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.

12. Trembling Right

It's your boi, NeoShadows! Back again with the latest chapter of A Certain Influx of Time Traveling Mishaps!

It took me a long while to release this bad boy; I know. But I wanted to make sure I had the next chapter at least have way finished while also finalizing the final chapter I'm about to write for this short arc. Plus a lot of my time has been taken up by a certain matter.

Help me; Genshin Impact is fucking addicting. Pretty sure I've already logged in over two hundred hours since its release. I try to stop but those lovely thighs and jiggling effects keep drawing me in! A hopeless degenerate like me was doomed from the fucking start!

Plus it has very interesting lore, characters, combat, a shit load to do, and enough progression to keep with something to do while not having to spend a dime. But I'm mostly in it for Jean and Lisa if I was to be bluntly frank about the hidden incognito window discovered while my phone was down.

Anyway, I've got a lot of catching up to do. I'm planning on updating whenever I can this month, so keep an eye out for the latest chapters of your favorite ToAru story.

Reviews, here we come!

DNWorks: Yeah, Sad Touma is truly something that pulls at the heartstrings of many. The aftermath of Level Eater has certainly left behind its wounds on the boy who's only just begun the long road of misfortune to come. But hopefully, he'll find people surrounding him to help him pick himself up. Oh, I'm going to have hell of a lot of fun with Junko being introduced to the story now. As for the large number of kids being introduced; don't you find it strange? There's more to the events leading up to December 31st and the final confrontation with the Magic God of Ruin than the surface level you've seen.

Mr. Self-Depracation: Nurse-chan is the strongest of all nurses! No other woman in any hospital can compare with such a deadly beauty of feminine charms and muscle! As for the character's dialogue; I'll try better to get it down better but I do have to remind you that they're speaking during serious moments. Six months? Pfft! Two at most...maybe three.

Anime-ted Life116: Despite not agreeing with a few things, I'm happy you've enjoyed the story thus far. As for the list of Kamijou Children and their parents so far:

Hana: Kamijou Touma/Misaka Mikoto.

Angela: Kamijou Touma/Index Librorum Prohibitorum.

Toka: Kamijou Touma/?

Hirunehime: Hamazura Shiage/Takitsubo Rikou.

Arden: Kamijou Touma/?

Hachimen: Kamijou Touma/Shokuhou Misaki.

Kaen: Kamijou Touma/Mugino Shizuri.

Kamiko: Kamijou Touma/Mugino Shizuri.

Two more children of the future will appear in this chapter while answering the identity of one other, but any others will remain a secret until they're revealed. I also understand that what I'm going for with the introduction of so many children makes the story complicated and hard to follow but trust me when I say there's a good reason for that. You aren't the only one who finds it troubling here. Hopefully, I can prove this is going in a good direction.

Moderately evil with hints of good? Doesn't that sum me up to a fucking T.

TazalTerminals: Poor Kamiko indeed. Shit, this chapter is going to hit hard then. You shouldn't be too surprised to find her considering their world was on the brink of being destroyed. Lovely Yomikawa; will you survive the Kami-yan Disease and live to tell the tale? Honestly, I wish there were more stories with Yomikawa and Touma involved closely; I'd love to see their dynamic. And don't worry about the guest reviews bombing me, I've already gotten over them.

Kamil The Awesome: I'm glad I've sold you with the original arc I came up with. You know, looking back on it after a year, there's a lot I would have liked to fix and rewrite. At the time, I had just recently gotten into ToAru and was still trying to catch up on all of the Light Novels and get a clear grasp of all the characters involved, so I wouldn't say I handled it as well as I would have now. I feel like my writing style has kinda evolved since then too. All in all, though, I'm still happy with what I wrote and I'm pleased you found in enjoyable in the end. Considering this a time-travel story, you can expect a sorts of new events and interactions to come with even characters like Frenda. Hold onto those curious finds; there's far more to the events of Kamijou Touma's death in the future and the days leading to the final confrontation with a God sitting upon the chilling peak of the world. And yes, we will be heading off into The Sisters/FAMILY arc next.

HegenmolyWalker: Your reasoning for your guesses ain't exactly correct. You've got a few of the kid's mother's figure out and I haven't introduced Himegami's kid yet. It's definitely a theory full of holes but you know that already. You did get me to laugh at having you acknowledge Aleister as a woman though; Ha! You'll figure out who Toka's mother is in this chapter though but you'll be guessing more as we go one.

ArmoredCoreNineBall: Junko's introduction is going to have some interesting effects down the line. Plus she became one of my favorite characters due to Astral Buddy; I just had to add her! She could very well become an honest to god friend to a certain unfortunate boy thanks to her ignorance of romance; not sure how others would see their bond though. I swear my heart cracks every time I write Misaki because if she's involved, she must suffer to some extent. Knowing she can only ever be a fleeting memory to the boy who saved her all those years will be an everlasting pain. Ah, the thicc armed nurse who embodies the sexy aspect of nurses typically found in doujins and hentai; truly, she was my favorite among all the Ocs!

Cheesecake244351: I'm honestly surprised you made it all the way here with how much I've written in eleven chapters; you got GUTS! I really do believe my grammar and phrasing when I began writing this story were still above average, so I'm happy you called it stellar despite the mistakes I've made. Kamachi's recent release of GT certainly did affect what I would be working into my story but not enough to cause a drastic shift with what I'm hoping to accomplish in the endgame I've thought up. GT2 did cement my desire to scrap the original 20K+ I have written all the more though. Anna and Maidono won't be added in so early, so don't worry. Even I know better than to shove them in despite how much I've come to love them both. A time and place for them has already been drawn up in the old mental block. The Magic God of Ruin is...certainly unique, I'll tell you that much right now. The mystery boy introduced in the beginning of the chapter is a complicated boy you'll come to see. The dynamic between Junko and Touma is going to be a fun one to witness, one I've been happy to come up with. Due to a combination of him being a new friend and her promise to the ever tragic heroine Misaki, Hokaze Junko will find herself being a regular part of Kamijou Touma's life. The SS: A Certain Hospital Visit is going to be rather eventful for a short arc with plenty to build up to what's to come. Your questions will be answered in due time and I hope to have every character shine when the times right.

Levolutioner: In time, in time. They're all still settling in after witnessing their world burned to cinders by a being responsible for the death of their father after all. We'll get those Slice of Life scenes soon. Also; don't stick your dick in crazy? As if! No greater misfortune could ever cross such a boy's life! Oh? My, my, my! Didn't you just ask an overlooked question? What indeed has happened to the Joker card? Perhaps there is a being far greater than the likes of monsters like Othinus and Coronzon if Vending Machine-kun can stand tall after surviving its illusions standing! Self-loathing Touma is best Touma in my opinion; keep the suffering coming! Also; Mugino, yes!

Masterx01: Ah, but the ride's only just begun moving on the track! You've yet to see anything! Touma's character right now is definitely something far different than the original canon timeline. You've already understood a bit as to why due to the combination of being Kamijou Touma for two weeks at most and the vents of District 10/Level Eater greatly affecting his mentality. Right now, he's scarred by his most recent venture in where he began to believe he wasn't living up to the image of the original Kamijou Touma. In doubting himself, he ironically dug up an old and hidden part of the original Kamijou Touma; the part that despised his misfortune and believed he was only harming others by being around them. I also love how you compared the future Kamijou to the hero complex Emiya Shirou. There's a story as to why he became such a person willing to abandon his family to play some wandering savior, one that will be told bit by bit until we reach the truth. You're not the only one who dislikes that version of him as even Toka and Angela have brought up bits of their problem concerning their 'heroic' father to be. And I understand how put off you might be with the length of the story, especially for the first arc going over 200K+. I tend to write too much, it's a weirdly bad and good habit when compared to other authors. Sometimes I feel as if I'm challenging MrQuestionMark for the crown of word count. I can only hope you stick around despite how wordy this will most likely get. I can only try my best to update as fast as I can without rushing anything I'm not confident in. Don't worry though, you'll get future children shenanigans in the coming arcs to come...next year.

Alright, we're done with the reviews. You know the drill; scroll away!

---

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to A Certain Magical Index. All rights are reserved to Kamachi Kazuma.

Currently, I am anxiously awaiting the results of who will be our next president like everyone else and trying to deal with it as positively as possible.

I.e: Shit loads of beer and Genshin Impact.

Don't judge me too harshly! All I have to cope with all these anxious emotions and jittery energy while plastered are Jean's skin-tight pants, Amber's thighs, and Lisa's Japanese VA! WWWWWWWHHHHHHHHHHHHHYYYYYY?!

WHY CAN'T I GET KLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE?! FUCK RNG!

---

Chapter 12: Trembling Right.

Liar_Liar.

It had been pure coincidence how one Saten Ruiko had met the first-year high school girl known as (Kamijou) Toka a day after a terrible abnormal thunderstorm rumored to have echoed across the globe.

Their paths had crossed on the whim of a middle schooler who had gone out on her daily search for the unknown and riddled myths of a world of science that denied the existence of certain abnormal incidents and even beautiful miracles.

Yes, even in the world of definite science proving to shed away the countless colorful layers of folklore and fantasy, Academy City is full of its own urban legends spread about among its student body. What else was to be expected when 80% of its populace was made up of students from pre-kindergarten to college? Despite being taught theories of relativity and concepts of 11th dimensions, those young children still enjoyed talking about the occult that tickled their imaginations with the unknown that should not be.

In that regard, the myths spread by children in a big city was no different than any other city or town in the world.

Urban legends concerning the oddities and the abnormal appearing in towns and cities were commonly known to spread from person-to-person during an idle chat. During this day in age though, such rumors were mostly found on message boards via computer or cellphones, spread even further to the student body thanks to the wonders and infinite reach of the internet. Because of this, certain young minded individuals have gained a hobby of sorts to research said rumors in hopes of discovering the impossibility rejected by adults.

Science disproved the supernatural not born from research and study that had created espers through various drugs and funded experiments by highly regarded intellectual minds. Yet another side to this world laid hidden in the darkness. A world of witches, ghouls, monsters, gods, fairies, and other paranormal beings that could curse unlucky souls. Such was a world of fairy tales spoken to awed eyed children to appease their curiosity and giddy natures that did not exist in reality.

For one Saten Ruiko, she knew that such things as magic weren't true. Even a Level-0 like herself knew better than to believe in ghosts after taking part in the Power Curriculum Program to help her gain a supernatural ability all her own. She wasn't some naive child anymore.

Still, even if she understood that such myths were nothing more than silly gossip made to entertain people like herself, she still couldn't help but want to search those myths out herself to see if they were true. She was a curious girl by nature, always fascinated with the unbelievable and the impossible that was spoken of in mirthful whispers. As an esper, she was proof that the paranormal could be scientifically explained and broken down to its base components grounded in reality, not fiction.

Yet that young esper continued to hold onto a good luck charm, an occult item of probability, which
her mother had handed down to her as she entered Academy City to bring her good fortune. It was a treasured piece of superstition she clung onto, one she put faith in to bring her good luck in troubling times despite what others might say to its unseen and baseless power.

Because of the small bud of a connection to the supernatural, Saten felt a certain pull to the urban legends found in various message boards and communities online. It had grown into a hobby to embark on ventures to find those elusive legends whenever she had a chance away from both work and her social life. Perhaps in discovering a myth that went against science, she would find power in that good luck charm she continued holding on.

Maybe she could turn her luck around and grow to gain a supernatural ability with the help of fortune.

It was during one of her urban legend searches Saten Ruiko had wandered into one of Academy City's many alleyways. Due to how urban made the landlocked region was, the city wasn't short of dark alleys where many of the city's delinquents could be found. Girls her age were wise to stay clear of such places in fear of those mean spirited thugs attacking them to sate their dark desires. She herself knew better than to wander into such alleys by herself since she was a powerless Level-0.

But there was a certain rumor found involving such places where the innocent were attacked. It wasn't so much a paranormal one like the many she was fascinated with, but one that still caught her eyes.

'The Alleyway Hero.

There's a certain rumor of a nameless high school boy that seems to always show up in the nick of time when boys or girls of various ages are being attacked or harassed by delinquents in District 7s labyrinth-like alleys in Academy City. The hero can occasionally be seen carrying a shopping bag of eggs, said to give him immeasurable strength, spiky hair, and a plain appearance used as camouflage to blend in with crowds. With only his fists, he defeats gangs of thugs all by himself without the use of any ability and snares the hearts of damsels in distress with a kind smile. And as quickly as he appears, he vanishes, never staying around long enough for the rescued to catch his face or so much as thank him.'

As rumors went, it was a rather silly one that could be explained but none the less interesting to a middle school girl like Saten.

A hero who fought with his fists to save the day at just the right time? And capture the hearts of girls at the same time? Sounded as if it was a scenario better left in the pages of a manga. She giggled at the mention of said hero always carrying a shopping bag of eggs on his person, as if he had been busy stocking up his fridge before he heard the cry for help drawing him in.

What had drawn in the average middle school girl to such a silly rumor as ridiculous as a random hero coming to the rescue of the unlucky?

She wasn't really sure, to be honest. Maybe it had been boredom? Maybe it had been because she was simply passing by one of the many alleys of District 7 while on the way to visit her best friend in the 177th branch office of Judgment?

Maybe it had been some unseen and unexplainable pull attracting her as she had been reading about said silly urban legend while walking to the convenience store?

For whatever reason, Saten had decided to venture into said alley to see if she could find that elusive hero with spiky hair that carried with him a shopping bag of fragile eggs at all times and could steal her heart with nothing but a kind smile.

She had only taken a few steps into the dark alley before disaster struck in the form of three delinquents popping out of nowhere like enemies encountered in an RPG.

At the sight of the leers on those older boy's faces, Saten had backed away further into the alley and ran, finding herself chased by said boys who wanted to steal what little yen she had on her person. And possibly something far more precious and valuable to the young maiden.

There was an old saying to take heed of here.

Curiosity killed the cat.

And it seemed curiosity had ended up cornering said cat into a dead end with nowhere to hide or run.

It was at that moment when three boys were slowly approaching her with her back against the wall with cruel grins, Saten believed such a silly metaphor had some actual logic behind it.

There was no myth of a hero to save her.

No luck would grant her a miracle from the torment she was about to endure at the hands of level-0s like her.

She was a powerless Level-0. Not even the small charm she believed would produce a miracle to her one day would do her any good in the unraveling situation before her.

Even so, the trembling girl had tightly clutched the beaten-up cham possessing absolute zero ability to turn over the situation closer to her chest.

"Just what the hell is with assholes like you skulking around alleyways? Are you enemy types that only ever pop up in specific spawn areas with an annoying encounter rate? I guess no matter the time, bastards like you are always going to be up to no good."

A new presence made herself known, speaking with annoyance in her voice.

What transpired next was a meeting with a certain high school girl with unruly long hair standing behind said delinquents with a hand cocked on her hip. Said girl was the type of girl whose average appearance and lack of notable features would normally blend into the crowd with little effort. If it wasn't for her unruly raven hair, she would easily be missed.

Cracks were heard popping from said normal high school girl's knuckles as she gained an irritated expression.

"I'm in a really bad mood right now, so I hope you punks don't mind if I relieve some stress involving family matters out on a couple of idiots who think they can harass a girl lost in an alley."

Fists were thrown, shouts of pain were heard, bodies hit the floor, a couple of broken teeth flew out, and, in the end, it was a normal high school girl who stood victorious over the heap of delinquents.

Having dealt with the problem, the high school girl turned to face the unlucky girl she had saved.

Dark blue eyes met dark blue eyes.

And at that moment, a normal middle school girl had met a normal high school girl.

[-]

"So, this is the 177th branch of Judgment? Huh, I thought it would be bigger and far more impressive since it's the hub of one of Academy City's protectors. Especially in my time."

"In your time?"

Kamijou Toka shook her head mirthfully at the slip of the tongue as she stood outside of the 177th branch office of Judgment alongside Saten Ruiko.

Or as she would be known in the future, her mother.

Her thirteen-year-old mother.

Yes, yes indeed, this Kamijou Toka did, in fact, travel back in time. This wasn't fiction. Nor was this a dream she would ever wake up from. Strange as it may seem, she, alongside many of her siblings and other future children, escaped their ruined future to the past to remedy the disaster that would one day destroy their everyday lives at the hands of an almighty being who could spurn storms of hellfire and reverse the natural order and laws of the world with a blink.

