A Certain Influx of Time Traveling Mishaps

by NeoShadows

Kamijou Touma's tale has ended. A New Magic God has risen in the future, taken over the world, and set its sights to the past for more power. Luckily, or unluckily for one unfortunate high school boy, those who have inherited Imagine Breaker's will have chased after it. When Future meets the Past, a new story is created. All to the misfortune of a certain Kamijou.

3. Walks of Life

NeoShadows here and back with the next chapter of A Certain Influx of Time Traveling Mishaps. Or ACIOTTM for short.

Apologies for the long wait. Well, not long when compared to my other stories really. Not that I'm not working on my other projects, just feel like I shouldn't upload them until I've had a few more chapters finished like this one. That way I'm not gone for a very long time again. Anyway, we're back with the next chapter that begins the original Arc leading to The Sisters Arc. Many changes will occur to effect what will happen to the story that we know because of the sudden new introduction of individuals that should not yet exist. This Arc, Zeroes War, will lead to new changes to the city among changing what is meant to be. Ah, I'm so excited to just dive on in!

First, let's dive in on the reviews.

Animan10: Yeah, I wanted to slowly reveal each future child to the readers as we went along. I know for each Arc I have certain children revealed that fit in with the plot. It'll get even more fun as they're all brought out and start interacting with the others. Dare I say that we may even see the next generation of the Delta Force at some point? Ah, right, the naming of Mikoto Hana. I-I-I'm still smacking my face for the damn mistake. Forgive me for that, I should really do better in editing my final draft. It was a mistake, make no doubt about it. By the time you read this, I will have already fixed the typo.

BlueJack22: Really? I thought I made it kinda obvious. Eh, a twist is a twist no matter the view point. I'll take it!

Fortitude501: . . .Ya say that as if it's a bad thing. I happen to like chaos.

DeoV: I'll try to upload as quickly as possible. I generally upload a new chapter after completing another until I reach the end of the Arc. Once I reach the end, chapters will come out quicker. I do have about two more chapters to go, so be a little patient and you'll get them all in no time. As for Hana's name, yeah, typo. I'll be fixing that. Ah, I also loved that quote Angela had said. Goes to show how her father effected her and her way of living. And I'll do my best to watch out for those errors and do more proof reading.

Nguyen Thanh Long: Yup, yup! All those kids were Touma's sons and daughters! I don't want to give away how many are being sent back, but you can't count 'em with two hands. Though I will be adding a few children that aren't from Touma. Need I say more as too who the others belong to? A Harem Ending! But not in the way you would expect. Not all of them are so bright and cheery. As for the white haired girl in the beginning. . .

*Author-San spit takes with laughter before falling back his seat with a roar of maniacal laughter*

Oooooooh~! What misfortune! That's all I'll say.

WilliamZ0: Yeah, I know about the family name typo. Still. Smacking. My. Self. For That! As for the changing of canon events, it's going to happen. But the essential parts to them that build character will still be there, just not in the original way they had played out. All those arcs you mentioned are already being planned out carefully. I won't spoil anything as to how things will change, so you'll have to wait and see. And there are reasons for why Hana is currently acting the way he is, that's all I'll say. As for Secretary-chan. . .I have no words.

ArmoredCoreNineBall: Busy, huh? You and me both, my friend. I'll be sure to tell you in my next PM. We'll be getting more kids in the next coming arcs, so watch out for them. Now we head into a new chapter full of action, suspense, and thrill! And I know, I messed up with Hana's name. I bring shame to my corner of the site. SHAME!

Thewooki1: The story that lead to Touma's future life. . .is. . .is one that would take some time to tell. And what a story. Let's just say. . .nothing ever has a truly happy ending, especially for one who is basked in eternal misfortune. Of course some of the children will understand that situation that lead to them having so many other half siblings, but others won't be as happy. Hana is a unique case at the moment. You'll see why as the arc unfolds along with the next one to come. Oh, you're going to love the Sisters once we reach them.

And there we are for reviews. I got more to say at the end, so let's make our way there as we enjoy the chapter! Get to scrolling!

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Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to A Certain Magical Index. All rights are reserved by Kazuma Kamachi. Poor Kamijou, constantly on a budget and feeding bottomless pits. I am the same. Constantly on a budget and feeding mouths who demand more. At least the lucky bastards deals with a cute nun! The fuck is my cute nun!?

. . .Why are there red and blue lights outside my window? Oh sweet Jesus! Not again, not in this sect! God damn Chris Hanseen wannabees! I meant a cute older nun, not an underage loli! I swear this tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiime!

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Chapter 3: Walks of Life.

Kamijou's_Law.

How long had it been? When was the last time Angela could recall waking up in bed with her mother close to her, snuggling her for warmth, stroking her hair softly while mumbling nonsense involving mountains of delicious food? Far too long for the ebony time traveler's liking. It was funny when she thought about it, how she had taken something so simple for granted in her original timeline. She had never thought much of those times until they were gone. After all, she wasn't a little girl anymore. Those time were behind her.

Gone in a hellfire of brimstone and the silhouette of a Magic God's wave of a hand.

The images of hell on earth were buried back into the deep corners of Angela's mind as she nuzzled back into Index's arms. The ebony nun giggled at the position they were in. Even though she was older than the silver haired nun by two years, she was still snuggled up against the smaller girl. Index didn't protest the first night, finding it cute and comforting with a bed buddy next to her. It would have been better if Touma had relented and joined along to sleep with the two nuns in bed, but he kept protesting furiously with a deep blush on his face. He kept going on about messing with the delicate emotions of a healthy teenage high school boy. Going on the third day since she fell into the past, Index still didn't say anything about the strange arrangement they had. She only continued to hug her unknown future daughter closer in her sleep with a content sigh like Angela was some treasured stuffed bear.

After being apart from her mother for so long, all Angela wanted to do was continue this morning routine. She deserved this much. It had been almost a week since she had last seen her mother in her original form, so she was perfectly content with cuddling her mother's younger self. But nature was a calling. With a disgruntled grumble, she peeled off Index's arms and stepped off to head to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her with a soft click. She rubbed the sandman's crust from her eyes with a yawn and answered the call. With that over with, she flushed and sleepily moved to wash up at the bathroom sink, her mind wandering to her current situation.

It had been four days since Angela had arrived to Academy City. Not the Academy City she had briefly known of in thanks to her visits alongside her mother to visit some friends. Nor was it the Academy City that had been reduced to a massive gaping hole in the ground due to a Magic God of senseless destruction. No, it was Academy City, twenty years in the past, about sixteen years before she was even born. Through unimaginable means that still confounded her and went against both physics and magic, Angela had traveled to the past alongside a few other of her. . .siblings.

You know, the whole time traveling thing had thrown her for a loop, there was no denying that. But what truly still stuck out to her was the fact that she had been an only child once. Her mother and father never mentioned the little important mind blowing fact that she had brothers and sisters. And that they did not share the same mother. And that her father was unfaithful, even though said father wasn't married to her mother. All of which left her with more siblings than she could count on both hands! In the words of her newly christened older brother, Kaen. . .her father was a manwhore. Coming from a nun, that said something.

Through an ancient spell created by several Magic Gods that were long forgotten, the BREAKERS had hijacked the spell The God of Ruin had re-created from his control of the Phases. It had been tricky to trap the the Magic God and it was only in thanks to the vast knowledge of her mother's grimoires alongside a few other of the parents of her siblings that they had stopped the god from going through with his plans with the past. Somehow without the help of their hero who had passed away, they had created a miracle. And through that miracle they had gone to the past to save their future from being ruined by the hands of a monster.

Now Angela walked the same streets both her mother and father had once walked alongside each other in their younger days. As did her brothers and sisters. There only came one problem. Well, two.

Angela had no idea where any of her new brothers and sisters were. The spell that had sent them back was completely unknown to her. Her mother had gone into short detail using the vast library of forbidden texts in her head, the most important of the spell being that it was impossible for the older generation to enter. If two of the same people were to exist in the same timeline, paradoxes would arise and completely destroy both past and future. The younger generation would be safe without any threat to the timeline, seeing as they didn't exist in the past. Though while the spell would send them back, it wasn't exactly accurate as to where they would land. They sadly didn't have much time to discuss the finer details of the spell since they had to jump the Magic God right in the middle of Index's explanation. For all Angela knew, a few of her siblings could be across the globe due to their connection with their mother's playing a role with their drop off.

