Chapter 35 - Roommate.
"When do you intend to stop looking at me with that stupid face?" 'Mugino' rolled her eyes and then moved over to the board full of pins. "Magic? How stupid. Are you really starting to believe all this nonsense?"
Shizuri froze in place. What was happening here?
"Hey, I'm talking to you." The girl who looked just like Shizuri started tapping her foot.
"Is that... another hallucination?" Meltdowner closed her eyes and held her head with both hands, as if she hoped that when she opened it, everything would return to normal.
"I'm sorry, but you can't send me away like this. That's my body after all."
"Your body?"
"Yeah. Unfortunately, I can't do anything for you to leave either... what a drag." 'Mugino' clicked her tongue. "All that theater from earlier...seriously, you disgust me."
Confusion was still on Meltdowner's face, while the other person standing there with an identical face to hers was still impatient.
'Was I being observed all this time?'
"I wouldn't say 'observed,'" said 'Mugino,' which caused Shizuri to twist her face into a grimace. "Technically, it's like 'I' was doing everything you did. I guess our consciousnesses must be merging or some shit."
She was in her head. It was not exactly a 'hallucination'. Two people sharing the same body, two conflicting consciousnesses.
Shizuri's stomach began to churn. Her head was spinning now. Memories flowing, sensations that were not hers. She tried to push it all away, succeeding with an insane amount of effort.
Staggering across the room, she pulled up a chair near the board full of documents, but instead of sitting she used the backrest as support.
"Hmm... you can resist. Will you fucking stop? Haven't you embarrassed me enough already?"
"Quiet!" shouted Shizuri.
She lifted the chair with one hand, but staggered back and eventually dropped it, making the sound of the impact reverberate. With difficulty, she walked over to the bed and sat down, almost collapsing.
"Make it stop!" Shizuri held her head and twisted her face in a painful way.
"I'm not doing anything, you idiot. You're doing it to yourself," Mugino spoke in a tone that dripped with arrogance and mockery "Stop resisting and it will get easier. Give me the damn control."
"If I could I would." Shizuri took a deep breath. The pain was weaker now. "Do you think I'm here on purpose? You saw for yourself. That's why I'm doing all this."
'Mugino's' expression faltered at the weight of those words. The 'two girls' now looked at the board full of information about the occult and scientific articles about quantum theory, a puzzle of pieces that seemed disconnected.
"I have no desire or intention of having your life," Shizuri announced, finally having the strength to stand up again. "If I could I would be in my own world, in a 5-star hotel or on a desert island with him by my side, not here sharing a body with someone like you."
Even if that other girl was not 'real', Shizuri certainly heard her gritting her teeth in anger.
"You talk as if you are better than me, what a joke," said 'Mugino'. "And what makes you think that? Remind me which one of us two dates a complete idiot."
"Remind me which one of us two is happy with herself." Shizuri walked straight past the girl, standing back as she stared at that picture intently. Still, she knew that the girl behind her had anger in her eyes. "You think I can't feel it? All that regret... all that self-hatred."
"I feel the same way coming from you. What is your point?"
"You wouldn't understand." Her gaze drifted to the palm of her left hand. Mechanical noises were easy to hear in that silent room. "At least I was able to fall in love...while all you can do is fall apart. " She took another deep breath, and that pain and discomfort from before disappeared completely, as if the other girl was slowly giving up the fight. "Now leave me alone, I need to focus on this. When I get back to my world, you can go back to your path of self-destruction."
xx-xx
It had not been a quiet night. Mugino Shizuri was the kind of person who usually overslept, and yet still remained without energy for quite some time after waking up. She really wished she had a good night's sleep, it would be excellent for resting her mind and gathering strength, she needed this if she was to put all the pieces of that confusing puzzle together.
But her "roommate" made that impossible.
"Are you still there?" asked Shizuri into the void. She was looking up at the ceiling of her room, still wrapped in the covers of her bed.
"I have nowhere to go, asshole." The other 'her' replied.
Turning her head, Shizuri saw the other version of her sitting nonchalantly with her legs crossed on a chair near the board that only got more crowded with documents.
There wasn't much time for a full morning routine. Shizuri knew that the more time she wasted here, the worse her situation would become. Several memories that were not hers were already very vivid in her head, but all she could do was try to ignore them as she walked around like a zombie and rubbed the dark circles under her eyes.
But some memories were impossible to simply let go of.
"So you had your problems with Kakine here too?" asked Shizuri, getting into some random clothes she picked out from her closet.
"That bastard...it seems some things never change."
With a sense of urgency, Shizuri picked up her phone from the bedside table. She needed to talk to Touma, preferably face-to-face. And if that girl they called "Index" was around, even better.
"This 'Kamijou' guy, what do you see in him anyway?" 'Mugino' was pacing back and forth in the room. She was in Shizuri's head, but the incessant sounds of her agitated footsteps were driving her crazy.
"Didn't you look in my memories? There must be many examples there."
"I can't see straight, it's like everything is covered in fog. It would make it easier if you removed that blockage."
"Good to know that you can't poke around my whole head. Just know that he is more than he seems, much more."
"Honestly, he didn't impress me at all yesterday. His food is good at least, but there are restaurants with better food out there. Seriously, were you desperate for human warmth back in your world or something?"
"You don't?"
The call didn't last long. She just told Touma to come to the ITEM apartment, bringing those two "magicians" with him. Due to the other girl really trying to push her buttons, making all sorts of faces and other provocations, Shizuri's tone couldn't help but carry a hint of irritation.
"Do you have any idea how many idiots have tried their luck with me?" 'Mugino' waited for her to end the call before continuing. "Fortunately, I am clearly superior to a certain other version of me who settles for anything she sees in front of her."
