Into the Darkness
Chapter Two: First Day on the Job
Touma grudgingly pulled the blankets off of his body, climbing out of his makeshift bed. It was around 6: 30 A.M when he managed to drag himself out of his slumber. The entire apartment complex was quiet and the rhythmic snores of a certain blue haired nun were the only sounds that were audible. Touma quietly sneaked into the bathroom and scrambled into the bathtub, where he turned on the faucets. The showerhead suddenly began pouring ice cold water on to his body, causing him to curse violently.
During a normal school day, Touma Kamijou would wake up just several minutes shy of classes, being forced to take a shower, brush his teeth, and eat his breakfast all in the span of one minute. He would then rush to the bus stop only to either forget his textbooks, or miss the bus entirely. This time, he compelled himself to wake up early because he was no longer just a student. Today, he was a teacher.
A teacher! Let that sink in for a moment…
He wanted to get there on time and make a good first impression. To him, this was like the first real job he had ever obtained. After taking a shower, Touma dried himself and put on a white dress shirt and blue jeans. He wandered over to the mirror, and looked at the hair gel that was placed on the side. This time, he wasn't going to spike his hair. No teacher ever, in the history of teaching, had spiky hair… probably. Touma put on some deodorant and cologne before he heaved a huge sigh, and walked out of the apartment.
It was still dark and chilly outside, much to Touma's annoyance. He had to go to Tokiwadai early so that he can be properly instructed, and so he could become familiar with the school. Touma was pleasantly surprised when he didn't get hit by a truck or tripped into a puddle of water. Perhaps being a teacher was his bad luck just hiding in wait.
Touma approached the enormous front doors of Tokiwadai Middle School, staring at its magnificent splendor. It was huge. It was bigger than his own high school, which made no sense considering that Tokiwadai was technically a private school because of their huge entrance requirements… oh and the tuition too. The teen turned the doorknob and entered the building, trying not to show any sign of his nervousness. He approached the main office where he was greeted by a woman.
"Um hi, my name's Touma Kamijou. I'm supposed to be teaching here for a while." The boy stammered.
"Hello Mr. Kamijou, my name's Yui. I'll be showing you around the school for the next hour." The woman replied as she stood up. She had long black hair that reached past her shoulders, and curves that would make Oriana Thomson jealous. Just like Touma had with Oriana, he felt somewhat infatuated towards this woman, but he shook it off quick enough so that she wouldn't notice.
They walked down several hallways, with Yui pointing out several classrooms and the people that taught there. On the way, Touma met with some of his coworkers, noting that a majority of them were female. After they exchanged pleasantries, Yui and Touma moved on, coming across the gym.
"I have a tiny question. Why is it that I'm just about one of the very few male teachers here?" Touma asked.
"Ah, well you see, not many males want to be teachers now do they? Male Anti-Skill members take up other jobs in manufacturing and management. Didn't your boss tell you that?"
"… As a matter of fact, no she didn't. I suppose I'll have to speak to her about this later on." Touma said in an irritated voice.
"That doesn't mean that we don't have male teachers. After all, we have a male administrator. It's just that, if you're a male, it's going to be a lot harder to gain entrance than if you were a female. The fact that you're here means that your commanding officer doesn't see you as the type to take advantage of these girls."
"I'm more into the Onee-san types anyway." Touma replied, realizing that the woman he was speaking to was of his preference. He shut up after that. They continued on with this glorified tour.
"You'll be teaching math and physical education from now on." Yui stated as she motioned towards the gym doors. As they entered, she pointed towards a small door on the far end of the gym. "That's the locker room. I suppose you know what to do with that right?"
"Yes… I won't go anywhere near it." Touma muttered.
"Good. Mind you, practically all teachers are a part of Anti-Skill and vice versa. It would be terrible if someone lost their job over something like this. Since you're young, I don't want your hormones to get the better of you."
"That's really reassuring." Touma remarked sarcastically. "Do you have my schedule? I think I might forget where I'm supposed to go without one."
