Quick thing: thanks, alex1893 for following and favoriting, both this piece and A Certain Strange Scenario! It's great to have you on board.
Response time is here, again! Let's get into the meat and potatoes of things, shall we?
Guest: that's a good question, friend. Kumokawa Seria's in a delicate position, one which requires her full attention. Mitsuari Ayu actually will meet with the Kamijous, in due time. Hers is an introduction that I'm looking forward to!
Whwsms: I'm glad that the bits and pieces brought you enjoyment, friend. Let's go over what you listed in your review, in a sort of Q&A format.
Actually, Kamisato Kakeru is referred to as "the Rookie" by Touma for a slightly different reason. He isn't technically a part of GROUP, though, he may as well be, as you'll soon find out. I think, if anything, our "World Rejecting" friend is more attracted to DAT ASS, than to the person DAT ASS belongs to. Only time will tell, though.
That's actually a really entertaining thought; Misaki literally rearranging Stiyl's barcode tattoo with a punch that would make her husband proud (or maybe not). You're giving me ideas, again, friend.
I'm glad you enjoyed reading that little tidbit as much as I enjoyed writing it! Maybe, having both been saved by Kamijou Touma, the two know more than others that the world needs a new generation of heroes to carry the torch.
There'll certainly be "Ojou-Sama x commoner" roleplay to be found, but, as you suggested, our married couple is just a bit preoccupied with the new, and unfamiliar sights that are provided by the Grand Kingdom. I also have a feeling Index and Othinus might have to stay over at Accelerator's, or, at least, sleep with pillows over their respective heads, if they're to stay in their own home.
A certain Fetish King needs all the loving he can get; Motoharu's just trying to help a buddy out.
I'm glad you enjoyed reading about little Hamazura Daichi's introduction, as much as I enjoyed writing about it!
When times change, sometimes, some things stay the same. Apparently, when you have a craving for erotic bunny outfits, you have that craving for life. I wonder if it's genetic?
That is a beautiful idea. I love it. Absolutely rich, if you ask me. I'll do my best to try and find a way to make it happen, friend! It'll be glorious.
As always, I'm glad to know that I can continue to gain your approval, friend!
Anon: IT IS MY DESTINY! I'll do my best to make your dreams more than dreams. I'll DO IT!
You lovely readers are just giving me way too many great ideas; more ideas, means more content, of course, which, I'd say is a good thing!
I hope to hear your thoughts on future chapters, friend!
321jaz: here we go!
There're still a lot of people who have yet to take the stage; I'm looking forward to their respective introductions, as they come along! I hope you'll enjoy reading about them as much as I'll enjoy writing about them.
Great minds think alike, huh? What kinds of trouble are a certain French princess and a certain "almighty" thunder god going to get into? You'll have to read on to find out!
Unfortunately, some people are more rooted in their ways than others.
It's only a matter of time before they go robbing graves, trying to create a monster out of different body parts; at this rate, someone will need to hire an angry mob. Maybe Imouto can get her Sisters? I can imagine the Sisters marching towards the Birdway residence, with torches and pitchforks.
Daichi's certainly a happy child; of course, that's because he has two happy parents. Once the Hamazuras are introduced as a family, and we get a better look into their home, maybe we'll find out just why Daichi's such a joyful boy.
That's for certain; the absence of Fremea's "nyaa" verbal tic wasn't an oversight. I planned to have it absent from the moment that I knew I wanted to have Fremea introduced.
Time changes most things, but it can't change erotic bunny outfits, or a certain level zero's attraction to them. If Fremea was unlucky enough to find one, could there be more? Perhaps, Hamazura Rikou has a whole box of them, somewhere.
Introducing the one and only World Rejector was a very bold move, if I do say so myself; I'd go as far as to say that I felt like I was playing with fire. Of course, this is an alternate timeline, so, it makes things a wee bit safer.
You have to feel bad for poor Stiyl; trapped between a harem king, in his own right, a love-struck woman, and a "deluded pervert", as said love-struck woman referred to him. There's got to be a reason he's out there, putting up with what he's putting up with.
At the very least, Necessarius and a certain World Rejector will provide comic relief, to contrast with the more serious undertones of the Surfacing Arc, as will Cendrillon and Thor.
That it will; Imagine Breaker will have its own story arc, in fact, one which the Surfacing Arc will bleed directly into.
I have one thing to say about this "rogue magician subplot"; kvlt. Lots, and lots of kvlt. If you wear a witch hat, and a cloak, you're going to look kvlt.
As always, I'm glad to know that I've gained your approval, once again! I hope to be able to continue to do so!
DarkBetrayer: DB-sensei, get out of my head.
In all seriousness, as we discussed via private message, it really interests me to know that you found some of the remnants from when this piece's alternate timeline was actually going to take place in a "perfect world" created by Othinus. I didn't really go out of my way to hide them, to be honest. I might just purposely hide more things for you, and other eagle-eyed readers to find, if you're inclined to find them.
Poor Kamisato-san. He didn't ask for this.
What had Kamisato Kakeru done wrong? What had he done to serve this fate? He wasn't sure. Kakeru wasn't sure that he could answer any question that he had, in regards to his own fate, or fates, at this point. Clinging to his arm, blushing like a flustered schoolgirl, as she nuzzled him with the side of her face, practically purring as she did so, was Floris. With a sigh, he cast his vision from side to side; how hard could it be to find a weird looking, long-haired, painted man in a wizard's hat, or as it a witch's? and a cape? He spotted the Kamijous, and the Accelerator near the park's monumentally tall map sign, which stood about ten meters from the restroom facility, and the gift shop.
He couldn't help but smirk, even as Floris showed her awkward affection for him; as always, the Imagine Breaker, and Mental Out held hands, their fingers interlocked. They were so happy, their marriage one of harmony and mutual respect; it was something Kakeru had never seen before, and he'd only seen it since between two people who were, ironically, friends of the Kamijous'.
For a moment, Kakeru spared himself the chance to think about what it'd be like to be a married man. It must've been a huge responsibility. Kakeru took care of his girls, as they were all his partners, sure, but that was different. He wasn't married to them. He wasn't completely devoted to them, the way the Imagine Breaker was completely devoted to Mental Out. Kakeru figured that, somehow a relationship and a marriage were two very different things.
"D-do you see him, Kamisato-san?" Floris inquired, as she joined the object of her affection in searching.
"Hm?" Kakeru inquired. Clearing his throat, softly, he emerged from his musings. "No. No sight of him. Maybe, one of us should contact Rosenthal-san…"
"No!" Floris exclaimed, almost as if she was in a panic, her blue eyes wide, as she began to walk Kakeru away from the Grand Kingdom's entrance, and towards the Kingdom's map sign. "I mean… eheheh… we don't need to bother Rosenthal-san! W-we'll do it ourselves! Rosenthal-san's very busy, I'm SURE!"
"As am I…" Kakeru spoke, unenthusiastically, as he stumbled. Floris was a physically powerful woman, to be certain. Though he wasn't anywhere near as burly as the Imagine Breaker, Kakeru wasn't a man who could be easily shoved around, and, yet, Floris was doing so without issue.
Kakeru seriously considered asking her if she wanted to get the awkwardness out of the way, and clear the sexual tension that hung in the air, like a dark thundercloud – Kakeru wasn't a man who waited until the fourth date. The only thing that halted his progress, was the prospect of losing access to Floris' posterior. If he was to bury his manhood between her cheeks, he'd need to play his cards right. Infatuated or not, Floris was clearly a prideful woman. Kakeru figured that she wouldn't stand for being used like an object, or eyed like a cut of meat.
"There he is! C-come on, K-Kamisato-san! We've got to get him, before he gets away!" Floris suddenly proclaimed, pointing past the Kamijous, and the Accelerator – the hat-wearing man was walking over a large, wooden bridge, that was a fair ways passed the map sign, flanked by two large totem polls. He wasn't succeeding at being inconspicuous; the crowds of people around him were clearly disturbed by his presence, and were systematically moving themselves away from him.