Just how far did her father's unfaithful ways reach?

The second, and probably the most important of the matters, was just how the BREAKERS would stop the Magic God from his plans. No one knew the true identity of the god, all that they knew was the person was once human and would reach the title of Magic God in the future. The plan to take down the God of Ruin laid in the great minds of two of her siblings, but they hadn't been able to say anything on how, saving discussion on their strategy for when they all met up in the past. Again, she had no idea where either one could be.

Angela sighed as she turned off the running water and dried her face with a blue wash cloth. Unlike her mother, she wasn't a strategist. Her mother was a woman of vast and almost infinite knowledge of both magic, and after years of residing in Academy city, science. It was said she could perform calculations that could match a certain white haired Esper who could perform the calculations of god. The silver haired nun who would one day become the Archbishop of the English Puritan Church was cunning, intelligent, witty, and sharp of mind. The ebony nun suddenly giggled when she compared her mother of the future with the current Index. It was funny to think that the cute, adorable silver girl would one day turn into a terrifying strategist.

Well, there was one plan a few of them had in mind. And it involved their father.

Kamijou Touma was known as many things, gaining numerous title from his exploits that have yet to come. The Breaker, The Unofficial Scorer, The Wandering Savior, The Dragon King, Antithesis, The Great Exorcist, Enemy of God, The One Above Fate. And his most famous of all title, He Who Purifies God and Slays Demons. In all the corners of the world, you would hear rumors of some random man who came in swinging his tightly clenched fist in times of dire need to protect whoever stood behind his broad back. The man was a complete stranger, knowing little to nothing about the situation he found himself butting into or the language of the land. All that mattered to that man was that whoever he was protecting was crying, pleading for someone, anyone, to save them. Kamijou Touma was that someone, seeming to find himself always at the face of trouble and disasters. Just so he could protect those in need.

Said man was strong, undoubtedly so. Years and years of countless battles with unique and dangerous enemies had gained him many skills and tricks to combat against the vast tiers of strength in both Magic and Science. It was said that Touma had gained a perfected form of Precognition. Not through a blessing of god or through scientific means, but naturally from all the battles he had found himself in. It was so fined tuned, he could avoid a sniper's bullet from miles away without even noticing the shot was ever fired. Along with eventually learning how to properly fight from various forms of martial arts, he had also learned to unlock the Imagine Breaker's full potential. And even control some unseen force that made those how could see its image pale with primal fear.

It was no wonder her father had been renowned as the strongest human on the planet by several godly powerful forces.

But that was the Kamijou Touma of the future. At the moment, her father was nothing more than a high school boy who came off more as a delinquent than a hero. So, the idea was that their young father could be built up, he could become even stronger than what he had been in their time. With more experience, he could even defeat the Magic God who had finally brought him down when others had failed. If their father had been just a little bit stronger, than he would have surely won! That was the belief of many like her. There was no doubt!

Touma was their father after all. He had to be the strongest.

At the thought of her father, Angela couldn't help but smile giddily. It had been a year since she had last seen her father in person. They had only talked over letters and phone calls with gifts being sent over to her on holidays and her birthday. Touma was a wanderer, spending his life on the road, saving others on different lands out of the goodness of his heart. He did not get paid for his exploits, nor did he ever demand to be repaid for even saving the world every once in a while. All he asked for was for the people he had saved to continue to smile. Angela never understood the details of why, but her father refused to remain in one place. When she had asked about it once, all she had gained was a strained grin and single puzzling answer.

'Because I owe it to them, for all the smiles I selfishly threw away.'

Angela would have loved nothing more in the world than for her father to remain rooted next to her mother, to stay home and watch over her with a goofy smile on his face, and to parade her around the others as his faithful little nun. But her father was a hero, a hero to the world, to all those lost without anyone to protect them from the darkness of the world. As much as she wanted for her father to give up his heroic vagabond ways, she didn't have the heart to sacrifice the smiles of others for her own selfish wishes.

The smile on her face only continued to grow wider. But in this time, her father wasn't the hero of the entire world. He was just a teenager with no responsibilities! For once, she could enjoy her time with her father with no worries of him leaving for more than a year. The time she had lost was returned. And she would make sure to cherish every moment with her father.

"ANGELA-SAN!?"

Angela blinked, face spinning around for the rather loud shriek close by. Tilting her head, she found her father, Kamijou Touma, face beet read, staring at her with a stammering jaw. She giggled at the boy's funny expression.

"Good morning, Kamijou-san!"

"DON'T ACT SO CASUAL AFTER USING THE BATHROOM WITH A BOY SLEEPING ONLY A FEW SPACES AWAY! AND PUT SOME SHORTS ON!"

Touma had woken up to an odd sound in the morning. The sound of tinkling water that had roused him from his sleep to find his newest roommate leaning over the bathroom sink to wash her face. It was bad enough that the dark haired nun was using the bathroom while he was sleeping in the bathtub, but it was even worse at the view that greeted him. Unlike Index, Angela slept without her habit or pajamas, instead going to sleep in one of his shirt's instead. And that was all. Angela's simple white pantie rear stared back at him as the nun unknowingly flashed him.

"DAMN IT, THIS IS THE SECOND TIME!" Touma shouted in annoyance as he stood up from the tub.

Second, not the first! Touma would have understood the mishap happening yesterday with it being the first time he had gone to sleep in his tub since the Ars Magna incident. The older nun probably forgot that Touma slept in the tub to allow the three girls to sleep in his bed. Although Himegami no longer slept over since Komoe-Sensie took the miko girl to temporarily live with her. Still, after the lecture he had given the girl the first time this happened, he would have thought she would know better!

Angela seemed oblivious to the situation, only tapping her lip cutely.

"I apologize, Kamijou-san. Seems I forgot!"

"HOW COULD YOU FORGET?!" Touma shouted as he took a single step. He suddenly flinched, his foot seeming to step onto something before his entire world seemed to flip.

Angela watched in awe as her father slipped on a bar of soap that conveniently found itself in his way and caused him to slip. She winced when her father fell back into the tub, most likely hitting the back of his head on the tub's faucet. It had been a long time since she had last seen her father's terrible luck first hand. Knowing it was the famous Kamijou Touma brand of misfortune it didn't end there. Somehow the force of Touma's head bashing into the faucet caused it to break off. A torrent of cold water poured out onto the groaning high school boy, drowning him in alarmed gurgles. Funny as it was, Angela moved quickly to help her father out of the gush of water. Her poor father was soaked to the bone, lightly shivering from the frigid water that he had been drowning in. He was going to catch a cold like this. Without a second thought, she slipped the large shirt off her body and began to pull off Touma's wet shirt.

"W-Wait! What a-are you doing, Angela-san!?"

A normal person would have been upset after tripping on a bar of soap, let alone breaking their bathtub's faucet with their own skull. By now they should have been swearing a rivers worth of curses while clutching onto the large lump growing on their head. And if you were a pervert, you would have been ecstatic with a bloody nose that a shirtless nun was forcefully taking your shirt off. The sight of slightly tanned skin dripping with water down the a girl's almost nude slim body was an instant KO. But not Touma. All the boy could utter as he fought to take his shirt back from the giggling girl in now soaked underwear, and the door to the bathroom opening to reveal an aghast and now angry Index, was a simple two words.

"Such misfortune."

To Angela's discovery, her father's exaggerated stories of her mother's old habit of biting his head like some small dog weren't as far fetch as she believed.

---

It was a with tired sigh that Touma ended his conversation with the dorm manager over his cellphone. Not having the energy to go on anymore, he let his forehead met the surface of the dining table with a loud thud. The delicious aroma the breakfast made up of three pancakes, some scramble eggs, an english muffin and a sausage patty that would make anyone's mouth water wouldn't be of any help to rise his spirits. It only sunk him further into his seat.

