Chapter 6: Personal Reality

"YOU REALLY THINK WE HAD A CHOICE?!" Takitsubo's voice grew shrill. "Do you honestly believe that Mugino REALLY killed Frenda?!"

It was like a bombshell had landed in the room. Everyone was staring at her.

"Frenda's dead?" Misaka spoke first, her voice suddenly small.

"YES SHE IS DEAD!" Tears rolled down in thick streams Takitsubo continued screaming "THAT WRETCHED DARK MATTER SLICED HER IN HALF WHEN SHE REFUSED TO TELL THEM WHAT THEY WANTED TO KNOW!"

"Mugino didn't kill Frenda?" Hamazura whispered.

"No! A-no baka!" The girls snapped. "That's why she wanted my help! She wanted to find Teitoku! We were going to avenge Frenda's death!"

"But she told me she did it!"

"OF COURSE SHE DID!" Takitsubo was screaming again. "That bitch liaison told her to lie or else she would send Teitoku to destroy ITEM!"

"What you are saying?"Hamazura gasped. "That the liaisons were in cahoots?"

"Are you really so stupid? Of course they were!"

"But why?" Hamazura cried in distress. "Why would they pit two underground organizations against each other?"

"Hell if I know!" Takitsubo cried.

She grabbed for some tissues and blew her nose, "Mugino that poor fool! She took on the role of villain so that the rest of us could survive!"

Everyone looked stunned at the sudden revelation. I sat there, not sure what to say. So much horrible things have happened in this city, and I had no idea

Oni-chan was rocking back and forth, trying to process everything he heard. Fremea was white as a sheet, her pupils were dilated, and she looked ready to puke.

Misaka's mind was racing. Her eyes zipped about. "I don't understand," she said at last. "When I fought her, Frenda spilled beans as soon as she knew who I was. She could never stop herself from leaking something about ITEM! How could she have withstood Kakine, of all people?"

"That's because she wasn't being interrogated about ITEM!" Takitsubo said.

"But how do you know that?"

"Mugino told me," Takitsubo wiped away some tears. "She was still alive when Mugino went into that chamber of death. When asked if Frenda betrayed ITEM, she confessed that she was going to, but SCHOOL wasn't interested in that. They were after something far more important!"

She fixed a teary stare at Fremea.

There was silence as everyone absorbed the news. Fremea's tiny voice sounded so loud when she whispered, "Onee-chan died for me?"

Takitsubo nodded. Fremea's tiny hands clutched the little pink beret. It was now soaked with her tears. "But why?"

"Because she loved you!" Takitsubo said as tears kept dripping into her lap. "She loved you with all her heart, and none of us would even see an ounce of it. She gave up everything for you!"

"In the end, you were the only thing in her mind. On her dying breath, talked about you was like she was talking about her daughter! Frenda told Mugino about the room full of presents that she prepared for you. She was going to quit ITEM and raise you to be a proper lady! She wanted to show the world to you, to give you a better life!"

"The kind… she could never… have… I'm so sorry!"

Takitsubo broke down and disappeared in the bathroom. Hamazura glanced fretfully at Oni-chan, who nodded understandingly.

"Go, she needs you."

"Thank you!" He too disappeared through the bathroom door, leaving the rest of us comatose on the floor. Fremea was rocking silently in her seat, her face white as a sheet.

Oni-chan sighed. "This is what I didn't want to dive into," he says.

"I had no idea," Misaka's voice was hollow. "I only thought of them as unclean mercenaries, To think that they would suffer so much!"

"ITEM and the other underground organizations are a sticky problem," Oni-chan said, "They are used by the higher ups to be used at their pleasure. Hamazura told me a lot about ITEM and the other organizations, and I've been cataloguing the known members."

He got up and pulled out a binder from the bookshelf. He leafed through a list of names and showed us some with known portraits. Surprisingly, one of the organization, GROUP, was completely filled in. "This is as far as I have gotten on my own. I've been going down to the Anti-skill HQ to dig into the archives, but I haven't found much."

"Judgement should be aware of this binder too!" Misaka exclaimed as she scanned the binder, "I can take this down to branch 177, and we can find who these people are."

But Oni-chan shook his head. "I don't want these people to get in trouble. Many them have retired, or are under some sort of protection. I don't want the officials to get drawn into this yet."

He sighed again. "But you're right that I'm hitting a brick wall. Many of these people have gone missing and their information has been stripped from the database. Besides, this is only half the picture.

"All I knew beforehand was that these organizations existed and they were being controlled by the board of directors. I had no idea about the drama behind ITEM before Hamazura told me, and even then, stories like the one we just heard clarifies so much about the inaccuracies I've been wrestling with."

"What do you mean?" asked Misaka.

"What Hamazura told me long ago was that Shizuri Mugino killed Frenda for betraying ITEM, then went crazy with rage and forced Takitsubo to find Kakine Teitoku. Now there's the wrinkle. Why did she even care to avenge Frenda's death?"

