AN: Hello readers! I have returned to a record breaking chapter in two respects as we've reached 100 reviews and for the fact that this chapter had the most responses from the last upload (12)!
Thank you, thank you, and thank you for this! I could probably never put it into words how appreciative I am for this and all the support I've seen since the first chapter came out in May of this year. I can't wait to see what else is in store for this in the future:`)
Alright, with all of that out of the way, I hope you enjoy this chapter where Magic and Science cross paths for the first time. Due to this event, I decided to hold off on starting the 21st and pushed it into the next chapter in order to not start something completely random in comparison to the events that occur during this one. I have a small plan laid out for how these next few chapters will go which is seen at the end of this chapter. Just know that the Level Upper arc is planned to end around the Chapter 30 mark.
As always, please leave a review on anything you liked, think I should work on, or just any questions in general! I enjoy reading them and I will answer them at the end of the next chapter:)
Disclaimer: I do not own A Certain Scientific Railgun/Magical Index or any of its characters...the only things I own are:
1. My characters and
2. my ideas
Chapter 27: When Science and Magic First Cross Paths
July 20th, 7:30PM
Kamijou was staggering out into another hallway with smoke rising up from his clothes, barely escaping death as he nearly collapsed to his knees.
He had just narrowly been able to cancel out some of the attack sent towards him by the magician known by the name of Stiyl Magnus, one of the members from the Sorcerer Society that had been trying to acquire Index by any means necessary.
He had unleashed some type of supernatural power that he could only conclude to be the result of magic as he had never seen anything like it before even among the countless number of esper abilities within Academy City.
He tried his best not to, but he was trembling and trying to catch his breath as his adrenaline was beginning to surge into his system from almost reaching his final moments within this world that still seemed to be fast approaching if he made another mistake worse than the one before.
After taking a couple moments to calm his heart down, he looked up as his eyes widened in surprise from seeing multiple pieces of paper taped inside of the hallway that he was currently sitting in.
"What the...?" He said aloud in confusion as he walked over to grab one to put closer into his view. "What even are these?"
Realization fell on his face after a while, remembering the words that Index said to him just before Stiyl had unleashed his attack on him from behind.
"Runes…magic words that have been used by Germanic tribes since the second century. The twenty-four letters each signify arcane mysticism and secret knowledge and are the roots of Old English…"
This must be what she was talking about from before, but…how am I going to be able to destroy all of these in time before that thing-
He didn't have time to complete his thought before hearing another rush of fire surge out from behind him, prompting him to rush down the hallway as fast as he could as the fire monster known by the name of Innocentius appeared behind him, baring unrelentless waves of intense heat directed completely towards him.
He was cornered, which was a dangerous situation for him to be in right now as his right hand had been virtually powerless to stop all of Innocentius's flames due to having limitless fuel from the rune engravings.
Before he had time to regret or rethink what he was about to do, Kamijou charged into the fire beast and ran towards the stairwell for an easier route of escape. He was basically in the clear, though his rotten luck decimated his chances of an easy and painless escape, accidentally missing a step in which forced him to crash and tip over the barrier in front of him, heading towards the ground at a fast rate of speed.
He internally braced himself as he screamed out from the rush of it all, coming closer and closer of hitting a metal pavilion over a whole rack of bikes.
It was to his surprise that right before he would have crash landed against it, he quickly slowed down to the point of stopping, literally floating in the air as a look of confusion fell on his face before hearing a recognizable sigh come from the esper responsible.
"Well that was a little too close for comfort. I haven't had to catch someone quite like that before. You're just a magnet for trouble that I'm somehow starting to get used to." Asher said as relief filled her stoic voice as she carefully brought Kamijou down to stand right in front of her.
"Asher?" Kamijou said in surprise from seeing her relatively like herself other than the slight paleness of her face.
"Unless you know another, the one and only." Asher bluntly remarked that contrasted with the small smile on her face. "It's not like you to ask such an illogical thing as that. It's only been two days and you-"
Before Asher could say anything else, she was completely blindsided when Kamijou hugged her, feeling heat rise up her face and was too stunned to even move to reciprocate it for a few moments.
"I should be used to receiving things like this now, but what did I do to warrant something like this from you specifically?" She asked with slight confusion in her voice as she slowly wrapped her hands around Kamijou's back. "Logically I should be the one to do it to you, considering you were nearly severely injured just a second ago-"
"I'm s-sorry…" Kamijou said shakily enough to stop Asher from talking any further. "I'm sorry that I-I didn't know how much you were hurting those few weeks we walked together. I feel l-like such an idiot that I didn't see it sooner or tried to help y-you in any way I could. You were standing right beside me and I didn't know you were going through something like that u-until it was too late."
Silence fell between them for a few seconds before Kamijou stiffened slightly from hearing a rare chuckle escape Asher's lips as she hugged him tighter.
"Funny…It's not every day we have the same idea, considering I was going to say that to you more or less when I got here since it is my fault that I didn't say anything, and I apologize for that. MK is the only one who knows any of it, because she was there and understands the circumstances. I always think if I say it to anyone else, they won't believe me like that annoyance did. It's a sensitive topic for me to talk about and can trigger my anxiety if I'm not careful since I've been diagnosed with PTSD because of most of it."
Kamijou's eyes widened from hearing that as he pulled back from the girl who refused to look up at him for a time.
"W-Wait you have-"
Before he could finish his statement, he felt a strong force pull him away from where he was standing as Asher got in front of him with her hand raised up in the air, seeing that Innocentius decided it was the best time to send a huge wave of fire at them as he stood at the corner of the floor that his dorm was located on.