"Index! You shouldn't be pouring such copious amounts of syrup on everything! Your ruining the flavor! Think of the cavities!"

"Aww, don't be such a food prude, Angela! I'm only making it sweeter!"

"Such a thing as pouring a gallon of syrup on eggs is a sin against God! It's pure gluttony!"

"Eh!? How could something so sweet be a sin!? Is this another test of my faith!? I-I don't think I'm strong enough to prove myself! I'm just a nun in training! This is advance level stuff!"

'The syrup be better complimentary! I've already had to spend over 3,000 yen for breakfast, I'm not spending anymore on syrup of all things!' Touma thought in frustration. If it was free, than it was free! No matter if they did drain them of all their pancake syrup. Or reserves in the back.

Once Touma was done clearing up the misunderstanding between himself and Angela to a chomp happy Index, the low income high school boy had no other choice but to take the two girls out for breakfast. With the water from the bathroom leaking out into the room, Touma had to make a request for repairs before the entire floor of the dorm building was flooded. Which also meant he couldn't make breakfast since he had to leave for inspection of the damage. Also to make sure that the dorm manager didn't see the two girls he was hiding in his dorm or the small calico cat. He could already hear Index's stomach snapping at him in hunger once they made it to the streets. Which brought them here after dropping off Sphinx with their neighbors.

Joseph's Coffee and Restaurant. A nice little cafe that served breakfast, lunch, and dinner through out the entire day after western cuisine. Seeing as it was the first restaurant to catch his eye, he decided to stop in to treat his dorm mates for breakfast while they waited for the faucet to be repaired. From what he was told, it wouldn't take more than a few hours to fix the damage good as new. And while he was strapped for cash right now, he did have just enough to go out for breakfast.

And only breakfast. Touma wasn't going to end up broke again after Angela's wasteful spending. Or charity work. At least this little outing would help him to get know more about his newest dorm mate.

Angela, a nun from the English Puritan Church of England, member of Necessarius, and caretaker of Index alongside Touma. For some reason, Touma had a knack for picking up freeloaders. First Index, than Sphinx, than Himegami, and now Angela. With his expenses he was sure he'd be living on the streets, begging for change to feed his freeloaders. Yes, it was true he didn't have to pay for board, but with another person to hide in his room, he was sure that what little fortune he had that allowed him to keep them hidden would run out and he would be kicked out. Or would it be more unfortunate for him to continue hiding his stowaways and struggle through feeding three mouths while constantly filled with anxiety that he would be caught at any moment?

He was leaning more towards the second.

Where was he again? Oh, right, the addition of his new roommate, Angela. Peeking up at said dark haired nun trying to dissuade Index from drowning her breakfast platter with another bottle of syrup, he found himself strangely drawn to the girl. It was odd. For some reason, he felt. . .something whenever he found his eyes glancing at her. An odd emotion he couldn't for the life of him describe accurately. Kinda like de ja vu. Like some part of the old Kamijou's soul was tethered to her. Could it be possible that he actually knew her? Touma did lose the memories of what made up the previous Kamijou Touma, leaving behind the current blank slate that was himself. An entire sixteen years gone when he woke up to a hospital bed.

It was entirely be possible that he had forgotten about several important people in his life. The first week of his life as Kamijou Touma, he had discovered his parents names! If they didn't send him an allowance, he would have never even known that he had parents at all. So much had been lost that summer day. And he still wasn't sure of what he had lost. Family, friends, dare he even say? A girlfriend!?

A hollow laugh escaped Touma's lips as a dark cloud fell over him. As if he would ever be so fortunate to have found a girl who would consider being his girlfriend with his misfortune.

A certain star eyed, honey blond girl suddenly blinked as the remote in her hand was broken in frustration. She wasn't sure why, but she was incredibly annoyed.

But it seemed that Angela wasn't someone from Touma's forgotten past. If she had been, she would have acted familiar with him, made references about things he no longer recalled, and joked about his usual string of bad luck that always reared its head. She never even mentioned that she knew of him other than what she heard from her superiors at the English Puritan Church. He was just Kamijou Touma, retainer of the Index of 103,000 Forbidden Books. No relation whatsoever.

Knowing that, he still couldn't find the reason why she seemed so at ease with him. A normal girl would be blushing at the fact that they would be living with a boy in a one room dorm, especially a nun. Not to mention the few incidents like this morning that would make any girl slap him him because he was some kind of pervert. Angela didn't seem to mind. Unlike Index, she didn't bite him or harm him for some silly misunderstanding. It was almost as if she was familiar with his brand of misfortune.

Despite being strangers that had only known each other for a few days, she was already acting like she had been friends with him since childhood.

"Kamijou-san, stop your sulking. If you don't finish your meal, than Index is going to be begging to finish it for you! And your still a growing young man who needs all his energy!"

With his eyes now following Angela's wagging finger, Touma grumbled under his breath at the lecturing tone.

"This poor Kamijou isn't sure he has the strength to eat anymore. Knowing my luck, the first bite will end with me choking, flailing my arms around in panic, knocking out the plates from a waitress's hands as she passes by, which would soak her see through uniform, catching my eye, labeling me as a pervert, and end with a slap to the face and another bill to pay above our breakfast." Touma said sourly, "Plus tip."

"Do you truly believe that?" Angela said unsure.

"This would be the third time this month." Technically in the past two weeks since he had only been Kamijou Touma for that long. He was sure though he still wouldn't be wrong.

"Does that mean I can eat-"

"Index, no. I know you have a large appetite, but Kamijou-san has to eat too! How else will he grow up big and strong to defeat a demon god!"

Touma quirked a brow at the huffing older nun who now sported an embarrassed blush, "Defeat a demon god? Heh, and I thought Index had a wild imagination. Don't tell me that you've been watching that magical girl anime with her too." he chuckled dryly.

Angela looked away, not wanting them to see her embarrassment.

"Still, you should eat your breakfast. You need all your strength." she said softly.

Touma frowned, finding Angela's tone of voice vulnerable. From what he had learned of the more mature nun, she was a very caring person. Always looking out for the good of others. If there was any way she could make things better for anyone, be they friend or stranger, she would go out of her way to help them. Even a guy as miserable as Touma was someone she only wanted to help. The girl was a saint.

Sucking up his grumbling and talks of misfortune, Touma sat back up. He picked up his fork and went to eating his breakfast without anymore complaints, much to Angela's pleasure. She beamed, joining in with finishing her own plate of pancakes alongside her fellow nun and new friend.

'Angela-san really is caring. Guess I shouldn't think too much of it. I should count the scrap of luck I got that I have someone as kind as her helping me take care of Index.' Touma thought as he decided to enjoy his meal.

If he remembered right, classes would start up again soon. Even with Sphinx distracting Index at home, she could still go stir crazy as he went to his remedial classes. Having Angela around the dorm would help keep Index from going crazy from loneliness. He was worried about the little silver haired sister finally growing fed up with sitting in the dorm and decide to wander off into the big city of science. The last thing he wanted to see when staring off the window of his class was a nun being chased by a small army of cleaning robots. With Angela around, he would have one less thing to worry about. Finally some good fortune!

'. . .Which means I'm due for something going horribly wrong any moment now. That's just how this unlucky Kamijou's fortune goes.' The buttermilk pancakes were delicious, but that didn't stop Touma's face from grimacing.

Touma had come to understand the unlucky star he had been born under. Since the day he had woken up in a certain hospital with no memories, a nun with knowledge of over more than a thousand forbidden texts and a bottomless stomach, and a right arm that could nullify the supernatural, he had been slowly learning to adapt to his new life. No matter what he did during the day, he had come to expect some unfortunate outcome. Take what happened a few days ago. At first it had been a normal day with Index, walking the streets of Academy City to their leisure until he met up with a close friend he could no longer remember. That little meeting of friends had lead into going out for food, leaving him to pay for his no good blue haired friend and than meeting a girl dressed as some shrine maiden who had been stuffing herself silly with hamburgers.

