From the Casebook of Kamijou Touma

Chapter 5: A certain dorm in District 7

Early the next morning, I emerged from Tokiwadai School's dorm after a hot shower and a hearty breakfast.

Since I hadn't any set of clothing to change into, so I had to borrow Misaka's uniform. The blouse fit me surprisingly well, though it was a bit long for my taste. When I pointed this out, Misaka only grimaced and sulked in a corner. The cashmere sweater vest was just draped loosely about my shoulders and went down to my knees. The dark grey skirt hung loosely about my waist, threatening to fall with every step I took.

My panties had also been sent for a wash and wouldn't come back until late in the afternoon. I therefore had to make do without it. I cringed as the leggings rubbed against more sensitive regions. I longed to get to Oni-chan's dorm to put on my own clothing.

Misaka was coming too, but Kuroko had other business to attend to.

"This is about last night's attack isn't it?" Misaka asked knowingly. Kuroko nodded. "As a Judgement member who witnessed the events, I have to testify as expert witness. It will probably take the whole day."

"Taa-Ke Mendokusei!" Misaka cursed.

"It can't be could it," Kuroko smirked, "With a city this unpredictable…oh and by the way Onee-sama." She walked up close to Misaka and looked her in the eye. "Make sure that your current… predicament doesn't degenerate into some sort of scandal," She said, "We wouldn't a scandal to befall the Ace of Tokiwadai, now would we?"

"Nuh!" Misaka jerked away, "There's no way that would happen!"

"Of course it wouldn't, I trust you completely," Kuroko smiled and backed away, "By for now, Otohime-chan!"

Once she teleported away, Misaka turned to me and smiled as if nothing amiss had happened, "Alright, let's be off, then."

She led the way, passing by an overhead train station and two cross streets. Within minutes, we were walking to an ordinary apartment complex. "We're here!"Misaka said cheerfully, "He should be on the third floor!"

"Huh," I said, looking around. There were no gated entrances like the Tokiwadai dorm. There were no cafeteria and no dedicated facilities for bathing or laundry or any other activities. In fact, it was so normal that I was surprised that Misaka found it so quickly. It was as though she had been here many times before. My thoughts went back to yesterday, how she grew so timid at the mention of Oni-chan's name and yet gravitated towards him without anyone else realizing. Cold suspicion invaded my soul. I narrowed my eyes at her retreating back.

"Misaka," I said as we climbed the last set of stairs.

"Hmm?" Misaka looked back. "What's up?"

"What exactly is your relationship with Oni-chan?"

"Ugh!" The color drained from her face and she stumbled on the last step. "W-w-why a-a-are y-y-ou as-as-k-k-king th-that a-a-all of a sud-d-d-dden!"

"A-re! If it isn't Kamijou's girlfriend!" Before I could respond, a lanky teenager with dirty blond hair appeared on the third floor landing. He was wearing a greenish-brown jacket over a white undershirt and a pair of jeans. He smirked as soon as he saw us. "I thought I heard someone familiar!"

"HE'S NOT MY BOYFRIEND!" came the immediately reply, and suddenly my hair was standing on its end. Electricity was crackling around Misaka, and I suddenly felt afraid.

But the boy just laughed and said, "Sure you're not. Certainly, you didn't confess your feeling to him or anything!"

My ears were burning. Misaka had confessed to Oni-chan? "When exactly did that happen?" I asked.

"Otohime!"

"Hmmm…" the boy tapped on the chin. "I'd say about two weeks ago?"

"Hamazura!" Misaka cried, "I told you to keep that a secret!"

She glared daggers into the boy, but he only laughed.

"Shiage-kun, I thought I sensed a strong personal reality nearby." A high school girl with shoulder-length black hair appeared, her expression was featureless as she examined us. "Oh no wonder, Railgun is here. What's this I hear of confessions?"

"Rikou-chan?" The boy called Hamazura cringed as the girl glommed onto him and stared down at us.

"Go away! Shiage-kun is mine! You go find your own boyfriend!"

"I keep telling you!" A huge surge of electricity passed through my body, and I felt as though my legs would wobble off. "HE. IS. NOT. MY. BOYFRIEND!"