"Whatever." Shizuri shrugged. Instead of trying to argue, she just started combing her messy hair in front of the mirror, with the girl right behind her, with a scowl stamped on her face.
"By the way, I thought about what you told me. And no... I am not an unhappy person. Quite the contrary. After everything I've done, my life is practically perfect. I have learned that no matter what I do, I will always be rewarded in the end. My happiness will always be here, my whole journey proves that."
"Spoken like a true 'Mugino'."
Since Shizuri woke up late, although she barely slept since she kept waking up in the middle of the night, there was no one at the breakfast table. She opted to eat some kind of cereal, which had the texture of soggy cardboard and a faint taste of sugar. While it barely served as nutrition, at least it was a quick and effortless solution for her growling stomach.
"Your cooking skills are worse than mine, by the way," said 'Mugino'. She sat right next to Shizuri, although she couldn't interact with physical objects, since she wasn't technically real. "I guess we weren't born for that sort of thing, no matter what universe."
"Would you please shut up? I can't hear my own thoughts."
"I am your thoughts, you idiot."
"Wow, how funny you are. No wonder you have no friends."
"I have as many as you do, sunshine."
Pushing her chair back with a soft scrape against the floor, Shizuri picked up her bowl and spoon, carrying them to the sink with a sigh and went into the living room. Only Kinuhata was there, fiddling with her phone, probably watching one of her strange movies. Takitsubo must have gone out with her boyfriend on a date or something, so all that was left was for her to find out Frenda's whereabouts.
Since she had arrived yesterday, Shizuri had locked herself in her room and only went out to get something to eat, returning to her room shortly afterward. She only talked for about a minute with Takitsubo in the meantime, who only wanted to know how her 'date' had gone.
"Hey, Kinuhata, where is Frenda? I didn't see her yesterday."
Kinuhata quickly averted her gaze towards Shizuri as she asked her question. Her expression was hard to read, but it seemed like there was something bothering her. The silence lingered for a few seconds before Kinuhata finally spoke up.
"You super said Fremea, right?" The level 4 narrowed her eyes. "She's probably with her friend or something, who knows."
"Eh... no, I said Frenda. You know, blonde, foreign, bombs."
Silence was Kinuhata's response. She looked more confused than anything else now, which only earned her a tilt of the head and a curious look coming from Shizuri.
"Obviously Frenda is in the same place as always. Did you super drink again last night?"
Needless to say, Shizuri was the one with the confused face right now. But as if on cue, the doorbell of the room rang. Touma had arrived.
Putting that matter aside for the moment, Shizuri answered the door.
"Good morning, Shizuri. Sorry, I'm late again," he said. The fairy from yesterday was on his shoulder, but there was no sign of Index.
"Good morning, darling. Your... friend, or whatever she is, couldn't make it?"
"Well... she preferred to spend the day with her friend Kazakiri, rather than 'helping those creepy eyes'. Her words."
"Hey, Kamijou, super good to see you again," Kinuhata called out from the couch, greeting the boy with a smile.
Something told Shizuri that the bob-cut girl was doing this on purpose to annoy her. Come to think of it, in Kinuhata's view, those two barely knew each other. It was time to change that.
"Touma, wouldn't it be better if we told her and the others when they arrive?"
"Othinus?" He turned his head to look at the 15cm goddess.
"I don't think that's a problem, human. We can work out complications later when you get back to your world."
"May I ask why you asked her opinion first?" A trace of jealousy escaped in the girl's voice.
"She is the phase specialist here."
"Fair enough. But I still don't like the idea of this arrogant 'goddess' practically giving you orders while sitting on your shoulder like you belong to her."
"#4, I must remind you that this is not your Kamijou Touma. I can act any way I want with my understander and there is nothing you can do to change that."
"Othinus, what did I say about being civilized?"
The little goddess didn't seem to like the tone the boy used, as she moved from her arrogant position and stood up. In a move unexpected by Shizuri, the fairy opened her mouth, punishing the "human" with a nice bite to the earlobe.
Shizuri's head tilted at that scene. Othinus, on the other hand, crossed her arms, satisfied with the grunt of pain that escaped Touma's lips.
"Ouch, why is that?" He massaged his ear, scarred by divine punishment.
"Punishment," said Othinus. She snorted and turned her face away indignantly. "Kamijou Touma, you should at least think twice before siding with another girl instead of your understander."
"Hmmmm... interesting." Shizuri was wearing a smile at the corner of her lip. Kind of creepy, by the way. "I like your style, 'goddess'."
Before Touma could interpret the reason Shizuri spoke to Othinus as if she had suddenly found an equal, more pain slid through his body. This time the other earlobe, the left this time.
"Shizuri... what the hell?" complained Touma, pulling away from her to make sure.
"I needed to punish you for letting a girl other than me bite you." Shizuri began to shake her head as she smiled.
"Huh? But - Ouch, Othinus? Why?" The right ear was attacked once again.
"Punishment, human. I'm using the same logic as #4."
"What? Okay, can't you two settle your differences without torturing this Kamijou-san?"
"Sorry Touma, it's just that's the best way. So please endure."
"Wipe that smile off your face! What infinite loop of suffering was that I got myself into?!"
To solve the impasse, the two girls synchronized their bites. Kamijou Touma didn't know whether he should be flattered or not by this, but the other girl sitting on the sofa watched this scene like someone watching a train derail.
"I guess he must have super weird fetishes," Kinuhata said, shrugging.
"Hey, take that back now Kinuhata!"
xx-xx
"A super parallel universe?"