Misfortune dictated that something would go wrong. And it did. Which was why he wound up fighting an alchemist who planned on turning Index into a vampire of all things. Said alchemist could also make anything he believed into reality with nothing but words. Also Touma had his right arm severed. And an invisible dragon flew out of his bloody socket that was his arm.

'What was it that Aogami called it? Murphy's Law? Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. At this point I think they should change it to Touma's Law.' Mid chew, said law decided to strike. In Touma's chewing, one of his back teeth had found itself digging into the back of his tongue by accident. A slip of the tooth you could say. Once his back tooth pierced the soft fleshy buds of his tongue, Touma let out a cry of pain. The action caused the food he had been chewing to fall back into his throat, lodging itself there like a roadblock to the stomach.

Both Angela and Index bore witness to the malicious law that was Touma's Law. A law that dictated that if something could go wrong, it will always go wrong. And if it can't go wrong, it will always go wrong.

'Is papa a seer?' Is what Angela thought as she watched Touma flail his arms around in panic as he choked. The scene was playing out close to what her future father had described. In Touma's flailing, a he struck the tray of a passing waitress on her way to a waiting table, slapping the jug of water out of the tray to fly overhead in an arc. The jug miraculously held all of its contents without spilling a drop in its flight past the unlucky high school boy and waitress. Gravity demanded that it would fall and it did a second later, drenching the occupant of the booth right behind Touma's group.

"ACK! MY CAN OF SARDINES!"

The first thing to hit Touma was a thought.

'Can of sardines? Who eats canned food in a restaurant!?'

The second was a crawling tingle of dread. He could hear the drenched patron stand up from their seat, still no doubt dripping with water, and make a turn around the booths to glare at the now bowing and apologizing waitress beside him. While Touma may have been the cause for the accident, it was still the waitresses responsibility to accept the consequences. His face scrunched up in shame while the soaking patron began going on a tirade.

"Basically, are you prepared to pay the consequences of ruining my only day off!? Not only did you ruin my breakfast, and my shirt, but you also spilled water all over my little sister's pancakes, you fucking idiot!"

God damn guilt! Why couldn't this poor simple Kamijou just enjoy a simple breakfast?! Was it really too much to ask?

Since it was his fault, Touma quickly got out on his feet to stand in the way of the angry guest shouting at the nervous and scared cute waitress. His hands were already clapped together in apology as he bowed deeply.

"I'm sorry, but please don't blame the waitress! It's my fault that she dropped the water all over your booth. If you're going to blame someone, than blame me!"

"Oh? Okay than."

Touma should have expected it. But he was still surprised by the open hand slap to his face that sent him falling back with a shout. The waitress had already run off, most likely went to the back of the restaurant to hide from the angry guest that had just knocked down the spiky haired boy. Which left Touma laying back on the tiled floor with a groan as a long shadow descended onto him. Flinching from the pain, he looked up and blanched at the sight of a slender leg raised up high to descend upon him for a devastating heel drop to the face.

With his string of bad luck, Touma should have known better. And yet he found himself blurting out the first thing to come to mind in his current predicament.

"Pantyhose? Really?"

As a healthy teenager, he was disappointed. Disappointment though quickly turned into panic.

"In the end, you're basically dead!"

Moving quickly, Touma rolled out of the way of the heel drop that loudly crashed onto the space his head would have been. Even if he was only an amnesiac with almost a month's worth of memories in his head, he knew better than to stick around another second. Nothing but death flags would await him another second more.

"Index, Angela, I think it's time we left!"

Back already turned to his attacker, Touma ran straight for the door of the nice little restaurant as if it was the holy light at the end of a dark and terrifying tunnel. Something flew by his head. It was only as he reached for the door handle did he notice a fork embedded deeply into the frame. And that a few locks of his hair had been chopped off. His ear twitched, catching the sound of several objects cutting the air on a hot pursuit of their target.

"SUCH MISFORTUNE!"

At the heels of his feet, Index and Angela followed behind the run away bad luck charm. The two nuns didn't question Touma's choice of action. Both seemed to understand that if he had the option of running away, he would take it in a heartbeat. And even though their breakfast was cut short, Index had taken the opportunity to scoop the last of Touma's breakfast into her mouth and ran out with a wide happy smile on her bulging cheeks.

Angela couldn't help but sigh on the way out. Something told her this was going to be a recurring scene in the future.

As the twin doors of the diner that now sported several cutlery utensils stabbing into the doors, the still furious and soaked guest found her eyes glaring past the door. Already she was ingraining the face of the bastard who was responsible for making her wet. But to her further anger she found his face rather plain with nothing overly eye catching other than his head of dark spiky hair.

"Essentially, you look like you're going to murder someone, Onee-chan."

Soaking wet, humiliated as now all the eyes of the patrons found themselves on her, and even worse her own little Fremea bearing witness to her in such a state, one Frenda Seivulun didn't deny her little sister's observation. A dark grin grew on her face as her left hand twitched and tickled the concealed missile heads underneath her pleated skirt. She flipped back her blonde locks with a growing sinister shine in her blue eyes that terrified all the patrons gazing at the scene in curiosity.

In the end, she would make that dull faced idiot pay. Oh, she would make sure of that the next time she caught his eye.

---

In Between The Lines-1.

"Are you positive you have the information correct? May I remind you that we've only a small window of opportunity of finding the target. Chances like this do not come very often, especially with the pay off being so high."

In the decayed, worn out, and slowly falling part alley in the heart of District 10, a lone teenager could be seen leaning back against the wall of the alley. Her face was fair, not a blemish other than a beauty mark on her chin, pale blond hair that twirled at the ends and fell down to her shoulders. The teen girl in question stood out when one thought of the area that she currently resided in. Dressed in a high quality white blouse with a blue bow tie collar, blue and yellow pleated skirt that just barely reached her knees, blue stockings and sneakers, she seemed to be an unfortunate girl who had accidentally wandered into the dangerous waters of District 10. After all it was this district that was highly renown for being the home of the worthless yet dangerous band of delinquents known as Skill-Out. Home to thugs and criminals with no real power despite taking the Power Curriculum Program that birthed Espers to the world, it was common knowledge to anyone who lived in the city to steer clear of the district. Not even Anti-Skill bothered to patrol its streets.

A girl like her wandering the seedy streets was a perfect target for assault. Even if she was an Esper, those who resided in the district never traveled alone, choosing to stick together in large groups to overwhelm their targets with numbers. A simple Esper would fall prey to the snarling dogs that preyed on them for their gifts.

But the girl was not a simple Esper. In fact, she wasn't even a lowly Level 1. She was a Level 0 with no ability to speak of. Just like the many thugs who laid around her with bullet holes piercing their backs in a pool of their own blood.

One of the bodies groaned, catching the pale blond girl's attention. A skinhead thug rose his head up, his breath labored as blood ran down his chin in streaks. The thug glared hatefully at the girl and moved his mouth to speak.

"Y-You fucking b-b-bitch! Don't you know w-who's t-territory you've crossed!?" Even with all the bullets he had taken, the thug powered through as he spat at the surprised girl. He grinned, showing off his blood stained teeth, "Crossing us on our own home turf i-is declaring war! The boss won't take this laying down! He'll hunt you down and make y-"

BANG!

The loud bang silenced the thug's threat courtesy of a single bullet piercing his forehead. Blood, brain matter, and bits of bone flew out of the hole of the back of his head as he fell to join his fellow thugs in a pile of hole riddled grunts.

The pale blond girl didn't spare the now dead thug a glance, her attention focused solely on the burner phone on hand. The gun in her right hand, a Mark XIX Desert Eagle tapped lightly against her thigh as she continued her conversation over the phone.

"Is that so?To think that they hid such a thing in District 10 of all places. I would have never thought that such a weapon was concealed here of all places. It is a smart idea, I suppose. No one would think twice to check. Especially in some nuclear facility."

The pale blond girl hummed as the person on the other end responded. Her eyes grew narrow. She stopped tapping her gun.

". . .No, it doesn't matter in the end. That kind of outcome is exactly what we need if we want to go on undetected, so we'll still continue as discussed. The unnatural storm from a few days ago was a blessing in disguise. It allowed us the only chance to go through with finally showing those bastards up top what a bunch of lowly little zeroes are capable of when they decide to give themselves some value. And to do that, we just need a single key code."