"You realize he could just be a foreigner, yes? Perhaps he doesn't know the language. He was speaking in an odd tongue; one I haven't heard before. Perhaps he's here, visiting relatives. We don't know the circumstances of his presence," Kakeru explained. "His only crime thus far is not paying for a ticket. Perhaps, in his home country, one isn't expected to pay for such things."
Floris shook her head, as she began to drag Kakeru along behind her, once again; passing by the Kamijous, who appeared to be debating on where in the Grand Kingdom they'd go next, Touma offered Floris and Kakeru a wave, while Misaki smiled in their direction.
Even Floris, who already found herself smitten, and never really liked Kamijou Touma all that much to begin with, had to admit that he was an absolute hunk of a man; he'd bloomed tremendously well. Touma was enormous, almost absurdly so. He was practically a giant, with the incredible muscle mass to make him look like more of a man-beast than a lanky human sunflower.
When Floris had first met Touma, and, through him, his buxom girlfriend Shokuhou Misaki, as she'd been known at that point in time, he was a scrawny boy. He had been almost lanky, but held himself with a confidence that Floris couldn't deny then, and she couldn't deny it in the present. Floris shuddered, as the idea of being punched by the fists that were connected to Touma's enormous, vein-covered arms formed in her mind, no matter how much she tried to push it away. If she hadn't seen him lifting before, Floris could've safely assumed that he was on some sort of muscle enhancer.
Floris' eyes drifted to Kamijou Misaki; she was beautiful, resembling some sort of immortal goddess, more than a living, mortal human being. Her beautiful, honey-colored hair glowed beneath the sun's rays, as if the massive ball of hydrogen wanted to highlight her beauty for all to see.
Even in an outfit that wasn't designed to highlight her body, Kamijou Misaki's body was highlighted nonetheless. Her bosom was enormous, far larger than Floris' own, much to her chagrin. Floris could see, even through Misaki's tank top, incredibly developed back muscles; it almost looked like Kamijou Misaki's body had adapted to having to carry her bosom's monumental weight.
Floris found herself awkwardly shuddering again, as she examined Misaki's arms; they were thick, and extremely well-muscled, but still distinctively feminine. A punch delivered by Kamijou Misaki would likely hurt just as much as a punch delivered by Kamijou Touma.
Floris felt like she could never compare – Floris knew she was beautiful in her own way, but, Kamijou Misaki held herself with confidence and pride, completely at peace with herself. She hadn't dressed to impress anyone; Floris could see, around herself, the man she'd found herself hopelessly infatuated with, the Kamijous, and the Accelerator, that there were many younger, and even older-looking women who'd dressed themselves in their finest dresses, or, alternatively, their best, most perfect outfits – high-waisted jeans, crop tops, tight-fitting, short and long sleeved shirts, flats, canvas shoes, gladiator sandals, fashionable leather boots.
Kamijou Misaki hadn't worn anything of the sort, and, she didn't look like she needed to. Misaki was dressed for comfort; her outfit oozed practicality. Floris herself had to subconsciously admit that, oftentimes, practicality and attractiveness didn't walk hand in hand; it would usually be one or the other. Somehow, Kamijou Misaki could pull off both, at the same time. Floris would be lying, if she didn't admit that she was just a bit envious.
Snapping back from her own musings, Floris found that her hand had been taken into Kamisato Kakeru's own left hand, and, as she'd been doing for him before, he was effectively walking her. Her face erupted into an enormous, bright pink blush, as her bright, blue eyes began to fill with tears. What was she going to do? Her hand was in his, just like how Kamijou Misaki's hand was in Kamijou Touma's. Would she retrieve her hand, and back away, or, would she allow this continue, no matter how oddly uncomfortable, and yet, so comfortable it made her feel?
"Get ready. There he is. Looking down," Kamisato Kakeru spoke, as he released Floris' hand from his own. A part of Floris screamed in relief, while another part felt just a bit downtrodden. "Any ideas? We'll need to breach the language barrier."
"U-uh…"
"Not the time," Kakeru snapped. "Concentrate, Floris-san. We can talk about mating rituals at another date."
"M-MATING R-R-RITUALS?!" Floris nearly screamed. She and Kakeru got more than one odd look; Floris nearly felt herself on the verge of passing out. What was wrong with her?! She'd never been afflicted with anything like this before. This felt worse than even the most terrible of stomach bugs.
"Hush, now, you're making a scene," Kakeru softly scolded. Even the hat-wearing man, who was gazing down at something below the bridge, had turned to look at the two. He didn't seem to be perturbed, as he turned his head back to continue to look down.
"Eheheh… t-translation app? I have one on my p-phone," Floris suggested, as she produced the device from the pocket of her uniform's pants. "If someone talks into it, the app w-will… u-uh… translate the text to the l-language of your choice!"
"It'll do," Kakeru spoke. "Might I see that, please? Let's talk with our friend, Odin, here."
"Odin?" Floris swiftly inquired, as she handed her phone, unquestioningly, to Kakeru, who gently, and cautiously took it from her. That was certainly an interesting reference. Floris knew just a little bit too much about Odin. How much did Kamisato know? Floris felt her mind snapping back to normality, the broken pieces being fitted back into place.
"Surely, someone from the "Other Side" knows more about old world myths than I do," Kakeru spoke, as he and Floris began to approach the painted man. "Odin, according to Norse Mythology, wore a pointed hat, and a cloak. Future depictions, of course, made him out to be much more of a heavily-armored, hammer-swinging meathead-god of unbridled fury and many warpaths. In reality, the original myths depicted Odin as an old man, rather than a muscular giant."
"H-he's so smart… talk to me about Norse mythology while I fuck your brains out. W-wait, what?!"
Unlocking the device, and swiping upwards, as the phone's tempered glass display commanded, Kakeru pointed Floris's phone towards the pointed hat man, after he browsed through Floris's phones apps, eventually finding an app called "Qoozle Translate"; Qoozle Corp. truly had thought of everything, hadn't they? Curiosity gripped Floris, and she looked down, below the bridge, where the pointed hat man was looking.
She felt bad. Floris really felt bad. All there was beneath the bridge was a small stream, where a number of ducks, males, females, and even a few adorable, fluffy ducklings were drinking. The pointed hat man had just been observing the ducks.
"Hallo. Hva gjør du her?"
"Qoozle Translate" processed the words spoken by the pointed hat man, and spat out a vague, broken, but understandable audio translation for Kakeru.
"Hello. What are you doing here?" The mechanical voice produced by Floris's phone spoke.
Kakeru nodded; it was working. Perhaps, this situation wouldn't spiral out of control; the Bearer of the World Rejector certainly hoped so.
"Ah, you see, sir… you forgot to pay, at the front gates, for your ticket. A single, adult ticket costs. ¥1967.47."
"Qoozle Translate" processed Kakeru's words, and, produced a translation in Norwegian; Kakeru raised an eyebrow. He'd never met anyone from Norway before. Kakeru pressed the icon that resembled a pair of lips, next to the textbox that had appeared at the bottom of Floris's phone's screen.
"Ah, ser du, sir ...du glemte å betale, på foran portene, for billetten. En enkelt, voksen billett koster. ¥1967.47," Floris's phone spoke. The pointed hat man raised an eyebrow, and shook his head, no.
"Hey, man. Fuck off, yeah? I speak Japanese. I've done a butt-ton of shows in Academy City. I was just fucking with you. When you're true kvlt, you don't pay for tickets."
"True… kvlt?" Floris inquired, confused, as she raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, kvlt. Never heard of kvlt? Listen, this meeting never happened, and I'll buy both of you a round. Whatever you want. I just need a drink, man. Last show was a fucking killer."
This time, it was Kamisato Kakeru's turn to pose an inquiry. "Show?"
"Yeah. Frontman. For Vurthum. You know? Black metal? Kvlt? Fuck, just walk with me, yeah? Let's talk. You guys look like you're on break, anyways. C'mon."
Kamisato Kakeru looked to Floris, who looked to him. She wasn't blushing, and there was seriousness in her facial expression; gone, was the flustered little girl. Here, was serious, sensible leader, no nonsense Floris.
