Chapter 26 - The Spare Plan
That gray place was nothing more than an abandoned factory that would soon undergo renovation. What they manufactured there in the old days was irrelevant. All Touma needed was a somewhat secluded place with enough space for him to move around. This gray room was ideal for that. There were some building materials piled up that could be used as temporary cover in emergencies, and the ceiling of the place was low, which would facilitate future maneuvers. Moreover, what Kakine didn't know was that other preparations were made there. And considering that Level 5 was focused on something else right now, he probably wouldn't know until it was too late.
"I can kind of already consider this a victory" Touma said, once again adjusting the biker glove that went up to his wrist on his right hand "That smug smile of yours fell apart pretty easily"
Kakine narrowed his eyes and aimed in the direction of that glove. His wings formed again on his back as he continued to wipe the blood from his face.
"This is some kind of technology I presume" The Level 5 stated, pointing at those black gloves Touma was wearing "I heard that some time ago some information about my dark matter leaked out. Probably some scientists found a way to use it against me. Looks like I underestimated you a bit."
"Eh? What the hell are you talking about?" Touma made a confused face and stepped forward "These gloves are just a gift from my girlfriend. She said these things are in fashion."
Touma's plan was in motion, and so far everything was going according to it. His goal there was to keep Kakine always thinking, so that way he would get as many openings as possible. He would need this because he had already used the element of surprise. If Kakine was no longer going to underestimate him, then Touma would try something else. However, Level 5 decided to stop theorizing for a moment and put what he was thinking into practice. Again, those wings opened and one of them was launched toward Touma. His next move was important for him to make Kakine keep trying to guess what was going on.
The Level 0 boy put on a nonchalant expression and then raised his right hand. With as little effort as possible, he used only the tips of his index and middle finger to lightly touch that pale wing, which shattered from tip to base, making even the other wings that were attached to it momentarily lose their shape, like a sandcastle shattering in the wind.
"This is useless" Touma stated, taking another step forward "My ability is not something that can be beaten with this kind of thing"
"Your ability?" Kakine asked that with an angry tone as he saw his dark matter being pushed away with a mere wave of his hand.
Although Touma seemed calm, his heart had soared in that instant. The best thing to do when being attacked like that was to use his palm and spread his fingers to make sure the attack was negated, but his goal was to show how confident he was, so he took a chance using only two fingers instead of his palm. That first blow had hit his opponent with anger, and now that casual move was hitting him with insecurity. Combining feelings like that was a great way to keep the enemy from thinking clearly. He would not be underestimated, so he needed to be feared.
"Don't you remember? I tried to hide it that day to get an advantage but it seems obvious now." Said the spiky-haired boy. He removed the glove from his right hand and put it away in the pocket of his sweatshirt "This is getting in the way a bit. Now let's see."
Touma stooped down at that moment and touched the floor with the palm of his hand. The other boy had no idea what this meant, but he was not willing to wait. This time Kakine used all six wings to attack the black-haired boy from various angles. Standing up, the level 0 moved his right hand in a straight line. He stretched his fingers as far as he could and jerked his arm vertically, negating 3 of the 6 wings and then leaping to the side to avoid the remaining ones that changed his trajectory a bit. But it didn't stop there. The other wings moved erratically and hit the floor around, causing him to stagger a bit. The wings on the destroyed side reformed again. They split into dozens of stakes and then were launched like undulating whips, cutting the surrounding wind with such force that several whistles were heard. But the boy moved to the edge of that attack and shook his right hand once more, negating only one of the wings, which caused a chain reaction that diverted the course of those deadly spears fired at him, allowing him to escape unharmed.
"That's it?" Touma asked, with a smile on his face as soon as the boy's remaining wings retracted. "Looks like today I won't have to stop holding back"
"So it wasn't the gloves" Kakine gritted his teeth. The anger was clear in his expression "What's going on here anyway? I checked your data...did you ask them to alter it to get an initial advantage? What is your true level?"
"Level 0, obviously. That's how they rated me at least."
"Don't give me that" He shouted. Another wing flew to Touma, however it was easily negated with his palm this time "I just hit you directly with an attack that could split a steel wall in two"
"That doesn't matter to me" This time the boy clenched his fist and pointed it in the direction of his opponent "I call my power the 'Imagine Breaker'. It's thanks to it that I can destroy this dark matter of yours."
"I see. Then you must have a great calculation power if you are able to do this so easily. My dark matter is a material that doesn't exist anywhere in this universe. It's not something that theoretically should exist or some shit like that, it literally doesn't exist. Which means that it has its own rules. In other words, the rules of this world don't apply to it."