Cliche as it was, it was true. To think she would be apart of such a common trope. But this was real and she was now friends with her younger mother in a time before her father had ever so much as crossed her while commuting to school on foot.

'Why'd I get dragged into such a bizarre scenario?! Is it because I'm my Tou-san's daughter? That's not fair! Tou-san's got plenty more daughters to lug off his weird event trigger on than me. Uggggghhhhhh, I wonder everyone else is dealing with their parents like me.'

It was a bit frazzling to be speaking with the younger and cuter version of her mother, but Toka had decided to shove those jarring emotions down to instead be grateful for this miracle she had been presented with.

While it wasn't the same bond she had before, Toka had regained the chance to speak with her mother as if everything had remained the same. Sans referring to Saten Ruiko as her mother and instead speak to her as a normal friend would.

At the moment, on this bright and sunny day with very few clouds above the blue sky, said normal school girls were waiting outside the Judgment office for another friend of there's to walk out. Originally, both Toka and Saten had planned on visiting a certain hospital but found a tag-along who was already planning on going there herself to do some Judgment work. What that business was wasn't said, a matter Saten planned on grilling her best friend about and teasing her with skirt flips until she spilled the beans.

"I wonder why Uiharu's needed at the hospital of all places. I don't really see the need or benefit to have a hacker working in such a place. Or why Kuroko was requested as well."

Arms resting behind her head lazily, Saten continued to stare up at the office building that she regularly frequented whenever possible. She would have liked to enter and show her senpai around on a mini-tour of such an important spot that had pretty much become a clubhouse of sorts to her, but Uiharu had said she was already running late to her assignment. Said flower haired girl was busy gathering her laptop and whatever else she might need, asking Saten to wait for her outside.

That had been five minutes ago.

Now Saten was growing bored. For a girl who was apparently late, she would have thought Uiharu would have been quicker. What was taking her so long?

A glint of interest came over Toka's expression.

"Do you, by chance, know why Uiharu-san and Kuroko-san are needed for an assignment at A Certain Hospital? It seems rather coincidental that we're all heading over there."

Saten threw her hands up in a show of knowing just as much as she did.

"She didn't say since she was too busy getting her things together in the morning. Whatever she was saying was muffled by the buttered and jam toast she was frantically chewing over the phone. I'm sure she'll tell us once she's done. If not," Saten giggled devilishly with a wriggle of her fingers, "Than I just need to apply some pressure. Fifty-fifty she may have forgotten to wear underwear in her haste! Can you just imagine the face she would make if that turns out true? "

"Saten-chan, I'm worried about you. No middle-school girl should be this shamelessly obsessed with flipping their best friend's skirt in broad daylight. No middle school girl should at all be obsessed with flipping any girl's skirt with a large grin on their face. At this point, it's beyond childish. This is a legit addiction you may need to see a special doctor for." Toka flatly said to her future mother.

"Noooooo! You can't make me quit! You might as well tell me to shut up and stop breathing! I need my fix, Toka-senpai! I can't live without catching an eyeful of the sweet, tantalizing mysteries Uiharu-chan keeps locked up! What right does she have to keep such secrets to herself?! I deserve to know too!"

"No, I don't think you have any conceivable right to know of such private matters. The contents of a girl's panties are a delicate thing that should only ever be known by said girl or possibly her lover. Seriously, I've only known you two for a few days now and I can't even count the number of times I've seen the cutesy and sometimes bold patterns and colors of Uiharu-san's panties with both my hands anymore. Leave the girl her dignity and get some help."

"Never!"

The whining middle school girl who frequently chased after urban legends in dark alleys and regularly flashed her best friend's panties on a day-to-day basis...was Toka's mother. The dark-haired normal girl with dark blue eyes desperately clinging onto her shoulders like a junkie asking for a free hit she was good for, was undeniably the girl who would one day raise her into the woman she was today.

If this was an anime or manga, this would be the part where she would have a sweat drop rolling down the back of her head.

Frankly, nothing had changed.

Not in the slightest.

Not a damn bit!

This was shockingly the same young woman who would raise her one day.

'A young child should not find it normal to see her Kaa-san sneaking behind her Oba-san's back to flip her skirt up with a childish grin to reveal colorful and cutsie panties to bystanders. It was even worse when Tou-san was around and he was simply trying to have a nice talk with Uiharu-oba-san before he got a nice eyeful of whatever underwear she was wearing that day.'

"Hmm? What was that about an addiction? What does Saten mean by 'fix'?"

Both normal girls were interrupted from their little talk of addictions by the puzzled voice of Uiharu hurriedly walking out of the Judgment building. The Level-1 Thermal Hand esper greeted both girls with her laptop secured within her school bag among a few documents she had to pick up. Why it had taken her so long to meet them when she only had the bare essentials, they had no idea. She did stop to stare strangely at the sight of Saten clinging onto the high school girl known as Toka by the front of her shirt rather desperately.

Uiharu gulped suddenly, blinking as said girl vanished from sight not a second later.

Did her Level-0 of a best friend just learn to teleport?!

"Hmm, guess you did have enough time this morning to put on a fresh pair of panties. Dark blue today? Someone's feeling mature for their age. Dare I say that we're going to be seeing Bold-Uiharu-chan today?"

An unnatural breeze of wind tickled Uiharu's exposed thighs. She heard the all too familiar sound of a skirt flapping and the presence of a girl who was far too close to her rear to be normal. Red flushed her cheeks as she cried desperately to push her skirt back down.

"Saaaattttteeeeennnn!"

Without ever making a sound or being noticed, Saten had appeared right behind the now blushing Uiharu, placed her greedy hands below the tantalizing hem of her skirt, and flipped it up with gusto to get a premo shot of the hidden treasure that all boys sought.

The flash of a middle school girl's panties to the general public wandering around the street close to the Judgment building was far from something anyone was expecting. Many boys held their noses with beads of red between their clasped fingers, girls blushed in embarrassment and glares at the winning smile on Saten's face, and the adults simply shook their heads at the brash youth of today. Thankfully such a shock was too sudden for any phones to capture a flash of panties.

Saten stood back as the flapping skirt fell back to protect what little remained of Uiharu's modesty, appearing proud of her accomplishment as she sighed with satisfaction. Her very expression was similar to a middle-aged man sipping a cold frothy mug of beer after a long grueling day of work.

"That hits the spot. I think I can tackle whatever today may bring head-on with a grin no matter the challenge!" she proclaimed with a certain sparkle to her eye.

Toka patted the embarrassed flower band girl's back in sympathy as she knelt down with a whimper.

"I'm telling you, Uiharu-san; take the Railgun's example and wear shorts or spats underneath. You know she's never going to stop."

"But I don't like how they cling! And why should I abandon ever wearing panties because Saten-san hasn't gotten over a childish habit? A girl shouldn't have to make such a decision because of the actions of someone else. My femininity isn't so cheap!"

"Trust me," Toka smiled thinly with the absolute truth and knowledge of an older girl speaking to a naive child, "She's never going to stop. I can bet everything I own on the odds that she'll continue this into your late thirties after you're both adults with paying jobs and kids and make a killing on the winnings to live my entire life without having to lift a finger. Pretty sure she'd continue if she were an old granny. This is no longer an obsession for her; it's a way of life no different than breathing. Either wear something other than panties underneath or accept a future where everyone within a ten-foot radius will come to know what color panties you're wearing today. Either way, your precious panties will just become an everyday spectacle for everyone to enjoy."

"Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

"Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesssssssss!"

The lone cry of despair from a doomed middle school girl robbed of her shame and the jubilant cackling of a middle school girl deprived of shame was rather resounding but not strange to Academy City.

It would take some time to bring the master hacker girl back to her feet to continue on their way to A Certain Hospital. During the entire walk there, Toka would have to keep the giggling Saten's frisky hands off of the pure and shaken maiden Uiharu.

The three girls laughed, smiled, joked around, and talked freely with another all the way to their destination.

This was a different time.

A time before disaster struck Toka's normal life.

Yet the scene she was enjoying with her future Kaa-san and Oba-san was a familiar one she realized she had taken for granted.

One she was happy to regain after the misfortune she and her siblings had faced at the hands of a god of ruin. All that was missing was a certain high school boy to complete the beautiful picture.

[-]

"Say 'Aah!', Kamijou-san!"

Back within the now officially plaque room known as the Kamijou Ward, Touma laid back in his bed with new company to help him stave off boredom until Index and Angela arrived. The heavily bandaged teen of medical tape and gauze had to sit up as he sighed lamely and slowly opened his mouth at the behest of the little dark-haired girl dressed in a high-end attire. A bland tasting pill was popped into his mouth and swallowed with a small cup of cool water to help the chalky textured medicine down. For his compliance with the nurse's orders, two hands patted his head for not uttering a complaint, causing said patient's brow to twitch in annoyance to the patronizing girls.

"Good work, Kamijou-san! You deserve a delicious lollipop for following nurse's orders! Right, Onee-san?"

"You're right, Kamiko-chan! He was so brave, he deserves a nice little treat."

'When the hell was I reduced to being treated like a three-year-old?! I'm fifteen, damn it! I'm not some brat you can appease with candy for doing something as simple as taking my pain medication! And why are you licking your lips hungrily, Nurse-san?! Why are you looking at me like I'm the lollipop being offered as a reward?'

With the return to his hospital room, Touma found two new guests to visit him as he was carried by the strong-armed and fit stereotypical sexy nurse found in manga and doujin. He wasn't sure why they had decided to stick around as far as seeing him to his bed and taking his medication for the various wounds he had collected in his adventure in District 10's gang war. The older boy known as Kaen and the little sister known as Kamiko were strangers he had just met earlier by chance in his wandering. They weren't friends that he was aware of. Not unless the previous Kamijou Touma had made their acquaintance before he 'died' that summer night and was replaced by the current high school boy.

Once again, there was that odd glint of recognition he had spotted briefly in their eyes he had almost overlooked. Almost as if, in their minds, greeting him was all but natural. Like old friends or family members meeting another after years apart.

It was the same looks he had found in both Toka and Angela.

But neither persons had ever made mentions of knowing him, treating him as a stranger they had just met before becoming friends. It was strange but not a matter that Touma really believed to be worth investigating.

Kaen, the older brother of Kamiko, seemed awfully familiar with simply allowing his younger sister fuss about Touma's condition as he laid back against the wall close to the spiky boy's bed. He didn't speak a word since they came in, deciding to simply fiddle around with his phone with what appeared to be an ever-present scowl on his face. Occasionally he would click his tongue at the treatment Touma was being subjected to and would roll his eyes at Kamiko's occasional slip of the tongue when referring to Touma as her father.

The little speech tick developed when in the presence of Touma did help to explain, in some way, why Kamiko had been insistent on staying around with someone she had only just met.

Touma wasn't sure when, but the dark-haired, pig-tailed, rich clothed 7-year old had made herself rather comfortable on his lap, smiling pleasantly and treating him no different than her favorite animal-shaped plush seat. She was perfectly content with her current position seated on the high school boy she had just met after tackling him with a cried shout of Papa. One would dare say the current scene was reminiscent of a daughter sitting back against her father after he had come home from a long business trip.

Because in the eyes of that young girl Touma had recently met, he was close enough in familiarity and image to her father she had believed to have passed away.

The details weren't explained. Nothing more had been said in concern to the identity of the man who appeared to resemble a high school boy covered in far too many rolls of white. The matter was one to only be known to the two siblings who had no desire to explain their back story to some random hospitalized stranger who couldn't even make a fist.

It was an awkward notion to realize, one that made Touma slightly uncomfortable as Kamiko occasionally addressed him as Papa without even knowing it. Nurse-chan saw it as cute, teasing the little girl sitting on his lap. Kaen's scowl would grow deeper before returning to his natural expression of indifference.

Kamiko seemed to have realized it herself and tried to address him normally as they chatted. Being just a child, she would forget and go back to that growing habit. One that made Touma feel guilty in correcting, so he let it go without saying a word to that smiling girl on his lap.

Because every time he shattered the illusion of the small girl's fantasy, he would see it again.

The same pained, hurt, and sorrowful expression cross the small girl's eyes.

And every time he noticed it, the stake he had found nailed in his heart would dig further and further in.

"Why are you hurt so badly, Papa? Did you fall down a tall set of stairs again?"

"Stairs? Tch, isn't that the oldest excuse in the book."

Kaen scoffed without ever taking his eyes off his cell phone, his scowl growing amused for but a second.

Admittedly such an excuse did kinda seem to be one he would use if he had no other excuses in mind during the heat of the moment. Touma rubbed the back of his head with a weak chuckle. If someone like Komoe had begun to grill him on why he was in such a bad state, he probably would have tried such a ridiculous card to stop her from further worrying about him.

"No, I didn't fall down a set of stairs. Honestly, I would have happily taken that over everyday accident than the trouble I went through."

"Than did you trip because your shoelaces were undone?"

"Do these seriously look like the kind of injuries anyone would get for simply tripping on their laces?"

"Did you accidentally pour too much cooking oil into the frying pan and cause it to roar with flames?"

"No kitchen-related injury would be so readily accepted to explain all the gashes, burns, stabs, bruises, broken bones, and large amounts of blood I've lost."

Shockingly such gruesome details did not cause the bug antenna haired girl dressed in clothing far out of the range of this lousy Level-0s funds to so much as a gasp.

"Than did you sneeze too hard and stumble back into a working construction site where all manner of heavy machinery and rubble fell onto you before you found yourself having to fight some out of control female villain with a tragic backstory who was planning on destroying the world out of some silly notion you had to smack out of them with your fist of justice? Wait...does that mean I'm going to have a baby brother or sister? Kaa-san always said you couldn't be trusted to be faithful."

At this point let it be known that Nurse-chan had been giggling and now found herself falling back to the hard floor with a roar of laughter as she kicked her feet in the air at the innocent and naive guesses of the girl named Kamiko was making with godly precision.

Touma stared at the adorable girl sitting on his lap, staring up at him innocently as his jaw dropped. His right eye twitched as he couldn't find any words to express what he was feeling right now. Instead, he turned to look to the older brother leaning back against the wall with his eyes centered on his fancy touch screen phone.

"The shitty old man of ours is involved in...certain violent jobs. Every time he came home to visit, Kamiko would always bug him about how he was hurt and he would have to make something up to not scare her. Which never worked." the ever scowling teen scoffed, "Our monster of a Kaa-san would always twist his ears to tell them the truth in the end. Now naive little Kamiko-chan has grown to think severe injuries requiring dozens of stitches, casts, and a shit load of bandages is caused by simple everyday accidents."

"And the part about the accident-prone Tou-san being unfaithful?"

Why did that have anything to do with this plain-faced Kamijou-san?!

"Shitty old man was something of a man-whore; Kaa-san's words, not mine. To this day I can't tell if she was fucking around or being completely honest." Replied the flat voiced Kaen fiddling with his phone.

Again! What did such an observation have to do with this Kamijou-san who had never even been blessed with the memory of his first kiss?! Stop comparing him to some weird adult who was involved in dangerous jobs, lied to his kids about his injuries with excuses reeking of bullshit, and probably cheated on his wife as if it was as common as breathing!

Annoyance was etched onto the face of Touma who still found himself being stared at in curiosity by the big-eyed Kamiko on his lap. She was still waiting for his answer after coming up with such ridiculous guesses that were enough to make the stereotypical sexy nurse in the room fall on her back with gut-wrenching laughs.

It wasn't like he would just casually explain the mess that was District 10 and Mila Etoile he was involved in. Not like they would understand what went down days ago. From what he had read on online posts about the disaster pinned onto the riots and gang war brought by Skill-Out, everything linked to the girl dyed in grief-stricken purple like some brilliant star had been covered up. Not a sliver of what had really caused all the chaos and violence would be found.

For better or for worse, Mila Etoile did not exist in this world. None of her actions or her violent fingerprints could be found. Her sorrow, her tragedy, her grief, her tears, had been nothing more than an easily erased matter to never be discovered.

His right hand had failed to grasp onto the lonely girl bathed in the deep colors of darkness taking a hold of her heart.

All he had done was kill the lovely illusion he had painted for her with his welcoming hand to such a world.