"To protect the honor of ITEM?" Misaka asked.

"Maybe, but none of the members of ITEM had any real loyalty to the organization. You heard it so yourself. No one felt any real camaraderie. They were all out for themselves." Oni-chan said, "From what Hamazura told me, Shizuri makes repeated visits to Frenda's gravesite, sometimes even without the other. If a supposed friend betrayed you and you killed that person, would you make repeated visits to her grave site?"

"No," Misaka said, nodding, "I'd want nothing to do with her."

"Right?" Oni-chan said, "It simply doesn't make sense."

"That's because all of it was a lie." Hamazura and Takitsubo emerged from the bathroom. Both had tears in their eyes. She sat down and pulled Fremea to her. She glanced at the binder and asked, "What are you going to do with all those people?"

"Find them, save them," Oni-chan said, "Reunite them with their families."

"Most of them have gone missing," Hamazura said, "Either that, or they're dead and in ashes."

"Maybe," Oni-chan agreed, "But I want to try. At least, I could bring some closure for the families."

"You're opening another can of worms, Touma-san, as always." Hamazura said, chuckling, "I'm sure the higher ups would want to stop you just as much as they want to stop each other from becoming the next General Superintendent."

"Oh I have no doubt about that," Oni-chan deadpanned, "Fortunately, I have you and others for help in that matter."

He put the binder back on the self. Then, without warning, he hollered at the door. "Tsuchimikado! Come in at once!"

On cue, the door to Oni-chan's room opened, and a tall lanky westerner walked in. "Yo Kami-yan! Ohisashiburi!"

At once, both Hamazura and Takitsubo whirled around. "GROUP!" The word dripped out of Takitsubo like acid.

"And how do you do? My erstwhile enemies," Tsuchimikado bowed, "I come in peace, so please do not kill me."

"Moto-kun, what's going on?" A short girl in maid outfit pushed in. "Ah Misaka-sama! Ohaiyo-gouzaimasu!"

Misaka stared at her, completely nonplussed. "Maika-chan? What are you doing here?"

"I live next door, Misaka-sama!" She glommed onto the lanky youth and winked. "With my favorite Aniki of course."

The blond gave her a tight squeeze. I boggled as he pressed the tip of his nose against hers before shooing her away with a slap on her behind.

"Damn you Tsuchimikado!" I heard Oni-chan grumbled, "Some people have it so lucky!"

"I guess that you overheard everything we talk about?"

"Kinda hard not to—nyan," Tsuchimikado said, knocking on the doorframe. "These walls are thin and carry voices like the wind."

"Then you can make up for your eavesdropping," Oni-chan said, "By giving them some information on Komaba Ritoku."

"What do you mean?" Hamazura exclaimed. "What does my old boss have to do with this?"

"Everything," Tsuchimikado kicked the door open and walked outside.

Hamazura turned to Oni-chan. "What's the meaning of this?"

"Don't you find it strange that Frenda entrusted Fremea to a Skill-out leader?"

"What about it?" Hamazura retorted, "Ritoku was an amazing leader! He was kind and caring to his followers!"

Oni-chan sighed. "Look, I love you man, but you know as well as I do how dangerous Skill-out is. It isn't exactly built for taking care of little girls. Why then did your boss give his life for Fremea?"

"Why do you want us to investigate that?"

"Like I said, I want to give this whole mess some closure, and that applies to you, too. I think this will help you."

Tsuchimikado held the door open. "I'll take you to GROUP's old headquarters. I'm sure you will find what you need."

"But—"

"Go!" Takitsubo was stroking Fremea's hair. "This is for your own good."

Hamazura hesitated. "Are you sure?"

She nodded. They shared a glance, and some deeper understanding passed between them.

"Alright, I'll go," He followed Tsuchimikado outside, who let the door close behind them. As they left, I could hear their voice drift in from the window.

"Oh and by the way," said the blond in sunglasses, "I suggest that you bring along other ITEM members—nyan."

"Why?" Hamazura asked

"Oh nothing, I'm just not sure if the old security system hasn't been shut off—nyan. I could use some extra muscle…"

Oni-chan stretched and walked into the kitchen. "Biri-biri" He said, leaning out the doorway, "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"I told you to stop calling me that!" She got up and followed him.

And then, I was alone with Takitsubo and Fremea. She was singing a soft lullaby, while the smaller girl lay in her lap and cried herself to sleep. Quietly, I got up from my seat and crept over to the kitchen.

I got close just enough to hear Oni-chan say, "…the Big Spider case?"

Misaka said, "Yes. I helped anti-skill get the bastards. Why?"

"I want to talk to the ringleader, Kurozuma Wataru. Do you suppose you could help me secure an interview with him?"

"Why would you talk to him? What does he have to do with this?"

"I don't know," Oni-chan sighed, "I read the Anti-skill report about Komba-san, and it strongly implies that he and big spider were rivals."

"I have this suspicion about the day he went and saved Hebitani Tsuguo." He went on, "I think that there was some foul play going on."