There was some sort of struggle at first as it seemed like the Level 5 was being push back to some extent as she put both her hands up with some surprise filling her chest, seeing cracks starting to appear on the gravity barrier that she put up as they slowly began to be fixed.
"D-Dang, I underestimated the amount of power that w-was going to be at from the velocity I assumed it was coming a-at us…." She said as she winced under her breath, pushing more of her gravity to stop it in its tracks. "What the heck even is that thing? I don't think I've ever seen a pyrokineticist do something l-like this before."
This immediately brought Kamijou out of his stupor as he looked over at Asher's back. "Me neither, because it's not an esper power." He explained. "From what I've been told, its creator calls it Innocentius and it's done from the power of a sorcerer. Meaning it's magic."
Asher remained silent at that, but he could tell that she was startled by what he said from the number of cracks that immediately appeared on her barrier as she let out a sigh.
"Of all times to tell me something illogical, you pick the time that we could get incinerated if I lose my concentration?" She said under her breath, putting both of her hands together and split the flames to spew beside them. She then turned around to look over at Kamijou with a deadpan on her face. "Magic. The only thing you can logically explain to me on what just happened is the result of magic in a city that is basically the hub for all things science? I may be tired and still recovering, but one thing I know I'm not recovering from is a concussion. Meaning you're or whoever did this is the illogical one in this situation."
"What!? What do you even mean by that? Why is it that you always rope me into something like this and find me at fault when I'm not!? Do you think I'm lying to you?" Kamijou exasperated.
"Short answer is yes. Long answer is no. You always seem to be involved one way or another, so it's logical for me to do that to you." Asher sighed. "For the reason telling me that the illogical concept of magic is the reason for this, either you did hit your head on something before I caught you or whoever told you that is about as nonsensical as that blond-haired annoyance and blue-haired pervert tend to be…"
"And you've caught me at a time where I don't have a lot of energy to entertain such a thing, so you should probably get to the point of the matter at hand here before I go off to my dorm so that MK or the teleporter don't feel inclined to come here to drag me back there by force." She finished, remaining unfazed as Kamijou deflated in front of her.
"Why should I have worried about you all this time? That bluntness of yours is either the same or has gotten worse since the last time I saw you." Kamijou said under his breath.
He tried his best to explain the current situation, seeing her overall stoicness fade into unreadable emotions that he couldn't describe at times before concern seemed to spread on it when he told her of Index's current state.
"Other than the parts relating to the forementioned illogical concept, there's a girl named Index who was attacked some time before you got back to your dorm, and this Stiyl Magnus guy or whoever he was with was responsible?" Asher summed up, seeing Kamijou nod his head as he went to grab his cellphone.
"Yeah and she was bleeding pretty badly so we need to call for some type of help."
Kamijou went down to dial for someone on his phone before remembering that he had broken it this morning from seeing that the display was cracked. He looked over at Asher to ask for her phone until he was shocked when he saw her create a gravity barrier below her feet as if she was about to attempt to go up against Stiyl by herself, grabbing onto her arm before she could go anywhere.
"Asher what are you doing? We need to go call for someone to help and maybe even an ambulance of some sort!"
"What if help doesn't it make it here in time, Kamijou, and this girl ends up dying because of it? It's not logical to rely on something like that if you don't know what time it will even arrive here versus us already being here to be of assistance to Index." Asher rationalized as her stoic voice filled with some sort of emotion that Kamijou wasn't able to fully describe, finding seeming akin to regret to best fit it to some extent underlying in her tone.
He was about to question her on it before she turned and looked over at him with a small smile on her face.
"And anyway, I'm not one to really bring significance to it but considering you have one of 8 level 5's within the city standing right in front of you, aren't I probably the best to deter this person to go away or distract him so that you can destroy whatever is powering his ability to this extent?" Asher questioned.
Kamijou tried to figure out some type of retort before it slipped from his mouth, letting go of her arm as she turned to face the building again.
"I guess I can't argue with that kind of logic." He said with a shrug before his face grew serious. "I'll try to go as fast as I can, but just please try your best to be careful up there with him. No matter what you think relating to the legitimacy of his abilities, don't underestimate the idea of magic for a second because you find it illogical in some form."
"I know. After that display of power from before, I guess it's only logical for me to put more of my energy into this more than I usually have to." Asher sighed as the barrier reappeared below her feet again. "And I'm not in the mood to put myself in the hospital again as that would be another crisis that I would need to take care of due to the worry wart the Level 5 Railgun tends to be with me and how aggressively she shows it at times."
After that she went off into the air, steeping onto barrier after barrier as Kamijou went to go take the elevator to get to where the runes were, hoping that he would be able to dispel its power before something bad happened to either Index or even Asher herself.
Stiyl was looking over at Index below him, prompting the mask on his emotions to fall as he felt regretful for the current state she was in and knew that Kanzaki most likely felt more so from being the one who did it. He felt the overwhelming desire to reach out to the friend that he knew had no clue of their former friendship, wishing that what had to be done to her year after year wouldn't need to occur.
But just as he reached out to her, a purple barrier appeared around her form, preventing him from getting any closer as the one who was responsible made herself known to him with a long drawn out sigh.
"Please don't tell me you're some type of pervert. I seem to always have one around me anytime of the day, 24/7 annoyingly enough. And I honestly don't have the time or patience to fully deal with one right now."