In some horrific sense, he had gotten away with murder because the girl he had shattered to pieces did not exist in the public eye. He had simply been another victim of the disappointment and frustration of Level-0s who had snapped back against the city. He was another innocent victim.

"Pa-...Kamijou-san?"

Without realizing it, the dark and sullen aura had overcome Touma's bedridden figure once again at the thoughts of the lowest of Level-0s, Mila Etoile. The boy who could no longer make a fist had grown silent with an expression speaking of deep-seated regret and frustration. A shadow of grief masked his once bright blue eyes as he clenched his teeth with terrible force.

The drastic change in the high school boy had caused all eyes in the room to fall onto him. The lovely mature bodied nurse stopped her laughing fit to walk over to his bedside with worry in her dark brown eyes. Kaen glanced his way with an odd emotion in his stern brown eyes.

The small naive girl on his lap now stared up at the older spiky headed boy no differently than a child would when they discovered their parent crying silently in the closet.

Touma grimaced but just as quickly replaced his lapse of control over his turmoil with a simple smile.

Right, there was no reason to be sinking further into that dark abyss in his heart right now. Kamijou Touma wasn't the kind of person to be stared at as if he was some broken child. That's right, the will of a high school he had discovered in the short few weeks compromising the new Kamijou Touma was stronger than this. If he was going to be standing in for that ridiculously strong-hearted boy who passed on for the happiness of a Sister, he needed to be stronger than this.

There was no need to explain to the elementary school girl the details about fighting various Skill-Out thugs and a girl taking control of all the amassed AIM in Academy City. Such a tale was not fit for such an innocent girl. The failures of a boy who couldn't live up to the rails of a high school boy didn't need to be known to anyone but himself.

"It's alright, Kamiko-san. Besides, I was simply caught in some misfortune a few days ago during all the trouble going on in District 7. I'm fine, honest."

"Misfortune?"

An odd change took over the little rich girl's face, one of speaking of touching a rather sensitive nerve on her heart. She bit her lip, turning away from Touma before laying against his chest, face growing glum as she twiddled with her thumbs.

"I don't like misfortune. It's mean, always bullying Papa who doesn't deserve getting taken away by trouble or being hurt. It's like that one kid in class who's always pulling your hair when you're walking by. All it ever does is take Papa away from Mama, away from Onii-san, away from me."

Briefly, in every sense of the word, a cold spike of...something had revealed itself to the world.

"I hate it."

Briefly, in every sense of the word, the gentle and innocent eyes of a sweet girl grew dark with emotions far too out of reach for such a young child to possess.

Briefly, in every sense of the word, cold perspiration had been felt on Touma's body, sending chills down his spine.

It was but for a brief moment, but the girl on his lap had gained an ominous presence that flickered away like a lit flame before a gust of wind. And it seemed he was the only one to have noticed as the lovely strong-armed nurse made no reaction to the dark aura.

"I wish I could get rid of misfortune. I really hate it."

A buzzing tingle grew deep in the bones of Touma's heavily bandaged right arm, held to his chest by the hospital sling.

"I won't let it take Papa away again. I won't. I won't let such a cruel bully ever take what's mine away from me ever again. I-"

A soft, warm, and kind hand fell atop of the mumbling girl's head, giving her an affectionate rub that ceased the spike of ominous aura.

Kamiko blinked, seeming to have spaced out as she rubbed her eyes and stared up at the hand that helped to bring her back from whatever was troubling her.

"Calm down, Kamiko-chan. It's alright. You're Onii-san is here to keep the misfortune away from stealing what you love this time, alright?"

The normally scowling expression on Kaen's face gave way to a brotherly smile as he rubbed his little sister's head. Whatever dregs of ominous energy the teary-eyed girl held onto were banished with the simple words and touch of her older brother's warm aura. She nodded weakly, staring down at her clenched hand over her lap as a small sniffle was heard.

...

...

A certain right hand trembled beneath the many durable layers of a cast, unable to so much as twitch a digit.

A left hand with splints shuddered in hesitation to reach out to a girl about to cry.

Guilt stung at Touma's chest at the bright-eyed girl's withdrawn demeanor. He couldn't sense that sunny, optimistic presence she exuded. The utter of one word had robbed her of her joy and brought up bad memories.

Just like back then...

When he was face to face with a girl destroying herself in search of a place or a person to find worth in her.

Just like back then…

When he tried to extend his right hand out to help her smile in the same light he basked in so easily.

Just like back then…

Once again, he had been at fault for a girl's smile being robbed by his misfortune.

He grit his teeth to the point of shaving away the calcium of his molars.

What could he say to return Kamiko's smile? What could a boy plagued by rotten fortune do to a girl who hated the concept he would always exude onto his ordinary life? His right hand was misery incarnate, a hand rejected by warm and kind miracles. A tool of destruction incapable of allowing a lonely girl the right to regain a spot in the light even idiots cursed with bad luck could take for granted. What other tool did an idiot like him possess to relieve the pressure in a damaged heart?

Violence was all he knew. Violence was all he had been able to use to solve the problems he was faced with since he was born into this world. Violence was the only setting his cursed hand had been equipped with.

Someone who once stood in his spot had saved a silver-haired nun from losing her memories with his right hand and did so without causing her harm in any way.

Would the current Kamijou Touma have been able to do the same with his violence?

At the end, when a sullen faced girl in a miko outfit possessing toxic blood spelling certain death to humans under the label of darkness was in harm's way and the silver-haired Sister was about to be irreversibly altered to solve an already resolved event, this Kamijou Touma had only resolved everything with a gruesome crunch of gore and bones by an invisible force of imagination rooted in his arm to answer the violence in his heart.

When faced with a girl crying out to be loved and cherished by a world designating her as an empty value, he had tried reaching his hand out to save her and promise her a chance to be valued by someone who had finally caught the sight of her tears and the sound of her loneliness. He brandished his cruel fangs to spill her blood in the name of salvation but only further drew a wedge between them.

And when he thought he had broken the barrier between them, when he thought he could finally feel the soft sensation of a girl's trembling hand on his own, he destroyed it.

He'd been incapable of scoring a perfect ending where everyone could smile.

'I...I really am hopeless, aren't I? This right hand, it's only good for breaking the gentle world of others, right? A bastard like me, who can't even help a single girl gain her happiness back, is completely useless. A bastard like me, who couldn't even save a man who was simply trying to find a way to smile with his friend no matter the cost, is truly a failure. A bastard like me, who can only respond to cries and tragedy with blood caked fist, is just a violent freak. A bastard like-!'

"Will you stop moping, you damn lousy hero-complex obsessed dumb-ass?"

A rough flick to Touma's forehead dragged him out of those darkening thoughts he had thought he had gotten rid of. He blinked, finding the scowl faced Kaen standing over him as he kept his right hand on Kamiko's head. Off to the side, he could see the strong-armed nurse gazing at him with concern.

He hadn't noticed it, but his expression once again withdrawn into a pitiful, self-loathing, sullen mask. His left hand had been lifted up, pausing from touching the upset Kamiko and trembled with self-doubt. Almost as if he was far too terrified of touching an object which would burn away every cell in his body.

"If you're going to be second-guessing yourself like that, then what's the point of feeling guilt or shame? Own up to what you're feeling and stop letting failures become an excuse for not even having the balls to cheer up a single girl on your lap. Otherwise, you might as well break that right hand of yours free and drill it deep into your memory."

With a displeased scoff, Kaen gently lifted his little sister off of the high school boy's lap and set her down beside him. Rumbling could be heard in the pocket of his white hoodie originating from his smartphone. He grumbled at either the time or a message he had received and turned for the door with his sister in tow.

"We've overstayed our welcome. Let's go, Kamiko."

"B-But Pap-"

"Does that look like the kind of face your Papa would ever make? Get real; a weak-willed and pathetic brat who would crumble to his own failure and misery isn't anything like our Tou-san. Now, come on. You've already had your checkup and the doctor said you're perfectly fine, so let's go."

The little rich attired girl with pigtails done up like antenna's face fell, briefly gazing back at the slouch postured high school boy whose face was obscured by the shadows of his dark hair.

She bit her bottom lip and turned away from Touma, staring down at the floor as she followed her older brother out of the room.

"I hope you get better, Kamijou-san."

The door shut behind her, leaving the mummy dressed high school boy to sink further in doubt's cruel whispers.

[-]

If one were to ask one high school boy known as Tsuchimikado Motoharu where his allegiance laid, he would grin broadly and say he was a simple Level-0, an Esper of Academy City. What would an ordinary boy without any real power know about something as serious as allegiance?

If you were privy to his connections with magic and his genius skill in onmyoji, he would relent and say he was an undercover agent working to spy on the enemy faction's movements.

But wait!

That was simply a clever cover-up!

In reality, he was once a magician loyal to the English Puritan Church but had switched sides to the Science side after losing his ability to safely perform spells due to his biology being tampered with. He was actually a spy for Academy City, feeding a certain chairman's secrets and plans shared only to the members of Necessarius.

Wait again!

In truth, he was neither aligned with Science or Magic! He was a triple agent, working for an outside organization that wished to monitor both dangerous sides and aimed to take over once they destroyed themselves. He saw the power struggle between the two giants as one leading to destruction on both sides and decided to ally himself with the future tyrant to fill in the gaping hole left behind by the absence of both supernatural powers welcoming in a new age of miracles.

Not so fast!

Actually, he was the world's greatest and most devious of spies who, in reality, was simply playing whatever cards he was dealt and playing whatever field he could to gain the favor of the many factions of the world for his own profit. He was a free agent with no true desire to follow any side down the road to glory or destruction. He was loyal to none, cared little for the plans of masterminds, and was actually a secret genius with plans for world domination of his own. He was a spy who would evolve into the mastermind or final boss.

Lie, lie, lie, lie.

In the end, everything was a clever and smooth lie out of his lips meant to work in his favor. A spy was a devious trickster no different than the assassin. A being that wormed themselves into whatever power would benefit them and their desires. Loyalty was a concept never to be tied to such a flippant label. If one were to symbolize them with an object, there was only ever one thing they could be honestly attributed with.

A backstabbing blade.

A disloyal instrument that would stick itself at the exposed back gullible enough to give them any grain of loyalty.

But if he were to say if he had any loyalty to any one person, the blond-haired trickster of a spy would grin goofily and blush like some middle school girl being asked about their crush. He would go on and on about the subject of little sisters, forbidden love, and that there was no purer love than that shared between step-siblings. The Siscon Sergeant was nothing more than a pervy older brother and that was, honestly, the only truth to ever be found.

Though, if he were to be completely honest, hand to god, and free to speak freely without any prying ears, he would say there were a very small group of individuals he was sorta loyal to that would fit in his hand. But none as important or greater than the sole life he cherished as his own family he had plucked out of nowhere for his own ill gain.

One of the said individuals was a certain hospitalized high schooler unable to defend himself at the moment.

"Ya just can't go without leading trouble onto you like some love-obsessed stalker, can't ya, Kami-yan? Misfortune might as well be a sexy, brooding, busty yandere because she just won't leave you alone. And here I was hoping to spend the rest of my day being pampered my Maika-chan."

Tsuchimikado grumbled as he walked among the crowd of District 7's infamous underground mall, Seventh Mist.

The blond-haired double agent was currently following a lead, one dropped by Academy City's Head Chairman, Aleister Crowley. As one of the mysterious and never seen leader of Academy City's tools, he had many assignments ranging from scouting certain supernatural individuals 'breaking' into their walls, leading a certain unfortunate spiky-haired high schooler to certain events, or plain old assassination of those growing a little too big in the britches of some insidious plan to take over the city. Today's mission concerned an unknown individual who had begun to randomly appear outside the vicinity of A Certain Hospital. The target hadn't used an esper ability such as teleportation or camouflage, nor did they use technology to mess with the cameras that had caught him popping up out of thin air while everyone else seemed to ignore him. Who they were dealing with wasn't a member of the science side.

They were a magician, a rogue element of the magical world.

One who was apparently taking notes out of a certain magical courier's ability to make flashcard grimoires.

This was more than just a matter of a magician sneaking into the city to attack Academy City's blasphemous teachings. If it was that simple, Imagine Breaker would have been lead to deal with them without him ever knowing.

No, the problem came at the time said rogue magician had broken in and a message had been left behind on the door of the bedridden Kamijou Touma's hospital ward.

A warning had been left behind of a possible attack on the weakened wielder of Imagine Breaker.

Put two and two together, and you had your attacker.

'Though it seems a little coincidental for the attacker to be found this quickly. Not to mention the note had been left behind without anyone being able to discover the author's identity or tracks. For all I know, this could be a trap. But who's the target?'

Currently, Tsuchimikado was following the faint traces of mana being left behind by the rogue magician. Even if he was currently unable to use his onmyoji spells to track the magician, he was still adept enough to follow the amateurish residue his prey was leaving behind. The magician was most likely using a spell to conceal himself among the students without being detected or felt. Almost as if an unnatural thought had the students steer clear of an unseen presence passing through them.

Without a crowd to hide in, the caster would be revealed but remain ignored. The spell must have been based on fading into the background, similar to the ways the Amakasu Remix followers performed their spells. It was a sorry excuse for one though since the caster could still be picked up by cameras and machines when his spell failed.

Which made Tsuchimikado doubt it wasn't on purpose.

'I'm being lead on. The magician knows I've been keeping track of them since I arrived at A Certain Hospital to investigate. They spotted me sniffing around and ran to shake me off, but left behind an obvious trail of crumbs I would hungrily go after. Does that mean they're intent on keeping me away from the hospital Kami-yan's recovering in despite their mission being to attack him? It might be possible the magician's not alone, they could be working with a small party. Which means they're a decoy.'

A strong possibility but one Tsuchimikado was unable to prove.

Only one figure had been spotted popping out of thin air, an easily identified figure captured by the security cameras of a nearby cafe restaurant close to the hospital.

Tsuchimikado's target was a delinquent figured blond with streaks of black on his slicked-back hair who wore a familiar unbuttoned white summer uniform shirt, red tank top, baggy pants, and sunglasses. His attire was disturbingly similar to his own.

Passing by a gaudy store fit for the ojous of School Garden, Tsuchimikado noticed the flow of human traffic part ahead. None of the students seemed to notice why they were moving out of the way of some invisible force pushing past them and heading for the exit. He clicked his tongue at how the crowd was quickly moving out of the way like tides being cut by the fin of a shark and picked up his pace. Seemed the assassin wasn't waiting to be caught anymore.

Running forward, Tsuchimikado reached the exit, head swiveling back and forth for signs of the invisible magician. There weren't as many people outside of Seventh Mist, so the magician would be revealed.

'There!'

Of course, he would spot ahead of slick blond, black-streaked hair slipping into the ever familiar territory of Academy City's alleys. Tsuchimikado swore he caught the faintest tell-tale of a smirk on the delinquent magician's face.

In a game of cat and mouse, one shouldn't be surprised to find the roles of 'Cat' and 'Mouse' reversed.

Between Tsuchimikado and the rogue magician, who held the title of Cat? Even a mouse could be clever enough to lead on their pursuer to a trap to turn the tables in their favor and become the hunter.

Whether this was all a ploy to distract him from a threat to Kamijou Touma's life by taking out the magical element watching over him, he continued to follow his target none the less. They were still a threat who held unknown plans for Academy City, one the Head Chairman of the city wanted gone for posing a threat to the Silver Star's greatest asset. Chances were that they were working alone.

And if they weren't? Well, then they would have to hope that Anti-Skill and Judgment lived up to their reputation as peacekeepers. Protecting the life of one unfortunate high schooler should be easy enough for those shields.

Checking what weapons and tools he had brought along with him for a fight, Tsuchimikado jumped into the dank, dark alleys with his eyes locked onto the back of the running magician leading him on.

A gun would be the perfect weapon to take advantage of right now, With how narrow the alley was, the straight trajectory of a bullet would make it nigh impossible to dodge. A few pops of piercing metal shells and the problem would be resolved.

Mission complete.

The magician must have realized that too. Even if those on the magic side saw little need for such weapons, they knew how versatile they were and understood how common those on the science side used them.

Meaning that the rogue magician was purposely leaving himself exposed.

Why?

An odd grin found itself on Tsuchimikado's face.

