Yes, I am still alive. College was relentless this last month but now that I'm done with all my finals, I have all the free time in the world. At least for three weeks until the next term starts. But anyways, I cannot express how sorry I am for being gone so long. I remember in the A/N of the prologue when I said I hoped to update weekly... I was so naive back then. I also feel guilty for this short chapter, so as compensation, I have a surprise for my readers. As you have probably already noticed, I have also uploaded chapter 4. That's right, a double release. Hope you enjoy~

Disclaimer: I do not own To Aru Majutsu no Index/A Certain Magical Index, it is property of Kamachi Kazuma, ASCII Media Works, Dengeki Bunko, Seven Seas Entertainment, J.C. Staff, and Funimation Entertainment.

Revelation

Chapter 3

Why me? Why is it always me?

Is what Hamazura Shiage pondered to himself behind the wheel of a car that wasn't his.

It wasn't borrowed.

Nor was it a rental.

Hamazura didn't even have a license, or was old enough to drive in the first place.

He picked the lock to a remote vehicle, and was now driving in it.

That's right, Hamazura had stolen this car. It was a seldom talent he prided himself in. That did not apply to everyone.

Hamazura wasn't by himself in this car.

Sitting in the passenger's seat was the abnormally uniformed maid Kumokawa Maria.

She was not pleased.

She was giving him a mother's glare at their child on the drive back home from a trip to the principal's office the whole time without blinking.

It proved challenging to keep his eyes on the road with that directed at him.

Hamazura hadn't even properly introduced himself to Kumokawa.

…Is it in a female's genes to have it out for me? ARE YOU HAPPY NOW, NUMBER ONE!? ARE YOU HAPPY NOW THAT YOU'VE LEFT HER WITH ME?! SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE IN YOUR GROUP!

This was how the strongest esper gets even.

Should I say something or would that only fan the flames? Wait, I haven't done anything to defend myself over!

"Huh?"

Slamming on the breaks, Hamazura narrowly avoided running a red light at the intersection ahead.

Panting just as he did for his morning errands, Kumokawa Maria's disapproving stare did not waver through the potential car accident.

"Okay, what the hell?!" the illegal driver cried, finally losing his composure. "ARE YOU TRYING TO GET US KILLED DISTRACTING ME WITH SUCH A COLD LOOK LIKE THAT!?"

"You dare speak to me with such a tone even after what you've done? You have courage, I'll give you that…" she finally spoke.

"What I've done to you? What have I done to you!? We haven't even known each other for a few hours!"

"Do you seriously not know?" asked Kumokawa disdainfully.

"How am I supposed to know?! I haven't even told you my name!"

"You took this car that isn't yours! By sitting here next to you, I'm your accomplice and could end up in jail! But even worse, you've damaged my already crippled pride! A maid can't break the law! …At least for someone who isn't their master."

"…"

Hamazura Shiage could only sit there, mouth agape at her accusations. He was about to call attention to her getting in the car with him of her own free will…

"The light's green," Kumokawa said casually.

"Wha-Oh shit!" Hamazura cursed, stepping on the gas petal after momentarily stumbling from her cutting him off.

"Watch it next time! There was such a big jerk reaction when you accelerated I hit my head and almost got knocked out!"

I wonder how the others are doing?

Misaka Mikoto carried an identical facial expression.

She was in the core of District 7, the area the Windowless Building was located. It was not available to the public and was predictably highly secured.

What was unexpected though, was it was not stranded in a wasteland of empty space but blended into the cityscape. Hotels, shopping malls, restaurants, and other such establishments were littered around it.

Mikoto lived in District 7 but never had any reason to come to this area. There was no point when such facilities were closer to the Tokiwadai school grounds or her dorm.

A certain friend of hers would truly appreciate being here, the Windowless Building being an endless well of myths and urban legends among students in Academy City.

Mikoto was an Electromaster, a psychic who manipulates electricity. That includes the electricity used to operate technology, so such a power user could theoretically hack into security programs managed by computers.

So she was stopping at each security camera post, using her esper abilities to hack into the mainframe and access the footage that had been recorded over the last few hours and days.

Of course measures were taken to defend against such methods were developed, this was a city of espers after all.