"Here you go." Yui replied as she handed Touma a small slip of paper. "Classes start in thirty minutes, so I hope you're prepared. Anyways, if you have any problems, feel free to ask me. Just don't ask the kids, unless you want to appear like you found this job in a newspaper advertisement.
"I won't." Touma replied as he parted ways. The boy sighed as he dreaded the inevitable outcome. He went over to his classroom, 2-B, sitting in the large rotating chair that stood in the front of the room. He turned on the computer and went to the student database, examining just what kind of kids he was going to teach.
Touma was actually a pretty smart student. Just not 'book smart' as one would call it. When a dangerous situation calls for it, he has more knowledge than anyone else would. Still, he had difficulty with math, which Misaka managed to solve for him. He was sure that she was genius, but still, it punched a hole in his pride to see his work completed by a girl two years younger than him.
He could just fake it right? Just stay two lessons ahead of the students, and make sure that whenever somebody asks you a question, try to avoid it. He looked at the textbook that lay on the desk, peering into its contents. He scanned it, and felt somewhat relieved that it was just trigonometry. Triangles. Simple enough.
Touma felt his stomach churn when he saw the students enter the classroom. Some of them looked at him passionately, others simply ignored him. Touma tried to calm down, constantly telling himself: "Don't make a scene, don't make a scene, don't make a scene…" Touma began subconsciously gnawing on his knuckles as a way of coping. When he realized what he was doing, he immediately stopped. His eyes drifted towards the incoming students, but one caught his eye.
'Oh no… Oh god no.' Touma mentally cried.
Mikoto Misaka.
Touma wanted to escape from this unfortunate situation. He wanted to leap out of his seat and jump out of the window. He wanted to be anywhere but here. The two locked eyes for a moment, but the girl simply passed him without a second thought. Huh? Wasn't she the type who would always demand a fight or accuse him of sneaking into an all girls' school for perverted reasons? How come she didn't even bother to say: "What are you doing here?"
Oh yeah. It was because of his hair. Strange thing that. The moment you change your appearance, people can't tell a thing.
"Hello, my name is Mr. Kamijou. I'll be replacing Ms. Tanaka for the remainder of the semester." Touma declared as he wrote his name in kanji on the chalkboard. He made sure he didn't mention his first name, lest the electromaster find out his identity. He could already tell she was growing suspicious.
"First off, I'll be going through attendance." Touma stated as he held a sheet of paper in his hands. As he listed the names one by one, including Misaka, he became stumped when he came to the name "The Queen."
A girl raised her hand. Touma was dumbfounded. Wasn't the Queen a hikikomori?
"Are you really the Queen of Tokiwadai?" Touma asked.
"… Well no. This person isn't. I'm just controlling her from afar." The girl replied in a strange tone. Touma was slightly disturbed. Slightly.
"Well okay then, before we get started, do any of you have questions for me?" Touma inquired. A flurry of raised hands surfaced. Touma was taken aback, picking random kids in the crowd.
"How old are you?" One girl asked.
"Uh… sixteen."
A massive amounts of gasps erupted form the student body.
"How'd you get this job?" Another girl asked.
"I work with Anti-Skill and they require I work as a teacher when I'm off duty." Touma responded truthfully. Once again, a colossal amount of gasps and sighs erupted from the students. Some of the girls had a dreamy look on their face, which Touma knew was a sign that something eventful was about to occur, and usually by eventful, he meant deadly.
"Do you have a girlfriend?"
"Um… no?"
"Would you like one?"
"Uh… I don't like where this conversation is going." Touma chuckled anxiously as he scanned the classroom for an exit.
"What's your favorite food? Your favorite color?"
"What's your favorite movie?"
"What kind of girls do you like?"
The rest of class went by like a blur. Touma had written the homework on the board before he retreated towards his desk, where he began playing video games on his handheld. He was completely immersed in the game that he didn't even realize a certain brown haired girl approach his desk.
"So Mr. Kamijou, I have a small problem I need you to check out." Misaka muttered coldly as she handed over her assignment. Touma feigned ignorance and observed her work. It wasn't her assignment but a sheet of paper. Scribbled all over it was "You can't trick me you idiot." in pen. Touma looked over to his side and saw the girl glaring at him intensely. Touma scribbled down something on her paper in response. The rest of their conversation involved them writing down their words and then handing it to each other.
