Chapter 25: Tsugutoshi Kaizumi

"Did you know that your eyes glow? When you use your power, that is."

Tap, tap, tap! Accelerator's white silhouette came up behind me. I blinked, and the world returns to normal. He was now covered with white bandages, and he leaned on his cane, watching me lazily.

I shrugged. "No, I had no idea."

He grunted, "So? Tell me what you see."

He pointed to the monitors with his walking stick. I blinked again, and the colors were washed out once more. "I see a blue army fighting a red army. Everything else has been greyed out, though I can see certain people as white flames, like candles in the darkness."

"Uh-huh," Accelerator said, "Can you give me a little more detail?"

"Sure," I said, "The blue people are all those fighting on our side, while the people opposing us are red. Strangely, they're not all the same shade, but I haven't quite worked out what that means."

"How convenient," He said, "So who shows up in white?"

"They're mostly people I've met so far. Oni-chan, Misaka-san, Shirai-san, Mugino-san… you." I glanced up at him sheepishly.

Accelerator rolled his eyes, "I'm charmed. Is there anything we should be worried about?"

"I don't know," I said, looking back at the monitors, "I thought I saw a spot of red walking on the plaza just a few minutes ago, but it was gone before I knew what it was."

"I wonder," Accelerator said, "Perhaps it will turn up again later."

I winced, and all the color around me returned to normal. Just then, the Dean, Tsugutoshi Kaizumi, came down the stairs. He was slightly pink, possibly from the cold, as he hurried over to warm himself by the electric heater. He poured himself a cup of coffee and rested on the benches.

Nearby, Yomikawa-sensei and the Anti-skill officer was having a heated discussion while pouring over the blueprints laid out on the table.

"It just doesn't make sense!" Yomikawa-sensei was saying, "How could there be only fifteen floors, when our photos clearly show a thirty-story building?

"Look, I didn't make the plans!" the officer snapped, "I just got them from the Bank, and it shows that this building should only have fifteen stories! The data on whatever's on the upper levels was probably lost after the Bank shut down."

"Or it's been hidden away on purpose. How relevant are these plans, anyway?" Yomikawa-sensei said, "It's like you said, Aleister shut down the Bank, and we lost everything! So, where did these plans come from?"

"Maybe it was an old back-up," The officer suggested, "Maybe the school was renovated."

"How do renovations just double the building's overall size? Who knows what's in the other half!"

As she said this, there was crackling of radio noise in my ear.

"Yomikawa-taichou! This is Bell-119 and Bell-120, it looks like our helicopters are low on fuel, so we are returning to base."

"You-kai!" Yomikawa-sensei grunted, "Gou-anzin-ni!"

With a hand on my shoulder, Accelerator guided me to the benches where the dean was sitting. Kaizumi-san hardly reacted when we came up to him, though he was clearly aware of our presence. Just as the old man took a mouthful of the hot brew, Accelerator broke the silence. "Kaizumi-dono, would you mind if we shared the fire with you?"

"Not at all, Chairman-san," Kaizumi-san said, "Please be my guest."

The Albino boy sat me down next to Kaizumi-san and busied himself with the coffee. "It's a rare treat," he said handing a cup to me, "To meet someone in Japan who is more into coffee than into tea."

"Indeed," Kaizumi-san sighed, "Well, such things happen when you're raised in a mixed family, away from your ancestral home."

Accelerator poured himself a cup and sat down next to me. "I've never had a family, so I can't really relate," he said, "Still, I looked through your files and noticed something interesting. You're a Nisei, aren't you?"

Kaizumi nodded. "That's right. My father immigrated to America with his family mere days before they bombed Pearl Harbor. My father grew up in an internment camp in the middle of Utah, and that's where he met my mother. She was a devout follower of the church of latter-day saints, so she was there volunteering as a nurse. Despite her family's reservations, they hit it off immediately, and they got married as soon as the war was over. I was their youngest son."

Accelerator took a sip from his cup. "When I worked in GROUP, I cared little about how the people around me operated. All I cared about is whether or not they got in my way. Looking back on it now, I find that there were more things going on than I realized. Our little group was very different from the other underground teams. Tsuchimikado was our point guard, even though he was a level 0, and that Unabara Mitsuki stood out even more. His skin-changing abilities were like nothing I had ever seen, and that girl he fought with had all those strange powers. Even in a city full of espers, their abilities were just bizarre. Back then, I just thought that they were a couple of gemstones, but now, I'm not so sure"

Kaizumi-san nodded, "No doubt your trip to Britain was an enlightening experience. You've learned much about all the strange and terrible powers that science can't explain."

"How did you manage it?" Accelerator asked, "How did you keep a wanted fugitive away from the Magic side?"

He smirked. "Who says it was me?"

Accelerator growled. "Oh, come on! This is your school, and these are your students! Not only that, this unusual security system is based on both science and magic, and it has your hands all over it. What other board members would be so well versed in both domains? I was the one who authorized this raid. Whatever you're hiding up above the fifteenth floor will be revealed to the world."

