Hey, look. It's me again. For this chapter it is important that you read the 'end of chapter' notes. Now without further ado, I wish you a good reading. Wait, wait, wait. "Toaru majutsu no index" doesn't actually belong to me. Yes, I know, surprising.
Chapter 4 - This is the best version of me
The first thing that caught the boy's attention was the wound on Frenda's leg. If he had taken a little longer, the girl's chances of survival would have been incredibly low. But getting here was only the first step, he still needed to resolve the situation and get her to a hospital. He was sure that a certain frog-faced doctor would be able to cure her without any problems.
"I hope you are a better fighter than that foul-mouthed little girl" Kaguya said
The porcelain-skinned girl turned away from Frenda and went to the center of the room. Her movements were graceful like those of a fairy tale princess. She looked at the young newcomer, but did not meet his gaze, which was locked on the blonde girl.
Still not looking at the silver girl, he began to move. Kaguya brought her hand once more to her back. A white mist appeared behind her.
"You are incredibly calm. I assume you are a high level esper. This fight will yield me a good amount of information" The girl with moonlight-colored eyes tried to draw the young man's attention to her.
Completely ignoring the girl, Kamijou crossed the room and stooped down next to the faintly breathing blonde. He pulled a white band from his pants pocket, which he usually carried for emergency moments.
"It's going to be okay" He assured her with a firm tone. He took another look at the wound on her leg. "Your name is Frenda, isn't it? You did a good job. You can rest now, I'll take care of the rest" He wrapped the bandage carefully around the wound.
Frenda was in a state where she didn't know what to say. The pain was so great that it dulled her senses, but there was something that bothered her. Takitsubo had told her the truth about this person who appeared to rescue her. According to her friend, he was not an esper. Yet here he was thinking about fighting a girl who could kill him in the blink of an eye. From Frenda's perspective, a madlad armed only with a shield, which in her opinion was completely useless, had appeared out of nowhere and told her not to worry, as if he was absolutely sure that she wouldn't die today. She would laugh if she had the strength for it. The only thing she could do was hope that he wouldn't die so quickly, at least that way he would buy some time until someone with a realistic chance of winning showed up.
Kamijou turned away from her and finally looked at the expressionless girl, who was waiting patiently for her new target. She could have attacked when she wanted to, but she deemed it unnecessary. It seemed that she had complete confidence in her abilities.
"My name is Shinseijou Kaguya. It would be polite of you to introduce yourself, but be brief, my allies should be leaving by now."
"Kamijou Touma. As for your allies, i regret to inform you that one of them has already been eliminated. It is only a matter of time before her friends find the other one" He gestured with his hand in Frenda's direction, who was relieved that the situation was under control.
"So things are not as good as I had hoped. If that's the case, then forgive me if I don't have time to have fun with you."
Kaguya's first move was made. An ice spear materialized beside her head. With a lazy gesture, the spear was hurled towards Kamijou at an alarming speed. Its target was the boy's head, and its aim was perfect. But... Kaguya didn't expect the young man with the spiky hair to remain standing. He didn't even have to move much. The spear flew in a straight line, which meant that a simple casual step to the side was more than enough to avoid it. No matter how fast the attack was, if she needed time to prepare it and fire, all he needed to do was move when the girl could no longer adjust her aim.
"I have a question for you, Kaguya" The boy's blue eyes peered into those silver orbs.
"I see no problem sharing any information you want, but be brief, my presence is required elsewhere"
"The cylinder you carry on your back is filled with water vapor, am I right?" He pointed his index finger in her direction. "Do you need it to use your ability?"
"The answer to your question is somewhat obvious. But... yes, you are correct. I can use the water molecules in the air around me as I please, but there are times when the humidity of the air becomes extremely low. Think of this tank as a guarantee that I will not run out of ammunition.
She did all this explanation without changing her expression. The boy looked at her with one hand on his chin, a little thoughtful.
"I guess I was right" He said categorically.
"As I said, the answer was obvious considering my ability. Are you the kind of person who usually notes obvious things because you think people will find you intelligent? I am sorry to inform you that it had the opposite effect.
"I wasn't talking about your answer to my question. I was talking about you."
Kaguya's eyebrows rose slightly. That was the most she had been able to express so far.
"If you're done trying to evaluate me, let's get it over with" The silver girl remained calm.
