This work is based (mostly) on the work of Kazuma Kamachi and other writers. A translation from Baka Tsuki was used in its creation and I claim no ownership over their work. Please Read, Review, and Enjoy.


"That… god… damn… fiery… bitch! All of this is her fucking fault!"

Kamijou shouted this at the top of her lungs in the relatively isolated peace of her dorm room, as she struggled into the last article of her new, clean outfit.

Earlier, specifically the moment when the red haired girl from earlier had uttered the word "kenaz", the very next moment Kamijou found herself surrounded by a swirling tornado of flaming paper. Swallowing the intense urge to panic, Kamijou had managed, somehow, to dive out of the way of a majority of the flame, escaping the situation with only ash all over her clothes, and her anger blazing throughout her entire body.

After she had escaped the flaming tornado, which had conveniently disappeared once Kamijou was out of danger, Kamijou had looked around for the red haired girl so to 'vent' her anger at her, but she 'regretfully' found that the red haired girl had completely vanished, leaving no trace of herself, save for a note stating that they would still be meeting up within the next few hours.

Without a suitable outlet for her anger, Kamijou simply swore from the moment she had left that alleyway, all the way back to her dorm room.

Kamijou could only sigh when she thought about how foolish she must have looked on the way back.

Maybe… I should have actually waited until I got home before I started to swear as if I was a drunken sailor. Some of the people I was passing by were giving me weird looks… Though… then again… All my clothes were covered in ash…

Kamijou sighed again, and performed the last adjustment to her outfit, making sure that everything was on correctly. When she was assured that everything was fine, Kamijou looked toward her bathroom door.

"Okay Index… It's fine to come out now."

Kamijou's bathroom door opened, and a sulking Index poked his head out, checking cautiously to see if what Kamijou had said was true. On his cheek was the red imprint of a hand, Kamijou's hand to be precise.

Kamijou had arrived home ahead of Index, as the boy had told her to, and she had been so absorbed in her anger at the red haired girl, that she had allowed instinct to take over and completely stripped out of her ash covered clothes in a rage, and only came to her senses just long enough for Index to open the front door and walk into room to see her in all of her nudity.

After a rather predictable chain of events, Index dove into the bathroom fearing for his life while Kamijou quickened the pace of her dressing, cursing as she did so.

Now that Kamijou was dressed and there was no clear threat to his life, Index began to limp his way out of the bathroom. Once Index was fully out into the room and Kamijou had a good look at him, she could see that he was in a poor condition. His rode had dirt staining the white fabric, and several places on it had stray small branches hanging on. He left leg looked particularly bad, the knee region being completely caked over with black dirt. There were also a few fresh, non-bleeding scratches on his face that were more visible where Kamijou's still red handprint was, but Index seemed to bare it all with a rather neutral expression across his face.

However, once Kamijou finished her assessment of him, her face took on an expression of concern.

"… Index… What in the world has happened to you?"

Index stopped dead in his tracks, and sweat began to form on his forehead as he began to look panicked by something. After a short moment of silence, Index began to wave one of his hands back and forth while the other reached down to his knee in an effort to cover it up.

"Wha- What in the world are you talking about Touka? I'm perfectly fine aren't I?"

Kamijou gestured towards the boy, specifically at his dirt caked clothes.

"What do you mean what am I talking about? How in the world did you think I would not notice you like this?"

Index began to grin in an embarrassed act and he slowly looked down at his clothes, an expression of utterly fake surprise slowly dawned on his face as he 'became aware' of them.

"Ohhh!... You mean these clothes, don't you? … You don't have to worry so much Touka. It's just a bit of dirt, right?"

Kamijou looked at Index, her annoyance clearly getting through to the boy by the way he cringed back in fear.

"What do you mean don't worry about it?! You look like you were in some sort of fight or something."

Index raised his hands in a gesture that was supposed to calm Kamijou down, while he began to profusely sweat in fear.

"C-Calm down Touka! I-In a fight you say? No, no, no, no, no! All this dirt wasn't from a fight or anything. It was all from… those runes from earlier."

Kamijou skeptically looked over at Index, the obvious lie hanging in the silence between the two people. After a moment of that silence, Kamijou scowled at Index.

"Those runes you say? Those… What did you call them earlier? Ophelia runes?"

Index pointed at Kamijou at that moment in a gesture that she got it right.

"That's right, the Ophelia runes! The runes were etched into a crawl space underneath one of the buildings, so to properly investigate them I had to crawl in dirt and through bushes to look at them."