Stepping off of the blood stained alleyway, the pale blond girl walked out into the streets of District 10 with a bright smile on her face. Her light green eyes were not so bright, holding nothing but contempt as she resumed her stroll on gang territory without a show of fear.

"Today is going to be a historical moment for Academy City. By the time it's all over, not even those high and mighty Level 5's will be able to look away from the mark that lowly Level 0's left on the city. And than everyone will come to understand just what those they've abandoned are truly capable of."

---

Touma hadn't expected much once they had left the diner a good hour ago. If anything, he had come to expect the soaked blonde haired girl to chase after him like a bull. Which would eventually lead to some random series of events that would leave him fighting against some thugs and another trip to the hospital. Misfortune dictated it so, and he was coming to understand that about his life. But what actually had come to happen was much different.

"District 13? Why would you want to go all the way over there?" Touma asked slowly as he tried to understand the request Angela had asked of him.

Currently, the unfortunate high school boy and two nuns were riding the tram train to the district in question. It was actually Touma's idea to take the tram to escape the wrath of the soaked girl, hoping to lose her before she got on. He hadn't really paid much attention to where the tram was going when they got on and just hoped it would take him as far away from the girl as possible. It was only when he looked around the mostly empty train and read the message above on the message board that he learned where the train would be stopping. It was on a path to District 13 which wouldn't take them long to get to on a regular city train.

But the one they had gotten on took a much longer route. A route that would take them through District 10.

District 10. Touma didn't know too much about the district, or of any of the other Districts since he lost his memories, but he wasn't completely stupid. He had heard the whispers and warnings of the rather infamous sector of Academy City. District 10 was known for being one of the most run down parts of the city despite being part of the most technological advance cities of the world. It was home to nuclear facilities, unethical experimental sites, and even the graveyard tower. It was also home to the organization of Level 0's who fought for their rights, Skill-Out.

In other words, gang territory.

In his past life before the destruction of the neurons in his brain responsible for his memories, Touma felt like he had dealt with their kind before. Just last week on his way back from picking up groceries, he had ran into a few punks harassing some girl, spouting stuff about levels and being underprivileged. He hadn't paid much of what they were saying any mind, choosing instead to butt in and save the girl from being harmed. Such heroics of course lead to being chased around the city by the thugs and their friends who had been hiding in the shadows. An hour later and he came home with a few bruises, covered in dirt and sweat, and lost whatever discount meat he had found on sale. Index hadn't been happy and immediately flew onto his head with every intent to munch down with a very painful bite to make up for the lost meal.

Knowing how the word of mouth from complete strangers wasn't exactly accurate, Touma couldn't judge the district since he had never been there. Maybe there were a few bad eggs in the case. But that didn't mean the entire case was bad. As a frugal man, Touma couldn't just turn a blind eye to the case, not when he could still find a few good ones to make something as simple as toast with egg. And besides, it wasn't like they would be staying too long there anyways. All they would do is wait for the next tram to arrive to take them to District 13.

The question again was why?

Unlike Touma who chose to stand and hold onto the railing of the train car, Angela and Index sat down next to another. Index sat back, patting her full stomach contently with a pleased grin on her face. Angela though had her eyes transfixed onto the passing scenery, glued to everything that passed her eye. Just like Index, she probably hadn't seen just how advance the city was and was in awe of it all.

"To visit the Child Errors of course! As a follower of god, it is my duty to help the needy and unfortunate. Especially the orphans who find themselves without anyone to watch over them." Angela said obviously without taking her eyes off the window.

Touma frowned in confusion, "Child Errors? I think I've heard of those before, right? Sounds familiar." Again, his memory loss was being a pain in the ass. He was pretty sure he would have known about the term since Angela, who was new to the city and knew nothing of how things worked, knew about it.

He was slacking. He should really take some time to learn more of the city he had lived in for who knows how long. Slips like that would definitely catch the eye of those who know of him and talked to him regularly. Like Aogami and Tsuchimikado.

Perking up suddenly, Index thankfully asked the question Touma was afraid to ask.

"What are Child Errors?"

Taking her eyes off the passing scenes, Angela began to explain with a lecturing tone to her future mother and father.

"Child Errors are children who were either abandoned in Academy City by their parents over seas, or children born within the city and abandoned. For reasons, these orphans were left all alone in the city and marked as Child Errors, desertions with no one to look after them. It's an unfortunate problem that happens every once in a while since those who have been abandoned are unable to leave the city once they've begun the Power Curriculum Program in fear of a country taking them to unravel the secrets to Espers." Hands falling on her lap, Angela appeared sad as she spoke of the Child Errors.

In the future, Child Errors weren't a problem anymore. Not since Academy City had risen once again after the events of a calamity spurn by a great and powerful demon and opened its border to the entire world. Orphans were still a thing, as they were in all cities, but they were no longer donned as errors. In fact the famous orphanage Asunaro Park had grown larger to benefit those poor children left abandoned in the city.

Things were much better. In the future that is. In the present though things couldn't be said the same. Like a few of her other siblings, she had studied a bit on the old state of Academy City. She had learned much and prepared herself for the journey in the past. And while it was true they were not to make any impacting changes to the past, and were only there to help their father and stop the god of ruin, that didn't mean she would just abandon her teachings as a daughter of god. She had a job to do after all. To help those unfortunate and down on their luck in this blessed world.

Touma found his hand gripping the railing tightly, to the point he was sure he almost dented the steel. That was just. . .wrong. How could someone in their right mind just abandon their child in a city on another country? How could anyone even call themselves a parent if they didn't care about their own kid to the point they would leave them stranded in a city with no money, no family, and no home? To think such people existed. Even worse was the term the city had come up for those poor kids. Child Errors? As if their was something wrong with them, labeling them as mistakes.

How could anyone be so cruel?

"District 13 houses kindergarten and elementary school facilities as well as children hospitals. Along with education, it's also known for its orphanages that take in those poor Child Errors. Asunaro Park is its most well known facility and does its best to take care of the orphans. It's actually where I want to stop at!" Angela remarked much more brightly as she clapped her hands together, "As a nun of the church of our lord and savior, it is my duty to aide those poor cast away lambs! And I've heard that Asunaro Park welcomes volunteers to help, even if it's something as small as playing with the children! And just the very thought of all those poor, cute and adorable children makes me want to just scoop them all up and hug them!" she gushed as she swayed in her seat. A prominent blush could be seen painted her face that rose a brow out of Touma.

'Please don't tell me she's one of those girls.' The last thing he needed was a shotacon in his dorm.

"So, you want to volunteer your time for a good cause? I guess that makes sense." Touma said as he stroked his chin, "You are a nun, so of course you would want to help the less fortunate. Even if it is in a city as godless as Academy City. I actually think is rather admirable of you. Not many others would sadly take the time to help others for no gain to themselves."

While Angela was a freeloader like Index, at least she wanted to do some good for others. Even if this wasn't her home, she just wanted to lend a hand to the needy. His eyes did narrow and turned over to Index.

"Why can't you be more like Angela-chan? You see this!?" he shouted as he pointed his finger at the surprised raven haired nun, "This is what a proper nun should act like! Stop and take a moment from gorging yourself on every food in sight, and take a lesson! What you see before you is a true and honest to god nun! Not some freeloader who lazes about like a damn cat!" he ranted.

Index gasped indignantly before her face grew a familiar warning frown. Already he could see her mouth opening and the deadly glint of gnawing teeth.

"Toooouuuummmaaa!"

Touma flinched back in fear. Damn, there he want running his mouth again.

"N-Now Index, there's no need to harm Kamijou-san! He simply means to say that you still have much to learn as a nun is all. And this would be a great start towards your training. That is why I'm here after all, to train you in the proper ways and manners of a nun!" Angela quickly defended Touma as she waved her hands around cautiously.