But Misaka Mikoto was no ordinary Electromaster. She was the most powerful of her kind, so overcoming anti-esper security was possible.

Breaking through, she used her powers to fast forward through the recordings that her eyes scanned for GREMLIN activity. Before parting, Kamijou and Cendrillon provided physical descriptions of two of their members. One a brown girl with white braided hair and glasses wearing nothing but overalls and the other a black drum-shaped object.

No results from this camera either.

Each inspection took a few minutes to go through, and it was too time-consuming to check each and every security camera in the vicinity.

Mikoto did not expect anything to turn up, but she still made sure just in case. If they could breach the Windowless Building so easily, they would have already done so. She was assigned to this particular part of the district when they split into groups.

This is taking too long… Maybe I should go to Uiharu-san for help, she can bring up the security footage from every corner of the city. And Kuroko would be helpful with her teleporting… No, if I approach them, they'll get themselves involved due to their Judgment ideals. I also imagine they have their own responsibilities for the Ichihanaransai. Have to do this on my own.

Judgment were the peacekeepers of Academy City comprised of students, in contrast to the other law-enforcing institution, Anti-Skill, whose members were trained teachers and faculty.

Sighing, Mikoto moved on to the next security camera.

"I wanted to be in the same group as 'him,' but was paired up with that person… Good thing we decided to search separately."

Kamijou Touma and Ollerus were sitting on a bench in a clothing department of the District 7 Seventh Mist shopping mall.

"Shouldn't we be looking for GREMLIN…?" Kamijou asked the obvious.

The older man sitting next to him merely smiled pleasantly. "We don't really have any leads, making a stop like this one is affordable."

"But…"

"If GREMLIN made any significant movements, don't you think word would spread and we would know right after the fact?"

"That's true… but," Kamijou paused, not totally satisfied with just that. "Shouldn't we be trying to prevent them from making any progress in the first place? Aren't you the one who said they would take any step to achieve their goal now that they're this close from it?"

"I did say that," Ollerus admitted. "But Othinus is not that reckless. She would not want to make a ruckus unless she has to. In the cases of Radiosonde Castle and the Hawaiian invasion, she only took such precautions because the survival of your right hand and preparing Kilauea were instrumental to her plan. Academy City is the heartland of the Science Side, she won't be unleashing a rampage so freely until she's exhausted every other resource. I imagine GREMLIN took their time to recover after Baggage City just as we did, so they should have only entered the city recently."

"I suppose that makes sense…" Kamijou conceded. "But I still don't feel right about it. Can't we just go out on our own?"

"And suffer her wrath when she catches up? I thought you of all people would understand the a woman's fury," replied Ollerus, losing his calm composure.

They were not the only ones in this search party. The former GREMLIN magician Cendrillon was also with them. She had dragged the two to the nearest clothing store so she could sew herself up a new dress. That may sound trivial but to someone like her, a specially crafted dress was the basis of her magic.

"We're you meant to be here to keep an eye on her!?"

"Do I look like the kind of man who could raise a hand to a woman?" Ollerus questioned, legitimately hurt by the implication.

Then what about Othinus?…

"Women are scary…" he resumed. "Especially this one I've known for almost 16 years now… She abuses me endlessly."

"I hear you there," Kamijou said in agreement, having finally found someone who understands him.

The two victims of feminine aggression both slumped down where they sat as if something heavy bore down on both of their backs.

They stayed that way for some time before Ollerus eventually broke the silence.

"There's something else I needed to tell you that I didn't get to back at the café," he informed.

"…Why didn't you say it back there?" Kamijou asked, the both of them still crouched forward.

"It can come off as threatening, and I didn't want to say it in front of the others. That young lady with the short hair seemed especially protective of you," Ollerus explained.

The spiky-haired boy's back straightened out once more like lightning at that last claim, hitting his head on the wall behind the bench.

The blonde man let a soft laugh escape his mouth at that. "Ah, to be young again…"

"Don't go reminiscing like some old timer! You can't be more than a couple of years older than me! …And this is besides the point! Just get back to the subject at hand!"