"How do you know all of this?" Misaka asked, "This should have been classified information."

"Yomikawa-sensei told me the gist of what happened," Oni-chan said, "She was there on the day when Anti-skill raided the place."

"Wait! You don't think—"

"I'm not thinking of anything." Oni-chan cut her off. "I don't have the clay I need to build my bricks. I need to ask Wataru directly."

Misaka hesitated "I don't think Konori-senpai would approve of your digging into this."

"That's why I want her to grant me permission. Do you think you could help me on this?""

"I-I'll see what I can do."

Footsteps told me they were coming out of the kitchen. I panicked and scrambled back to the kontatsu just as the pair emerged. Misaka hurried to put her shoes back on and opened the door.

But then, she paused and turned her head around. "Hold on," She said, "You still haven't answered me properly yet."

"I know," Oni-chan said, "It's just…" He bit his lips and turned his head away.

Misaka closed the door, kicked her shoes off and walked up close to Oni-chan. Deftly, she forced his head around, caressing his cheeks so tenderly.

"What?" she said, "Tell me."

"I-I made this promise to someone," he stopped.

"Yes?" Misaka asked knowingly.

Oni-chan closed his eyes and grasped her fingers in his own. "I made a promise to protect the world around you, to fill it with happiness and laughter," He said, "But there is just so much to do, and problems just keep cropping up!"

"I know about your promise," She said, "I overheard you say it."

"Oh, is that so?" Oni-chan laughed shyly. Misaka nodded.

"I've told you this before. No one is saying you have to bear the weight of my future or the fate of six billion people to the point of your own destruction! You've probably seen a deeper part of the world than I have, but I can't have you falling off the cliff while clinging to convenient meaningless principles. There's no such thing as a perfect world. Even if it looks perfect on the surface, you'll find something twisted if you look at it differently. Do you really think that's the same thing as saving people?"

"No," Oni-chan said, "Why are you telling me this again?"

"Because it's important," she said, "Because it's my world that you're messing with, and I can't have you meddling with it without my say so." She took his hands in her own so they interlaced with each other. "Besides, you are a part of my world now too, so you better not do anything stupid, or I'll beat your ass!"

She smirked. "We're in this together… Touma-kun!"

She kissed him on the cheek and hurried outside.

Cold dread invaded my soul. Watching them interact, I realized that I had lost before I could even begin. Nevertheless, I felt happy for Oni-chan, who was clearly happy even if he had so much on his shoulders. I remembered Index's words that there were so many people indebted to him.

Oni-chan stood rooted at the door long after it had closed. Then, he came back and sat down close to the bed, exactly where Misaka had sat. He leaned against the bed and stared at the ceiling.

At that moment, Fremea stirred from her slumber, and she sat up from Takitsubo's lap. She opened her mouth in a loud yawn and scratched at her eyes.

"Alright, Fremea-chan," he said, smiling, "I'm so sorry for the wait."

The poor girl jerked from her stupor, and said shakily, "Oh no, thank you so much for seeing me. I'm glad to have so many people whom I can rely on."

"Is that so?" Oni-chan beamed. "So, what was it that you wanted to tell me?"

"Well sir," Fremea said, "It's about a nutcracker."

Between the lines: Letter of permission from Kamijou Touma to Aiho Yomikawa

Dear Yomikawa sensei.

As you know, Aleister Crowlery was ousted as general superintendent of Academy city. As a result, a power vacuum has formed, and the top brass in the city are fighting to fill in the void. Many schools have since shut down, and lots of students have free time to do whatever they want.

Since the start of September, I have barely kept up with class, what with the constant interruptions from espers and magicians alike. After the incident with the Elements, I realized that I hadn't done any homework at all, and had missed quite a few tests. It was impossible for me to not repeat the school term, even if my whole day was devoted to remedial classes.

Therefore, I decided to accept my fate and dropped out of the next school term. In the spring, I hope that I could be readmitted as a transfer student, or something. I am not the only one, though. Tsuchimikado and Aogami Pierced have followed my lead and dropped out as well. Together, we the Delta Force have resigned to our fates and are trying again for next year!

Fukuda!

The idea of becoming a counselor and consulting detective came to me while I was in the library. I was reading a book called, 'a study in scarlet', where a detective was trying to uncover the many mysteries in the world. One passage stood out to me as echoed how Academy city felt to me. In the book, the detective says that, "There's the scarlet thread of murder running through the colourless skein of life and our duty is to unravel it, and isolate it, and expose every inch of it." After reading this passage, I thought about all the incidents that I'd been involved in, and how Academy City was so much worse than what was written in that book. Such threads were entangled with so many others that one didn't know where one started and another ended.

I want to untie this messy, a mammoth task I know, but one I believe would be good to this city. Fortunately, I have many friends I can count on and many connections that I have formed over the past few months alone.

With your permission and approval, I hope to embark on this mission soon.

Yours sincerely,

Kamijou Touma