"If that's the case..." Again he smiled, opening and closing that right hand "It seems your dark matter rules don't apply to me"
For some reason, Kakine Teitoku smiled at that bold statement. He was the second strongest esper in the whole city, which meant that he was sure he could beat that mysterious power that could go toe-to-toe with his dark matter. All he needed to do was to understand a little bit how the other boy's power really worked.
"Even if your calculating ability is great, all I have to do is overwhelm you with the unique properties of my ability, for example, I can uniquely interfere with visible light if I want to"
Now Kakine didn't use one of his wings to attack the boy. He just moved his arm to the side. For an instant it seemed that nothing happened, but a mass of air was dislodged in Touma's direction. Something like a spark of electricity ran down Kamijou Touma's spine at that moment. It was like the feeling that something is wrong but you don't know what. Out of pure instinct he raised his right hand to his chest, right to his heart. The sound of breaking glass resounded faintly. Something had been negated, although the Imagine Breaker bearer had no idea what.
"So making it invisible doesn't work either" Kakine said in an irritated tone, placing a hand on his chin "It doesn't matter, all I have to do is keep changing the properties"
A smile appeared on Kakine's face. That made Touma feel that he was planning something. Now was the time to move. Touma ran headlong into the blond boy, who lazily swung a wing. A gust of wind came towards Touma, but he just swung his right hand and the wind dispersed. A bright rather than pale wing melted the floor in its path, but it was destroyed until there was nothing left by one punch. An inexplicable explosion occurred the moment Touma approached to land that punch, yet it was effortlessly negated. But that fist didn't hit its target. At the last second, number 2 used his wings to move away, but Touma was faster and punched one of them, causing the blond boy to lose control.
Unbalanced, Kakine still tried to recover, but felt a twinge in his stomach where a right fist sank hard. Air left the boy's lungs, and he almost lost consciousness once again. Gathering his strength, he used one of his wings to try to hit the boy at close range, but Touma dodged it by stepping back and immediately counterattacked with another punch that hit the Level 5's face with moderate force. In a desperate fashion, Kakine swung his wings, forcing the level 0 to roll to the side. This created an opening for Kakine to flap his wings once more.
The Level 5 acted by reflex. He didn't try to move backwards this time, but upwards. Kakine was now floating a few meters above Touma, but far enough to be out of range of the boy, who could only attack him at close range. The spiky-haired boy hid the frustration on his face as long as he could, while Kakine recovered from that second attack.
"What is his power anyway?" He wondered, losing patience "I used over 25000 different energies to move the air around him, but he undid it all with a wave of his hand. Is his calculating power equivalent to mine?" Kakine clenched his fist angrily "No, it can't be. I just have to keep hitting him with different types and properties. He shouldn't be able to calculate everything in real time any faster than I can. That's impossible even for him."
"What is it Kakine-san? What are you muttering up there? You're not thinking of running away are you?"
Even though he spoke in a mocking tone, Touma knew he was in trouble now. No matter what Kakine used on him, even if his power was level 5, it was still supernatural, so Imagine Breaker would be effective. However, it was technically impossible to win a fight just by defending. If #2 stayed in the air, it was only a matter of time before the spiky-haired boy made a mistake that would cost him the fight, and maybe even his life. So it was time to start bluffing.
"Your dark matter is the power to create isn't it?" Touma asked, walking in circles as Kakine just watched him "It's the perfect power for me to take on, considering all I can do is destroy."
"Destroy? He had said that before" Number 2 kept talking to himself, trying to formulate a plan of action "I see, it's like that time with that elevator" This time he spoke aloud for the boy to hear.
"You finally understand. But what does that help you?"
"Nothing… yet, but it seems to me you're at a stalemate" Kakine points an inquisitive finger towards him "It's true that you can destroy my dark matter, even the one I use as protection around my skin, but you need to get closer to attack me don't you? I don't know if you can use your powers to increase your strength or something, but I'm sure you can't fly. Which means that all I have to do is attack you until I find a property that you are unable to destroy."
With a laugh, Kakine opened his arms. His wings opened, but instead of descending on the boy, a grayish mass came out of them and rained down on the level 0 boy. That almost shapeless mass reached a wide area around the boy, but he was not intimidated. His right hand was raised above his head, which protected him from the impact of that strange mass that was not found anywhere in the universe. Although his ability could protect him from a supernatural attack, the floor around him was hit where his right hand could not destroy that shapeless mass. As the dark matter crashed into the floor, the boy was thrown off balance by the close impact. That resistant floor cracked and a piece of it broke off and was thrown around randomly. A searing pain surged through the boy's body as a piece of the loose floor hit him in the rib region, which made him grunt in pain, but he gritted his teeth and held on.
"Huh? Something hit him?" Kakine put on a surprised face when he saw that "But what exactly? What kind of matter?