He felt some irritation rise in his soul for that statement and due to another newcomer trying to stop him in the efforts that he knew had to be done even if it looked morally unjust. He turned and saw the stoic girl standing behind him with her blue eyes radiating with some kind of irritation that paralleled with his own, though seemed more relaxed and disconnected from the overall situation as a whole at the same time for some reason or another.
"And who might you be? Someone carelessly risking their life at trying to help out that foolish boy from before?" Stiyl asked as Asher's face darkened with the shadows that fell across her features.
"Well that's a pretty illogical question to ask me considering your involvement is the reason that girl's life is hanging in the balance. I feel as though most people wouldn't be able to ignore something like that." Asher said with an edge of anger in her voice, hiding the underlying tenseness she was feeling simultaneously due to the current situation.
Even though she didn't know much about this guy, she knew enough that she was still put somewhat at a disadvantage environmentally. She already had the space measured out, but the space that she could safely use was limited in regard to the structural integrity of this building and the amount of energy she was contemplating was even necessary to use right now.
It would have probably been more logical in most situations for me to sneak up invisible with my ability from behind and take Index somewhere safe, but there was a high chance that wouldn't have worked due to the unknown nature of how his sensing capabilities work in comparison to mine, she thought as she created a mental note of how she could go about this.
And then there's the fact that I can't fully restrain him with my gravity too much….If I were to increase it too much right now, there's a chance that I could cause the floor to fall in on itself, which wouldn't be great to happen for him or myself as Index would be in even more danger. I could potentially spread the amount of space I have by working from the outside of this hallway, but that would require a lot more focus for me to expend and balance as I would have to both defend, attack, and stay in the air at the same time…
Meaning this approach was probably the best way to do this, since I can work in close quarters like these if I'm careful. Though, my ability is usually better equipped in wider surroundings than this narrow hallway, where each of its rooms is most likely filled with other residents by this time of night.
She had to be cautious for the sake of this building and the girl she was trying to aid, knowing that if things got out of hand that her ability could cause the whole building to collapse. She began to raise her hand as gravity condensed into it, causing Stiyl to let out a small laugh at the gesture itself.
"Not much of a talker, now aren't you?" He asked as a smirk appeared on his face. "That boy probably ran off before he could tell you who you're currently dealing with. I'm a Sorcerer probably out of your league in terms of power."
Asher sighed at that remark, finding herself getting more and more strained with trying to logically break down the logic behind this illogical concept of a "Sorcerer" and magic that she had heard too many times than she had wanted to today. She was currently pinning it on maybe being something related to the Level Upper, showing her that the device did more to people's brains than they had originally thought at first.
"I don't tend to take time in allowing bothersome noise fill my ears by having pointless conversations with people like you. And it seems you don't truly know who you're dealing with either, which is common since I tend to stay in the background at times. Though I would suggest not potentially wasting energy on trying to defeat me when it's potentially impossible for you to do so." Asher responded as she watched Stiyl throw the cigarette out of his mouth.
"Flames!" He simply stated as a roaring inferno appeared, not even causing Asher to flinch for a moment as more and more gravity collected within the palm of her hand.
"It seems we have an arrogant one as well. Let's see if I can knock it down a couple pegs with this attack!"
He sent a powerful wave of fire towards the girl, watching it engulf her for a few moments as smoke and embers littered the immediate area. It wasn't until it began to clear, his face faded into some sort of shock, seeing that Asher was relatively unharmed as she lowered her hand towards her side.
"It's kind of hard to place where your ability is at from that attack alone. But if I'd had to speculate, you're at least a Level 4 due to the nature of how much heat you dispelled and the amount of power backing it. Although I guess Kamijou's right in the manner that your pyrokinetic ability appears to be different in some sort of way from the norm from the unnatural way it was created." Asher casually speculated aloud, leaving Stiyl somewhat angered at the fact of how she could just do it so causally as well with the blatant ignorance of the so-called ability he was using.
"I already told you that I'm a mage, not some kind of esper bound by the laws of science like you are! Let me give you more of a taste of it so you can finally understand." He remarked as he stretched out one of his hands with a flame flowing from above it. "Ashes to Ashes." He stretched the other hand in the same manner in front of him as he took a small step forward. "And dust to dust. Prepare for the wrath of…Squeamish Blood Rood!"
Two slashes of flames came at Asher at max speed, leaving an explosion in its midst upon impact. Stiyl stood there panting just a little under his breath from the act, putting his whole soul into the attack that would send anything ablaze in an instant. The smoke hadn't cleared that much around the time a massive force of some sort hit him from behind, propelling him a ways back before he was able to skid to a halt.
His eyes widened even further when he saw that the girl who should have been where he was standing take his current place next to Index, feeling disbelief rise in his chest from wondering who this esper even was.
Getting some semblance of an answer from what she said to him next…
"Well it's not often I feel inclined to use both halves of the main application related to my ability simultaneously to this extent. Light reflection and barrier projections are usually done separately since Blueshift and Redshift wavelengths can just be sort of a hassle to deal with together at times if I'm not careful." She said as she rubbed the back of her neck.
Blueshift and Redshift wavelengths? Stiyl thought, knowing he had heard that from somewhere from before.
It clicked after a while when he started thinking about the man known to him as Aleister Crowley, remembering that there are 8 espers located within this city given the title of a Level 5, with this one standing in front of him being particularly interesting to the superintendent himself and quite significant enough to be granted some context if he were to cross her one day.