"Need I remind you that public intoxication is a crime? Not to mention, this is a family-oriented venue," Floris stated.
Kamisato Kakeru approached the pointed hat man, and put his right arm around the smaller man's shoulders; Floris saw the tips of Kakeru's fingers nearly brush over the pointed hat man's shoulders. Nothing happened, and Kakeru shook his head, as if to say, "not yet". Floris raised her eyebrows in acknowledgement.
"Done deal," Kakeru stated. "Come on, "babe". Let's get a drink. Work's for squares, right? We're only here for the money, anyways. Rebellious punk culture is great, "babe"."
"Babe?" Floris inquired; she could feel a blush coming on, but, sensible, leader Floris beat it back. There was a time and place for everything.
Kakeru broke away from the pointed hat man, and stepped back, towards Floris, who he fell into step with.
"Where's the food and drinks, huh? This place does serve alcohol, yeah?" The pointed hat man inquired; his docile behavior had vanished, as he shouldered his way past a man, whose hands were wrapped around the hand grips of a baby carriage. "Out of the way, motherfucker! Babies aren't true kvlt!"
"Keep an eye on him," Kakeru whispered into Floris's ear. "I think this is less of a magical, or scientific concern, and more of a social concern. Keep the act up. If this troglodyte thinks we're delinquents, he might just open up to us. As it stands, there's not much we can do about his antics; we don't have proof that he just called that man a "motherfucker", and his shove could easily be explained away as an accident."
Floris nodded. "Yeah. Alright. He said he was the frontman in a band; something called… Vurthum? Maybe this is just his lifestyle. I know people who have pretty terrible lifestyles, and they aren't even in bands."
"Yeah, "my dude", Kakeru began, moving away from Floris. "I "totally" get what you're saying, "man". Just last week, I got "trashed", and "crunk" on some pretty "hard shit". Cheated on "my girl", here; she's cool with it, though. We're in an open relationship. She's also a prostitute."
"Heeyyy, my drummer's married to a prostitute. English, name's… what was it? Marybeth? Kind of a whore… well, literally, she's a whore, but even when she's off duty, she's still a whore; but, maybe he's into getting cucked," the pointed hat man remarked, to which Kakeru looked back to a surprisingly neutral Floris; she seemed to be on board with the plan, and understood what Kakeru was trying to do. She raised her eyebrows, and nodded. Kakeru was silently thankful. Too often, he had to have dealings with the dreaded tsundere.
"I "ain't" no cuck, "myself", Kakeru responded, as he just barely avoided an oncoming group of young people; his right hand brushed against one of the young people, resulting in their immediate vanishing; her compatriots didn't seem to notice. One second, she was present, laughing at something, Floris didn't know what, and, the next second, she was gone; as if a scene in a film had been edited, and the frames she'd been in removed. Kakeru gulped, as Floris tried to forget what'd just seen. The power of the "World Rejector" was still frightening to behold.
"That makes two of us, then, man. Getting cucked isn't kvlt, and if something isn't kvlt, I don't do that shit, you feel?" The pointed hat man spoke, as the trio finally left the bridge, and stepped into what almost looked like the landscape of a forest. Kakeru had to take a deep breath, and allow his vision to take in what he was seeing. It was absolutely beautiful.
Great, towering pines rose up, far beyond Kakeru's own mortal form's height. Kakeru could see a small waterfall, to his east, formed in a very organic-looking mountainside, from which water was pouring into a small stream, that snaked, and coiled throughout the forest's floor. The ground beneath the Bearer of the World Rejector's feet was soft, and moist, though firm enough to give Kakeru the confidence he needed to continue to walk. He could hear songbirds chirping, singing their songs, though he couldn't hear their words. Their melodies were soothing. Despite himself, he was still shaken up, from the accidental "World Rejecting" that'd occurred. Kakeru assumed that Floris's lack of speech either meant that she hadn't noticed, or, if she had, didn't want to talk about it at length, either.
"Crazy shit, my dudes," the pointed hat man remarked, as he raised his vision to the tops of the great pines, and raised his open palm to his forehead. "Why'd they build a fuckin' forest in here?! Damn, this is some insane shit. Almost kvlt, even."
"I have to ask… I mean, hey "my dude", what does "kvlt" mean, exactly?" Kakeru remarked, to which the pointed hat man whipped his head in Kakeru's direction, and shot him an almost hateful look. Floris was about to prepare herself for battle, before the pointed hat man seemed to emerge from his suddenly angered state, as quickly as he'd entered it. His facial expression was still one of fury, though, he looked less like he was going to try and kill Kakeru.
"What's… kvlt? Kvlt is a way of life. You're kvlt, or you're a FUCKING PUSSY!" The pointed hat man exclaimed, concluding his sentence by shouting the expletives at the top of his lungs, attracting more than one uncomfortable, or offended look from passersby, though, they looked away soon enough. This was good for Kamisato Kakeru. He didn't want too many people seeing what might just happen, if the pointed hat man continued his antics.
"Floris? Do you have your handheld radio? It appears that I've forgotten mine," Kakeru whispered, falling back in step with the former New Light operative.
Floris looked to her feet, blushing; her black, anything but stylish "what are those" were already covered in mud. "Actually, I forgot mine, too… eheheheh."
"So, are you kvlt, or are you a FUCKING PUSSY?!" The pointed hat man exclaimed, as he continued to walk, with Kakeru and Floris not far behind. Kakeru sighed, and extended his right hand, as he picked up his pace. Floris closed her eyes, as she continued to walk, hoping that she wouldn't crash into a tree, or Kakeru.
"Do you wish for a new world?"
Before the pointed hat man could answer the question that'd been posed to him, Kamisato Kakeru's right hand touched the back of the pointed hat man's back. His painted face had just begun to turn back; it had an almost confounded-looking expression.
Then, he was gone. The pointed hat man disappeared. For one second, his lips had parted, mouth beginning to form words. In the next, he'd vanished completely, as if he'd been erased. In the split second that the pointed man ceased to exist, in the "current" world, he was filled with hope. His mind fell into ease, and his raging heart fell back into a normal pace. One, two. One, two. In an Ideal World, he would find peace.
"And, that's that," Kakeru stated flatly, as he slapped his hands against one another, like he was dusting them off. Floris opened her eyes, and sighed in relief; she didn't have to witness another "World Rejecting".
"Where did he go, do you think? Do you have any ideas, Kamisato-san?" Floris inquired, as the two stopped, and took to the side of the footpath; the two could hear more fellow pedestrians making their respective ways up the path.
"That's up for debate," Kakeru remarked. "I have the feeling that he's in a much better place. A soul like his wasn't long for this world. Maybe, he's gone to a world full of whatever this kvlt is."
Floris awkwardly kicked the tip of her right shoe against the dirt of the footpath, crossing her arms beneath her bosom, as she looked around. She didn't particularly know what to say. Was there anything to say? Apparently, Kamisato Kakeru wanted to let go of the subject of the girl he'd accidentally "World Rejected"; Floris was fine with the idea, as well. It was a shame, but, there wasn't a lot either of them could do. Perhaps the girl would find a way back, somehow? If not, perhaps, she, too, was in a better place?
"Well, with our business here concluded, Floris-san, we might as well head back, and visit with the good Spymaster, and the barcoded wonder. We still have a few hours to put in," Kakeru stated. "Don't worry about it. The "disappearances". "Vurthum" will undoubtedly find a new frontman, and the accident, back there… regrettable, but, she didn't suffer."
With a sigh, Kakeru handed Floris back her phone. "As compensation, we'll… fuck it. Let's get a drink, after our slave shift is over. Just you and I; my treat. There's much to talk about, and much I'd like to introduce you to. Consider it an apology."
Floris found herself awkwardly nodding, and following behind Kakeru, without speaking so much as a single word. She felt like she should've been happier; Kamisato Kakeru was, for all intents and purposes, offering to take her on a date.