Number 2's power allowed him to spread his dark matter around to get information. This could be used in many ways, but now he was trying to use it to analyze what kind of property he needed to use to target that boy. But to his surprise, something was wrong as he was barely getting information from the area around the level 0.
Kakine had no way of knowing, but the truth was that Touma had called in favors to gain as much information as possible on how the number 2 power worked, which meant that he knew about this property. If Kakine always used his dark matter to gain information, then swinging the Imagine Breaker around whenever possible was enough to ensure that information was not gained, or at least partially destroyed. That level 5 was in a situation similar to that of someone who had gotten used to doing math using a calculator and was now having trouble doing them using his head. This opened up a good opportunity for false information to be accepted as true.
"Damn, changing from dark matter to normal matter is harder than I thought" Touma said, putting his hand where he was hit.
"Then your calculation capacity is not unlimited" Kakine smiled at that instant
"Of course not. And I don't think yours is either" He straightened up and pointed to the sky "You can create or try whatever you want, but in the end I just need a direct hit to end this fight"
"What the hell are you talking about? You hit me directly more than once... no… wait..."
"You finally figured it out, didn't you?" Touma smiled and then pointed to a spot on the floor. That was the same place he had stooped down and touched with his right hand "Look at this"
With his finger pointing in that direction, the boy abruptly closed his right hand. Kakine frowned as he saw a small controlled explosion happening on that part of the floor.
"So that's what you did in that elevator" Kakine said, with a hand on his chin "Your power is to destroy any matter you touch. Probably down to the last atom or even fundamental particles. So that's why I don't get any information, you are constantly destroying any dark matter in the air around the room. This seems to cause a chain reaction from what I could observe."
"Correct. The big problem here is that your Dark Matter is really strange. You have a kind of invisible shield around you made of it, don't you? That's the only reason I couldn't hit you directly."
Obviously this was all a bluff. Kamijou Touma wasn't stupid enough to lure someone into a place that didn't give him some kind of advantage. Before the fight took place, he and Shizuri placed some of the Frenda bombs around the room, the ones that Touma had brought in a black bag to that restaurant earlier. They hid them inside the floors and walls, all for that moment. Kakine would think that those explosions were part of Touma's power since that time in the tunnel, he used a bomb to destroy the elevator door, so that would be convincing enough since Kakine himself was the one who raised the theory. Those bombs would be completely useless as an offensive strategy, but they used materials that left almost no traces, which would make it difficult for Kakine to realize that it was a bluff. But why did he bother to do something like this?
"I see, that also means that you need so much concentration to defend against so many different properties that switching your power to hit normal matter in the middle of combat is difficult. So all the damage to me was caused by the side effects of your power destroying the dark matter around me" Kakine said that with all the certainty in the world, and then announced something "I know what to do then. If your powers of calculation aren't that great, then all I need to do is generate various phenomena that pass through your filter."
A white mist hovered around the level 5, which was still floating near the ceiling. That mist spread and then descended towards the floor. The temperature in the room suddenly rose. Touma became worried at that moment. He felt his stomach turn as if whatever he had eaten earlier was about to come out. Something bad was coming.
"This world, as chaotic as it seems, is actually in constant balance" Kakine spoke in a calm voice. "Even a small space like this contains countless amounts of different forms of matter that create their own phenomena based on various laws" The blond made a casual gesture with his right hand and then opened both arms "However, what happens if I destroy that balance by adding a new type of matter? One that definitely does not exist?"
Something was happening around Touma. No, in the very space around him. The light around seemed to distort, the floor cracked in random places, and the air was thin. The floor in several places was crackling as if charged with electricity, the metal surface of the small handrail on the stairway leading to the floor below was melting, like a sugar sculpture next to a furnace.
"This is the world with my dark matter" Kakine announced, as the ground below him began to spontaneously freeze "Every phenomenon caused by the properties of normal matter are altered and result in something completely out of the ordinary. This creates a space full of surprises for you, but obviously I am not affected, since I am calculating everything that happens in the space around me. It's time to show you the true potential of a level 5."
It all started with a laugh that echoed through every part of that room. Kakine spread his wings majestically and something like golden rays of light rained down in Touma's direction. Meanwhile, a wall of flames that seemed to come from nowhere melted the ice forming on the floor. The mass of heat covered the boy as the ice spread everywhere. Even the gravity of the place seemed different now, as small pieces of concrete floated and were thrown around in what seemed to be random ways. Seeing all this, all the level 0 boy could do was run. He waved his right hand, pushing aside the curtain of flames that was generated by the very combustion of the oxygen around him, and threw himself through the golden rain, which melted the concrete of the walls like butter. Pieces of construction material that were lying around flew towards the boy, who threw his body hard to the ground, narrowly avoiding being hit by a piece of metal. A wing of dark matter came down toward him at such a speed that it looked like a blur, but he narrowly dodged it, being hit by the small pieces of frozen concrete, which dug deep into his flesh.
