Wow, It's been two and a half years since I last updated this, I wonder if anyone still even wanted to read it.
Hello all, it's been quite some time. At least for this story anyway. For a while I didn't really think I was going to get around to updating it, but lately I've had some motivation to get something out. Even though I didn't really feel like writing anything, I still ran the story through my head fairly regularly, so I still was refining what I wanted to happen over the years.
Part of the reason I waited on writing anything was trying to decide how to handle Kamisato. For the sake of this story, he will not participate. It would just be too difficult to really mesh him into what I want to write, as such, this will diverge from canon starting from NT11. For any that hoped to see the magic gods or Kamisato appear, I apologize, but they will not be appearing at all.
Well, I won't distract anyone who wanted to read more any longer, so with that I will let you read, and enjoy.
A chill wind blew through the devastated ruins of the buildings surrounding the former stronghold of Academy City Chairman Aleister Crowley. The once massive but otherwise featureless white building had a sizable hole towards the top of the east side, and several white insect-like creatures could be seen patrolling the entrance. Many attempts had been made to enter the Windowless Building, all had ended in failure. Over time, it became a common belief that whoever could gain control of the Chairman's building would gain control of the whole city. This belief led to the entire area becoming a battleground as every faction fought to either stake their claim or to prevent another faction from trying.
Squatting atop one of the desiccated buildings was a young man with spiky black hair tied back with a white bandanna. Despite the cold October winds, he chose to wear his jacket like a cape, and only had white pants and a t-shirt with the rising sun emblazoned on it. This youth was a freelance hero, and the 7th ranked level 5 of Academy City Sogiita Gunha. As the city order collapsed, he dashed about the harshest battlefield saving anyone who was in trouble with his incomprehensible powers and the firm belief in his guts.
Looking down to the world below him, he saw people with various weapons and sleek machines gathering in the buildings around him. Due to his status as a level 5 and his actions as a hero, he had drawn the ire of many of the factions operating in the city, including Love and Peace and Humanity's Future. Today seemed like it would be another day of fighting them off, and the boy's face lit up in a defiant grin.
"Trying again huh? Well they may lack guts in a lot of things but they aren't too bad when it comes to this." The young man turned his head to look behind him at the group of students he had just saved from an attack by flying drones. All of the youths were wearing black hooded coats that almost looked like a sort of uniform, and Gunha had found them fighting off a group of taser drones often used by L&P to incapacitate test subjects. Sogiita stood up and rotated his arm a bit to stretch as he addressed the students. "You all should find a place to hide, looks like some more villains showed up. Wouldn't want you all to get caught up in this."
Despite his warning, one of the youths, a girl, judging by the body lines, walked forward a few steps and deeply bowed. "We're very sorry, our orders were to bring you out here to draw their attention." Gunha tilted his head in confusion at that admission. When he had arrived, it had certainly looked to him like the drones were making an honest effort to incapacitate them, and one of the youths was quite clearly burned a bit by getting hit with an electrical charge.
Seeing his confusion, the girl waved her hands in front of her face in panic. "No, no! I don't mean this as a trap or anything, we're not part of either of those groups. Rather, we're trying to put a stop to them. The Advisers knew that both major factions were targeting you and that you would be perfectly fine if they used you as bait. We really were in trouble here since drawing you out meant we couldn't get any support so I'm still really grateful even if I volunteered knowing the risks." Despite her explanation, Gunha only tilted his head to the other side in further confusion. He closed his eyes in thought for a moment.
"Well, I don't really get what's going on here but if you're not going to try anything sneaky then I'll just leave it be." At that statement the girl breathed a sigh of relief and gestured to the rest of her comrades, and the entire group including the injured boy proceeded to line up in front of Gunha. The lead girl bowed with her right hand over her heart in a more European-style bow in contrast to her earlier Japanese-style apology bow. Immediately after, the rest of the group followed suit with the same bow. The girl reverently spoke to Gunha.
"May the courage of the King guide your path."
Gunha found himself briefly stopped by the display. "Huh? Is that some sort of religious thing? That's pretty rare to see in this city." The girl lifted her head and smiled from under her hood. "Not exactly, think of it more like a good luck charm." With that, the girl gently waved goodbye and the group turned towards the stairs.
With the students on their way out, Gunha turned back to look over the edge of the building and saw that the number of foes had grown considerably. Unconcerned with the dangers in front of him, the boy cracked his neck and jumped off the edge of the building to the streets below.