"Is there anything to say? I know Kamisato-san didn't mean to make the first girl disappear, but, making that painted man disappear? He had a family, apparently, at least a… "wife"? Not liking this "World Rejector" stuff. It's all wrong. Kamisato-san, how do you make people disappear like that, and just shrug it off? You're right. There is "much to talk about".
Accelerator looked awkwardly, to the floor, past his phone, which sat in the palms of his hands. He had, in fact, just finished sending a text message to Last Order, who he was hoping would reply sooner than later.
"Last Order? Talk to me. The fucking heroes and me are in a really uncomfortable situation. We're just standing here."
Locking his phone, and stuffing the device back into his pants pocket, the number one ranked esper in Academy City flicked his choker on, and, with the aid of the Misaka Network, reflected all sound away from him. He sighed, for a moment, before he realized that he could see their lips moving, and their fingers pointing.
Accelerator's crimson eyes turned in his head, to Kamijou Touma, and Kamijou Misaki, who were looking at one another, uncomfortably. Touma was trying to inch himself away from the map sign, and his partner was following his lead. Othinus had popped her head out from Misaki's purse, and seemed to be examining the spectacle, as well.
Though the "top dog" of Academy City could no longer hear their words, he urged his friends to follow his own lead, as he began to walk away from the map sign, awkwardly, trying to keep his line of vision as far away from the brawling competitors as possible. They were awkward to even look upon.
A man, and a woman, neither of whom the quartet recognized, had become the center of attention, in the Grand Kingdom. Nobody, perhaps not even the brawling duo knew what sparked this verbal total war, but it was obvious that the two had no qualms with making their issues known to those around them.
Hurling accusations, which the quartet, and the other, passing and onlooking patrons didn't know the context of, as well as every viable curse word known in the Japanese language – Misaki even picked up some English coined vulgarities; the woman had named her male opponent, among other titles, a "fuckernaut". A small child, who looked to be only a few years older than happy little Hamazura Daichi, looked absolutely forlorn, with a facial expression that screamed "kill me". Dutifully, he stood at the older female's side, despite the fact that he looked like he wanted to run away and never look back. Accelerator sympathized.
Accelerator, turning his head back towards his friends, who were trying to inconspicuously creepy away, felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Producing and unlocking it, he opened the device's text messaging app, and looked to the message that he'd received.
"uh oh whats happening? you ok? index says hi"
As the Kamijous joined him, Accelerator began to swiftly walk away from the map sign, and towards the gift shop. Flicking his choker off, Accelerator cringed, as sound returned to his ears, bouncing horrifically against his tympanic membranes.
The trio, with Othinus in tow, fled for the gift shop, as Touma started, at the loud, high-pitched proclamation of "I've had it, with you!"
"They're goin' to war! Hit the trenches! We've got shells coming down! It's all gone to Hell!" Touma exclaimed, as Accelerator flung the doors to the gift shop open; he abandoned ship, as the Kamijous followed behind; the upbeat, positive lyrics of the pop music that blared over the gift shop's speaker system helped filter out some of the auditory aggression that'd gotten lodged into their respective heads.
"What the f…" Touma stopped himself from dropping his own "F-bomb" mid sentence, at the sight of a smiling child, who sat in their baby carriage, happily playing with their toys. "What the heck was that? Did either of you catch how that insanity started?" Touma inquired, to which Misaki responded by shaking her head, no.
"That is a negative, Sergeant Touma. With all seriousness in tone, they appeared to be carrying on some pre-existing quarrel. I believe we just got caught up in it. A shame; they could have at least tried to maintain the pretense of civility, if only for the child's sake."
"I would've sent both of the annoying fuckers flying into a mountain, if I had to stay there any longer," Accelerator grumbled, as he began to type up a text message, which was, in fact, a reply to Last Order.
"No you wouldn't've, Accel," Touma remarked, to which Accelerator clicked his tongue, but didn't otherwise respond. "Yeesh. Some people… in public? Really?" Touma mused aloud, as the trio took to standing near the doors. Othinus still hung out from Misaki's purse, as she absorbed the sights, and sounds of the gift shop's interior.
The interior of the gift shop appeared to be even more impressive, and futuristic than the exterior; apparently, such a thing was possible. The floors were made of black tiles, that shined beneath the dull, synthetic light that beamed down from the ceilings. The ceiling, which was, in fact, part of the floor of the gift shop's second story, was made of translucent glass, above which the metallic beams, and crossbeams of the second story's floor could be seen.
There was an assortment of tall, wide bright purple, and light silver-colored racks, each of which had four long, white shelves. The individual shelves were clogged with rows of trinkets, some of which seemed to be more appealing than others to the tiny, former Magic God; stuffed dragons – the irony wasn't lost on the small, golden-haired woman – busts of armored warriors, wielding great weapons, miniature versions of various types of castles, towers, and other sorts of medieval architecture.
On some other shelves, there were stuffed, cuddly-looking versions of common marine life, such as whales, eels, and sea turtles; this lead Othinus to believe that the Grand Kingdom might've contained an aquarium.
To the right of the collection of racks, there were a number of black, sleek, red-trimmed check-out counters, all of which were manned by multiple tired-looking employees.
"No way I'm going back out there. That lady's crazy. I feel sorry for the man, and the kid that's with her; he looked just as freaked out as we were."
"I think you owe someone a display of appreciation, Touma," Othinus stated.
Touma nodded in agreement, as he turned to face his uncomfortable-looking lover; it seemed that she'd been shaken a bit more than Touma had. Her facial expression had contorted into one of nervousness, and contemplation, as if she was legitimately scared.
"Misaki, beautiful, is everything okay? You look… different," Touma spoke, softly, as he bent down, slightly, in order to meet his wife's vision.
"Hm?" Misaki didn't really seem like she was in the present world; she seemed to be in a state of deep thought. As Touma slowly leaned in, with the intention of pressing a kiss to her cheek, Misaki started. Quickly, however, she seemed to realize who it was that was leaning in towards her, and Misaki began to smile. Touma finished with the action he'd set out to perform.
"I am just a bit troubled by that display we witnessed. It is over, now, though, so it does not matter, at least not anymore. It was sudden, and the overwhelming anger caught me off guard."
Touma looked outside, through the translucent wall, to the area that was around the map sign, in the plaza; the warring individuals seemed to have departed. He spotted Floris, and "the Rookie", seemingly making their way back to the entrance of the Grand Kingdom.
"They're gone. There goes the Rookie, and Flori-chan, too," Touma stated.
"It's good, fifth ranked," Accelerator remarked. "Doesn't fucking matter where they went. As long as they don't come near us again, I won't have to fuck their day up even more."
"Violence aside," Touma awkwardly spoke, "I have to agree with Accelerator. Hopefully, they realized they were making a scene, and decided to pack up. Don't understand why people have to come to blows, like that. Can't people just talk their problems out?"
As the trio – Othinus had slid back into Misaki's purse, with the intention of napping until her guardians, and their friend reached the Citadel of Dread – continued on their way, Touma opened the nearest door that lead from the interior of the gift shop, and out to the plaza. Accelerator nodded in thanks, and Misaki awarded her husband with a smile, for his service.
Taking her arm into his own, Touma looked down at Misaki, and into her starry eyes. "I think I get why it bothered you so much. At least, I think I do. From what you've talked to me about… I'm sorry you had to grow up like that. That wasn't fair to you, at all."
Misaki shrugged her right shoulder, weakly. "It is more the memories that the display brought back, than the display itself that bothers me. Like I said; it is over, now, my prince. No matter what throws itself in my way, I will not allow it to ruin this day. I really do appreciate your concern. Thank you, Touma."
"It's what I'm here for," Touma remarked. "I do my best to be a man. Not a temper tantrum-throwing boy."
Touma quickly realized what he'd said, and tried to take it back, but, Misaki shook her head. "No, Touma, you are telling the truth. That exactly what he was, and still is. An immature boy, who has yet to grow into a man. I hold no love for that man in my heart, my prince. To say that I would weep at his funeral would be to speak a lie. My mother deserves so much better; but enough is enough. The past is the past, husband. Let us enjoy the harmony we have, to the fullest extent."
