Author's Notes: The irony it is. When I said i wasn't going to update, I didn't expect to continue and make an even faster update lol. Had a significant downtime while waiting for my interview for my second internship (All done and pass ;D). Anyhow...

Next thing's off, i would like to thank fuji92 for allowing me to use his characters for this part of the plot. The sections where the mature part will start to appear as well. Hope you enjoy the read and review.

Chapter 11: Burning Heart

It is night. The stars are sleeping tonight. The lights around a certain park are all turned off for a certain reason. It is the Academy City fireworks display. A large group of students are having fun, dressed in their traditional and not so traditional clothes. Misaka, wearing her customary ochre yukata was walking side to side with her man, also dressed similarly with a teal version. They both were holding hands alone as the main attraction of the night began. They are alone by the edges. There isn't any Kuroko, Uiharu or Saten to possibly cause a problem to this date. Misaka said excitedly. "It's starting!"

Pew…..

Kapup!

Fireworks began to pepper the night sky with their bright dazzling colours. Gunpowder is an old technology but remains to be refined continuously. All those decades of research are now painted in the sky.

Kapup!

Myriad of colours came alone or in combinations. There is red, blue, green, teal, yellow, purple and with even greater technology from Academy City, colours that change in mid explosion. Many patterns filled the sky with these fireworks. From cute rabbits to the horoscopes to even a highly detailed artwork of a small city, they are there.

Misaka said in amazement as the barrage kept going. "It's beautiful…" A particular pattern easily excited here. Her eyes glowed. "Gekota!"

Touma laughed as the younger girl glared at him in return. He apologized as he wrapped his arm around her waist. "It's certainly a beautiful night. I hope the things between us can go farther than all that fireworks combined."

Misaka rest her head against his chest. "I'm positive things will stay this way." Together they viewed the fireworks performance that was beginning to end with even slower but bigger bangs. "Touma…aren't you forgetting something?"

Touma mulled it over. "I don't think I forgot anything…"

Misaka smiled at him. "Well….you forgot this." She reached towards him for a kiss when…

BOOM!

Touma opened his eyes suddenly in reaction to an explosion. It wasn't near nor is it far. The air is warm and wavy. The skies are blue. His face is caked with a thin layer of dust and dirt as he came to from the floor of an alley street. "Where am I?" Up in the sky, a military jet swooped by at low altitude, making a sonic boom. Machinegun fire echoed in bursts within the background with sparser explosions.

He looked further down the alley. Misaka was standing at the end, dressed in the Japan's self-defence force. She turned and noticed he's awake. "Are you ok? That was a close hit."

"What happened?" He can't remember a thing that happened. What is he doing in this uniform? Wasn't he enjoying the fireworks? Misaka took a peek outside before going to his side.

"We got separated from our squad when we got ambushed. Now do you remember or is the shell shock still affecting you?" At her words, a flashback appeared in his mind. He was commanding a full squad of twelve including Misaka. They are moving behind enemy lines after being dropped in by helicopter. They had been sneaking around when they got spotted by a reinforcing platoon of infantry and several tanks. The last thing he remembered was crossing a street before flying and hitting the ground.

"Now I remember…"

"Good." She grabbed a FN Scar rifle by the wall. "You dropped this." She tossed it to him. He caught his rifle and inspected it. It appears to be fine and functional upon inspection, just a little dusty.

He gave his thanks. "I appreciate the effort of taking care of me." He put on his helmet lying beside him and got up to his feet.

Misaka turned her red face away. "It's nothing." She peeked out the alley. "It's clear, let's go." She grabbed a small bag pack by the wall.

Touma recollected the mission objective. Their goal is the strike the enemy Russian forces HQ in Academy City. It is as the saying to kill the tiger; you strike at its head. At the borders, a task force being led by General Sakizawa is making a push, acting as a diversionary force. Misaka is the key objective to this. What she carried is a very high explosive non-nuclear warhead. All she needs to do is to get close, set up and use her Railgun attack to propel the weapon into a sure kill bomb. When that attack becomes a success, it would create confusion and chaos within the Russian ranks. That particular event will turn the tide of the war at Academy City.

They made their way out the alley and into the streets. Touma heard a buzz of his radio. "Sergeant Kamijou, respond."