This must be GravShift if I'm not mistaken from those distinct blue streaks within her hair that change colors at times. Even though I don't know all of why he sees her as an asset, I do know some of it relates to the day where he allowed her ability to go out of control and nearly caused this city to be decimated from her power that could of risen to that of a God if it had continued.
But due to that day and everything involving that course of whatever damage she sustained, it has made her unpredictable of her overall development and mental state. He told me to be extra careful on how I go about a confrontation like this if it were to ever happen…
Considering I can't get her to be on my side of this matter now, the other approach is the best and more dangerous of the two as it's a gamble of what may or may not happen when I do this…
He let out a small laugh at that, knowing the situation grew to be a little bit more difficult in comparison to the boy from earlier, smirking slightly at Asher as he lit another cigarette to put into his mouth to calm his nerves.
"Well if it isn't the esper known to have nearly brought a Calamity to this city some time ago, known by the name of GravShift." He remarked, seeing the girl's face darken even further at the mention of a name he knew would trigger her.
"If you know that much of me then I would suggest you not say something like that again, considering I'm not inclined to make sure how much of your well-being is intact if you do." She said darkly, feeling the air grow heavier as her blue eyes tinged red for a few moments before she blinked it away.
She was trying her best to keep her cool, something that name always seemed to nearly destroy any semblance at trying as it always angered her to hear it at any capacity no matter how many told her to ignore it. And her mind was still worn from the aftermath of the other day, not having the usual amount of mental strength for these type of situations like she normally does.
"Hmph, it seems I got some type of reaction out of the girl rumored to be an emotionless husk of a human being. I wonder what namesake you try to take after nowadays: Asher as one of the blessed sons of Jacob within the Bible or the one who wanted to cause this city to burn to ashes into the depths of hell for her thoughts of grandeur in conquering a place to be her own to rule…"
"To be the calamity or cataclysm to set this place ablaze, with no one in sight as they all would've died by your hand." He pressed as he moved to get closer to her.
Asher felt a massive pain ring through her head as her thoughts were gradually going back to that day and were trying their best to overtake her mind and send her close to the point of falling over the edge of her stability at the worst time possible.
"Sh-Shut U-Up…You have no damn clue what y-you're talking about! S-So stop i-it!" She mumbled out, raising her trembling hand to her ear to turn down the volume all way so she could stop listening to what he had to say, hearing her thoughts practically shouting at her at this point as she tried her best to still keep herself restrained.
I'm not who he says I am…I n-not the calamity people make me out to be anymore, meaning he has nothing to hold over me, she continued to think to herself.
He doesn't know me…H-He can't pin that name on m-me…. He doesn't know me like Mikoto or the others do!
C-calm down…I n-need to calm down…D-Don't listen to him!
"It's true though isn't it? From what I heard, you enjoyed and reveled in the newfound power you were briefly given. Something you probably yearn for even to this day right." He continued, automatically causing her to curse under her breath from being able to hear it with such clarity. Due to the amount of stress she was going though, her hearing was able to bypass the limiter within her Anti-Amps.
Damn i-it I can still hear his voice! M-M-y sound limiter isn't enough to stop all of the noise coming inside of my head! I-I can't…. I c-can't!
He kept on pressing and pressing her as she tried her best to keep herself calm and collected but couldn't hold out for any longer. Her mind felt like it was rushing too much for her to take after having so many triggers given to her in such rapid succession that she knew it was done purposefully for something like this to happen.
She gradually fell down to her knees as her awareness of what was happening around her faded into her being stuck inside these rushing thoughts. The light inside her eyes began to fade as her entire body began to tremble, with Stiyl's words constantly tearing her down as they constantly shouted within her mind.
"I'm n-not…. I kn-know I'm not that anymore….I'm not…I'm n-not! So please stop…Please stop saying that! I don't want…t-to lose control…I n-need to stay in control!" She pleaded weakly to the guy who she barely knew was even there from her anxiety taking over her completely.
She wasn't even able to see the somber expression on his face or some of the regret within his soul from causing her to be this way. He hadn't wanted to cause something like this, but it seemed like the only way for him to even be able to defeat someone like her, knowing that one of her weaknesses easily accessible to him relied on her fragile state of mind when the right things were pulled to cause her strong mentality to crumble.
"I'm sorry about this, but you left me with no other options. I'll make this quick." Stiyl remarked as he raised his hand, preparing to knock out the esper below him and finally have Index in his custody.
That was until the sprinkling system was engaged, startling both of the people within the hallway due to its abruptness.
Even though Asher still wasn't fully aware on what was happening around her, the chill from the coldness of the water did clear the haze in her mind a little, prompting a groan to come out of her lips as she tried to regain her bearings.
Wh-Where am I? Wh-What just happened? she thought before she looked up and saw Stiyl in front of her, instinctively scooting herself back in a small panic as she laid her back on the railing behind her. Her mind was having trouble connecting who he was with his face, finding herself at a lost on even remembering most of the earlier interactions she just had with him but still was able to label him as someone she should avoid from the constant name-calling that he did towards her.
W-Who is that? Is he with…Si-Silas?
It nudged her slightly back into the panicked state she was in before, hugging her arms around her legs as she stuck her head between knees and panted under her breath.
Stiyl let out a small scoff as his response to the sprinkler, knowing now that Asher had probably been a distraction for Kamijou to attempt to defeat his fire creation that was chasing him and finding it somewhat insulting that he thought something as little as this would be enough to stop Innocentius.
Her heard a ding go off somewhere within the hallway, turning back around and seeing the determined face of Kamijou's slowly make its approach towards him.