Shizuri's brief explanation still left Kinuhata full of doubt. It was not a matter of mistrust, especially considering that she was a girl from the city of science where quantum theory was part of the basic curriculum. Believing that parallel worlds existed was quite common, although people traveling between them was not.
"There, Touma and I are actually a couple. A very happy one by the way." Shizuri winked in Othinus' direction.
"I can help you be even happier if you want, Meltdowner," Othinus also winked in her direction. "I've spent too much time with this human to know one thing or another that makes him excited."
"Hey, when did you two become best friends?" Touma blinked twice, lost in this turn of events.
"People usually come together when they have a common goal," Shizuri explained, as if she were saying that humans need oxygen to survive. "I'll be rooting for you when I get home, Othinus."
"You have my full support as well, Mugino."
"Why are you using her name now?! Another phase has been applied to this world and I didn't notice?"
After Touma had calmed down, Shizuri began to spread a few sheets of scribbled paper on the glass table that stood in one corner of the room. The research she had done was extensive, but clearly, she was not satisfied.
"I have a theory of what might be happening," Shizuri announced. "I need to know if this is possible."
"I see you found the traces of RC Occultics on the Internet," said Othinus. "That reminds me of that mess on Christmas Eve."
Shizuri saw Touma grimace at that comment. There was still a lot she didn't know, but she needed to focus on the subject.
"I did a little more research on magic since I need to stick to anything that will help me." The level 5 spread out more documents. Some of them were pictures, others diagrams, and also a lot of handwritten stuff. "First of all, that pink-haired girl must be responsible for all this. She must have used some unknown spell that sent us here."
"Mugino, I'm already super lost here. What girl with pink hair?" Kinuhata asked. From her skeptical voice, was also seemed bothered by all this 'magic' stuff.
"She calls herself April, but I'm sure it's a made-up name. In the past, she went by the name 'Aihana Etsu,' but I'm not sure if she even has a connection to the real one."
"Probably so," said Touma, "I met with the real Aihana Etsu. The arrival of that Stalker right at that moment was very convenient. The two of them must be up to something together."
This new information made Shizuri look at Touma with sharp eyes. He used to hide important things from her sometimes, which was annoying, but this lessened after they had started dating.
"He doesn't seem to have much confidence in you." That aggressive voice sounded, but only Shizuri could hear it. 'Mugino' was now right next to Touma, as if whispering in his ear. "A mystery is always interesting. It's kind of attractive... but at this point, it even seems like you don't see her as an equal... do you? Kamijou Touma."
"Stop!" Shizuri almost screamed.
Surprised expressions were drawn on everyone's faces. Clumsily, Shizuri tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear and parted her lips as if to speak, but no words came out.
It was Kinuhata who interrupted the girl's silence and discomfort.
"Hmm... so one more person is pretending to be number 6?" Kinuhata gave a long tired sigh. "That whole 'Dark Side' Bane' thing was a pain in the ass to deal with."
"Dark Side' Bane?" asked Touma, with a thoughtful tone, as if remembering something.
"Yes. That's the nickname #6 got after all those super stunts."
"Okay, we're straying a bit from the subject here," said the level 5. "Othinus, you told me that you didn't feel any 'phase shifting', however that works, but can you say with certainty that some kind of 'dimension' or 'parallel universe' can't exist in conjunction with this phase?"
"Yes," The 15cm goddess did not hesitate for an instant, yet there was uncertainty in the tone of voice used. "However... there is one exception."
A simple smile appeared at the corner of Shizuri's lip. If that goddess said that exceptions didn't exist, the theory that level 5 had created and was about to reveal would be harder to prove. One victory at least.
"You must be talking about that world, right Othinus?" said Touma. His face was rigid, his eyes straying to his right hand.
"Correct, human. The power that leaked from your Imagine Breaker was capable of exiling people to a 'new world'. Neither I nor any of the magic gods knew of its existence before that incident."
"Okay, that's a lot of information," Shizuri gestured for them to stop talking. "There is a world coexisting with this one, so it stands to reason that a third world, like the one Touma and I came from might exist as well."
"It's an implausible theory, to say the least." Othinus was not convinced. "The 'new world,' as I usually call it, exists because of a 'flaw' in the universe. Think of it as being like a movie with 60 frames, but our universe only uses a fraction of that. Using a little more of these frames goes unnoticed, which allows a loophole for more than one world to coexist. But, about the world where you two came from, someone had to create it. That task could only have been accomplished by a Magic God or someone with equivalent power."
"Yes, you are right," Shizuri showed no hesitation either. There was no doubt in her voice. "It was a Magic God who created that world where Touma and I came from."
This statement sounded more like a long shot.
Othinus still remained with a skeptical face. Crossing her arms and legs, she shifted her one green eye to the girl's research on the table. There didn't seem to be anything there about advanced magic, which meant that Shizuri must have been focusing more on the other side of the world.
"Be clearer," Othinus said. "Do you claim that a new Magic God is out there and that he created this new phase that coexists with ours?"
"Not really," Shizuri immediately denied. She picked up several sheets held together with a staple. "How much do you guys know about quantum theory?"
That rhetorical question was followed by another smile on the corner of the girl's lip. Shizuri looked intently in Touma's direction, who seemed to have understood what she was getting at.
"That girl's power," he said, "do you think she can use it that way?"
"If what you told me is true, yes." She flipped through those documents several times. "That mask of hers, for a moment I thought it was a reference to a harlequin mask. While I don't rule out that idea, that seems more plausible."
The girl had found what she wanted. She held out her arm, handing the documents to Touma. The room was completely silent for a moment.
Rustling of leaves followed as everyone waited for someone to clarify what Shizuri was getting at.