Explosions and gunfire filled the air as several armed young men watched the chaos unfold from a few blocks away in an abandoned three-story sandwich shop. Similarly to the bait group that had drawn in the level 5 currently rampaging, they wore uniform black hooded coats. One of the youths had his hood pulled back revealing a black bandanna covering his scalp and was watching the battle unfold with a simple set of binoculars.
"Radio it in, Attack Crash is making a real mess of things down there just like we wanted." At that command, one of the men flipped the switch on a radio and turned a few knobs while listening in on a headset. Moments later, he gave a satisfied nod and started speaking onto the microphone. "Boss, this is the scout team. It's all going right as we wanted, you'll have a proper mess to work with here."
"Bait team is coming up! Good job guys, Satoshi has some warm food ready for you." From the staircase on the east side of the building the haggard group of youths walked towards the table situated in the center of what used to be a living room. A Small camping stove was heating up a similarly small pot, and the dark-haired young man attending it poured out some simple stew into small bowls. Each of the new arrivals took a bowl and spoon and settled themselves around the room.
One in particular staggered over to a wooden chair and slumped into it while pulling back his hood. His face showed some fairly minor burns as he winced in pain. "Ah son of a… man this stings. Remind me never to get hit by one of those again." He tenderly removed his coat and the plain long-sleeved black shirt underneath to take stock of his injury. One of the girls from his group walked over holding a bright red case with a white cross on the side. She opened the case and started applying an almost translucent green gel to the burns all over his torso while complaining. "Non-lethal my ass, more than one shock from one of those and they might as well bring a body bag."
Another of the bait team walked up to the leading member of the scouting team who was still watching the pandemonium being caused by Sogiita Gunha and squinted to try and get a better look. "Man look at him go, you think he'll be alright Hanzou?" The bandanna wearing young man snorted and replied to the youth standing next to him. "Please, I've heard that he's practically invincible. Heard from the #3 herself that he once caught a railgun with his teeth and wasn't even fazed. He's a true monster, no mistake about that one." Another explosion rattled the building as Hanzou watched the 7th level 5 punch an attacking mech through the torso.
"Hanzou! The boss wants us over on 6th street to make sure the approach is clear!" The radio operator addressed his superior while packing his radio set into a backpack. The rest of the scout unit followed suit and grabbed their backpacks that were lying around the room and check their weapons. Each carried some sort of firearm ranging from military-style rifles to hunting shotguns with suppressors attached in some way or another. Hanzou pulled the hood of his coat over his head and double-checked the submachine gun in his hand. "Alright, everyone ready? Let's get going. Bait team, good work out there, rest up here. We'll leave cleanup to you."
The squad slipped out of the building and made their way through side alleys and destroyed buildings while making sure to keep a good distance from the battle currently going on. Hanzou took several precautions as he led his men to a suitable position inside what was once an office building. The group spread out along the floor and checked to make sure there was nobody else on the floor.
"Satoshi, Yuji, take watch on the south staircase. Hiro and Shintaro you've got the north one. Check before you shoot, don't want to waste some poor sap that doesn't deserve it. The rest of you spread out and keep watch. The real party will be starting up in a few hours." At Hanzou's orders the young men took up positions throughout the floor and peered out while staying as hidden as possible. The youth with the radio set place it on one of the many desks and started monitoring it for any activity.
Kamijou Touma calmly walked along the sidewalk as he approached the Windowless Building. Shokuhou Misaki and Kumokawa Seria had already split off from his entourage with their escorts to handle their own duties, so following him were just a few espers including Misaka Mikoto and Tsuchimikado Motoharu. As they reached the walls of the building, several burly men approached from the surrounding alleyways carrying parts of heavy machinery. One of the older men jogged up and gave a quick salute.
"Good afternoon sir, we're ready to go if you are. Should only take the lads 15 minutes or so barring any interruptions. After it's set, this impact spike we developed should punch a hole right through the wall and give you an easy entryway. You're going to have to be quick though, it shouldn't take long for word to spread and every able-bodied man woman and child will get thrown at it one way or another." At the man's report, Kamijou gave a quick thanks and turned to address his followers.