When he came to a stop, Kamijou's eyes widened slightly from seeing the current state that Asher was in, feeling some anger seep into his system from someone else being hurt in some way that he hadn't been able to stop.
I'm sorry Asher that you had to take on some of this burden for me, he thought as he clenched the hand by his side into a fist.
I promise I'll finish this as quickly as I can to make sure you and Index are okay.
After Kamijou was able to outsmart and defeat Stiyl with an old-fashioned punch to his face, he ran over to where Asher was still huddled in on herself and brought out his hand to touch her in an attempt to see what was wrong.
"Hey Asher what's-"
Before he could even lay a hand on her, though, he stiffened when she flinched away from him, hearing her let out a whimper under her breath as she tightened her hold around her legs.
"L-Leave me…A-Alone…Pl-Please just leave me alone a-and…d-don't hurt m-me!" Asher said shakily. "I-I'll do better n-next time! I promise! B-But I-I didn't do anything wrong…so please ju-just go away!"
He was taken aback by the amount of fear within her voice, completely confused on what even brought this on in comparison to how she was when he last saw her. He looked over at Index who still hadn't awakened but seemed to be hanging on to some extent, allowing him some time to spare in hopes to be able to calm Asher down just a bit.
"I would never try to hurt you Asher, so you shouldn't be scared of me." He said gently as he crouched down in front of her. "I mean we're friends, aren't we? And Zapper would probably fry me if I even thought of doing something like that to you."
"Fr-Friend? But I only have…." Asher said meekly before she winced under her breath and grabbed the side of her face. "Damn i-it…I'm s-so confused on what's happening, and Mikoto…i-isn't here t-to help me out. The only noise going on in my h-head is what that guy called m-me. He wouldn't stop saying that I w-was th-the Calamity of this city...Wouldn't stop saying th-that I wanted to hurt others w-when I don't…When I ju-just…w-wanted…"
She trailed off after that as if she couldn't find the right word to describe what was going through her head. Silence fell between them for a few moments as Kamijou tried to figure out the best way to go about this. He could tell that she wasn't all there and almost acted like she didn't know who he even was.
He kept thinking and thinking until some realization spread across his face, remembering something she had said to him a long while ago…
[ "I know you probably learned my name before you started to actively say it today, meaning you were probably just teasing me for all that time by not saying it or pretending you forgot." He continued jokingly.
As Kamijou looked over at Asher, her usually stoic face seemed to be a little downcast as she looked towards the ground slightly.
"I actually really didn't remember, until just now. So…sorry for that," She replied. "I wish it was just me playing around but I can say for certain that it isn't. It's hard for my brain to remember names and faces of people sometimes while also connecting it with the inherent information I learn about them..."
"Even though I've gotten better, you've been one of hardest for me to keep tabs on, but it's not unusual for that to happen at times. It's more or less due to an incident 1-2 years back that ended up giving me some bad damage in the areas of my brain that handles that among other things."]
Well, it's worth a shot…
"Asher, look at me."
It took a few more pushes, but he gradually saw Asher's fearful look as she hesitantly looked up at him. He brought his hand up to his chest and wore a warm smile on his face.
"It's me, Kamijou, which is something I have a feeling that you've forgotten. Which is surprising from the amount of times you seem to take amusement in picking apart my so called 'illogical' behavior."
It took that a few moments to click with Asher herself, but he could tell that it worked when some actual recognition fell in her eyes when she let out a patented sigh.
"R-Right. It …shouldn't be this difficult to keep tabs on someone like you." She stated before she looked away. "Um, sorry about that. I came to a blank on who you were for a while even though I recognized your voice. I was too caught up inside my own head to really go much further than that and I guess it triggered my face blindness to add on top of what I was already going through."
"Oh, is that what it's called?" Kamijou questioned as he saw Asher nod her head and rub the back of her neck.
"Yeah, that's the term my doctor uses to explain what happens. It's basically a disconnect with what I'm processing visually in which hampers my ability to connect the information that I know of said person. As I said before, I've gotten a handle on it, but it can still happen at times. Especially during high stress situations like the one that just happened with that red-haired annoyance purposefully pressing buttons he probably knows shouldn't be pressed."
Before Kamijou could press her to know what that meant, she quickly rose up to her feet and walked over to Index, putting two fingers towards her neck to read her pulse and messed with the volume in her ears with her other hand.
"How is she?" Kamijou asked, being met with silence when he saw her stoic face fall slightly. "It can't be that bad right?"
"I was keeping track of her heartbeat with my Amps when I got here. Even though I had to stop at one point, I can tell that it's still gradually declining to the point of concern that it'll stop at some point if nothing is done." She explained as she sent him a sideways glance. "The blood loss isn't making it any better either, so it would probably be for the best to transport her to a hospital."
Kamijou nodded at that as he watched Asher rise up to her feet again, but this time was startled when she nearly fell over and had to catch her, hearing how hard her breathing was getting for a time.
"Hey, are you alright, Asher?" He asked in concern. "You looked pale before, but now it's almost like all the color has nearly drained from your face."
"Y-Yeah I'm fine. I got lightheaded there for a-a second." Asher replied tiredly. "I'm just a little drained right now in terms of my energy that was expended considerable from that state I was in just a moment ag-"
She was interrupted when she felt his hand land on her forehead, feeling her face automatically heat up from the close contact that almost came out of nowhere.
"Wow, I didn't notice it until now, but you're also starting to burn up. Almost to how you felt when me and Zapper took you to the hospital the other day." He said casually as he took his hand away from the stunned girl, walking over and picking up Index into a bridal carry. "I appreciate your help, but I think it's best if you let me take care of the rest for my friend here."