"I told you, I have to work here! It wasn't my choice!" Touma wrote.
"You're a liar you know that? There's no way Anti-Skill would hire someone like you." Misaka furiously jotted down.
"I'm totally serious! I even have the documents to prove it!"
"I don't care about that! I want you out!"
"Hey! You can't say that to me! I'm your teacher! In fact, if you keep this up, I'll send you down to the office!"
"Heh, like they'd believe you over an Ojou-sama like me! Can't you go get yourself assigned to another classroom?"
"Believe me when I say I wish I could. Anyways, class is almost over, so you don't have to worry about me anymore." Touma scribbled before handing over the slip of paper. He stood up in front of the class and coughed to get their attention.
"Well it looks like class is about finished, so remember to finish your homework for tomorrow." Touma announced as he gathered his things. He saw his students leave one by one, some of them still in a lovestruck state. Misaka was the last to leave, and she simply ignored the boy. Touma groaned as he dreaded what was coming next. Physical Education.
Touma got himself into the standard uniform that P.E. teachers wore. Due to the events that transpired earlier that day, Touma actually forgot his way around the school. He journeyed down the corridors, and managed to find the gymnasium lying right beside him. He checked around and didn't see any students. In fear of being late, Touma rushed around the gymnasium trying to find a door that might lead to his destination. In his frenzy, he didn't notice the door he entered was labeled 'Girl's locker room'.
Touma stood there with his jaw touching the floor.
Touma wasn't a perverted person by nature. He just had the misfortune of walking in at the wrong place, at the wrong time. He had walked in on people getting dressed, even women who were completely naked. In fact, he once saw Seiri fully naked, and did nothing but make fun of her breasts. The same thing happened here. He wasn't shocked because of what he saw, but because he knew he was going to receive a huge beating. Especially from the brown haired girl in the center who was now emitting sparks from her head.
"Fukou da."
Shiage sat inside Joseph's Coffee and Restaurant, ordering food for both himself and Takitsubo Rikou. The girl that he sat across from had short light brown hair and an expression that was very similar to Aisa Himegami. She took the hamburger that was placed in front of her and slowly began to bite into it. At times like these, Shiage didn't seem to be angry or cynical… it was possible that he was even happy.
He remembered this restaurant as the one where ITEM used to hang out. He used to work as a grunt for Team ITEM, the group that Rikou was affiliated with. He would do things like serve them food and hijack cars for use as getaway vehicles. In fact, that was how he met Yomikawa, who captured him just as he was trying to steal a car.
Those days were over though. He and Rikou left ITEM after Frenda was killed and Shiage was forced to kill Mugino. He had no idea what happened to Saiai. After all those events, Rikou was unable to use her ability Aim Stalker, which allowed her to track espers and even hijack their powers. If she had even tried, she could possibly kill herself, and Shiage would never allow that to happen.
It pained him to leave her alone at times like this. He despised Anti-Skill for numerous reasons, chiefly, the absence of Rikou. He couldn't bring her with him, and he couldn't leave her alone in fear of what assassins may try to do. That was what Yomikawa ensured him. She said that if he had joined, Rikou would be kept safe, but that still didn't satisfy him. Shiage never felt that she was safe unless he was there to protect her. He was struck between two halves; the part that wanted to her and the part that wanted to protect her world.
"Are you alright Hamazura?" Rikou asked in a monotone voice. She rarely showed emotion.
"I-I'm fine." Shiage said as he put on a smile. He wasn't fine. He didn't want to lie to her, but he couldn't bear to show weakness in front of her.
"There you two are!" A voice came from behind. Shiage turned to see his commanding officer, Yomikawa, standing over him. His smile suddenly turned into a frown. "So, how's your little date going?"
"It was going great until you showed up." Shiage muttered underneath his breath.
"What was that?"
"Nothing."
"Anyways, you and Touma are going to be patrolling alongside me tonight. You don't have any plans do you?"
"No ma'am." Came Shiage's lackluster reply. "If it's possible, could Rikou come too?"