Color him curious. Without a doubt, the magician was knowingly leading him towards a selected destination, out of the prying eyes of the city, for either a discussion or combat. For what reason?

'I suppose I can spare a few moments to see what the bastard has in mind. Without using words, he's signaling he doesn't want to involve bystanders in our conflict. If this was a simple talk he wanted to convey, he would have said so. But he knows this could lead towards a nasty fight, so he's decided to change the setting of the event to one more fit for a violent turnout. Why? Isn't he after Kami-yan's life?'

Wherever the mysterious rogue magician leads him, it was, without a doubt, going to be an interesting encounter that, for some reason, gave him goosebumps.

A plan was set in motion by someone in command of this unfaithful blade.

As if he would carry it out to the letter.

Upon the placed guard rails of someone in power, this backstabbing blade would create his own paths for his own benefit.

[-]

"You shouldn't put so much responsibility on your shoulders, Kamijou-kun. It's not healthy for a young man like yourself to burden yourself with the happiness of everyone you met. At this rate, you are, without a doubt, going to find yourself in an early grave from either fatal wounds or stress. Knowing your lack of luck, I'd sadly say to the latter rather the former."

Bloody bandages were tossed to the waste bin close by, replaced by a newer set tightly yet not too tightly over the wounded right hand of the silent spiky teen who was unresponsive to the mature nurse's touch or words.

Due to an unconscious urge brought on by self-loathing, he had balled up his broken fist, still fresh with stitches from yesterday, and caused them to snap. Red oozed from his trembling cursed charm. Having caught sight of the small blotches of crimson staining the cast, the strong-armed nurse had taken it upon herself to fix the small wounds herself. There was no need for Heaven Canceler to be taken away from his care of other patients who were in need of his life-saving skills.

It didn't at all surprise her that the spiky boy hadn't cried out in pain. He was the stubborn kind of boy who refused to show any hints of needing to be saved or in need of a simple hand. Though he offered salvation to others, he would always deny the notion to himself.

Honestly, what was she going to do with such a troubled kindhearted boy?

Having patched up the troubled hand, the strong-armed nurse rubbed her hand over the object of Touma's scorn with a gentle smile.

She could see how upset he had become from being unable to cheer up the young girl he had only just met. It troubled him far more than it should have. As if a sensitive nerve connected to his very heart had been pricked with ruthless abandonment. She didn't have to be told the specifics, but she knew. As one of the many staffed personnel in this hospital that was all but a second home compared to his dorm, she could see he was still affected by his latest heroic venture responsible for his current state.

Kamijou Touma's ever strong and firm resolve had been shaken. Faint cracks marred his kind core with an ugly scar.

The shadow of a boy who believed he was a plague to everyone who wandered close to him had risen to cloud the current cursed teen's mind.

The nurse who embodied the stereotypical sexy nurse found in adult entertainment, who possessed a strong set of biceps for someone who appeared so feminine and gentle, softly bit her lip.

Her most beloved of patients she always prayed to never see again within these walls was in pain. A type of pain no amount of medical expertise would ever hope to heal despite the advanced technology and practices developed in a city thirty years ahead of the rest of the world. It was a kind of hurt unseen by human eyes and not as easily treatable when compared to losing a limb or grafting new skin.

When faced with such a wound even veteran doctors couldn't ease, it was understandable to back away. There was nothing even a lovely nurse could do.

But still…

The nurse moved her lips with a soft and warm light in her eyes focused on the silent and brooding teen who had lost sight of his own hand.

"It's okay. No one's going to blame you for whatever it is you're torturing yourself with. Don't forget, you're just a high school boy. You're only human. You're no different than the previous Kamijou Touma who once rested in the same bed with mutterings of misfortune and numerous white cloths wrapping his body."

She could see Touma's body stiffly lock up, feel his heartbeat pick up in pace by the feel of his broken right hand's wrist, his chest stop as if his breath had been caught in his throat. Shakily, his dark troubled blue eyes glanced her way.

Her chest felt as if it was being strangled by a coiling python at the sight of those mirrors so horribly cracked by despair and self-loathing.

His lips quivered, struggling to say a word to the woman who knew of his darkest and most selfish of illusions he had yet to break.

The Kamijou Touma being treated with smiles, understanding, familiarity, and concern by the hospital staff who saw him no differently than a visiting family member was nothing more than a hollow shell who had decided to fool the world into believing he was the original. A parasite, a fake, a living lie, a husk fooling those who treated him as someone no longer present out of nothing more than a desire to prevent those smiles from collapsing with tears.

A boy unworthy of love but readily accepting the feelings he had never earned.

She tightened her grip on the fragile hand reeking of foreboding hexes designed to destroy peace. The hospitalized high school boy didn't need to say anything as her dark brown eyes gently gazed at his quivering form.

"Don't be so surprised. I am one of the very few who work alongside Heaven Canceler when it comes to fixing your body up from whatever mess you wander into for the sake of others. I've been there for nearly every OR or ICU operation you've ever been subjected to. Many of the doctors and nurses have; why else do you think they treat you like family? I know of the damage you've suffered that night, of the irreparable destruction to the brain cells concerning your memory leaving you without any clue to your original self. As your beloved Nurse-chan, I promise to keep that secret between you, I, and Heaven Canceler for as long as you wish to keep it. And I'll never judge you for the decisions you make in the name of someone else."

She may have been the embodiment of the typical sexy nurse found in adult fantasies, but she was a caring nurse in the end. One who cherished her patients, listened to their troubles and complaints with a patient smile, worked herself to the bone to heal the bloodiest and most gruesome of injuries, and made it her life's purpose to ensure that, no matter how long it took or how difficult it may be, her sweet patients would walk out of these doors to return to their everyday life.

A purpose no different than her most favorite and beloved of patients she had cared for since he was a young child plagued with misery and she a naive nurse blind to the invisible wounds on the human heart.

She sat herself down next to the boy who believed he was a husk following the tugs remaining of the original.

To her, there was no husk; just a boy with a shaken heart in need of a woman's touch.

"I know nothing I say right now will stick enough to help you realize you are you, no matter what you believe. You're a stubborn boy. Guiltily, I had hoped such a troubling part of your character would have changed, but you wouldn't be you if it did. So, I'll let you find yourself again for now. No matter how long it may take; days, weeks, months, years, decades, I'll patiently wait for you to realize who you are. But you have to understand it's okay to stumble now and again. Failure is what makes you human. We all fail, we all find ourselves unable to save a measly smile, and we all break down because of the despair of our losses, and we all beat ourselves up to the point of self-harm and even question our resolves. But I know you're not the kind of boy who will allow himself to remain sulking forever. You'll rise up, your right hand clenched, with that gleam in your eye responsible for ensnaring the young hearts of the female staff here."

A puzzled, clueless Touma titled his head at the giggling mature nurse. Ever dense, no matter the situation or state of his heart. It was one of the many things she adored about him.

She warmly patted his uneasy right hand, moving her own to rest on the bandaged cheek of her favorite patient.

"It may not be today, maybe not tomorrow, but I know wholeheartedly you'll regain your spark. Kamijou Touma is a boy who will always get back up no matter what injuries his body, heart, or mind have to endure. And as long as you are within these walls, don't be afraid to let yourself reveal how hurt you are by your selfless endeavors. Because no matter who finds himself as Kamijou Touma for whatever the reason,"

The conflicted, pained, despaired eyes of the boy currently known as Kamijou Touma grew wide in surprise as he felt brought into a warm embrace by an older woman. An aura of nurturing basking warmth devoured the exuding misfortune biting at his heart along with the pleasing scent of a woman.

"I, alongside everyone working in this building, will fight our hardest to ensure you can return to your normal life with a smile on your face. So, stumble all you like, fall all you like, trip all you like; we'll be here to fix the damage so long as you're willing to get back up."

The boy who's emotions had become delicate and fragile from his latest adventure gripped the back of the kindly smiling older woman. No tears fell from his eyes even if they did sting terribly. He only divulged himself in taking in the soothing aura which was unafraid of his right hand's curse robbing the nurse of a kind miracle from god.

As selfish as it was, as detestable as it was, as evil as it was; the right hand which banished God's blessings and ever warm light dug its fingers in the back of the lovely nurse accepting the cruelty of his cursed hand.

To the strong-armed nurse, it felt as if those large hand had reverted to a smaller, desperate, hurt, and fragile grip she had once felt. She smiled wider as she ran her fingers through the spiky hair nestled in her chest.

Perhaps it was because of woman like herself that Kamijou Touma had grown a rather strange and adamant love for Dorm Manager Onee-sans.

Later she would pout when his fetishes didn't include nurses as well.

[-]

An irritating silence fell between an older brother and younger sister as they walked the halls of the hospital. Even if he was staring at his phone the entire time, Kaen recognized he was being treated to the age-old silent treatment. His little sister hadn't made a peep once they left the room belonging to Kamijou Touma.

Or as his sister had said, their Papa.

Kaen scoffed at the mere memory of the younger boy who would, possibly, become his father in an unsure future.

'Seriously, how the literal fuck did someone as ruthless, no-nonsense, and cruel as Kaa-san shag up with him, not once, but twice!? I'd really like to know considering how I'm the oldest.'

Hard, inconceivable, insane, and puzzling as it was, Mugino Kaen was, indeed, the oldest and firstborn son of Kamijou Touma. He was the older brother to all of the Kamijou children.

...If you weren't being technical.

It was a muddy past event, one which had done what only a Magic God had been capable of one once without the knowledge of humanity realizing it, that had utterly shattered Kamijou Touma's heart when he had been at his most happiest.

A period of grief had gone unspoken of in which Kamijou Touma had lost the dwindling spark of humanity in his cracked heart to die and had nearly done something incredibly stupid.

Very few people knew of the actions he had taken that were said to be brought out of the very few times he had ever been truly selfish.

There was a story to the Imagine Breaker regaining his old self.

A story responsible for the surprising crossing of Mugino Shizuri and Kamijou Touma that would eventually lead to Kaen's birth. One he only dug up bits and pieces to through means he could no longer recall.

Just thinking about what he had learned years ago made the oldest spawn of Kamijou Touma scratch the back of his head furiously.

Since it was only bits and pieces, he still didn't understand how his mother would wind up being one of the many women to apparently fall for his father's bullshit. He hadn't even known there were other women until the shitty old man kicked the bucket! But like all troublesome funerals of a playboy, certain aspects of his life had been revealed and he wasn't alive to take the responsibility for his loose actions.

Seriously, how did his bitch of a mother end up screwing around with such a guy? She was supposed to be better than the rest! A mean spirited bitch like her was suppose to be immune to his sappy, good-too shoes, white knight crap.

Just trying to figure out such a puzzle made him scratch his scalp more. It was a rather nasty habit he couldn't shake off, one his mother would keep nagging him that he would grow bald for.

'Being the oldest sucks. Why do I get to deal with all this heavy crap? Like now; dealing with a naive little sister who can't seem to wrap her head around our current situation.'

Out of all the children who had been sent back into the past by magic-Kaen was still struggling to wrap his mind over that bombshell-his little sister, Kamiko, was the youngest of the litter. Being as such, she was having difficulty understanding and accepting the hell they had witnessed engulf their world in four days before being dropped off into the literal past. To her young mind, the woman in this time known as Mugino Shizuri wasn't any different than her mother.

As for first meetings went, it wasn't disastrous as Kaen would have thought.

It had been a day since they had found themselves wandering the past of their original world. They had simply been walking about the streets of District 15, sightseeing the landscape that would change into something far more glamorous and rich in the future. They hadn't been seeking anyone who had journeyed with them all the way to the tip of Mt. Everest to travel to this unknown past. All they had in mind was taking in the sights before planning out how they would survive and settle into a time they didn't belong.

Of course, such thoughts were only running through Kaen's mind. Kamiko was simply humming happily at his side, going 'ohhh' and 'aww' at the scenery she wasn't familiar with like your typical younger sibling sightseeing in a new city. He was at least thankful she hadn't turned into a sobbing mess.

Because of her curiosity and interest in everything around her, it was Kamiko who had come upon her.

Arms lugging a large amount of highly expensive clothing she would probably only ever wear out once, face as elegant and smooth as your typical high-class daughter of some company president making billions every year, with a phone in one hand as she boredly typed away on the touch screen, was the Number 4 Level-5 Meltdowner, Mugino Shizuri.

Kaen failed to notice the bomb about to trigger an event he wasn't prepared to face after facing a literal God who could shape the very world around them like they were playing with modeling clay. He was pretty sure he would have begun hyperventilating and clutched his heart.

Kamiko?

At the sight of the young woman who held one the deadliest killing powers among the seven Level-5s of Academy City, she had happily shouted and ran straight to the unaware Mugino with a sobbing tackling embrace that had nearly knocked the stunned young woman off her heels.

He frowned slightly at the memory of the strange face the woman who might become his mother made.

She hadn't reacted as expected.

As expected, Meltdowner should have pushed the strange little girl off, sneered at her snot runny and teary-eyed face, and sent her running with more tears once she brought out her green orbs of death. It didn't matter if Kamiko was only a child; Academy City's Number 4 Level-5 was a cruel girl painted in the darkness of the city who would only ever complain about the blood stuck underneath her manicured nails.

Instead, though, the Level-5 grew annoyed at the crying girl and grumbled at being called something as ridiculous as Kaa-san.

No spheres of death welcoming light were created.

Meltdowner didn't push Kamiko away.

She didn't even utter anything foul but a soft curse.

Mugino Shizuri had instead picked the teary-eyed girl up and asked her where her mother was as if she was a puppy who had escaped their owner's leash. Having snapped out of the startling scene and cooled his own shaken heart, Kaen made himself known and taken Kamiko off her hands, saying his thanks before walking away.

He hadn't wished to further continue the event any farther than he did.

Unlike Kamiko who was ready to dive into old habits, he was far more realistic.

He needed to gather his own emotions, harden his heart, and plan out their next actions carefully if they wished to survive in this world riddled with troublesome events.

Two days later, with the help of a certain sister's pull, Kaen became ITEM's newest member. Against his wishes and attempts, his younger sister had followed after him as he went to meet with the girls he would work with in matters not kind to the human heart. One thing led to another and Kamiko had basically nestled herself in with the rest of the girls of the deadly team of terrifying espers.

'Kamiko-chan got a warmer welcome than I did! She wasn't labeled as Hot-Headed Pervert, Flamer, or Creep for accidentally walking into the girl's changing on my first day! Who the fuckity fuck changes in the living quarters of their base like it was a locker room?'

If one were to be within distance of his personal bubble, they would find themselves sweating and pulling at the collar of their shirt.

His AIM Diffusion Field matched his fiery personality to a T.

'Speaking of Kamiko, how long is she going to continue giving me the cold shoulder? I know it must hurt her, but I've already explained to her why we can't reveal ourselves to Kaa-san or the shitty old man. I thought she understood by now.' he thought tiredly with a heavy sigh.

Kaen was growing fed up with having to remind Kamiko not to refer to Mugino as Kaa-san like a broken record. They were lucky Meltdowner hadn't threatened them. Now that his little sister met Kamijou Touma, it was even worse.

An uneasy shiver ran through his body.

'What was that back there? For a moment, it felt like a spike of something...wrong had spiked from her body. Why did it seem familiar? Where have I felt such twisted energy before?'

Vile, corrupt, toxic.

Those were simply a few words to register what ill-boding presence had been felt from Kamiko at the mention of misfortune. Did it have to do with why she hadn't been feeling well these past three days?

It had begun shortly after they had arrived in this new world centered on a past they were all but ignorant about.

Stomach aches had been plaguing Kamiko for some time now. She would say her head would hurt for a few moments and then return to normal as if she had never been feeling ill at all. She sometimes would grow agitated, acting like a fussy child when denied certain things but would calm down easily. But none of the symptoms she had been displaying had ever gone as far as to make her sweat, vomit, grow dizzy, faint, or grow short of breath.

He had thought she was displaying something akin to jet lag. No ever explained what would happen to their bodies after they had traversed through two decades of time in what felt like a second. Similarly, he had felt the same symptoms for a while before they disappeared into thin air.

Just to be safe though, he decided to bring her to the best-known hospital he could trust for a proper evaluation of her recent odd behavior.

