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.

15. Epilogue: Where Smiles Are Born

NeoShadows back again!

Been busy as of late trying to type up the next arc as we finally get ready to dive into the Sisters/Family arc. In order to do so, I have had to finally read up/watch The Sisters arc concerning the other side of the coin; Railgun. I've usually been too lazy to go into it or distracted but now that I want to do more with the content concerning Misaka's ventures early on, I now got a legit reason to get into it. As a very busy man, I don't usually have enough time to really sit down and watch anime, so I got to squeeze it in whenever I come back from closing up my store.

Along with my other two stories(plus some special projects that won't see light until December)I've been a busy, busy, bee.

...Ya know, when I wasn't addictively playing Genshin Impact or drinking the stress of having few staff at the bar where the bartender by now knows what kind of drink I want before I even sit down.

Do I have a problem?

That aside, we've been waiting long enough for the end of this arc for a long time. It's about time we get it out of the way for the real main course we've been dying to taste!

Let's get to those reviews first!

DNWorks: You know, Kuroko was a character I hadn't even originally thought of introducing until I scrapped what I had written months ago. But she was definitely a treat to add, especially as we go into the new arc. Future Touma has his reasons, for sure, but without a doubt, they're selfish. Not everyone remains the same as they were ten years ago. Even someone as sturdy and determined as the boy who faced the world for a criminal isn't immune to change; good or bad. Without a doubt, I plan to reveal more concerning the ruined future as it does focus on family. And what exactly the Magic God had done to the world leading up to New Years.

Zatil Hidayah Spensa: The lead up to the end was definitely well worth scrapping the original 20K+. Especially as Touma finally confronts his fears and smashes them to pieces. Not to mention writing that memory between Touma and Mugino as they welcome Kamiko to the world. And it's good to know I'm not the only one who's addicted either.

Craytherlay: With how crazy things are about to be in the next arc, we couldn't exactly have our boy jump into the fray with fear and doubt creeping up on him, so the development here was sorely needed. But it doesn't mean he's completely healed of his scars. I will say that "Her" that is mentioned does refer to the traumatic event that is largely responsible for the glimpses of the Kamijou Touma of the future and his decision to keep those he loves at arms length. We'll explore more into this crucial event in the next arc and even see that stupid decision, a man who had lost his faith in the world he protected, nearly made in grief. Ah, Shinzo. One of the main players to be seen in the events to come. There's nothing more terrifying than a mad man with a heart. The mysterious woman found in a dark world is someone we'll have to get back to but not one we won't be seeing again as we deal with the future children. Knowing Aleister though, I don't think he's upset with how things have gone done. After all, so long as the conflict and violence revolving around Kamijou Touma further develops his reliance on his right fist, it's all going according to plan.

TheBiggestLoser: I've watched the first season of One Punch Man, and it is definitely an anime I enjoyed the hell out of. But at the moment I'm already busy with what crossovers I have and the special projects I've been working on for the past half-year. Even if I did fully dive into the manga, I don't think I would be able to do it justice without having been invested in the series. Though I did read a good crossover between ToAru and OPM once before and can see why it's an exciting idea. Oh, and thanks for recommending my work to others!

Now that we've got those out of the way, let's get to the meaty bits! Get to scrolling!

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Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to A Certain Magical Index. All rights belong to Kazuma Kamachii.

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Epilogue: Where Smiles Are Born.

Every_Man_And_Every_Woman_Is_A...

"That was...certainly a challenge."

Labored footsteps were drowned out by the blaring alarms accompanied by flashing red lights dancing across the hallway. Nurses, doctors, hospital staff, and patients ran past him in a hurry as the fire alarm caused an evacuation of those within the building. An unknown part of the building was on fire, smoke wafted from a large hole created by some explosive, and the sprinkler system doused any licking flames crawling in search of spreading more chaos.

Kihara Shinzo, or the puppet created in great detail to appear like him, moved past those being guided to the evacuation points. No one paid any attention to him despite his appearance.

Face bruised and marred with bloody welts, needles stuck out his body, his clothing torn and damaged, and a wrist without a right hand that sparked and leaked a fluid reminiscent of blood, Shinzo appeared to be on the verge of passing out from a heavy loss of blood after being beaten to a near pulp.

Panic and hysteria clouded the minds of men. In such a hectic environment as the one he created just minutes ago, no one paid much attention to a figure like himself who hid the worst of his injuries. Far too many people were focused more on themselves or shepherding those who were bedridden and unable to move on their own. The blaring siren, flashing lights, and people rushing past him worked as the perfect camouflage to make his escape.

Shinzo was a smart boy. His intellect far surpassed the common adult man's own intelligence by the time he was seven. But he was not so arrogant or smug to believe he stood a chance against a Level-4 Teleporter, an Anti-Skill Lieutenant, and some high school girl with a mean punch with only one hand.

Not without resorting to lethal blows. If he had truly desired it, he could have slaughtered those three test rats. His body was designed with nasty surprises far more fearsome than a simple gun barrel in his joints.

But killing such passionate girls before they could fully bloom would have been far too unromantic.

Cornered by such deadly women, he knew he had no choice but to take a more drastic means of escape.

Detonating a hidden bomb in the form of an empty pocky box he had tossed aside earlier, the erupting explosion had certainly taken all the attention away from him. The fearful and panicked screams had no doubt helped to quell the animosity in exchange for concern. And he knew such an upstanding and responsible adult like Yomikawa would be forced to react to the cries of children.

A single moment was all he needed, a moment of distraction.

While his body had been damaged, it still had a few helpful functions running. His left hand was still working fine.

Taking a note from his terrifying half-older brother, Shinzo released a finely controlled jet of flames to propel him back through the explosive repulsion. In a matter of seconds that the three girls were distracted by the tremor, screams, and sound of a bomb going off, he had escaped towards the end of the hall and turned a corner.

He was lucky to have prepared several contingency plans just in case he came across any trouble.

Shinzo could only assume the girls had decided to turn their attention to those who were in harm's way instead of chasing after an already beaten prey. Even if he may or may not have an idea of where a certain spiky boy might be.

Which to say he had no idea either.

'Kamiko-chan has been consumed by the God of Ruin's dreg but said dreg can only be manipulated at this weakened stage. It has become no more than magical energy despite its make-up being far removed from magic or science. From what I've garnered, the dreg we all seem to have been planted with feeds on our innermost pain. Feelings of neglect, anger, sadness, abandonment, confusion, and regret. Hana-kun's behavior and known ticks helped to pinpoint the triggers to cause the dreg in his body to bloom and attack. If the dreg had been anymore potent at the time I met Kamiko-chan, I wouldn't have been able to remove whatever the God's control and allow her corrupted mind to take the reigns.'

It had been an experiment. A theory on whether the specially crafted spiritual items he had designed to hijack and manipulate magic like code could go against a shard of a being who twisted logic and reason on a whim. And it had worked.

Shinzo grinned excitedly as he walked down the hall where he could find the emergency stairwell.

Out of the three Vessels that were modeled after the original Kihara Shinzo, two still remained. One had been obliterated by the fiery Level-5 but had helped in attaining necessary information concerning Calculation Breaker against Level-5s. One was busy encrypting several gigabytes of data concerning valuable subjects he had his eyes on for future endeavors and had yet to be detected. The current Shinzo Vessel escaping in the confusion was heavily damaged and had done his job in testing out Solomon's Ten Rings on the God of Ruin's strange magic.

All other extra side quests would have to be cut short. His presence in this timeline wasn't known. Kihara Shinzo was a boy who did not exist yet. The less known about him now, the better. The fact he had already been seen and even attacked by members of both Anti-Skill and Judgment weren't of worry.

After all, who said the current faces belonging on the Vessels were his true face?

'While the venture may have cost me a unit, all in all? It was worth the risk. I've dug up plenty of valuable information for the beginning phase. My research is finally beginning to see some progress. Sadly I'll have to leave it aside for the time being. If I'm to fit into this new timeline, I must do my part to help out that white-haired monster of a chairman with his current plans. Even now, Aleister can annihilate me if he sees me as so much a threat to his numerous plans. Or worse.'

Only a meter away from the stairwell's entrance, Shinzo froze.

An odd sound caught his attention.

Reality itself was cracked.

Numerous cracks could be seen splintering the very air in bizarre colors a few feet away from him. It sounded as if a glass panel was being subjected to intense pressure at a controlled pace to prevent it from breaking quickly. As if something from a dimension hidden behind an unseen veil was attempting to enter from outside reality.

A set of deadly claws cut through the cracks, tearing through the world's window with a gaping wound.

Large shards of illusionary glass hit the pristine white tiled floor, crumbling to nothing as the owner of those strange claws flashing with bizarre colors stepped out. The cracks and glass crumbled to nothing. The strange wound healed itself in a flash.

Shinzo's facial muscles locked up. His right eye twitched.

Kamijou Touma stood before him. His hospital gown that was reminiscent of pajamas was torn up and bloodied. Specks of red littered his gown with the most prominent of the vital fluid staining the sleeve of his right arm. The bandages on his person were loose and appeared to fall away at any moment. Droplets of blood were found seeping from his chin. Most likely, several of his wounds had opened back up due to stress.

Despite the fresh blood on his body, the spiky boy stood before Shinzo with an obvious smile on his face. Though his eyes appeared listless and unresponsive, he wore an expression of satisfaction. In his arms, he held a small child, one who had been swallowed up by the dreg of a vile being who would come to burn the world to cinders.

Kamiko was carried protectively in her father's arms, asleep and cured of the plague that had been eating away at her young heart. Not a scratch could be found on her.

Neither Touma nor Kamiko were awake. Whatever they had been through moments ago had exhausted them.

Questions popped up in the false Shinzo's processor.

What had been those cracks? What were those dreadful claws? What was that odd bright space seen through the open wound they had walked out of?

Shinzo clutched his face as if he were in pain.

This was a false body. It possessed no real emotions. Every response was one he had programmed into the vessels to simulate what the real Shinzo would say, do, think, or feel when faced with simulated events. Human emotions were no more than a string of ones and zeroes even cold dolls could mimic with enough computation power. And those broken down strings of human code had been stuffed into puppets to take his place.

"Ah...so that's it? How foolish of me to think I could avoid such a trivial bug in my own programming. Really, imitating human emotions was bound to reflect back at me in some random spray."

To see the very boy who became a treasured figure to even this manipulative and cold Kihara in such a bloodied state was enough to even strike the deepest core of a fake heart.

The fake Shinzo felt the false muscles in his face twitch, twisting his face to reflect what the true Kihara of the future would feel if he were to see such a sight. One he had thought to never input.

Shinzo spat something foul from his mouth, snarled viciously, and clawed his broken left hand as he lunged at the unconscious boy.

"You! You and Kaa-san! You both-!"

Reptilian claws bearing bizarre colors clicked.

A single claw, colored a brilliant rose, fell in the direction of the charging lab coat boy as if it were a blade.

Something was severed in a perfect line.

And Kihara Shinzo vanished from this world

[-]

"Oh? Now, wasn't that a rather romantic reaction to find in one of the Vessels. I knew programming human behavior along with matching BPMs, breathing habits, facial twitches, and unconscious body quirks could cause some oddities to arise but I wasn't expecting to see such human emotions. Perhaps my research into the matters of hearts is progressing better than I first imagined. And then there was that. All my recordings from the second Yoki provide only a single frame of a burning rose-tinted claw. What exactly happened to the Vessel?"

He was a boy of fifteen with dark short cut hair. Wearing a lab coat over his shoulders like it were a robe or cape, he appeared to be a pretty bad boy type who could smoothly catch the hearts of middle school and high school girls with his roguish smirk. Despite being of high intellect, his figure revealed he possessed both brains and brawn due to this toned physique.

Amid the evacuation of patients and staff, Shinzo stepped out of a certain frog-faced doctor's personal office. In his right hand, he spun a sleek USB containing gigabytes of useful information on various people of interest. Blood types, known diseases, mental health conditions, weights, height, blood pressure, past injuries, medications.

And DNA map.

"Now why would such a boring old man possess such a dangerous cache of information in such a crappy little treasure box? I always knew Heaven Canceler was a man of mystery and incredible medical skill that even us Kihara's can help but be envious but this raises certain moral questions to mind. Who would have thought they would even map Kamijou Touma's DNA? And yet no one's ever done a thing with it?"

Something incredibly dangerous and destructive was held in such a small item just a hair's breadth longer than his pinky finger.

Information and data were far more cruel and vicious than even abilities as strong and versatile as the One Way Road's. What he possessed in his hands held far more cruelty than the likes of the very U.S. made atom bomb that had once razed Japan's cities to beds of smoldering radiation.

He had to wonder what others would think of the gleeful grin on his face.

"You don't belong here."

"Eh?"

For the first time since he arrived in this new world, Shinzo was genuinely confused.

Confusion quickly fell away to pain as his windpipe was crushed by powerful fingers.

Pink orbs balefully glared into Shinzo's fearful eyes. He felt the grip of a python curl around his throat, burst blood vessels and skin cells, and pinch his windpipe like it were a plastic straw. Precious air was blocked as he began to choke. Treated no differently than gasping fish plucked out of the river, he felt the bear's grip lift him off his dangling feet with ease.

Did you know it's actually scientifically impossible for a human to lift another human being off the ground by their neck with one arm? Disregarding inertia, running speed, body size, and muscle mass of both parties, such a feat would require extreme force from the person's hands and arms muscles. Not to mention the pressure forced onto the joints and bones of the lifter.

A normal human could never lift anyone equal to their size or greater by one hand.

The beautiful raven-haired nurse wearing a pink nurse's uniform that appeared tight and hugged all the right curves of her mature body better fit for adult entertainment easily held Shinzo's body up in the air without so much as a grimace or tremble in her arm muscles.