Touma answered his radio affixed onto his helmet. "Yes, Lieutenant Kenji." His good friend is on the line.

"Good that you're still alive. I got second squad with me a two klicks away. Your half of first squad is with us too." A few burst of bullets came over from the radio. "We'll rendezvous with you ASAP."

Touma acknowledged that. "Roger that, what about air support?"

"Our birds are already engaging for air dominance." Another wave of sonic booms echoed the sky, emphasizing that. "I've called in for a special support unit to be airdropped in. We'll meet you at the building that's going to come down soon."

6,000 thousand feet in the air, the hum of the engines went ignored as Yori Tamotsu waited for his drop. The Japan Self Defence Force owned C130 is carrying additional weaponry and manpower for the fight at Academy City. In the sky, the air is filled with screams of engines and bullets. The cargo master informed. "Twenty seconds!" The cargo door opened to reveal the bright sky. Yori grabbed a three metre long white spear by the wall. It had a name Building Buster.

"Ten seconds!" Yori stood at the edge of the floor. He isn't wearing a parachute. He won't need one. Down below, the battle is raging with multiple tiny explosions and sonic booms by the birds of metal. The light went from red to green, the time to jump. The special support man jumped off the plane and began his drop. He rested his hands and legs against the two pairs of fins along the spear's body.

From above, Touma could barely see a speck of movement as it went down faster and faster. To the unfocused eye, it would appear like a bullet. From the tip, a small red beam shot straight down at its estimated landing site. Two seconds later, it struck the ten storey tall building like a hot knife through butter. The building crumbled into its own self, entirely destroyed. An entire Russian garrison was destroyed. Touma was amazed to what a special support unit can do. He motioned MIsaka to follow. "That's the place. Let's go."

The destructive commotion is bound to attract the enemy. Thus, they must hurry, regroup and head to the objective immediately. As Touma and Misaka ran, Kenji spoke on the radio. "HQ just informed me we have Hunter Killers on the field! Be careful!"

The radio had a new voice joining the conversation. "This is spec support Yori Tamotsu, where do you need me?"

Lieutenant Kenji came on the radio. "Hold your position. We're meeting you there shortly."

"Ah, is that you Lieutenant Kenji? How are things going on here? We've secured the Osaka frontline yesterday and they've already pulling us back. It's quite a pain for those Russians to start the war while I was over there for the resupply trip you know."

Kenji noted. "Can the chatter. We'll hear those later. Things are going to get hot."

Yori complied. "Copy that. Things are clear here, so make it fast."

Touma estimated they have another two hundred metres to wade through the city streets. It's so far so good. He then saw a T-90 tank with a bunch of soldiers atop it moving down another street. It didn't notice them. That's going to be trouble. The bane of infantry is armoured units. Armoured units can easily devastate infantry units and be almost impregnable to standard infantry fire. They can take great punishment from infantry carried anti-armour weapons. This case only applies in open ground with little cover. In tight urban cities, that probability is overturned. However, when you are only two people, the change of chance still doesn't happen.

When he turned back to continue running, he had a surprise. Another tank had turned in to the same street as them. They stood out like a sore thumb, right at its guns. They had a Mexican standoff for just two seconds.

Misaka said as she tossed him the bag pack aka the warhead. "Go! I'll handle this!" She reached for her ammunition of coins when the tank played a high frequency noise from a speaker installed on the turret. Touma said as she staggered by the sudden burst of Capacity Down.

"Get to cover!" The tank fired its main cannon, striking the road just before them. The pieces of bitumen cut into their fatigues and skin as the forces threw them off their feet. They hit the floor hard as shell shock began to take place. Ringing droned on in Touma's ears as he struggled to get up in a haze. He felt the ground vibrate as new unwanted guests arrive. Two mechanical humanoids slightly taller than an average man, thin like bones, painted white like bones and had an arbelos shaped head and one red eye.

He knew their names. Hunter Killers. He struggled to get up but his muscles won't let it that way. The Hunter Killers are armed to the teeth and it used one of its available weaponry. Electricity painfully went through Misaka as it used its electric taser. Misaka was powerless to absorb or fight back due to the tank's Capacity Down still playing in the background.

Touma scanned the floor for his gun. It is to his right, out of reach but it looks relatively functional. He begged his legs to crawl him forward. I have to save her!