"What now, Kamijou Touma?" Shouted Kakine, smiling as he watched the boy get hit by a metal pipe that detached from a nearby wall. "Still think you can go against my dark matter?"
White smoke that looked toxic touched a wall, turning it to sand. Touma was sure that if he let himself be hit, the same would happen to him, so he swung his hand in an arc, which pushed that mist away, but he was left open to an attack coming from the side. He didn't even realize what it hit. A piece of ice? Concrete? It didn't matter. The boy was thrown several meters onto the icy ground, which ripped his skin and stuck pieces of glass all over his body. Before he could get his bearings, gravity shifted, throwing him upward and causing him to hit the ground again. He stood up just in time to see gray stakes made of dark matter coming toward him. The entire area around him was hit, covering everything with smoke.
A smug smile appeared on Kakine's face.
"That was easy" He said, looking in the direction of the boy covered in smoke. He was sure that the level 0 had died in the last attack.
"That's it?" But that voice full of debauchery made number 2 put a frown on his face.
Emerging from the smoke with his right hand raised, Kamijou Touma looked at his opponent and smirked. Obviously he was far from well. He had been hit in the side by a piece of concrete that probably broke one of his ribs, several small pieces of glass had cut his flesh and stuck to his skin, and a metal pipe had pierced his side, which was causing him to lose blood rapidly. But he ignored the pain and kept holding on. Besides...
"Even that wasn't enough?" Kakine was genuinely surprised. "He doesn't even look that badly hurt."
Of course, he didn't look like it. Touma was not stupid enough to think that he could win this fight without getting hurt. But what mattered at that moment was what the enemy thought. Although a trickle of blood ran down the boy's face, due to the thick clothes he chose to wear, it was difficult to assess how badly he was hurt. Even with the bleeding on his side, the two shirts he wore under his jacket absorbed a lot of it, which made it hard to know for sure how bad the wound was. That confident pose also put up a facade that everything was fine, even when in truth the boy could barely stand, but he wouldn't let that show.
"What is this guy?" Number 2 was almost gritting his teeth "He calculated all those phenomena and found a way to reverse them. Besides, I can't tell what was effective or not what it means -" He stopped talking to himself when he saw Touma take several steps toward him. As a precaution, he flew even higher, almost putting his head against the ceiling.
"Look at that, you seem to be exactly where I want you" Touma announced, trying not to groan in pain.
"Your bluffs don't scare me. You can't do anything while I'm up here" He put on another one of his grins "Just stand still and let me finish this"
"I'd rather take you down from there"
As soon as the boy said this, he raised his right hand. That sudden movement made Kakine shiver for a moment. As if his instincts had been activated, the level 5 flapped his wings and flew away the instant Touma closed his right hand.
Another explosion occurred, this time coming from the ceiling. This was another one of the bombs he had armed.
"Bastard. So you set traps in the ceiling" Kakine cursed that and looked up. "That's enough, I'll destroy the ceiling then"
Without much thought, number 2 prepared his wings, but he stopped the moment he heard a low laugh from the boy below. Kakine froze. His wings stopped moving the moment he looked back at his opponent who had a power he didn't understand.
"What was it Kakine-san? You were about to do something big weren't you?" Touma raised his right hand, which caused Level 5 to move away from the ceiling.
"What does he intend?" again he looked up, however he made sure to keep a safe distance. The boy seemed distracted and completely lost in thought now "Would he be able to destroy my dark matter with these traps?"
"I don't need it" That voice sounded too close.
"Wha -" Kakine was unable to complete.
Once again a deafening impact echoed through the room at that moment. Kakine could not even react or understand what had happened. All that was clear was that Kamijou Touma had somehow gotten close to him, and that right fist hit him right in the face. The impact of that right fist made the level 5 lose control of his ability. He plummeted from above, falling sideways to the hard ground below him. The pain hit his body, making him let out a grunt. Kakine Teitoku was on the ground once again, and just like before, he was confused.
"How?!" Kakine shouted, trying to hold on to the unbearable pain he was feeling. He staggered as he stood up with difficulty "What the hell did you do?!"
"Are you an idiot by any chance?" Asked Touma nonchalantly on the ground a few feet away from him "Never turning your back on the enemy is the basics in a fight. If I went up there to set the trap, then obviously I had a way to get to you."