Those terrifying pink eyes coldly stabbed into Shinzo before they zoned in on the sleek USB he had swiftly slid in the confines of his sleeve.

No sooner had he hid the diamond trove of data did his left hand strike at her face.

An ordinary pocket knife slipped out of his sleeve and sliced at her face.

The Stronge-Armed Nurse casually leaned her head aside to avoid the fatal wound to her lovely face. Steel sliced against her cheek and tore off a patch of skin far too easily.

Fake skin.

Like flimsily cloth the fake patch of skin fell away to reveal a hidden detail to the mature woman.

Black lines designed as a famous emblem within Academy City flashed as if it were a sinister fang.

Anti-Skill.

More specifically it was the emblem of an even deadlier sect of the law enforcing organization trained to copy monsters like Shinzo.

"An Anti-Skill Aggressor?!"

Darkness mirrored back at darkness. An imitation of the sinister underbelly of a utopia of academics and science to combat the same tactics designed by those who lacked human ethics. Those sinister claws held Shinzo's neck with every intent to snap it like a brittle twig.

With her free hand, the nurse snatched his knife-wielding hand and dislocated the wrist. His expression was more irritated than hurt by the brutal action as his weapon hit the ground.

"What is such a terrifying soldier doing in such a place as this? I'm not the only one who doesn't belong here, Nurse-san."

Taunting words were repaid with those brutal fingers squeezing his throat until an unsettling sound was heard.

"You're not human. If you were, you wouldn't be able to speak so clearly after I cut off the oxygen traveling to your lungs. And while do feel something akin to bone, I also detect some kind of metalwork; your neck should have snapped by now."

"Such unnatural strength. But without the proper muscle mass a diligent bodyworker would require to lift someone of my size and weight up. Though those biceps of yours appear far more toned and hardened than a second ago. Is this the work of muscle enzymes, improved without the ridiculous body morphing expansion seen normally? You must be quite a special agent to have access to such a highly classified and improved drug. Are you a Lieutenant? Captain?"

Those pink orbs narrowed until they resembled razor-thin slits.

Gone was the figure of maturity meant to nurture the wounded.

What stood in its place was an aggressive shadow designed to devour wild beasts.

"I won't waste any time questioning your motives, who you work for, what you encrypted in that USB file, or how you were able to slink your way in undetected by those soft-hearted shields scurrying about. None of that matters to me. My mission, my duty, has only ever revolved around one thing."

If she had been a normal officer of Anti-Skill, she would have cuffed the suspicious boy who lacked human warmth. She would have never resorted to such extremes as the ones she just inflicted. Adults were meant to protect boys like him, no matter how cruel or violent they may be. Instead, she would have scolded the child for using such terrible acts and tried to steer him onto the right path.

Had she been a normal nurse, she would have never harmed a soul. She would have fixed his dislocated wrist and never dare to reach for his neck. Those lovely pink orbs would have held kindness for even the rowdiest of foul-mouthed thugs who had been harmed in front of her eyes and promised to heal all their wounds with a beautiful smile. She would have made a flirty comment to kiss his boo-boos and giggle cutely at his flustered expression.

"You hurt my patient, the one boy I was assigned to protect within these walls at no matter the cost. If you had harmed anyone else, I would have been saddened. I would have been angry. I would have been stricken by grief. But by going after Kamijou Touma's health, his smile..."

A dull snap was heard.

Shinzo's body hit the floor with a thick thud. His face was frozen stiff and his chest stopped rising.

Muscles relaxed, losing their coiled form as the nurse regarded the dead body coolly. Remorse was absent in those ruthless pink eyes.

"You violated something precious in my life. I'll never forgive those who harm my precious ward, you piece of shit."

Disappointment shaded those cold pink eyes. As if she had wished the victim had been an actual human rather than a puppet. Kicking the left hand of the 'boy', she found the USB device he had hidden and proceeded to stomp it to plastic gravel. With a distasteful scoff, she turned her back to the cold thing she had silenced as she reached for her phone.

No one would know of the body. Just as no one would know about the piece of circuits and gore wearing the same clothing as the boy who had caused nothing but trouble today. A report would be made, a heavily redacted one telling of a random nameless thug who had participated in the gang war of District 10, who was treated in said hospital and decided to stir up trouble. Before Anti-Skills normal troops or Judgment's brats could stumble upon the true culprits, the bodies would be discreetly removed by a silent unit working alongside Anti-Skill's Aggressors.

Pink eyes faded back to a natural dark brown, the side effect of the improved muscle growth enzymes momentarily receding as she alerted those to the clean-up. Receiving the confirmation, she found no other reason to stick around the general area. Faintly sparking and sickly oozing piles of metal were the least of her concerns.

She had a part to play as the mature and loving sexy nurse while within these walls. Her attention was centered on those who were in harm's way, needing her gentle touch to ease the pain and soothe their fears.

More importantly…

As she put away her phone, she felt her fingers graze against her pager. Not a moment later did the plastic block rumble frantically. Though this was a city of technology ahead of the rest of the world by twenty-thirty years, simple tech such as a pager was still valued in certain locations. Such generic, simple, archaic hardware was far more reliable than phones with all their useless applications and weaknesses; hardier and less likely to be tapped into as well.

The message was simple but all the more stabbed at the deadly woman's heart.

'Kamijou-sama has entered the ICU. All personnel assigned to his care must report immediately.'

No one heard it.

Not a soul was there to hear the vicious crack fueled by bitter fury and sadness.

When Heaven Canceler returned to his office with a weary frown, exhausted from the day's chaotic events, he would simply quirk his brow at the sight of a fist-shaped indent perfectly smashed into the wall by his personal office.

[-]

It had been two days since the events involving the attack on Kamijou Touma in the District 7 hospital he was far two acquainted to.

And...

Mugino Kaen was not a happy older brother.

"Just what the hell do you think you have to say for yourself, ya brat?! Do you have any idea how long I was running around this damn building for you? Half a fucking hour! Running none stop, burning the skin of my palms with my constant use of Jet-Burn, dealing with idiots playing knights, a weirdo cyborg or android, and having to deal with that charmless Toka-brat who won't stop punching me in the face! I had to deal with a whole bunch of complicated shit because you decided to have a little sulking party all by yourself in the middle of some random bomb threat(mostly caused by the labcoat puppet bastard) and couldn't wait until we got back for you to pout?! What do you have to say for yourself?!"

Mugino Kamiko, now free of the festering dreg of a malicious God, stood simply at the foot of a hospital bed with a fussy pout resembling chipmunk cheeks as she was scolded by her older brother.

"I'm not the one who's restrained to a hospital bed because of bruised organs and internal bleeding. If you weren't such a baby, Nurse-chan wouldn't have had to tie you down like a wild animal frothing from the mouth."

Indeed, the Level-5 esper with mastery of acceleration of particles, a teenage boy ready to graduate high school and who could burn grown men twice his size to smoldering cinders, was currently stuck to a bed with various fluids flowing into his body. Beneath his hospital gown, bandages were wrapped around his lower body were a majority of the strong smelling fluids were being injected. The always scowling brunette glared at the bratty sibling, his body jerking as he tried to move but failed.

Why? Well, that would have to be because of the leather belts strapping his body down from his ankles to his upper chest. Like a psych ward patient, he was not allowed the freedom to move due to his violent and dangerous behavior with others. Put simply: because he couldn't get along with others, he was grounded to his bed.

To Kaen's confusion and further anger, the leather straps were of high quality and proved to be durable enough to hold up against his thrashing. One might ask why he hadn't used his ability, a supernatural power capable of burning through leather as if it were flimsy paper, to escape his restraints.

Well, it wasn't just strange and nutritious chemicals being pumped into his body. One of the thin clear tubes pricked to his forearm was an experimental drug designed to dampen an espers senses in order to disable their ability to properly perform calculations. Kaen was currently dealing with a dull headache, an annoying pressure in his temple that turned his string of destructive thoughts upside down.

In the back of his mind, Kaen had to wonder how the doctors were able to properly inject the right dosage of the strange drug. They would have had to have his level in mind and discovered he was a Level-5; there were only seven in all of the world, not eight. He couldn't help be suspicious of the frog-faced old man with a fetish for nurses.

Setting that matter aside for when he wasn't dealing with a dull headache and aches in his lower body, Kaen returned to grilling the bug pig-tailed girl.

"Don't think that because I can't make a proper flame or twist your ear off that you can give me sass. If if you hadn't run off like some puppy, I wouldn't be stuck here with internal bleeding and a bruised lower intestine."

Kamiko bit her lower lip, guilt crossing her face as she lowered her head. Clearly, she had felt some guilt for the events that had transpired as she had run away from her older brother. The guilt only grew worse as she couldn't even recall what had happened once she left Kaen's side.

All she remembered was running and nothing else. As if she were stuck in some foggy dream she couldn't remember details no matter how hard she tried. Something strange had happened in the missing time she had run off to cause her to forget whatever had happened. Like a document once stored in a special file in her brain's hard drive, someone had taken the file, deleted it, and emptied the trash bin so that she could never recover whatever had been thrown away.

What she did remember was waking up in the arms of an Anti-Skill officer, a pretty woman with long dark blue-haired and a bruised face, with bloodstains on her expensive clothing. The blood did not belong to her; not a scratch could be found.

Her expression grew guiltier with tears forming in the corner of her eyes as to whose blood had been splattered on her.

Because of her tantrum, she had caused harm to two of the people she loved, who had always protected her from harm at no matter the cost.

Despite the scowl on his face, Kaen's eyes softened as he noticed his little sister's small shoulders tremble. He clicked his teeth in distaste, wishing more than ever to be able to scratch his scalp furiously.

"Forget it. I guess it doesn't really matter now anyway. Seems you've learned your lesson, a harsh one, and one I don't particularly wish you had to learn. But that's life, huh."

Kamiko sniffed, looking at her brother in confusion.

"Lesson? What do you mean?"

"You don't get it, huh? Do I really have to spell it out for you? Sheesh, it seems you inherited that lousy father's denseness too."

Kaen was an asshole. He was cruel. One could very much say he had the makings of an up and coming street boss who was well known for crushing the skulls of his prey with a filthy sneer. He was not a tactful boy who would ever hold back what he would say to even a frail child on death's door. His ruthless attribute was a notable genetic trait inherited by both of his violent parents who resolved matters with either their fists or their ability.

Calling him kind or caring was laughable.

But he was not one who would ever revel in the glassy teary eyes of a girl who had gone through far more suffering than he had.

Though he was strapped to his hospital bed without the freedom to move his arms up, Kaen straightened himself up so that he at least appeared to be sitting up as he spoke to his little sister.

"I get it. This...situation we've found ourselves in isn't ideal. It's possibly the worst-case scenario in my books to be perfectly honest. Something straight out of some basement dwelling forty-year-old obsessed with a children's book series hard drive," he scoffed with an ever-burning desire to rake his nails against his scalp.

He wasn't ignorant to how Kamiko felt right now. He knew she was struggling to accept the strange reality they had been forced to traverse in the crumbling world of pyre left behind by some monster. Unlike many of those who accepted this ultimatum, she was just a child who had known nothing of the darkness of the world or its sinister gears spinning to create sparks of suffering. Fighting to survive or return to the normal, ordinary, spot in this boring world was a notion she had never known.

To face such tragedy and heartbreak without so much as a tear?

Not even Kaen had been so unbreakable.

An unbearable heat had reduced that single tear to vapor long ago.

"Just a few weeks ago, you were happily babbling about Christmas, Santa, eating tasty baked treats from Takitsubo-obaa-san, riding Hamazura like some reindeer around the house, and even a last minute visit from the old man with some crappy gift he only found after gritting his teeth through some unimaginable misfortune. Just like always, you were happily makings the same plain and generic wish you always made upon a star every December night. To have one night or two with both that monster faced mother and that lousy father hugging you to sleep."

What had he bought before the faint but disgusting smell of brimstone wafted through the air on the day the world was caught aflame? Was it some cheap Gekota plush? New clothes that would cost just about your average Level 3 monthly stimulus? Some cheesy plastic watch based on some children's cartoon program?

It had seemed so long ago that Kaen could no longer recall what kind of present he bought his own little sister before discovering he owed dozens and dozens more to the younger siblings he hadn't known he had.

"We had everything planned for a small holiday party and simply needed to wait for that fashionably late father of ours to arrive. But then the world turned to shit and everything caught on fire." he said bluntly.

Not even a bastard like himself could ever forget about how terrified he had become when the world outside his windows had glowed a burning orange-red amid a chorus of horrified cries.

"Tou-san died. Several of our friends died. Countless people we didn't know died. The world itself was dying a flaming death. All because some arrogant pile of shit got lucky in defeating some unemployed bum who cheated on his wife as regularly as breathing. But because of magic, fucking make-believe hocus-pocus bullshit found only in children's books! We were able to escape the end of the world and were given a second chance to start over. As shitty as it is, this is our Christmas present, one we can't return or exchange for anything better."

Kaen shut his eyes as his voice grew frustrated. He had to control his temper. The dull headache wasn't doing him any good. It was a lot to take in. Sniffling could be heard, warning him that if he didn't get to the point fast, he was going to have to deal with a sobbing little sister and a terrifying strong-armed nurse whose body was ill-fit for such a job outside of the adult industry.

"We...we're not the only ones who were handed this shitty gift. There are people like us. We're not alone. Maybe that playboy of a father did some good in the end. Because, whether I care to admit it or accept it...we have family to help share that crappy burden."

Among the smoldering rubble and curtains of licking flames, both Kaen and Kamiko had met them. The large family hidden beneath the surface of an ordinary world of science and magic. Brothers and sisters they had never met, let alone crossed paths with on the street. People who shared fragments of the will of a man who was once said to have defied the entire world for the smile of a criminal who had wrought tragedy after tragedy.