"Double slit experiments," Touma spoke robotically, reading what was written. He muttered a few things inaudibly and then raised his head. "Yes, even I would know something so basic."
"Some kind of science-based magic?" asked Othinus, checking the same thing as Touma.
"Or science based on magic. I'm not sure." Shizuri stood thoughtfully.
"Okay, you three are looking super crazy to me." Kinuhata walked to the other side of the table to check the documents Shizuri handed over. "From what I understand, that girl's power is to make observations and decide the state of something. Something like a walking double slit super experiment. But don't all of us espers have the same property?"
"That's what I thought when I heard the explanation of her powers," stated Shizuri. "Which means that her power seems to be mimicking the whole concept of personal reality and making something of its own."
"That sounds like something that goes beyond science and magic," Touma said, dropping the documents and looking at Othinus, as if exchanging silent words. "Or would it be like Thor? He told me once that his powers approached science. He could create an esper-like phenomena, but he was certainly a magician."
"Magic that imitates science," Othinus said, narrowing her one eye at Touma, "I'm still skeptical, but it's somewhat plausible."
"I don't know about this so-called super magic," Kinuhata cut in, shrugging, "but if we focused only on science, with enough computing power, an observation of an entire universe is something theoretically possible."
"That's exactly what I was thinking," Shizuri said this and then quickly looked in Othinus' direction. "A new world, the one that Touma and I came from, was brought into existence thanks to the powers of observation of that pink-haired girl."
"Impossible," The 15cm fairy was not convinced. "This would mean that she has the power to create a new phase."
"What if she didn't actually create anything?"
With a simple hand movement, Shizuri made a small bluish-white sphere with a pink tinge around the edges appear. It seemed to spin on the tip of the girl's index finger, like a skilled player spinning a tiny basketball.
"This is my esper skill: Meltdowner," as she said this, the sphere became larger, the size of a tennis ball. "My power creates a unique phenomenon, trapping electrons in their pure form, in a way that they are not in a wave or particle state. It is a unique phenomenon that ignores several concepts of quantum physics. The electrons that I am now controlling will remain so regardless of what method is used to observe them. I decided so using my personal reality."
That vague explanation only served to leave everyone there with blank expressions. Understanding that this was not enough, she undid the sphere and crossed her arms.
"But that was undone now using my personal reality as well. Technically, I used quantum physics to generate an impossible phenomenon and then undid it more easily than I used to generate it. All that just with the power of my observation."
"Hmm... you're saying that this concept can be super used in these phases as well," Kinuhata stated, concluding Shizuri's thought. "If there are multiple phases, then all you need to do is use a power of observation in one of them, creating a new world, without having to create a new world, since it was there all along. An ambiguous state between existing and not existing."
"Thus bringing a hidden phase to the 'surface' and making it coexist with the current one," Shizuri continued from where Kinuhata left off. "The calculating power required for that is so great as to be ridiculous, but it's less than creating everything from scratch."
"So let me get this straight," Touma spoke, tilting his head thoughtfully. "The universe you and I came from is actually one of the phases applied in the past by a Magic God that was forced into existence in a unique state just like the 'new world' of the World Rejecter. And all this because someone has found a way to observe it?"
"Exactly," Shizuri concluded. "It's like that experiment that asks 'If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, did it make a noise?' In this case, that girl is the observer who is taking that 'doubt'."
"Interesting." Othinus smiled at that. "Aleister had always used the term 'scientific' in a positive way. He would say anything, be it spiritual or physical, was scientific as long as it was beautifully ordered and could be explained causally. You seem to take that quite seriously. Fascinating."
"Thank you," Shizuri replied, displaying a sincere smile.
"But bringing an entire world into existence, even with a trick like that... do you have any idea how much power it takes to do that? As a goddess, I most certainly do."
"It's a different method than the one you used," Shizuri stated. "If you really were a goddess, I'm sure the optimization of the process was irrelevant, right?"
"Super optimization?" Kinuhata snapped her fingers and smiled slightly. "You mean like in a computer program or a game, right?" She received a nod of her head in response. "Sure, it's a good comparison. Just like programming languages that are closer to the machine language can usually create something more optimized."
"Wait a minute," Touma cut Kinuhata off with a skeptical look. "Would that alone be enough? That seems like a big leap of logic."
"The process could go even further," Shizuri replied in Kinuhata's place, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a device from there. "But overall, it would be like the difference in playing a game on this handheld console or on an emulator that mimics this hardware. You need a lot more processing in the second case."
"Since when do you have a portable game console?" Touma looked more happy than surprised.
"I only have in this world." Shizuri shrugged and put the pink device away in her pocket. "I had one in the other but it broke so I lost the will to play. I should have stored my saves in the cloud."
"Could we not divert the subject to something irrelevant?" complained Othinus. "We'll assume you're right, but where are you going with this, Mugino?"
Shizuri almost laughed when she saw Touma roll his eyes because of the way the fairy goddess was treating her. He now looked more like that stereotypical teenager who throws a tantrum when his parents approve of his relationship just because, a rather cute reaction in her opinion.
The papers on the table were turned over, the level 5 girl noisily reaching for something without caring about the integrity of almost anything there.
"There's a lot here that I can't explain on my own. That's the most important of them."
Shizuri's index finger slid to a drawing she had made by hand. It was like a simple etching, with many dots forming a pattern that seemed random, a tangle of interlocking geometric shapes, like an intricate spider's web, but with precise lines and angles instead of fine threads. The first impression was of a jumble, a profusion of crossed and overlapping lines, but you could notice a kind of formation that resembled a constellation, but in the shape of a unicursal hexagram.