One Hunter Killer lifted Misaka up by the neck as Touma painstakingly hurried. The other Hunter Killer detected his attempt to fight back and began moving. He stretched his hand out to the Scar. Almost there! The Hunter Killer holding Misaka extended a long blade from its right arm. It's method of execution is already clear.

Touma felt the gun with his fingertips. Yes! He felt the gun leave his fingers as it was kicked away by a metal leg. His hopes were dashed instantly and he turned to be a witness. "NO!"

The Hunter Killer stabbed its blade into Misaka's chest. It went clean through, blood spurting from both sides. Misaka's expression is total shock with a small gasp. Blood dripped steadily from the tip of the shiny red blade.

"MISAAAAAAKKKKKKKKKAAA!" Touma screamed everything out of his lungs. The pain that blossomed instantly felt raw. It felt sharp and it hurt so badly as though he is the one getting stabbed instead.

Misaka in her last ounces of life faintly smiled at Touma. "I'm…sorry." The Hunter Killer pulled its blade free from its kill and let go. The body of the Tokiwadai Princess fell in slow motion onto the ground. Her fall is echoed deeply into his ears.

Dum…

Dum…

The soul of Misaka Mikoto is no more. All that remains is just dead weight of flesh and blood.

Touma felt tears streaming from his eyes as he is to be the next victim. He failed! He failed to save Misaka! GOD WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE SO CRUEL? The Hunter Killer raised its blade to behead him. Touma could do nothing against it.

Cling!

Yori said, his blade held in a deadlock. "You ok?" With his free hand, he fired an entire magazine of his Devil's Trigger point blank into the torso of his opponent. The Hunter Killer dropped backwards in sparks and smoke.

Touma felt himself being lifted up by another pair of hands. Touma's view was forcefully turned to see the face of Kenji Fujitaka. "Are you injured?" Touma was entirely in shock. His heart had been shattered to bits and pieces.

Yori now realized the fatal gaping hole in Misaka. "FUCK!" He charged forward in rage to battle with her murderer. "DIE YOU FUCKING PIECE OF THRASH!"

Kenji lifted Touma fully to his feet as he noticed a glint of light somewhere far away. "Get down!" He pushed Touma to the side and...

ZHACK!

A sniper round penetrated clean through Kenji's chest, spreading red blood around the floor.

"Kenji!" Touma said as his body finally granted him power to move. Fujitaka Kenji fell to the ground in a very critical state.

Yori finished off the second Hunter Killer with a stab in its torso. He added mutilation by blasting its eye off before decapitating the head. His eyes are red, ready for spill more blood and metal.

BOOM!

Yori's mechanical arm was blown right off at the forearm. They had forgotten the tank. He screamed as shrapnel struck deep into his flesh. The impact was powerful enough to spin the esper onto the ground. Touma yelled "Yori!" He realized his predicament. He has to salvage the mission. That means activating the warhead. The warhead is out of reach, dozen meters away. He started to sprint as the tank fired its mounted machinegun. He felt bullets zing by his ears, all threatening to kill him. However as Satan desired, all is lost. Touma felt multiple impacts which threw him off his feet and onto the road. His hand plopped uselessly to the floor, already skipping the death throes to the last step of death.

Ding Dum

Touma shot off his seat to hit his face with a luggage compartment on top. He felt back into his flight seat as people whispered in surprise. He took deep breaths to ease his rapidly speeding heart. Yori said in surprise beside him. "What the hell just happened?" The other girls were staring at him as though he's mad. Kuroko is very particular on that with her dark demonic gaze.

The PA announced. "Please fasten your seat belt. We will be commencing landing shortly."

Touma rubbed his sore head filled with cold sweat. Things are coming back to proper shape. Just what is all that? Is it just a dream? Yet it felt so real down to every detail. He doesn't understand it all. "I…don't know."

Meanwhile…

A normal person regularly consumes from 1940 to 2550 calories of food per day. There are certainly several exceptions and one of those is a young nun enjoying her meal at the buffet. For three days, this nun has been eating and eating and eating and eating food like a robot. There is hardly pause for what appears to be the bottomless pit.

