Painted Prison Chronicles

by Sparity Ikari

When Kamijou Touma and Gokusai sisters reunite after a long while, things certainly go crazy for all of them when they found themselves living together through random twists of fate. In their daily life, Touma, Amazora, Kaibi, and Rikuri will learn about each other, with their light, darkness, and pasts revealed. Among the misfortune, comedy, and romance, their bonds blossom anew!

13. Chapter 13

PAINTED PRISON CHRONICLES

CHAPTER 12

ENTRACTE PART 1: STRIKE AGAINST KYOZETSU

Hello everyone! I am finally back after quite a while. Unfortunately, in this time I have quite a lot to work through and to write about, so it is quite hard to write in such pace as before. But first things first.

I am very happy for your support on the last chapter. It was quite inspiring piece of work and I am really glad I got to write it. Kaibi's struggle was such an interesting thing to grasp and portrayed. I don't know if I fully managed it, but I tried my best and I hope you enjoyed the effects. Now, we are moving to the middle stage, titled Entracte as it is the bridge between two parts of this story.. We are now roughly in the middle.

As I mentioned before, it will become increasingly difficult to write, having many other responsibilities. This story will not be discarded, but after this chapter and the next you may probably (not certainly) expect longer breaks. I think it is the better solution than abandoning story and it gives me a feeling that I can do my best for you.

As was pointed out with some of you, this story gained a big supporting cast. There arose voices of concern about this story being able to fulfil its original purpose, that is, focusing on emotions and daily occurances alongside Gokusai sisters. After consideration, I decided to write the second half of the story with the returned focus to the sisters, as it was never my intention to truly leave them out. This chapter and the next will be as it was before though. Additionally, I am thinking about creating special, parallel story to focus on other heroines that appeared during this tale (Mugino, Kongou, Hasako&Maidono, Hokaze&Shokuhou, maybe Youen and Kaai). However, this will still be specified in the future.

Now, we shall see what happens before grand action of saving the mothers of Mikoto and Mitsuko. This is special case of two parter. I honestly enjoyed writing it, as I usually do. Please enjoy and let's get to the Q&A:

Thomthecommie: I know that there is such relation of daughters and fathers, but if it works, why not use it? You don't have to be original in every single thing. What matters is why Kaibi reacted to Touma in way she did, and the justification for her behaviour will appear in future chapters.

Aiman031122: The kiss was meant as a huge surprise, and as a culmination of Kaibi's tension and denial. I am really glad I could make you laugh, your reviews brought me a lot of positive energy as well. I am sorry you had to wait that long, but as you saw, life can get busy at times.

Aminadab Brulle: Yeah... misfortune never sleeps.

BlueJack22: I loved them as well.

5had0wHand: I thought a bit about Kaibi's backstory and her emotions, so I am glad you appreciate it. That battle of Touma and Kaibi was in my head since the very beginning of writing this story. And I think Touma and Mugino would have that intimately tense, aggressive, but also flirty bond.

FingFangFoom100: We will have to wait for a gift moment a little bit, it's true that Touma can't catch a break. I very greatful for such kind words regarding this chapter. Hamazura seemed like an unexpected, but crucial element in regards to Kaibi's emotions. Their chase was exposed quite a bit and they had to clash their views of Battle Royale to move forward in their relationship. I am also aware of Junko being educated in martial arts by her father. Btw, there will be a little Hokaze fluff, sort to speak, so look forward to it.

Mr. X: As response to your concerns, a parallel story will probably appear. In second half, the story focus should be more on Gokusai sisters again, unless something changes my plans.

Agent Nine: Was the fact that Touma forgot the kiss misfortunate? Yes. Was it convenient? Yes. But was it not true to his misfortunate tendencies? No, so I allowed it, because I thought that it genuinely could happen. And thank you for liking the Inifinite Hells bit. It was something so vivid in my head that I just had to put it in the writing.

Without further delay, let's begin!

Within one of the hotels of Academy City, a definitely somber atmosphere reigned as a group consisting of Misaka Mikoto, Shokuhou Misaki, a number of other Tokiwadai students (alongside few mothers of said students), Hamazura Shiage, Gokusai Kaibi and her sisters, Maidono Hoshimi, Kankyougami Hasako, as well as Sogiita Gunha were sitting in silence.

Everybody was contemplating a horrible news that came to them just hour and a half ago. Two of the mothers staying in the hotel, Kongou Minako and Misaka Misuzu, were abducted. Their disappearance was discovered by none other than Hamazura Shiage. When he returned from his brief randez-vous with Kamijou Touma and Gokusai Kaibi, he decided to man up and apologize to the woman he once wanted to kill. It was early in the morning, and the sun wasn't up yet, but he wanted to do so nevertheless. Thanks to this, absence of two women was soon a fact, alongside with the note left by the captors.

Hamazura ran to inform Misaka Mikoto, who, alongside most of her Tokiwadai friends, were sleeping outside of the school garden, in rented apartments in the same complex in which they watched the infamous transmission of craziness by certain group of guys. Initially, girls were very apprehensive towards the young man, but Mikoto, already seeing Hamazura by Touma's side before and interacting with him, was quicker to listen to him. Thanks to this, a rescue group began to form.

Then Hamazura dashed out and tried to find Touma, but encountered only Gokusai Kaibi, who still decided to tag along, hoping to find missing boy by following the group into the danger. In the meantime, she informed her sisters that she will be missing for a moment longer. Yet due to Rikuri's own decision, and Kaibi's discontent, both youngest and oldest Gokusai arrived at the scene.

As for Sogiita Gunha... well, no one knew why exactly he appeared but that wasn't anything unusual in Academy City when it came to erratic number 7. When asked, he simply said "My guts warned me about peril" and that was it. Aside from some wierded out girls, no one had a mental capacity to trying to explain this bizarre way of entering the fray. Nevertheless, Hamazura was rather grateful that he had another guy on the team, even as peculiar as Sogiita.

Thinking about it twice, saying that everyone was quiet wasn't fully correct. Hokaze Junko was engaged in vibrant conversation with Gunha, as the pair knew each other beforehand and Junko took it upon herself to inform Gunha about what transpired. Although no one doubted that both the boy and the girl were serious about the entire affair, Junko's over the top gesticulation and Gunha's serious expressions made it look unintentionally comical.

Misaka and Kongou were, naturally, the ones in most grim moods. Kongou was clutching her fan as if it was a lifejacket and not an accessory. Although she tried to maintained her usual haughty attitude, there was a sweat on her wide brow. Mikoto was gritting her teeth, playing with a coin in her hand. A lonely spark would shoot out of her hair every now and then.

"Well..." she finally broke the silence" What do we know now?"

"The certain thing is that Misaka-san and Kongou-san are gone. They were abducted during the night, and the captors are probably far away by now." said Hamazura.

"Do you think they were taken outside of the city?"

"If they didn't leave this, it would be an option" Hamazura said, tossing a piece of paper on the table" But now I know who those bastards are. It's not like they were trying to hide, not at all, they want to us to know their identity. And it makes sense"

"What does?" asked Shokuhou, her starry eyes observing the piece of paper with interest.

Hamazura straightened the paper containing the message, which was now revealed to everyone in its entirety.

To Misaka Mikoto and Kongou Mitsuko,

We have your mothers and they are unharmed for a time being. We demand for you to turn yourself over to us and come to take the place of misses Minako and Misuzu. You have time until sundown. Come to the border of district 7 and 22. If you value the life and dignity of your mothers, you will not keep us waiting or try anything funny.