That didn't explain what the boy had done, but for the ones who were familiar, they knew that all ITEM members carried equipment that aided them in combat, and Touma was no exception. All this time he had not used his L.I.B, which was hidden under that biker glove on his left hand that he was wearing. This item not only allowed him to move in three-dimensional space, but also served as a detonator for the bombs. He had made the decision to conceal its existence deliberately to make Kakine lower his guard. He could have used it to better dodge the level 5 attacks, but it would make him be more careful and keep his guard up while he was up there, which would be bad for Touma. Of course, all of this was a pretty risky move. The level 0 boy could have lured Kakine to a place with the ceiling low enough that his fists would always be in range. Although this would be more effective, Touma wanted to bet on this riskier approach simply because he thought it would have a greater psychological effect on Kakine, which would be an excellent advantage. But the fight was not over yet.
"You destroyed the air around you to propel yourself?" Kakine asked that as he used his dark matter to create six more wings on his back.
"That... is a pretty stupid theory" Touma scratched the head as he looked at his left wrist "Anyway, it doesn't matter what I did. Your powers don't work on me and flying will only serve to escape. Too many people have been hurt because of your stupid illusions. Time to put an end to this."
Those determined words only made Kakine twist his face into a grimace after hearing them.
"Why are you talking like that? You're making it sound like I'm the villain here" Calming down again, Kakine straightened his posture.
"I wouldn't call you a villain" Touma said, clenching his fist and getting into battle stance "I don't know your whole story, but I can say for sure there is something more behind what you do"
"Something better than yours, for sure"
Touma looked at him steadily and tilted his head in confusion. That tone Level 5 used was not one of disdain. He really believed that what he was doing was the right thing. That spiky-haired boy had faced many people like this in the past, but there was something there that was different.
"You have lost something, haven't you?" That question came out of Touma's mouth in a wavering manner. He realized that it caused a reaction in the level 5, who looked away for half a second.
"What does it matter to you? You said you would put an end to this, so -"
"It was a person" He continued, watching the boy clench a fist.
"Enough"
"Someone who looked up to you" But Touma didn't want to stop "I understand your tragedy, but that doesn't give you a reason to do whatever you want"
The response was not verbal. The instant those words were spoken, Kakine used his wings to move at a speed that would be impossible for an ordinary person to react to. Those wings closed like a jaw, trying to swallow that level 0 boy, but the attack didn't hit him. His right hand was not raised, in fact he just took a step back and moved his head away, like in boxing, which made the attack miss completely. A right fist was launched at that moment.
"I don't want to hear that from someone like you" Kakine shouted.
It was not Kamijou Touma's fist that was thrown. Kakine Teitoku tried to hit the boy with a punch, but Touma blocked it using his own right fist and headbutted the blond boy in the forehead, who staggered and almost fell as he tripped over some rubble. Not satisfied, Touma punched the boy in the face, who was knocked down once again. But it was not over. Kakine's wings quickly formed and moved while he was still on the ground. They split and hit the ground near Touma, raising a cloud of debris. Touma's body was in terrible condition, so he barely managed to protect it by throwing himself in the direction of the objects before they gained speed to try to lessen the impact.
Kakine stood up using the wings as support and attacked the boy, who slid under one of the wings and used his right fist to try to hit the blond. One of the wings was used to block, but it fell apart in an instant. That right fist didn't stop. The level 5 didn't try to block the attack, instead he used his own fist to try to hit his opponent. That cross punch hit Touma, jolting his brain into his skull. However, the level 0's blow hit Kakine's cheek only an instant earlier, which lessened the impact of that punch.
"I've had enough of weak people standing in my way" Kakine shouted and threw another punch at Touma, who blocked him with his right hand at the last instant "People like you think you can look down on others while you do atrocities every day" The blonde's knee hit the Level 0's belly with tremendous force, causing a sharp pain to course through his entire body. "You and your girlfriend think you're better than me? Don't make me laugh. We are all monsters in the darkness, the only difference between us is that you are weak."
Another devastating blow from Kakine's fist was launched in Touma's direction. The spiky-haired boy was still recovering from the attack on his stomach, but he mustered the strength to raise his own fist.
"It is true that I am weak" Touma said, stopping Kakine's fist with his own, which made the blond pull his arm back after the intense pain in his wrist "And yes... you are strong Kakine Teitoku, but that means nothing coming from someone so pathetic"
Pain invaded the level 5's body in that instant. Touma hit him in the face time after time, leaving him no chance to use his powers. When Kakine finally fell to the ground, level 0 threw himself on top of him and continued punching him in the face with all the strength he had left in his body.
"I don't mind being insulted like that" Touma punched that swollen and bloody face one more time "After so long, I don't have the strength to care anymore" He kept punching time after time, without stopping for a second "But I won't let you insult her. I will not allow someone as pathetic as you to call her a monster!"