Idiots, perverts, wannabee heroes, killers, saints, villains, sloths, and preachy brats.

Numerous flavors similar to his own shared a common pain.

The loss of a world of smiles protected by one man they all held up in some form of light.

Kaen scrapped the back of his molars together like grindstones, his face twisted uncomfortably to the words he was trying to spit out. Unlike a certain charmless brat who had inherited their father's strong fist, he wasn't one for cheering people up or easing their pain. What he gained from his parents was their ruthlessness and cruelty in the form of claws and fangs. Still, he fought on past the awkwardness to say his piece.

"I'm not saying we have to go running to them when we're in trouble; we can ignore them for the rest of our lives. We have no obligation to speak to them or so much as call them our family despite sharing half their genetics. But, I guess, what I'm trying to say!"

Even if he wasn't used to this.

Even if he was far more comfortable bloodying his hands to solve his troubles.

Even if was far more suited to flashing his fangs and barking.

The lousy older brother who believed he had only inherited his mother's and father's violent traits spoke softly with an ever-present scowl on his face.

"You're not alone, dumb-ass. You have your big brother right here to speak to whenever you're feeling sad, whenever you need a shoulder or chest to sob into, whenever you fall and scrape your knee, and whenever you need a hand to hold onto. Don't go closing yourself off. If you're in pain, don't hide it. If something is bothering you, speak up. Even if I complain and bitch about whatever overblown problem you're dealing with, I won't ever tell you to shut up and deal with it yourself. Why else..."

It was a truth he would never admit aloud. The only reason he didn't utterly despise his father for leaving them to play hero to strangers who could muster up the strength and ability to save themselves.

Why else do you think our dad left you in my care?

The oldest sibling was born for a reason.

To take care of the younger siblings in place of their parents.

"I'm here. Even if you were to somehow string along Kamijou-san and Mugino-san into playing their forgotten roles as parents once again, and even if you were to open yourself up to all our siblings, I'm still here. So, don't go running off like a snot-nosed brat when you're sad; talk to me and I'll do whatever I can to burn away those tears."

Once again, sniffling could be heard and the softest of cries.

Before Kaen could curse at himself for failing to ease his sister's worries and pain, he found his strapped down body being assaulted by a flying glomp. The small body of his wailing sister hugged his awkwardly sitting upright chest, pressing her face deep into his chest. Words of apology could be felt being repeated over and over again.

Kaen sighed tiredly.

Most likely, there would be snot staining his hospital gown. At any moment, the busty nurse with pythons would walk in, notice the crying child, glare darkly at him and crack her knuckles menacingly.

Burning leather lingered in the room.

His hand, free of restraints, patted Kamiko's head in the way he had seen his father done many times before. Just as the lousy old man had done to him when he was a haughty brat who always schemed devious plans to trap his father at home.

Threats of a Magic God didn't matter. The horrid state Kamijou Touma, his father, had been found in didn't matter. Matters dealing with interacting with Mugino Shizuri, his mother, didn't matter. The future calamity simmering beneath the reality of this world about to be assaulted with world war, Magic Gods, a great and powerful demon, and an ancient figure blurring the lines of science and magic didn't matter.

He could deal with those headaches at another time. And he would deal with them.

Right now…

All that mattered was soothing his little sister's pain and drying her tears.

Why else had he had promised his father to do so long ago?

[-]

"Touma."

"...Index?"

"Kamijou-san."

An audible gulp was heard.

"Angela?"

"...Meow."

"Eh, E Tu, Sphinx?"

Heavily sweating and trembling, Touma sat back in his hospital bed with two terrifying glares pinning him down. There was no escaping the ensuing wrath of two girls and a Japanese calico cat whose head popped out of the younger's nun's habit. Fresh bandage rolls and clean gauze once again littered his body, his body aching far worse than before and his legs weak as a newborn deer who was learning how to walk. An even thicker cast was set on his right hand which had just undergone some experimental surgery using liquid nanotech to repair his broken bones.

All in all; the typical scene for one Kamijou Touma to be found in.

It had been a day since the spontaneous bubble of malice had popped in A Certain Hospital. The threat of some unknown assailant had passed relatively peacefully with only damage to one wing of the facilities and the nurse's station. From what he had garnered, there had been a threat of a bomb as well but that was swiftly dealt with as all the patients and staff had been evacuated from the building for several hours. Those who were in need of immediate treatment(i.e. Touma) had been transported to another hospital for care until they could be returned once the threat had been cleared.

Anti-Skill and Judgment had assured the populace that the chaos and panic had been the work of a patient; one of the many Skill-Out thugs who had been treated after the events of District 10. Apparently, they had awoken in a hysteric panic and attacked several members of the staff before escaping. There had been a cover-up to prevent panic from spreading throughout the hospital's patients and visitors under the guise of a highly contagious ill patient wandering halls to keep people from leaving their rooms. Using a variety of chemicals and objects around the hospital, the thug had created several improvised bombs and detonated in small explosions.

Other than a few members of Anti-Skill and Judgment being harmed, none with lethal injuries, not one of the hospital's many patients or staff had been harmed.

Well, except for the lone error known as Kamijou Touma. Whatever his involvement in the true chaos had been, it had been hidden from the public eye.

He had seen it though. The strange lab-coat wearing boy who had harmed one of his teachers, the blot of the abyss belonging to an unseen world outside of science, and the little goddess possessed by the dreg of a nightmarish abomination. It was because of those events that his body was once again battered, bruised, bloodied, and in need of urgent medical attention.

And also the reason why he was being grilled by two sisters of the church and a house cat.

"What do you have to say for yourself this time, Touma?" Index patiently waited with a tapping finger on her crossed arms. It was oddly similar to how a mother would scold their delinquent son who had just been bailed out of jail for the twelfth time.

Since his right hand was trapped in a cocoon of plaster, he could only use his left hand to scratch the back of his head awkwardly.

"Index-hime, why, whatever could you mean?" he tried to play innocently with his eyes looking anywhere but those terrifying green orbs of gnawing death.

"You know what I mean! The hospital goes on lockdown, explosions went off, people were evacuated, Anti-Skill and Judgment were scrambling inside, and you were somehow caught in the center of it all. And you expect me to believe that you had no idea what was going on? Or that you had no part in any of it? How stupid do you think I am!?"

"Meow!"

"Exactly, Sphinx! If there's trouble afoot, Touma must be connected somehow! You're like an English bloodhound trained to sniff out trouble and go chasing it down."

"Meow, meow, meow!"

"Right again, Sphinx! How'd you get those new wounds? The frog-faced doctor said your right hand was broken in several places, adding in a total of five new broken bones. There was also blunt trauma to the ribs on your left side and you even sprained your ankle! Is that an IV for blood I see? How much more did you lose now?!"

"Meow! Meow!"

"Oh, my, Sphinx-kun, I don't think we need to be too harsh with Kamijou-san. Just look at him. He's already suffered enough, don't you think? We still love him!"

"Angela, we mustn't be so lenient with Touma. Sphinx is right to chew him up harshly for acting like an idiot as always. Someone has to think of his health. If we baby him too much or give him too much praise, he'll get a big head and think he can just do whatever he thinks he feels like. Sphinx understands that and knows exactly what to say. Sometimes one must apply a harsh touch to troublesome boys like Touma who come home from fighting in the streets every night."

Touma wasn't sure what to say.

A small kitten's white-furred paw pawed the air, directed at him as if lecturing him about his rowdy behavior in class. Sphinx-sensei was scolding the delinquent boy for running into a fight with words that would make even the hardiest and scariest of thugs like Komaba shed tears of shame and promise to turn over a new leaf. Adorable Komoe-sensei would surely be taking notes. Sadly for this Kamijou-san, he did not understand the language of Japanese calico cats like the firmly nodding Index or awed Angela did so fluently.

Was this the life of Kamijou Touma he had inherited? Being scolded by a kitten who nestled himself in habit of a nun with small breasts?

Having said his piece, the calico cat nodded his small head stoically as if he were a stern father. Index seemed to have believed the kitten had said everything needed to be said as she sighed with a shake of her head. He felt guilt prick his heart as her green eyes grew somber, eyeing his newly dressed appearance with sadness.

Did such a sight bite at her heart because it was how this Kamijou Touma had come to meet Index Librorum Prohibitorum? Was she forced to recall that bright day in July where she had been told he had forgotten her? Where he had said his first lie and decided to fool the entire world in believing the true Kamijou Touma had survived by some miracle?

"Just what exactly were you fighting for now? Why would you ignore your own body's wounds and put your life on the line so desperately when you were in no shape to so much as even step off the bed?"

Touma found the words he wanted to say clenched in his throat at the sight of those beautiful eyes growing wet with tears.

Those words were ready to spill out so easily. An automated response similar to how he would hold his pencil even though he lacked the memories to do so. Ingrained in his heart was an answer he hadn't even known or understood clearly.

The words of a Level 0 who no longer existed were stuck in his throat and he was afraid.

Because he questioned what his own desires and answers were as someone had been born colorless.

Or…

"Because someone was crying."

At least, he had been.

Once again, two generic high school boys had crossed another and reaffirmed their roles. Though they were different, the two idiots who relied on their fists found a common ground to share.

Touma smiled as he allowed the answer he shared with a hero to go free.

Because it was an answer he decided belonged to him and only him.

"I can't say I understood what was going on. Nothing was explained to me. I don't even know if there were any villains or heroes there. All I understood was that there were people who were suffering. And I found I couldn't turn away or run away. I just wanted to see them smile however I could."

What had happened to the lab-coat wearing boy? What was that blot of bizarre darkness? What had lead to those two malicious figures attacking the hospital? And what did it have to do with him?

No answers had been provided at the end. Which was fine. He hadn't been fighting for the truth anyway. It had never been his intention.

Blearily, as the fighting settled, he had found himself waking up for short time in the arms of a certain woman. And he had smiled happily as he found Yomikawa-sensei alive and with enough strength to care for an idiot like him despite her injuries. Her frantic expression over his wounds was a relieving sight. In the corner of his eyes, he had seen a small girl with pig-tails reminiscent of a bug's antenna being cared for by the nurse-in-training, awake and rubbing her teary eyes as Ya-san tried to soothe her worries.

Why had he been so hesitant before? Why had he been so afraid before? To reach a simple hand out to someone who was holding back tears or was suffering...why had he ever been so stupid to think twice?

Shards of a lovely illusion passing him by on the wind like pecks came to mind. The life of a lonely girl who had been destroyed by someone who dared to reach out to her.

Touma closed his eyes, the memory of Mila Etoile still fresh and painful but no longer unbearable.

What right did anyone have to ignore another person's misfortune because of something as flimsy as caution or regrets?

Faintly, he clenched his right hand beneath the many layers of plaster.

"I don't know what happened or what the aftermath would entail, but I was able to see something beautiful at the end. Why other reason would I need to fight?"

Smiles.

Such a thing was truly a beautiful thing to witness, he realized with a smile of his own. Opposite of the crumbling face he had seen on a girl at the end of a bitter yet sweet story.

Honestly, what other reason would anyone need to fight other than that? Even if the price constituted a few broken bones and red soaking his body, so what?

What did it matter if he was haunted by fears for failing to save one girl? Or fear of his actions simply being tugs of someone who was no longer present?

Even a husk could call such a reason to fight his own.

He had to wonder what kind of face he was making to cause Index to drop the upset glare and relax. An odd solemn yet bright light beamed from her eyes as she sighed at his bedridden form.

"Just what am I going to do with you? When you look at me like that, I can't happily bite down on your head for your reckless ways. Boys really are troublesome."

"I don't want to hear you complaining when half the reason I'm wearing bandages on my head is due to your cranium chipping bite attacks. Quit acting like the worrying mother fretting over her delinquent son when you're the Neet who sits around watching anime and eating food all day!"

"What was that?! I think you're forgetting who it's been who's been taking care of the dorm and watching over Angela and Sphinx while you've been in the hospital being catered to by giddy nurses and that big boobed Nurse-chan who embodies the male fantasy! You should be grateful for all that I've done in watching over our home while you've been away!"

"Do you really expect me to believe you've actually been playing housekeeper all this time? I know I'm cursed with misfortune but even this luckless Kamijou-san can bet what little yen he has to his name that it's been sweet and doting Angela-san who's been the real caretaker while I've been away. Between the two of you, she's the true embodiment of the nun archetype(if you didn't count her odd obsession with cute children and animals that borderlines creepy)."

"Th-That's not true! I've been helping!"

"Eh? What was that, Kamijou-san? Did you call me creepy?"

"Isn't lying a sin too? And what's with that oddly sweet smile coupled with those foreboding shuttered eyes, Angela-hime?! Aren't you the gentle one?!"

"Meow! Meow!"

"Stay out of this Sphinx! All your doing is tossing oil onto the sputtering fire! Since when have you had any iota of relevance in this story anyways?!"

What was once a peaceful setting fitting for a boy in need of peace and relaxation after enduring another unfortunate incident in his normal life, quickly devolved into a scene of chaos.

Yes, this was normal. Having Index fighting to clamp her pearly white teeth onto his tender skull as he fought desperately to push her off, Angela smothering his face with a pouting glare like some child vying for their father's attention, and the small calico cat Sphinx clawing out his face because he felt he had been ignored for far too long and demanded to be a proper character.

Without a doubt, it was this scene he had fought through the bullet flying streets of District 10 to return to. It was this place he had been able to enjoy after overcoming the hesitation of falling short of save a single girl who looked to him with tears of joy after finding someone who held a hand to her.

Even as he found Index gnawing on his head like some beloved chew toy, he couldn't help but smile past the painful grimace.

[-]

"Sooo, this is the place? Isn't it kinda weird for him to have his own personal room in a hospital of all places? Wait...isn't this kind of place typical known as a death room?"