Kyozetsu

"I simply don't get what those ruffians want" Kongou exploded in anger, pointing sharply at the piece of paper" They don't want our money? It's usually the money they are all about"

"I agree, this is not making it clear all" Misaka agreed" We are supposed to know who it is, but what the hell is "Kyozetsu"? What does he want? This is so stupid!"

Tokiwadai girls started to talk one over the other, causing the commotion. Kaibi clicked her tongue in irritation, but before she could say anything, her older sister coughed loudly, which caused the younger girls to focus their attention. Although Tokiwadai maidens were unfamiliar with Gokusai sisters, Rikuri in particular made a lasting impression on them, with her charm and maturity putting even Shokuhou on defensive.

Now, she smiled politely and pointed at Hamazura.

"Now ladies, please calm down. I believe Hamazura-san can give us some explanation on the matter"

Hamazura looked at Rikuri with gratitude, before clearing his throat and resuming

"Yeah, as much as it is not knowledge I ever wanted to use, I know who those guys are. Among Skill-Out gangs there were many smaller groups that chased their particular interests. All Skill-Out members were united in the name of vendetta against high level espers, but their specific targets often varied depending on experiences of individuals. Kyozetsu was one of those specified organizations that gathered members from various gangs. Their target of vengeance was really a specific one. Name Kyozetsu comes from the word "rejection". Kyozetsu members had all of their feelings rejected by a high level espers from prestigious schools, like Tokiwadai, and so their desires of vengeance mixed with bitterness over how their feelings were treated. They are mostly guys, but some girls happened as well."

The crowd exploded in even more agitated screams and shouts.

"So they target innocent women because they weren't mature enough to handle a rejection? Pathetic!" commented Awatsuki Maaya.

"This kind of motivation is simply childish" Kuroko smirked dismissively "Those are the foes we are dealing with?"

"What can be expected from some street thugs though!" Kongou too wasn't far behind.

Other girls, such as Wannai, various members of Shokuhou clique, and other females in the room were in actual uproar.

Kaibi once again felt as if her blood was boiling. She stood up and started to speak.

"Listen here, you little spoiled-"

But once again, someone beat her to confronting the commotion. This time it was Hamazura himself.

"Can you all shut the fuck up for a moment?!"

Maybe it was because of the intensity, or maybe vulgarity, but girls slowly became quiet once again. Hamazura scanned through them with a quiet anger in his eyes.

"You know, this attitude is a part of the problem. What those guys are doing is inexcusable and immature... but do you know why there were pushed to the brink? I saw it happen quite often so I know it for the fact. They were rejected because they were level 0s, because they were from lower social class, because the girls were embarrassed to have a thug like them around when they were a lady from a good family. They were often not even given a chance to prove themselves, and they were crossed out simply because of some external factors. Even in the instances guys were actually in love. They were not bad people... no worse than me, anyway. But they weren't gently turned down. Some of you ojou-samas even wondered why someone like that dared to approach them. At least at the beginning, they were genuinely impressed with you, damn it! And it does not only limit itself to Tokiwadai. Maybe they would not turn bitter if this process of turning down was normal. But it was anything but normal!"

Hamazura spoke with a controlled trembling in his voice. Although he left Skill-Out behind, the matters of oppression of level 0s were still fairly close to his heart. All the young ladies seemed to be frozen in place.

"Look, I am not saying all of you are awful and playing with people's feelings. I know some of you are great girls. And personally, I wasn't in love during my Skill-Out times and I can't really blame my luck, because I got amazing girlfriend, who is a high level esper by the way, and I couldn't be happier. But do you think you are without any responsibility? Do you think it is so obvious that people should adore you simply because you are a high level? And this gives you right to laugh at lower levels feelings because of... what exactly? Can you look me in the eyes and tell me that you never rejected someone because he was a level 0?

Awatsuki Maaya visibly flinched.

"Because he seemed like someone not worthy just by a first look?"

Kongou's face became uneasy and pale.

"That you didn't treat them as a punching bag simply to prove your superiority, disregarding what he actually wanted to do with you?"

Misaka Mikoto wanted to drop to a deep hole and never come out.

"That you even went on date with them ? When some of those guys and girls were truly charmed by you, just like I was with my Takitsubo?"

Wanai Kinuho bit her lip, with slightly glossed eyes.

Devastation was done. All the girls were looking at each other with unsure gazes. Although they weren't to blame for the actions of the group itself, they were careless and shallow. Maybe not every time, not all of them. But it did happened and it was not an exception, but a rule for females from elite schools to act like this. It truly...

"That leaves a bad taste in my mouth" Shokuhou cringed, thinking about what she just heard. She was sure her clique was not sinless in that regard.

Even Hokaze Junko, bless her pure soul, was saddened beyond anything.

Shirai Kuroko, although didn't moved to the level of her other friends, was fidgeting slightly. Although her eyes were solely on her onee-sama, this conversation made her think about how she treated Kamijou Touma through their relationship. Even when she deemed him unworthy of onee-sama, which criteria she used to judge him? Were they always fair?

Kongou Mitsuko's pride didn't allow her to fully express it, but inwardly, she felt awful and sick. That pride of hers, that accursed hubris, contributed to many rejections in the past. She was about to judge Kamijou Touma the same way if he didn't save her and capture her heart through this action.

No matter the circumstances, all girls had one thought

'If we acted differently, if we gave them a chance or rejected them in gentler manner... could this be avoided? Could they not turn bitter like this and fuelled Skill-Out's hatred? Could we make Academy City a better place?'

"As I said, I am not trying to justify their actions. I still think they are going too far and I am going to oppose them alongside you. I just... thought that other side of the story needs to be said."

"Hamazura-san" Kongou finally managed to muster her voice to sound out " Can you tell us more about how they operate?"

"As I said, some parts are speculative. But their usual method goes like this: they target someone, wait for someone close for the target to be alone, capture said someone, and then request the exchange of their actual target for the captured person."

"Why are they doing it in such roundabout way?"

"Possibly because the actual targets are stronger than them" Kuroko commented, likely adding her Judgement experience to the discussion" The entire point of taking hostages is that they can force the target to surrender without fight because otherwise, the hostage will be hurt."

"Okay then..." Misaka tapped her finger on the table, with still perplexed visage" it all seems plausible, but... what's the gain when they have actual targets? In this situation, me and Kongou-san are the targets and our mothers act as bait. Wait... isn't this connected with our levels?"

"That makes sense. You are level 5 and Kongou-san is quite high in level 4 ranking." Shokuhou nodded, before making a sour face" If my mother was here, I would probably be targeted though..."

"When it comes to their goals... remembered that I said that those guys are driven by revenge stemming from rejection, right? Well, on the better day, you would probably have your blood and DNA samples extracted. Thanks to this, they will profit by selling it to Academy City's rivals. DNA can tell a lot about the basis of esper powers apparently. Then they will just ask for money like regular. On the worse day... you get all that plus... some extra taunting and special treatment for such a pretty ladies... if you know what I mean" Hamazura finished grimly.

A few more sensitive girls shivered at that.

"They usually hide in remote places too. Maybe even more than one"

"What are we waiting for then. Let's go search for-" Misaka got to her feet, but the doors to the room closed as if invisible wind passed through the space. Maidono Hoshimi lazily directed her finger back down.

"Wait a moment, sparky. I think there is more to this than meets the eye." she gestured at Mikoto" We need to address something. Kamijou is still missing, right? I think we need to find him as well. He would provide a great assistance in a fight"

"Well, that's nice but we don't know where the hell he is!" Mikoto screamed back.

"Who are you to meddle of affairs of Tokiwadai" the haughty looking girl with short brown hair, called Kirifu Megumi, addressed the disrespectfully sitting Maidono" We don't even know you. And this girl as well."