Touma kissed his wife's forehead. Misaki's uncharacteristic coldness unsettled him, but, he understood it. There was a lot of dark history there, between his wife, and the mysterious people who hated him simply for existing, his in-laws. "Yeah, beautiful. That sounds good to me."
Accelerator had already taken his place at the map sign; the warring individuals from before had been replaced by two young men; in one of their arms, a little boy, clad in a Gekota onesie was looking about excitedly. The trio much preferred the change of scenery.
"Alright, so, where the… heck, were we?" Accelerator remarked, as he pointed to the map. "We're here, in "the… "Plaza of Beginnings". Fuc- hecking, original."
"That's about right," Touma spoke, as he leaned in, and began to examine the map. Accelerator stepped aside, to allow the two young men, and the human Gekota to have a look; both smiled at Accelerator, who nodded back, in respect. "Actually, this is really cool," Touma stated, pointing to the large, round circle in the center of the map; it was surrounded by different illustrations of what almost looked like landmasses. "Here, in "the Hub…" yeah, you're right about the originality. But it's not the names that matter, right?"
Accelerator shook his head, no, crossing his arms. "I think names matter a lot, hero. Imagine if Academy City was called "Place Full of Schools?" Sounds a lot less interesting, right? You've got to put effort, into these things, hero."
"You consider writing a book, Accel? You've got some crazy ideas, you know. You'd probably make millions," Touma responded. In Misaki's purse, Othinus, who hadn't quite fallen into sleep's embrace, smiled. "See, "number one"? I'm not the only one who thinks that you're author material."
As the two young men, and their excited human Gekota took their leave, Accelerator let himself loose. "A book? Why the fuck would I write a book? What the fuck would I write about, hero? I guess, if stupid shit like "Harems and You" by that Yuki guy can get published, I probably could, too. Heh."
"Please, Accel, don't talk about harems…" Touma muttered. "I went through enough of that nonsense in school. Misaki can vouch." Softly clearing his throat, Touma continued where he'd left off, before he ended up going on a long, and winding tangent. "See this "the Hub"? If you got through "the Enchanted Forest", you could go from "the Hub" to anywhere you want in the Kingdom. We could just go to "the Hub", and to the part of the Kingdom that the Citadel of Dread is in, unless you guys want to do other things, along the way. I'm up for anything, really."
"The area that houses the Citadel of Dread," Misaki began, pointing to a large, black landmass on the map, which was covered in what looked like thick, bubbling red liquid, of some type, "is called… "the Butchery"? That sounds violent."
"The Butchery?" Touma inquired, as if he hadn't heard his wife the first time. Misaki nodded, and Touma raised an eyebrow. "Okay. That actually sounds awesome. So, all in favor of going to "the Butchery", say "yeeee."
"Yeeee!" Misaki exclaimed, shrugging off her state of nervousness, and darkened nostalgia. She wasn't going to let him, that man, control any more of her life. He'd already taken enough from her. Misaki didn't need him. As long as she had her husband, Kamijou Touma, and her own little family, she'd be okay.
"Fucking, goddamn hero…" Accelerator grumbled. With a sigh, he shrugged his shoulders, and announced, "yeeee."
Gently taking his wife's hand in his own, Touma took the lead; a smiling, giggling Misaki, having left her woes behind, wasn't far behind. Accelerator, who stuffed his hands into his pockets, grinned, and shook his head as he followed.
Crossing the bridge, the married couple stopped to look over the edge of the bridge's railings, to the flowing stream below. Accelerator folded his arms over the railing, and enthusiastically observed the ducks that were flapping their wings, and drinking from the rushing water of the small, stony lake. Misaki pointed at them, and exclaimed, "aww!" as Touma wrapped his arm around his beloved's shoulders, and pulled her close, grinning.
"Cute little guys, huh? Wonder if they live here," Touma remarked. "If they do, I bet they eat good."
"Do they?! Aww! They're so cute!" Misaki exclaimed, as she nuzzled her husband. "I want to take one home with us."
"I wonder how Sphynx would feel about that," Touma jokingly mused, as he raised his fingers to his chin. "I bet Sphynx would be pretty peeved. Poor Sphynx would lose the spot as Index's wingman."
Misaki smiled, as the ducks continued about their business, seemingly not bothered by the fact that they were being observed. "Othinus would have a new steed to ride into battle."
Looking to one another, both seeing different visions of the same former Magic God riding into battle on the back of a saddled duckling, the married couple burst out laughing, together.
Accelerator looked to them, and felt just a bit more enthusiastic. If love had a physical definition, it had to be the Kamijous. Misaki's starry eyes followed a group of ducklings, who swam dutifully behind their parents, kicking their tiny, webbed feet back and forth with considerable force in their movements. It only made them seem even more adorable to Kamijou Misaki.
Crossing the bridge, as Kamijou Misaki waved her goodbyes to her new duckling friends, the trio, and a slumbering Othinus took their first collective steps into "the Enchanted Forest"; the sights hadn't been entirely unexpected, given that, just beyond "the Plaza of Beginnings", great pines stood tall, as if they were keeping watch over the Plaza, but, the married couple was still taken aback. Accelerator silently approved of the sights around him.
There were multiple, twisting footpaths, which were made up of dirtied, dark orange bricks, and loads of mud. The footpaths were flanked by sparsely-placed, white fences. Accelerator contemplated flicking his choker on, and directing the mud away from him with the aid of the Misaka Network, but, he deemed it unnecessary. Even if it would be funny to see the married couple next to him get splashed with mud.
"Allllll aboard!" Touma suddenly proclaimed, as he lifted Misaki up; gasping, at first, she began to giggle, as Touma hoisted her up, and, getting her into the correct position, began carrying her like she was a princess, or, more accurately, a Queen; he could hardly feel her. Misaki, despite her tall, muscled body, was by no means a burden for the gentle giant to carry around. Accelerator placed his hand to his forehead, and chuckled, as he shook his head from side to side.
"Goddamn hero, you're so fucking corny."
"The Ojou-Sama can't get muddy, can she? I, the Ojou-Sama's champion, won't allow such a thing! Hyaah!" Touma proclaimed, with a confident nod of his head.
"Oh, my hero!" Misaki said, jokingly. Wrapping her available arm around her husband's shoulders, while keeping the arm which held her purse stable, and raised, Misaki closed her eyes, as she allowed herself to enjoy the ride. She didn't care what others thought. "I have such a perfect, adoring husband. This is all I want from him. I just want to be loved by this man, and I just want to love this man in return. In Kamijou Touma, I have everything I could ever want, or ever need. You truly are my hero. You know that, though. There is no need to say it."
Down the footpath that they'd entered from, Kamijou Misaki, who was carried by Kamijou Touma, and Accelerator made their way towards a fork in the road. Along the way, Accelerator examined the surroundings that seemed to almost be closing in on him; this "Enchanted Forest" truly was enchanted, if only because there was hardly anything like it in all of the modernized, urban Academy City. Accelerator had never walked in a forest before. He'd never even taken the brats on a walk in a forest, or the forest. Whatever forest, it didn't matter. He hadn't been in one, or any, before.
It was beautiful. Accelerator found his crimson eyes widening, as he soaked up the sights, and the sounds, and even the smells. There were more trees than just pines; there were old oaks, great, weeping willows, smaller bushes, and what appeared to be fruit-bearing trees.
"Oi, hero, fifth ranked," Accelerator called. "What kind of fucking tree is that? The one with the yellow things on it, off the path."
Touma cast his vision to the direction in which Accelerator pointed, and Misaki opened her eyes, as she craned her head in the same direction as her husband's. "That one, down there? With the people around it? Well, I guess they all have people around them… but, you get what I mean," Touma responded. "Pear tree, I think. Looks like you can pick them."
Indeed, Accelerator squinted, and laid his vision on a large, wooden sign; there was a smaller footpath, that was a bit less wide than the footpath that he and the married couple were traversing, that lead down towards the area in which the apparent fruit-bearing trees were located. The footpath also appeared to be a bit less muddy, as well. On the wooden sign, there was bright red, underlined text, that appeared to have been painted on. It read, "FEEL FREE TO PICK; BASKETS AVAILABLE IN PLAZA OF BEGINNINGS".