Misaka Mikoto, Tsuchimikado Motoharu, and a small collection of espers and armed adults waited on his word. Touma took a deep breath and spoke to the group. "Alright, there's no telling what traps are waiting for us in there, if anyone wants to back down, now is the time. We won't judge." Before he could continue Misaka and Tsuchimikado walked up and slapped him over the head. "Idiot, what the hell are you talking about? If any of us were even thinking of backing off we wouldn't be here inthe first place." Misaka lightly chided him then started walking towards the Windowless building.
"Nyaa, Kami-yan you've already given a speech earlier, don't waste them all before we get inside." Tsuchimikado followed after Misaka after a quick jab. The rest of the group followed suit leaving Kamijou standing where he was with a slight smile. Psyching himself up by punching his right fist into he left palm, he turned and joined his retinue at the contraption being set up by the engineers. The lead engineer brielfy stopped shouting directions to the rest of the group to listen to a voice coming from the radio in his hand.
"All eyes have checked in, you're clear for now breaching team. Most of the active units are a good bit away as planned, the rear guard is waiting nearby just in case." The grizzled man nodded and shouted to his men. "All right boys, we ready? Let's crack it open!" A spirited roar was heard from the engineers before an even louder noise drowned them out.
The roar of several engines signaled the start, followed by the deafening din of several metal spikes vibrating against the walls of the Windowless Building. Cracks started to form in the once impenetrable fortress, and after several minutes passed a definite hole was opened. The engineers gave a resounding victorious cheer as the wall crumbled, however they were cut short by a creature that came from the newly-formed entrance.
It was similar to the creatures seen guarding the hole further up the building. Translucent crystal in the shape of a preying mantis surrounded a red haze in the center of it's torso. It gave no cry as it gathered fire around it's claw and took a swing at the nearest engineer. The man gave a cry and dove to the side as the creature's scythe-like arm scorched the air.
"No you don't...!" Misaka shouted as she called forth iron sand from the ground. Twisting tentacles of metal sliced at the creature, depriving it of it's arms before taking away it's legs. The mantis writhed about, trying to accomplish something despite lacking any limbs to do so, and the humans walked up to surround it.
"So this is one of the Elements they've been talking about huh, creepy." One of the older men grimaced at the creature in front of him. Kamijou cautiously approached it and looked at his right hand before stepping forward to touch it. As soon as his hand made contact with the crystal, the fire within it faded and the creature was rendered inert.
"Well, that answers that. Seems like whatever the hell these are is supernatural in nature. Being able to use Imagine Breaker is going to make dealing with them a lot easier, but that translucency is going to be a real pain." As Touma complained, a few of the men and women of his group dragged the now-empty body of the Element a ways down the street then took aim with their guns. A few dry shots rang out as they shot the body, and Touma tiled his head in confusion as the shooters jogged back over to examine the body. As they jogged back, one of the men cheerfully reported.
"Looks like both rifle and handgun rounds penetrate, so we won't be useless against them at least. I was a bit worried we'd just drag you down, though we can't guarantee we can actually kill them that way." The man smiled and turned on the flashlight attached to his short rifle. Beckoning for two of the others to follow, he stepped into the hole and scanned the inside of the building.
Surprisingly, he found that the interior was still illuminated by a variety of lights. A vast array of pipes and wires took up most of the otherwise empty space within. After checking for any immediate threats, the lead man gave a signal for the others to follow. Misaka stepped in first, and paid careful attention to her surroundings using the passive radar natural to her ability. Satisfied that there was nothing that the lead man missed, she motioned for the rest to follow her inside.
Even with all of the mysteries he had come across during his battles, Kamijou still found the inside of the Windowless Building to be a disturbing sort of bizarre. The whole thing felt otherworldly, not unlike his time in the infinite hells with Othinus. With a deep breath he pushed his unease to the back of his mind and started walking through the building.
"Now that I think about it, we never were sure of what we were supposed to be looking for here." As he absentmindedly spoke what came to his mind, he felt the tense atmosphere break and a few of the guards started quietly laughing. Still chuckling, one of the older men walked up to a pillar of wires and pipes and started taking pictures. As he examined the monstrous construct in front of him, he became lost in thought.
"Hey boss, this is just a thought, but doesn't this look like part of a jet engine?" The man turned and pointed back at the tower with his thumb as he addressed Touma. The boy could only shrug at the question. "Don't ask me, maybe one of the engineers would know? Is is safe to bring in one of them?" Before he could turn back towards the hole in the wall, he was interrupted by a low dim that sounded much like a dryer approaching from further inside the building.