With one last blow, Touma finally felt satisfied as he saw the boy close his swollen eyes. The level 0 boy stood up and looked at his own bloodied fist. He felt something at that moment, a strange feeling coming from that fist. It took over his body. It was dark, cold. Kamijou Touma turned his face toward the blond boy who seemed to have lost consciousness, breathing with difficulty. A tired sigh escaped Touma's lips and he looked again at his fist.
"But... maybe you were right about me"
Taking a deep breath, he lowered his fist. His hand reached into his pants pocket where he pulled out his phone. The screen was broken, but it still worked. He dialed his girlfriend's number, who answered on the first ring.
"Hey, Touma... thank god" Shizuri's voice was so cheerful that Touma smiled as he imagined her cute face "I mean, is that you? The #2 didn't take the cell phone from your body and call me as a joke, did he?"
"It's me Shizuri. I'm fine, don't worry" His voice was weak, partly because of the serious injuries to his body, and partly because of what he was feeling.
"It's so good to hear your voice" She surprisingly sounded even more cheerful "So, how was it? Do we need to incinerate a body or..."
"No... of course not" He shook his head, even though she couldn't see "I would never do that "
"I know, it was a joke." Shizuri giggled "I'm sorry I doubted you at that moment. I guess I worried for nothing. However, remember that our agreement still stands. I'll do whatever I want with -"
Touma could not hear the rest. Before he could hear Shizuri finish, the boy pulled the phone away from his ear and reached out his right hand on instinct. His peripheral vision caught something moving toward him. It was something pale and seemed not to belong in this world. The cell phone fell apart with that attack, but Touma managed to negate it in the last second.
"At least you didn't turn your back on the enemy" That voice belonged to number 2 in Academy City.
The level 5 esper had somehow gotten up. There was no way to know if he had regained consciousness or if he simply hadn't been unconscious in the first place, but he was standing. Blood was dripping from his bruised face, and he had clearly taken quite a bit of damage from the fall after being plucked from the sky. But that monster was still standing.
"You look surprised, fake level 0" Kakine said, wiping the blood from his mouth with one hand. "You should have kept going until I stopped breathing. You won't get that chance anymore"
The dark matter wings formed once more. They looked much bigger now, two of them even entered the floor, which shook the place, forcing Touma to steady his feet so as not to fall.
"Enough Kakine, you -"
"Quiet!" The level 5 esper threw several stakes from his huge wings, but Touma managed to negate them with a bit of effort "It only ends when you or me are dead."
Two simultaneous attacks, one from each side, hit the ground near Touma. His battered body was no longer completely obeying him, so he was hit by the debris that those wings blew away like a bag in the wind. The level 0 felt several pangs of pain in his body being hit. Blood dripped down his clothes, which were now starting to become soaked. The amount of damage that had accumulated on the boy's body was so great that he shouldn't have been standing. His bones ached, his flesh was torn in several places, a cold sweat was mixing with the red viscous liquid that dyed his clothes. But he remained standing. He would not fall until the last illusion was broken.
"Just die already!" Shouted Kakine, also staggering. Touma was not the only one who was doing his best to stay conscious "You are probably the only damn obstacle in the way of my mission that should be easy. I should have ended you when you fell into that tunnel. I will correct that mistake today and then continue without further interruptions."
"No" Touma raised that bloody fist and took a determined step forward "I will defeat you here and then my team will destroy all those labs you are trying to protect. Your mission ends today"
An indecipherable expression appeared on Kakine's battered face. It was something like surprise mixed with doubt. He even retracted his wings a little as he stood thoughtfully for a few seconds. After processing that information, he finally spoke.
"Protect? What the hell are you talking about, you damn monster?!"
All the wings were launched in Touma's direction when Kakine shouted that. With his fist clenched as tight as it could go, the spiky-haired boy ran towards his opponent and hooked one of the wings, which seemed to be harder to destroy as he felt some of the impact. Maybe it was his extremely sore body, but that almost made the other attacks hit him. Even though he dodged the wings, more pieces of the floor crashed into his body, but he only stopped when a crack appeared in front of him. In fact, he used this as an excuse to think for a while. Why did Kakine say that?
"I have information about this whole business of your level 6 change" Touma began, his voice full of doubt "You intend to use ability crystals to cause a resonance of AIM fields to reach that level. That's why you were there in that lab."
"What?" Kakine sounded genuinely confused "I was there in that lab to destroy it, you idiot!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, causing saliva mixed with blood to fly from his mouth "That's why I slaughtered all those useless guards and also the espers they sent after me. Only your group was even remotely a challenge."
"Wait...that...can't be true." Perplexed, the boy shifted his gaze to the floor below him. "That's not what I heard. What do you mean you weren't protecting that facility?"
"And why would I do that, you piece of garbage?! Level 6? The only one who can reach that level stably is that bastard, Accelerator. When I heard that something like that was possible using those crystals, I started looking for the labs so I could destroy them."