Without wasting any time, the girl liquefied the air around her. A whip of water more than 20 meters long appeared in her hand and was swung erratically in the boy's direction.
Kamijou Touma wasted no time. Instead of raising his right hand, he threw himself to the ground. The whip passed over his body, missing him by millimeters, but the girl's attack was not over. With a flick of the wrist, the whip in their hands came down toward the young man, but he had expected her to do this. It seemed silly for someone to attack with a water whip, even Touma thought so at first glance, but as soon as that liquid weapon touched the ground, he realized he was right to avoid it at all costs.
"Surprised?" The girl retracted her weapon for a moment, while the boy rolled over once more before standing up. "Did you know that it is possible to cut a steel plate using only water?"
"Yes. I saw some videos on the internet" replied the young man, placing the shield on his back
That indifferent answer seemed to ignite something in that cold girl. She raised her free hand and then a few daggers made of water appeared around her. Kaguya used her whip in conjunction with her daggers skillfully, she swung the water weapon toward the boy's center of gravity, to try to seal his movements, and then threw a dagger at him one at a time.
For his part, Touma didn't want to be just defensive. When the whip came at him, he dived forward, trying to get closer to the girl. At that moment, the girl took advantage of the opening and threw a dagger right between her enemy's eyes. The small weapon was almost transparent, which made the attack even more formidable.
"I admit, you are agile" said the young woman as she saw the boy dodge her precise attack with a mere movement of his head "Your ability must be something that allows you to read my attacks. That way you wait for the right moment to move, thus hindering my aim. But unfortunately for you, I'm already getting tired of holding back.
The boy advanced quickly, but the young woman did not stand by and wait for the attack. Using her rare ability, she liquefied the water vapor near the soles of her feet, sliding out of Kamijou's reach.
"Holding back, huh?" Touma said this as he paused for a moment to catch his breath "So you mean you have a trick up your sleeve?"
"I have several actually, but it's not worth using them on someone with such mediocre skill"
This time the girl raised both hands. The scene that happened next made the expression on Kamijou's face harden for the first time in the fight. All around her, daggers of water began to form until they reached the tens. But it didn't stop there, the girl kept generating more and more transparent daggers until her silhouette was completely covered by all those small weapons. At no time did the girl's apathetic expression change.
"To finish you off is very simple. All I have to do is overwhelm you with an amount of attacks that makes it impossible for you to dodge. I can generate up to thousands or tens of thousands of daggers if I want. No matter how agile you are, there's nowhere for you to move" She said this as she continued to generate hundreds and hundreds more daggers "Checkmate"
There were so many weapons near the girl that it felt like she was in a house of mirrors. With a casual wave of her hand, as if she were refusing a drink offered by an annoying guy in a bar, the impassable wall of daggers rained down on the boy. That was a decisive attack. The weapons were so close together that it was literally impossible for a human being to find a place to hide.
The girl made sure not once to take her eyes off the young man in front of her. She would only dare blink when the torn and lifeless body of the poor wretch who dared to defy her touched the ground never to rise again.
"?" The inexpressive girl frowned at the boy's suicidal move.
Instead of trying to run away, the young man stepped forward. A shrill noise echoed. With the precision of a craftsman with dozens of years in the profession, Kamijou Touma raised his right hand above his head and negated one of the many daggers approaching with his fingertips. But it didn't end there. When the water dagger shattered like glass, its fragments scattered in all directions and struck the other daggers around. This altered its trajectory a bit. This caused a chain reaction that created a blank space that should not exist. All the daggers missed their target, traveling in a completely unpredictable direction and stabbing anything in their path. The bearer of the Imagine Breaker faced the unstoppable attack head on and remained unharmed.
"What?" The silver girl couldn't believe her eyes "Was I wrong about your esper power?"
For someone expert in information, that hurt more than a punch in the face. Kaguya had underestimated the young man in front of her. No, that wasn't it. She actually used one of her strongest attacks against him, certain that this would be the end of the fight. To say that she had held back after that would be lying to herself. But her mind went blank for a while before she spoke again.
"You have a power of the same kind as mine? No... that's not it" Her voice sounded like one of a spoiled little girl, used to always being right "You moved the very air around you to generate a shield to protect only your body?"
"I think you're thinking too much about it. My power is not as amazing as you're thinking" He shrugged at that moment, almost as if he wanted to put salt in the psychological wound.