Yomikawa stopped in her tracks and looked at the boy as if she did not hear him right.
"You do understand that we Anti-Skill deal with rouge espers and criminals. We can't do our job effectively if she gets in the way. She's a liability."
"No she isn't. I'll make sure of it." Shiage replied defiantly. "I won't let her come to harm, and I won't compromise you or Kamijou."
Yomikawa thought of her options, glancing at Shiage's determined expression. She sighed in defeat and nodded.
"Alright then. Just make sure to meet at the headquarters in the seventh district by nine okay? It's going to get cold so make sure you get your girlfriend some warm clothes." The woman replied, leaving the couple alone. Shiage placed his hand over his forehead, rubbing his temple in exasperation. Rikou looked at him, a bit of concern coming through her features.
"You don't like working with Anti-Skill do you?" She asked with a deadpan voice.
"What else can I do? This is the only way I can get money and protect you at the same time. All I have left is you… and I can't lose you Rikou. I can't."
Touma managed to heal from his burns rather quickly and was currently putting on his Anti-Skill uniform with Index watching from afar.
"Touma~ why do you have to go again? You've been gone for a whole week!" Index groaned as she tossed and turned on the bed.
"It's called a job. It's the only way I can support your eating habits. If you want, you can stay over at Aisa's or Komoe's. "
"Hrghh…" Index moaned.
Touma went towards the headquarters and equipped himself with the standard gear. Unfortunately for him, he was forced to load real bullets into the guns this time. He placed his pistol into his holster and strapped his assault rifle onto his back. He walked into the main lobby and saw Yomikawa, Tessou, Shiage, and a young girl.
"Yo Hamazura, what are you doing bringing her here?" Touma called in a friendly manner as he pointed to Rikou. Shiage scowled.
"She's my friend and she'll be coming with us while we patrol." Shiage retorted. "And by the way, don't speak to me like you're my friend or something. You're not."
"Hey, what's your problem?" Touma seethed, his hand was clenched. "What got you so pissed off?"
"Hey you two, settle down." Yomikawa intervened as she stepped between the two boys. Her voice dropped to a lower pitch. "I can't have my own platoon chewing on each other's throats. Whatever antagonism you two have for each other ends now. I have zero tolerance for people who don't know the meaning teamwork. If you can't work together, then I recommend you leave and never come back."
With that said, Yomikawa left the building without another word. Both Shiage and Touma stood there, glaring at each other. The green haired girl who stood to the side stepped towards them in agitation.
"S-Sorry about that. She can get pretty scary whenever her own squad does stuff like this." Tessou muttered.
"Whatever." Shiage spat as he and Rikou followed Yomikawa. Touma frowned.
A few minutes later after everybody had cooled down, Touma and Tessou boarded onto a small reinforced van. Yomikawa was driving and Tessou took the passenger seat, all while Shiage and Touma sat in the back with only Rikou separating them.
"Hey Yomikawa, how come your squad suddenly found itself needing new members?" Touma questioned.
"I never really had a dedicated squad. Most of the people I worked with transferred towards other squadrons. So far, it's only been me and Tessou. When we go patrolling, we just cruise around, waiting to be called for active duty."
"So all you do is drive around aimlessly the entire night?"
"Pretty much. How do you think we get our free time? That doesn't mean we laze around and fall asleep. It just means that we get some downtime that we can use to relax and chat, you know?"
True to her words, Yomikawa drove the van throughout many districts of Academy City, all without them encountering a single crime. Touma was glad. He was armed with real weaponry now, and he still wasn't able to bring himself to end someone else's life. Looking over at Shiage, he could see Rikou had fallen asleep, her head resting on Shiage's shoulder. The brown haired boy had his eyes closed, and looked to be sleeping. He too, had a smile on his face. Touma didn't say a word, but he could tell that there was more to him than just appearances sake.
The sound of garbled noise alerted Touma, his arm instinctively reaching for the pistol on his waist. The distorted voice came through in tiny bits, almost completely incomprehensible. The sound of bullets was completely unmistakable however. Yomikawa picked up the transceiver and brought it to her mouth.