"That... doesn't make sense" The boy shook his head, unwilling to accept what he was hearing.
Come to think of it, there was something strange when they broke into that facility. Touma was sure they would have more guards in that place, even Shizuri confirmed that none went after her when she was making all that mess. Also, the self-destruct sequence was triggered earlier than planned, which meant that an external factor outside of Touma's control had accidentally caused it. And then there was...
"That sand" Touma raised his head and looked in Kakine's direction "I saw your dark matter cause strange phenomena. That tunnel... you were fighting there"
"That's what I said, asshole." Spat the blond boy, his eyes filled with anger "I gave those guards a clean death by turning everyone into sand. A painless death is the most I felt like doing for them."
That matched what Touma had seen in that Tunnel. If what Kakine was saying was true, then he was not an enemy. The whole fight was pointless.
"I will not show the same mercy to you, little villain" Kakine raised only one wing, turning it into a kind of giant, eye-catching spear. "I'll end it now"
"Wait... we don't need to do that" Touma spoke up, raising both hands and showing his palms "There's a misunderstanding here"
"I don't give a damn! "
"Don't you understand? I am not your enemy. I don't want to fight anymore. Listen to me and -"
"No!"
The gigantic spear continued to form, getting bigger and bigger. The level 5 that was barely standing seemed to be using all the rest of his effort forging that weapon. Touma focused his attention entirely on that spear. Kakine wasn't kidding, he didn't care what the level 0 had to say. That last attack would define everything. Touma stopped for a moment and evaluated his options. He could simply run straight to Kakine and take him down easily considering how injured the level 5 was, however... he lacked the willpower to do that. As he said himself, he didn't want to fight anymore. But he needed to. And he couldn't make up his mind.
The 50-foot weapon flew and twisted like a whip in mid-air. The speed of that thing was so great that it seemed to tear through space itself. But Touma was not intimidated. The right hand of the spiky-haired boy was raised and a fist was formed. That whip lance was shattered like an air balloon bursting when it met a needle. Just as before, the boy felt the impact, but it was nowhere near enough to stop him. But even with the desperate attack being destroyed so easily, Kakine Teitoku grinned.
The ground shook once again the instant that devastating attack was negated. The reason for this was simple. One of the wings that had embedded itself in the floor had been hiding all along, waiting for the right time, and that time had come. The second stage of the attack began with the dark matter wing emerging from the ground in a vertical straight line and tearing everything in its path.
Touma's body almost broke into pieces, but his instincts made his body move on its own. He took a step back, saving himself from certain death. But there was one detail. His right arm was outstretched to block the previous attack, which happened almost synchronously with this one, and because of this he couldn't get it down in time. A sharp pain so strong that it almost made him bite his tongue slid through his nerves. A cry of pain echoed and blood spurted everywhere as that wing struck the boy's right forearm, severing his arm at the elbow.
Touma could not stand the pain and knelt on the ground. His already soaked clothes were dyed completely bright red due to the blood that flowed non-stop. The level 0's hesitation had caused this. If he had rushed to attack his opponent just as he initially thought, the outcome of this fight would have been different.
Seeing that pitiful scene, Academy City's number 2 began to laugh. At first it was just a dry laugh, but he soon began to laugh so loudly that he almost forgot the pain he was in from his injuries.
"Finally" He said, putting that cocky smile back on his face "I made that attack as flashy as possible on purpose so that you would focus only on it. My intention was to slice you in two, but I am satisfied to take that right hand of yours" Kakine spoke all that in a mocking tone. He laughed once more as he looked at the boy holding uselessly what was left of his arm "I don't know if you can use the other hand to defend yourself with your ability, but it doesn't matter. You've lost a lot of blood now, so this fight is over. Did you think, even for a second, that you could beat me? The barrier that separates me from all of you is too thick for a mere weird power to overcome."
Still smiling haughtily, the boy lifted one of his wings. His victory was announced. Even though that boy had such unique ability, the pain he was feeling and the loss of blood made it impossible for him to continue fighting, plus his precious right hand had been ripped off. That fight was decided the instant it happened.
"I could let you bleed to death, but I will take advantage while you are still alive to crush your body until it turns into an unrecognizable mass of flesh. Then I'll go after your precious monster girlfriend and show her your disfigured body. She's around, isn't she? I wonder if she will try to take revenge. It would be a shame if she died trying."
As he said this, Kakine noticed something strange. The boy's right arm had suddenly stopped bleeding. The level 5 narrowed his eyes when he noticed this, but he decided to ignore it right away.
"Time to die, fake level 0. But you fought well, although you never had a chance."
Kakine didn't wait another second. As soon as his lips closed, one of the six wings on his back flew at supersonic speeds toward that poor boy who couldn't even look in his direction. That wing that could shatter an armored vehicle like a crystal bowl would have no problem destroying that fragile body until it was unrecognizable. But... even so...