"…"

He's obviously lying to me. That red haired bitch from earlier didn't look like she had a single speck of dirt on her person… Though she did have the magic to summon a flaming sword. She might have had a power to sketch something underneath a building.

Kamijou sighed as she thought this, which Index obviously took as a sign that Kamijou didn't believe him.

"What? It's not my fault that the bloody thing- I mean the bloody magician carved runes in the underside of a building. All in all it was the best place for someone to hide them."

"…"

Kamijou put a hand to her forehead and sighed.

"Fine… whatever. Let's just drop it for now so I can keep my sanity. At the very least, cleaning your robe will keep you busy for the night while I'm out and about."

Index sighed in relief as he saw Kamijou visibly calm down, and his expression changed to one of curious interest. And that simple expression made Kamijou heart jump in her chest.

Oh god. I really shouldn't have said that.

Kamijou quickly opened her mouth to try and rectify her mistake, but Index spoke out first, bringing Kamijou's fears to life.

"You're going out somewhere tonight? Where are you going?"

God damn it! I should have seen this coming from a mile away, but once again, like a fucking idiot, I just put my foot into it.

While Index was not a regular annoyance in Kamijou's life, there were moments like this where he seemed to have some sort of desire to throw a spanner into the works. Kamijou sighed internally as she looked down at her feet in a quiet rage.

Great. I have to go meet that psychotic bitch in an a little bit to go to… Misawa or whatever it was called, and now Index is curious.

Kamijou had found in the two weeks of living with Index that the boy's curiosity was the most destructive thing about him, falling way short of any malicious action he could take. Numerous things of Kamijou, her patience included, had been tested by the boys curiosity, and many of them, Kamijou's patience also included, had been nearly broken.

This idiot only followed me today because he was curious about what a reference book was, and look how much trouble that caused me. If I take him anywhere near that red haired bitch, I just know bad things will happen. How in the world-?!

Before she had realized it as a fact, Index's face was only a few centimeters away from Kamijou's, the boy priest staring up at her with a slightly annoyed glare.

"Touka… What in the world is wrong with you?"

Kamijou jumped back in surprise and she clutched at her heart as it began to beat at a thousand beats per second. The high school girl felt her face begin to light up red from embarrassment as she looked at a confused Index.

"Ah… Did I blank out there on you? Sorry I was just thinking about something stupid for a second. What did you ask again?"

Index still looked fairly confused at Kamijou's actions, but he still responded to Kamijou's question fairly normally.

"I asked where would you be going tonight? Is it somewhere interesting?"

Kamijou quickly began to wave her hands in a dismissive manner once she saw Index's eyes light up with curiosity.

"No, No, No. It's not interesting at all! I'm just going over to help a friend out with something trivial. There is nothing interesting about it in any way!"

The light of curiosity that blazed in Index's eyes dimmed somewhat, but didn't die, which, to Kamijou, was much more dangerous.

"Well… Is there any way that I can help you and your friend? I might be able to do something small to assist you guys out. What is it that you need to do?"

Kamijou continued to wave her hand in a continued attempt to dissuade Index's curiosity.

"Please, Index, don't worry so much about helping me with this. Besides, there is no way that you could-"

Index quickly cut off Kamijou's argument with a somewhat defiant look on his face, the curiosity in his eyes not subsiding at all.

"But how could you know that if you don't let me come along? I might just be able to do something that will help you out a lot."

Kamijou bit her lower lip in frustration as Index glared at her, the light of curiosity still shining brightly in his eyes.

What in the world am I supposed to do now? There isn't really anything I can do to make him quit, so how am I-…?

Kamijou's eyes wandered over to her kitchen, and suddenly an idea sparked in her mind once she saw the thing she needed to dissuade the boy's curiosity.

Oh yeah… That seems like it will work.

Kamijou began to grin in a victorious manner as she looked back at Index, her answer to the boys curiosity on the tip of her tounge, waiting to rip loose.

"On second thought Index, you might be able to help out after all."

Index's face lit up with expectation at the thought of being able to help.

"Really!? Come on Touka, don't hold back! What can I do to help out?"

Kamijou felt only a small part of her cry at the thought of crushing Index's hope, but even that part of her told her that this was the best course of action.

"Well Index… The thing is… That my friend invited me over to take a look at her faulty microwave."

Index's entire countenance at that moment switch from an expectation of joy to a dreadful fear of what had just been said.

"Mi- Microwave… you say…"

Kamijou smiled and silently relished in her victory.

Thank you god that Index knows absolutely nothing about technology or else that would have just been me spouting bullshit. Also thank you for giving him an innate fear of microwaves.