Hasako flinched and instinctively shrunk on the spot, trying to blend in with the sofa.

"If Misaka-san says she wants to go, I will make a way. I am a level 4 telekinesis user, finest one in Tokiwadai!"

"Oh..." Maidono raised an eyebrow, and clapped her hands." Really? Good for you, good for you..."

Kirifu focused her attention on the door. Maidono rested her chin on her hands, with two index fingers linked together.

After a moment, beads of sweat started to cover Kirifu's face.

"Huh? What?"

Maidono yawned slightly.

"What's wrong? You were supposed to open the door with your amazing telekinetic power."

When two abilities of the same type clashed, the more refined one would prevail. And no one was better in telekinesis than Maidono Hoshimi.

"They... won't even budge. How... how is that possible?" wheezed the confused middle-schooler.

Hasako lightly touched Maidono's arm

"Maidono-san... that's enough. Please, conserve your strength for the time when we will take action"

Maidono sighed and separated her fingers.

"You are no fun."

With Maidono's own influence lifted, the doors opened with such force than it sounded like a small explosion. Kirifu stumbled, panting as if she ran a marathon.

"Kirifu-san, that's enough. Those two are powerful enough to give even me trouble" Misaka sighed, and looked at Maidono" I lost my cool a little. We are... quite stressed from all of this. I assume you too have your reasons to fight."

"Yeah. I am pissed that he suddenly disappeared like that last night, even if it was for a good reason. I want to be of use to him and I didn't do anything cool for him yet... well, not counting sending Mugino-senpai to the river"

Hamazura's eyes widened as the girl continued

"So I want to help here. If this what he would do, I want to prove myself in front of him"

"I too..." Hasako clenched her fists, joining in" I want to do something for him, assist him in making his dream come true. He already did so much for me, that it's only natural for me to support him with my life. We all share the dream of getting Ayu-san back to us"

Shokuhou turned abruptly towards the miko-styled girl

"Did you just say Ay-"

"I think both are correct!" A male voice completely silenced Shokuhou... again. Sogiita Gunha slammed fist into his chest "We need to rescue the mothers, and search for Kamijou. With those fiery guts, he will be crucial in defeating the enemy."

"That's a splendid idea and I am in accord" Junko raised her fist in the air "I will not abandon Kamijou-san"

"No one's abandoning anybody" Hamazura sighed" And you say it so certainly because..."

"I feel it in my guts. I would do anything to test myself against dragons once again"

"Of course you do. Also, what was that last part?"

Kongou Mitsuko raised up, with newfound determination.

"If darling is involved... is there a chance that he will end up in the center of trouble?"

"You don't know him long enough. If someone can be unlucky enough for this, it's him" said Mikoto.

Kongou struck a pose, spreading her fan in flamboyant gesture.

"Then I must do my utmost to fight. I, Kongou Mitsuko, must save my mother and beloved from peril. I will show those villains, and my darling, what I'm made of."

"What's with this sudden confidence boost?"

"You said yourself that darling will get involved somehow. Then I have to trust him to go through this unharmed and lead us to victory. But I want to be there to ensure his safety as well."

"You have a lot of trust in someone you recently met"

"I chose him to be my future fiancé. And I, Kongou Mitsuko, choose only the very best. Call it..." she cupped her cheeks with a warm smile" a love's intuition"

Girls started to whisper among themselves, with Shokuhou Misaki staring at the raven-haired girl in curiosity

'I should be really angry right now, and in the way I am irritated... but Kongou-san...'

Unnoticed by everyone except Shokuhou, Kongou's fingers were trembling slightly.

'She is actually quite scared. She values safety of her loved ones, so even if she puts a poker face, in reality she is worried about everyone taking risk to save her mother... and even if she does believe in Kamijou's capabilities, she is anxious about him. If she could, she would run to find him this instant. I am good enough in reading through people's feelings to know that her feelings are genuine.'

Shokuhou silently clicked button on her remote and smirked to herself.

'So that's how it is... well, Kongou-san, that's just like you. I won't lie to you and give you green light just like that... I have my own interest in getting my prince back, after all. But... even if they are quite fresh and idealistic, your feelings managed to impress me'

Misaka Mikoto had same contemplation, but from a completely different angle.

'She says the "L" word so effortlessly. It's not like I want to say it too... b-but... but... why do I feel like a loser here?! Ghhh, electricity is supposed to be faster than wind!'

Little did Mikoto know, Kongou's feelings had their own dilemmas, different from Railgun's own. If Misaka Mikoto was going too slow, Kongou was moving too fast. In all honesty, being a sheltered girl from a very rich family made her confused about social interactions, friendships, and love. She tended to misunderstand proper order of things, get overexcited, and allow her pride to get the better of her. She was the type of person who would nod her head at the prospect of marriage, but get senselessly flustered at the prospect of dating. That was why Kamijou Touma decided to let the two of them spend some time to get to know each other.

But one thing that made this case different was Kongou's unyielding desire to make lasting and genuine human connections. Behind her proud facade, she dreamed of having friends and being able to cherish them.

When Kamijou protected her despite her behaviour towards him, despite the differences of their histories and status, she instinctively sensed that he could have followed a similar motivation.

Kamijou Touma wanted to protect others, so they could smile together in the end.

Kongou Mitsuko wanted to cherish her friends, so she would protect them for everyone to smile alongside her in their daily life.

Those motivations were not that distant. In fact, they could support each other. Touma's was much more selfless and on greater scale. He even bothered to respect feelings of Kongou, someone who he barely knew. He saved her despite no obligations to do so and declined the offer that many would kill to take, only to allow Kongou to put her own desires together at her own pace. All of this made Kongou Mitsuko... excited. And she did not want this feeling to end.

It could be idealistic and fooling. But as mentioned before, Kongou Mitsuko was enamoured at the first sight. And she used the charmed state her heart was in to make herself braver and fight not only for her family and friends, but a boy she liked.

Getting back to reality, Gokusai Kaibi took a pen in her hand

"Everyone, I will put down what we need to do and how we will do it."

"Can I see this paper?" Maidono's question was a bit redundant, because the piece of paper jumped straight afterwards. She narrowed her eyes.

"Near district 22... hmm, that reminds me of something... can this be?..."

"I think we have a similar idea" Kaibi commented, writing something down, when Rikuri touched her shoulder.

"Now, we need someone to pinpoint Kamijou's location" Hamazura took out his phone" And I have just a perfect person to that"

"Kaibi-chan... I don't want to worry you but... Amazora is gone..."

"WHAT?! Nee-san, you were supposed to keep an eye on her!"

"She just went to the toilet..."

"And you believed her?! You should make sure she actually went there... damn it, why are you so incredibly smart in so many areas, but you have to make a slip-ups like this..."

"O-Oi, that's so mean. I put a tracker in her blood for situations like this, so don't worry. I will locate her. Also, Kaibi-chan... she might not show it all that much, but Amazora was the first from us to truly care about Kamijou and this is why she acted on her emotions back then. I am sure her feelings are maturing since he might be in danger for all we know."

"The very fact that she ran away like an idiot without a plan tells me she is still a child"

"Well, she is our little sister after all. But would you look at that... our little Amazora is growing up..."

"D-Don't wipe your tears on my clothes!"

(MEANWHILE)

Indeed, Gokusai Amazora was on the run.

More so, she carried her gattling gun with her, sneaking through the back alleys and making detours to avoid being spotted.

"Onii-chan..."

Amazora was a happy go-lucky girl, that paid no mind to anyone or anything save for her hobbies and her older sisters. But this wasn't the full picture.