"This "Grand Kingdom" is so nice!" Misaki remarked. "I wonder just how much there is to do. Fruit-picking was certainly not something I expected to find in an amusement park; though, I suppose, given that this is Academy City, the abnormality is appropriate enough."
"Honestly? What's crazier, to me at least, is that everything seems to be included in the flat rate for the ticket, it's crazy, but, I can't complain. How could I? Only question I have is, how does this place stay open?" Touma rhetorically inquired.
Accelerator wanted to believe there was some benign explanation; he didn't find himself truly believing that. Perhaps it was simply the result of his years in the darkness, creeping up on him at an unexpected time.
"Who knows?" Accelerator responded. "Who cares. They've got to make their money somehow. Lots of people are buying fucking tickets. Enough people, at least. Probably enough to keep the place running."
After passing the fruit-bearing trees by, and leaving behind those who picked from them, Academy City's "top dog", and the married couple carried along their way.
"The Enchanted Forest" was expansive; the winding footpaths brought the trio up mountainous paths, from which they could see small waterfalls, whose runoff created streams, that snaked throughout the Forest, down said mountainous paths, which eventually lead into a small clearing, where wooden picnic benches were set up, around a large, ornate, stone fountain, which was in the center of the clearing. There was far less mud, and much more tall, moist, bright green grass in this clearing. Either sitting at the picnic tables, or standing up, and enjoying the sights and sounds of the clearing, families, groups of teenagers, and elderly couples mingled as equals.
Surrounded by tile flooring, the clearing's fountain's spout was, in fact, a bust of a child, with feathery, bird-like wings protruding from his back. He stood tall, his left hand placed confidently on his hip. In his right hand, the child held a trumpet, which was raised to his lips; from the trumpet's bell, there was a stream of water, continuously flowing into the fountain's base, which was roped off.
Reaching into her purse, and doing her best not to awaken the slumbering Othinus, Kamijou Misaki produced her phone. She slung her purse back onto her shoulder, as gently as she could, and looked up to Touma.
"Selfie?" Misaki inquired, to which Touma chuckled, before he kissed the top of his wife's head, and took her into an embrace.
"Let's get Accel-chan in on this one, too, huh? We should get Othi-chan, too, even if she'll grump out on us, if we wake her up," Touma responded. Misaki smiled, warmly, and nodded her head enthusiastically, looking up to her husband. Touma stroked the back of Misaki's head with his left hand, twirling strands of her honey-colored, golden hair between his fingers, while his right arm was wrapped around her waist.
"It's good that you're feeling better, beautiful. That face… that nervousness. It was killing me. I never want to be the one responsible for making you look like that. I never will be. I refuse. I won't be a husband like your father was to your mother. Never, ever. Fuck, I adore you. I'll never hurt you."
"Wait, what? What the fuck are you rambling on about?" Accelerator inquired, as he began to step towards the perpetually hugging duo. He couldn't help but grin. Seeing these two treasuring one another was a breath of fresh air, after witnessing the chaos at the "Plaza of Beginnings'" map sign.
"Come on, Accel. We'll get Othi-chan, and we'll take a group selfie, in front of the fountain. What do you say?" Touma offered, tilting his head to one side.
Academy City's "top dog" shook his head, as if to say no, but still walked forward. Taking his place next to Kamijou Touma, the trio stood a few meters away from the fountain. As Touma reached into his wife's purse, producing a groggy, groaning Othinus, Misaki opened her phone's camera app, and began to get her phone's frontal camera into position. With the fountain's bust, and a good portion of the rest of the fountain in the background, Misaki hovered her finger over the virtual button that would snap a picture.
Touma placed a narrowed-eyed Othinus on his shoulder. In his right arm, he took his wife, Kamijou Misaki, who wrapped her available arm around her husband's waist. In his left, he took Accelerator, who awkwardly accepted the embrace.
"What's the word? We've got to have a word," Touma stated. "Cheese? Will cheese do?"
"Cheese will do just fine by me," Misaki responded.
"Whatever," Accelerator snorted. He wasn't going to admit it, even if he wanted to, but, he was having the time of his life. This felt normal, and good. It was something he thought he'd never have, something he never thought he deserved, yet, here he was, doing normal things, with abnormal people who'd somehow become completely normal. It was almost surreal.
"…cheese?" A tired Othinus asked, as she began rubbing her eyes. Tossing her head back, the tiny, former Magic God sat up, crossing one leg over the other, as she supported her body with her arms, whose hands' palms were pressed against the back of her guardian's shoulders.
"Alright, the tribunal has spoken!" Kamijou Touma remarked, chuckling, as he tightened his grip on Kamijou Misaki, who nuzzled him in response. With a wide, warm grin on his face, Touma looked into the camera, his pupils focused on the reflection in his wife's phone's screen.
Accelerator looked into the screen of Kamijou Misaki's phone. He saw Kamijou Misaki herself, smiling warmly, and widely, one of her eyes closed, her other, open eye sparkling with overwhelming joy. She looked like she was having the time of her life, too. She looked like she was in heaven, being close to her husband, and just enjoying his presence.
Accelerator saw Kamijou Touma, grinning a wide, toothy grin, with one of his arms around his adoring wife's shoulders, and around Accelerator's own body. He knew that the Kamijous deserved this, after all of the insane shit the two had been through together. This normality, this peaceful love was the endgame reward for their trials and tribulations. Academy City's "top dog" couldn't be prouder of the two. They'd achieved so much, and had gotten so far. Where others would've likely fallen apart, Kamijou Misaki and Kamijou Touma's bond had only been strengthened by the struggles they faced, together.
He saw himself. He was clad in his usual attire – he wasn't one to change outfits. His bangs hung in his face, not necessarily unkempt, but certainly long. Beneath his snowy hair, Accelerator could see his crimson, glowing eyes – the eyes that so many of Misaka Mikoto's sisters, Last Order and Misaka Worst's sisters had seen, before they died. It all still haunted him. He couldn't help but look at himself, even in this moment, and see a murderer, the shade of a monster buried, but never truly gone.
Despite this reality, he breathed deeply, and tried to convince himself that his crimes were in the past. He'd make mistakes. Terrible, costly mistakes that would haunt him until the moment that he died, maybe beyond death's gates, if those on the "Other Side" were right, but, he'd learned from them, or, more accurately, he'd be taught, by the man who currently had his arm around the "top dog's" form.
Othinus tried her best to open her eyes. Putting on a warm, genuine smile, Othinus looked into the tempered glass screen of the phone that was almost half as big as she was. Though she didn't know it, her thoughts were comparable to those of Accelerator's. Only ten years ago, barely a blink to an immortal, ageless being like "One-Eyed Othinus", she'd been a monster, an all-consuming, selfish demon whose only goal was to bend the world to her own whims. Yet, below her, and next to her, the two people who, at one point in the past, were supposed to have been her sworn enemies were her everything. It was an irony that wasn't lost upon her.
Othinus felt her functioning, left eye becoming moist. Her throat was tightening, and her chin was buckling; but she wasn't sad. Othinus was anything but sad. She was happy, overjoyed, even. She'd been saved by two people who should've killed her for her crimes, and, yet, they hadn't. Othinus was appreciative.
"CHEESE!"
Kamijou Touma's proclamation started a chain reaction.
"Cheese!" Kamijou Misaki happily exclaimed, smiling, warmly, and making her well-known, cutesy pose.
Accelerator sighed, and mumbled, "Cheese."
"Assorted dairy products," Othinus squeaked, as loudly as she could manage.
Kamijou Misaki's phone produced the sound that an old timey camera would've made; it sounded like a loud, but oddly satisfying "cliiiick".