"Yeah, he's kinda a regular here. I wasn't even aware he had this room named after him. The plaque looks freshly minted too."

A sheen of gold greeted Toka as she stood outside a certain hospital room where she could already make out a ruckus. After the events of two days ago involving the abnormal lab coat wearing boy with the prosthetic hand, the everyday high school girl of the future had to push back her earlier plans of introducing Saten(her future mother) and Touma(her future father) until things had calmed down.

Unlike before, she hadn't suffered any significant wounds other than some bruises. Nothing some first aid from a frantic Uiharu couldn't cure until a proper doctor treated her.

Having recovered completely since the long week she had arrived to this new timeline, Toka had decided that today would be the day to try this little venture all over again. With a fresh new bag of convenience store treats in hand[Black pudding, dark coffee with no added sugars or milk, among other goodies] she had asked Saten to accompany her again to visit the bedridden boy. Now was the time, the time to force her favorite shipping to become reality! And nothing would get in her way of this OTP, damn it!

"You okay, Toka-senpai? You got this weird grin on your face that's kinda scaring me."

Was it wrong of her to want to eagerly shove her future mother, who was only a pre-teen, into some random high school boy's hospital room simply because of the chance of the two hooking up in the future?

Toka composed herself as smoothly as she could before offering Saten a bright smile.

"I'm fine. I'm just excited for you to meet Kamijou-san is all. He's...kinda special to me is all." she said bashfully.

Describing how it felt introducing one's parents to each other was an odd emotion she wasn't anyone other than those who traveled to the past alongside her would ever understand. Maybe it was similar to how a child would try to force their estranged parents back together again after a separation. She couldn't help but feel nervous.

'Kamijou-san is...someone special to Toka-san? Is it this?'

Unbeknownst to the nervous Toka, a lightly blushing Saten rose her pinky finger and wiggled it with her mouth open like a triangle.

The overly curious skirt flipper already misunderstood Toka's intentions and came to her own.

Some would call this a stroke of bad luck.

Taking a deep breath, Toka decided it was now or never. Her fingers grasped the doorknob, turned, and opened.

"GYAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! WHAT PART OF ME BEING INJURED DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND, YOU SADISTIC BLACK HOLE OF A NEET NUN?! MY HP'S ALREADY IN THE RED, DON'T GO SINKING IT TO ZEROOOOOOO!"

"Index-chan! You have to let go of Touma-kun's skull right now! Violence goes against our scripture for Christ's sake!"

"Meow, meow, meow!"

Anything ready to come out Toka's lips to begin this blossoming relationship between two normal people immediately died at the sight to greet her. Her body must have frozen because she didn't move a muscle.

Saten blinked, unsure of what exactly she was looking at as she poked her head over Toka's stiff shoulders. What she found awaiting her in what was a rather generic hospital room was a spiky-haired boy who had slipped out of his bed (save his legs which were laid up against the edge). A silver-blue-haired nun in a white habit was laid across the boy, her snarling teeth clamped down on his skull like a bear trap. Trying to pry the rabid young nun was an older Sister with raven hair who appeared to be about the same age as Toka, her hands gripping the silver girl's waist tightly and attempting to pull her off with grunts of effort. To finish off the odd scene was a Japanese calico cat sitting by, paw raised as he tried to deescalate the situation with talks of peace no one would comprehend.

Middle school Saten had to wonder if anyone realized just how risque they appeared with how the older Sister was grunting while her waist was pressed against the bottom of the younger sister whose jaws were now released and was trying to crawl back as her hands held onto the bottom of the spiky boy's gown, face dangerously close to his crotch. The spiky boy(Kamijou-san?) grew frantic as the bottom of his gowns were at risk of being pulled of. His hands found themselves on the silver Sister's head in an attempt to push her off, only adding to the rather ecchi scene found in certain adult movies she was not allowed to watch.

Even if she knew it couldn't be anything remotely close to a threesome with a kitty cat spectator, Saten still blushed heavily.

"Is this...normal?" For some reason, she couldn't help but ask the still frozen Toka.

With a heavy sight but an oddly bright grin, Toka responded.

"Yeah, it kinda is."

While the two Saten girls stood by awkwardly, a new fight began.

"No, Index! Not that head! I still need ittttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt!"

"No, Index! Not that head! He still needs ittttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt!"

While not the most normal of beginnings, it was, nonetheless, one Toka was happy to witness.

And to be a part of.

[-]

She couldn't knock.

Yomikawa Aiho found herself unable to simply tap the door to the suddenly loud and active hospital room right in front of her.

The Anti-Skill Lieutenant grit her teeth, her only usable left hand motionless as it hovered over the white frame like it had been frozen stiff. Clean white bandages were wrapped finely from the back of her head to her forehead, gauze was patched over her left cheek, and her right arm was set against her large chest thanks to the sling to support her broken elbow. Just like a certain patient she had desired to protect days ago, she too had been damaged to the point of needing to be treated as someone who hadn't been able to protect themselves.

"I...I failed."

What was it that she had said? That she would protect that boy? That no harm would come to him? That she would make it her mission that he could walk away from the past tragedy with a free and sincere smile on his once tear stricken face? Hadn't it been her duty, her responsibility, as an adult to ensure that boy was safe from the violence this city could produce?

What had happened as a result?

Yomikawa had fought a wild lab-coat boy who exuded a cold and almost fanatic sense of violence. It was akin to fighting a feverish scalpel blade of a doctor who was only interested in slicing up their patient to see how their body ticked. Who she had pegged as a mere delinquent no different than the likes of Skill-Out or an esper who let their ability go to their head, had been a far more dangerous foe. His blows had been methodical, experimental, vicious, calculating, and devastating.

For all her accomplishments, her training, her determination and desire to stop such a manic boy from disrupting Kamijou Touma's well deserved bed rest, she had been beaten.

Black and blue.

Bones broken.

Who she believed to have been a violent child had grabbed her by the back of her head, pulled her ponytail until it fell away, and repeatedly slammed her face into the floor until she had been knocked out.

She felt humiliated. Disgusted. Ashamed.

How could she have been so weak? Wasn't she the adult? The child hadn't even possessed an ability either. No weapons. Mere blunt fists had pummeled her to the point she couldn't continue fighting to protect a single boy who had been through a traumatizing ordeal.

Because she had failed to defeat a wild element seeking to inflict more damage to an already wounded patient, Yomikawa's own student had been further bloodied.

She couldn't forget the sight of Kamijou Touma standing in some random hospital hallway, unresponsive and standing still with a child in his arms. Smiling as if he had accomplished a long held wish but with splotches of red staining his gown and a trickle of red seeping down his broken right hand. Passed out from having endured some great deal of pain at the hands of some unknown assailant.

It infuriated her.

She was pissed.

For all the stupid things she had said about protecting that troublesome boy, she had found herself the one who had to be rescued by a Judgment member and some random girl. Her pride as a member of Anti-Skill had been damaged.

But even more so!

Laughter could be heard just behind the door she stood in front of, unable to bring herself to greet who resided within. A small smile made its way to Yomikawa's face, pleased but strained.

Kamijou Touma was no doubt smiling. Even after he had been subjected to more pain, had more of his bones broken, had been dirtied further with his own blood, and been put through some horrible situation no student should have ever witnessed, he had found the strength to continue smiling.

But she hadn't been the reason he could smile. In fact, it was her fault he had ever been subjected to such trauma in the first place.

Because she had failed to protect him. Because she failed to stop the danger from arriving to drag him away. Because she had been powerless against some foe who was stronger than he appeared. Because she couldn't reach him in time.

Yomikawa Aiho was a respected member of Anti-Skill. She had reached Lieutenant after years of working hard to save those who resided in Academy City while maintaining her status as a fun and laid-back teacher. There was nothing more she loved than protecting the children of this technologically advanced city so that they could continue smiling. After so many years as both a teacher and officer, she had been responsible for the safety and happiness of countless children. She had rescued many from nightmares better left forgotten.

To have failed one, to have one slip through her hands, was understandable. She wasn't perfect. She wasn't the strongest or most durable. She had her weakness like any other. Every once in a while, even she, understood she couldn't save everyone.

But this failure…

She couldn't bear it.

She couldn't bear seeing that smile she had so pathetically failed to defend with her own two hands.

"Hm? Are you alright, Yomikawa-san? Is something the matter?"

Yomikawa's heart nearly leaped out of her chest at the sudden voice addressing her. Turning around, she found one of the many nurses who wandered the hospital approaching her with a clipboard on hand.

Unlike the many ordinary nurses though, the one who spoke to the Anti-Skill Lieutenant was a beauty whose very curves and bust line was a better fit for a woman of the adult industry or red light district. It was a wonder how such a seductive and beautiful woman had decided to go into such a back breaking line of work where her looks did little more than distract others.

An odd note such a woman such as Yomikawa noticed was how the sexy nurse didn't wear a name tag. Unlike the one common nurse who passed by earlier who could be identified as Kokomi by her name tag, the busty woman who rivaled Yomikawa's own chest didn't possess one.

Yomikawa's shoulders stiffened but relaxed as she smiled at the nurse.

"Nothing at all. I was just-"

"Oh. Well, if you're fine then please; leave."

The words spoken by the pleasantly smiling nurse sculpted out of a male's fantasy were curt and professional. As if she were a bank teller speaking to another faceless customer they never bothered to remember and simply wished to move on to the next person in line.

Her words held none of the warmth she reserved to the patients she regularly cared for. Too polite. Too bland.

It was enough for Yomikawa to frown anxiously.

"I'm sorry?" She wasn't sure why but she felt as if she may have done something to upset the woman who was most likely a few years younger than herself.

An odd change came over the seductive nurse's eyes.

A brief flash of pink flickered in those brown orbs that lacked anything kind or gentle. Almost as if the lights had dimmed.

"It's fine, Yomikawa-san. After all, you did your best. It's not your fault Anti-Skill and Judgment failed to protect Kamijou-sama despite the warning you were all given and the time you had to prepare."

A cold frost could be felt from what was said by the still patiently smiling nurse. She couldn't help but find the tone condescending. Was the nurse...trying to discretely tell her she wasn't welcome here? The very inkling brushed Yomikawa the wrong way.

She fully faced the plastic smiling nurse, her expression unhappy with the woman's underlining tone.

"Do you have a problem with me, nurse?" Beating around the bushes clearly wasn't Yomikawa's style.

Normally when one was asked such a question, a common reaction would be to show signs of anger or rejection.

"Of course I do. After all, you're the reason Kamijou-sama once again found himself bloody and further in our care." The mature nurse responded with a plastic smile.

There wasn't any anger, disappointment, disgust, or grief.

Just fact.

And that alone was enough to strike at Yomikawa's shaken heart.

The unnamed nurse's smile finally gained a real emotion; amusement. She shook her head mirthfully, her eyes lidded as she stepped past the Anti-Skill Lieutenant who found herself looking away in shame. She didn't give Yomikawa another glance as she was only focused on the door leading to a spiky-haired boy who was in need of care and comfort.

None of which she believed the likes of Yomikawa or anyone else outside this hospital was capable of providing.

"If you desire to visit Kamijou-sama, I apologize, but at this very moment, it's family and friends only. Last I recall you're neither. Even the people currently entertaining him will have to wrap things up so that he can have some proper rest. So, if you may, please leave. I'm sure if you have anything you want to say to Kamijou-sama, you can always speak to him once he fully recovers and leaves our care."

Yomikawa grit her teeth. Her shoulders trembled. One of her hands was balled up in a tight fist.

But she found she didn't have the right to say anything back. Not to the woman who, for all her passive-aggressive vibes, was responsible for caring for the boy she couldn't protect.

Even as the door behind her opened, shut, and she was left alone, she found she couldn't do anything more than stew in her failure.

Why had she come here? Was it to apologize? To ask forgiveness? To see how the boy was faring? Was it guilt driving her to seek him out and say something for slipping up again?

The tense fist let go of its frustration. Yomikawa sighed.

And stepped away from the door leading to that wounded boy she hadn't saved.

[-]

"So, I don't know how you did it."

Suspicious eyes hidden by dark shades regarded the nonchalant thug to Tsuchimikado's side with an odd mix of being impressed and wariness as the two walked side-by-side on the busy streets.

"But it appears Aleister has welcomed you in; ID, school transfer scripts, System Scan records, dorm lodgings, and even status as an esper, have all be fabricated and checked. If even one of the members of The Board of Directors were to go snooping into your records, they wouldn't be able to distinguish one lie from another. In the eyes of Academy City, you're just another Level-0 like the rest of us."

No one in the pedestrian crowd close to those Level-0s heard a word spoken between them. If anyone were to look closely at those two delinquent boys, one would notice an odd charm made of red thread, no bigger than a penny, tucked into their left ears like air-buds. Such a neat occult trinket would never be regarded as anything more than a passing glance.

An odd suggestion in their brain would tell them to shrug it off as nothing special or worthy of remembering.

Neither blond needed to openly say a word as they communicated via a tool operated under laws and rules considered as childish and ignorant make-believe.

"As agreed by Aleister's new secretary, you will be paid for your work through a wiring service untraceable by normal means of investigation. Certain services will be available for your use to aid in completing your assignments such as garbage disposal, clean up, work tools, and information necessary to said assignment. Since you will be under the service of only the Head Chairman and no other Board Member, all of your assignments will be handed from me as your superior, rookie. Be discreet, don't arise any suspicion from those connected with members of the board; save a certain beauty-sempai, don't mix personal business with whatever false life you've created to blend into a normal life, and don't abuse your power if it causes any backlash splashing onto your handlers. You'll regret it."

"Jeez, what a welcome speech. You really know how to inspire a guy into working his hardest with those passionate and upbeat words, senpai. Seriously, they should hire you for motivational speeches!"