Turning towards the noise, the flashlights on the mens' guns illuminated something unusual. An adult golden retriever calmly walked towards them with massive amounts of armor and guns floating around it. Either due to the strangeness of the dog or caution of the machines surrounding it, nobody made a move as it approached. From the collar on it's neck, a dandy old voice spoke to them.
"That will not be necessary, that young man was correct to believe it is an engine." A small metal arm reached out from one of the machines holding a single cigar and placed it in the dog's mouth. A second arm sliced the tip and a third lit it. The dog puffed at the slow burning cigar and the first arm took the cigar from the dog's mouth so it could blow out the smoke. "I apologize for the late introduction, my name is Kihara Noukan. I have taken to defending the old home of my now deceased master."
Kamijou's group was unsure of what to make of the new arrival, but he boy stepped forward and pushed one of the guns down away from the dog. The rest similarly lowered their weapons, but were still wary of both Noukan and their surroundings. Kamijou was unsure of what to make of this oddity in front of him, and decided to start with a simple polite bow.
"My name is Kamijou Touma, I hold the responsibility of leading everyone here." The dog didn't show any particular emotion as the collar spoke for him. "Yes, the current holder of Imagine Breaker, I know all about you young man. In a way, this city was created to let you grow, but I guess that's all a thing of the past now." Noukan took another puff of the cigar and lightly blew the smoke out of his mouth as he spoke. "Aleister planned for all sorts of failures, but it's difficult to correct things when you're no longer of this world. It couldn't be helped, but I wasn't sure how to bring things into proper order on my own. Crushing the militant groups would be easy, but it can be difficult to get humans to do what you want when you're a dog." Noukan turned and walked further inside the building. "Follow me."
The dog led the group to a large elevator in the center of the building. The door opened as he approached with no visible input, and he stepped in side and turned around while sitting upright within the elevator. "Get in young man, you came here for this did you not? Do not worry, you and your compatriots will be safe here." Kamijou stepped in without a word, and Misaka followed suit with the others while mentioning something. "Then what was that creature that attacked us when we made the hole? Some sort of automated defense?"
The dog's voicebox seemed to sigh at that question. "My apologies, my assistant let them loose to keep the upper hole protected but they have a tendency to wander when you're not looking." The elevator took them further up the building at a noticeably high speed. Only two minutes later, it slowed to a stop, and the door opened to reveal a much brighter area.
Tsuchimikado immediately recognized it as the room where he held audiences with Aleister Crowley. The tube where the man once floated had been destroyed, as did much of the machinery around the room. Obvious signs of cleaning indicated that someone had been taking care of the area, and to the side a woman with black hair wearing a cheap suit with a lab coat sat in a simple office chair. She smiled and addressed the dog.
"Welcome back sensei, I see we have guests." She calmly greeted the dog then turned to Kamijou and his group with a short bow. "I am Kihara Yuiitsu, Noukan-sensei's assistant." After introducing herself, she seemed to ignore the group and was tending to the machinery around Noukan. The machinery seemed to have a mind of it's own as it scattered across the room, returning to it's resting place. Still puffing the cigar, the dog spoke to Touma.
"Well young man, I've been keeping an eye on you from here. You and your friends seem to want to take control of the city and bring order to these chaotic times. I take it you weren't doing all those heroics during your travels just to satisfy some sort of glory lust were you?" The dog's eyes seemed to bore into Kamijou as he questioned the young man. Touma calmly stared back as spoke what came to his mind.
"I didn't help people because I wanted to help people, I just couldn't stand to see them crying in front of me. Some of what I have done has led to even more conflict, so I traveled and fought against that too. I didn't have some grand ambition or plan, I just swung my fist around and things seemed to work out somehow for a while. Now I can't even save the people in front of me like that" He took a deep breath as he spoke. "This isn't like me and it might not work, but I'm not doing this alone. The people of this city just need a little spark to help them stand up. We can't bring what used to be back, but we can reach for tomorrow."
Noukan calmly watched Touma speak, and after the boy finished he took another puff of his cigar. "Between good and evil, many will claim that you are 'evil' for taking a title like 'king' for yourself. And yes, I do know about that part too." Sweet smoke blew from the dog's mouth as the people behind Touma nervously observed Noukan. "However, I have been observing you for quite some time boy. If I had to choose between like and dislike, I can't help but like it."