The doctors had performed a check-up, running whatever tests and exams were needed to assure him Kamiko was perfectly healthy. The queasiness his little sister had been experiencing lately was chalked up to her habit of stuffing her face with nothing but fresh fish like salmon and tuna. Said kind of food brought risks of stomach viruses since they weren't cooked, not to mention the amount of iron certain species of fish may carry within their body. There was a reason why it wasn't healthy to eat nothing but seafood for every meal.

He chalked it up as a matter to worry about later.

Nothing bad had come of the weird spike of foreboding energy, right? Why bother doing anything about it? For all he knew, it was simply an adverse side effect of traveling back in time via ancient magic which would fade away alongside Kamiko's gleeful habit of eating almost nothing but salmon. Kaen himself had felt queasy before but it had faded after his second day in their new reality and home. Right now it was smarter to try and appease his little sister's pouting rather than worry.

She may have been upset at being taken away from the boy who might become her father one day, but it was for her own good. Better she didn't get too attached to him and blow their cover.

She was a daughter of Kamijou Touma, she could endure it.

But as the big brother, he grudgingly was, Kaen needed to cheer the girl up before they got back home.

Pausing in the middle of the hall, he turned back to kneel down and speak to his little sister with a promise to go anywhere she wanted to eat for lunch.

"...Huh?"

Kaen dumbly stared at, well, nothing.

Kamiko was nowhere to be seen. His little sister had ditched her older brother without a word. Logic went as far as being defied by the visible outline of a little girl with twin-tails reminiscent of bug antennas flashing briefly before fading away.

Motherfuc-!

"Eh? Is that who I think it is? Let's see; shaggy tea-colored swoopy skater hair, a white beaten up hoodie, his very presence makes me sweat lightly as he scratches his scalp furiously which will leave him bald by the time he hits his mid-twenties? Kaen-nii-san, is that you?"

Great, just great.

Another annoyance decided to sneak up on this Mugino-san on the verge of erupting and flooding the halls with sweltering waves of intense heat from his ability. Stopping his furious hands from breaking the skin of his scalp again and staining the inside of his nails with blood, Kaen sighed as he turned around to find a certain unkempt haired and unladylike tomboy of a half-sibling greeting him with a teasing grin beside two normal-looking middle school girls.

"Tch, I should have known an idiot like you would be visiting him at some point. What are the odds I'd be unlucky enough to run into a wannabe hero like you now? I already have enough going on right now to be dealing with such a piss poor copy of that bigger id-!"

A hard fist crashed against the left cheek of Kaen's face by the ticked off unruly haired Kamijou Toka, causing the two girls known as Saten Ruiko and Uiharu Kazari to gasp dramatically.

Kaen grit his teeth, his scowling features growing deeper as he stood over the brawler menacingly with a clear view of heat waves rolling off his body.

"What the fuck, Toka?! Who the hell greets their onii-san with a fucking punch to the face?! What kind of girl does that? Have some respect for your damn elders!"

The aura of intimidation he was sending of was enough to make Saten and Uiharu step back nervously with dry mouths. Toka, on the other hand, simply rested her knuckles on her waist as she stared up at the pissed off eyes of her older brother.

"I should be saying the same to you! Who greets their younger sister like she were a lowly bug crawling out of their sleeve? Did you think I would cutely smile and ignore the insult with a 'teehee'? As if, you lousy excuse of an onii-san!"

Kaen's eyes twitched at the sight of a shaking fist belonging to the normal high school girl treating him as if he were a misbehaving pet who had snapped at her.

Did she forget who she was talking to?

Mugino Kaen was a Level-5 in their time, a high plain of genius and talent matched only by the #1 who had replaced their Head Chairman's title due to their powers being exactly alike it was terrifying.

And some lousy Level-0 was talking down to him without a shred of fright or awe? She was basically spitting at his face at this point.

"Know your place, you wannabe he-!"

Another fist rocketed forward to his gut, robbing the violent future Level-5's breath with one clean strike sending him on his knees and clutching his stomach with a wheeze.

Why the hell was it that such a loser completely lacking in feminine charm gifted with their father's powerful right hook?! Fuck genetics!

Toka huffed at the heated glare on his face, right knuckle returning to resting on her hip as she stood over him rather patronizingly.

"Um, Toka-san, is he going to be alright?"

The unkempt long-haired high school girl waved her hand nonchalantly to Uiharu's concern as she and Saten decided to walk over to her side.

"Kaen-nii-san? Yeah, he'll be fine. Just give him a minute to collect his shattered remains of what he calls pride and he'll be good as new. Snarky prick isn't someone to go down so easily."

If it weren't for the fact he would pay dearly for endangering the many recuperating lives in this hospital, Kaen would have incinerated his half-sibling without being gracious enough to leave ash.

"Wait, if you're here then where's Kamiko-chan? I'd have thought she would have been with you. Don't tell me she was separated from you after making it to Academy City?"

Shit, he almost forgot.

Groaning as he picked himself up, Kaen showed frustration as he began to look back where they came in search of a small head of dark hair with twin-tails adorning their head like antennas.

"No, Kamiko made it safely with me and we've been living in a dorm these past few days, thanks to that behind the scenes secretary nee-san of ours. We're here because she hadn't been feeling well lately when we bumped into him after she was given a clean bill of health. Stuff happened, we left, and I may have pissed her off enough to run off somewhere. Damn brat, always causing me trou-!"

Fist, once again, met the Level-5s cheek, resulting in a snarl reminiscent of a dog.

"Fuck! Stop hitting me already, you damn bitch! Seriously, why do all the girls I have to deal with have freakishly strong fists? Is this the form of misfortune passed down by our lousy shitty old man? I don't want it, I reject it!"

"Stop complaining, you lousy excuse of an onii-san! What do you mean Kamiko-chan ran off? She's only seven-years-old! How can you be so nonchalant about losing her?"

At the news of a missing child, Uiharu straightened her posture.

The normal settings of the cutesy and frail girl had reset itself to its Judgment mode as she stepped past the scowling high school girl to speak with the scowling red-cheeked shaggy tea-colored haired boy.

Gone was the timid girl with a flower headband who was an absolute glutton for sweets such as parfaits.

A proud member of Judgment stood in her place, ready to do her job in protecting the citizens of this city.

"Pardon me, Kaen-san, was it? But if you've lost sight of your little sister, allow me, a Judgment officer, to lend you a hand in finding her. I have an assignment to get to right now, but I can take a little detour to lend you a hand. Even if she's running off in a hospital, this is a rather large one, largest in District 7, so it would be better to have more hands helping to search for one girl than just one."

Kaen quirked a brow at the serious-faced girl with flowers in her hair.

She seemed kinda familiar. Had he seen her face before?

"Run along, little flower girl. I don't need some Judgment chick getting involved in my business." he said flatly.

Another fist flew towards the runway that was Kaen's face. This time he had expected it. When the hard knuckles came, he caught the punch with his left hand and squeezed the arrogant fist with a vicious grin.

"Did you really think I wouldn't see that coming, ya charmless brat?!"

"Judgment-chan~! I'm being bullied by a higher level esper who's staring at me with leering eyes roaming all over my body! Kyaaaaah!"

"Bullshit! There ain't a tantalizing curve on that plain, boring, cheap body of yours! Unless you're dressed up as a bunny girl on the main floor of a casino parlor with puffy lips, get lost!"

"What kind of onii-san says such perverted crap to their imouto-san?! Are you trying to piss me off again as when you and Hachiman-nii-san were arguing about bunny girls and catgirls? If there is one thing I know you inherited from Tou-san, it's his stupid inherit perverseness and crude mouth!"

"Y-You bitch! As if I'd be passed down such shitty taste in women! I'm a man of culture, culture! You're just pissy because you'd never be able to pull off such a hot and sexy archetype due to your lack of curves and flirty charm! Drink some Musashino milk and grow some curves then we'll talk in a much more civilized manner. In other words; go die and try again, ya failure of a sex symbol."

"As if!"

Uiharu, the Judgment officer who held authority in her small fists and posture, slumped as her debut into the story as an officer of the law was downgraded to being left on the side of two arguing siblings.

Her moment! It was gone! All she could taste was the salty tears rolling down her face as Saten patted her back in sympathy.

With a huff, Toka stepped back from her sorry excuse of an older brother before speaking to Uiharu and Saten without taking her eyes off of Kaen.

"Sorry, Uiharu-san, Saten-chan, but it looks like I'm going to have to split off from you two for a bit. I got a family situation to take care of right now. I can't just leave this lousy brother of mine to go off and search for our imouto by himself; he's practically useless."

"Hey, who ya calling useless, ya shitty Level-0?"

The seething glare capable of melting any lesser person to a bubbling puddle was ignored by said unruly haired Level-0.

"As much as I'd love to visit my friend and introduce you to him, Saten-chan, we'll have to wait on the early flag-raising right now. But once we've found Kamiko-chan, I'll text you and we'll meet up to see him. He still needs some cheering up and what better way to lift his wounded spirits than two cute girls paying him a visit with treats? In the meantime, I'm sure Uiharu-san will be fine with you tagging along with her for a bit; right?"

"Hey, hey, hey, who the hell said I'm letting you tag along? Don't just involve yourself because you feel like it. Are you really that intent on taking after our boring old man? Are you that much of a daddy's girl?"

"Shut up and let's hurry up and find Kamiko-chan. Also, who do I look like? A certain Tou-san obsessed teleporter? Give me some respect, you lousy older brother."

A plastic bag full of various treats from the convenience store was handed over to Saten as Toka punched the shoulder of the shaggy tea-colored boy.

"I guess I can hang out with Uiharu while she's busy with going over whatever Judgment called her over for." Saten shrugged as she was careful with the bag of treats, "But are you sure you don't need any help finding your little sister?"

Toka was nonchalant with her response.

"Yeah, just Kaen-nii-san and I are good enough. Heck, I just might know where we can find her here in all places," she said knowingly, garnering an annoyed scowl from the shaggy tea haired boy.

With a wave of her hand, Toka followed after the grumbling Kaen, leaving behind the two puzzled middle schoolers who stared after her back.

"High school girls really are a cut above us middle schoolers, huh?"

Saten grinned as Uiharu expressed awe at the antics and behavior of an older girl who was rather plain in appearance.

"Yeah, Toka-senpai is definitely a Level-0 who doesn't take shit from no one. She kinda makes me feel...kinda fine with my lack of ability. If a girl like her can talk back to a guy who's obviously a powerful and high ranking esper with just her fist, she gives me hope, maybe, I can do the same."

It was no wonder Saten addressed the unruly haired Toka as senpai with such respect and admiration.

Uiharu had already seen the kind of person Toka was after meeting her a few days after Saten had introduced them. But the simple exchange between siblings she had witnessed from Toka and her older had aided in further adding details to the painting she had in mind of who the older Level-0 was as a person.

"Well, seeing as Toka-senpai is busy with her onii-san in finding their sister, I should really return to my duties concerning Judgment. I still have to go over the security footage concerning a case of a potential attack on one of the hospital's patients. It shouldn't take too long to pick out any altered footage or tampering, so I should be done in about half an hour. I'm sure you can wait in the room alongside me so long as the Anti-Skill officers don't forbid it."

Shrugging, Saten followed behind Uiharu, the plastic bag full of treats meant for a certain older boy her upperclassman wished to cheer up held firmly in her hand.

[-]

'That's...'

Small footsteps echoed in the empty hall of the hospital as they aimlessly walked forward with no clear direction.

'That's...not...'

Small fists clenched at their sides cracked as the voice inside their head refused to keep quiet.

'That's...not...Tou-san.'

"It is...he is! Tou-san's Tou-san!"

A child as young as Kamiko shouldn't have felt this exhausted physically yet her legs wobbled after another step. She wasn't sure where she was going; a part of her mind wanted to see her father and hoped she would randomly make it back to him. But she was tired, oddly tired. Her hand rubbed her aching forehead which felt as if it was being split in two by a wedge.

Finding a bench nearby a vending machine, the young girl from the future sat down before she tripped on her jelly legs.

Unlike the many times in the past, if she fell and scraped her knee, she wasn't sure either her mother or father would be there to kiss the wound better.

Not at this time.

"Tou-san is Tou-san and Kaa-san is Kaa-san...right? Nothing's changed, they're the same. Right? Everyone's still the same as before then. R-Right?"

Hellfire.

Those small knuckles cracked horribly at the flash of flames so dark, twisted, hot, and cruel spreading to devour the streets in mere moments. The dark shadowed silhouette of a lone man hovering in the middle of the rising spikes of hellish fire was burned in her memory as they snapped their fingers. Reality itself was warped, laws were bent, and physics were distorted to paint the world in the vivid colors of senseless violence. Screams of hundreds reverberated in her eardrums as fresh as day without a dip in volume.

A typical everyday afternoon with her family had been shattered by a being labeled as a God of Ruin. It had nearly been a week since her happy world had been reduced to nothing but a cinder tinged memory.

The little girl who should have never experienced such confusion, conflict, sorrow, and anguish hugged her knees to her chest. The world suddenly felt cold. Twinkling beads fell from her eyes as the wedge in her brain cruelly dug further in to divide her thoughts.

"Why can't everything go back to normal? Why do things have to be different now? It's not fair. I just...I just want everyone to go back to smiling with another again."

Her sniffle went unheard in the surprisingly empty halls of the hospital. No one could hear her cry for help. A hand wouldn't reach out to pick her up.

Not her mother.

Not her father.

Not her brother.

She was alone.

"Now, now, there's no need for tears, Kamiko-chan. You'll make this Onii-san of yours feel bad for allowing one of his siblings to sit all alone with such a depressing aura about you. No, that wouldn't do at all."

She wasn't sure when, she wasn't sure how…

But a warm hand patted the raven pigtail girl's head softly.

"Onii-san?" Kamiko sniffed as she lifted her head up to find her older brother's warm dark blue eyes similar to her father's own gaze.

Those eyes greeting her were blue but they appeared far darker and deeper than the older brother who seemed to always find her when she was sad. Kamiko blinked, staring at the older boy sitting next to her with a gentle smile as he rubbed her head softly like she were some puppy in the rain.

The boy appeared to be fifteen years old as her father. His dark hair was a shortcut on the sides while leaving a bed of spiked hair atop to slick back with a texture that appeared soft yet sharp. He wore a simple white lab coat over his shoulders like it were a cape or robe. Beneath his lab coat, he wore a long-sleeve black polo shirt with an orange collar and cuffs along with gray slacks and combat boots; the words Dog Life printed in on the breast pocket. For a fifteen-year-old, he appeared rather tall even when he was sitting; Kamiko would have guessed he stood at least five inches taller than her father. His polo shirt seemed tight on him, showing off his lean and muscled frame which went against the lab coat he wore that typically symbolized a high intellect.

The 'Onii-san's' features were sharp and cool, reminding her of the smooth bad guy look found in certain villains in shounen manga girls would fawn over.

"Who are you?" Kamiko asked carefully with another sniff.

Onii-san grinned cheerfully at her with another pat on her head. She couldn't help but feel as if she was being treated like an adorable pet by the older boy and pouted to show her displeasure.

"I suppose we all didn't have the time for introductions with another before we traveled back, huh? Simply put, I am one of your Nii-sans from the original world who was born due to Kamijou Touma's loose ways; call me Shinzo-onii-san, Kamiko-chan."

One of her newest siblings? So, he was like Toka-onee-san then? At the connection with the unruly haired raven who was practically a female version of their father, Kamiko smiled at the boy who was family.

Her pout did remain as Shinzo continued petting her.

"I'm not a puppy, Shinzo-nii-san."

"But you're so cute, Kamiko-chan! You're like some cuddly little pup whimpering on the street corner without an owner. I just can't resist! ...Do you want a treat?"

"...Candy would be nice." Kamiko grumbled in defeat.

Say no more! The older boy reached into his lab coat and pulled out a box of pocky before handing one of the biscuit sticks coated in sweet chocolate to the starry-eyed bug antenna haired girl. Shinzo's grin only grew brighter as he watched his younger half-sister bite down onto the treat happily.

"There, you feeling any better now? I just couldn't stand to see a cute girl like you with such a gloomy expression on her face."

With half of the delicious treat eaten up, Kamiko's shoulders slumped as she remembered the reason for her sullen mood.