Othinus' eye narrowed. She didn't seem to be paying much attention to those papers a second ago, as her reaction went from neutral to surprise in a short time.
"That pattern... I see traces of Crowley's Magic System in there... no, it's something else," Othinus just muttered. "A play with Thelema perhaps? But it looks incomplete."
"So you recognize it? Good, I was starting to get worried," Shizuri sighed, staring at that sheet of paper.
"Thelema, is it?" Touma was suddenly thoughtful.
"Is that something magical? I remember I looked that up...it's in here somewhere." Shizuri began to rummage through the documents once again. "Here... every man and woman is a star. It's some kind of 'will' based system or some shit, isn't it?"
Shizuri was looking in Touma's direction now. That phrase, the boy had said something like that when they were still in their world. That was another instant that she realized he knew more than he was letting on.
"It's those stars," he said, causing the level 5 to shift her eyes back to the drawing. "I don't know if that's a magic circle pattern. What do you think, Othinus?"
"Like I said, it's incomplete," The fairy threw herself off the boy's shoulder onto the table below, thus getting a better look. "Stars... I assume this was in the sky when you were sent here. The library of grimoires is better at deciphering codes, but I'm afraid even she can't do much with something so incomplete."
A sigh of defeat escaped Shizuri's lips, and she began to bite her lip in frustration. It was no use understanding what was going on if they couldn't do anything about it. She had hoped that this clue would lead her in the right direction and that with the help of the "goddess" and the nun, they would have something concrete. However, everything seemed to be falling apart now, and she found herself at a dead end.
"Shizuri, you didn't leave District 7 that night, correct?" Touma asked, forcing the girl out of her thoughts. She just nodded in response. "Hmm... it makes sense then why the drawing is incomplete. You probably didn't have a very good angle. Good thing we have someone who saw that sky from many angles, don't you think?"
"Eh?" Shizuri thought for just a second until she saw Touma smile. "Of course... you caused chaos in the entire Academy City that night. Why didn't I think of that? You remember the whole pattern."
Touma scratched his head, still with a silly smile on his face.
"Not really," he replied.
The sound of three girls slapping their foreheads echoed through the apartment. Even Kinuhata, who was quiet so as not to get in the way of thinking and barely paying attention, was stunned.
"Don't get our hopes up like that, Kami-chan, that's cruel...although that's kind of attractive," Kinuhata, even though her voice was a bit stern, gave him a wink.
Shizuri, on the other hand, gritted her teeth and looked at the bob-cut girl with clenched fists.
"Don't call him by that damn nickname," growled Shizuri. "It's not enough the other Kinuhata, now I have to deal with you hitting on my boyfriend too?"
"He's not your super boyfriend in this world, so I guess that's fair game. Right Kami-chan?"
He shook his head in convincing denial. With a nonchalant shrug, he cleared his throat and pointed to the drawing once more, a quiet way of saying that they were sidestepping the subject once more.
"I was drunk that night, so I couldn't really memorize all those lights, but does it really matter?" His question didn't need to be answered, the three girls just needed to think for a moment to understand what he was trying to say.
"We just need the information in your head," Shizuri said, smiling again. "Of course, even if you are unable to memorize it, a powerful enough mental esper should be able to retrace the memory fragments of that night. You are a genius, Touma."
"Thanks, but I've done almost nothing," he made a deterrent gesture. "You deserve all the credit here, Shizuri-chan."
As usual, the girl approved his compliments with a grin from ear to ear. Shizuri really loved it when he did this kind of thing.
'Always so cute... I wanted so badly to kiss him right then... maybe I should...'
"Gross," Again that voice that belonged to Shizuri sounded. The other 'her' was sitting nonchalantly at the table now, with a face that was a mixture of boredom and disappointment. "Get a grip, girl. Use my body to do something like this and I swear I'll kill this guy as soon as I regain control."
'It would be good for you to try...things between me and him started like this after all.'
The smile on her face got even bigger, which made 'Mugino' roll her eyes and then disappear from her sight.
"A powerful mental esper...I think I know just the person," Touma said, taking his hand to the pocket where his phone was. "The queen should take care of that easily."
"The #5?" asked Othinus "Do you have her number?"
"No, but Hokaze should be able to arrange a meeting...wait, don't I have her number too?" He shook his head, sighing. "Damn... This is a problem. Here in this universe, I didn't meet her until a year later. I'm not even friends with her yet."
"You still have one other option, human."
The two exchanged a strange look. It seemed that Touma didn't like what that implied at all.
"That won't work," Touma shook his head vigorously.
"I don't know what it is," said Shizuri, "but we have to try. The other options would be to break into the School Garden or try to find another mental esper. We certainly won't just randomly bump into her."
"Yeah... yeah. But just letting you know, something tells me you're not going to like this very much either."
Shizuri tilted her head in confusion as Touma continued to sigh wearily fiddling with his phone once again.
xx-xx
It was almost lunchtime when Touma and Shizuri arrived at their destination, District 7 Park. Although situated in a busy area, the park was in a relatively secluded place, almost like a quiet oasis in the midst of the urban bustle.
The cold winter wind whipped Shizuri's delicate face, causing her to carefully adjust the scarf around her neck. Her tea-colored hair danced in the wind, an unmistakable indication that staying outdoors for too long would be an uncomfortable experience.
"There must be some hot drink in that vending machine," Shizuri said. The girl took out a 10000 yen bill to put in the machine, but felt a warm touch on her wrist as soon as she raised her hand. "Huh? What's the matter?"
"Better not put anything on that machine, it is known for 'eating' money."