Misaka stamped the ground repeatedly, and I could feel every word jerking through my body. I thanked the lucky stars that I was clinging onto the railings, or I surely would have fallen.

"Nyah nyah! Who is that screaming so loudly in the morning?"

A little blond head popped up from the third floor landing peering down over a low wall. She was younger than me and a head shorter, and her pink beret covered her hair. "Nyah! Oh, if it isn't Miko-neechan!"

Then she saw me and smiled a toothy grin. "Nyah nyah! How do you do? I am Fremea Seivelun!"

"Kor-ra! Fremea!" Shiage snapped, "No climbing on the railing! You'll fall and crack your head!"

"Hai!" The little girl's head disappeared. She ran around the corner and down the stairs to me. I was so taken in that I didn't have time to react before she pulled me straight and kissed me on my cheeks. "Nyah nyah! My name is Fremea Seivelun What is your name?"

My cheeks were burning from where she had kissed me. Her energy was so infectious and her demeanor so radiant that I nearly fainted with excitement. "I'm Tatsugami Otohime, ten years old," I said, "It's good to meet you!"

She beamed and pulled me up the stairs. Then, she hit my arm and yelled, "Tag! You're it!" and ran off laughing. I ran after her, yelling for her to come back. We zipped through the hallway, laughing all the way.

When I cornered her on at a dead end, I lunged, and she spun around so perfectly that she looked like a ballerina. Then, she was taunting me and running the other way.

We were on our way back to the staircase, when I heard Misaka growling, "Like I said, nothing came of it! That idiot ran off without giving me a proper answer!"

"It can't be helped," Hamazura was saying, "You know how he is. He's much too busy saving the world to attend to more mundane troubles. You can try and help him out from time to time."

"Don't you think that I'm doing that already?" Misaka said, "Besides, that idiot has more than enough time to answer me, anyway!"

Hamazura scoffed. "Well, first of all, you need to stop calling him 'that idiot' at least have the decency to call Kamijou by his name."

"I would if he'd stop calling me 'Biri-biri!'"

"Would you rather he called you Railgun? Or even Ace of Tokiwadai?"

"No, of course not!" she exclaimed, "I just want him to call me by my name, that's all!"

"Then maybe, you should be the one to start! That's all I'm saying."

"A-re? Why is everyone crowding on the staircase?" Everyone turned to see Oni-chan emerge from the elevator, carrying a basketful of clothing.

"Oni-chan!" I cried, "Good morning!" I ran gave him a big hug. He laughed and ruffled my hair. "Good morning, welcome to my dorm."

The he looked up at the rest of his visitors. "Shiage? Fremea-chan? To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Hamazura came and shook his hand. "Business sir," he said, "I have some client work for you today!"

"Is that so?" Oni-chan said, "Well, let's go to my dorm room. There's no use standing out here."

Together, the five of us trooped down the end of the hall. Oni-chan, me, Fremea, hamazura, Takitsubo-san, and Misaka all walked to the last door, whereupon, Oni-chan put down his basket and patted his pockets.

"A-re? Where are my keys!" We all sweat-dropped as he started digging through the laundry. "Don't tell me I lost it! Fuku-da!"

He jumped up and was about to run back to the laundry when I noticed a green band wrapped around his wrist. "Oni-chan!" I said, pointing. "It's on your bracelet!"

Oni-chan looked at his wrist and sighed in relief. "Oh thank goodness! Thanks, Otohime!"

Misaka face palmed, and I heard Hamazura groan. "Goodness!" he mumbled darkly, "This idiot is going to be the death of me!"

He opened the door and motioned us inside. We all filed in through the narrow hallway and ended up in a single bed dorm room. Oni-chan set the basket on his bed and motioned us to the kontatsu.

"Everyone, please be seated," he said before disappearing to the kitchen.

I found a spot facing the front door and knelt next to Fremea. Hamazura and the girl named Takitsubo sat down across from us, while Misaka had a seat closest to the bed. Oni-chan emerged with five mugs of tea and sat across from Misaka.

"So," Oni-chan said as he passed out the hot beverage, "How can I help you?"

But the blonde shook his head. "Not me," he said, "Fremea's the one who wanted to see you."