"If you insist," Ollerus complied. "Don't misunderstand, this is only a warning. I'm sure you've already discerned it by now but I feel the need to confirm it for you. Do not make the mistake of believing GREMLIN are the same as Fiamma of the Right. They do not value your Imagine Breaker as he did, they have no reason show you mercy. It is the very opposite, in fact. You are the biggest thorn in Othinus' plan, and she will not hesitate to kill you. It was only because of me and Fiamma that you survived but that may not hold true in the future. Keep that in mind, Kamijou Touma."

Kamijou's eyes drifted down under the pressure of that news. Like the impure Majin had said, he had already known this full well, but that did not alleviate the strain it put on him. Kamijou Touma wasn't a soldier or a trained professional. He had no special talents or skills either. He was just an ordinary high school student.

"But you also must remember…"

Kamijou looked back at Ollerus, who was giving him a smile he would see in the mirror.

"You aren't in this alone. There are people here for you. That, is most important of all. You've committed yourself to helping those around you, don't you think it's their turn to return the favor?"

"You idiot, how many times have I told you that you're not on your own anymore? I'm here for you, so accept my help!"

I really am an idiot…

The young boy reflected that smile.

"Yes, I will never forget that."

Next door to Kamijou Touma's dorm that Index currently inhabited, a girl around the same age as her was sweeping the floor of the dorm room.

She was short and had bluish-black hair barely reaching her shoulders held back by a bonnet that left her large forehead in the open. That bonnet was a part of her maid attire that she wore at all times due to the regulations of Ryouran Maid School, which was the standard set unlike Kumokawa Maria's.

Tsuchimikado Maika was not the resident of this living space.

"Onii-san, move! You're getting in the way of my cleaning!"

The person who lived here was her older stepbrother and classmate of Kamijou Touma, Tsuchimikado Motoharu. Maika would often visit and even stay over at her stepsibling's place, doing various maid tasks.

He had spiky blonde hair and wore blue sunglasses over his eyes, having a green shirt with a white floral pattern under his school uniform along with a golden chain around his neck.

"Nyah, maybe if you ask more politely. Aren't maids supposed to act more professionally? If you keep acting so casual with everyone, you'll never be a proper maid," Motoharu lectured his stepsister, uncharacteristically serious of him.

"So… to make everything right, you should call me onii-sama!"

Of course, that was his sole intention all along.

"…How could any self-respecting maid be subservient to a stupid onii-san like you?!"

As she declared that, she started sweeping the area her stepbrother was sitting more violently. Motoharu would have given a response but his mobile phone alerted him that he had an incoming call. Seeing the address of the caller, his eyes narrowed behind his sunglasses and any trace of the childish older brother disappeared.

Motoharu was able to escape his dorm after retrieving some supplies out into the hallway of the eighth floor, Maika chasing him with the broom the whole way out.

He answered his phone.

Tsuchimikado Motoharu was not only an Academy City student, he was a magician of the Church of England. He was a spy for both sides whose true allegiance was unknown to anyone. He recognized the number displayed on his phone immediately as another member of Necessarius.

["Did I catch you at a bad time?"] they asked.

"No, it's fine. What's going on?"

["GREMLIN has entered Academy City, their next objective is most likely Aleister."]

"…I see."

Tsuchimikado figured they would eventually come here, but he didn't expect it so soon, and when the Ichihanaransai was just around the corner.

"It's odd that you're the one to call me, it's usually Nee-chin. You do know this sort of off-the-record call is strictly prohibited, right?" Tsuchimikado teased.

["I'm going to do something even more taboo today, so nothing to worry about."]

"Oh? So I'm not the only one in the Anglican Church that has his own agenda~"

["Enough,"] the voice on the other end said sternly. ["What are you going to do?"]

"Do you really need to ask that?"

["You are aware that Kamijou Touma will undoubtedly get involved, right? He's most likely already running around in the streets as we speak."]

"Of course. That's inevitable with Kami-yan."

["Before you do anything hasty, Tsuchimikado, I would suggest looking for that boy first. There's reports that a magician previously allied with GREMLIN is with him at this time."]

"You don't have to tell me. Good luck on your end," he said, hanging up.

"Maika!" he shouted, pounding his fist against the door. "I'm going out! I might not be back until much later! Make yourself at home!"

Not even waiting for a reply from the maid in-training, he started running down the hall to the stairwell.

Tsuchimikado was well-informed of GREMLIN and their modus operandi, he had been keeping track of their movements ever since they first surfaced.