Index pouted stubbornly. True, while she was a nun in training, she did know very little on how to properly act like one. The most she knew was the knowledge of nun etiquette. But not the application. It was the same as reading a cook book in theory. Yes, she would perfectly memorize all that she read on the page such a cooking time, temperature setting, and ingredients. Actually putting all that she knew to work though was another matter. Knowing and doing were two different things.

Sighing, Index dejectedly sat back down. It was a habit at this point to bite her idiot. And it just felt weird to not bit him at this point. She kinda felt cheated.

"I guess it would be a good idea. This city does lack the love of god and his people. And it would be a great idea to spread his word too! Maybe we can even convert a few of them to Christianity!" Index said brightly, earning an eager nod from Angela.

"Yes! Those poor lambs are just waiting for someone to turn them towards god's light! I even have a bible with me that we can read to those adorable little lambs!"

Touma's eyes twitched as he watched the two nuns begin planning on converting the innocent orphans to their religion. Oh, this had to stop. Now.

"No! Stop it right now, okay! You are not going to try and convert a bunch of kids! I forbid it!"

"But Touma!" The two nuns whined as they found their plans halted by a heathen.

"Don't 'Touma!' me! This is the last place to go preaching about religion!" And the last thing he needed was an angry mob coming after him for trying to stuff religion down their throats.

"But those poor clueless, defenseless, adorable, and huggable lambs!"

"Stop right there! Just that expression on your face is enough to make me want to turn us around and go back home! I don't think it's a good idea to even let you around kids! We don't need Anti-Skill putting you on a list!"

"Oh?" Angela blinked, tilting her head to the side innocently, "What list? I mean no harm to those kids, at least not in the way you're thinking. I am a virtuous nun after all!" she huffed as she crossed her arms in offense, "I love children, that is true, but I can keep myself in check! Even if I do tend to go overboard with my hugs. And dote over them excessively. And have tried to take a few back home to raise as my own without the consent of the orphanage. And I may have a tendency to gush over them and step into their personal space to nuzzle them like puppies. But who doesn't?"

Right, this nun had a problem. She wasn't a shotacon, at least he hoped that was true, but she was a sucker for children. Possibly for anything remotely cute. He would only have to worry about her sneaking a lost child into their dorm to raise instead of a stray cat. Which was of course worse.

Angela couldn't help but giggle with a bright, radiant smile on her face as she watched her father scratch the back of his head in irritation. This was what she had missed. Spending time with both her mother and father without the fate of the world over their shoulders. Well, at least for the moment. It wouldn't be long until things started to get hectic in Academy City. Right now though was the calm before the storm and she was going to enjoy it to the fullest.

In the back of her mind, she did feel a bit guilty. Like her, many of her siblings wanted nothing more than to spend time with their father. Some had the misfortune of not even knowing him personally due to reasons. Others were a lot more complicated. And a few of them should never, under any circumstances to their father's innocence, be allowed to spend any amount of time with him alone. Ever.

She was positive though that they would all get their chances to met him and make up for lost time. If only she knew where they were.

In the meantime, she would content herself with having her father scold her for the silly things. Something she desperately had craved when she was much younger.

---

"How long is it going to take before the next train arrives?" Index whined as they sat outside the station for the next train to arrive.

It had been almost half an hour since they had been dropped off at District 10's train station. Unfortunately the one they rode on would return back to District 7, and they had already come this far, so they had to wait for the next one that would take them to District 13. According to the train schedule's board it would take another ten minutes at most for the next one leaving to the district in mind to arrive. And nearly half an hour had passed them by.

Touma frowned as he leaned back against the train schedule's board. It was taking longer than they had expected. He looked around their surroundings, noting the lack of people roaming the streets. In fact, he couldn't see anyone else but themselves. All that greeted him were the decaying streets and abandoned buildings everywhere. It was kinda ominous.

"Don't know. It should be here by now." Taking out his phone, Touma began to look up the train's schedule for any changes.

It didn't look like there were any changes. If anything, the site was saying that the train was running at its normal time. So, why wasn't it here? Maybe it was a glitch or something. Or the site hadn't been updated yet to let him know it was running late.

It was still inconvenient for them though. Touma sighed as be pocketed his phone and resigned himself to waiting. Not like they could do much else. It didn't look like their were any places they could stop at to kill some time, and with his luck the moment they left, the train would arrive and leave them.

So it was the waiting game for them until further notice.

"H-Help! Please, s-someone, anyone, HELP!"

Touma's eyes snapped wide open at the shout of panic and fear breaking up the silence. All three of them bore witness to the sight of a white lab suited man with glasses run out of one of the alleyways of the city into the open streets. The man had dark hair combed back with a few hairs out of place, his rectangular glasses were cracked with one even missing its lenses, and his well tailored white suit was torn in several places along with being stained by dirt.

And specks of blood.

"Wait, get back here, you idiot! You can't just run out into the open like that! They'll just pick you off like some target!"

Followed close behind was another stranger. A dark haired girl ran after the man, her face expressing annoyance and exhaustion. Unlike the man though, she wasn't covered in dirt and didn't appear harmed. The girl wore what looked like a school uniform with a dark blue sailor's shirt and orange undershirt, white tie tucked in, a dark blue skirt with yellow knee socks with red stripes, and red basketball sneakers. From what Touma could see, she had dark unruly hair that reached her back, appearing as if she had forgotten to comb her hair this morning. Her face was rather plain for a girl with dark blue eyes that he almost mistaken for black. And her build was rather normal for a girl in middle school, modest in every way from her chest to her waist.

She looked like just your ordinary high school girl you could find anywhere.

The first to react to the scene was surprisingly Angela as she shot up from her seat with a gasp.

"Toka-chan!" she exclaimed.

Finally catching up with the frantic man and grabbing a hold of the back of his collar, the girl known as Toka spun her head around in surprise at the voice calling out to her. Her mouth dropped at the sight of the white robbed raven haired nun with green eyes happily waving back at her. Toka's own eyes brightened and moved to greet Angela before said eyes went wide in alarm.

Her dark eyes met another set of eyes that mirrored her own. It was the sight of spiky black hair, plain features, that had her stepping back. She looked away, a shadow masking her expression as her back greeted the three teens.

Than, to everyone's surprise, she ran away, dragging along the heavily breathing man behind her.

"Wait, Toka-chan! Where are you going?! G-Get back here!" Angela shouted frantically, suddenly moving away from Touma and Index to run after the retreating girl.

"Angela! Where are you going!" Index shouted worriedly, running after the back of the older nun.

It took Touma a second to realize what was happening. He cursed loudly, dragging his hand over his face at the stroke of bad luck. Of course, he couldn't even wait for the train without something happening. Sighing, he began to run after the girls and the suited man with equal haste.

At least he would have, if not for the five guys running out of where the girl Toka had came from.

"Where the fuck did that bitch go!? Shit, she's getting away with our meal ticket here!" One of the ill mannered thugs shouted in frustration. He began to pull on his dark dreadlocks with a hysterical panic, looking as if he was about to be marched to his execution as his dark skinned complexion actually paled. He wore a standard dark blazer and jeans, telling of his status as a student like the other guys around him. But unlike your typical student, he came of more as a no good thug with a ring piercings in his ears and stud in his nose. Hyperventilating, his brown eyes suddenly caught sight of the girls running away from the area. His panic was settled once he caught sight of unruly long black hair and the expensive suited man in her grip.

The man grinned widely with a glee that sent the wrong kind of shivers down Touma's spin. Something wasn't right here. Motioning his head to the girls, he along with the rest of the men revealed the concealed weapons on hand. He found bats, pocket knives, chains, and wrenches on hand. And to his further worry, a gun.

"Do not let that bitch get away with Dr. Tatsumi! I don't care if you have to kill her and her friends, just make sure that the doctor is left breathing! We can not fuck this up again! Got it!?"

Touma's fist grew taught. Did they not even notice he was here? Did they think he would just walk away and pretend he didn't see anything? Or were they that centered on harming the girls for their own means that nothing else mattered?

Whatever the reason, Touma wasn't going to just stand aside.

"Just what the hell are you blabbing on about!?" he roared madly as he dashed into the middle of the group.