For someone that young, she experienced some tragic events. Her sisters tried to shield her from the truth, but even if it was only traces of memory, she remembered.

She was lonely. She was a backup plan. She knew that her mother wanted to use her against her sisters if they ever turned against her. When it came to her parents, Amazora might as well be an orphan. She only vaguely remembered her mother, and her father died when she was very little.

But her sisters never abandoned her. They weren't her actual parents, so they could only do so much in raising her. But they did so much for her. She just wanted to be a good little sister.

But she wasn't like them. She was smaller and less experienced. They always had initiative.

She rebelled and fought against them to push back the feeling of dread from the fact that they too could disappear one day. She acted to distance herself and become independent, so those feelings would not hurt so much.

She done everything to stop her fears. She learned to enjoy killing because she wanted to stop fearing the death itself.

Of course, the thoughts in her small head were not on this level of maturity. But if she put them in the words adults would use, that would be the gist.

She was tired of being a part of a set, scared of losing her sisters, and dreaming of having her own time to shine in life.

She could be childish, but she wasn't stupid.

When Kamijou Touma came along, she felt like he was the solution to her problems. He saved her life, listened to her, and kept seeing her just for her.

For Kamijou Touma, Gokusai Amazora held value. An individual value, precious in its own right. For that small girl it was more important than anything.

Sooner than later, she started to wish that those happy and noisy days never ended. She was happy. Her sisters were happy, and because of that, Amazora felt even more comfortable.

But right now, with Kamijou potentially in danger, she realized something.

All this time, she was joking around to hide the fact that she was growing attached to him. Even if she wanted to be spoiled, even if she annoyed him, that was because she wanted him to pay attention.

"No..."

Before she knew it, she could not imagine it. The life without her onii-chan was hollow.

"No, no, no, no..." she cried out as if in trance, before coming to a halt.

A new feeling was rising inside of her chest. Something that she never realized before.

"I... don't want him to leave! I don't want him to disappear from my life. I want onii-chan to be my onii-chan forever!"

She raised her gattling gun and lifted her chin up in a mighty pose of triumph

"I will blast away everyone who interrupts my time with onii-chan! Those bad guys messed with wrong little sister!"

Suddenly, her run came to a halt

"Ehm... Kai onee-chan mentioned district 10... but where exactly is onii-chan?"

(MEANWHILE)

Kamijou Touma was blissfully unaware of the commotion his disappearance and the abduction of the two women caused, at least for now.

However, state of his spirit was anything but blissful, likely because of the fact that he was still bound together with a rather unstable and impatient girl.

Their help came rather conveniently (too conveniently in Kamijou's paranoid opinion) in the form of a small girl with a rather big bossom, who was wearing a lab coat and had black hair tied in a branched ponytail. Hanatsuyu Youen spread her arms wide, demonstrating a large segment of the dried off sewer that apparently served as her hideout.

"This is incredible" Kamijou whispered.

The room was shaped like a small dome adjacent to the tunnel. It was electrified, had a small mattress, some books, and lots, lots of specimens, glass equipment, and other stuff needed in a proper laboratory.

"Oi, you runt, how did you manage to acquire something like this down here?" Mugino asked the small chemist.

The girl promptly ignored her, and smiled slyly at Touma

"Aren't you curious how I got where I am now?"

Mugino looked as if she was about to self-detonate from Youen brushing her off, but Touma nevertheless nodded.

"Well, long story short, you know how I said that I won't ever be separated from Kaai? Well, I was perfectly comfortable with the cell, but Kaai got bored. One night, she simply slipped away, but since I tried to contact her, she was coming back. In the end, Kaai kept breaking to prison trying to rescue me" Youen looked as if she was reminiscing something amusing" They had quite a problem with her, since she is a bit of a special case with her body. No cell can actually contain her fully"

Hanatsuyu Kaai was Youen's twin (older by just 15 minutes, as Kamijou learned on occasion). Although both sisters were strikingly similar in appearance and interests, Kaai was had much more intense personality and obsession regarding decomposition and decay. She called it "defiling herself" and Kamijou was honestly glad that fate made him come across the slightly more reasonable sister. But what mattered for Youen's explanation was the fact that due to certain twist of events, Kaai gained a peculiar, semi-liquid body. She was similar to the case of tiny Othinus, who also could not be contained easily.

"And so, to keep my sister from wrecking havoc, the prison offered me a release in exchange for helping them improve their capture technology. I agreed, improved some things, then got myself a place here. It's nice even if a bit murky..."

"Wait, let me get this straight" Mugino raised a finger in the air" YOU are the reason why we are stuck with this shit?"

"Give me a second..." Youen took out a small magnifying glass and examined the substance, poked her with a finger, smelled it, and finally touched it with a tip of the tongue "Yup, strawberry flavour"

"What the fu-"

"That means it's mine composition. Super effective, isn't it?"

"I am gonna murder her. I swear I will" Mugino screamed, but Touma yanked her backwards.

"Mugino-san, I will not allow you to do that."

"I will prepare the solution to free you... in the meantime, let's look at those wounds..." Youen examined them, skidding from one side to the other "Okay, that calls from some of my cuties"

Cuties turned out to be spiders and maggots. Kamijou felt Mugino shudder.

"Hmm... are you scared of bugs, Mugino-san?"

"Fuck off. There is a difference between bugs and those... things"

"Alright. I put a traces of a chemical attractor in a pattern against the surface of the wound. The maggots will eat potentially infected flesh and this spider produces a sturdy web that, with some help from me, can serve as both elastic and durable bandage. Adding a mosquito-derived pain reduction will do the trick as well. It is more ecological too" Youen explained, tending to Kamijou.

"Seriously, how the hell are you not bothered by this?" Mugino questioned the boy.

Touma tilted his head.

"Well, it is a bit unsettling, but I will take anything as long as it helps me recover. I have no reason to question Youen in her field of expertise"

Small girl smiled at that, and lowered her head to hide a small blush across her face.

"Hah, this is the appreciation for true science. Oh, please praise me more"

"I am curious... it seems to me you don't exactly like each other..."

"I don't like brutes who think everything can be solved with blasting things away"

"I think children who like to play adults should stay in the sandbox"

"Well excuse me I was voted more popular in that DSFPP poll"

Touma blinked rapidly a few times.

"What... poll?"

"Dark Side Female Popularity Poll" Mugino spat out, cringing slightly when Youen, rather forcefully, covered her leg in some green looking cream.

"How... why? Why is that even a thing?" Touma's shock could not be greater.

"Hell if I know. Ask those horny Skill Outs. At some point, someone started to organize rankings of female members of dark side. If someone was encountered on the mission or during a raid, it would be... ekhm, assessed, through various factors. If someone's identity was secret, they would be entered under some characteristic features. If someone was well known, like myself, they would be entered under their epithet"

"Wow..." Touma looked at Mugino in wonder" I wouldn't guessed you cared about things like that"

"I didn't... although I was winning for a long time" Mugino let out that self-contradictory statement

"Until we beat you that is. When Kaai and me discovered our boob-growing method, we skyrocketed for some reason. It was a moment of fame but what a glorious moment!"

"Stop grinning, creepy child! I admit... being on top was good because everyone else knew their place. But imagine when you lose to a 9 year old in the department of your tits! What kind of perverts are hiding in the dark side if they vote this over this"

"Wow, you don't care about this at all. I'm 11 now, if that will make your sore loser attitude disappear"

"So, if you lost, were your bust smaller 2 years ag-"

"SHUT IT! "

Touma got quiet. Youen got up, stretched, and marched to the other side of the cave to prepare the chemical to free their hands. From time to time, she kept glancing at them with a small pout on her face.