"Then what the hell did you do?"
Kaguya's voice was unusually loud. The girl looked like a model student who should have received an A on an exam, but received a low grade because her teacher didn't like her handwriting. She would scold this teacher until he admitted that she was the best student in the class.
"Would you believe me if I said I can't explain it completely?" Kamijou said this while looking at the girl who looked back at him as if he was the declared enemy of the world.
Kaguya thought she had a right to be angry, but the reality was that Kamijou was telling her the truth.
Precognition.
After countless fights with enemies ranging from crazed espers, assassins armed with gatling guns, and even scientific dragons, Kamijou had naturally developed an skill that allowed him to do things that a normal human could not. His premonition perception worked like a kind of sixth sense. When he tried to understand for himself, it only diminished his accuracy.
"I'm starting to understand a little bit what you're trying to do" Kaguya took a deep breath before continuing, regaining her composure "I thought I was the only one holding back here, but I was wrong. Admitting this is practically causing me physical pain, but it takes a little pain to make progress sometimes"
"I couldn't agree more" Kamijou had a contemplative tone in his voice. He really believed the last part of her sentence.
"It's been a while since I've felt this way. No matter how smart I am, it seems life always finds a way to surprise me" The girl raised her right hand, making a scythe about five feet long materialize "I really don't care about my mission here anymore, I will unravel the mysteries behind the enemy in front of me" She pointed the scythe in Kamijou's direction "Dance with me, Kamijou Touma. I will show you that the princess before you is not as fragile as she seems.
Two determined glances were exchanged at that instant. This was a battle between royalty and commoners, the girl who was used to having everything, against the one who was used to having everything taken away from him. The struggle between the pouring rain against the flame that refused to go out was coming to an end.
xxxx-xxxx
Meanwhile, in the other warehouse that was on the top floor of that building, Mugino Shizuri was looking intently at a rather suspicious wall.
"Did she come from here?" Meltdowner asked herself, pushing the "Wall", which opened like a door "I'd better warn the others, this job is starting to bore me as usual" She pulled her cell phone from her pocket and dialed a number. The person on the other end answered almost instantly "Takitsubo, I found the 'secret passage'. I'll take a look here, gather the others on the second floor, I'll be there soon"
"Understood" Answered the lethargic girl "Anything else you need me to do?"
"Yes, can you tell me where Frenda is? That airhead can't be left alone for long."
"She is still underground" Takitsubo said after a short pause "Do you want me to go after her now?"
"First confirm me one thing" Mugino walked through the door, entering a dimly lit hallway "Kamijou Touma, can you tell me where he is?"
Mugino wanted to confirm something, she hadn't brought it up yet because she had gone into "work mode", but now everything was under control. The girl on the other end of the line took a long time to answer.
"No" It was a definite answer. Mugino would have been satisfied if she had stopped talking right there "I think I am beginning to understand your interest in him. At that time, in that alley, you were fighting weren't you?"
"Yes, we were"
"This is going to sound like a stupid question, especially coming from me but... did he have a esper skill?"
"At first I thought so, but now I'm not sure" Mugino sighed, this conversation was getting too long "We'll talk about it later, go to where Frenda is, she hasn't reported since the mission started"
"OK. Good luck."
Level 5 closed the connection with a puzzled expression. Takitsubo had just confirmed what she had feared. Kamijou Touma had told her the truth.
Putting away her thoughts for the moment, the girl walked through the narrow corridor that barely fit one person. At the end of the corridor was an electronic door with a damaged panel. Someone had obviously broken into this place. She pushed the door, and it opened quietly.
"That doesn't make the slightest bit of sense" Mugino said softly, looking around that dark, cold room "Are those... servers?"
"Indeed" She didn't expect to be answered, but that muffled voice did it anyway.
Mugino hurriedly turned toward the voice coming from above. Yes, there were some sort of metal platforms that looked more like a stage. Up there, a tall girl with pink hair was looking in the direction of level 5, or so she could tell because she was wearing a mask.
"So you are the third esper that Takitsubo has located. Looks like I'll have to eliminate you too. Poor Kinuhata, he was left out of all the action." She said as casually as a wife telling her husband how her day went.