Finally taking notice of the person right behind them, the group of thugs found some high school boy charging at them. Before they could even act, the boy had run right in the middle of them and swung his fist at one of them. They were too stunned to react in time to the new threat.

Having caught eye of the gun wielder, Touma had targeted the gunner first. It looked like only one of them bothered to carry a gun for some reason. He didn't question it. All he did was meet the short cut haired thug's surprised expression with his hard fist. With a loud thwack and crunch, the thug's eyes rolled into the back of his skull as Touma's fist struck straight and true. Blood gushed out of his broken nose. With a gurgled groan, the thug fell back without another word.

'That's one down!' Touma turned around to find the four remaining thugs snapping back to reality with anger and sneers. Feeling the gun land by his feet, he quickly kicked it far out of sight as they began to circle him.

This was bad. Normally, he was fine with taking on one person in a fight. Two was a little much. Three was where he would run away. He found that he wasn't the best when he was facing more than one or two people in a fight. As someone without an ability, he didn't have any way of fighting off multiple opponents. Imagine Breaker wouldn't do him any good either since this was District 10. Espers with abilities didn't make their way into the den of Level 0's, no one with an ability to speak of had any reason to walk its streets. Right now, he was facing a bunch of thugs who fought with their fists and weapons.

Touma's fists never less lost their tight grip. The situation was something he wanted no part of. He just wanted to go home. He was normal high school boy for crying out loud! The last thing he wanted to do was get dragged into some conflict again. But he couldn't turn away now. Especially after making the first move and drawing first blood.

Someone was in trouble. And he couldn't stand to turn away from someone in need. Not if he could help it.

"What the hell? Who the fuck do you think you are, fucker!?" The head of the thugs yelled angrily as he coiled the steel chain around his fist and ran up to him. He swung his fist down onto the spiky haired boy, intent on paying back the favor to his face.

Touma moved quickly, side stepping the wide swing as he felt some of the air sweep his hair. He could already tell that the thug was strong and had one hell of a mean swing. Hearing some footsteps behind him, he felt the need to duck. A glinting knife was swept diagonally for the back of his neck. Still ducking, Touma spun his posture with his elbow swinging for the man's stomach. His elbow struck deep, stealing the man's breath in one blow before delivering an uppercut that stumbled the thug back. Touma grinned in victory before he found himself raising his forearms up.

As the man fell back, one of his pals came in with a bat swinging in wide. A crack of wood could be heard as Touma blocked the baseball swing with a deep grimace. Nothing broke thankfully, but it felt like his bones had nearly cracked. Fighting back the pain, he jumped back as the thug swung for an overhead bash. Touma stepped into the thug's space quickly, delivering a lunging jab to the man's chin with all his might. The baseball bat fell out of the thugs hand, his thoughts going silent as he found he couldn't even speak with his broken jaw.

Touma winced as he flailed his hand. That one had been a little too much. He was a street fighter, not a trained martial artists. He hadn't done any training to make his fists strong enough to endure dealing heavy blows. He was a complete amateur really. At least that's what he believed. He had no idea of what the past Kamijou may have done to react the way he currently did.

Without thinking, Touma grabbed the bat that thug had dropped and brought it up to block the stabbing knife from the thug he had moments ago drove his elbow into. An instinct had taken over before he could even react in surprise. Again and again, the man wildly slashed at the bat, hoping to slash it to pieces and get to the main course. Touma wasn't sure what he was doing, his body moved on its own as he deflected one of the slashes with an underhand swing that cracked the knife wielding thug's hand. The man screamed in pain, stepping back to grip his throbbing, reddening hand with a deep grimace. He moved his eyes off his sprained hand to glare at the high school boy hatefully, a dirty curse on his lips.

Wood blocked his site in the form of the bat's wide swing smashing into his face. Like the others, he was out like a light with one hit.

There was no time to breath in relief for Touma. Once one fell, the last two charged in with their fists swinging wildly. Touma sweated with panic, backing away and dodging the several raining blows aimed to knock him out. One of the thugs had steel chains coiled around his fist while the second one had favored a golden knuckle duster. Thank god they were out in the open streets. Otherwise Touma wasn't sure he would have been able to dodge well enough to avoid the furious blows coming his way.

"You fucking little fuck! Just what the hell do you think you're doing!" The leader of the thugs cried out angrily, his face frantic and wild like an animal. Coming in close, he spun on his feet with his arms out, swinging his chained fists out like a tornado. Touma made a move to jump back, only to be surprised by the chains loosening to fly out like whips to lash at his face. He took several lashes across the face that bruised him deeply with bleeding welts.

Stunned, he found himself at the mercy of the leader's remaining friend. The beanie capped thug grinned widely with glee as he twisted the knuckle duster in his grip to reveal a small button. He charged straight for the high school boy's center, pressing the button to reveal a sharp blade protruding out the side at four inches long. The thug stabbed the bladed knuckle duster deep into the boy's chest with little hesitation.

Even while disoriented, Touma moved to dodge the stabbing rush with a sidestep to the right. Seeing that, the thug changed his stab into a wide swing that just barely connected. A long dragging slash marred Touma's white button shirt that quickly began to bleed. The bat in his hand dropped with a clatter.

Grinning at the look of pain on the spiky haired boy, the leader of the thugs snapped his chains back around his fists with satisfaction. For a moment, he was actually worried. Some random kid just came out of literal nowhere and just knocked out three of his fellow thugs. He wasn't sure what pissed him off more at the moment. The fact he had once again lost their target. Or the fact that some nobody had taken a few of his boys out with just his fists. A literal nobody waltzed in to ruin their job!

The thug leader was pissed. But at least he found something to release all his frustrations on.

"Really, who are you?" the thug leader sneered as his partner and he began to stalk towards the heavily breathing spiky haired punk. Loosening one of his chains to fall to the street with a clink, he couldn't help but wonder why the boy got in their way first, "Some nobody just walks in, busts my boys up, and all without an ability? You're a Level 0, aren't ya? You have to be, otherwise you would have already used some kind of power to take us out by now. Even if you were a Level 1, you would have done something!"

Snapping his chain link, he smirked in victory as he watched Touma move his arms to block the blow. Too bad. The steel coiled around one of his forearms firmly, allowing him to reel the boy in with a strong tug of his arm. The high school proved to at least have some muscles, fighting against the pull with his face strained. It left him open to his friend charging back in with a stab.

"So, who's gang are you apart of? Are you one of Komaba's boys, getting in way of the rest of us Skill-Out's with some stupid notion of chivalry!? Get real, dumbass! Don't you see that none of that shit works!? The only way we Level 0's will get any kind of fucking respect is with power! If it's underhanded tricks and scare tactics, if it brings us some shred of respect through fear, than it's worth it!"

Touma's face twisted angrily. He had no idea what the hell was going on. Once again, he felt like he was about to be dragged into something a normal high schooler had no part in. He didn't want to get into any of this.

With this next step though, he couldn't turn away or leave what that bastard was saying alone.

Feeling the bat next to his foot, Touma stomped onto the handle with enough force to flip it up and catch it in his right hand. Stabbing the wooden bat forward just as the knife wielder came within stabbing range, he intercepted the blade, rooting it deep into the wood. The action was enough to catch the thug by surprise. And Touma took the chance in front of him to swing the bat across the man's right cheek with a loud crack. The blow stumbled him but did not knock him out on the spot. But the second swing that came next put an end to that.

Four down, one to go!

"You know, I have no literal idea what's going on right now. I don't know who Komaba is either. Whatever you may be guessing about me is wrong. But you are right about one thing." Touma said sternly as turned his eyes to the furiously scowling thug leader.

The thug leader, for reasons he couldn't understand, found his feet back up underneath those stern and determined dark eyes. The kid looked like a normal high schooler. Like all high school boys, he should have been cowering in fear, begging him to leave him alone and running with his tail behind his legs. He should have been crying, sobbing as he had been hit by a bat, cut with a knife, and whipped with chains! But instead, the spiky haired boy showed no signs of backing down or showing a single hint of fear.

Instead the boy faced them with raw determination and anger. But why? What the hell did they do to deserve the ire of such a boy?!