"Mugino-san..." Kamijou rather awkwardly tried to break through silence" Since we spent some time together now, even if it wasn't too good, wouldn't it be nice to have a normal talk and do something else besides fighting?"

Mugino was silent for a few moments, before groaning outloud.

"You won't really shut up until we do talk? Okay, I am curious about a few things as well. Consider it as a payback for getting through this shit with me and not being as annoying as you could be."

"Okay then... let's do some Q&A"

"Q&A?"

"Pick a question for me, regarding yourself"

"That's dumb..."

Mugino said that, but inwardly, she felt some strange giddiness. She became intrigued in Kamijou Touma, yet she would rather die than actually admit it.

Fine, if he wanted to avoid question from her at first, it was good. She will get to that later on.

"You already saw me in two of my costumes. Pick one: violet or yellow"

Yes, if I start slowly, he won't be scared of those questions and I will learn some valuable data.

"That's a hard question. I would say violet. It really suits you, and pronounces your legs"

"Huh, so you've been staring at my legs, huh?!"

"Of course I was. I don't mean anything really perverse, but they look amazing"

Mugino bit her lip. Kamijou's answer was so straightforward that it actually diminished her anger. That was actually the main reason why Mugino could not ascertain what she was feeling or how she truly wanted to react around Kamijou.

It wasn't unusual that guys complimented her. Ever since youngest years, she was undisputedly beautiful. The difference between Kamijou and other guys, was the fact that Kamijou did not display any will to accommodate to her demands to please her or make her spare his life. He would praise her in one moment but scold and confront her in the next. He was unyielding, unbreakable, and stubborn. But most importantly, he wasn't scared at all and insisted he would save someone like Mugino.

It should have make her furious... but as much as she wanted to be angry, something else made her breath quicken and her heart beat faster. It was an intense, flaming sensation within her body. It felt almost feral.

In words of a wise master of perversion, Aogami Pierce, it could be said that Mugino Shizuri awakened something within her. More specifically, said blue haired pervert could very well diagnose her as "being turned on by Touma's defiance and wanting to both crush and enjoy said resistance towards her efforts in a sadomasochistic way". But for now, Mugino had no clue what to do with those feelings, so she endorsed the game of questions.

After a few minutes, Mugino learned that Touma liked to collect manga and visited arcades. Touma learned that Mugino was interested in fashion and enjoyed sunbathing. They briefly exchanged some stories about past fights and encounters (with both keeping some of the more intricate and complicated battles a secret). Mugino turned to be fun of classical music, while Touma preferred guitar styled film music and popular, modern songs. They both exchanged some nagging on their flatmates. Serious questions were mixed with more relaxed ones.

"What animal do you think I am like?"

"Hmm... hedgehog. Something tells me that you are the type that wants to save everyone, but can't stay with them because you think you will hurt them if you get too close. Just like hedgehog's needles"

"Wow... this was... a lot deeper than I expected. I thought about you dissing my hair or something. An animal... I think... you remind me of praying mantis"

Mugino narrowed her eyes

"Did you just compared me to a god damn bug?!"

"No, no! Well, yeah... but I watched a documentary about them. Mantids are super effective hunters, are pretty strong, and have beautiful colours."

The older girl seemed pacified with this description. Although...

'They also eat their partners alive after copulation, and I totally get some yandere vibes from Mugino-san. There is no way I am saying that though'

"What is your favourite dish? I don't have any picks, I am too financially challenged for that, but I enjoy various hotpots or some miso ramen"

"Salmon. All forms and variations" Mugino answered without skipping a beat.

"Hmm... that can work"

"What?"

"I just thought... if you ever wanted, I can cook some salmon for you. I know few ways to utilize fish and incorporate it into various dishes"

"Ho?! Are you trying to bribe me with food?" Meltdowner raised her eyebrow" my taste is rather exquisite".

"I will still give it a shot. Say what, I will make a bento for you and you will judge it."

"Why?"

"Because, Mugino-san, I want to get to know you as a person outside of fighting. And doing small things, taking small steps is often a good way to begin for people from the darkness"

"Who said I want to continue associating with you?"

But Mugino said that only out of her pride, without real conviction.

It was possibly the salmon temptation. There was nothing else beside it.

"It's your choice, but my desire remains the same"

They were silent for a few moments. Mugino spoke again, listening to the sounds of Youen mixing something in the distance.

"Hamazura told me that you want to save everyone... isn't that right"

"Yeah. But... that's not what you really want, right?"

"Huh? What are you talking abo-""

"You are afraid that you will fall into the darkness again right. Hamazura was the one who pulled you back to your peace, so I won't stole his role in all of this. But if you are scared that you ever revert back to the true, maddening darkness... then I will confront you as many times as it takes. And to ensure that it won't happen, I will try to make you comfortable in the world of light again"

"That's a bold promise."

"I am willing to keep it"

Mugino's lips twisted and she let out a short burst of laughter.

"Man, you are damn hilarious! The most moronic idiot in this rotten city!"

"Yeah, I hear that a lot" Touma could not help but smile a little at that.

"EKHM!" Youen was clearly not amused, as she was heading towards them with a small vial in her hand" If you are finished, I can separate you now"

As the pink substance was soaked with chemical solution, it let out a burst of smoke and crumbled away. Kamijou and Mugino stumbled away from each other.

Meltdowner clenched her fist and orbs of green energy ignited in the air.

"Finally!"

"This... this was safe... right?" Touma

"Well, side effects consist of exposure to rash, necrosis, paralysis, hallucinations, and death, but hey, at least you are separated again"

Youen managed to mantain her professional tone for a few seconds, and after looking at Touma's, she started to laugh.

"Your face! Your face was priceleeeeeehhhh?!

Kamijou Touma, finally liberated, could not take this deception laying down.

"Take this! Kamijou Style Tickle Torture!"

"Gh-gyah?! Sto...oh... ghahahahah...ooppppp...hehehehe! Ple...eh...ehehehehehe...ease! My bo... ohohohoho...oobs will sli...ihihihi...slip out if they bou...ouh...ouahahahah... bounce so much!"

However, the merciless monster Kamijou Touma did not stop his work until the small biological warfare specialist was almost out of breath.

He then turned towards Mugino Shizuri who was walking away.

"You are leaving then?" he asked, rather rhetorically.

"As you see. And gotta tell you, I thought Hamazura is exaggerating but your influence is really something else. Carrier is actually rather well known by dark siders, even if not many lived to know how she and her sister actually look like. To think you actually made her interested..."

"What do you mean? I don't follow"

Mugino turned around.

"What the hell? Are you that stupid? Can't you see that this booby brat likes you?"

"What?" Touma turned back" Youen? Now, that's just crazy talk! Now, let's just..."

"Hold up for a moment! Now that I think about it, you made it sound like the kiss with me wasn't even the first. What happened between you and the Carrier?"

"It's a little bit of a complicated story, but I saved her life, she saved my life, we fought common foe, and during that, we sort of... kissed. Due to the certain circumstances, she can't remember that, but... huh?! Mugino-san?!"

Meltdowner's face was totally downcast for some reason.

"Kamijou Touma... just how many times do you want to humiliate me? Are you saying that an elementary schooler was before my own first ki... tch, never mind! We shall see each other again"

She then stormed off.

"O-Okay then... take care!"

He wasn't expecting the answer, but before disappearing from his view, Mugino raised her arm and shouted back

"Damn right I will take care. Because as I said: we will meet again. And when I say and want something, I get it"

That's right. Mugino was a competitive young woman, and her sense of pride was hurt many times in regards to Kamijou Touma. No matter how trivial the matter could seem, she hated to lose...