"Are you really as shallow as they say, Mugino Shizuri"
The masked girl began to walk along the metal platform. Her footsteps strangely didn't make any noise. She was dressed in casual clothes, a white blouse that left her belly exposed, and worn, faded jeans. Although her outfit was somewhat simple, her body rivaled Mugino's. She was curvaceous like an hourglass, and her large breasts were being enhanced by that white blouse. Whoever she was, this girl would do well in a modeling job.
"It seems you have an advantage over me" Mugino said this and without wasting any time, she activated her ability, making a ball of electrons hover near her "Although it won't help you of course. Who are you anyway? Why are you wearing that stupid mask? Don't tell me that someone with a body like that has a horrible face?" That last question was only mocking.
"I don't need to get the upper hand here, since I don't intend to fight. It's still too early to take on the bigwigs" The masked girl's voice was incredibly pleasant, almost like a relaxing song "As for my name... you can call me 'Aihana Etsu'"
Meltdowner couldn't help but narrow her eyes upon hearing that name. After all, that was the name of #6 level 5 of Academy City. Aihana Etsu had always been a mysterious person who made no public appearances. Nobody knew what she looked like or about her esper power. Even with that revelation, #4 was not intimidated.
"Another level 5? My life has been a bit hectic lately" She said this while nonchalantly tucking a strand of hair behind her ear "First a guy with an ability that doesn't make any sense, and now Aihana Etsu decided to leave the hole she lives in just to die at my hands"
"The more you talk, the more my opinion of you decays. You would be a wonderful person if you were mute, don't you think?"
"Is that the best joke you can tell after living in your mother's basement all your life? Come on, you've had time, I'll give you one more chance to redeem yourself.
Aihana Etsu decided not to give in to #4's taunts. Instead she continued walking down the platform. Her modern mask changed her expression to a smile as she stroked her shocking pink hair.
"I have something to ask you" Aihana said this and stopped suddenly as she crossed her arms "Haven't you noticed anything suspicious in today's events?"
"Maybe, but I've learned to ignore any little piece out of place after a while"
"I see. So even levels 5 are no exception. I thought things would be different after the Queen divers fiasco" She shook her head negatively and put a finger to her chin "You are being manipulated, Mugino Shizuri. We all are."
"Why out of nowhere did everyone start talking in mysterious ways? Are we in one of those B movies that Kinuhata likes so much?"
"Something tells me that even if I tell you what I know, you will simply shake your head and say that I am a lunatic who believes everything I hear. Which is somewhat ironic in a way, don't you think?."
"Actually, I already think you're a lunatic. And I don't intend to listen to the nonsense you have to tell me." She raised her right arm and pointed in the direction of the masked girl.
Meltdowner didn't hold back. She threw a beam with enough power to melt a thick slab of steel like butter. Noticing Hostility, the masked girl tried to move her body out of the way, but it was already a little too late to get out unharmed.
"Attacking someone who has no intention of fighting, you really are the worst"
Aihana Etsu managed to move her body enough to avoid a fatal attack, but the electron beam easily passed through the area near her right shoulder. The girl didn't even cry out in pain. She looked at the wound as if she had just cut herself with a piece of paper and then turned her attention to the level 5 tea-colored hair.
"I guess my presence here is no longer necessary. I wonder if Shinseijou has finished what we came here to do.
Mugino looked in the direction of the pink haired girl with an expression that was a mixture of surprise and puzzlement. The reason for this was simple, as Aihana Etsu said this, the wound on her shoulder began to close up quickly.
"Self Regeneration? Is that your ability?" #4 said this in a tone of interest as she watched the wound heal completely without a trace.
"I prefer to say that this is just the best version of myself" The masked girl shrugged after answering her tormentor's question cryptically "Don't think too much about it, just know that Aihana Etsu is not a static person. One day you will understand that things become simple when you take the time to listen to others."
Soon after she said this, the sweet-voiced young woman threw herself off the platform to the bottom. She landed behind the servers without making a single sound.
#4 in turn triggered her ability once again. 4 spheres of electrons hovered around her and began firing in the direction the girl should be. Mugino didn't mind the collateral damage. Several computer parts were wiped out with the consecutive attacks of the most destructive skill in all of Academy City. But something was wrong. There was no way for Meltdowner to know if her target was still alive, but something told her that was the case.
"Stop hiding and come to me, coward" She shouted, shooting everything in front of her.
Not satisfied with her destruction, the girl used her "Meltdowner Dash" to move to where her enemy was supposed to be. But... there was no one else there.