"Alright, goddamn hero, fifth ranked, let's see what you got," Accelerator spoke, as he broke away from Touma's friendly embrace. Stuffing his hands into his own pocket, he pulled his left hand back out, which had produced his own phone. Unlocking the device, and checking his phone's text messaging app, Accelerator saw that he hadn't gotten anything more, since his previous, short conversation with Last Order had ended. He proceeded to start a new one.
"Last Order. Love you, and the other brat too. Hope you're having fun with the nun."
Locking his phone, and stuffing it back into his pocket, his left hand returning with it, Touma waved him over. Misaki was looking down at her phone, with a smile on her face. Running her finger from the bottom of its screen to its top, she dragged the same finger across the phone's screen, lower, towards its home button.
"I turned the brightness up; the photo we took was difficult to see with a low brightness setting," Misaki explained. Accelerator looked down at the phone's screen, and chuckled, quietly, but with audible mirth, as he rubbed his chin, between his right hand's index finger, and thumb.
"It's fucking beautiful. I love it. Print one out for me. I want to hang it up, with the pictures of the brats. There, I said it, okay? Fucking heroes, goddamn one-eyed brat," Accelerator huffed.
"I couldn't agree more," Othinus stated. "Could you bring up this way? I can't really see myself. Is my hair alright? It must've gotten fairly disturbed, in your purse, Misaki."
Misaki gently raised her phone's screen towards Othinus, who held her perch on Touma's shoulder. Leaning in, the tiny, former Magic God nodded in approval, closing her left eye as she did so. "I approve this."
"Look at you," Touma spoke, looking in his wife's direction, as she brought her phone back down, towards her own form. "You and Othi-chan are both so beautiful. Just… just look at you two. I think I might be dreaming. Can someone check on me?"
"Corny fucking hero," Accelerator muttered, shaking his head. Othinus looking in Accelerator's direction, and shrugged, with a facial expression of awkwardness. She shared his sentiments. Almost; Othinus was blushing.
Misaki stood up on her toes, and placed a kiss to her husband's lips, and then, on his right cheek. "Thank you, my little commoner," she whispered.
"It's my duty to make you look good, Ojou-Sama," Touma whispered back, with a wide, enthusiastic grin. "I'm just the commoner. Might I shine your crown, Ojou-Sama?"
"I will tell you exactly what parts of your Queen's body you can shine, with your saliva, and that tongue of yours," Misaki hissed, before she pulled away, forcing herself to have more wholesome thoughts.
"Come on, you fucking nymphomaniacs," Accelerator jokingly snarled. "You'll have all fucking night to do your weird fetish shit."
"F-fetish…?" Misaki innocent inquired, as she locked arms with her husband. "Whatever do you mean, Accelerator-san?"
"He knows too much," Touma muttered, his eyes narrowing, as his voice took on an almost conspiratorial tone. "He knows the secrets of our super secret fetish society, beautiful. We'll have to purge his mind."
Misaki began digging in her purse; first, in its largest, center pouch, then in the smaller pouches that were in front of, and behind the center pouch. She even checked the even smaller compartments on the outside of the purse; but it was to no avail. Kamijou Misaki sighed in disappointment when there was no remote to be found.
"Ah, I thought I had at least one of my remotes. I was not actually going to use it, but, I thought it would be funny, if I was to produce it, and then, produce a small… "PII!" as I pointed it in Accelerator's direction," Misaki explained.
"Use your imagination, fifth ranked," Accelerator suggested. "Besides, it's not like your ability would've worked on me, anyways. I'm not common trash."
"But you're still trash," Touma sarcastically remarked; he was struggling to hold back his own laughing fit, as Misaki turned away, fingers raised to her lips, as if she'd heard some offensive joke, and was trying not to let anyone onto the fact that she found it hilarious, for some unexplainable reason.
"And you're a corny, whipped motherfucker, hero," Accelerator jokingly prodded, as he chuckled. All parties involved knew that there was no malice in these words. Even Othinus couldn't help but giggle, as she shook her head. "So, hero, fifth ranked, one-eyed brat, we done? Or are you going to annoy me with more fucking selfies?"
"Tsundere," Touma mocked, to which Misaki gently pinched the top of his hand, before she took it into her own, her fingers interlocking with her husband's, as always.
"I am satisfied, I think, for this area, at least," Misaki stated, with a sagely nod of her head. "Is there anything you would like to take a picture of, Touma, Othinus?"
"Not really much else here," Touma spoke with a shrug, as he began to lead. Falling into step with her husband, Misaki swung her arm, and therefore, Touma's as well, back and forth. With a chuckle, Touma continued. "Just trees, and benches, and other people. I'm good for here."
"As am I," Othinus remarked, as loudly as she could manage. "If I see anything that deserves to be immortalized, I'll be sure to let you know. For now, I think… I think I want to try and stay out. I'm enjoying the scenery."
"Be our guest, Othi-chan," Touma responded, as he stroked the top of Othinus' head with the index finger of his available hand. Othinus nuzzled it, blushing, her left eye closing as she did so. "We'd love for you to stay. Stay awhile… and listen."
"Nerd," Othinus jabbed. "Go roll your dice, and drink your carbonated soda."
"Don't say that around Saten-san," Touma jokingly warned, as he turned his head, to look at the area in front of him, as not to unwittingly crash into someone else who was equally distracted. "Pretty sure she eats, drinks, and breathes Traps and Trolls."
Accelerator chuckled to himself, more than to his companions. "Yeah. When she's not trying to prove the fucking existence of some fucking mythical monster."
"In all honesty, Accelerator-san," Misaki began, turning her head to look at her old friend, "some myths have considerable evidence to reinforce them, more so than others. There is considerable evidence that proves the Mothman of Academy City, for example, is all too real."
"Saten-san's turned my wife into a myth hunter!" Touma cried in mock-despair. "Next thing I know, our room's going to be plastered with pictures of the Mothman, and newspaper clippings."
"Hush, you," Misaki remarked, giggling, as Touma laughed heartily. Accelerator shook his head, his lips curling into a smile.
As the quartet left the clearing behind, they stepped back into the twisting, muddy footpaths of "the Enchanted Forest" proper. Othinus changed shoulders; Touma connected his own with Accelerator's, who she climbed onto. Othinus used his long, snowy hair as leverage, and climbed atop his head. Folding her legs inwards, Othinus took two strands of Accelerator's hair into her tiny hands, as if they were reigns. Accelerator grunted in response, but didn't reject Othinus' odd form of friendly affection.
"To arms, Ojou-Sama!" Touma spoke, as he lifted Misaki back up, and again began to carry her, like she was a Queen, whose shoes shouldn't be dirtied. Blushing, Misaki folded her arms around her husband's neck once again, and leaned in to kiss his lips. "Thank you, peasant boy. You'd do well to know that your Ojou-Sama can't possibly be expected to walk, like a… commoner." Raising her head, Misaki closed her eyes, and pouted, to the best of her ability.
"You're going to make me walk with a limp, if you keep that up," Touma muttered. "I like it, though. I really like it. You should…"
Touma looked almost embarrassed, all of a sudden. Though Accelerator was being pestered by Othinus, who was standing atop his head, a hand raised to her brow, as if she was looking for something in particular, Touma still looked suspiciously in the direction of Accelerator and Othinus.
Misaki unwrapped one of her arms from around her husband's neck, and ran her fingers of Touma's cheek. "Touma? What is the matter? You do not have to be embarrassed. If there is something you would like for me to do, all you have to do is ask. I will do anything for you, you deserve it. I want to help satisfy your physical needs."
"M-Misaki… c-can y-you… Can you ohoho for me? When we're, you know, in the sheets."
"… ohoho?" Misaki inquired, confused. Before long, however, she understood, and grinned, smugly, her starry eyes sparkling with amusement. "You want me to do the laugh. I understand, my prince. My, my, you really are a little peasant boy."
Leaning in, Misaki pressed her lips to her husband's ear, and, taking a deep, but soft breath, she proceeded to whisper.
"Ohoho. My little commoner, my little servant. Your Queen will ohoho for you, whenever you would like for her to."