This broke Asher out of her stupor as she looked over at him with confusion within her eyes. "Wouldn't it be more effective for me to, though? We can get there quicker if we use my ability."
"True, but it really looks like you're running low on gas. It wouldn't be right of me to keep pushing you like this after you've already helped me out a ton by keeping that guy distracted enough for me to beat him. You literally just got out of the hospital from what happened a few days back and by your own admission earlier, you are still recovering. I don't really want you to risk putting yourself back there, and it would hurt me to see you in such a state again just because I keep doubting myself when I shouldn't. You've done enough in my stead by just being here for a stranger you've never even met before. Something that I know that Index would appreciate as well even if I haven't known her all that long…"
"So please, go back to your dorm to get some rest and allow me to take care of this. You may be a Level 5, but even a Level 0 like myself should be able to handle this without too much trouble."
Asher contemplated his request for a while, wanting to decline and do this for him as a means to thank him for everything that he has done for her up until now, as well as save the girl whose life was hanging in the balance.
She didn't want someone else to lose their life when she should have the power to be able to save them, picturing the image of her mother in Index's position and feeling like this was critical for her to do for both of their sakes, including hers.
But after a time, she let out a sigh as she rubbed her neck incessantly, trying her best to allow herself to trust that Kamijou could do this and not push herself as he requested. Even if the details were still hazy for her to some extent, she recognized this overwhelming feeling of tiredness probably stemmed from a combination of an anxiety attack and PTSD episode after Styli successively turned her mind against her with his words relating to a day she just can't forget or forgive herself for no matter how hard she tried.
"Alright, if you say so Kamijou. You may be illogical, but it has never been enough to say you're untrustworthy." Asher sighed as she created a gravity platform in the air next to the railing. She stepped over it and brought her hand for Kamijou to grab for him to get on. "Even with that though, at least allow me to quickly get you down to the bottom floor before I go."
Kamijou smiled at that and grabbed onto her hand with his left, splitting ways with Asher as soon as they got to the ground to go off and help index in any way that he could.
About 30 minutes later…
Tokiwadai Dormitory
Misaka was laying on her bed alone within her room as she turned over and let out a small sigh, cradling onto the teddy bear that was lying next to her for comfort. She had partially undressed out of her uniform, currently just wearing her skirt and white shirt.
Even if she was dressed in her usual Gekota pj's, she still probably wouldn't have been able to scrap up enough motivation to actually go to sleep, constantly wondering if either of her friends were okay as she made sure the Head Mistress did not suspect either of their absences.
Shirai had to leave a little while ago for Judgment work due to a random fire that started somewhere within the city that was rumored to have been started by supernatural means.
While Asher still hadn't made an appearance, making her worried even further that she may be involved in which the teleporter reassured her that she would find out if that was the case. This was the main reason why she was still here instead of being out there in the dark of night, waiting here as patiently as she could for Asher to return just as she had promised.
Thankfully, she didn't have to wait too much longer, feeling relief fill her chest when she heard a few taps on the other side of her window. She quickly walked over and opened the curtains, seeing Asher causally suspended in the air as she opened the window to allow her to come in.
"Took you long enough." Misaka said jokingly, hearing Asher let out a sigh before she sent a smile over at her.
"Sorry. But you know I tend to take my time with this kind of thing." Asher replied.
Misaka was about to continue on with their conversation before she paused, looking at the esper in front of her and noticed how completely exhausted she looked. She brought up hand to feel her forehead without any word or warning, with Asher not even flinching at the contact from expecting that it would probably happen.
"Hey are you feeling alright?" She asked with concern in her voice from the heat radiating off of her body. "It's only been a couple hours since the last time I physically saw you and now you just look…"
"Tired?" Asher finished for her, seeing her nod her head. She instinctively raised a hand to the back of her neck. "Yeah, it's been a long day. With everything involving the Level Upper, Saten, and…Silas…I guess I'm just getting worn out by the stress of it all."
"Did anything else happen when you were out there that you had to use your ability in some way?" Misaka asked. "Kuroko was called to a scene somewhere within the 7th district that was close to that high school that you said you were going to go over to."
Asher remained silent at that as her expression fell slightly, finding herself thinking back to a few choice words that Stiyl had said to her before.
["Hmph, it seems I got some type of reaction out of the girl rumored to be an emotionless husk of a human being. I wonder what namesake you try to take after nowadays: Asher as one of the blessed sons of Jacob within the Bible or the one who wanted to cause this city to burn to ashes into the depths of hell for her thoughts of grandeur in conquering a place to be her own to rule…"
"To be the calamity or cataclysm to set this place ablaze, with no one in sight as they all would've died by your hand."]
"W-Well I-I-"
A pain that mirrored the same type of pain that she had felt before flashed in her head, prompting her to grip onto it as she cringed under her breath. Misaka instinctively grabbed onto her, thinking she was about to fall forward as a look of worry came across her face. She carefully brought her over to sit down on her bed, bending down to her knees as she watched Asher clutch both sides of her head in agony.
"Hey, Zierdan, what's wrong!?" She asked as it seemed like Asher's skin paled even further.
"C-Calamity…H-He kept calling m-me the Calamity of th-this city and wouldn't st-stop no matter how much I told him t-to." Asher mumbled shakily, trembling more and more as time went on. "I t-told him so many times, and he just kept saying th-that I wanted to kill everyone…and wanted that to h-happen to me …A-And I-I didn't!"