"What the hell?" The level 5 tea-colored haired girl was not happy at all "I will destroy every one of those damn machines if you don't show up " She went back to firing wildly as she moved around the room. There was still no sign of the girl's location.
At that instant, Mugino looked in the direction of the server room entrance.
'Did the son of a bitch take advantage of the destruction to sneak out?'
It was impossible to be sure, but it seemed the case here. It was plausible considering that somehow the girl made no noise as she moved. Taking another good look around the room to make sure that Aihana Etsu was not simply hiding behind some machine, Meltdowner realized that her target had indeed somehow escaped.
"She really had no intention of fighting" This time her tone came out somewhat thoughtful "So her goal was the files that were on those servers? Well, it doesn't matter now. I'd better check how the others are doing"
Mugino headed for the door, but her guard remained high. That girl in the mask was dangerous, she was sure of it.
xxxx-xxxx
Kamijou Touma removed the shield from his back for the first time during the fight and held it firmly with his left hand. The silver girl before him tilted her head in confusion.
"I don't know what you are trying to do. This thing will hinder you more than help" Kaguya said, trying to understand what the boy was planning.
Without saying a word, the boy ran at full speed toward the silver-eyed girl. The girl's scythe was swung, aiming once again at his center of gravity. Instead of dodging to the side, he slid across the ground like a soccer player. The weapon must have cut several of those spikes, but the young man was not hit.
Realizing the boy's proximity, Kaguya undid her scythe and concentrated on getting away from him. Apparently he had no way to attack her if he was far away. Once again she tried to slide away using her ability, but something unexpected happened. Kamijou knew that the girl would try to get away from him, so he swung his shield, but his intention was not to hit her. With a dry impact, he dropped the shield to the ground near his feet and kicked it, easily sliding it into the water trail left by Kaguya.
"What?"
The girl looked down as the shield hit her left foot. It was not an attack intended to cause damage, but it was enough to make her lose her balance for a fraction of a second. Kamijou would not miss this opportunity. He was already moving at the moment the shield was kicked. His right fist was swung towards the girl, but he didn't aim at her face, instead he hit her in the stomach.
Pain was drawn across Kaguya's face. With that unexpected attack, the girl momentarily lost control of her powers, but she remained focused, managing to resume her calculations in the next instant. Since she was moving in the opposite direction, the impact of the blow was less than if she had stood still. But the force was still enough to leave her breathless. She would surely have been knocked out if she had received a clean blow.
"I don't think I'm the most suitable person for a hand-to-hand fight" The girl said this as soon as she was at a safe distance from her enemy "This is the perfect opportunity to test a new trick"
"You seem very confident for someone who could barely stay conscious after a single punch" Kamijou Touma had learned that the best way to deal with someone arrogant was to provoke them, to force them to make mistakes.
"Why wouldn't I be confident? I've already won" Declared the girl, raising her hand and stretching her slender fingers "Haven't you noticed something strange? The moment you punched me in the stomach your right hand made contact with my AIM diffusion field." The girl took a brave step towards her enemy "You know what happens now don't you? I can control any water molecule that my AIM field comes into contact with, but I only need to touch it once. As long as you are in my effective range, which in this case is about 15 meters, I can simply freeze or draw all the blood from that hand of yours that hit me. Let's see what happens when I blast every vein and artery in your wrist."
The girl said this expecting the young man to run out of her reach. She wanted to see the fear in his eyes when he realized that no matter what he tried, this fight was over. But her plans were thwarted by something she hadn't realized yet.
"Is there a problem Kaguya-chan?" scoffed the boy, opening a small smile at the corner of his lips "Shouldn't I have been hit by your second unbeatable attack?"
She was speechless for a moment. The silver girl tried several times to control the water molecules in that boy's body, but it was useless. It was as if her AIM field had never come into contact with him in the first place.
"What are you anyway?" Her expression hadn't changed, but you could see the anger in her silver eyes "Your ability allows you to control every cell in your body? No, that's too absurd, and also doesn't even explain what the hell you're doing right now." The girl's composure was starting to go off the rails "Maybe your calculating power surpasses mine, it's the only plausible explanation for what's going on. Which means you're at least level 4, maybe one of those level 5 candidates just like me."