Without warning, Touma kicked the machine with all the force he had, letting out a scream like a Shounen protagonist testing his new supreme attack. Shizuri just watched as he stared at the machine, waiting for something to happen. The look of disappointment on his face almost made her giggle.
"Umm... Touma, why didn't you tell me you were so frustrated? Do you want me to buy you a stress ball?" The girl crossed her arms. That playful tone made her boyfriend shake his head and smile slightly.
"I was just trying to imitate a technique I saw." He scratched his head, one hand hanging at the side of his body. "I guess that has nothing to do with strength. Maybe if I changed the angle a little?"
"That's a good way of thinking. The key is to hit the right spot."
"Hmm... that makes sense. But why are you using this strange tone? Are we talking about the same thing here?"
Shizuri decided to just smile and push her boyfriend away from that machine, his body heat was better than any drink after all.
"Shizuri, I don't think we should be this close to each other," he said, taking a seat on a park bench. "At least not in public places. People will end up getting the wrong impression."
"Let them have it." Ignoring the requests, she sat down right next to him, making their shoulders and legs touch. "Don't look at me like that, it's cold out here."
Her reason for wanting to stay close to him was not just about that. Yet he was right, and she knew it. The two of them barely knew each other here, and when this whole awkward situation was resolved, it was the Shizuri of this world who had to deal with the consequences. But in this instant, she couldn't give a damn.
"She's taking too long," Touma said, checking the time on his cell phone. "Wasn't there some other way we could work this out? Takitsubo could track the queen with her powers."
"Hmm... I don't know how much her powers have evolved in all these months, but I doubt she can track AIM Fields without ingesting Ability Crystal –"
At that moment a strange warmth appeared right at Shizuri's temple. By instinct, she activated the Meltdowner and looked around, staring only at the cold landscape of skeletal trees around her.
"Huh? Shizuri, what's the matter?" Touma stared worriedly at the electron sphere in his girlfriend's hand.
"I thought... I don't know." She deactivated the skill and fixed her hair. "Just a bad feeling."
"Really? You've become superstitious now, isn't that an occult thing?" he pondered, giving her a slight nudge with his shoulder to tease the girl.
"Smartass." Shizuri continued looking around to make sure she hadn't missed anything. "Back on topic, even if Takitsubo had the ability to track the queen without using that shit, she would need to have previously recorded her AIM field. I'm not sure if that's something Takitsubo from this world has done."
"What about that 'noise'? It would be helpful."
"You really want to get attached to this." She sighed, the cold air condensing before her face. "The 'signals' Takitsubo receives are reliable in battle, but they are too random to be used like that. But you have a point, I should have checked with her to see if that has changed in the last few months."
A brief comfortable silence hung between them, with the boy still somewhat concerned about the current idea. Shizuri, on the other hand, felt totally comfortable spending time outdoors with him.
"We should do that more often in our world," she murmured, leaning her head on his shoulder.
"Visit parks?"
"That too, but I was referring to spending more time together."
"We already spend a good amount of time together."
"Not enough," she insisted, turning her face so that her breath caressed his neck. "Since we started dating, we've only managed to have one single decent date."
"You're right. When we get back home, I promise to take you to a park on a picnic or something."
"Actually, if I had to choose, we would go to a very expensive resort hotel. One of those where the daily rate paid is enough to buy a new car."
"Predictable," he said with a mocking tone. Shizuri moved and lightly hit his ribs with her elbow as punishment. "Ouch... okay, I get it. Apparently, I have no opinion on that."
"I'll pick it out myself. And don't worry, I'll pay for everything. It will be another one of your rewards."
"Shizuri, you don't have to give me any 'reward'." He rubbed her head lightly, perhaps momentarily forgetting the situation the two of them were in. "Everything I do for you is because I care. I would never do something expecting a reward like that."
"I know. I just think you deserve it...that's all." Shizuri remembered something at that moment. A mischievous smile suddenly slid across her lips. "By the way, you were drunk at that moment, but I suppose that stuff about giving me anything I want was serious, wasn't it?"
The sudden stiffness in Touma's body at hearing this made her lick her lips. That girl saw no problem in playing dirty, that hand sliding toward him served as definitive proof of that.
"Yes, I was serious," he said. "You can always tell me what you want, and I will do anything in my power to fulfill that wish."
"Great, then I wan -"
"As long as we're in our world of course," He shushed her by putting a finger on her lip, a common gesture between them.
"Killjoy."
The girl pulled her hand away from his body and puffed up her cheeks like a sulky child. Their situation prevented her from arguing, so all that was left for her to do was to sigh and hope that their plan would work so that they could go home soon.
The plans she had in her head for their life together began to emerge, making her smile like a fool. She could already picture the two of them traveling around the world, spending the night in luxurious hotels and eating local food. They needed a nice house in Academy City to be their 'home base' and theirs alone, a love nest where she could really do whatever she wanted with him.
However, a certain "person" did not seem happy about any of this.
"Ew... could you please stop?" 'Mugino's' voice seemed to sound distant, but as she turned her face, Shizuri saw her right there, sitting next to Touma. "It was annoying enough before, but now you are crossing the line with these thoughts."
'And here she comes again...could you do me a favor and go fuck yourself?'
"Unfortunately, I can't. But it would be a better option than having you as a 'roommate'. And then there's the fact that I'm not the one who is turned on here, something tells me you're projecting."
'Just be quiet, for heaven's sake.'
The powerful look Shizuri cast into the void, at least in the view of anyone other than her, made Touma raise an eyebrow. He peered his eyes right beside him and twisted his face.
"Uuuh... Shizuri, is there a problem?" He turned back to her, his gaze more intense than hers had been when she looked at her other self.