"Just what were you expecting, ya fake assassin? A pat on the shoulder and a thumb's up? Just because we're going to be working together, doesn't mean we're going to be buddy-buddy. Who do you think you are? A cute and adorable step-sister who adores her older brother to the point of wishing to marry him when she's grown up?"

No kindled friendship had been sparked upon the meeting of the two boys who used the shadows of the dark underbelly of society to cloaked themselves for their own selfish goals. Comradeship would not be sought by either. At whatever chance they would discover at the moment, they would cast the other aside for their own goals and their own happiness. Such was to be expected by either without having the need to be said aloud.

One was a backstabbing blade.

One is an unknown tool seeking after darkness.

Neither could trust the other as far as they could kill another.

And both found themselves fine with such realizations. It was an odd comfort neither should have felt.

Stopping at a cross-walk among other students and adults, Tsuchimikado offered the bored-faced kouhai a mocking grin.

"Welcome to the Dark Side, brat. Have your affairs in order, because you may not survive a single hour in the pitch-black world spurned by the sinful hearts of adults and children divulging in their cruelest desires. There are no friends here, no partners, no sympathizers, no salvation to those who willingly seep themselves in ugly crimson splotches. If any there were a chance to run, to realize you were about to make a big mistake and ruin whatever chance of happiness and innocence you could salvage, no matter how small and fragile it may be, it would be now. Are ya willing to leap in and join those messy cogs hidden below society who aid in causing nothing but tragedy and misfortune?"

"Tragedy? Misfortune? Another cog in this messed up and pathetic system designed by someone untouchable for their own selfish desires?"

A grin equal in cruelty, confidence, and selfishness responded to the blond agent and Siscon Sergeant's warning.

"Even if the rails I travel in were designed by someone superior, nastier, and all-powerful than a tool like myself, I won't allow those perfect and well-constructed paths to screw with my mission. Within those sturdy rails of so-called destiny, I'll shudder the tracks and change the course of the perfect game revolving around tragedy. So, watch your back, Tsuchimikado-senpai~! We may be working together from here on out but that doesn't mean I won't sink in my own blade into your back if you don't stay clear of the tracks when I'm behind the conductor's seat."

Work within the very system that controls you with such perfect control and confidence, no foolish soul would ever dare to dream to rebel or steer off course of those in charge meager disposable tools.

Upon the busy street no different than any city street in all of the world, two boys who accepted their roles as tools to someone far greater and intelligent than themselves grinned broadly without any hints of deceit or suspicion.

Frankly speaking, they both understood what was said in their eyes and their hearts.

Given the chance, they would betray the other at the slightest sign of benefiting themselves. Neither bothered to hide such obvious intentions. At their core, they were untrustworthy to those whose eyes mirrored their own and sought cruel means of accomplishing their missions.

Why hide such clear emotions from someone whose heart seemed to echo their own?

No surprise would be felt at the sensation of a cold blade slipping into their back when in the presence of the other if the time came down the line of their partnership.

Both high school boys were fine to realize such a likely possibility, enough to feel a strange comfort at such a unique truth between agents of darkness.

Tsuchimikado scoffed lightly, facing back to the street ahead as the light above flickered to green. Students and adults moved at the signal, walking ahead to return to their normal lives in the pure light of a city of science.

The blond delinquent boy wearing a green Hawaiin shirt left unbuttoned, a gold neck chain, a pair of shades, followed the stream of ordinary people, never so much as glancing back at the strange blond delinquent who mirrored him.

'Don't say I didn't warn you; you'll disappoint your senpai, ya arrogant rookie. As someone who understands the pure love between siblings, not related by blood, at least own up to your smug claims. Until we receive word on our first mission together, keep your nose clean. You've yet to truly see just how ugly this little world Aleister has created can truly be to even those experienced in the darkness.'

Back facing the odd blond boy with hints of black in his spiky yet shaggy hair as he went to return to his own normal life, Tsuchimikado found himself intrigued at the newest member of Academy City's dark side.

Alba.

A foreign name.

Or was it a fabricated name?

Just where exactly had such an elusive and knowing cog come from? Had he been a magician from Italy? England? Spain? Obviously, despite the small eastern similarities he possessed, the boy who had persuaded Aleister Crowley to allow him to, not only reside in Academy City despite being a magician but to work under him, was someone unrelated to Academy City, let alone all of Japan itself.

Shorthand.

A unique formula of spellcraft known by very few individuals(hardly enough to count in one hand) in all of the magical world. Knowing of such techniques was a testament to the magicians' knowledge of magic, Idol theory, and laws as they were basically creating mini-grimoires out of the many characters, symbols, and colors of a melting pot of references from all around the world of the occult. Only one individual could ever be considered a master of such art.

Just where had such a boy come to learn Shorthand to such a degree? Even if Tsuchimikado had caught but a glimpse of the amateur boy's show of hand with his flashcard grimoires played, he had noticed how easily Alba had acted and just what card to play before Tsuchimikado had flashed his fangs. A literal deck of possibilities was held by a magician Tsuchimikado felt was fitting of the moniker of a jester.

A fool playing the part with a wide taunting grin yet holding one of the strongest hands on the court within the confines of their frilly sleeve.

Everything about Alba evoked caution, intrigue, and suspicion. It was actually better suited for Tsuchimikado to have such an enigma within his reach. What better way to keep an eye on a possible threat to his beloved ordinary life?

A buzz was felt in his right pocket.

Reaching for his flip phone, Tsuchimikado felt whatever anxiety and troubles he was accumulating since the beginning of his coincidental assignment, melted away like an ice cream cone in the midst of summer.

'Onii-chan, what would you like for dinner tonight? I don't have any assignments to work on later tonight, so I can come by to prep you for a special meal with the leftover ingredients I was given. Omelet rice with cutesy messages and ribs, Onigiri with salmon, spicy pork, and chicken, my udon special, or a taste of my latest specialty dish that I've been working! Let me know quick, okay!'

It was a message from his little step-sister, Tsuchimikado Maika.

In the seedy, filthy, violent, nauseating, cesspool of darkness he had decided to lurk; both in the world of science and the world of magic, she was the sole glimmer of light he selfishly guarded to his chest.

Without the warm, naive, and innocent smile he adored, he'd devolve into a beast far crueler than a backstabbing blade.

For Maika's happiness, he would play whatever role he was handed down to ensure her normal life was never tainted or harmed in any way.

A new player to the board? A potential blade slicing at his back? An unknown rookie with far too many cards in his deck?

Who gave a shit?

So long as Tsuchimikado Motoharu could return to the small smile he found long ago, he would wade through whatever toxic minefield the world set up ahead of him.

And survive.

Texting a simple response back with a grin far brighter and lighter than any of the fake gestures he had summoned, Tsuchimikado continued on his way through the city which had clipped his magical wings for claws of science to arrive as a whole new beast.

"I suppose I no longer need to worry about Kami-yan now, huh?" he muttered absently with his eyes glued to his phone's screen.

He wouldn't admit openly, or even privately to his own beloved step-sister, but his shoulders had relaxed upon learning of his newest accomplice's recent deeds.

Kamijou Touma was currently resting in a certain hospital for wounds he had collected while participating in the shrouded events of District 10's gang war. Because of one high school boy's reckless actions, an unknown element was now intent on causing further harm at the end of what should have been a closed chapter. Under the cloak of unknown means, the threatening figure would seek out their target with a smile, a wink, an open hand, a promise, a laugh, or a cry for help.

And plunge their fangs deep into the vulnerable high school boy's bleeding heart.

At that very moment, one of the very few individuals Tsuchimikado Motoharu bothered to care for was in danger and had no clue to whatever ill fate awaited him.

Two days had passed since he got news of the threat and had been sent out to eliminate it.

The day had begun with the intention of discovering whoever was after Aleister Crowley's most prized treasure, a gem far brighter and far more valuable than even the coveted Level-5s of Academy city. And he had believed he had found the culprit and was more than ready to pop off a few hot pieces of lead into a random corpse.

But there had been a warning left behind, a warning that had caused the likes of not only Tsuchimikado to move but also Anti-Skill and Judgment. Perhaps a few other parties had even been moved by a simple sticky note which had been discovered in the middle of the night.

Who had been the unknown individual who had decided to warn everyone about the attack on Kamijou Touma? Who bothered to care about one ordinary boy who appeared to lack any talents, gifts, or looks to draw others to his circle?

Further details had been revealed by the grinning jester who hid a deck of tricks in his frilly sleeves.

Through his own means, the newest member of Academy City's darkness had caught the scent of the deadly predator before he could lunge at the limping prey. He had sent a warning, forced others to raise their shields, and had others act in his favor. With but a simple sticky note, Alba had set the pieces on the board to protect the King against an aggressive piece.

It wasn't a clean victory by any means. If Tsuchimikado heard right from his source, the board had been damaged, a few pieces were harmed, and the King had nearly been taken out. A win was a win though.

As he vanished back into his everyday life, a stray thought came to mind.

'Kami-yan's had it pretty rough lately. Index Librorum Prohibitorum, Aureolus Izzard, District 10, and now this? It's been a crazy few weeks for that unfortunate magnet. Maybe I'll drop by sometime with some pudding from his favorite convenience store sometime to get his mood up.'

[-]

A sigh of relief escaped Alba's lips.

The tension in his stiff shoulders fell apart and he could finally relax.

Amid the crowds of chattering students and adults going about their day around him, the jester found himself scratching the back of his head with a weary grin.

Alba

It translated to Gold.

Indeed, it was a forged name to a boy who didn't exist. Well, partially.

Alba was indeed his first name. It was handed down to him by his lovely mother, God rest her soul. He was named after a precious metal with a brilliant shine coveted by the entire world. She had said he was her lone treasure, a special gift delivered by god's good graces, and a constant reminder to the man who had freed her from the destructive path she had blindly followed in despair.

But his family name was not the same.

Being half Japanese, he believed the proper way to introduce himself would be the reverse, right?

Kamijou Alba.

Like the many sudden boys and girls who mysteriously appeared in certain points of the world, he was a child who should not exist in this time period. Just as the precious metal was said to have been created in the world, he was a piece of gold that had fallen from the heavens by a dead star's collapse.

But in a world where such a child did not exist, he was better fit for the moniker of fake gold. And he was fine with that.

Not like Kamijou Alba existed in his original timeline either way.

Because of cruel circumstances, he lost his mother and was believed dead.

Two people dearly close to Kamijou Touma had passed away in a house fire on an ordinary night like any other. It was regarded as an unfortunate tragedy. One spurn by individuals who sought after a single man who had foiled their schemes and now desired to return the favor.

Where there was a tragic story of loss, there had been the smallest miracle gone overlooked by a grieving man who could only fall to his knees amid the charcoal remains of a London home set aflame by cruel magicians.

In thanks to the man who would become Alba's sensei and pseudo-father, a single life had been salvaged thanks to the kind and loving sacrifice of a mother.

Kamijou Alba had passed away, murdered in an act of arson by cultists practicing magic rituals to summon an abyssal horror whose resurrection had been thwarted by an ordinary man, at the tender age of eight alongside his mother, Orianna Thomson. Such facts had been accepted by a boy who had lost his family and been taken in secretly by a dear friend of his father as Kamijou Touma had been overcome by sheer murderous rage and crippling despair.

Time passed.

A small boy had grown under the patronage of a trickster who treated him as a son.

He had been given a new family, protected for his own good as those cruel magicians waged war against a man who had lost his family, and had come to accept he could never regain what he had lost in those dark flames.

In doing so, Alba had grown and learned to overcome his own tragedy to regain his smile.

Though he could never call the man who was his father by his rightful title, Alba would work to watch over him in the shadows and aid him whenever possible.

Nothing had changed since then.

Not even as hellish flames once again arose to crush the happy and beloved normal life he had attained.

"I've certainly got my work cut out for me this time. Even if Tsuchimikado-sensei taught me the act of playing a suave and cool agent of the shadows, I was never really fit for such a job class. I was always better at sleuthing like some detective than covert assignments as a spy. But, I guess I ain't got a choice. Dirty work like this was never my cup of java, but someone's got to pay for the insurance of our new lives."

Alba reached for his sunglasses, taking them off to reveal his blue eyes, said to resemble far more to his mother's than his father's. Now that he was in a new timeline where his father's rather sharp eyes couldn't connect any dots of suspicion, there really wasn't any need for these borrowed shades or contacts he would normally wear.

Standing alone in the busy crowd of normal people passing by him, the blonde boy with tinges of black in his locks, found a wistful grin growing on his face. A cool and sweet gentle breeze slipped by him as he simply enjoyed the lively atmosphere of a city he no longer recognized. Usually tense muscles he had grown accustomed to loosened.

Liberated.

Free.

Unshackled.

In this world, in the timeline, he was no longer forced to hide who he was from everyone else.

Alba was not the deceased son of Kamijou Touma constantly wearing a mask. He was not the secretly adopted son of Tsuchimikado Motoharu and Tsuchimikado Maika. Such titles could be abandoned in the dying winds of a world incinerated to ash by a supposed Magic God who had defeated an ordinary man.

The only title he would cling onto from his past life was the beloved title of little brother from his lovely and sexy non-blood-related big sister!

Speaking of which…

From his right pocket, the secret agent detective high school boy felt a distinct rumbling against his thigh. His phone was receiving a rather special message from someone he held dear and above even the tragic strings of his past. Whatever he was feeling in his heart at the flashes of malicious embers in the corner of his thoughts were put to ease as he flipped the cheap cellphone open.

Due to arriving from a world far ahead of Academy City by a good thirty or so years, his personal smartphone had been scrapped and replaced by one that wasn't even ahead of the world outside of Academy City. A certain secretary big sister was responsible for the majority of those transported to Academy City being provided suitable living quarters, school records, finances, medical history, and many more necessities to fit into their new world without arousing suspicion from certain groups.