"You know, I realized something about you" Instead of answering the girl's questions, he chose to change the subject "You called yourself 'Princess' just now didn't you?" He had returned to a serious posture, which made the girl pay attention to his words "I'm not exactly the kind of person who is comfortable being around someone rich, but leaving that aside, I think I understand the reason for all your anger"
As if he had hit a nerve, the girl instantly responded with a spontaneous attack. A giant ice spear flew at the boy, but he didn't even blink.
"I see. I think I've got it all figured out" He said nonchalantly, breaking the over 10-foot spear with his right hand.
"That's enough" The girl's anger was such that she ignored it when the boy casually brushed aside her attack "Who do you think you are to say you understand me? You've only known me a few minutes, don't give me that shit" She had officially lost her composure.
Kamijou was not shaken by the girl's sudden change of mood. He took a deep breath and looked straight into her eyes.
"My childhood was not the best, you know? As unlucky as I am, I can't deny that I am lucky to have great parents who always supported me."
"Shut up" The girl closed both fists
"It must be hard not being able to be yourself, right?"
"I said shut the fuck up"
She raised her fists and a great ice hammer, more than 10 meters long, formed. It was swung at the boy, with enough force to turn him into a bloodstain. But this attack was no match for that right hand.
"You're right, it's impossible for me to know the whole story, but I could tell from the beginning that you're wearing a mask" He remained unwavering. He turned his head slightly towards the blonde girl, who remained conscious even with the bloodloss "You did not attack me when I was nursing her wound. And then you answered my stupid question without a second thought"
"So what, are you going to tell me that you completely analyzed me in that short period of time? My motives may have been completely different than you think. I was just bored, that's all"
"No" He said simply, but there was ambiguity in that answer "Enough Kaguya, just admit it. You're not a cold, unexpressive girl who kills for pleasure. Maybe you're the perfect student who's always right, but that's not what you wanted to become, is it? What made me realize this was when you said you weren't so fragile. That was a lie, wasn't it?" He pointed a finger in her direction "Human beings are fragile, and you are no exception."
"I think I've had enough of all this. I'll just kill you now, if you don't mind" She forced herself back to her monotone tone, that was obvious.
"Still trying to scare me? Don't you realize that won't work on me? I'm not running away Kaguya, I have no reason to. If only you'd stop running away too"
"Why of all people did it have to be you?" Even the girl didn't understand what she was trying to say "Why not a street child, or a homeless person, or someone who suffers every day but still finds a reason to smile?" She looked away for the first time "I don't want to be judged by someone who is as rotten as I am"
"We are not alike, Kaguya. I thought I made that clear. I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth, I barely have enough money to provide for all my needs. As I said, the only reason I am here in front of you, alive and safe, are my parents. They support me and comfort me, if it wasn't for them, I might have become the monster that everyone was sure I was. What about you?"
The girl mustered the strength to look him in the eye again. She didn't want to believe those words, but...
"My parents hate me." Those were words of pure anger, "And I share that feeling. Do you know why I came to Academy City? Because they forced me. They told me I wasn't good enough, that maybe if I became a high-level esper I'd finally have the right to bear the 'Shinseijou' family name." Her eyes moistened at that moment "I'm a princess who was denied the right to wear a stupid crown that I never cared about. They sent me to this monster town and allowed them to mess with my brain, and all for what? What kind of parents abandon their only child for such a ridiculous reason? But I'll show them. I will become a level 5. No matter what horrible monster I have to become. I will kill everyone who gets in my way because that's what it means to be a 'Shinseijou'.
"So you've given up fighting?" Kamijou didn't hesitate for a second before saying this "You are the most contradictory person I have ever had the pleasure to meet" The boy pointed in her direction, at something hidden on her back "This cylinder you carry, you don't need it do you?"
"No. The situations that I would need something like that are so laughable that it's not even worth walking around with that thing"
"That was the answer I wanted to hear before we started fighting. But a perfect princess would never admit to something like that, would she?"
When Kamijou finished saying those words, something he had been waiting for all this time happened. A smile formed on Kaguya's face, it was not a radiant smile, it was ugly, but it was still a smile. There was pain there.
"You are strong" She said "And I'm not talking about your esper ability. I don't think I would mind losing to you"
Kaguya continued to smile. She was beginning to change, Kamijou was sure of it. That cold girl had entered that room as the future heiress of the 'Shinseijou' family, but it would be a normal girl who would leave that office.