"N-no... no, none." A forced smile appeared on her face. "I'm just thinking of some possibilities...you know."
"Okay. Sorry to get in the way then."
A tightness in her chest made the girl sit uncomfortably in her seat. She didn't like to lie or hide things from him, but every time she found herself doing just that. Thinking about it made her restless on that park bench. At one point, she really thought that she was beyond this, that the trust she had in him was unconditional.
But the truth was far from that.
"You don't fully trust him either," 'Mugino' said, this time looking intently into Touma's face, "At least that distrust is reciprocated."
For some reason, a devilish smile appeared on that imaginary girl's face. Having to pretend that was no one there but her and Touma was not easy, although it was technically true. That girl kept teasing her, looking at her with judgmental eyes.
Removing her portable console from her pocket, Shizuri plugged in her golden earphones. It was just a disguise of course. She would pretend that she was listening to music, so at least she would have an excuse, even if it was a bad one, for staring into the void so much and making random expressions.
"In his view, isn't that a little cruel?" asked 'Mugino', looking at Touma again, still with her villainous grin. "And just after you say you don't spend enough time with him, at least he has a good reason now."
Shizuri remained quiet, watching as the other girl got up from her seat and gave her a mischievous look. She was in her head, so she could feel what the girl was doing, yet what came next still surprised her.
"Interesting feeling," spoke 'Mugino', sitting on Touma's lap unceremoniously, "If you can imagine this perfectly, it means you've sat on his lap several times."
'Yeah... I know this is news to a loner like you, but couples do this kind of thing sometimes.'
Thinking this, the girl tried to hide the anger she was feeling at herself, but it was useless since it was all in her head. She continued to watch, as the other version of herself settled down on her boyfriend's lap. Even though she knew none of it was real, her fists were clenched, her blood boiling, and her breathing was becoming irregular. Luckily, Touma was looking in another direction, so he wasn't noticing that Shizuri was freaking out for apparently no reason, and probably listening to music wouldn't be a good excuse for it.
"It's hard to admit this since like it or not we are technically the same person," whispered 'Mugino', her face very close to Touma's, "but you really seem to like him. Your reaction makes it obvious."
'Wow... you are a genius. An Intellect worthy of a level 5.'
"Let me take a good look at him," 'Mugino' continued, ignoring the sarcasm of her other version and 'holding' Touma's chin with one hand. "His face is... perfectly average. But his physique at least is a little above average." She slid a hand down Touma's chest. "Surprisingly thin, but he has a bit of muscle too. His clothes are cheap, but I kind of liked the style. That spiky hair is unnatural." Her other hand was now stroking those spikes that Shizuri liked so much. "That means he at least reads some magazines about fashion. Interesting."
'Are you done yet?'
"Isn't feeling jealous of yourself the height of obsession?"
'I am not you.'
"Besides the fact that I'm not even real." With another devilish grin, she rested her forehead against Touma's, coming within millimeters of brushing her lips against his. "I like his eyes. Such a dark blue that a quick glance mistakes it for black. I've seen many kinds of darkness in my life, but this… so interesting."
'I didn't expect so many compliments. Are you mocking me?'
"You're right, we're not the same person, but I suppose we have similar tastes, so it's easy for you to know that I'm being sincere." She tilted her face slightly to the right side, leaving her lips practically brushing his. "I wonder what it tastes like."
That sentence caused Shizuri to react abnormally. Her hand moved almost automatically, targeting that girl's face, the one that looked just like hers. It was irrational, she knew, but she couldn't help herself.
Her hand hit the void, however, the girl sitting on Touma's lap disappeared from her vision before that attack made contact.
"You know I can't physically interact with anything, right?" The voice now came right from her side. She was standing now, with her arms crossed and a shit-eating grin. "So easy to tease. It's even pathetic."
"What's the point of all this anyway?" It took Shizuri a while to realize that she had said that out loud.
"Huh?" Touma narrowed his eyes as he tried to understand what the hell the girl was trying to say. "Shizuri, wha -"
"Just singing along," she cut in, pointing at her earphones with another forced smile. "Sorry."
"All right, no problem, but..." His head was tilted toward her. His blue eyes were still sharp. "Is there something you need to tell me?"
His tone sounded so cold, even more than the feeling that gripped her. Shizuri's hands were shaky, fingers clenched into tight fists, a mixture of fear and insecurity taking over her body.
"I think I'm beginning to understand." It was 'Mugino' who said this, not Shizuri, though the latter could barely hear. "Why don't you tell him, Shizuri-chan?" Once again she sat on the boy's lap, her face still wearing an evil smile, her tone of voice full of mockery. "For the same reason you can't tell him about our family? Shouldn't you trust him more? Or are you expecting him to trust you more? Give and take. That's the way it has to be. The problem is that you expect him to prove that he deserves something so that you can give him the proper 'reward'. Everything is still a game to you...one that only perfection can satisfy you, and yet you still insist that we are not equal."
Her words dug deep like a sharp knife, but it wasn't anger that Shizuri felt this time. She focused her attention, not at the girl, but at the person she loved so much. Those eyes, why did they seem so judgmental now? Thinking about it made a knot rise in her throat.
"I pushed too hard, huh?" The voice of that other her resounded once again, icy as the wind punishing Shizuri's face. "That sucks. If you act like this it's no fun. I'll leave you alone for now, but I hope my words have left a good mark." She stood up, walking until she almost disappeared from Shizuri's vision, but she stopped as if remembering something. "By the way, I'm glad Kinuhata didn't tell you anything at that moment...that way it will be more fun."