Suddenly the chocolate tasted bitter.

She didn't want to think about it. This new world she resided in was not her own. It held many familiar faces, it resembled her home, and her family was here. But this was not her world. It was a lie.

A false imitation made to give her a sense of happiness.

She didn't like it.

She didn't like this world where she couldn't even run up to either of her mother or father to be greeted with warm hugs and kisses on her cheek. To her parents, she was nothing more than some strange child who appeared out of nowhere to tackle them with unwanted attention. She was no friend, she was not family; she was a disillusioned child.

Mugino Kamiko didn't exist in their world. And the realization of the fact utterly crushed her fragile and young heart.

It may have been easy for Kaen to accept being nothing more than some random face in their worlds, it may have been easy for the rest of her siblings and future children who traveled to the past to see their parents without being greeted with an embrace and soothing words, but it was different for Kamiko.

She couldn't stand it.

This...misfortune.

She despised it.

"Feeling gloom again, huh? Tell me; are you struggling to accept this new world we live in? Are you unhappy with the misery plaguing your life?"

As the older sibling he was, Shinzo seemed to have locked onto her reason for despair in no time at all. He had seen the gloomy aura flowing from her small body. Like an older brother should, he had been able to identify the core of her sadness with a mere glance. She nodded weakly to her brother's words as he hummed in empathy to her plight.

"I suppose I can understand. It was only a week ago that our normal everyday lives were uplifted by a random Magic God who wanted to test out their powers without our Tou-san getting in his way. Everything was fine, not cascaded in a golden curtain of perfection found in fairy tales fine, but our lives were still none the less acceptable. Even the most jaded of us could smile; we wouldn't be children of Kamijou Touma if we weren't able to lift our lips before even devastation. We were all happy. It didn't matter if some of us only ever caught a few glimpses of our father in a year, those moments were just as more precious and powerful. We had a normal life by our definition we all treasured to our breasts with fondness we never wished to be corrupted."

Everything had been fine. The world had seen its fair share of its end of the world scenarios and had survived thanks to those who fought to protect this world of imperfect yet perfect smiles. Tragedy still existed. Despair still rained down upon the innocent. Evil continued to take root in the hearts of humanity. But that world dotted with incident after incident of sorrow continued to spin.

And one sole man was rumored to wander said world, playing the role of the lone savior obscured in rumors and myths by those who fell under the worlds of Science, Magic, and Normality, and offer his battered right hand free of scars yet soaked in violence as deep as blood red to those wordlessly pleaded to be saved.

It was a world where Kamijou Touma had lived to save others without demanding payment or praise.

It was a world where a living and breathing savior walked a path to partake in the most selfish of desires at the cost of leaving behind his own family and friends for the sake of random strangers he had never met.

It was a world where a Saint and a Sinner, a Hero and a Villain, A Savior and a Destroyer, swung a right fist containing far too many secrets and strength for a mere father to ever possess while remaining purely human.

It was a world that no longer existed in the twisting, searing, hungry flames of a being who had done the impossible and killed a single human man.

"Our happy lives can no longer be held within our hands no matter how pathetically we plea to God to overturn the cruel twist of fate. This world is our world now, a world nothing like our original; familiar yet wrong. I understand if Kaen-onii-san struggled to properly explain the circumstances to you. He may have your Kaa-san's personality and familiar mannerisms but he is still undoubtedly Kamijou Touma's oldest son. He would put your feelings above his own and go as far as to hide the truth of the reality spun in your eyes like some pleasant illusion."

The smooth and cool faced boy next to Kamiko smiled in empathy at the little girl whose eyes began to swim with tears waiting to be shed. His face expressed the need to speak the truth but found the words he had to say to be far more bitter than any medicine science could ever produce for the well being of humanity.

"We can never return to our world. Our parents are gone, replaced by strangers who wear their faces and would easily pass us by in the streets if we some much as desperately called them out. There's no miracle to be found in this world about to see a great number of world-ending scenarios and disasters which will take our precious Tou-san along on a tour of suffering and agony that will mangle his body like some cheap doll carelessly tossed to a pack of wild starving dogs smelling meat. Nothing but misfortune is ready to swallow him whole in this timeline, so he will be unable to so much as spare you a glance as you try to reach out to him."

His words were cruel yet spoke softly with care like a doctor breaking the news to their patient about the terminal illness they had discovered after undergoing a simple check-up. They were words needed to be said no matter what kind of expression of heartbreak would be found.

Kamiko was just a child who hadn't even reached ten yet. A young girl who should have been worrying about minuscule matters involving begging her parents for a puppy she had seen in the window of a pet store and not about the truth of her world being reduced to embers and smoke in the wake of her father's untimely death. Such information would surely break such a fragile child who would fall to her knees, bawling her eyes and choking on her own tears.

…

…

Black miasma.

A substance similar to ink dropped into water yet refused to be broken down by the water molecules to create a black cloud corrupting the purity of the pure element.

It had no odor, no corporal form, no heat, laws, or rules to define what it could possibly be to the eyes of humans.

The miasma arose from the small body of Kamiko who had gone deathly silent. No tears had been shed from her gleaming watery orbs.

A certain word had been said and struck her shaken core deeply. She wasn't even aware of the essence which leaked from her body like smoke from a burning object.

"Misfortune..."

The word was spoken softly as powdered snow with an icy hatred that burned far hotter than flames.

The dark blue eyes of the young girl who missed her original parents and world had dimmed a frightening depth similar to the abyss.

The boy known as Shinzo should have jumped away and tried to calm down the girl on the verge of falling into a deep pit of despair.

An older brother was supposed to care for the younger sibling and give them hope.

He should have banished those tears with words inspired by their father.

But instead…

Shinzo smiled in victory.

The clean-cut boy now stood before the antenna haired girl who was staring down at her feet. Kamiko reminded the older boy of a puppet whose strings had paused, leaving the puppet to slouch over and await further instructions. It was a rather unromantic appearance surely capable of tugging at the most cruelest and hardened of hearts when knew of the sunny disposition such a girl had.

"Apologies, Kamiko-chan, but this is the truth you must accept in order to live a peaceful and warm life. Science is cold, it is cruel, it is unfeeling, and heartless to even those who have yet to utter their first breath in the world. It really is unjust, isn't it? But..."

A calculated smile, sharp as a medical scalpel cut its way onto Shinzo's lips as the miasma grew denser and thicker.

"What if I said there existed another set of kind, warm, beautiful, soothing, and miraculous rules, and laws which could overturn such harsh realities with a snap of a finger? What if I told you, within you, you possess the seed of change to grant you your most precious wish and utterly crush the source of your misfortune?"

Shinzo reached into his robe like lab coat being treated as a cape and took out two coal-black leather gloves. Two thin golden straps circled the wrist of each glove, inscribed with black Hebrew characters. Similar bands of gold could be found on each finger like rings with different characters ranging from Arabic, Latin, Islamic, and various other old languages said to be found in the old testament worshiped by many religions. The bottom of each digit possessed a glowing pad reminiscent of hologram keys found commonly in sci-fi fiction.

On the back of the right glove Shinzo slipped on as the dense, foreboding, and ill intent miasma twitched was a silver hexagram depicted with various symbols and texts linked to the occult.

The eyes of the young girl falling under the control of the foreign force which clashed with the world of science seemed to snap, the dark fog unfurling to unleash an attack with the potential to obliterate the first three floors of the hospital.

"Initiate The Ten Rings Of Yedidyah; Key of Solomon."

A buzz of metal disks was heard. The ring-like circles on each finger began to madly whirl with such intensity golden sparks were briefly seen as the boy who fell under the label of Kihara defied his lineage as emerald-colored magic circles popped up from the glowing pads underneath the fingertips of his gloves. The circles appeared alien despite their occult origins, appearing digital like holograms and coded with not only the symbols of fantasy and religion but numerical values and equations.

Taboo.

What other word could be used to perfectly describe the illegal and forbidden mixture of Science and Magic being utilized by a Kihara of all people?

It didn't matter if the essence about to bite back at the boy may have originated from a Magic God.

The emerald circles were enough to afflict the miasma with a STUN status and leave it vulnerable.

"Open The First Book, Passage 37, Line 11: Containment of Foreign Entities and Godly Commandments."

A circle containing a pentagram inscribed with scientific formulas and occult text captured the miasma before it could mold itself into a deadly form to attack. Sparks of red containing black were seen as the circle fought to contain the essence of a Magic God.

It was only a dreg.

Nothing more than a speck when compared to a real Magic God's terrible force.

If one was to summarize its current power before it matured or even attained a form as he had observed did during the events of District 10, its power was at 2%.

It was far too weak to counter the strange and sickening mix between the occult and science.

There it remained, still as a mammoth frozen in a glacier, unresponsive as the miasma continued to release sparks of red containing black. The dreg of a Magic God had no control and could no longer attain control of a mere little girl.

Kamiko was saved.

Supposedly.

"I wasn't lying, Kamiko-chan. You could change the unfair reality before you if you tried. And as one of your onii-sans, why don't I give you a little push? A few tweaks here and there, and I'm sure you'll show me something amazing for both our benefits. Just let your Onii-san study this interesting dreg of supposedly godly magic for a bit as payment. Believe me when I say this may help us in the long run...probably."

Shinzo smiled even as he began to move his right hand about, twisting his wrist, flexing and angling his fingers in complex motions, and swiping away at the various computer like windows of magic before him. Every once in awhile, Kamiko's small and frail body would twitch and jerk like a machine undergoing errors that were being cleaned by a computer expert.

"Take control of the little romantic spark you have and go wild. And I promise you, no matter how things turn out, no matter the blood that may smear the walls; your wish will be granted at the end."

[-]

There was an odd nature to Academy City.

The scientific and advanced marvel made of steel and fluorescent lights was constantly undergoing various construction projects aimed to create buildings structures capable of withstanding a variety of natural disasters. Buildings were simply demolished for new property bought by companies wishing to expand. Districts seeing a drop in activity were commonly undergoing construction to draw in students.

It wasn't uncommon to see a crane lift in the background. It wasn't uncommon to pass by a construction worker while walking to school. It wasn't uncommon to hear the loud sounds of machinery in the early morning to late afternoon.

Even in the popular District 7, one could wander onto a construction site if they were to walk blindly without any clear destination in mind.

"A strange place for a chat, don't you think?"

Tsuchimikado quirked a brow at the delinquent dressed magician sitting atop a pyramid of iron beams in the middle of desolate workers site. He noticed several pieces of equipment were abruptly abandoned, heavy machinery paused in the middle of actions such as welding, lunches dropped, and vehicles shut off. Those who had been hard at work in building what Tsuchimikado guessed was to be an office tower for some big brand company had left as if some random thought had been implanted within their minds to stop whatever they were doing and walk away.

'A People Clearing Field, huh? Must have been set up in advance. There doesn't appear to be any traps either. I can't detect any mana lingering in the air anymore, so he wasn't luring me into a surprise attack. If he has any nasty tricks up his sleeve, he'll flash them right in front of my eyes.'

Such observations weren't exactly comforting when they came from a trickster. Magicians were always up to something right in front of your and truth were alien concepts to those who could cast illusions out of selfish intentions.

The easy-going grin on the slick blond boy with black streaks on his hair wouldn't do any more than raise Tsuchimikado's suspicions.

"Tsuchimikado Motoharu; ain't you a big fish? Though, I suppose, you're nothing more than a paper-thin dagger tucked away in the sleeve of whoever is willing to pay for your happiness and self-interests at this time. Still, though, you're quite a threat for a Level-0; you're quite a threat for a magician whose wings have been clipped. You're no different than a sickle wielded by death itself; scary, scary!"

Chatty; just great.

The magician/esper hybrid grinned up at the mysterious delinquent who knew a little too much for his liking.

"Nyaa, you're going to make me blush, Stranger-san. Too bad for you, I don't go for guys. Die and be reborn as a little sister wearing a white bunny suit and then we'll talk."

"Eh, I'm more into onee-sans myself. The love of forbidden romance between step-siblings is a niche some people just don't understand. Technically, it's not incest, so there's nothing wrong! It's pure love, far purer than the common romance found between complete strangers by chance! So, why all the judgment!? I refuse to conform to society's bland standards of love like some simp!"

...Okay, so whoever this foreign entity trespassing into Academy City was, or who he may be aligned with presently, Tsuchimikado would admit this; the thug/magician had good tastes.

Said step sister lover leaned over his seat, his grinning stretching further as if he took notice of Tsuchimikado's inner thoughts.

"Siscon-Sergeant; that's what you're also known as, right? Ex-expert on Onmyoji, Level-0 with the ability Auto-Rebirth, secret agent to various organizations within the magical and scientific community, a normal high school student who's labeled a part of the Idiot Trio; The Delta Force; so many titles and so many lies that I'm sure you no longer recognize the original Tsuchimikado Motoharu beneath the many carefully constructed layers making up the stealthy blade of betrayal. Just how does Maika-chan deal with such a shadowy Onii-san?"

BANG!

If possible, the grin on the thug/magician's face grew wider at the explosive pop echoing in the empty worker site.

A smoking metal shell case hovered before his very eyes, frozen still as if it were stopped by an invisible bulletproof mirror. Faster than a person could ever possibly react, Tsuchimikado had slipped out the hidden pistol concealed in his sleeve and fired a single round into the middle of the blond and black-haired boy's forehead. If it weren't for whatever barrier erected beforehand, a clean hole would have found itself creating a clear path through bone, marrow, and brain matter out of the back of the head.

Tsuchimikado's expression had grown neutral, his playful smirk and grin no longer present as he aimed the barrel of his gun at the grinning stranger.

"You know an awful lot there, Stranger-san. I'm not sure I care for a male stalker following me around and digging through my personal life. Especially if said stranger thinks he had any right to speak my adorable imouto's name so casually. I'll only say this once,"

Tsuchimikado's sunglasses slid down just enough to reveal his dark brown irises.

Cold, unforgiving, cruel, and empty; the eyes regarding the unknown stalker were devoid of light and devoured all sources of light within the pitch-black abyss that held no regard for human life. The eyes of an assassin, a cloaked figure of old who slit throats and dug knives deep into the back of even their most treasured of comrades if need to and embodied death itself, glared fiercely at their target.

"Keep Maika's name out of your filthy mouth. This is not a condition, this is not a warning, this is not a plea; whatever information you may have or whatever advantage you may think you hold in your sleeves, I will kill you. Consider this the only honest truth you may ever hear from the Backstabbing Blade."

"Scary, scary~! To think such a blood-stained blade could have a heart dwelling within the sharp metal soaked in far too much red to ever be considered anything more than a heartless killer. Doesn't having something to live for discount you from being an assassin or a spy though? Do you even understand our line of work?" the thug/magician said flatly as he scratched the back of his head.

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

Several more bullets were fired in quick bursts to the stranger's growing mirth. In total, six bullets hovered close to his face with an inch of the distance separating the hot metal casings from piercing his skull.

What marksmanship; each shot was an instant kill!

"You're like me; aren't you? A killer with no true morals to tie 'em down and limit them from killing whoever we're instructed to eliminate. Liars who scoff at the honest and naive who continue to live blissfully in a shaded world built upon the bodies we've buried beneath their feet; that's who we are when all the paint is shaved off to reveal who we really are. Friends? Family? Lovers? They're only tools better left to either be used for all they're worth or abandoned without a second thought. From one assassin to another; who are you kidding in playing the protective onii-san who's in love with his step-sister? Isn't that just another lie?"

"ERUPT."

Orange-red.

The six bullets hovering in the air, stopped by the invisible magical barrier the blond and black-haired boy had set up like a plexiglass screen, burned an alarming orange-red that seared the vision. In the span of a second, those frozen bullets detonated with the force of concussive grenades. Smoke and flames blossomed, devouring the foreign assassin who had poked and prodded a fellow spy.

Tsuchimikado refused to drop his guard as the mighty blast had enough force to create a small gale of wind to ruffle his clothes from a distance. Even as his left kneecap found itself growing damp from the dark red leaking from the burst blood vessels from his use of magic, he didn't take his eyes off the cloud of smoke hiding his opponent.

ERUPT; a small and simple magical curse embedded in certain objects via the engraved symbols carved with the caster's violent intent to create a powerful explosion. Its power and force largely depended on the caster's own emotions. One would have to be a vengeful or cruel practitioner to use the curse to its fullest.