"All this time...you have suffered alone. But I, Kamijou Touma, just another face in the crowd with nothing to my name, will be your dance partner. Now, show me how fragile you are... Princess of Nowhere."
The girl wiped away her tears and turned serious again. Her bonds were removed. This was no longer a duel between two espers. This fight would not be won by the one with the strongest power.
The crownless princess and the noble-souled commoner faced each other again. The first move came from her, and it came in the form of a wall of water more than 10 meters wide. She knew that this attack wouldn't work, the truth is that she didn't even care about the boy's approach.
"This is my last trump card" She said putting her hands together "Survive this and the victory is yours"
A fist-sized ball of pure water appeared between the girl's two hands. In an instant, a high-pressure jet of water was launched mercilessly. First it was aimed at the floor, which was torn apart in an instant, and then the aim was adjusted.
Kamijou raised his right hand to his chest. That jet of water that could tear through metal like paper crashed into that insignificant hand. That hand would not help him defeat a single delinquent, would not increase his test scores, and would not make him popular with the girls. But there was something he could do with that hand. After all, the power that resided in it was only good for one thing...
"If you think I'm going to let you throw your life away just because your family forced an idea into your head..." He stepped forward, not caring about the pressure on his arm "First, I'm going to rip that idea out of you... and then break this damn ilusion of yours!"
That fist annihilated that princess' last asset, and those words hit her harder than any blow that boy could deliver. But it wasn't over yet. The boy's fist was thrown in the girl's direction. She didn't bother to try to dodge it, trying to fight back was useless, so she simply closed her eyes for a moment, waiting for the impact on her cheek. But it never came.
"What?" she opened her eyes, but did not find the boy in front of her.
Kaguya looked over her shoulder, finding the boy with one hand raised. But it was not that right hand. In his other hand he held a weapon he had never used. This weapon was the Taser his teacher had given him. Before she could say anything, the boy turned on the Taser and hit his target. But this target was not the princess, but the cylinder on her back.
That thing on her back was metal, which means that even without hitting her directly, the electric current would flow into the girl's body. That attack may have hurt, but that was not the boy's intention. Kaguya collapsed, but her body was not thrown violently to the ground. The young man did not allow her to hurt herself any further. Carefully, he removed the cylinder from her back, and then gently placed her on the ground.
"The electronic lock doesn't work anymore" He said, looking at the pale girl still awake.
"No problem. Something tells me I won't need it anymore." Her voice was weak, but she forced herself to speak more "Hand it over, there's something I need to do."
The boy said nothing, he just handed the silver cylinder to the icy girl who was looking at him intently with those ethereal eyes.
"I lied, that was my last trump card"
The cylinder froze in the girl's hands and then flew off, breaking into thousands of pieces. A faint mist covered the room, but it was harmless. There were no tricks there, just a girl getting rid of the weight in her heart.
"They gave it to me when I reached level 2" Kaguya's voice was even weaker "I still didn't have a very good control of my ability, so I used it as a crutch, but after I reached level 4 the cylinder became unnecessary. But I carried it with me just to make sure. I guess it's like someone with obsessive compulsive disorder, who can't sleep unless they have checked all the locks in the house 100 times.
"You really were a perfect princess" he said, with a small smile at the corner of his lips.
She tried to smile at that instant, but she found she couldn't.
"I'm sorry to say, but that doesn't change anything. None of it erases what I've done."
"And why should I care?" His answer came so quickly that the inexpressive girl's eyes widened "I'll tell you a secret. I was a coward once, you know. Once I abandoned two almost defenseless girls to die in the claws of a monster. Do you know what happens every time I remember that?" He waited for the girl's answer, who just shook her head negatively "I laugh."
The girl gave him a look of pure confusion. Was that boy listening to himself?
"Wait... what?"
"I was so pathetic at the time that I think I developed a defense mechanism not to get depressed. Or maybe I'm just a horrible person, who knows." He scratched his head with his left arm.
"You are completely insane. Are you sure you don't have brain damage?"
"How about we change the subject?" Said Kamijou with a straight face
"Not yet...I need to know what happened to the girls"
"Don't worry, they have been saved. A knight without armor showed up to save the two princesses from the evil dragon. That's the K version of the story.
"And who was this knight?" she really was curious.
"A better version of the coward who abandoned them"
That answer not only surprised her, but also made her wonder. Was it too late for her? Or could she still transform into a better version of herself, one that would not forget the past, but at the same time not let herself be defined by it?