The staff of the buffet in an exquisite hotel eyed the young girl which just kept on eating. They are both amazed and to a small degree tired of it. The rate she consumes warrant constant work in order to keep up with the full demands of the entire hotel. The manager isn't too happy either for it is a big money sink. The man made a phone call directed to the boy that has put the nun there in the first place.

"Your current bill is $1,000,000 yen as of late."

Yori was stupefied "What…? Can you… repeat that?"

"Your bill is one million yen."

"UGH!" Yori winced at the figures. His heart squeezed a little. "I don't remember it being that expensive the previous time." Back then in Samara, it was only a quarter of the price. Then again…they spent only a night in Samara.

"Our prices have changed. I strongly suggest you take appropriate action before your card limit is reached."

Yori sighed. "Aye, I'll deal with it." He ended the phone call as he left the airport main entrance. The others are already waiting for him by the taxi. While he may be well off to do thanks to his underworld past, a hundred thousand yen is like a stab to the gut. That was worth two or three hits back then. Index was capable of spending all that money in just three days. He certainly cannot underestimate the nun of Academy City. He now understood the misfortunes of Kamijou Touma. "Fukou da…"

Anthony Hugh was enjoying his regular coffee in his small office in Italy. It isn't a splendour office. It's enough to get things going. Basic white painted walls, a painting of Jesus, a brown desk and drawers to hold more paperwork. Even holy and divine as it is, there is no avoiding the Satan of paperwork. The door rapped and Anthony called to enter. Nigel entered with bad news. "The ESK project has been destroyed."

Anthony needs to know the scope of the damage. "What about the HK Project?" He has to put the ESK project as a complete loss.

His assistant answered. "Assuming we run without the ESK weaponry, the project is running and remains on schedule."

Anthony clucked his tongue. "This is troublesome. Whose actions were this?" There aren't that many enemies around who have the capability and daring to find and destroy his work. He might have to prepare necessary retribution.

Nigel gave the finer details. "It was a surgical strike. The primary facility is destroyed and reports say it's done by several espers from Academy City including Kamijou Touma. Obviously they have influence with the authorities; the other research facilities with their data have been captured."

Anthony clasped his fingers and rested his chin on them. "The Kamijou faction…I see. What else do they know?"

Nigel had the answer for everything. What is he, a computer? "They are aware of the HK project but not of its location. That much could be told from the patterns the Japan government and Academy City have been going about."

Anthony was pessimistic. "It will only be a matter of time before they find it. We need to accelerate or the worst case scenario, relocate it. I'll handle the diplomacy. Keep me updated on their search progress." He lied back against his seat with a sigh. "Why does setback always strike us even when we're using their very methods?"

Nigel gave a moment of pause. "Honestly, I don't know."

Anthony speculated over it. "Perhaps it is God's challenge to our faith. I would prefer to call it Life's Irony. However we must persevere and make our work succeed." Nigel left the office and leaving Anthony to face the Satan again.

"Phew, it's been a tiring trip back. Isn't that right Kuroko?"

"Yes Onee Sama. The school day is about to start as well. There will be a lot of catching up to do."

"You also have some explaining to do as well…"

"Ah…good morning Dorm mother…"

"Where have you two disappeared to without a word?"

"Well uh…"

KARACK!

"KUROKO!"

KARACK!

"This is ACN. I'm Nori Chiasa. For today's local news, several patients from the Isen Hospital have escaped. The public is to remain careful and stay clear from the mentally unstable patients."

"Geez, even basic security can't keep crazy people in their wards." Kuroko turned off the TV and lied back at the sofa of the Judgment 177th office. It is already the next day, just like any other now.

Uiahru said in acknowledgment. "Yea, apparently they can't keep you in either." That earned a hit to the head. "See?"

"You're just hitting my confidence, that's what." The situation remains quiet so far in Academy City. It is the same old daily routine. "But that's what makes protecting it so meaningful."

Uiharu rubbed her head. "What are you mumbling about?"

"It's nothing" She ended it as that.

Just then, their Senpai, Konori Mii entered the office with a bunch of files. The two kouhais greeted her. Their Senpai wasn't very pleased. "Why have you two disappeared to all of a sudden?"

Uiharu answered. "It's because of…"

Kuroko intervened. "It's because we had to help a friend on something."