Per Maria's words: "If you're disappointed in the simple gifts I've kindly provided you than get off your lazy asses and provide a service to society as an upstanding member of the world. Don't take after Father; this family has room for only one vagabond bum."

It hadn't taken him long to get used to the cheap burner phone, unlike his lovely older sister who used to texting on a touchscreen and using voice recognition to navigate her phone. In his line of work, Alba had become familiar with such nifty and disposable devices that, with the right modifications, couldn't be tracked by the latest tracking devices.

'I'll have to take up a few freelance gigs under the right networks to get some extra cash; Onee-san's already been lamenting how boring and uncute her blocky phone is. Maybe if I get her the latest Academy City smartphone, she'll give me a big smooch! Scary, scary! That line of thought is really scary! If it goes down such a route, I don't think I'll be able to stop what may or may not happen between a boy and a girl who aren't related by blood!'

Kamijou Alba.

Son of Kamijou Touma and Orianna Thomson.

Adopted son of Tsuchimikado Motoharu and Tsuchimikado Maika.

His love for Onee-sans that aren't related by blood had surely been something passed down by the two perverted Level-0s who held the title of father. Poor boy never had a chance of having a healthy and normal fetish.

Flipping the gray phone open, Alba was happy to see his older sister was in high spirits despite their situation. Like her mother, Tsuchimikado Aki was the type of girl who believed helping others live a pleasant and happy life was one of the greatest joys anyone could ever provide. As such, she had grown up learning the ways of a sophisticated maid yet had found herself steering off into a completely different path than the one leading into a maid. She had taken her skills, her experiences, her dreams, and worked to achieve a life where she would be able to care for those who were having trouble living a pleasant and happy life.

And since they were dropped off into a new yet familiar world, she had refused to give up on her dream and had been busy these last few days in achieving her dream.

'T. Aki: !\^o^/! I did it, I did it, I did it! I got the job! They said I was a perfect fit and that the previous manager had recently quit due to grievances with one of his tenants! Even if I'm new at this, they said all my skills and Maria's recommendation were enough for the position! Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! This is my first real job! \w/ If Tou-san and Kaa-san were around, I bet they would be soooooo proud!'

A melancholic smile arose to Alba's lips.

Their parents were around. In fact, he had just talked with their Tou-san just a few minutes ago. Sadly this was not a story where the children of the future could freely speak with their parents as shenanigans ensued in some comedy esque story sprinkled with romance.

As a son of Kamijou Touma, such pleasantries were stripped by the dregs of misfortune he had been born with.

Distance was needed to ensure certain events and triggers involving the characters unaware of a supposed Magic God's budding chaos didn't stray from the set rails even Imagine Breaker failed to creak. Alba would have to play his partnership with Tsuchimikado Motoharu never crossed into familiar territory. Two worlds painted in familiar darkness must never skirt by and touch.

The same went with his birth parents.

In order to protect what he cherished in the remains of faint malicious embers, Kamijou Alba would have to stay as far away as possible from Kamijou Touma and Orianna Thomson.

Sever the ties of familial love.

What he had to do was undeniably cruel.

Something in his young heart did indeed twitch and would have brought him to his knees.

But so long as he pictured the bright and beautiful smile of a certain older sister who had helped save him from the hot flames of despair brought on by his inherited misfortune, he would remain strong.

He wouldn't be the son of Kamijou Touma if he didn't sacrifice his own happiness for the smile of someone else.

'As always, I'll stick to behind the scenes when it comes to helping out Tou-san. I've always been a better fit for playing in his shadow while he went about saving others. It's because of him that I even discovered my Magic Name. Even if I can never stand next to him...'

The cheap blocky flip phone creaked under the tense grip of a trickster who had kept a mask up for years.

'So long as I can feel the light he radiates from a distance where I can frolic in his shadow, I'll be happy. Alongside Kaa-san, I'll protect that idiot who nearly destroyed himself in grief when his hand failed to reach either one of us.'

Something in his core twitched. Something he couldn't define or recognize.

Was it good?

Was it evil?

What was that spark that had nestled in his heart?

Alba ignored whatever the small and insignificant dreg was in favor of texting his lovely older sister back. Calls for celebration were in order! Even if his step-sister was the adult and now breadwinner of their family, he would insist on treating her to a night out! He grinned excitedly as he began planning out the proper steps and actions needed to play out this route to reach a pink and bubbly romantic end!

A quick response was given.

Ah, but let's not forget a very important matter here.

Alba had the blood of Kamijou Touma flowing through his veins. He was a firm believer that a few dregs of his cursed father's luck had been passed down no differently than the genetic code responsible for his blue eyes and his natural black hair he had dyed to better fit his role as Tsuchimikado Motoharu's son. At times like this, a small spark of his bad luck would act up.

'T. Aki: Oh, I would love to, Alba-kun! Buuuuuut! As the position of dorm manager was vacant so suddenly, management really wants me to begin today. I've already begun moving into the previous dorm manager's quarters, who apparently lived in the very dorm he managed, and have begun going around greeting all the residents! I was just soooooo excited, I couldn't stop myself from knocking on every room and introducing myself to everyone! It was so fun getting to know all those I will be working hard to care for. Oh, oh, oh! And guess what?! I met a certain half-sister of yours who's apparently already set up in a certain someone's dorm!"

Oh.

Oh, oh no.

No, no, no, no, no!

Say it isn't so, Aki-onee-san!

Anyone, anyone's dorm but his!

Hands shaken by a dreadful chill traveling all the way to his adolescent heart, Alba could only mutely scream at what he was reading in concern to his lovely older (none-blood-related)sister's new job.

'T. Aki: Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeiiiiiiiiiiihhhhhhhhhhh~! It's actually him, Alba-kun! I didn't think I'd ever get to see him again after everything that happened. But those two girls confirmed it. Oh, I can't wait to see him. And better yet, I'll be his Dorm Manager Onee-san!'

Dorm Manager Onee-san.

Little did anyone know just how dangerous those three words were when brought up to a certain spiky-haired high school boy you could find just about anywhere else.

All thoughts concerning a supposed Magic God, the odd faint dreg in his chest, his venture into the underbelly of Academy City's darkness, and the embers of misfortune were all but null and void as Alba nearly shattered his cheap phone.

Forget frolicking the damn shadows!

As if this Kamijou Alba was going to let some dirty high school bastard near his lovely onee-san! He wasn't sharing!

[-]

"While not ending on the note originally theorized, I still believe the results were well worth the losses."

He was a boy of about thirteen.

His black hair was parted down the middle and was stylized in a bob cut with the hair on the nape of his neck swooping back like the tail end of a bird's feather. He was a middle school boy with a cartoon dog printed on his redshirt beneath and an open white lab coat that appeared two sizes too big for him. Said lab coat was battered, faint stitches could be seen on the back and one of the sleeves was missing the cuff.

He sat down on a wooden bench in of the usually crowded parks in District 2, kicking his feet up and down with a bright smile on his youthful face. Due to the afternoon coming to a close with the setting sunset above the horizon, painting the sky in wondrous dyes of orange, red, and pink, most of the playing children were gone with only a few still around before curfew had them running back to their dorms in the next half-hour. Dark blue eyes gazed at the colorful park in front of him, idly observing the random child playing with their friends with a fist resting against his cheek.

His behavior would make anyone passing him by question him if he was an old man reminiscing on his youth.

"Your idea of success is rather odd, brat. Causing panic, hysteria, fear, and destruction to a place of healing with such brazen disregard is hardly anything to feel pride in. Honestly, between romantic or unromantic, I'd have to say how you handled a simple task as copying data from a single computer was rather unromantic."

No child would be allowed to roam the streets, least of all a park at sunset, by himself. Far too many dangers lurked in the dimly lit shadows of Academy City for any child to be wondering by their lonesome during these hours. Boogeyman did exist and they were all too eager to drag those naive little test subjects into the abyss.

To the outside observer, one would find some relief in such a boy being by himself once they noticed who sat next to him.

A large golden retriever sat on his rear by the lab coat boy, nearly half the boy's size. The faithful canine carried a backpack with odd attachments that appeared similar to prosthetic limbs. But other than the dog's carry wear, he appeared no different than your average adult golden retriever.

Except for the small little fact that he could talk.

...And smoked.

In fact, if it wasn't for having to keep up with appearances, said golden lab would be puffing a fine cigar with a pleasant hum on his lips...or jowls.

"Your behavior was reckless and could have exposed your activity far sooner than needed. Must I remind you that Kihara's are not rambunctious madmen? There's a certain sophistication one needs to utilize as a member of the darkness that one must employ when working in the light. If it weren't for my own work pulling certain strings behind the scenes as you had your 'fun', you may have very well attracted certain individuals to our dealings."

Dogs did not smoke. If it was risky to a human's health than it was probably far worse for such a small animal. As such a certain Kihara was not allowed to lit up one of his primo cigars which helped to explain the grumpy tone in his synthetic voice.

The lab coat boy grinned sheepishly.

"I admit, I may have gotten a little overexcited during the mission. But it was the first time I was able to face off against real heroes in the making! I've only ever had experience with one hero in my entire life and I wanted to see how different they were compared to him. Their sense of justice, their sense of will, their sense of romance! I wanted to truly see how unique such flavors of their heart were when compared to a man whose entire reasoning goes against all sense of logic and law. Hearts are...truly a subject far beyond all known scientific findings and known reasoning. And it's only now that I have been able to garner such fruitful notes to such a bizarre and illogical organ."

What was a Kihara?

Was it a name?

Was it a curse?

Was it a gift?

Was it genetic?

Or was it something found only in one's heart?

By studying the human heart, how it reacts to physical and emotional stimuli, how it handled immense stress, and how it could endure even the heaviest of trauma to provide incalculable strength than perhaps it was possible he would be able to understand his own heart.

"Perhaps I was a little too excited in my endeavors but I did so with the proper safety railings in place, sensei. After all, the hospital is home to one of the greatest medical minds in all of the world. Heaven Canceler, was that his name? I admit, I've never heard of the man in my entire life. It was only after arriving to Academy City did I gain knowledge of said curious old man who could save nigh any person who was a breath's hair away from death, no matter the injury. Any wounds I would have inflicted would have been treated as if it were a scrap. Not only that but he was there to control the chaos. Aleister's most treasured and beloved of gems; Imagine Breaker. Without a doubt, if I had lost control of my own machinations and threatened to raze the entire building to an empty crater devoid of absolute life; not a writhing molecule left!"

Excitement could be heard in the young boy's voice as he rose from his seat, standing tall with his hands thrown up with a giddy grin on his childish face that only a boy like himself could make when speaking of his favorite superhero.

"He would have sent me flying with an illusion-shattering fist to my face! I could go as wild as I please without having to worry about casualties, about the smiles of others, or the scars I would cut open onto the hearts of many, so long as I knew he would be there to either fix the damage or stop me entirely. What need is there for restraints when I know he'll somehow come upon my plans with an intense glare on his face, a lecture on his lips, and a tight, barreled knuckle ready to put an end to whatever tragedy I'm about to reap!"

"Those are dangerous thoughts, Shinzo-kun."

"Aren't they? But isn't that why this very city was built in the first place?"

A deadly, sinister, and disastrous truth was revealed casually by a smiling child to a full-grown dog.

"A gathering ground, a cesspool, the perfect garden fit to grow the cruelest breed of tragedy known to man. An unnatural world of supernatural battles where god's teachings are scoffed at as unnecessary and useless. A system designed as unfair to the weak and helpless whose voices are regularly ignored by those who hold power. To someone who can't ignore such misery, such misfortune! Doesn't that sound like the perfect training ground for his violence to be nurtured to its greatest limit?"

A soundless whistle.

Microscopic specks of silver.

And the sensation of skin cells being cleanly sliced with the surgical procession of a surgical scalpel.

Shinzo's grin refused to dip even as he felt his cheek being sliced by an unseen force. The gash did little more than spurt blood once before the red cells oxidized and hardened to leave just the slimmest of red to seep from his wound.

It cut deep. Bone was grazed. But due to the sheer speed and fine kinetic energy employed, the wound had closed up as the blood coagulated and began to attempt to knit the sliced cells back together again.

The golden lab sounded exasperated, showing not the barest of worry or care for the invisible attack that had harmed his companion.

"Though you have caught his interest, though your own research has intrigued him, and though your material regarding cybernetics, esper growth, and magical theory is valuable, do not test him. That human has a surprisingly short temper when it comes to certain matters he guards closely. Consider the cleanly cut scar your one and only warning from him. Speak up of such matters so plainly in the open and he will reduce your skull and brain into chunks before you even utter a single syllable."

"My mistake. As I said; I tend to get overly excited."

Shinzo laughed the scar away with a bashful scratch of his scalp.

"I see that I'll have to be more careful from here on, Noukan-sensei. My passions will have to be simmered if I am to continue with our next operations. Though I have my own plans in mind, I was accepted by that human to accelerate his plans with the recent knowledge he has required from a certain Secretary-chan I know."

Once he cleaned away the thick trail of blood from his face, Shinzo turned away from the looming sunset. He tugged his leash, acting the part of a middle school boy heading back home with his stalwart companion leading the way to ward away villains.

Beady black eyes glanced back at the bright-faced child.

"I take it that your operation wasn't an utter failure than? All three of your vessels were eliminated by several surprising elements. The most important of which possessed the USB of data you were adamant on. It was to my understanding that it was destroyed."

"True, the lovely dark side mimic did crush the drive containing all the medical history, blood work, known allergens, medication, and mental conditions of various figures. But she only crushed the physical body. I've recorded every moment my vessels experienced. Uploading the collected DNA map data to my personal cloud was child's play."

Like energy, data could not be destroyed. It could be lost, damaged, and even corrupted. But it could never be destroyed so easily.

