remembered Index might try to eat the fish.

Maika was the first person to show up. Motoharu immediately went up to meet her. She was still in her maid uniform, but Touma wasn't about to judge people on their choice in clothing. Maika was a nice girl and helped Touma a lot. Unlike her stupid older brother who only caused him problems. The next person to show up, surprisingly, was Accelerator. Touma thought it would take longer for him to back track, but there he was being accompanied by Bayloupe…

And Saiai?

Touma didn't see that coming.

"I see you followed Kami-yan's lead and finally started your own harem." Motoharu said this the second they walked in. That got him a quick punch in the stomach as a greeting. Funny enough, it was from Saiai, who looked back at Accelerator, who gave a very slight jerk of his head.

I bet they planned this the second he opened his mouth. Touma thought.

"Hey." He greeted them. Bayloupe and Saiai greeted him in similar fashion while Accelerator only grunted. Maika was reprimanding her brother about his words, but he was already standing up and grinning.

"How many more are we waiting for?" Bayloupe asked, after waiting a few seconds to see if Accelerator was going to ask. She was wearing a red and white low cut shirt that was just tight enough to show off her curves, along with a blue skirt.

"We got Jason who's coming after work and-…"

"I'm here!" They turned to see Jason scooting into the lobby, looking a little tired. "Phew, glad I rushed, looks like I beat the girls."

"Then it's just Aogami, Hamazura, and the other girls." Touma amended.

"Accelerator told me a bit of what to expect." A flicker of amusement showed on her face.

"Bet that took a while." Motoharu commented from the background.

"You should super shut your mouth." Saiai told him. She was wearing her normal sweater dress that stopped just low enough to be modest.

"Took a little prodding, but you get used to that with him." Saiai crossed her arms in irritation, but didn't deny Bayloupe's words. Accelerator just scowled.

"Hi!" Maika suddenly spoke up to Bayloupe. "We haven't had the pleasure of meeting. I'm Maika Tsuchimikado. I'm this guy's sister. Sorry for all the trouble he's probably been giving you."

"Ah, I'm Bayloupe. I'm actually a resident of Britain here on… vacation visiting Accelerator and some of my friends…"

The girls started talking and Accelerator scooted over with the guys. As much as he wasn't a social person, it was easy being with them. Saiai kind of stood near them, but didn't interact much.

"Why is Kinuhata-san here?" Touma whispered.

"Long ass story," Accelerator muttered back. "I owed her and she wanted this."

"She has a crush on you." Jason cooed earning him a death glare.

"So are you three banging?" Motoharu asked.

"I'm going to kill all three of you."

"Why me!?" Touma cried. "I didn't do anything."

"Guilty by association." Accelerator growled.

"Sorry, Kami-yan," Motoharu apologized without any sincerity in his voice. "You go down with the ship."

They only started arguing when two more people showed up.

"Ah!" Shiage cried out, drawing their attention. "Why is she here!?"

"I was invited" Saiai answered before cracking her knuckles. "You super got a problem with that?"

"Nope, no problem." Shiage scooted backwards. "Just surprised."

"…Hello," Rikou greeted from beside him. She was in her very informal tracksuit. Everyone who knew her really didn't expect anything different. Shiage certainly didn't care. He was just happy to have a girl he liked liking him back.

"Still have the main show," Motoharu said. "Anyone else want to bet that more girls will show up?"

"No." Touma said firmly.

"Fuck off." Accelerator told him.

"I'm good." Jason answered.

"Well, now that no one took the bet," Motoharu complained. "It's not going to happen."

"Good. It's hard enough for what's going to happen without my luck making it worse."

Why do you all make everything so complicated? Bayloupe thought to herself.

The one thing she really noticed about the kids in Academy City was their complete lack of common sense. Like using middle schoolers to patrol around as a quasi-police force. Seriously, who came up with that idea? As for dating, if a guy and a girl think they have feelings for each other, they should try going out and explore if a possibility exists between them. All this multiple girls liking one guy isn't strange, that sort of thing happens. It's them making it complicated by not acting and just leaving everything in limbo. Bayloupe had some feelings for Accelerator and it made acting as the girlfriend back at the apartment easily enough. And somewhere deep down, she had a feeling that he might have felt something for her too. Bottled up of course, and getting him to admit that would be like pulling teeth.

For now, she settled with listening to the guys bicker, the girls talking, and occasionally interjecting with her own opinions. It wasn't long until the people Accelerator warned her about showed up. Bayloupe knew them all so it definitely saved her from any awkward greetings. Of course, that didn't mean some of the girls who couldn't control themselves wouldn't make it awkward for those around them.