And while Tsuchimikado Motoharu was once renown as the foremost specialist in feng shui magic, he had picked up plenty of other spells and curses before losing his ability to use magic without playing a round of Russian roulette with his body.

Using magic was a gamble. In the deck of cards he had compiled thus far as both a Magician and Esper, it was one of his most devastating yet most high costing of cards to throw down in a fight. It was a last resort he saved to clinch his victory. It was never to be used flippantly. Every hand he drew with magic in mind was another chance he would die from a ruptured blood vessel in his arteries.

Just this once, and only this once, the hybrid regarded as The Backstabbing Blade had lost his cool temper and reacted to what was obviously a ploy to dig under his skin.

"If you're still alive then how about we stop beating around the bush already? You've tapped my patience bone dry; congratulations." Tsuchimikado said dryly to the smoke cloud, "Obviously you led me here for a purpose other than dissecting my character. This isn't a challenge either; if you truly are like me, you wouldn't go this far for a fight when we're the type who battle in the shadows without giving out a word or sound. A chatty bastard like you is far more clever than one would expect. Even with those lousy sunglasses of yours which don't seem to fit, I can still make out those deadly fine-edged knives you call eyes."

Tsuchimikado Motoharu was elusive, intelligent, quick-witted, and crafty. He was not known to quickly give in to his anger when prodded. Oh, he'd fire back for sure. He wasn't so stone-faced or emotionless to not cut you if you so much as dared to mention anything bad about his beloved little sister. But he'd never devolve into a raging bull who could only see blood red so simply.

Even when angered, he was still able to spot the cracks in his opponent's demeanor.

Assassin?

A fellow killer?

What a joke.

The copper scent of the darkness was far too weak for Tsuchimikado to take him seriously.

"Hurry up and get to the point, you amateur. I got a nice home-cooked meal waiting back home, cooked by my lovely maid of a sister, so stop wasting my time."

There was a question that needed to be asked.

Why hadn't The Backstabbing Blade eliminated the suspicious party who had infiltrated the borders of the world of science and possibly posed a threat to one of Aleister's most prized pieces?

The answer laid in the breadcrumbs the foreign assassin had provided him.

There was a reason why the foreign magician hadn't made any moves to attack. No threats had been thrown Tsuchimikado's way. No traps had been laid carefully to snap like the razor jaws of a waiting predator. Only words had been thrown instead of blades, spells, bullets, or even fists by a boy who proclaimed to be dyed in the same cruel and unforgiving colors of a spy.

Killers cloaked in shadows struck first and avoided pleasantries. They never revealed their class so openly and would instead pretend to play as another class when confronted by other adventurers in an RPG setting. True treacherous blades were never brandished so nonchalantly with a cheshire grin.

An angle was being played by the 'Assassin' who had led him here knowingly.

"Scary, scary~! You know, you're little warning could have killed ya, right? Then again, when you've played so many rounds of Russian Roulette to live to tell the tale, you start to feel the weight of the bullet in the chamber to a frightening degree and can even determine how to properly spin the chamber to avoid shooting your brain matter out. Seems everything I've got on you checks out then. Yes...that's exactly the sort of reaction I was gambling for."

Shred.

The sound of a torn piece of paper was heard before the black cloud obscuring the 'Assassin' was torn apart by a burst of visible gales like ribbon paper. Tsuchimikado could sense the pang of magical energy in the air like a pop or the scent of gunpowder from a firing pistol. A piece of note card paper was discarded in the wind as the foreign magician remained seated atop of his throne of iron stacked beams with his ever wide smile in place.

In the foreign boy's right hand, he held a ring of note cards. Even from a distance, Tsuchimikado could detect the whiff of magic etched into each piece of paper, each different as the patterns of a snowflake lazily falling on a white Christmas day. Not a spell was alike.

Shorthand.

Complex writings created by the clash, mix, and introduction of elemental symbols and colors from various sects of magic. One could say the writings were alike to original grimoires but due to the incompatibility of each note, the spells dissolved into thin air. They were self-destructive knowledge that could never pass on their teachings or miracles once cast and had to be created from scratch all over again. It was an incredibly complex, detailed, dangerous, and complicated form of spell casting no normal magician or mage could easily pick up on a whim.

The list of users was nigh none existent.

One of said users was rather famous in the western world of magic; Route Disturb.

A rather deadly enemy was sitting without care and speaking to Tsuchimikado like some long lost friend from middle school he had bumped on the train ride to work.

The note ring of miracles was tapped against the foreign magician's leg as his ever wide smile was dropped like a party mask in an office setting. Behind those sunglasses laid passionless dark blue orbs, observing their target with a rather off-putting gaze that cut away any useless observations or unwanted details with surgical procession attained by a grizzled doctor.

Perhaps this was the true face of the jaunty assassin who freely admitted to being made of the same scarlet cloth as Tsuchimikado.

"Believe it or not, Tsuchimikado-san, but I ain't here to cause you or Kamijou Touma trouble. Nor am I here to bristle Board Chairman-san's feathers in whatever complicated plan that basic human's plotting. In fact, I already know the guy," For whatever reason, the foreign magician snorted and attempted to stifle a laugh, "Is most likely spying on us using some super high tech surveillance system not even the sharpest of eyes could ever perceive. A guy like me knows better than to paw at the big dogs; my sensei taught me better than that."

"So, what are you here for then? I doubt this is a naive attempt to make friends. As I said before; die and be reincarnated as a cute little sister obsessed with being a maid and then I'll give you my number."

"A wise man once said; if you follow the rules, there's no way to undo them. If you want to get ahead as you play the role of a tool for others to project their malice onto others, you got to define your own laws and limits within the rails your 'masters' are sending you down for their own desires. That's what tricksters do. But there comes a problem here."

The cheshire mask of a faker was pulled back onto the face of the magical thug as he rubbed the back of his head with a chuckle.

"I'm a free agent!"

Tsuchimikado's grip on his gun tightened.

"Free agent?"

"Yup! See, the thing is, my boss/sensei is no longer available. Pretty sure they're dead. So, this finely crafted dagger is now nothing more than a wandering weapon with no real purpose. I was never one for deciding on my own targets, coming up with my own plans, or shedding blood without a reason. I need to be wielded by someone to be of use and to accomplish my own plans within the set rails of others. There's just no other way for me to live. Not to mention I need the protection of some big dog to keep that which I cherish dearly to keep living her life with a carefree smile on her face. And what other big dog is there other than Board Chairman Aleister Crowley?"

"You're a Magician."

"Correct."

"...And you're seeking to become one of Aleister Crowley's, the leader of a world which contradicts and mocks all forms of religion and superstition, tools? Why not seek out one of the countless Magic Cabals in England or some other nation with magic hidden below the surface? Why seek out a heretical figure shrouded in darkness far too pitch black for an amateur to gaze into from the corner of his eye?"

"Oh, I have my reasons for sure. Trust me, my sensei explained to me perfectly well who Aleister Crowley is and just how terrifying they can be. I know perfectly well what I'm getting into, and I'll be honest, I'm ready to break out into a cold sweat at the abyss created by a human who so readily accepts failure as success at no matter the toll of destruction it entails. But the protection offered by the boogeyman is top-notch for sure; so why not?"

The smirk growing on the amateur's face was rather chilling.

Tsuchimikado wasn't sure when…

But for a split moment, he felt the roles of veteran and amateur were reversed.

"So, you want to join Academy City for your own benefit instead of keeping yourself aligned to the world of magic. It's a suicidal road, one where your own talents and gifts will be stripped. I find it hard to believe you're doing it for your own benefit or the need to be used."

"Haaaaaa? Are you expecting this cloaked trickster to tell you all his secrets so easily? Let's play mirror; go die and reincarnate into a busty older sister who you might find managing a dorm and then we'll talk, ya bastard."

A twitch grew on Tsuchimikado's brow and he really wanted to fire a couple more rounds at the bright-faced boy with a lively spirit defying his hidden class as Assassin.

The blond boy with streaks of black jumped off the pile of iron beams. Grin still present, he casually walked up to Tsuchimikado despite the gun still being aimed at a vital spot on his body before stopping a few steps in front of the Backstabbing Blade.

"Apologies for all the things I said before, Tsuchimikado-senpai! But I just wanted to be sure everything I had on you was on the up and up. Those bullet rounds and the cast of magic told me all I ever needed to hear to be sure of the path I'm ready to embark on. So, can't we just shake hands and start fresh as brother's in shadowed veiled arms?"

"Oh? What do I look like; a recruiter?" Tsuchimikado grinned as his gun glared for him, "What makes you think some random magician who broke into Academy City during a rather tense period would be so readily accepted into Aleister's circle of tools? You got any references?" he mocked.

The mysterious thug didn't need to say a word. He simply continued to grin as the rumble of a cellphone was heard from Tsuchimikado's pocket.

"You gonna answer that? I think it might be important."

Tsuchimikado clicked his tongue. Reaching for his phone while keeping the barrel of his gun locked onto the shifty grinning boy, he answered what he surmised was a call from his superior.

Words were said.

Hardly an explanation was given.

But orders were orders.

[-]

Uiharu Kazari was what you would call an overlooked gem of talent.

She was a Level-1 Esper with a rather boring ability designed by her Personal Reality; Thermal Hand. It was a lackluster miracle defined by science that allowed her to contain the fixed temperature of an object no bigger than that of a basketball for long periods of time. There were limits to even such a weak ability.

One; she could not apply her ability to large objects.

Two; she had to be in direct contact for Thermal Hand to take effect.

Three; she was not protected from the dangers of the temperature she was preserving, so anything dangerously hot or cold was too much for her.

She was a Level-1 with an ability that was convenient at times and nothing more.

Combat wise; she was weak. She may have been a part of Judgment, but her actual combat prowess was rather low. She knew a few techniques given her training, and she continually kept up with her physical exercises to build up her muscles when she could, but she was still admittedly weak when it came to fighting delinquents such as Skill-Out despite possessing an ability. Being higher than Level-0 did not mean one was powerful.

Not all Personal Realities were that great.

One could go as far as to say Personal Realities were akin to the mechanics of Gacha games. Whatever you rolled would never turn out as what you would expect.

Yet despite her boring ability, Uiharu possessed a gift far greater than that of a psychic ability created via drugs, mental manipulation, and hours of study into subjects far beyond the understanding of a middle schooler.

Uiharua Kazari was a brilliant computer hacker and programmer.

If one were to label her ability in hacking into various security systems in Academy City, possibly the entire world, you may attest to her level reaching into the territory of Level-5.

Her skill behind the computer was second to none. Without even needing much to begin cracking away at code, Uiharu could break into the mainframe of a random system holding untold treasure troves of information within the hour. She had many ways of doing so, such as simply using her understanding of human behavior whose very habits and preferences were responsible for how AI's would function. If need be, she would even construct the very software she was breaking into within her head and pick apart the faults and back doors found in the model.

Rivaling her skills was unheard of. Many a promising hacker have heard rumors of The Goalkeeper whose very defenses were far greater than Academy City's own. Like flies to a brightly lit bug zapper, they were drawn in to said hacker's light and have tried to disassemble the walls of her defense out of either pride or challenge. And those who tried were apprehended once they failed to so much as scratch a zero in her code.

It didn't matter what form the security in question took in the digital space. If there were signs of tampering, Uiharu would see right through it. Her skills with computers were remarkable and made her one of Judgment's greatest assets.

Which is why said Level-1 Judgment girl was brought in to investigate the security footage of A Certain Hospital in concerns of an unknown attacker targeting one of its many patients.

It was here, in the main security room of A Certain Hospital, where all the footage, live feed, computer history, data banks, and various technological software and programs were held, that Uiharu had found herself after accompanying her new friend to visit a bedridden boy.

The room itself was as large as a standard classroom fit for twenty students. Various monitors were lined up next to another to show different live footage of multiple angles in areas of the hospital. From patient rooms, the OR and ICU, the nurses' station, waiting rooms, to even the outside of the building, it was all on display in real-time for those monitoring for any incidents or trouble taking place. Of course, the bathrooms were a different matter altogether.

Within the security room filled with computer monitors for surveillance, the flower headband wearing girl with short black hair was diligently going over the recorded footage to a certain hall located in the hall containing both the ICU and the nurses' station. The particular room was widely regarded as a death room due to its frequent turnover rate. The numbers on the door read 904 and had yet to have the newly minted golden nameplate of the death room's most frequent and returning patient.

The time on the recording read 12:39 am. This was yesterday night's footage and concerned a target patient was currently resting after undergoing hours of surgery previously. As the footage played, there was no real change to the picture on display in the eyes of not only Uiharua but a certain amazon like Anti-Skill Lieutenant standing close by as she too observed. Behind Uiharau stood Saten, her curious eyes staring with scrutiny at the security feed they had been watching over twenty times by now.

After the situation was explained to Uiharu by Yomikawa Aiho who was in charge of the investigation and protection of a high school boy being targeted by an unknown hostile party, the young Judgment officer went to work on uncovering any tampering with the security footage suspected by Anti-Skill.

They had gone over the footage twenty-three times now.

Once again, at the click of 1:00 am exactly, they saw it.

From thin air, from nothing, out of nowhere, it was seen.

A single sticky note commonly found in office cubicles appeared on the door frame.

It was almost as if by magic.

The colorful paper attached itself to the door of a single patient without trace of its owner. There was no hint as to who it could have been who left behind the warning which appeared as some sort of challenge. If one were to blink at the moment the time changed to 1:00 am, nothing would have really changed. The note just appeared as if it had always been there.

It was not a trick of the eye or an illusion created due to the strain of the eyes from staring unblinkingly at the luminescent screen.

"Anything?"

Uiharu once again pulled up her own custom hacking software and ran it through the footage. It was as if she were peeling away the many unseen layers of code human eyes could not observe. She searched for any unnatural 'fingerprints' left behind by the hidden figure who had wandered the halls like a ghost.

Everything she could do with the feverish tapping of her fingers upon the keyboard was done for the sake of protecting an unnamed boy who's peaceful rest was going to be disturbed by a cruel attacker.

But…

"There's nothing. I can't spy any tampering with the original footage. Even when going over the entire security footage of the past night from all the cameras within and outside the hospital, I can't detect any trace of an outside party messing with the footage to edit themselves out of the picture."

Uiharu was rather humble to her own skills but she knew she was beyond just good when it came to hacking and detecting tampering in programs. If there was another hacker involved, she would have known. She would have spotted the traces of their misdeeds. Even the best of professional programmers would leave behind a single bread crumb.

If a malicious hacker had cloaked themselves using technology via computers like magic, expert Uiharu Kazari would see past the spell and capture them.

But even after the now thirtieth rerun, slowed down, panned frame by frame, with every pixel scrutinized, Uiharu failed to detect any misdeeds by the unknown hacker.

She bit her lip as a thought came to mind.

It was absurd to say it out loud but…

"Are you sure there ever was a hacker? I know I'm no computer whiz like you, Uiharu, but I just don't see anything wrong with the footage other than the mysterious sticky note appearing out of thin air."

The unsaid possible truth had been said by a bored Saten who leaned over against the back of Uiharu's seat. With the bag of store-bought treats in one hand, the Level-0 urban hunter enthusiast listlessly watched the footage being rerun again for any signs of the unknown individual placing the warning on the door. Guiltily, the raven-haired girl had taken a treat out of the bag of goodies meant for a high school boy and chewed on an experimental flavor of pocky; Blueberry Red Bean Tea.

It was...good? Good was...acceptable?

She was surely saving Touka's (probably boy)friend from having a conflict in taste with such an odd flavor. She was doing a good deed! Which was why she opened a can of sugarless coffee sans cream and chugged it down with gusto to wash away the taste.

Aaaaaaaaaand now she was full of energy and awake.

Geez, what kind of lethargic high school boy drank such a caffeinated beverage? What was he, in his late thirties?

Yomikawa shook her head at Saten's thought, her face crossed as she stubbornly tried to see past the layers of pixels to find her culprit.