Or maybe there were other feelings in play... but that's the story for the future.

Back with Touma, he heard Youen's footsteps behind him.

"I thought she will never leave. Heh, I left her a small souvenir gift. That healing cream will attract some of my ants, who will find their way straight to their panties..."

"You... really are a dark sider, aren't you?"

"Heh heh, tell me more"

As they walked back, Touma noticed Youen playing with various test tubes she had near her waist, with a rather tense expression.

"Youen... are you angry?!"

The girl stopped. Her finger began to tap on the glass, as if wanting to break it through that act.

"Angry? I suppose I have no reason to be angry. But let me think..."

The tapping intensified, as the girl shook his head

"You waltz in, completely turn things on his head, disregarding basic common knowledge about dark side, act as if we actually met before, and then giving this brave speech about caring about me and refusing my damn help, before heading to the Taboo... and later you didn't even visit! I shouldn't even care... but... but..."

She let go of the tube, which dangled back with the others, clenched her small fists, and looked at Kamijou, with emotions flashing in her violet eyes.

It was supposed to be intimidating, but as she reached only to his lower chest, it was losing half of that effect.

"I don't get it! You use my given name, you knew my true abilities, you protected me, even though I am a dangerous criminal. It is unnerving! It is so weird!"

Kamijou actually felt bad hearing this.

Of course Youen would be confused. She had no idea of Alice's magic, which basically put him through alternate side of reality until he dismissed her help. Youen in that world was not the Youen that stood before him. He retained those memories, but she did not. He and Youen did not know each other long, but that small adventure gave him a surprisingly profound insight and pleasant memories regarding the little villain. But wasn't he selfish in following those memories?

When he opened his mouth to apologize though...

"Even still, I was worried." her ponytail swished from left to right, as Youen fidgeted, pouting slightly" Because you did so many stupidities and were such a freak, I should just leave it be. But I couldn't! I can honestly say that I never met someone like you. I couldn't stop thinking about that time...and... can you have a decency of explaining to me what actually happened?"

Kamijou took a deep breath.

"Would you believe me if I said reality was changed so much that I met another version of you and we spent some time together?"

"Are you talking about some mental type ability? But entire world around you and the ? Only Mental Out can possibly do something like that"

Touma did not know who Mental Out was to be invested in his personal life, but nevertheless continued.

"I don't need you to fully believe me, but there was such power. Before it was lifted, I've met you, and we devised a plan to defeat a common enemy alongside Shirai Kuroko..."

"That stick-in-the-mud justice preacher? Why on earth-"

"Like I said, you don't have to believe it, but it is the truth. The point is, I saved you...her life, and she saved mine. In the meantime, I got to know that Youen relatively well... stuff happened...and I swore I never forget what you did for me"

Youen got back to playing with her tubes, which told Kamijou that her mind was restless.

"You did seem to know a lot about me when that damn Tessou attacked us. Heck, you knew exactly what was needed from my arsenal and put your trust in me. So... assuming that what you say is the truth...how was she like... the other me?"

Touma somehow managed to get flustered, even though it was 10...no, 11 now... year old girl asking the question.

As if reading through his facade, Youen gulped.

"Emm... did she do something to you? Or maybe..."

"No... it's just... she was quite... gratuitous, with her help... for example, she assumed I had trouble eating and..."

Youen caught up and stepped back.

"Did she... did we..." although Kamijou didn't saw her face clearly, he noticed that her face reddened slightly. She touched her lips and Kamijou's face told her everything she needed to know. "Holy maggots... what was she thinking?"

"I-It wasn't your fault, the logic of that reality was flawed in my favour..." the boy stammered out.

"So... if all worked in your favour... was that kiss... nice?"

Touma hesitated for a moment, regarding the age of the girl. It was really somewhat awkward. But finally, he succumbed and confessed.

"Well, it was a bit strange... but considering it was mouth-to-mouth feeding... and also knowing that world's Youen was trying to help me... it was rather nice."

He said that with no hint of perversion or deviancy. He just honestly captured the gratitude for Youen's actions in that fabricated reality, even if it was something he would not usually do.

"I see..." Youen sighed" That's nice. And it's a lot to take in..."

"Listen, I am sorry that..."

"But...I wouldn't say it was a bad thing..."

Touma frowned at that quiet comment. Did Youen really...

No, no, no. If any Youen could like him, it would be the false Youen from Alice's world. This Youen could not actually be like this... could she?

"Anyway, let's get going. We have more important things to worry about"

"Oh, I disagree" came another voice from behind Touma.

There was a bubbling sound and the boy was suddenly pushed forward, falling on top of Youen... and exactly behind her surrealistically developed assets.

"Oi, you freak, what are you... wait a moment... Kaai?!"

The mass of liquid goo behind them took shape of a girl looking identical to Youen, who grinned slyly, crouching down, and looking at embarrassed duo.

"Long time no see Kamijou. Now, don't mind me and let me see this ultimate form of defilement!"

"Sis! What are you-"

"Shut up Youen. Don't tell me you are not interested in falling for him after all that sleepta-"

"I AM NOT FALLING FOR ANYONE!"

"Let me get this straight" asked Touma, when he separated from Youen, who dashed back to lab" You would be totally fine if I actually did something to Youen and you would just watch?"

"Tch, of course not"

"Huh? That's nice, for a moment I thought that-"

"I would record it for future use"

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"

(MEANWHILE)

The dark and spacious room was filled with young teens. Although most of them were men, some females were also present.

Their present prey were too women, chained on one side of the room.

"How is your time passing?" the voice sounded from the speakers "Are you comfortable? We never had mothers of such esteemed espers in our humble hideout"

"Why are you doing this?" Misaka Misuzu asked tiredly."We can pay you if this is about money"

"Money? No, miss Misuzu. We are not that shallow. In fact, it is actually more about the sentiment than anything else. Also... why is miss Kongou gagged?"

"She was making this place a living hell" complained one of the guards" We had to shut her up!"

Misuzu smirked at that. Indeed, Minako made such a ruckus that the gangsters had to gag her. She put quite a resistance before and even now was glaring arrogantly at everyone around, as if she wasn't tied up and denied the ability to speak.

"Now now, those two are our guests. Don't be rude. Let her speak"

"But boss..."

"Do it!"

And so, Minako's lips were freed. Which was quickly heard around the room

"Who the hell do you think you are, treating me like this?! If you don't want money, why are you even want us here? I understand I am a beautiful woman, but this is just tasteless. Untie me and I will fight you myself. I know some jujitsu and taekwondo!"

"Miss Minako, we have no intention of harming you, but if you won't cooperate, I can't guarantee the patience of my subordinates. We want your daughters, not you specifically. You can call it a personal vendetta for our group. We profit on the ones that hurt us in the past. It's an equivelent exchange."

"Well, you will never succeed. My daughter and her friends will arrive here soon."

"We shall see about that..."the voice mused out loud" we took precautions to ensure the success of this plan."

"It shall still be for naught. Even if they don't know each other, he shall still come! I saw it in his eyes. He will come and his power will truly unite everyone to save us"

"Who are you talking about?"

The raven haired woman narrowed her dark-grey eyes and smirked, before turning away and letting out a haughty chuckle.

"As if I tell you, villain! You shall soon experience it yourself. Oh ho ho ho!"

'This attitude, even in face of danger... she really is the mother of her daughter, no doubt about it' Misuzu thought with a deadpanned expression, recalling Mikoto's stories about Kongou Mitsuko.