"Please repeat again." Yomikawa stated as she activated the van's personal terminal. From there, she activated the GPS.
"Taking…casualties…not…backup…nineteenth…" The transceiver suddenly went blank. Yomikawa threw it to the ground in frustration, before setting the destination on the GPS. She put the vehicle into drive before stepping harshly on the gas pedal. The sudden jolt caused Shiage and Rikou to wake up.
"Where are we going?" Shiage mumbled groggily.
"Nineteenth district. Looks like things just got interesting." Yomikawa remarked.
As she sharply turned a corner, Rikou slid and fell on top of Touma's chest. Touma held his hands high in the air as if telling Shiage: "Look! My hands are nowhere near her!" Shiage's face was twitching and if looks could kill, Touma would've spontaneously combusted right there. Tessou slinked back into her seat, shivering at the inevitable shootout that was going to take place.
When they arrived at the location, Touma turned away from the piles of dead bodies that lay sprawled on the pavement. Shiage shielded Rikou's eyes, while Tessou had to restrain herself from screaming right there. Yomikawa averted her eyes in revulsion at the fallen men and women that were slumped along the concrete. Most of the corpses congregated at a single rundown building. Yomikawa parked the car and quickly turned off the ignition. She turned to the rest of the occupants with a grave expression.
"This is it. Get your equipment and move out!" Yomikawa exclaimed as she kicked open the car door and pulled out her HK416 assault rifle before quickly advancing up on the building. She laid her back on the side, motioning Tsuzuri who fretfully followed her. Touma looked at Shiage, who didn't budge.
"We have to go." Touma muttered as he followed his commanding officer. Yomikawa began shouting at Shiage.
"Leave her in the van! It's safer there!" She hollered. Shiage looked conflicted. In the end, he said goodbye to Rikou and closed the door shut, moving up behind his fellow teammates.
"This is your first real operation." Yomikawa muttered. "Get ready."
Shiage crouched, pulling out his Colt M4A1 and leveling it at the door. Tsuzuri pulled out the Howa Type 89, readying it by her side. Touma stood beside Yomikawa and pulled out the SIG SG 551, nodding at her to go. They all flipped on the flashlights that were mounted underneath the barrels of their weapons simultaneously.
"Stay quiet." Yomikawa whispered as she turned the doorknob. Touma pointed his gun in the small opening she made as he watched out for any suspicious movement. Tsuzuri pushed inside, aiming her weapon all around the room. The darkness made it difficult to differentiate between what could be classified as an enemy and simply scenery. They stayed in a tight knit group, with Shiage watching the rear. Something was eating away at the back of Touma's mind. It was like he knew something was up.
"You smell that?" Touma spoke softly as he sniffed the air. "Propane."
"You serious?" Shiage snapped. "Why would there be propane here?"
"I don't know, but we have to search the area fast." Yomikawa expressed. "The culprit could still be here. We have to split up. Tessou and I will search the rest of this floor. Touma, Shiage, you two go upstairs and come back down in one minute. Got it?"
"Yeah." The said in unison. Tessou and Yomikawa then moved on, their flashlights the only thing visible from this distance. Touma and Shiage reluctantly ran up the stairs as silently as they could, checking each door. One by one they checked the bedrooms, the bathroom, and the closets. Nothing. There wasn't a trace that this culprit left behind. Shiage bit his lip and turned to the other boy.
"Did you find anything?"
"No. I think we should hurry back-" Touma began. He suddenly stopped when he heard the sound of an engine running. He and Shiage rushed towards the window and saw the Anti-Skill van driving away. Shiage stood there in confusion while Touma ran towards the stairs and yelled over the railing.
"Hey Yomikawa! Did you leave without us?" Touma bellowed.
"No! Why? What happened?" He heard her yell back. Touma froze in apprehension. Out of the corner of his eye, a spark.
"EVERYBODY! GET OUT NOW!"
It was too late. Within seconds, the entire building lit up brighter than the sun. The building started to crumble into pieces, the sound of the explosion travelling all across the city. From the distance, it looked like fireworks. The vivid light looked magnificent from far away.
It was anything but.