Even though she couldn't understand the context of all of what she was saying, there was one word that stuck out to her to let her know that she was probably on the brink of having an episode stemmed from the severe trauma that she has from what she had to go through Silas's experiment. She knew that "Calamity" tends to be a trigger word, but there had to be something else that was added on top of that to push her this far to be on the verge of a complete meltdown so openly in front of her
She rose up slightly on her knees and wrapped her arms around Asher's neck, placing a hand on her comfort spot as she tried her best to get her to calm down by pushing her thoughts away from what she knew she was thinking about in hopes she wouldn't find herself stuck there in a nightmarish flashback.
It took some time to get it to where she was both calm and coherent of what was happening around her as a silence fell between them for a time when Misaka went over to sit beside her.
"H-Hey Mikoto?" Asher said after a while as she looked down at her feet. "Is it alright if I sleep in here with you and Kuroko tonight. It's ju-just-"
"You don't have to explain it to me Zierdan." Misaka said automatically as she softy grabbed onto Asher's hand. "I understand. I know it seems hard even after all these years, but you'll get through this. And you won't have to do it by yourself because I am here along with the others, alright?"
Asher mutely nodded at that, finding comfort in what Misaka said to her as she laid her head on her shoulder, feeling her friend wrap her hand around her back as a long silence filled the void between them.
It was a long while before Shirai made it back to the dorm, teleporting in with a prideful smile on her face as she looked over at Misaka's side of the room.
"Well they sadly weren't able to find anything that caused the events of the fire. Did Zierdan ever-?"
She couldn't finish her statement when she saw the nervous smile on the Electromaster's face, with her shaking at the sight of seeing another body laying down behind her as if it was normal for her to do at this time of night.
"Now Kuroko, I know what it looks like…"
"Oh, my goodness Sissy!" Shirai gasped as she teleported to be in her face. "You choose her to sleep beside you instead when you know that spot is clearly my spot to take!? It's fine if she sleeps there during the day, but if she wanted to sleep in here right now, I would have gladly lent her my bed for such an occasion!"
"Shhhhh, Kuroko, or the Head Mistress will come in here." Misaka said as she quickly got up and put a finger up to the teleporter's mouth.
Even though she was reluctant to, Shirai nodded as Misaka let out a sigh and sat back down on her bed, bringing her hand back as she softly ran her fingers though Asher's light blonde hair as she continued to sleep soundly.
"I know this may make you feel a certain way, but she probably wouldn't be comfortable anywhere else. She's really stressed out right now and wants to be around us versus staying in her room by herself. She tends to sleep better when she's around me, so this is how we got to this point, since I wouldn't have allowed her to sleep on the floor or at one of our desks no matter the amount of times she said that she could."
Shirai contemplated that for a while before she crossed her arms and walked away.
"Fine. I guess I'll allow it." Shirai stated before she turned to look at Misaka over her shoulder. "But there better not be any funny business that happens while you're over there together."
A blush immediately filled Misaka's face as she rose up to her feet again.
"HUH!? Wh-What do you do you even me by that, Kuroko?" She stuttered.
"Oh, do I really have to explain that to you, Sissy?" Shirai asked as she turned back around. "I mean if you insist, I'm saying that you and Zierdan don't need to-"
"NO, I don't need you to explain that! What I mean is why would you feel inclined to even say something like that for the both of us!?"
They continuously went back and forth for a while, so loud at one point that they didn't even notice that Asher had awakened because of it as she put her pillow over her head.
I have no clue what they're even arguing about, but I'm not surprised that they are in the slightest even with how late it is. I can somehow hear them through my limiter as well, making their noise an illogical amount…
Even with this thought though, a small smile grew on the corners of her lips as she delved back into her slumber, knowing both her friends were right there with her and didn't have anything to worry about.
Word Count of Chapter: 8441 |Page Count: 14 pages |Reviews: 103 | Followers: 70 |Favorites: 55
AN: Small idea of what the other chapters will most likely involve if you're interested:
Chapter 28: All of the events that transpire on the 21st
Chapter 29: All of the events that transpire on the 22nd
Chapters 30 and maybe into 31 and 32: A time skip into the 24th where the events of the Level Upper arc will finally come to an end
*I'm going to do my best to follow this by any means necessary to finally bring an end to this long arc:)
Review Replies
Jackrocks6: Glad to hear that you enjoyed everyone's interactions during the last chapter. I almost had Saten reveal the level upper to Asher, but decided against it. Even though she knows that Asher can sympathize with her when it comes to low-self worth, she believes that she can't sympathize with her wanting to gain power to help her friends since Asher is a level 5 and has the power to help. She also knows that she would probably end up telling Misaka or Shirai about it out of precedent, which would end in the Level Upper being taken away before she even decides whether she wants to use it or not.
Yes and no, Asher's blush when she was thinking about Kamijou was more from the fact that he complemented and spoke well about her. Even though she tries to hide it, she's modest when it comes to that and who she is as a person to the point of self-deprecation, with the littlest sayings of praise able to always do that to her no matter how much she wants it not to. Will there ever be more where she falls for the unknowing girl magnet known as Touma Kamijou? The world may never know...
velvetsthetic:
Chapter 1
Yes, 100 reviews are amazing :`)
I am shocked that this story has already made it there and I am also appreciative of all the support that you and other's have given me so far, so thank you:)
Chapter 26
From the very beginning, I have awaited this moment where Index begins during the Railgun timeline, where I have always pictured Asher being involved in some way at least with the events involving Stiyl's first appearance. Though due to the nature of the events that are about to occur in the next few chapters, I'm pretty sure that is going to be her only interaction with the magic side for now unless I change my mind for what happens after the 24th. I think it's a little early for Asher to find out about it fully (as well as from the fact it would completely lead her to short circuiting if someone like Kamijou attempts to explain it to her again), especially before Touma's memory loss as that event would practically lead Misaka to finding out about it pretty easily along with Index if he's not too careful.