A few days ago, on a night where Kamijou was caught up in a particularly hard bit of cleaning, the girl had left it to Index to heat up some food in the microwave while she continued to clean. The horrors that had occurred as a result of leaving Index in charge of that simple task were too grisly to describe, and had resulted in Index being scarred regarding microwaves.

Even now, the boy looked over his shoulder into Kamijou's kitchen, shivering as his gaze fell upon the utterly normal microwave. He turned back to Kamijou, the light of curiosity that had been present in his eyes replaced utterly by tears.

"Uhmmm… Touka? I don't think I really want to go with you now…"

Kamijou suppressed the urge to grin in victory, and instead looked slightly disappointed at Index's response.

"Ah well, that's too bad then I guess. If you aren't going to be coming along with me, then I guess you are just going to remain here all night?"

Index grimaced in a defeated manner as Kamijou asked that question of him, but the boy reluctantly nodded in response to it all the same.

"… Yeah… I guess that's all I can do right now, isn't it? Just sit around and be completely useless, huh?"

At that moment, the small part of Kamijou that had been sad about crushing Index's hopes overtook all of Kamijou's brain.

Why did I have to do this to Index again? God damn it! Again, all of this is that red haired bitch's fault.

Kamijou quickly began to gesture in a way that was supposed to cheer up Index.

"C-Come on now Index, don't look so down about it. There are plenty of things that you've helped me out with."

Index looked up at Kamijou with an extremely glum and skeptical look on his face as he did so.

"Oh really now? I've helped you in some way? Name one instance where I have been helpful to you at all?"

Kamijou opened her mouth to respond to Index's question, but she stopped herself from saying anything when she realized something.

This is a very damning question isn't it? If I respond with either way I might be exposing everything, and not saying anything is just as bad as saying anything as well! This is damned if you do damned if you-…!?

Kamijou's train of thought hit a brick wall the moment she noticed something odd about Index. To be more specific about what Kamijou found odd about Index, what she found strange was a rather large bulge that stretched from his crotch region, all the way down the boy's left knee. As a result of its placement, and, irrevocably, her interactions with that blue haired earlier in the day, her mind instantly turned dirty.

Wha-! When did that-…?! Is Index…?

The very next moment Index's face appeared in front of the high schoolgirls, only a few centimeters separating the two of them.

"Touka? Is something wrong with you again?"

After Kamijou heard the boy say this, the bulge in his robe twitched.

!

In an adrenaline fueled rage, Kamijou raised up her hand and swung down at full force at Index's face, slamming into the boy's face to send him spinning in place not once, not twice, but three full times before he fell onto his back in a daze.

Once the adrenaline drained from Kamijou's body, Kamijou pointed at the bulge in Index's robes, her face blushing in embarrassment.

"Index… What the hell is that?"

Index slowly raised his head up, his face making it clear that he was still in a daze after that slap, his eyes completely out of focus.

"Wha…?"

Kamijou continued to point at the bulge in Index's robes, with, as she thought to herself, was an even greater intensity.

"What in the world is that?! That bulge in your robes?!"

Index looked down at the bulge in the front of his robes, and the boy instantly lit up in embarrassment.

"O-Oh… This? Oh… Well… Will you believe me when I say, that this isn't what it looks like? Because it's not."

Kamijou crossed her arms, and annoyed look on her face as she grimaced down at the afraid blushing boy.

"Really now? Then what in the world is it then? Because to me it looks like-…!?"

Suddenly, inexplicably, the bulge in Index's robes began to move again, but not the twitching that it had done before, but rather a violent thrashing movement that was… uncharacteristic of anything that would be near a male's crotch.

Kamijou's mouth fell open once she saw this and she looked over at Index, who was trying his best to not look up at her as this was happening.

Before Kamijou could say anything to break the completely awkward silence, the bulge in Index's robes began to move away from the crotch region of the robes, crawling down the robe leg. Once the bulge reached the hem of Index's robes, a head popped out.

!

Kamijou felt her breath get taken away as she looked upon the face of the creature that was poking its head out of Index's robes.

The base structure of the creatures head looked like that of a cat with white fur, but there seemed to be some form of wing like attachments, one flowing down from each of its ears. Also the eyes were completely disturbing to Kamijou, looking like dark red beads that reflected nothing in them.

Wha- What in the world is this thing?! It looks very cute but… I just feel like I want to throttle it for some reason. Is that a normal reaction for someone to have?

Kamijou calmly took her eyes off of the creature struggling to get out from Index's robes, and instead focused her attention on the boy priest's face as he continued to lie on his back, his face a flush with shame.