Konori wasn't amused. "That leads all the way to Australia? You couldn't even bother leaving a note to explain where you've been?" She indeed caught them red handed. She probably found out where they've been by using Judgment resources.

The two girls were at a loss for words. How should they go about this? Konori was already a step ahead of them. "I suppose you're helping a friend by raiding and blowing up an entire chemical facility?"

Uiharu was perplexed as she twiddled her fingers. "How did you know?"

"It's very easy when you put two and two together." Konori explained. She is after all their senior with more experience. Just then they were cut short by the door. A certain Misaka Mikoto entered with a bag of goodies in her hand. "Misaka Mikoto….I need to have a word with you as well."

"What is it about?" Misaka tilted her head slightly.

Konori began her interrogation. "There've been reports of an electromaster going about and causing some trouble. I was wondering if some of it could be done by you." She knew Misaka's tendency to get into the worst case scenario of things by chance or by will.

Misaka mulled it over. "Well…I don't think so."

Konori sharpened her gaze. "Are you sure? I don't think so isn't a strong answer."

Misaka was at a loss on how to answer? How is she supposed to answer that they're helping a friend who's supposedly dead for the past three months? Like Konori would ever believe that since Yori isn't here to prove it. "Well..."

Konori raised an eyebrow, waiting for the answer. The door however answered, opening again to reveal Yori Tamotsu. Her eyes widened in surprise as Yori pulled out a black gun. He said as he aimed at her. "I came…to bring bad luck." Konori frowned when…

Pop!

A miniature red flag shot out from the gun, displaying BANG! Konori wasn't amused by his antics. "Is that it?"

Yori was a little disappointed by the failure of the prank. "I thought that would work."

Konori explained why. "I'm clairvoyant."

Yori put the gun aside. "Figures…" He faced her again, properly this time. "They've been helping me out in finding out my past which apparently relates to whoever's behind the ESK case.

Konori was intrigued for more details. Despite being in the frontline of Judgment, she is only aware of the presence and effects of the recently discovered ESK gas. "Mind explaining to me how you lived through a five kiloton explosion?" That was supposedly how Yori Tamotsu had first died when dealing with the weapon smugglers a while back. Speaking of which, his tombstone is still there in the cemetery at the 10th District.

Yori revealed the metal body under the synthetic flesh of his arm. "I presume this is enough of an answer?"

Konori was satisfied. "That will do."

Yori requested. "As usual, keep my status a secret. I'd like to avoid complications."

"I'll try but I can't keep a promise." Konori put the stack of files to the side of her desk. "I'll relay what little information you have about the ESK gas. The higher ups will probably search for a vaccine for a just in case scenario."

Misaka opened a new file. "Now the task is up to us to find this Armastech. The other two companies are already shut down by the Australian authorities." They have relayed the details to the respective governments with some thanks to translator Yori.

"The one thing we know about Armastech is that it's in Japan." Kuroko mentioned. "Uiharu, think your hacking skills can get us through again?"

Uiharu shook her head as a no. "They know my measure of entry. I'll be denied instantly if I try it again. If the controller is smart, he would have already relocated the entire website to another region."

Konori mulled it over. "We'll need a new approach then. Going directly to the servers will take time even if they are now empty. We should cover this and other avenues just in case."

Kuroko flexed her wrist. "Let's get started then."

Touma struggled with his quest to finish the left behind homework. He had been missing from school for three days. That meant a good deal of scolding, remedial homework and catch up. He had been busy writing when a certain pair of eyes appeared above the railing outside. "Good." She said.

Touma gasped a surprise when a purple haired girl dressed in a pink shirt and white shorts climbed into his balcony. "Who are you?"

"You can call me Itsuwa. I'm from the Amakusa Chruch." Now Touma recalled it properly. The Amakusa church is one of the most secretive churches of Christianity in Japan. It assimilated Shinto and Buddhism into its teachings in order to survive. Doing so, it had created a magic style that is well concealed and effectively dangerous. He had once fought against them to supposedly save Orsola from them. Afterwards, he fought alongside them to save Orsola properly this time from the Roman Catholics commanded by Agnese.

"I see…why are you looking for me?" He hoped it isn't more trouble. Usually, it is.

Itsuwa declared her intentions. "I have some information for you."

Naturally, the next question is "What is it?"