"It was all merely a distraction. Give those who would hamper your goals clear objectives to overcome and allow them the relish in their victory with a sense of accomplishment. All while making away with the true treasure securely taken beneath their noses."

Shinzo tapped his nose.

"Expect defeat but acquire victory within the parameters of failure. Though I was overly excited, I never lost sight of the true goal of my little outing. Tapping into those dreadful dregs of magic was simply a personal interest to confirm certain theories concerning an event close to my heart. Fighting the hothead boy with the potential of Level 5 was a means to see if my Calculation Breaker was capable of working against such monsters. And my battles against both Judgment and Anti-Skill were simply testing just how efficiently those shields could handle my plans. Among all the objectives I had laid out, I had already acquired victory the moment I was able to slip into Heaven Cancelers personal office and upload the important data into the cloud."

Even the boy known as Kamijou Touma was no more than a side objective when compared to the true goal. Everything outside of the files stored in Heaven Canceler's computer drive was no more than a boy having some fun. All the vessels had believed they had an important mission above all other assignments. But there had only been one unit whose accomplishments mattered.

The real work began now.

"I've acquired all the necessary pieces for the next stage of the operation. The Level 6 Shift, was it? The slaughter of over 10,000 Level 3s cloned after the #3 Railgun to lift Accelerator to ultimate power? Of course, a piece of expensive wires and metal sheets floating in space would suggest such an unromantic idea. If you were looking for an opponent crammed full of experience points to level that white haired monster up, why not make another monster of equal ability to sharpen his claws with?"

A devious gleam could be found in those dark pools of blue lacking human kindness.

Or why create another monster in the image of the #1 when there already existed one? An esper not of this time who possessed the same ability and ferocity as the future Head Chairman of Academy City. If those so-called intelligent adults believed in something as archaic as the #1 needing an equally strong opponent to push him into attaining SYSTEM than why not humor them?

Shinzo had his own plans and research connected with the experiment he was about conduct for those idiots obsessed with human godhood. He already had his own esper who could go toe to toe with The One Way Road. One he had plucked to claim his own in the confusion brought about in arriving to a time not their own.

A story would be crafted. A beautifully tear-jerking tale revolving around clones, a misuse of DNA, the titles of Father, Mother, and Daughter, the desire for absolute power and rescue of innocent mass-produced souls, of wild vectors and unstable electrons, and the hearts of those regarded as monsters shedding tears.

Accelerator and Misaka Mikoto.

Suzushina Yuriko.

The Sisters.

The Level 6 Shift.

And a handful of new elements of both present and future thrown in for fun.

"I believe Amata-san has finished testing out Yuri-chan's abilities and been able to gauge her level himself. As the one who was in charge of handling Accelerator's growth, he's the most knowledgeable researcher in all of Academy City when it comes to Vector Control. Once the most respected and admired Kihara, barring yourself, has given his sign of approval of my creation, there will be no lingering doubt to her authenticity. Or my own."

The golden furred four legged Kihara would have quirked a brow if his facial features could allow it. A strange emotion could be found in the young boy's voice. Something wanting and almost desperate.

He didn't question it. It was not his job to care for the boy as some kind of emotional support animal.

He was no more than an observer sent down to keep his eyes on a volatile and wild beast. No matter how useful the boy could be, Aleister would not allow such a wild card to run around and threaten his carefully laid out plans.

Noukan watched the setting sun begin to disappear, allowing the murky shadows to bleed out from the corners of city like an infestation of sinister weeds. It was these hours as the light of the world vanished that a Kihara could be free to indulge in their eccentric and inhumane experiments. Darkness could cut loose.

As a Kihara, he had found to dislike such an hour.

By no means was he a saint. He did not utilize his genius for the betterment of humanity to end world hunger, eliminate disease, or create self-sufficient clean energy. His experiments were not designed to save anyone. Far too many times did his work result in reeking of death.

But he was a man of science who believed everything should be done with an idea of romance behind them. There wasn't anything remotely romantic about the darkness corrupting, culling, abusing, or tainting the light. The original humans who gave this simple dog the ability to speak long ago were nothing like the new iterations of those who called themselves humans. Though those original Kihara's were not innocent or free of sin(a laughable concept to even a dog), they at least understood what it meant to be romantic.

The boy he was currently observing with a sharp eye was no different. Just like Yuiitsu, he was a Kihara who was lacking in romance. An unrefined gem.

Perhaps he would take the time to teach the naive beast a thing or two on how to properly conduct one's self as a Kihara. Shinzo reminded him far too much of Yuiitsu as it was. Incredibly talented, bright, fascinated with science whether it strayed from morality, and full of great potential. Yet both innocent faces carried a wild beast lacking any form of restraint.

Directionless. Lacking purpose.

It would truly upset this old dog if such rough gems went unpolished.

"Yes, I suppose it is about time to begin with the next phase."

The project involving military clones of the #3 was no concern to Noukan. He had no involvement in such an unromantic experiment. But he would have to observe the young Kihara involved in its latest phase that has evolved past the original theory proposed by Tree Diagram.

Tomorrow was an unknown. A mystery full of variables capable of severely altering whatever hypothesis and expected outcomes run by even the most high powered super computer. There was no telling what would be found at the end of the cruel road they were about to embark on.

Such uncertainties were truly one of the most romantic things to experience for one's self.

[-]

Misaka Hana felt a shiver run down his back. As if something revolting had slipped down the space between his shoulder blades.

"Come on, ya heap of junk! I already handed over a thousand yen! Now give me some lime-kiwi cider pop already! I'm not in the mood to be denied my experimental fizzy addiction!"

The foreboding sensation went ignored in favor of a much more important matter in his eyes.

It had been a few days since the trouble he had found himself involved in back in District 10 where all the Skill-Out gangs had seen red and began declaring war in the streets while an unknown hacker had infected many of Academy City's machinery with an aggressive malware attack. In the treacherous waves of violence swallowing many of those who had ventured into District 10, Hana had been one of the many who had been struck. But it wasn't bullets, blades, fists, or even an esper ability that had taken him out of the disaster unfolding around him.

Magic had been the cause, a dreg of a terrifying being who turned all sense of logic and physic upside down. Unknown to the middle school boy, a seed of calamity had been planted deep into his chest. Something strange had been feeding off his less than positive opinions and thoughts to his father, amplifying negativity so it could turn into nutrients.

What had grown created vines of corruption that had taken over his body.

And under the influence of a terrifying being's puppet strings, Hana had attacked his siblings and others.

A sparking fist struck the vending machine with enough force to leave a small dent.

Hana growled softly as he left his fist rest on the vending machine. He didn't care about the throbbing around his knuckles and fist. It was no more than a waning pain when compared to the rest of him.

Beneath his expensive school uniform(a uniform that wouldn't exist for another fifteen years) he had numerous bandages patched around the wounds caused by the seed of calamity. He was a Level 4 electromaster, an esper. Because of the dreg manipulating his body to convert his life force into magic energy, he was hit with a gruesome backlash due to the conflicting nature of AIM and Mana.

His memory was blurry but he recalled briefly waking up in the arms of Angela and being taken to a certain hospital for treatment. He had been a bloody lump of sores who couldn't even move a finger.

But he did remember the state Angela and Toka had been in those brief moments he was awake. Dirty, bloodied, clothes torn, and bruised.

"God damn it. I just wanted to get rid of this nasty taste in my mouth."

Hana felt his throat tighten. In his chest, he felt a far nastier lump replace the dreg of a Magic God.

Guilt.

While he lost recollection of when the Magic God's influence had taken over his body and mind, he still recalled how he had acted when he still had his free will. Even if his negative emotions had been amplified by a magic parasite, he still felt frustrated with how aggressive and nonchalant he had been with his own family. Specifically, his father. Never mind his own conflicted thoughts to the man he was hardly ever around as he grew up as he ran around the world playing hero; all teenage boys could be like that.

Because of that damn Magic God's influence though, Hana had harmed those he wanted to protect. And in the end, he had been the one to be saved.

Because he was weak.

Another thud was heard. This time it was the sound of Hana's forehead falling onto the vending machine's frame.

"What was the point of all this if I can't even bat away a small dreg of that monster? What would Kaa-san do if she were in my shoes?"

Hana snorted amusingly with a small smile growing on his face.

Misaka Mikoto was a Level 5: The Railgun. The strongest electromaster of both the present and the future. Someone who excelled in both proficiency, firepower, and application. Even at the age of fourteen, she could take out a small army with the flick of a mundane arcade token. A talented esper who was said to be utterly adored by electrons.

As if his mother knew what it felt like to be weak and powerless.

Not like the slothful son who never cared to study or improve his talents.

"Hey! Are you going to stand there moping around all day or not? Because I kinda have to get going if I'm going to make curfew on time today."

Footsteps could be heard coming closer. An odd electric tingle was felt in the air and caused his shoulders to jump as if he had just been shocked.

He heard a girl's voice from behind and felt the hairs on his body stand up. Goosebumps popped over his skin. The tightness in his throat grew to levels of constriction, making him wish he had his drink all the more.

Even if the voice was younger, haughtier, and lacking in maturity compared to the version he knew in his time, without an iota of a doubt…

"You okay there? You look as if you just felt a ghost pass over you."

Someone leaned over. A middle school girl with short chestnut hair and brown eyes. She wore a Tokiwadai uniform. If for some odd reason you tried taking a peek underneath her shorts(you pervert), you would be disappointed by the pair of shorts worn below. A cutesy floral hairpin could be found tucking back one of her bangs as the only piece of femininity the tomboy possessed.

Struggling to control his pounding heart from bursting from his tight chest, Hana swallowed and took a few steps back from the Tokiwadai girl. It was hard, incredibly hard, but he slowly raised his head to meet the eyes of the impatient girl in front of him.

For some reason, he couldn't help but want to chuckle as his eyes met hers.

'Heh, I never knew I was Kaa-san's exact height. Isn't that kinda embarrassing?'

Misaka Mikoto blinked as she finally got a good look at the strange boy who had been leaning his head against her favorite vending machine.

Something about the chestnut boy felt...familiar? Staticy? A sense of De Ja Vu?

If she had a mirror to compare themselves with, why did she feel as if she would stumble upon another world?

"Sorry about that. I was just trying to get a drink but the machine doesn't seem to be working." the well-dressed middle school boy mumbled with a scratch of his neck.

Shrugging off the weird vibe she was getting from the boy, Misaka smirked.

Hana recognized the smirk even if it had lacked its maturity. The playful tug of the lips was enough to erase the anxiety, nervousness, guilt, and fear in his weak heart. Just as it always had.

Without even being asked, the Level 4 stepped back, giving the Level 5 enough room for her signature attack.

"Well, I got a way to get that thing to cough up whatever yen it's stolen for you. Just stand back and watch, rookie." Misaka winked as she began hopping between one foot in some sort of exercise.

Chaser Kick.

One of the few techniques this weak electromaster still hadn't mastered. Or ever bothered to ever practice due to his lazy nature.

"Yeah, I'll...be sure to take notes."

The way his words had come off so fondly nearly tripped Misaka up before she once again shrugged off the alien yet familiar feeling off.

If she were to stop and think about the sensation clearly, she would say it was as if she was picking up a familiar electric wavelength. An ability nearly identical to her own.

Strange.

…

...

It was August 12th.

When future and present collided, a new story was to be told.

And the events that have already begun to unfold would be drastically altered by the weak and the powerful.

---

Colorless child.

Empty child.

Lonely child.

Fake child.

Fill that void in your borrowed vessel with something kind and sweet. Even if those smiles aimed your way are directed at someone else, don't be afraid to cherish them as your own. Swallow your grief and pain, ignore your fears, and continue being someone else for the smiles of others.

Maybe, just perhaps, you may find someone who sees you for you in this cruel world.

And that's a wrap for this arc; The Hospital Invader Arc.

As I said before, I had originally written this arc as something short of what was originally 20K+. At the time, I was going more for a series of hospital visits to Touma's room. We would have had visits from Index and Angela, Toka and Saten, Hamazura and Fremea, the introduction of a few nurses to show off the extent of the Kamijou fanbase settled in the hospital, an attack from a thug who was involved in the District 10 gang war, and visits from Hokaze, Wannai, and Awatsuki. I also had this sub-plot of Touma being under suicide watch due to his destructive behavior. I had 2-3 chapters in mind of simple, short, visits with shenanigans planed. But somewhere down the road, I found myself struggling to keep writing said ideas.

At first, I thought I was burned out again. It wouldn't be a first. But than I began thinking of the next stage and how this little SS would tie in and affect what's to come. Not to mention I wanted to introduce Shinzo early on alongside Kaen and Kamiko; those three will be seen in the Sisters/Family arc. I tried fitting them in with what I had already written at the time, but every time I reworked that original 20K+, I found myself staring at a Frankenstein document; pages of loosely tied together paragraphs that didn't fit naturally.

So, I scrapped the original SS. If you're a writer, and you've ever had to scrap five digits worth of words than you understand my pain. Hell, I hadn't even thought up of a title for the arc at the time of already having three new chapters completed for editing.

Speaking of which, let's get to discussing The Hospital Invader Arc.

As I said, it's meant to lead us into the new arc that involves more than just the Sisters. Once I scrapped what I originally had planned, I had to sit still for several minutes to think about what it should be instead. I had to come up with a theme to tie it all together and find that resolution we needed to achieve at the very end.

And than I remembered the sub-plot I had in mind.

Touma's self-destructive behavior. Or more accurately, his fear and shame of his right hand killing Mila Etiole at the end of their long battle. His shaken will and trembling right hand.

The Kamijou Touma we know now is not even a month old. Even if he possesses over fifteen years of knowledge, he doesn't have the personal memories that aid in building up who he is. All he has are the faint tugs of the original that he's been using to create an image of who he was. His resolution isn't unbreakable at this point. He's still just an anxious, terrified, and doubtful boy who's afraid that his secret will be discovered at any point if he doesn't act just right.