"So be it," Kaizumi-san sighed, "I made a pact with the Mexican cabal. In exchange for peace, I agreed to act as Etzali's warden. Even after GROUP disbanded, I kept that boy under a tight leash."

"Was this deal made before or after the Dragon incident?"

Kaizumi-san smiled. "Shiokishi, that idiot, didn't even realize that his security team was infiltrated by the Aztecs. Yet, thanks to his incompetence—and thanks to your efforts might I add—Tecpatl was killed, and the Mexicas were thrown into a power vacuum. They were weak, and we were strong. For the longest time, we had the influence over the Magic Side, in general."

"But then, Aleister died." Accelerator sipped quietly from his cup.

"But then, Aleister died. Exactly," Kaizumi-san nodded. "Now, fortune has turned on its head, and the cat barks at the dog."

"Wait, you knew that this would happen?"

"Not the way it did, and not this soon. I lost contact with those who prayed for the return of the Winged One, and Aleister's death must have boosted their confidence." He smiled, "How poetic, that he bequeathed this burden to you."

"Happy birthday to me!" Accelerator deadpanned, "What I still don't understand is why you did it. Why did you create such a group that was half science and half magic?"

Kaizumi-san smiled again. "I think you will find that answer when you access GROUP databases. You've earned the right, but you may not like what you uncover. The blood on your hands is redder than it is on mine."

He drained the cup in his hand and set it aside. Without another word, he got up and left us to the heat. Accelerator got up too, and he stomped away, leaving me behind. For a moment, I just sat there, not sure what to make of the conversation.

Then, I heard the radio come alive again, and Oni-chan's voice came through. "This is Image Breaker!" he said, "We've made it up to the fifteenth floor, but we've ran into a problem. We can't seem to go any higher."

I got up and rushed to the monitors. There, I saw Oni-chan's team stopping in another hallway. Oni-chan was standing in the middle, holding a hand to his ear, while Stiyl Magnus and Kinuhata-san stood on either side of him, guarding him against anything that came up.

Index, on the other hand, was glued to one of the sides, sniffing like a bloodhound catching a scent. Suddenly, I remembered her doing something similar last night, when we were working on Fremea's case. As she kept hovering around a specific spot, I let my eyesight change again. Sure enough, a tiny bright yellow spot appeared on the wall, and Index circled it like a moth around a lamp.

I pressed the talk button on my earpiece and spoke into it. "Oni-chan? Can you hear me?"

For a second there was silence, but then Oni-chan's voice came through. "Otohime-chan? Is there something you need help with?"

"Uh-uh," I shook my head, but then realized that he couldn't see me. "Actually, I think I can help you out."

"Help me out? How?"

"There's a spot on the wall near Index," I said, "If you touch it with your right hand, maybe something will happen."

"Next to Index?" Oni-chan said, "Wait, you can see me?"

"Hai," I said, "I'm in the underground parking lot with Uiharu-san and the others."

"Ah, I see." He turned around to face Index and examined the wall. He asked, "Did you say to touch it?"

"Hai!" I said, "It's a tiny spot, but it's where Index been sniffing."

"Okay, let me see." Oni-chan pushed Index to one side and ran his hand along the wall. His hand brushed the little yellow spot, and as if by magic, the whole section recessed, and an elevator door appeared.

"Ya-ta!" I cheered, "You got it!"

Oni-chan laughed, "You're a life-saver! But how did you know?"

"Heh," I smiled and rubbed the spot under my nose, "It's this ability I have now. I can see things differently from others. Accelerator says that I could be a gemstone!"

"A Gemstone? Sugoi!" Oni-chan exclaimed, "We'll have to tell your mom and dad about it!"

Index examined the control panel carefully. "Hmm, it looks like it was hidden away with a concealment charm. But this part isn't magic. I don't know how to use this!"

"It's just a protected entry-way," Oni-chan laughed, "There are no buttons, so there must be some sort of touch sensor. If we had a hacker on our team, then maybe we can break-in. Oi, Misaka, can you hear me?"

"There's no way I can get up there right now," Misaka-san responded, "Not with Mugino here!"

"I can do it!" Uiharu-san's voice chimed in, "But I need a way to get up there! I don't know if I can ask Anti-skill to give me a lift."

She turned to look at Yomikawa-sensei, who shook her head. "Unfortunately, the helicopters have already left," she said through the radio, "I don't know when they will be coming back."

"I can take you up there," Shirai-san said, "The medical team is pretty much done here. Meet me on the second floor."

"Alright! I'll be right there." Saying this, Uiharu quickly closed her laptop and stuffed it back into her book bag. Then, she took off her headphones and got out of the chair. "Yomikawa-sensei," she cried, "Would you please take over!?"

"Okay, but don't do anything crazy!"

Uiharu-San nodded and ran off.

"Wait! Let me come with you!"

I ran off after her.