"It can't be so simple. The note appeared in the frame at exactly 1:00 am on the dot. Meaning someone must have put it there under the cover of night, made it past the security staff's nose, walked their way to the hall in question, and left without setting of any alarms. Even when we checked for footprints, we couldn't spot any soles not found by either a staff member or a visitor we've already cleared of suspicion. The cleaning bots we've checked haven't picked up any DNA such as hair or dandruff belonging to anyone who could pose a possible threat to the patient in question."

It sounded as if Yomikawa was growing frustrated with the lack of evidence or any hints in concern for the safety of the patient. She seemed stressed, glaring harshly at the next rerun of not only the hall centered on room 904 but the many other monitors running footage of the many corners of the hospital. The program being applied by Uiharu for the detection of editing was being applied to every piece of footage of the previous night to no avail.

Even the adult was beginning to realize there may not have been anything to be found by even the skilled hands of a girl renown as The Goalkeeper.

But what other options did that leave?

There had been a clear hint of someone placing a warning note on room 904. It wasn't an illusion.

Said note was currently held in a vice grip by the frustrated Anti-Skill officer with a tinge of desperation.

They were searching for a single drop of ink in a bucket of clear water. It was a perfect analogy to describe the current dilemma those in the room were facing when they knew there was a single sign of someone hiding in plain sight.

A possible came up due to the lack of evidence.

"Do you think it's the work of an esper?"

Yomikawa shook her head at Saten's comment.

"Due to the nature of this patients...ordeals," It was said with bitter taste upon Yomikawa's lips like a person who had bitten into what they believed was a sweet treat but turned out to be bitter, "We've already considered the possibility. Uiharu-san has already checked for heat signatures, footprints, sound bites, and any other crumbs an esper with a cloaking ability capable of tricking high-tech cameras may have left behind."

"Then maybe it could have been some kind of fancy piece of technology at work?" Saten added in as she threw in whatever cards she had in mind.

It was a thought, definitely far better than the possibility of this being the work of something as unbelievable as magic being at play. Yomikawa just couldn't for the life of her figure out how the culprit had done it or how they could find them.

Even if they had several hidden officers and Judgment members patrolling the floor in which Kamijou Touma could be found, she still couldn't stop the nagging prick in the back of her head that warned her of the unseen attacker.

One of her students was bedridden with numerous wounds after being caught up in a situation no student should have found themselves in. A delinquent of a boy who had difficulty attending classes or delivering his homework on time or at all had been severely harmed while protecting her from a child disillusioned by the world of adults. Currently, he was laying back in bed, covered head to toe in bandages with a broken spirit.

And now he unknowingly had a target painted on his wounded back.

More harm was in store for him.

As a teacher, as an adult who made it her life's work to protect children, Yomikawa refused to allow so much as a scratch on her student's body again. She wouldn't allow more of that boy's blood to be spilled due to his misfortune.

Something. There had to be something they weren't seeing or overlooking.

"Hmm? What's this?"

The curious tone in Uiharu's voice spoke caught the attention of both Saten and Yomikawa as her eyes narrowed at one of the screens.

While the program Uiharu had running was searching the past day's footage, she had decided to have it overlook the live feed as well just in case the unknown party showed themselves or acted. The entire program took up all the power in her laptop and served as an individual processor to filter through the many commands required to search for fingerprints left behind by hackers through an automatic series of inputs she had installed to act as if she were doing it herself. In a way, it was as if two Uiharu's were present and both were tasked with going over yesterday's footage and the live footage.

While she hadn't found anything in the archived security footage, she had decided to take a look at her laptop's filtering of the present time's video footage. What she found was a new alert from a minute ago.

Signs of tampering were present.

Quickly, the young Judgment girl switched over from the hospital computer board and went to overlooking her laptop, taking over the automatic control to manual as she furiously clicked.

It was faint.

A slight hiccup.

Something akin to a barely noticeable fingerprint one would overlook if they didn't stare hard at the mark for a few moments if they caught it.

But she found what she could only believe was the sign of an outside party messing with the live feed in the very floor a resting high school boy resided.

What she found was a rather simple editing program at work. One any hacker could learn in a day's time if they had enough skill. It allowed the hacker to basically copy and paste a past feed or image over the current display and loop infinitely if desired. But this was a bit more intricate than simply pasting a still rerun. The worm digging into the digital space with malicious intent was craftier than most she had ever come across.

It took longer than Uiharu would have cared to admit but she dug up the nasty copy and paste bug's intentions. With precision found only in veteran doctors, she dissected the workings of the worm.

What she found inside the many symbols, zeroes, and ones, sent an odd chill down her spine.

The worm was doing far more than taking a mere past image or video to trick observers of the false reality. It wasn't the fact that the worm was using what she believed was a perfectly cut copy of various clips seamlessly running from past records of archived footage to match certain events and actions taking place during the present time to fit a routine commonly found in many past feeds. The sophistication of it seemed as if it was taking account of every other camera and the many angles to match the few cameras in question being infected by the bug's manipulations to search for the appropriate series of past footage to cut and paste.

No, it was the fact that the bug had sensed it had been spotted.

Even after the program had been taken apart, it still continued to continue on its job as it glared back.

The AI or the hacker themselves knew they had been spotted and didn't stop.

The very second Uiharu had spotted it, a message alert appeared on her screen.

Her laptop, personally built and installed with various defenses against malicious software and hacking, had been compromised.

'Such defenses! How long did it take? Nearly an hour of continually chipping away at the various intricate firewalls and top-notch security to simply break in to send a message without causing an alert? Your programming genius is truly a romantic sight to behold. I didn't think I would be running into The Goalkeeper today while I was visiting a good old friend of mine. Seems I was right to plant this little bug just in case I was to be interrupted in my current experiment and mission. I suppose as unromantic as it is, I'll have to rush things along. Hope we cross paths again, budding Flower~!'

A wavering glitch.

There was no need for Uiharu to press a single key on her keyboard as one of the screens flickered for a few seconds.

On the very floor where the targeted high school boy could be found, a random hall close to the pediatric wing was seen. For the briefest of moments, the footage seen by all those present wavered to reveal two different scenes.

The first scene was the false reality implanted by the sophisticated bug. It revealed nothing more than an empty hall that contained a visitor bench next to the bathrooms and even a vending machine farther down. Ammong the white walls they could make out cartoonish paintings and bright colors. The time on the scene matched the present time despite being a cut piece.

The second image was the true reality hidden beneath the false layer of a hacker.

It was the scene of a high school boy wearing a white lab coat like it were a robe or cape over his shoulders, standing over a young raven-haired girl with bug antenna like pigtails sitting on a bench. The little girl's face was hidden as she stared at the floor like a marionette doll dangling lifelessly in the air.

For a brief second.

A single second.

A dark miasma like cloud could have been seen.

Then the high school boy wearing a lab coat snapped his fingers.

Saten and Uiharu jumped in their respective spots as the young girl wearing expensive clothing glanced at the spying camera.

There was no warmth in those dull blue eyes robbed of life.

They could have sworn they had seen what appeared like circles found commonly in occult movies in the empty orbs.

Something pitch black covered the screen suddenly.

Static replaced the live feed, indicating the camera was destroyed.

Among the first camera, four others in the very hall were met with the same fate of whatever had crushed them in the blink of an eye in a synchronized round of destruction.

Yomikawa didn't waste a moment as the two middle school girls were taken in by a cold sweat at the chilling reaction.

"All squads posted on the third floor by the Pediatric Ward; be on the lookout for a high school boy, dark clean-cut hair, a white lab coat, and polo shirt! Target is most likely hostile, possibly esper of unknown ability, and has taken a young elementary girl hostage! Approach cautiously and subdue! Have all hospital staff, visitors, and patients placed in silent lockdown in their rooms until the suspect has been cuffed! Engage only if he shows signs of attacking either yourselves or the young girl!"

The chatter of multiple confirmations from Anti-Skill and Judgment members was heard as every screen displaying the security footage of each part of A Certain Hospital froze to a still image. Uiharu frantically went to work on her end, not even needing a command from the cursing adult who took notice of the security system being taken over.

The sophisticated bug evolved into a swarm in mere moments to wriggle into the system and freeze everything involved in monitoring the many pockets of the building. It was highly possible it could have done more than simply freezing the cameras to a still image but the malicious bug decided on focusing on one simple action. As if it had no other reason to do anymore.

"How long will it take to return the security system back to normal?" Yomikawa asked in a rush as she readied her gear and headed for the door. She didn't turn back as she gripped the door handle, ready to charge ahead once she got her answer.

"Whatever this bug is, it's not invincible. It's intricate but like a knitted sweatshirt, it can be undone so long as I find that one strand of fabric connected to every stitch! I've already gotten a hold of it but now it's a matter of pulling on that string without breaking it."

The malicious bug was a nasty one capable of incredible things. Uiharu felt as if the complex copy and paste trick it had been running was only scratching the surface of what it could truly do. From what she had read in the message from the hacker, the bug had been bypassing her laptops defenses like it was a ghost, almost as if it had camouflaged itself in the very code used to create her protective programming. It had been cable of multitasking and she felt as if it could do so much more if needed.

But it wasn't perfect.

The bug had slipped up if only a second.

It was how she had caught on to its infection and manipulations.

Not only that but she had found the tiniest of threads in its knitting.

It had high capability but its defense was rather low. If this was an enemy in a video game, it would be classified as an Infiltrator-Class: High stat-wise in Concealment, Ability, and HP but possessed incredibly low Defense. If it was hit with an assault of combos, it wouldn't stand a chance of fighting back or dealing any more damage.

Uiharu's fingers tapped away in a blur of commands and actions being input to counter the meager defense of the bug attempting to fight back against her debugging of the malicious bug's many tendrils.

"Ten minutes! Give me ten minutes and I'll be able to support you with the location of the suspect. So long as he doesn't escape, I'll find him!"

Having been given an acceptable answer, Yomikawa swung the door open with a parting command as she leaped into the fray of the escalating situation.

"Report back to me only when you have squashed the damn bug! If we can't find him, hand over his location and any other bits of information you might find once you've run through his face through the student database. Do not leave this room until we've gotten a hold of the situation; understand!?"

The door shut behind the Anti-Skill Lieutenant with a quick bang, leaving behind the feverishly debugging flower haired Judgment girl and the confused and worried Level-0.

[-]

"Hmm, hmm, understood. I'll be there as soon as possible. I doubt he'll be able to put up much trouble if he's simply a Level-0. Not to mention he's severely wounded to the point of needing crutches."

A silent alarm had gone off, alerting the staff in the hospital of a potential threat to those within. To prevent panic among visitors and patients, those in charge of protecting the health of those in this place of healing were careful to advise the unaware people to stay inside their rooms or be lead to safe areas where disguised Anti-Skill and Judgment members were stationed. The adults and students charged with the safety of all those in the hospital were already aware of the situation. Orders had been given by the lead officer of what had originally been guarding one high school boy turned into ensuring the well-being of all those in harm's way was safe.

Anti-Skill and Judgment officers were disguised as visitors carrying floral gifts and treats, patients bound in wheelchairs, hospital staff such as nurses and janitors, working diligently to maintain their covers while keeping a close eye on suspicious individuals. Due to not wanting to set off the possible attacker after one boy, everyone was undercover. A total of six Anti-Skill officers and seven Judgment officers didn't show so much as a twitch as they were given new orders for the good of all those who became collateral to a dangerous individual.

"I suppose I should keep up appearances than. A nurse stopping by for a random check-up shouldn't come off as suspicious. While I'm more for combat situations, playing bodyguard to some Level-0 shouldn't be difficult. If the suspicious individual decides to make his way here, I'll just teleport ourselves to safety. A Level-4 like myself is more than capable of protecting one injured boy who can't even walk on his own two feet."

An impish smile came over said young nurse stopping before Room 904. The tawny pigtail girl quirked a brow at the newly minted gold nameplate that read The Kamijou Ward, shaking her head at the odd title she didn't understand.

It was almost as if the plaque was some kind of reward.

Just what did a patient residing in a death room have to do to receive such a grim trophy?

Whatever the case, the Judgment officer who played the role of student nurse enrolled in a teaching program for young honor students in Tokiwadai interested in the medical field, fixed the cutsie stereotypical nurse hat atop her head before preparing herself for the rather begrudging role of a nurse.

"I'm not happy about pretending to care for the health of some boy, but I can at least save this costume for later. I'm sure even my beloved Onee-sama would fall before the charms of Nurse Kuroko-chan!"

---

Explain what you're made of...

Explain what you're chasing after…

Explain what you're missing...

What are you afraid of?

If the future misery sinks its teeth into the past; will I be strong enough to fight back?

If the past failures spell a pattern of future misery; will I be strong enough to keep going?

When you hear that soundless cry again…

Will you be able to explain why your hand fumbles to so much as dry a single tear?

Get a grip.

And so the seedling of violence has been planted. What does this mean for those who only desire to rest and recover from whatever trauma they have survived after fighting their own battles to smile? Will the peaceful hospital setting become another battlefield painted in wild streaks of blood?

Probably?

And with this chapter, we have the proper introduction of the third mastermind of the events of District 10 and the genius behind the modifications of the disturbing Level Eater: Model_GHOUL; Kihara Shinzo.

A character born and raised by the world of Science.

Yet possessing the knowledge of the world of Magic.

The Kihara Born With A Heart.

TABOO.

As we start to head into the changing events of the canon story, we will begin seeing the effects of those three masterminds who've had a hand in the chaos centered on the lonely star shattered to pieces by a right hand. This arc is intended to reveal one of the main characters who will be responsible for the events to come as we move onto The Sisters arc once we've finished up this short arc(laughs at the nearly 60-70K+ words considered as 'short') and go to show the lasting effects of The Zeroes War/LEVEL Eater Arc.

When it comes to the purpose of this arc, I like to think about one very important thing most people tend to forget.

Despite being fifteen years old, the present Touma's mentality isn't even a month old.

He's nothing like the previous Kamijou Touma who could have possibly continued doing what he does best after enduring a tragedy marring his heart. The Original Kamijou had already lost someone he was trying to save only to fail in the very end after fighting his hardest. But he still had enough courage and strength to clench his fist and keep fighting so he would never repeat that failure again. He probably understood he wouldn't always be able to save the person he was trying to protect. It may have hurt but he didn't allow such failure to shake him for long.

He'd already experienced plenty of misfortune at that point to not allow such misery to root itself in his heart.

But the current Kamijou Touma doesn't yet understand that.

At most, he only had three weeks of what one would consider the span of his life to use as an example of what he was in store for.

All the things that made the previous iteration of the high school boy so great in Touma's eyes were lacking in his own heart. He believes he's only a husk wearing someone else's skin, who was unworthy of the connections he had in someone else's name and could never live up to the example of a boy who had saved the girl responsible for giving his empty heart a purpose when he found himself with nothing to start with. He's not exactly what you would call stable with such thoughts plaguing his mind.

The Deep Blood event.

The Level Eater event.

Those were the two events he had to endure while believing the previous Kamijou Touma would have been able to resolve better than he could. The entire time, he began to question whether the need to save others was even a right he could call his own and not the remaining tugs of a boy he was trying to copy. After experiencing so much violence and misfortune due to his title as Kamijou Touma, he began cracking under the pressure both his mind, heart, and body was being put under.

When all was said and done, and he finally reached the ending to pull a lonely girl out of the gluttonous darkness, he discovered his inexperience as Kamijou Touma and the cruelty of his right hand were responsible for the death of someone's smile.

Even though Angela and Index had stopped him from going through with a terrible act of self-harm and helped him return to normal, the damage has been done.

His heart has been scarred and his failure is still fresh. Unlike the original spiky boy, he was still trying to cope with his failures while dealing with the self-hatred born out of playing impostor.

Just how far has the damage reached?

Just how much impact can the death of one measly smile have?

Bit by bit, the answers will be seen.

Like I said, this is a short arc. Two more chapters await before we actually dive into The Sisters/FAMILY arc. Knowing my update schedule, we'll probably get there by the end of December.

Yeah, yeah; I know. It's a long time for one chapter but better to churn out a well-made chapter than a sloppy rapid-fire of work. Hell, I had to scrap 20K+ of the original SS I had in mind before I came up with this short arc that I've yet to name and I believe it was for the better after reading it over again.

Be patient; all good things come to those who wait.

Or you'll starve.

Pretty sure one of those two will apply here.

Remember to Read and Review! It's common courtesy.

NeoShadows fading in and out.