"Fine then" the voice cut through the silence that followed, sounding slightly irritated" It does not matter anyway. I can assure you, there is no way, regardless who comes my way, that they will touch me. I shall monitor our progress elsewhere, so I must leave you ladies. Behave yourselves. Even if we won't hurt you, your attitude may increase potential damage to your precious daughters".

The call ended and the gang returned to their earlier tasks.

Misuzu turned to look at Minako

"You know, I know you are angry at the situation but I would never say the things-"

She came to a halt, once she noticed something. The hands and arms of the other woman were trembling. She smiled but it didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Are you scared, Minako-san?"

The other mother gave her a slightly tired look.

"Scared? We are at enemy's mercy, and they are not the nicest bunch. Yes, I am scared"

Misuzu could understand that. She still felt uneasy about Skill-Out attack in which she almost lost her life.

"But... if you are scared, why and how do you put such a brave face in front of such crisis?"

Minako's dark eyes closed for a moment, which made her long eyelashes visible.

"I am doing what I can because I want, and choose to believe, in our children. But most importantly..."

She grit her teeth and muttered:

"My daughter is protective of everyone she cares about. But she never had true friends before she came here, and enrolled in Tokiwadai. She stumbled and tried blindly, but right now, I am so happy to see her in full bloom. She finally found her happiness... and I would rather die than let it end for her if she comes here to help me and gets hurt. That's not the kind of parent I want to be! I wish to support my precious Mitsuko. Yet I know she will come. Your daughter will come too. This generation is so valiant and brave, and they are bound to do something as reckless as that. But at the same time..."

She opened her eyes, which appeared calmer than before.

"That boy, Kamijou Touma... call it a mother's intuition, but there is something else about him. My Mitsuko was always considered beautiful and talented, but maybe because everyone praised her so much, she could not truly felt feelings that boy made her feel. I want to support her first true love... because this boy may truly be able to complete her dream. Also, if Kamijou Touma wants to truly protect our daughters' happiness, he will save us as well. No... he will save both our daughters and ourselves because we are precious too each other... and I don't doubt that he will protect all of it for his sake too: this formless but beautiful feeling Mitsuko has, the bond your Mikoto and himself created over some time, and our very lives as well. He is truly a strange and remarkable young man. No matter the danger, I just now he will come. I choose to believe in him. Didn't you say it yourself? That you feel safe with your daughter being here because she has such good people around her?

Indeed, Misuzu remembered. She even told Kamijou himself, she was happy that Mikoto could stay in Academy City with him around. Misuzu was never more happy for her daughter to have a friend like that, alongside girls who accompanied Mikoto in her daily life.

"Yes, he is pretty great. I truly envy our children for being able to live together will all of those amazing powers, even if this city is not as great as it claimed to be. Touma-kun... he is really brave and heroic"

"Yes, and cute too. If I were 15 years younger or so, and not married of course..." Minako grinned slyly, before sighing" Ah, those times..."

"I know what you mean, I don't know what Mikoto is waiting for..." Misuzu smiled back, before coughing" Although I must say, I think Tabigake would rent an entire army for my rescue"

"Oh, my husband would also try. Although, as loving as he is, he is more of a businessman than a fighter" Minako suddenly made a dreamy face" Aaah, now I am convinced. I can't die here. I must live to see what will my cute grandkids look like. I can already say they would be positively precious!"

"Wasn't that you that said to Kamijou that he can fufill his promise to Mitsuko-san and let them assess what they want to be?" Misuzu commented with a sigh.

Minako pouted at that.

"I knoooow~, but that consideration of his... kyah! This makes me support it even more. He is a perfect counter for my daughter's own antics. I always thought that Mitsuko will marry one of those rich magnates of aviation industry, as per my husband's plan, but this down to earth commoner might be just what we need."

Misuzu sighed again, but couldn't help but momentarily indulge herself in her own little fantasy.

'Hmm... brown hair with grey eyes would look nice... but black hair with grey or blue eyes might be even better. Or the girl looking like Mikoto, but with that spiky hair of his...'

"That being said..." Minako's voice, back to the serious tone, made Misuzu's attention to focus back at her" Let's not stand... or sit, idly by, when our children try to rescue us"

"I assume you have a plan?"

"We are held in synthetic wire that has a lock that responds only to a combination encoded in a card. I saw such system before. It is devised to hold the hostage even when the system gets broken. But I think I see the encoding card near that guy sitting by the wall. It is our only chance, and I can be mistaken, but let's take it!"

"Agreed. And Kongou-san... thank you for being here with me. You made me motivated once again"

"Oh no no, if I am being honest, I would probably be even more scared if it wasn't for you, Misaka-san. Now, let's show them all that they messed with the wrong mommies!"

(MEANWHILE)

"So, you want us to take you back to the surface?" Youen eyed Kamijou with hands on her hips, after she locked her underground lab and collected her supplies.

"Yes, I don't know if it is actually true, but I have a feeling something is happening out there. I have to get back to Kaibi and the rest to find out what's going on"

"You just arrived, and you are already leaving" Youen grumbled, narrowing eyes at him.

"That's right, tell him sis! And you didn't even do any defiling action! Boooooo!"

"Shut up Kaai!"

"I refuse. Ne-to-ra-re! Ne-to-ra-re!" the twin with decay and filth fetish was clearly trying her best to fulfil her fantasy of seeing her sibling and Kamijou doing... whatever she had in mind.

Kamijou crouched down, and smiled at dark side biochemist

"Youen, please. My friends need me. I want to make sure everything is okay out there."

"But... you said earlier that you believed in me. You believed that I had the potential to use my power to save, not only harm, and because of that, you saved me. Does it mean you think of me as a friend?"

"Well, that's complicated... and I didn't know how you felt about..."

"Did you or did you not?"

"I have no reason NOT TO consider you a friend..."

"So... if it is so..." Youen clicked her tongue in displeasure" Don't you think that it's somewhat unfair? If you say your friends need you, and I am your friend, then why can't you see that..."

She came to a halt. A phrase "I need you too" could not come through her mouth.

In truth, Youen did not actually now why all of the sudden the thought of Kamijou leaving irritated her so much. Maybe it was because he revealed some surreal secret about alternate version of herself. Apparently that alternate Youen and Kamijou had her own moments, moments actual Youen did not remember.

For some reason, this really pissed her off.

"There is one solution" she pointed at Touma" I am coming with you. You said you owe me. And I... really want to know what other Youen felt like. It drives me crazy, you know"

"But..."

"No buts... Kamijou, I still think you are weird, but you earned my respect, so be a man and accept that I am sticking with you. I will protect your idiotic self so we can sort this out like proper mature people"

"What maturity? You are like 10"

"ELEVEN! And I am a lot more competent and intelligent than 90% kids"

"There is nothing I can do to make you change your mind?"

"No. If you got me into this mess, and now take responsibility. Shut-!"

The last word was directed at Kaai, who was exhale away from making a dirty joke.

Kamijou sighed and took Youen's hand.

"Then promise me something. Watch your back and focus on what you want to do once this is done. We can do something nice and quiet..."

"You can assist me with my experiments."

"A-As an assistant, and not guinea pig... r-right?"

Youen let out a laugh truly befitting her age.

"We shall see how much you will meet my expectations"

They shook hands and smiled at each other.

"Well, if Youen's coming, I will tag along as well. It's better than sitting here anyway" Kaai commented, as they all began to move.

Despite strong smell of ammonia and other less than pleasant odours, the sewers were relatively peaceful, and their journey was not so bad.

Kamijou did not actually know where he was. He secretly hoped that the twins now the way because it looked suspiciously close to walking in circles.