And now they were in Academy City.

Tsuchimikado Motoharu ran down the street his dormitory was on, pulling his phone back out as he did.

He would protect the city his innocent stepsister lived in at all costs.

Between the lines 3

Kakine Teitoku strayed upon a rundown, abandoned building.

This was one of countless hideouts his unit SCHOOL had in reserve should they need one.

Forcefully entering through a door in the back, he made his way up the staircase. The elevators were not operational. It had also clearly not been maintained in the span of months, and the electricity wasn't running.

Reaching the top floor, he twisted the doorknob to a room in the middle of the hallway.

Darkness.

The only illumination was from the city lights that could be seen through the expansive window on the opposite wall.

Just as he was about to flip the light switch, they flickered on.

The lights revealed a large room in complete opposition to the condition of the rest of the building. There were luxurious sofas and other furniture arranged, rich carpeting, artificial plants in pots even assorted around the room in some places to enhance the visual appeal. In the distance you could also see some doors alongside the walls, probably leading to a large closet, master bathroom, and personal bedroom.

It was a scene from a VIP room at an extravagant club.

"I knew I'd find you here," commented Kakine.

"Yes, and I had a feeling that you'd come back one day. But it one piece and so soon was beyond my expectations."

Someone was staying in this estate, the lights didn't turn themselves on.

It was a beautiful girl of around 14 with a slim and slender figure. She was wearing a showy, backless dress you'd expect to be seen at a hostess club. Also accompanying her were stilettos and jewelry and other expensive accessories on her person.

She fit right into this grandiose atmosphere.

"Shut up unless you want a premature death," warned an annoyed Kakine.

"A dead man throwing around death threats, the irony by itself could kill me," the girl retorted smartly.

"Then just die already, don't half-ass it" said Kakine, his tone flat in spite of threats.

This girl in a dress was the only active agent of SCHOOL left from October 9.

"So tell me, how did you know I was at this hideaway in particular?" she asked, skipping over the subject.

"Idiot, you still get an electric bill for all this excessive living. You didn't even bother changing the account information so I can't access it. That's just moronic."

"Maybe I just wanted you to find me," the girl shrugged.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You're in no position to talk like that when you sought me out," she reminded.

"I thought I could count on your cooperation," Kakine said.

"I always did before, didn't I? So what's the plan?"

"Same as always," the Level 5 stated.

"Negotiating with Aleister, then. Good. If you plan to face Accelerator again, my stance is the same as before."

"Not yet, I'm not ready. But I will be. Until then, we need some leverage. That Anti-Skill chick in the jersey, she's probably his chaperone. If we find her, we get closer to Accelerator."

Kakine was of course speaking of Yomikawa Aiho, who prevented Accelerator from finishing off Kakine before he got back up after their last duel.

"I'll see what I can find," the girl in the dress proposed.

"Yeah. So tell me, did that bastard Sunazara really die?"

Sunazara Chimitsu was a hired sniper that SCHOOL recruited for their operation on October 9. He was ultimately taken out by Kinuhata Saiai of ITEM.

"Turns out that he survived. One of the Board Directors, Thomas Platinumburg, provided him with an Academy City life support system out of the city. He's barely hanging on and still hasn't woken up," she explained.

"Heh, not bad for some last-minute addition we got to replace our old sniper," Kakine praised, grinning tauntingly. "And that other bastard went and got himself killed. That leaves us shorthanded."

"I happen to have a replacement in mind for Sunazara," the girl informed.

"Is that so? Let's get to it then. We have a lot of work to get done…"

A/N: I feel like I'm making Maria too much of a bitch... But Rule of Funny rules out, and Shiage cannot go un-hated by a woman.

Once more, I'm sorry for the short chapter. It's just that at this point, Kakine's movements determine the speed of the plot unraveling. I was originally thinking of putting his bit in the middle of the chapter but I couldn't think of an appropriate replacement for the "Between the lines" segment.

If it feels like I'm neglecting/forgetting other characters, that's intentional. They're being saved for later; don't worry, they'll be back.

Next chapter will be longer, I promise.

I also want to extend my sincerest apologies for the month-long wait. I hope the double-chapter update is enough of a thank-you for being patient with me.