He'd never killed anyone. Even in canon, he's only responsible for killing himself. To reach his hand out to someone with a smile to save them, only to kill them because he went out of his way to listen to their silent cries and pleas to save them, would tear him apart inside.

He was already known to see himself below others but the incident instilled a sprout of self-hatred and doubt. And I wanted to work with that.

The arc was designed to help Touma overcome that sprout of doubt. To remind him what it was the original Kamijou Touma had always been fighting for. So he could have a memory of his own to feed that flame to push him forward through whatever tragedy or horrors he comes across.

And so, once again, two boys intersected in a place that did not exist to find themselves staring ahead with a clenched fist. The theme here was about overcoming your mistakes, your fears, and clinging onto something to that may not be your own but pushes you to keep moving.

With this little story, I also wanted to introduce a few more characters I was eager to show off.

The brother and sister pair; Mugino Kaen and Mugino Kamiko!

Let's get this little fact out of the way first.

Kaen is, without a doubt, the oldest of the gaggle of future children at nineteen. He is, technically, the first-born son of Kamijou Touma.

He is vicious, violent, and cruel. But because of his laid-back nature being inherited by his father, he's more level-headed when compared to his monstrous mother. Even if his means of attack are explosive and loud, he's far more inclined to end his fights with techniques like his Silent Guardian attack rather than prolonging the fight for a thrill. He's the always scowling older brother who you think doesn't care about you, but secretly makes you a home-cooked bento in the early hours of the morning before you head off to school. And his taste for bunny girls is definitely a trait he found because of his uncle, good old Hamazura.

He is the #3 among the future Level 5s: Incendiary. A Pyrokinetic esper who has control of the vibrations of molecules. Despite his violent nature, he's always focused more on the creative aspect of his abilities. I'd like to think of him as the opposite of Misaka, who's focused more on techniques like the Railgun, Iron Sword, and Lightning Spears; destructive cards for a competitive girl. While he has techniques just as deadly and far more terrifying than balls of fire, he relies far more on moves like his Silent Guardian to quickly put an end to fights. Piss him off though...

As for Kamiko, she's normal. No, I mean she's literally normal. Unlike her older brother, she's not a Level 5, let alone a Level 0.

In the future yet to be, Academy City has opened its borders. Children are no longer required to undergo the Power Curriculum Program if they have no desire to. It is entirely up to them and their parents whether they want to be espers. And little Kamiko is still at the age where the future Head Chairman has made it legal for a child to decide for themselves to gain superpowers through their curriculum. That little nugget there will be something touched on down the road.

Her character's really easy to understand. She's just a little girl who's sweet and nice to even strangers. Gullible, into expensive clothing due to her mother's taste for fashion, childish, and ignorant of violence despite her family being composed of the type of people who solve their problems with fists. Like Kaen, her character will be explored as we go on.

The mystery girl with mint green eyes and the eldritch hands: without a doubt, they were a major part of why I threw out the original 20K. I wanted to reveal a glimpse of what exactly the dreg of the 'Magic God' was and how it was infecting the future children. What was seen was nothing more than the rotting fingers and the essence of the decomposing digit warping a small part of the world's phase. Since the dregs have faced Touma in the future, they all have a natural fear of the boy despite killing him. As for the mystery girl, bits and pieces will be revealed with each confrontation. She is intimately tied to Touma, going as far back as when he was about to do an incredibly stupid and dangerous thing out of grief.

Next we got Shinzo!

Oh, he's definitely an important character. An antagonist for many of the incidents to come. On the magic side of the world, we have Arden who's prepping for World War 3 and dabbling into other matters involving the big players involved. But on the science side of the world, Shinzo's going to be digging his hands into several events for his own goals. How the Sisters arc is to be changed is all because of his fascination with the idea of the heart. And what makes such a monster dangerous is the fact he was born and raised with a heart.

And yes, for those who don't realize it yet, he is the son of Yuiitsu. His love for dogs was one of the many things she had handed down to him that had nothing to do with being a Kihara. He's also an ordinary human too as he saw no reason to undergo the Power Curriculum Program as it had nothing to do with his research. Though he lacks a superpower, he's got his own tricks that we've seen in the form of Solomon's Ten Rings and Calculation Breaker; counters for both sides of the supernatural world's power systems. His attack style is similar to Touma's: nullifying the special gifts of others to drag them down to his level and pummel them into mush.

And lastly, we have one more character who isn't even named!

Nurse-chan!

The embodiment of every sexy nurse archetype found in the adult industry. Curvy, busty, sensual lines at every turn, a beauty mark on her cheek, an 'Ara, Ara, Ara' vibe, and hips for days! A woman whose every movement invokes sensuality and sex appeal! Someone whose very figure should bar her from working with patients because of how deadly her sexiness is. Oh, and those pythons she calls biceps too.

...And the fact she's a hidden Anti-Skill member known as an Aggressor. Someone who copies the tactics and strategies of the darkside to better combat threats normal Anti-Skill and Judgment members can't tackle because of ethics. You could say she acts like a sorta bodyguard to Touma, ensuring no remaining threats to whatever troubles he found himself in can possibly harm him. She's a figure hired only to protect him, eliminate any threats to his person, and acts only on the orders of the Head Chairman. But due to having to remain undercover, there are times she can't act like the incident involving this arc; she can't reveal her claws out in the open without being discreet.

Her addition was one I hadn't originally planned ahead at all. I had a few nurse characters I wanted to introduce for some hilarity and ecchi fun but the characters were scrapped. They were tied to the Suicide Watch plot, and since that was gone, I couldn't really shove them in when they weren't needed. Maybe another time. As for why Nurse-chan doesn't have a name; eh, it's a matter for another day. I'll probably treat the subject like Kaiba's name, as in it won't be revealed for some time.

To finish this off, we've got Alba!

Yes, he is, indeed, son of Orianna and Touma. The only son. And also the son of Tsuchimikado and Maika by adoption.

Let me get this out of the way first as I don't really want to spoil much on Alba until a certain arc to come revolving our trip outside of Academy City.

The event that caused the death of Alba's mother, and himself supposedly, has nothing to do with the eluded incident that had caused Touma to break apart and fall into a deep depression. This is simply another unfortunate event that had come to pass years after the first tragedy that made him give up on the world.

I'd like to say more on Alba but I'll wait until later. All that's to know is that he takes after his father figures in his taste in woman; none-blood-related Onee-sans!

That's all I got to say about the new characters for now. These last few chapters took forever to get out, but that's life for ya; full of distractions. But I do feel as if my writing has improved drastically with this small arc when compared to the previous arc involving Level Eater. I really do think taking the time to do multiple proofreads and checks, not to mention scrapping parts and reworking scenes all over, has helped. Kinda wish I did the same with previous chapters instead of doing a once over and uploading without another check or two.

Quality takes time after all.

But now we've closed this chapter of the story. We're heading off into canon! The road to the finale of this arc is going to be twisted and full of strange turns. And it sure as hell won't be the same as before.

I hope you enjoyed the ride, and prepare yourselves for the next wild ride!

Read and Review! It's common courtesy.

NeoShadows fading in and out.

---

[?]

U_N_K_N_O_W_N STAR.

Academy City was a city unlike no other. It was its own sovereign state attached to Japan. Independent and regarded as a utopia for those who were gifted with high intellect and were fascinated with science. It was a small world cut away from the planet that saw the world of myth, superstition, and religion as nonsense that could easily be explained and did nothing but hold humanity back from stepping onto the next stage of potential.

The occult did not exist.

Magic was simply science that hadn't been properly explained.

The acts of god were simply naturally occurring phenomena that were witnessed out of some small percentage of probability appearing before someone's eyes as a miracle.

Myths were simply stories fabricated to tell stories of valor and heroics as entertainment.

In Academy City, such childish rumors did not exist.

Or, so it was believed.

Academy City was just like any other city on this planet of countless billions of clashing miniature worlds. Its glamour, accolades, advanced technology, and even espers who were taught to wield supernatural powers born from experiments and not miracles, did little to change the fact that it was a place where children would whisper random happenings in what was molded after a hometown for many. Even if those hushed happenings lacked any kind of proper or well grounded explanations, they were still shared with excitement.

In a city where the occult was disproved, wasn't it fun to try and discover something that not even the all-knowing adults could explain? Wouldn't it be amazing to stumble onto a side of the world that was said to be nonsense? Where even those who failed to gain talent could perform great feats of power with the wave of their hand?

"A new urban legend? What's it about this time? A manhole cover that is said to lead into an underground lab where bizarre white monsters are being created that can only be found during a special hour of the night? A lanky man in his forties who can transform into a behemoth made of muscles when exposed to the dark? Or the rumor of Academy City's Board chairman actually being some kind of magical girl who fights a demon lord?"

Urban legends were a common thing to hear no matter the city, town, or village one resided in. It wasn't strange to catch a snippet of such a mundane thing.

"The Lost Child? What's that about?"

"Lately people in various districts have been spotting a little girl wandering aimlessly in the streets. It's as if she just pops onto the scene out of nowhere like she's slipping in from another world. She doesn't appear to be older than ten or twelve. No one knows her name and she doesn't call out for help even when she's swiveling her head around in confusion as if she's looking for someone. Generally, most people tend to ignore her."

"That's terrible! The poor girl. Why doesn't anyone help her."

"Some say that she gives off this chilling vibe like she pricks this nerve on your heart that makes you turn away. But here's where it gets interesting! It's said that if you approach her and ask her if she needs help finding her parents, she'll shake her head and ask in a small voice..."

"Where's Kami?"

Someone bumped into a pair of chatting middle school girls on a busy crosswalk in the waning hours of the day. One of the girls looked down and found a curious sight.

It was a girl of between 10 to 12 years. She had deep dark purple hair that twirled at the end and reached her shoulders. She wore a simple long sleeved white blouse, a blue and yellow checkered skirt, black stockings, and ruby red heels. She wore an equally ruby red backpack as if she were on her way back from school.

When the middle school girl's gaze aligned with the little girl's eyes, she felt an unusual revulsion.

Red.

An unusual bright yet dark red similar to blood. A dark crimson that shined like a sinister gem. Otherworldly mirrors that felt as if they were peeling back every layer of clothing, skin cells, blood vessels, to inspect something invisible buried deep in her core.

Those gleaming crimson eyes should have never belonged to a child. To see such depth frightened her and made her nearly take a step back. She could already feel her friend tug on her sleeve, urging to walk away with the anxious expression one may have when approached by a filthy and ugly homeless man reeking of waste.

The normal reaction would be to avert your gaze. To ignore the chilling child who appeared out of nowhere. No one would blame her.

But…

A watery sheen accompanied those crimson eyes.

'She...she reminds me of my little sister.'

The middle school girl swallowed her anxiety and fear to wear a brave face. She knelt down to the lost girl's level with a sisterly smile, melting away her own hesitation to provide some warmth to the somber child.

"Are you lost? It's okay, you don't need to cry anymore! Onee-san can help you look for your parent's or siblings, so there's nothing to worry about! You said Kami-san, right? I don't know anyone with a weird name like that but I can help you find them!"

A helping hand was extended to that soul-piercing-eyed girl. Those deeply crimson eyes followed the hand and grew wide.

At the sight of the open right hand offered to her, the little girl sniffed.

And softly mumbled with tears in her eyes.

"Kami...Kami...Kamij...I don't remember. But you're not him. Thank you though."

Disappointment was clear in the sniffling child's face but she still reached into her backpack for something. Though there were tears in her deep eyes, she mustered a small smile before gently placing something in the older girl's open hand.

"Kami-nii-san was kind too. He helped me...I think? But I lost him. And I can't remember where he went or what he looks like. But he's here somewhere. You kinda remind me of him; I think he liked to help people too."

Static.

The middle school girl blinked as she held her temple. A strange sense of vertigo hit her that nearly tumbled her if it wasn't for her friend supporting her. For a brief moment, the world had been scrambled like her vision had lost connection with the nerves responsible for her vision to her brain.

Once he regained her vision, the sense of vertigo melted away.

She blinked her eyes again, shaking her to get rid of whatever had caused her to stop in the middle of the street for no reason.

"You okay, Miyu-chan?"

"I-I think so. It must be a headache or some kind of side effect from the latest drug the teacher's were providing during today's study session. They said it would stimulate certain areas of the brain to increase my concentration and awaken my ability under the right stimuli."

The middle school girl, Miyu, moved to massage her aching temple only to stop. An odd object was found in her right hand that she hadn't recalled ever owning or being gifted.

It was a purple stone, a beautiful gem that felt cool to the touch and rough around the edges. She couldn't explain why but the very sight of it brought to mind the shard of a star: a stare bite.

Whatever it was, it gave off a strange warmth.

Such a pleasant heat brought a smile to her face.

For whatever reason, she didn't question the stone's origins as she pocketed it and continued on her way home alongside her best friend. Like nothing had happened, she returned to their earlier gossiping.

"What was it you were saying again, Hikari-chan? Something about a lost child?"

"Oh! Right, I almost forgot. But yeah, there's a rumor of some random lost child roaming the streets as the sun starts to set. Not that many people are able to approach her for some reason. It's said that she's looking for someone; a brother, a father, a sister, maybe a mother? And if you're able to help her in some way, she'll grant you a special gift for your kindness. Not sure what it is though. Every message board related to the matter says she's some kind of ghost or hologram for a promotional event for some VR horror game. Apparently, something nasty might happen to you if you threaten her or scare her."

Idle gossip and rumors were a common thing to hear between normal students on their way back from classes. Urban legends were a fun pass time shared by those who lived in a city where supernatural powers were developed by scientific research grounded in reality.

But all myths held a kernel of truth.