Just then, three people appeared at the entrance to the office, breaking the comfortable silence that had settled between the two of them.
"I'm not sure exactly what's going on, but it seems like you have everything under control. Good job" The person who said this was none other than #4, who crossed her arms as she looked at those two "Is that Frenda? She's not dead, is she?"
"That was a pretty insensitive tone" Commented Kaguya from her place lying on the cold floor "Isn't she supposed to be your ally?"
"And for all I know, you could very well be the person who did this" Mugino retorted, walking over to the blonde girl.
"Guilty" replied the silver girl, in her usual monotone voice "But in my defense, she tried to kill me first. And I was also careful not to hit an important artery. If I wanted to, she would already be dead.
"And now you're in a similar situation. I mean, there's nothing stopping me from hitting you with my Meltdowner."
Kamijou cleared his throat loudly upon hearing this.
"He seems super angry" Kinuhata noted the obvious.
"Shut up and be helpful. Get that airhead out of here and call an ambulance or carry her to a hospital. Whichever is faster"
"Looks like your mission was harder than you expected" Kamijou said, putting Kaguya in his arms and carrying her like a princess.
"Nah" Kinuhata said, doing the same to Frenda " Actually, it was super easy. Barely an inconvenience"
"Easy to talk when you've done practically nothing" Frenda spoke for the first time after what seemed like centuries "Basically, shut up."
"Dying people can't super complain"
And with a kindness equivalent to a mule's kick, Kinuhata ran toward the door with Frenda in her arms. That quick exchange symbolized the end of the mission. The "terrorist attack" had been stopped.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Welcome to the bottom. I think I should start putting those notes of mine in bold. Nah, it'll be fine.
Now to the point. This chapter was torturous to write. The fight was much longer originally, but I thought it was better to focus more on the "psychological battle". Kaguya is a character that carries an important name for the Japanese. In case you didn't notice, here the word "princess" is used in a metaphorical way. She is a rich girl who has always had everything but the love of her parents. This draws a "parallel" with our favorite "hero".
Touma has always been good at reading people. We are talking about a guy who made a goddess fall in love with him (not yet in this timeline… oh boy). So no one better than him to notice Kaguya's inconsistencies and contradictions. Did you notice that he didn't call her by her family name even once? I hope this had the expected impact. As for the end of the fight, Kamijou preferring to damage the cylinder rather than go for a direct attack was symbolic. That cylinder represents a part of Kaguya's past, so Touma gave her the last push she needed to get rid of it. But she was the one who had to get rid of it.
The past is an important part of a person, Kamachi was brave to explore a subject like memory loss in such a brilliant way. LN Kamijou is someone who wants to let go of the past, but at the same time doesn't want to or just can't. This tortures him to the end of the Old Testament, and is a theme that returns in the final chapter of the New Testament. But our past is not all that defines us.
Well, forgetting that for now, let's answer the reviews.
Majin Othinus: PML means Pre memory loss. Don't take this seriously, I love all versions of Touma (Including KNT, you manipulative bastard)
emiyasatou: Let's just say that Touma met some people in his adventures on the dark side. They will appear soon. I am focusing on this fanfic since I don't have any interesting games to play lately. Just a little more and I'll be able to write as fast as Kamachi-sensei.
*Kamachine: (Laughing in Japanese) "You are like a baby, watch this." procceds to write the entirety of GT8 in a single day.
Xellos540: Hello again. Fun fact: The female synchrotron user is not a OC (I think you already know this). From whom did the order come? *Whispering* it's a secret. I seem to have given the impression that Takitsubo is giving orders. Actually the intention was to show that only she was taking her work seriously. All the other girls were busy in their own way: Mugino was interrogating Touma, Frenda was spying, and Kinuhata was babysitting. Takitsubo was the first to read the messages and it was she who warned Mugino, who was too distracted to notice Item is her home after all. Thank you very much for the detailed review, it helps me to think of new ideas.
KHVSFF: Thank you for the support. Expect a long story with a focus on the relationship of these two and fights here and there.
Kamijou is a pro at handling water daggers, Levinia Birdway says so.
One more chapter finished. The next will be the closing of this short prologue to the arc to come. Expect a lot of slice of life in the next chapter xD. That's it for now. Nio leaves the chat.