"Huh?" The expression on Kakine's face was indecipherable.
The boy remained alive. That wing was twisted in a strange way the instant it approached the boy. That otherworldly gray material curled up like wet clothes and then crumbled like dust.
"Impossible" Kakine instinctively took a step back. He felt something, a bad feeling flow down his spine "That damn monster can still use his ability even in this state?"
Gritting his teeth, the level 5 tried not to flinch. His wings were flung out all at once. He had to put a stop to this. That nearly dead boy shouldn't be able to go against that destructive power. Over and over again he attacked him, but that impassable barrier wouldn't budge.
"What's happening?" Cold sweat was sliding down Kakine's body now "It's like... it has something there" The boy's breathing became rapid, panting. It was almost as if the air itself was thicker "What is that power?! I can't analyze... that invisible thing"
Kamijou Touma raised his head. It was not an abrupt gesture, there was no hurry there. A shiver ran through the Kakine's body. He started to walk away from the boy, almost stumbling in his haste. That feeling deep in the blond boy's gut was sounding alarms in his brain. They say that people can sense when something bad was about to happen. Even if Kakine Teitoku didn't believe in this kind of superstition, he knew something was coming.
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Hello again! This chapter may have been a little confusing for those who have never read the 'Dark Matter' manga. In it, we learn a little about Kakine's past, his motivations, and also what more he can do with his powers (like turning things into sand for example). It is a good read, I recommend it to everyone who is interested in the character.
About the fight itself, I used several references from the novels. I always try to use examples from GT and Biohacker as a reference of personality and fighting style for Touma in this fic, since I think that in GT he is very close to what he would be before his memory loss. In this fight we see Touma bluffing all the time as a way to gain a 'psychological advantage'. The two best examples of him doing this in the novels is in the fight against Hoshimi and also in the fight against the three Gokusai sisters.
In the fight against Hoshimi, he tries to get into her head with bluffs and also keep himself moving. During most of the fight he was grinning and acting as if he knew everything. This causes her to start theorizing about what his power is and even getting afraid, as in the scene where she throws two 50-story buildings at him. When he 'casually' escapes the attack, she even asks him "Was my maximum weight limit of 100 thousand tons not enough, or are you saying you can hold back nuclear aircraft carriers with your arms!?" And later in the fight she shouts "Are you immortal?" I took some inspiration from this, by having Touma give false and true information to keep Kakine thinking as much as possible and thus get openings.
I like to show other people theorizing about what his power would be, especially espers who are 'logical' people. This is why I preferred to use IT here instead of a dragon (I know there are theories that say they are the same thing). For an Esper, seeing something like this might make him think that it is just powerful psychokinesis, like the powers of Accel that are technically classified in this category. But since it's obviously not just that, the mystery is greater. At least in my opinion... and there are also a lot of dragons in fanfics, IT needs some love too LMAO.
About the twist, I hope I have put in enough clues. It's hard to balance between giving enough hints so that it doesn't seem like it came from nowhere, and not giving enough so that it doesn't become obvious. Another obscure clue is that during the mission, Aleister comments that someone is invading the place and then looks at a monitor that shows a tunnel. He is talking about Kakine here, not Touma.
What did you think about this chapter? Was the fight long enough? Did you like that IT finally showed up? Was the twist good enough?
I will take a look at your reviews now:
Emzt20x: Thanks man. I intend to write that kind of scene, but I would have to change the fic's rating, so maybe I'll do it in an extra chapter.
LORD LANCELOT: I'm glad you liked it. What did you think of the chapter?
Tommthecommie: LOL. Kakine will show up a few more times after that beating.
Emiyasatou: Kakine is ridiculously powerful, isn't he? But Touma's combat experience balances that out. Touma's precognition saved him a lot in this fight.
Syafielone1359: Thanks. I hope this chapter has met your expectations. The fight of these two in the manga is really very good.
5queso: He threw a lot more than fists in this fight indeed xD Thanks for the compliment, I always wonder if I'm not writing too much of the same thing.
KHVSFF: I'm glad this story remains interesting enough for you. The other poor girls will realize they never had a chance when they see Shizuri in person xD. She'll daydream more... about other things too. Kakine technically lost twice in this fight LOL. More romantic scenes will come, and about magic, some people will be confused by the next revelation. Thank you very much as always.
Aiman031122: I hope this fight was long enough. What did you think of it? Thank you.
Number 2 tanked several punches from our 'Hero', didn't he?
Maybe I need more time to update this story, too much random stuff going on this end of the year. Next Friday's chapter might be postponed to Sunday or Monday because of this. That's it for now. Nio leaving.