Oni-chan blinked and smiled at the little girl. "Well, Fremea-chan, what can I do for you?

Fremea opened her mouth to speak, but Takitsubo held out a hand. "Wait!"

We all looked at her, and she cleared her throat. "I apologize for my interruption. Unfortunately, I don't feel comfortable with you meddling in affairs that don't concern you. Certainly, I realize that Shiage-kun and Fremea trust you unquestioningly, but I do not. Frankly, this is the first time we've ever met. I have no idea who you are, and I don't like how the AIM field warp around you. Why would you be the one to help us?"

Oni-chan smiled understandingly. "What is your name?" he asked, but it was Misaka who answered.

"Takitsubo Rikou, level 4 esper with an ability know as AIM Stalker." Misaka spoke quietly, "She is part of the mercenary group ITEM."

"Was part of ITEM," Hamazura interjected meekly, but Misaka ignored him.

"If you're going to talk about trust, then let's have it out right here and now! This girl and the group she belongs to helped the dark side perpetuate the killing and torture of my sisters!" She glared at Takitsubo. "You have some nerve to be lecturing others about meddling in the affairs of strangers."

"I do not have to defend myself to you, Railgun," Takitsubo said coldly, "We had nothing to do with the institutions we worked with. ITEM doesn't concern itself with the motives of its employers. We certainly do not take orders from a whiny brat like you!"

Misaka growled, and rose from her seat, but Touma laid a hand on her shoulders. "Misaka wait!" he cleared his throat. "The circumstances around ITEM and the Sisters project are far more complex than you can imagine," He said to them, "There is a lot of baggage to unpack, and we're not even talking about involvement with the higher ups."

At this, the whole room suddenly felt extremely tense. I could perceive a spectre that infected everyone except Fremea and me. Oni-chan went on. "I've been digging around for some information about the whole mess. From what Hamazura told me yesterday…"

He paused and nodded at Fremea. "I think that we should leave that discussion for another day." Hamazura nodded vigorously. Misaka and Takitsubo just glared at each other. Oni-chan kept speaking nonetheless.

"You are right to doubt my legitimacy. Certainly, no one in their right mind should be working with people they don't…eh… trust implicitly."

Misaka snorted. Hamazura just rolled his eyes. Oni-chan chuckled nervously. "Trust Kamijou Touma on this. I've paid for that mistake so many times already!"

He got up and went over to some bookshelves. "These are my credentials," Oni-chan said, pulling out a business card saying "Kamijou Touma, private counselor.". Then he pulled out two documents from a grey binder. "This is permission from Anti-skill for conducting private investigations in Academy city, and a confidentiality agreement stating that nothing said in this room will be leaked to ears outside."

Takitsubo scanned the document, scrutinizing every word and punctuation. Her hands drifted down to the signature and paused.

"Yomikawa Aiho," She looked up at Oni-chan. "How do you know such a top ranking Anti-skill member?"

"She's a teacher at my school," Oni-chan said, sitting back down, "A week before Christmas, I asked her for a favor." He laughed nervously. "She had to pull a lot of strings to get this for me."

"So you're a High School student then," Takitsubo pressed on. "It's highly irregular for such a person to be doing any job, let alone something as substantial as this."

There was a loud cough as Misaka spat out, "ITEM!"

Takitsubo glared. "I had to drop out of school to join that group! I had to abandon all of my friends just to apply for grunt work! There was never a day when I wasn't afraid of dying because of the work, or because of the mistreatment!"

"Don't give me that." Misaka snapped. "I've seen Shizuri's private penthouse! You lived in the lap of luxury and never ever worried about anything!"

"A gilded cage designed to trap the most powerful espers," Takitsubo's voice grew heated as she retorted. "We were nothing but guard dogs for the board of directors! To do as they pleased, and discarded when we outlived our usefulness!"

"If it was so bad, then why did you join?"

"YOU REALLY THINK THAT I HAD A CHOICE?!" Takitsubo's voice grew shrill. "DO YOU HONESTLY THINK THAT I REALLY WANTED TO HELP THOSE MADMEN SCIENTISTS KILL YOUR 10000 CLONES!"

"Do you honestly believe that Mugino REALLY killed Frenda?!"