Now she was gone. Shizuri could feel her, lurking in the back of her mind, waiting for the right moment to put another splinter into her soul. The girl's empty gaze searched Touma's, he was still there with the same expression, patiently waiting for the girl to explain what was troubling her so much.
Should she tell him? He would certainly help her with everything she was feeling, but the problem here was something else. Shizuri had certainly ended up in this world in the same situation as Touma, so it was more than obvious to assume that he was going through a similar problem. If she were to judge by the number of things he already seemed to know about this world since yesterday, perhaps the situation was even more serious.
But he didn't say anything.
That's what the other girl was referring to. Give and take. If Touma was keeping this from her, then she also thought she had the right to want to solve everything herself. To resist until it was all over, until she was back in her own world, back where she belonged.
But she couldn't accept something like that. It was she herself who said that the two of them were not alike, so she would prove it to the voice in her head. This Mugino Shizuri would not go down the same path of self-destruction as the one in this world.
"Touma..." She took a deep breath, watching the still patient boy nod his head, saying that everything was fine. "Yes. Something is wrong with me." Shizuri clutched her head, where an unbearable pain suddenly began.
"Are those memories?" Touma asked worriedly. "You must have been through some horrible things too."
The tone so calm and concerned was like a healing melody. His warmth flowed into her once again as he placed his arm around her shoulder, completely ignoring what he himself had said earlier. He said nothing more, just waiting for her to calm down, to be ready.
"More than that," she said, inhaling as deeply as she could.
All she needed was to be honest, to communicate everything to him. That was even too much, but it would open doors for other things to come. There was still so much she needed to tell him, to reveal the extent of her darkness. It shouldn't be that hard. She had done something like this in the past, and they weren't even dating yet. It shouldn't. Shizuri just needed to have the courage.
"There is something very wrong with my head. I'm -" She stopped talking suddenly. The reason was not fear or anything like that. "Damn, she's here."
The interruption came in the shape of a person. She was wearing the Tokiwadai winter uniform with a thick coat over it. Her face looked completely blank, as if she couldn't believe the scene she was seeing. It made sense since Shizuri and Touma were embracing like a couple at this instant, not caring about the rest of the world.
Shizuri rolled her eyes and then spoke in a bored voice.
"You sure do pick the worst times to show your face." She looked once more at the brown-haired girl frozen in the cold, though it didn't seem like the temperature of the place was to blame. "At least be helpful this time... Railgun."
Hello! Welcome to the bottom!
Did this chapter have too much exposition? When I was editing, I cut out several explanations of events that happened in the novels because I thought they were redundant, I hope this was enough to not bore you to death LOL.
As you have noticed, this entire arc so far is being told from Shizuri's perspective only, which means that all the narration implies is what she "thinks" is happening. The reason this arc is being told this way is so that the reader keeps guessing what exactly is going on with Touma, and also to show Shizuri's inner conflict more closely.
Another thing I should warn you about is that, unlike the other arc, I kept all the action scenes to the end. I hope this is not a problem, I will at least try to make them long.
Let's move on to the reviews:
T2J: Thank you for the welcome. Yes, that is GT story point, and everything happened exactly as in canon, with the exception of a single thing. I just don't want to force more unnecessary things into the story, it is already a bit too long in my opinion. I am really glad to hear that you are enjoying it so much, and you don't have to worry, I can always write sequels to this story later.
Xellos540:
;Here in this fic, yes. I have set this up early on by having Shizuri ask her for advice before she and Touma even started dating. In the past, Takitsubo was the ITEM person closest to Shizuri, Kamachi makes this very clear.
;Touma didn't mention it, Shizuri only knows that Othinus was/is a goddess and that Touma saved her and other minor details.
;Bologna Succubus had a considerable effect on Touma LOL.
;Shizuri exaggerating is one of her gimmicks, I mean, Othinus would need to have a little less clothing to be considered an 'exhibitionist'.
;This chapter more or less answered that.
;Here in this fic, everything that exists in our world has already existed here (with rare exceptions of course), and Shizuri is known here for liking to read.
;It is Frenda that she is seeing here, but her mind is rejecting it.
;About your opinion on Shizuri, we all have some problems with canon. OT Shizuri was probably already in a state of barely caring about anything anymore. In the Spin-off, the story takes place in the past, a lot has happened in the dark after the "Hanano" incident, we are talking about almost a year and a half until the events of OT15. I don't know if you know this detail, but the events from OT to the present GT takes place over a period of approximately 6 months, imagine how much a person in the dark can change with almost three times that amount of time. Perhaps this is the reason she regrets so much that she has become such a monster in the novels. The setup was there all the time.
;We don't know yet, but who knows one day.
;Your table is safe, xD That was just a little reference to GT1.
;Takitsubo is already suffering from excessive ABC use in Railgun, there is a scene of her basically collapsing. She talks as much as a "normal" person in the new Spin-off, with long sentences and even a short monologue, and in NT she even comes close to yelling at times. I am not saying that she is a "chatterbox", just that she talks a lot more than people think.
;I will use a line from the prologue of NT14 that explains this: Yes, Kamijou Touma was quite capable when he put his mind to it. It was enough to handle World War Three if need be. He still forgets people from time to time anyway. It's not about him being "dumb", I think he just barely cares anyway, it's part of his character to ignore things for whatever reason, he is simply beyond this.
;No problem, you can always read it later. My chapters are usually not that long.
5queso: Good to know that I surprised you. We had a lot of exchanges between 'Mugino' and Shizuri here, I hope the dynamic was interesting. I will keep at least one chapter a week unless I am really discouraged, thank you very much for the support.
We will have Tokiwadai girls in the next chapter, and a "painful revelation". That's it for now. Drink lots of water. Nio leaving.