Index will still be seen here and there, though, so don't worry. Whenever it affects Academy City in such a way, will still affect her in some way if she feels inclined to get involved.
Blankow: Glad to hear that you enjoyed Saten's and Asher's interactions along with their character development within the last chapter. Asher is pretty shy and unaware on how to describe her feelings at times, but she's trying her best to be more open to show how much the others mean to her in any way she can. While Asher's self-worth has grown to some extent, Saten's is still falling even though it's probably not as fast as it was originally. You're right in the fact that she's more focused on her friends versus her self-worth, most likely due to her friendship with Asher.
Another vote has been placed in favor of Saten x Asher. Will her illogical nature sway the logical but modest and shy heart of Zierdan Asher?
Even though the idea of magic has been placed into her head, Asher is logically denying it as much as she can as most of the city does for being based in science. She doesn't think Kamijou is lying about it, but due to her personality, she's trying her best to acknowledge it as something else in an effort to not overthink it in such a high-risk situation from having limited understanding of such a concept. This will probably be her only interaction with magic for a while unless I decide to do something after the 24th relating to it.
Meaning she may be denying it now, but that doesn't mean she will still do it in the future:)
InsertWeirdUsernameHere: You're welcome! One day I'll figure out the secrets of my writing speed:)
Shwae: Thanks! I know the pacing has been difficult to get though at times, and I'm sorry about that. I'm trying my best to be better in not dragging out something too far unless I really have to. This arc has been especially long mostly for the fact of Asher's backstory in which is convoluted still even at this point of the story. That is most of the reason that my companion series "Asher" was created in order to give me another outlet to go more in depth into her background how ever much I want to.
I'm glad that you enjoyed Saten within this chapter and the pacing throughout it. It's been a long journey, but we've finally came to a point where Asher has broken off from Misaka and even Shirai to do things on her own when it comes to something like emotions and completely out of her comfort zone in talking about her past.
So in terms of Asher's involvement with Index, it will be like how it was in this chapters at times but also minor in most situations due to the nature of the magic side tending to go outside of Academy City. Since she would not be inclined to leave the city in such a way unless she was forced, she'll have a higher chance at participating in the magic-side events just within the city.
Someoneluck: Thanks! I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed the last chapter! All I can say about Silas is that their meeting is swiftly approaching depending on the events that transpire with Yomikawa during Asher's time together with her on the 21st.
As for how I pump out my chapters, I'm still trying to figure that out as I'm surprised of my own speed too lol. I tend to write out a small outline of what I believe is going to happen and also watch the episode that a chapter may be connected to for further context. I then say, "Well since I have some time, I'll write out maybe 1000-2000 words for right now." When I finally stop hours later, I realize that I end up with at least 7000-9000 words somehow *shrugs shoulders.*
One day I'll figure it out, but now I won't question it and harness the power of my unexplainable writing speed for your guy's viewing pleasure:)
LostNeko120: You're welcome! I'm glad that you liked the approach I went with for Asher's and Saten's friendship. They've grown closer over these last few chapters and I felt it was right for Asher to be in this position due to how perceptive she can be when it comes to knowing there's more to the situation than most people give her credit for in emotional situations like this one.
Sadly, I didn't have Asher go all the way in terms of finding out about magic by going with Kamijou to Komoe's house. I think it's way too early for her to fully find out about it as that would lead into her easily finding out about Kamijou's memory loss if she's that ingrained within the Index arc. She's also dealing with a lot with the Level Upper and her own personal issues like her meeting with Silas currently, so I don't want to derail too much focus from that.
Index will still appear here and there at times, though, so don't worry:)
gaidzani: Thanks! A lot of people are probably ready to see Silas within the present of the current timeline, so I'm looking forward to the reactions of the meeting with him coming up in the next few chapters as the arc comes to a close.
You're welcome! I'm happy that you and everyone else like the high frequency of my updates for this story so far:)
Ho4qin:
Chapter 25
Thank you, my fellow science nerd for this as well as being my 100th reviewer for this story! I may take time to watch where you got this insight from, but I appreciate this information and your suggestion for the bounds of Asher's abilities.
Chapter 26
Hmmmm, alright. I'll try my best to reduce the times I use "Tch" as I do tend to go overboard with it at times after looking back into some of my chapters. This is some good insight, though, if I do it during most situations, I'm usually trying to indicate when someone's wincing versus an annoyance/verbal tick. But that doesn't mean the annoyance/verbal tick doesn't happen when it comes to someone like Misaka or Asher at times during the story so again, I'll take what you said under consideration.
(I have nothing to really say on your side note as I don't want to accidentally spoil something regarding Accelerator's and Asher's dynamic when it comes to what happens within the Sisters' Arc;)
Chapter 24
I think I've stumbled on that before when looking through the wiki. I know the will of the Misaka network because of it, but in terms of her making an appearance, we will see since I don't have much knowledge of her in context since she hasn't appeared, only mentioned within Index/Railgun/Accelerator anime.
Thanks for your reviews!
-PurpleClover99