She looked around. "It's unsafe to talk here. Let's go somewhere else."

"So now that we're somewhere else, what is it?" Touma asked again as he took a piece of French fry. A public fast food restaurant is a very strong deterrent for any sneaky offensives. Or they could just take the direct approach and blast everything apart like the previous guy did to capture Index.

Itsuwa began her tale. "As you previously know, Supreme Pontiff Kanzaki went into Chugoku to investigate the movements of the Roman Catholics." That part of the story, he already knew as Stiyl is also actively involved. "Our efforts were diplomatically pulled to a halt by apparently one of their division leaders." She put a photo on the table. "This is Anthony Hugh. He is the leader of the Roman Catholic's 55th division."

"I see…then what is so important for me to know about him?" Touma asked for further details.

"He is the one who stopped us. He is also apparently the one who's involved with the projects to destroy Academy City."

"Where is he? I'll put a stop to him." Creating such projects of mass destruction is intolerable in Touma's book.

Itsuwa answered. "We do not know where his exact whereabouts are now but we do know who he is currently associating in Academy City."

Touma put two and two together. "That would be Armastech."

"Yes, we know who is leading it." She put down another photo. It showed an old man with pointy white hair at the back of the head. The man has a white moustache to fit in with the lacking front. His eyes are sharp and clear with excellent perception. It showed a sharp mind despite the old age. "This is Dr Kihara Jiro. I believe you can make good use of this information." Touma pulled the photo closer. He can certainly make use of it with Uiharu being the expert information reservoir.

He said as he held the photo to eye level. "I'll see to getting this end of the trail sorted out."

"Good, we'll see what we can find and promptly take actions ourselves. It's time I take my leave." She politely left Touma to his meal. Touma took a snapshot of the photo with his camera and emailed it to Yori, Misaka and Uiharu. He looked outside at Itsuwa walking down the street, probably leaving from Academy City.

Something's peculiar…. His eyes whipped to the left of the street as he exited the fast food restaurant. The streets are just fine, nothing fishy or unfortunate at all Mr Kamijou. Something feels very wrong. He checked the time on his cell phone. No wonder! I'm supposed to head over to the market sale!

"I've just informed Kamijiou Touma. Where do you need me to be?" Itsuwa reported her status into the modern technology of a cell phone.

"Good work Itsuwa. Now head to Okinawa and investigate the Roman Catholic mass that is scheduled in two days." Tatemiya Saiji, the fake Pope directed.

"I'll inform you the results by then." She ended her phone call. Now it's time for her to leave Academy City.

"Go to sleep…"A voice whispered to her. She ignored it, probably meant to someone else.

"Go to sleep…" The streets start to felt odd. Her vision started to distort with her eye fluttering a little.

"Go to sleep my little angel." Itsuwa began feeling very tired of a sudden.

Why am I so sleepy? She leaned against a wall for support as she recollected herself. It can't be…

Go to sleep... Itsuwa's eyes defied her commands and she slumped into unconsciousness.

Itsuwa regained bits of her consciousness as she felt she was being moved. Her body refused to respond at all. She felt a stop as the same voice spoke. "It's time for my enjoyment."

"Oh no you don't!" Another person's voice entered the background. A fist struck flesh and a brawl began. Itsuwa began to feel her system returning to normal. Touma struck a teenager dressed in a hood again and again. The apparently younger lad can't even defend himself.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry!" The kid wailed as he tried to absorb the blows with his arms.

Touma relaxed his attack. "Get out of here!" The kid ran away in terror. He squat next to Itsuwa and offered a hand. "You ok?"

"Uh…I am." The Amakusa girl took his hand and was assisted up to her feet.

"If it wasn't his bad luck for me to stumble upon this, I'd think you'd be in trouble."

Itsuwa blushed red. "It's a sad thing I didn't anticipate it. Thank you so much for your help." She is rather embarrassed for having to be saved from such a simple attacker. Not that she's familiar enough with esper abilities as of yet to make a suitable defence.

"You're welcome." Touma said as she left the alley for her way out of the city. Now I better hurry to the sale! Fukou Da!

Itsuwa decided to take a taxi to the airport. As she instructed the taxi driver to her destination of choice, she felt odd. Why is my heart going doki doki?