"I am a Level 0, but I'm nothing like you idiots! Talking crap about using fear tactics, threats, and hurting people to get respect?! How is hunting down three girls and a scared man going to get you any kind of fucking respect!? The only one who needs to get real around here, is you dumbasses!"

Letting go of his fight over the chain wrapped around his arm, Touma charged straight ahead towards the thug leader with a roar. Going into panic, the thug snapped his other link to strike at the boy's face like a striking cobra. Touma moved his bat to intervene, blocking the strike just in time as it coiled around the bat. The unfortunate boy grinned in victory.

Still running, he swung his arm and the bat around to wrap the chains further along his arm. Enough of the chains had coiled to give him some control as he swung his arms apart. The thug leader's arms followed in suite like a puppet's strings, his chains revealing to have been tightly wrapped around his biceps. The thug's leader's eyes went wide in fear, sweating as his body trembled at the sight of Touma coming closer with a vicious grin.

"As for who I am and why I'm doing this, does it really matter?! I don't need a reason to help someone from a bunch of idiots who would wish for respect through fear! I do it because I want to! So go to sleep, knowing that a nobody stopped your stupid plans out of a whim!"

Forehead met forehead as Touma bashed his own skull against the thug's. It was enough for Touma's own forehead to bleed based on the pure force that tore the skin. Blood trickled down his forehead, dripping onto the streets with blips as silence followed.

The thug leader glared at Touma with pure rage. His expression had been frozen like that for some time. Finally though, his eyes twitched, rolling back into his head as his whites met Touma's. Not a sound of pain left his lips as his body wobbled, knee's losing their strength as his legs gave out. Stepping back, Touma held his throbbing forehead with a grimace as he watched the thug wobble around a bit before falling forward with a thud.

Touma sighed heavily, happy that it was over. Well, not over, over. There was still the matter of Angela and Index running after that high school girl. With a tired scowl on his weary face, he turned towards the direction the girls had fled. His right hand gripped his chest with a wince, reminding him of the slash across his chest. Great, now he was going to be dealing with that and the wounds on his face. Shacking off the slight ringing in his head, he began to chase after the rest into the rundown district full of thugs.

'I'm going to end up in the hospital again, aren't I? Maybe I will break a record after all.'

---

Hamazura Shiage was your average Level 0, just like many others who resided in District 10. Even after participating in the Power Curriculum Program he had shown no signs of developing a special psychic ability. He was a zero, having no worth to the city. He was powerless. Unable to show any kind of worth like so many others. He was a literal nobody without value.

In a way though, he was thankful to some degree for being labeled a zero. Because of it, he got to met Komuba Ritoku, the unofficial leader of Skill-Out. The intimidating man was someone all those who found themselves without any power in the city to be their leader. He was someone they all followed without question. And while their were many other organizations with their own names and methods, it went without question that Komuba stood above them all. And it was that man who saw something of worth in Hamazura, took him in, and went as far as having as one of his closest comrades.

In a way, Hamazura felt pride in his status as Level 0. He was apart of something bigger and better than anything he would have found as an Esper. Skill-Out may have had a bad reputation in thanks to those smaller groups acting out, but those who were apart of the real Skill-Out knew what they did was just. They protected their kind, fought back against the Espers that picked on them, and did their best to make it known that all Level-0's had their pride.

Anyone who would go against their Skill-Out and cross their paths would of course be seen as enemies. Anyone who messed with comrades would also be dealt with swiftly.

Grimacing, the unruly blond haired thug looked around the alley to find blood staining the ground. His face twisted sadly at the pile of bodies a few feet away. He recognized a few of them as Skill-Out's he had worked alongside in a few jobs. Their bodies were riddled with holes, shot up with shell's buried in their cold bodies. His gut twisted sickly.

"They didn't deserve this." He snarled as he walked up to his fallen brothers. He knelt down to stare down one of his friends. Biting back a tear, he shut one of their eyes in hope of bringing them some peace.

This wasn't the first attack on Skill-Out today. For the last few hours now, they have had reports of attacks of the similar nature spring up on their territory. Each assault left behind either heavily wounded or dead members of Komaba's gang. It was almost systematic. Someone was attacking their gang with the clear intent of sending a message. A message of war.

Standing up right with trembling shoulders, Hamazura left the alley with a furious expression. This had gone on for far too long. Komaba needed to be informed that his boys were being killed. And that they needed to act. It was time to remind those damn idiots who took the name of Skill-Out for themselves who the real Skill-Out was.

Hamazura took in a shuddered breath as he brought out his cell. He waited a few seconds for the rings to stop before speaking with loathing in his voice.

"Hanzou, get the boss. We need to have a nice and long talk about the state of District 10 and the copycats running around with our names."

---

In the dark office building that once tested chemicals on animals, a shadowed silhouette stood in front of a glowing screen. On the desk sat an odd full faced helmet. Who they were was not known. Like many others in District 10, he was just a zero, a worthless cog in the grand machine that was Academy City. But he liked to believe that he wasn't as worthless as the city believed. After all, he had at one point lead a very prominent gang.

Behind the shadowed boy, two bold initials were painted in giant letter with an odd skull lock in the middle of the two. They read DL.

The boy wore a grin that lit up the room. The phone that had been pressed against his ear was shut loudly as he chuckled over what he had just heard. One of the small gangs he had leading in his current operation at the word of a certain girl had just reported something really interesting. They had failed, losing their target after tracking them down. Apparently some high school girl had run in to drag the target away and they gave chase. They were so close to closing in on them. Then out of nowhere, a high school boy with spiky dark hair came in and ruined everything. Standing up, he donned the helmet and left the room to prepare himself.

It sounded similar to what had happened to him not too long ago. The description he was given was rather plain, not a thing worth noting about the high school boy who got in their way. Only that he had spiky hair. Could it be?

"What are the chances that we meet again, Kamijou? I wonder. . .if you're still the same clown who fought for the sake of a monster. Or has the monster changed you, as I thought?"

As the door shut behind him, the computer was left on with its display glowing for a few minutes before shutting off. On the screen revealed the profile of a certain spiky haired high school boy with a pension for misfortune.

---

Stuck in a district full of nothing but delinquents just like you, what is a misfortune high school boy suppose to do? Run and punch the lights out of whoever stands in your way! The Kamijou way!

But in all the commotion, a underline chaos stirs.

How long can one stand being called a Zero, worthless, a waste of space? Abandoned for your worth, how much longer can you stand to be deemed as nothing? Just how far is one willing to be seen a something more than worthless?

A story once closed has seemed to have been revisited. This world is warped by those with the potential of Absolute Power. No progress can be made in this world, so why not end there own once again?

And we've hit the end once again. I always hate this part, I'm sure you all feel the same too. Trust me, as a fellow reader I go through the same thing. Why can't the damn author just give me the next chapter already!?

Well, we got to do edits, revise some parts that we feel need changing, add in some parts that feel smoother, and double, triple, check our edits. Trust me, a lot goes on to the rough draft before I even upload the unedited copy to my account to edit and touch up again. This shit takes time!

Well, I'm only about two chapters away from closing the arc before going through with uploading the story quicker than now. I'd say this will be a 6-7 chapter arc and I've already completed 4 chapters that are going through what I've just mentioned above. I just got to find more time to write. Kinda hard since I've been promoted at work to open the old dog themed deli by myself with my own key to the store. I'm a working man. I got 40+ hour weeks that are always guaranteed to have overtime! Getting the chance to sit down and write can be difficult to get for a guy like me.

And, I may have, may not have, been playing with my copy of Kingdom Hearts 3 nonstop since last week and been ignoring all my writing since then. Just, you know, maybe. If we were speaking hypothetically.

. . .I don't regret those 40+ hours I sank in.

Anyway, I hope to get the next chapter up and ready by the end of the month and then get to uploading the rest weekly. Cross your fingers that I can get to the end of the arc by then! Oh! Maybe we'll get to the end by the time we get word of V22 of New Testament! I'm so god damn excited to see the fight between Touma and Coronzon!

Until then, read and review! It's common courtesy.

NeoShadows fading in and out.