Noukan turned and started walking towards a door to another room, Yuiitsu followed after him without a word. As he door opened, the dog spoke back to Kamijou and his group. "The future is up to you now young man, it's time for a relic like me to retire." Yuiitsu pulled a small device from her pocket and pressed a button. With a thin smile she spoke as well. "The defenses for this building have all been deactivated, yes that includes the creatures you call Elements before you ask. There's not much here worth fighting over without the Chairman to use it, but I understand everyone in the city seems to think of it as some sort of prize. Guard it well kids." With that last word, the door closed behind them.
Finding themselves alone in the Windowless Building, Kamijou's group looked around the room where Chairman Aleister Crowley once lived. Most of the electronics had been fried, and it didn't seem like the Kiharas had repaired any of it. Tsuchimikado and Misaka discussed the workings of the various computers installed around the room while the espers and gunmen followed their instructions. Touma found himself drawn to the massive hole in the wall leading outside. As he approached, the faint sounds of battle could still be heard from the city.
Before he could reach to where he could see outside properly, Tsuchimikado placed a hand on his shoulder. "Wait a moment Kami-yan, as soon as you're seen up there the entire city is going to notice. Let's make it a proper introduction yeah?" With a smile the young man called for the others to join him and started patting down Kamijou's clothes. "Right, just as the ladies told you before. Walk with confidence and look good for the cameras, just like that time you took a picture with the royal family." Touma gave a brief glare at his friend. "Do you have any idea how nervous I was when they did that?" With a laugh Tsuchimikado patted him on the back and pushed him forward. "Nya ha ha, don't worry about it Kami-yan. You'll be fine, a few cameras can't be as bad as freezing in the ocean."
Kamijou took a deep breath and walked forward to the edge of the hole. A chill wind blew in his face and his clothes fluttered behind him. He tried not to look down at the massive fall below him as he scanned the horizon. Despite not being able to see anybody, he could feel eyes watching him from every direction. Soon, several unmanned drones flew up and hovered in the air in front of him. One held a camera, another held what seemed to be some sort of audio recording device, and another held a speaker that projected a young female voice.
"Well done everyone, all eyes in the city are on you today. We're ready to force broadcast your stunning visages on your mark." Touma turned and looked back at the people who had accompanied him, unsure of what he wanted to see. Every single one of them smiled, some gave thumbs up, others simply nodded. A smile formed on the young man's face at the show of support, and he turned back to the camera drone. "Thank you everyone. Seria, we're ready. Start it."
All throughout the city, radios and televisions suddenly were interrupted with static. Internet forums were already abuzz about the person who had been spotted atop the Windowless Building, many had already identified Kamijou Touma and Misaka Mikoto who had once been proclaimed dead. Soon, a live feed of the drone footage was streamed on several major websites, as did every connected television in the city. Radios as well were adjusted to tune into the broadcast; it would not be much of an exaggeration to say almost all of the city was focusing on this moment.
With one last deep breath, Kamijou Touma spoke to Academy City.
"Greetings, people of Academy City. My name is Kamijou Touma."
Within the stronghold of Anti-skill and Judgement, a busty woman was training a young girl with flowers on her head in the handling and care of a shotgun. The radio next to her let her listen to the voice of the young man who had once been her student.
"This city, our city, was once a beautiful thing. It wasn't perfect, it wasn't always just, but it was our city, our home. Yet sadly it has been torn apart by conflict and chaos."
Several young girls were crowded around a television set in one of the restaurants that was still open for business within the School Gardens. While most watched with curiosity and awe, one girl with twintails and a Judgement armband started sobbing with relief.
"We've been beaten down, left in the cold, and some may have given up hope. Today that ends."
In a dormitory room deep in the territory controlled by Humanities Future, several grimy looking youths were listening in to the broadcast in secret.
"Today, we start taking our city back. It will not be easy. A bright future must be made with our own hands. But I will assure you one thing: we will make it happen."
Lurking in the shadows of the city, people had already begun to move.
"Stand together, stand with your friends, your families! Stand up, Academy City!"
It only needed a spark.
The fires of hope may fade to an ember and sputter out, but the kindling of human spirit always remains. Thus, the next chapter of the history of Academy City was turned.
It's amazing how much better I write when I take it a small piece at a time. Who knew.