"We're here!" Kuroko declared teleporting right behind Jason and throwing her arms over his shoulders as she landed on him. There must have been some warning because he didn't fall. The girls were all wearing their school uniform. As Mikoto, Kuroko, and Misaki went to meet Kazari and Ruiko, none of them had time to go home and change.

"Shirai-san!" Kazari reprimanded her. "Don't surprise people like that.'

"I don't mind." Jason assured her, as Kuroko's cheek touched his. He motioned her over and gave her one armed hug.

"I'm going to be sick." Accelerator muttered, watching the other three girls he knew all too well meeting up with Touma.

"How can they be so super lovey-dovey like that?" Saiai asked equally disgusted.

"Some people are just like that." Bayloupe told them with a shrug and they stared at her. "What? You see couples like that all the time. I just don't necessarily act that way; as you should know by now."

"Good, I would have thrown you out if you tried something like that." Accelerator admitted.

Better not have. Saiai thought bitterly. It downed on her just how far behind she was.

She really needed to act a little more reserved for now. The reason she agreed to this was not only to spend time with Accelerator. Having him see how much better she was than the slut was a big part of why she was here, sure. However, she also wanted to gather some more information on the slut who had the nerve to live with him. Saiai was part of the Dark May Project and was probably one of the few people capable of understanding Accelerator.

"I hope we didn't keep you waiting," Misaki said to Touma.

"Nah," Touma waved his hand dismissively. "We all got here not too long ago."

"So it's happening," Mikoto mumbled. "Hope we didn't cause too many problems last night."

"Again, it was something we needed to talk about."

"So… umm… what is the plan today?" Ruiko asked, shifting nervously.

"It's mostly just all of us having fun together," Misaki answered and gestured to the others. "We are all friends here and everyone can go off and see whatever they like. We should take this time and test out the waters; nothing fancy."

"Focus on having fun." Mikoto translated.

"After everything that happened over the last week, I agree." Touma said.

"You did say the guys would be bringing dates," Ruiko said to Mikoto, as she looked around. "Oh! Hey, Hamazura!"

"Sup, Saten-san." Responded Shiage with a casual wave of the hand. Those two didn't really hang out, but they did know each other. There was that one time Shiage met her during a Skill-Out meeting promising drugs for faster ability development. She was just one of the girls he knew who treated him like a person. "How have you been?"

"Oh, not bad." Ruiko smiled at him. "Sort of learned about all this last night. Uiharu and I were up late discussing it and almost overslept this morning." They both laughed until a surprising person interrupted them.

"…Hamazura?" Rikou asked, her voice a tad lower than it normally was. One hand had grabbed the sleeve of his t-shirt. "Who is this?"

"This is someone I met a while ago…"

"She's jealous," Misaki whispered to Touma. "Hamazura-san is just like you and completely oblivious."

"I'd like to think I'm a little bit more aware." Touma protested.

"Eh? Yeah, I think that's fair." Mikoto nodded solemnly. "From one percent to about five maybe?" Misaki laughed and even Touma gave a weak chuckle.

"That sounds… fair…" His voice trailed off as he saw two people enter the lobby. Misaki and Mikoto were the first to notice and then turned around to see what he was looking at. Their reactions almost exactly mirrored his shock. A few others began to notice and turned. Soon, everyone, except Maika, was staring as two people approached them.

"Hello, people!" Pierce greeting them as if he had just won the lottery. "I would like you to meet my new girlfriend-…"

The one's who knew about yesterday's date had expected an older girl with bob-cut, black hair and wearing a cast. The girl next to him was not the same girl. Even if the cast had been removed, it was obvious this person and that were not the same. The girl holding onto Pierce's arm and beaming at them all was slightly younger than him. She had long plaited braided blond hair and wearing a light green sundress. Her blue eyes sparkled mysteriously as she waved at them with her free hand.

"…Evelynn Christianson."

"Eve is fine," The all too familiar girl said.

Such misfortune. Touma moaned internally.

---

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. Remember, all mistakes are SilverFang's fault.

DB: Man, I keep telling myself I won't do any more scenes with so many people and then I do this. Splitting them up at first opportunity.

SF88: Suck it up, you wrote yourself into it now deal with it. Also, fuck you Dark.

DB: SF88 came up with the pun title. He loves them.

SF88: ...I hate you.

DB: Also, next chapter will have a 'small' riot.