"Uhm… Index? Can I ask you something?"

Index gritted his teeth as if he could contain his emotions before he looked up at Kamijou with a shameful shadow over his eyes.

"Yes Touka… Yes you can ask me something."

Kamijou turned her gaze back to the creature that had popped out of Index's robes, which was now trying it's hardest to crawl the last distance to freedom. Kamijou did not rush to help the creature get free, but rather pointed at it with a questioning tilt to her head.

"I might be wrong in guessing this, but… Is that the creature from earlier, the one that was in the box? The one that I told you that you couldn't bring in?"

Index put a hand over his eyes in an imperfect effort to hide his shame, which failed due to Kamijou being able to see the bright flush of his face.

"Yes Touka… It is. It is that creature from before. The one you told me that I could not rescue from the harshness of the outside."

Kamijou sighed and watched as the white creature that had been in Index's robe finally struggle free of the boy priest's robes and jump up on Kamijou's bed. Once there, the creature began to look around Kamijou's room, while Kamijou took the opportunity to look at the creature better and take in more of its features.

The wing like attachments that Kamijou had seen under the creature's ears extended far enough from its head that the ends of them, which were slightly pink. Around the middle of the wing like attachments were two golden rings, one for each ear, which strangely seemed to float independently of the creature. Its tail was not the straight tail of a cat, but rather a strange fluffy thing that seemed to have no substance to it at all. On the creatures back was a strange red ring that was neither a part of its fur or painted on its body in any way.

Kamijou sighed as she looked at the creature and shrugged to herself.

What in the world is this thing? Is it some sort of crazy person's experiment gone wrong or perhaps gone right? Because I doubt that something like this thing exists in nature.

The creatures ears perked up and it turned to look at Kamijou, a blank unexpressive look on its face as it stared up at Kamijou with its red beady eyes. Kamijou ignored the creature and turned her attention back to Index, who was now trying to get up.

"So Index… Can you please tell me why you picked up an animal that I explicitly told you not to pick up off the street? Did you want to piss me off or something?"

Index stopped halfway from standing up and instead went and sat on his legs, staring up at Kamijou with sincerity clear in his eyes.

"No! I didn't rescue that poor animal just to make you angry! I did it for the reasons that a normal person should take when saving a poor disadvantaged creature. That poor creature came up to me after I had finished dealing with those runes, and looked up at me with begging eyes… What would you have done in that sort of situation?"

Personally I would have hit the thing so to scare it off, if I could contain myself and not kill it instantly.

Kamijou sighed instead of saying the thought in her head, and pointed at the boy priest's dirt caked robes and branches hanging from them.

"Then please enlighten me about one small detail Index. How in the world did you get like that? Because I now seriously doubt that you got like that from dealing with those runes."

Index silently looked at Kamijou for a few moments, before he looked down at his knees with a flush of embarrassment creeping across his face.

"We-Well… The poor thing was a bit confused once I moved close to help it and it ran off in a panic. So, naturally … being a helpful individual… I…"

Index's explanation began to trail off into incoherent mumbling, at which point Kamijou raised her hand, signaling for Index's explanation to stop and for her to take over.

"So, being the good natured idiot that you are, you decided to chase after it, and ended up dragging yourself through untold amounts of dirt and bushes as you were looking for it?"

Index returned to looking at his knees as the flush of shame returned to his face.

"Well… When you happen to phrase it like that…"

Kamijou sighed again and returned her attention to the animal that was now on her bed. The creature had apparently lost interest in the situation and had proceeded to curl up into a ball and fall fast asleep. After staring at the creature for another second, Kamijou gave yet another depressed sigh.

"Okay. Fine. The creature can stay here for a while."

Index's face shot up, a glimmer of joy clearly visible in his eyes.

"R-Really?! I can keep him?!"

Kamijou grinned at Index in a tired sort of way before nodding her head.

"Yes you can keep him here, temporarily. It's much too late for me to take the thing by a shelter, and even I don't feel right with kicking it out onto the street."

Index jumped up with an agility that was uncommon for a person wearing a full robe, and threw his arms around Kamijou.

"Thank you Touka! I promise you won't regret it!"

Kamijou nodded as she felt the blood rush to her face due to the embrace, but luckily Index broke of the hug quickly to go and look over at the (temporary) addition to the house. Kamijou looked at the smile on the boy's face and let out a contented sigh.

Well… At least he's happy, right? Besides it's not like something horrible will come from all of this.

Unseen by Kamijou, the white creature briefly open up one of its bead like red eyes to stare at her, the hints of a smile slowly appearing at the edges of its cat like mouth.