"Holy fuck," Touma muttered. A singe bead of sweat dropped down his forehead, as a pleasant, pleasured chill ran down his spine, causing his body to vibrate, slightly. A single vocalization could make him rock hard, and form a monumental bulge in his pants, which he had to lean forward, slightly, to hide. He could feel it pressing against his undergarments, threatening to try and burst forth. He subconsciously tried to will it down, but, Misaki's smug, brattish facial expression was pumping a nonstop flow of blood into him.
Touma's voice dropped to an even softer whisper, as he just barely avoided an oncoming tree. "Holy fuck, you need to do that for me… later. Sometime. Please? Ride me, fucking sit on me, while you ohoho down at me."
"I will think about it, peasant boy," Misaki remarked. She, of course, had "thought" about it just after her husband had suggested the idea, and she loved it. She knew she needed his enormous member inside of her again, and sooner than later. The craving was growing, she could practically feel her walls pleading to be rubbed, her lips throbbing, and aching to be parted. She felt embarrassed, inwardly – this was supposed to be a friendly outing; but these feelings came whenever they deemed it necessary. Misaki did her best to tell herself that her desire to make love to her smitten husband was a natural, and okay one, even if that desire manifested itself while she was in public.
"Let's keep it PG thirteen! I'd call you sinners, but, well, you're in wedlock. To Helheim with it, you're still sinners. I know what you did, before you were married!" Othinus squeaked maniacally.
"Fucking one-eyed brat," Accelerator mumbled. "At least the hero and the fifth ranked get laid."
"And you do?" Othinus smugly replied, as she sat herself down atop Accelerator's head, and began to whip two strands of his hair. "Mush, "number one!"
"I'll fucking throw you in the mud," Accelerator remarked. "That's none of your business, but I'll have you know that I've had a fling or two."
"Wait, what?" Touma inquired, seemingly taken off guard by the proclamation. "You've gotten poon?"
At the mention of "poon", Misaki shook her head, disapprovingly, before she placed the index finger, and thumb of her available arm's hand to her husband's forehead.
Flick.
"Poon"? That is nearly as bad as calling a woman's private area a "snatch". Come, Touma, you are an intelligent man, with a vast vocabulary." A part of her disapproved of Touma's wording, but, another part was glad that her desired had been reigned in, by the breaking of the mood.
"Forgiveness, Ojou-Sama," Touma responded, repeatedly nodding his head, and closing his eyes in mock-remorse. "I sometimes forget that you're a proper lady, and not just one of the guys."
Though she was never truly "angry", or even really "irritated" in the first place, any negative feelings towards her husband's choice of wording faded, as a blush formed on her face. She couldn't help but giggle at the sight of him, nodding, like some sort of repentant monk. "Though I know it, I greatly enjoy hearing you say that you feel that way about me. I want to be your closest friend, as much as I want to be your lover."
"You are, beautiful!" Touma spoke, enthusiastically, placing a kiss to her forehead, then, to either of her cheeks, and, finally, locking his lips against Misaki's own. Closing her eyes, Misaki returned her adoring husband's kiss, without a second of hesitation. "You've never just been my lover. You've always been… you're my best friend. My bestest, bestest friend, too."
Misaki's blush only grew, deepening in its shade, from light pink, to an almost dark red, before she began to nuzzle her beloved.
"You're both so fucking corny," Accelerator spoke. "Guess I'll still answer your stupid question. I've never really scored too big. Nothing major. Just groupies," Accelerator lied. "When you're the top fucking dog, you tend to attract people. Some of them are alright, I guess. Most people are fucking annoying, though."
Othinus had caught a small, white beetle that had merely trying to pass them by. She'd spotted it, and, curiosity had egged her on. It was so strange. Looking into its eyes, Othinus cocked her head. The white thing, with its translucent wings that had come to a standstill, looked back. It didn't seem to be particularly distraught. Its legs fell still, as Othinus cocked her head to one side, and offered the thing an awkward facial expression.
"Strange creature," Othinus muttered, before she set it free. As if nothing had happened, it took to the skies, and flew away. "You don't suppose you've seen anything like that before, have you, "number one?" Othinus inquired.
"See what? I didn't see shit. Maybe you should get your eye checked," Accelerator smugly replied, stretching his arms above his head, before he began to groan in pleasure.
"A beetle. Completely white, wings with an extremely intricate pattern. It didn't seem panicked, when I caught it. It almost seemed to stop moving, once I had gotten my hands around its outer shell."
Accelerator smirked, mirthfully. The beetle that Othinus had encountered wasn't any ordinary, organic creature, but, that didn't make it any less of a creature, than an organic beetle would've been. "Relax, one-eyed brat. It's one of the second ranked's. They fucking fly all over the place. Second ranked wouldn't hurt a fly."
"The "second ranked…" Othinus quietly mused to herself. "Kakine Teitoku. Dark Matter, no? A pleasant man… thing… to be certain. At least, the "new" Kakine Teitoku. The first was…"
The former Magic God realized what part of her dark past she had accidentally dragged up. "He was a bit of a piece of fecal matter."
"You met the old one?" Accelerator inquired. "Hope he's fucking dead, or locked up in some underground vault. Fucking asshole. If he ever shows his face, I'll fucking kill him myself. Useless trash."
Othinus didn't respond.
"Sign ahead! Wooaahhh, peasant boy!" Misaki proclaimed. "Slow down, my steed."
Touma tried to shrug off the bulge that was forming, once again, in his pants; he found himself having a difficult time, more difficult than he liked. Breathing a sigh of defeat, he accepted his fate. He was a sex maniac.
Moving closer, Accelerator examined the sign, as groups of people, some, families, others, groups of excited younger people, some looking to be around the trio's respective ages – surely, there was no one else nearly as old as Othinus at the Grand Kingdom – moved around the quartet. Light brown in coloration, with text written upon it, the sign's design had a large arrowhead that pointed upwards, and a large arrowhead that pointed downwards. The arrowhead that pointed upwards had bright, white text that read "THE HUB", while the arrowhead that pointed downwards had text of an identical font, and coloration, that read "THE PLAZA OF BEGINNINGS".
"To "the Hub", then?" Touma inquired. "I really want to see what "the Butchery" is like. I'm having thoughts of, you know, typical haunted house stuff. Bats, fake blood, guys in costumes… kind of hoping that illusion of mine gets shattered."
"Absolutely," Misaki confirmed, with a warm smile, her eyes closed. "I, too, want to see what this "Butchery" has on offer."
"Doesn't fucking matter, where you go, I'll go. It's not like anything can touch me," Accelerator remarked. He would've flicked his choker on, and displayed his endless power, just for the Hell of it, if Othinus wasn't riding atop his head.
"Sounds like someone is nervous," The one-eyed, former Magic God teased. "Is the baby scared?"
"I'll seriously throw you in the fucking mud, one-eyed brat," Accelerator grumbled.
Touma, careful of where he stepped, due to the somewhat slippery nature of the muddy footpath beneath him, began to walk forwards, correctly assuming he wasn't supposed to fly upwards to get to "the hub". Misaki opened her eyes, and observed the sky. The warm light provided by the sun was beginning to become cooler, and darken, just a bit. It was barely noticeable. The idea of running away from masked performers, wielding bloodied, harmless weapons, hand in hand with her husband, in the darkness of the evening was oddly appealing to Kamijou Misaki. She felt excitement begin to surge throughout her being. Misaki couldn't be any happier to be sharing this moment with her beloved, and two of the individuals who mattered most in her life.
"Touma, what do you think "the Butchery" will be like?" Misaki inquired, excitedly.
"I'm pretty hyped, myself; I don't really know, but my hopes are pretty high. This place seems expansive enough already. I think we'll be in for a treat, as long as Accel-chan doesn't send anyone blasting off into the atmosphere."
"I'll fucking do it, if anyone tries to touch me," Accelerator jokingly warned. Kamijou Misaki and Kamijou Touma laughed at his antics, to which Accelerator could only respond by chuckling along with them, the seriousness in his facial expression fading into obscurity. Othinus pointed her left hand's index finger outward, and proclaimed, as loudly as she could, "To "the Hub!" Away!"