Then, devil in disguise known as Hanatsuyu Kaai decided to break the silence.

"Kamijou, you know how monozygotic twins are differentiated from dizygotic ones?"

"Huh?"

"Basically, monozygotic twins come from the same ovum that divides into two. Thus, we have 100 % identical genetic material. But we are by no means identical. What can separate us are specific environments and epigenetic mechanisms. Also, the history of each body differs... for example, Youen has a mark from a certain chemical right under her-"

Youen swiftly threw a vial which exploded with a bang, and left the cloud of yellow smoke. Kaai simply dissolved herself and avoided the attack.

In that moment, Kamijou saw something moving at great speed. It was a point of bluish light that quickly grew as it approached.

"Hey, what the hell is tha-"

BANG!

In the next moment, Kamijou felt something collide with his stomach. The formidable force sent him straight into the water, slamming into Youen, as the two tumbled into the liquid.

They resurfaced moments later.

"Oi, are you okay?" asked the girl.

"Yeah..." they boy chocked out, as his stomach pulsed with dull pain" What... the hell was that?"

"Kamijou and Youen, swimming in the piss. Leaning, leaning, for the kiss~" Kaai sang above them.

"Kaai, now you've done it. It wasn't even funny!" fumed Youen. Kamijou seriously hoped that Kaai joked and the water wasn't actually that dirty. It didn't look like it, as Academy City had many purifying systems in place and all the smell actually seemed to come from the walls and floor rather than liquid itself. "I will make all the roaches in the sewers eat you alive!"

"As much as I want to take credit, it wasn't me" the older twin pointed at someone standing on the shore by her side.

When Kamijou, with Youen by his side, swam to the shore and looked at the silhouette, the aura of electricity was already fading. But he managed to get a glimpse of a gentle face, and ridiculously voluminous hair, twisted in violet ringlet curls.

"I am so glad I found you, Kamijou-san" Hokaze Junko spoke with kindness that seemed appropriate for a summer meadow instead of musky sewer "We really need you right now"

(MEANWHILE)

"I want to go to the toooileeeet!" a wail permeated the spacious room.

One of the teenagers forming the organization known as Kyozetsu snarled at Misaka Misuzu.

"Quiet there! You already ran your mouth enough!"

"But I need tooooooooo~. Otherwise, I will just pee in my pants! I was drinking all night, and I really need to go, otherwise it will all go to the floooooor!"

The guards of two mothers shuddered.

"Come on, let her go to the toilet! She has no self control! She will really do it" Minako shouted in terror.

"C-Come on, as if we will fall for that!" one of the guards shouted" Hold it in till your daughters arrive! Then you can do whatever you want!"

"B-But she is sick! If you want let her do it, then..."

"Misuzu-san has a certain condition..." the older Misaka muttered, her head hanging low as she spoke in montone voice" If Misuzu-shan drinksh alcohol before, and won't pee for long enough... she can shtill shtay... druuunk... *hic*... foooor a loooong time...

As she looked up, she had a stupid smile on her face, that was quite red. Her head, adorned with brown hair, wobbled from one side to the other.

"Y-You are bluffing! There is no such disease!" the thug said, but looked at his companions in uncertainty.

"Da doctor shaid soooo. Shoooo I mussht gooooo peeeee..." Misaka Misuzu slurred on, wobbling even more" Or elshe... Misuzu-shan will get... anger...*hic*...yyyy. And when angry..."

"She will seduce and kiss everything that moves" Minako screamed dramatically, as Misuzu fell sideways on her while still bound up " I beg you, she will do unspeakable things to me. I am too beautiful to ignore!"

"You shaiiid yourshelf... that you want to be friendsh... then give me kiiiiish" Misuzu made a kissy face.

"That's all the more reason that crazy woman must stay here!

"But I must be unharmed when our daughters arrived. AAAAAHHH!"

"Oh my god, shut the hell up! I will fetch the girl that will lead you to the toilet, just stay quiet!"

Minako's lips twitched. Their plan was really simple: make Misuzu leave the cell, and retrieve the card to unlock their bounds. It was easier said than done... but Minako could only gulp in awe at Misuzu's acting skills.

"Heh, I was drunk for a quarter of my life, as embarrassing as it is" Mikoto's mom whispered next to her" and putting a lot of air in one's mouth will cause the blood vessels to expand and we get the red hue"

Yes, this woman was definitely smarter than she usually showed. As expected for someone who gave birth to the Railgun.

"But wow, that was great. I almost fell for the "I will kiss everyone, boy or girl alike""

Misuzu coughed awkwardly and turned away, to hide further blush of embarrassment.

When she finally left, Minako could only wait with bated breath.

1 minute passed... then 5...

And then she saw the brown haired woman return in the company of a female Kyozetsu member...

"Oh, that's so much better. I can feel my mind clearing alrea...oooohh?!"

Misuzu tumbled down to the floor, sending the contents of a table next to the wall straight on the floor.

"Ow, how clumsy of me!"

"Oi, what is the meaning of this?!"

"My legs stopped working for a moment. You forced us to seat in one place for so long..."

"They were working fine a minute ago... so if I were to check you right now, I wouldn't find anything suspicious, right?"

Minako bit her lip. Even if Misuzu managed to grab the card, this could all be for naught.

The guard girl was reaching down

"Don't try anything. I know you did some-"

An alarm sounded throughout the room. The guard looked away

"What is this?!" she screamed into a walkie-talkie.

"As impossible as it sounds... we have an intruder!" came a shout from the other side.

"Intruder... who is it?!"

"Y-You won't believe it... it's a... little girl... but she has a gun! And she-"

There was a scream and the communication was cut short.

"What the hell is going on there?!"

Luckily for Misuzu, the room descended into chaos. She was quickly put back next to Minako without the inspection. She managed to hide the card in the sleeve.

Now she only needed to somehow reach the locks in the middle of her chest and between her hands. Same went for Minako. Even if it was tedious or maybe even impossible, they had to try.

Although, they were curious as well. Intruder? And also, a little girl?

(MEANWHILE)

Gokusai Amazora was really pissed. Not only did her beloved onii-chan was missing the whole time, she was also getting hungry.

"I am sorry onii-chan. I am trying to not make them dead, but it is not easy if I am this mad!"

Amazora ventured into district 10 and started to ask people around about two missing woman. As she got laughed at, she decided to change the flow of conversation by introducing the gattling gun to a company. This persuasive argument which left holes in quite a few walls, lead her to hide in one of the trucks that delivered her here.

"Apparently, the bad guys are here. So give me my onii-chan back! I am bad, but I am good if I am fighting with enemies of onii-chan!"

The guards were apparently completely unprepared for 11 year old girl jumping out of the cargo cart and blasting everyone with gattling gun fire. The thugs tried to retaliate, but Amazora was relentless.

It would seem that outnumbering the girl would make it an easy target. But that was not the case. Because if Amazora shared something with her older sister Kaibi, it was proficiency in direct attacks. She was also old enough to use certain psychological factors against her opponents.

She simply walked forward, unleashing relentless fire. She was focused, and her purplish-violet irises reflected the gunfire. All she did was merely sway from side to side. And somehow, as if in some movie, bullets failed to reach her.

Did Amazora used her power to defend herself? No. However, she utilized her looks and age to get that effect.

Most people would still hesitate for a moment to shoot a small child, even if it was clearly a dark sider. And that moment was just what Amazora needed. The fact that she was relentlessly pushing forward with hollow glare could scare even the most experienced fighters.

And if someone was brave enough... she still had her own fighting skills.

"Just go down already, you little-"

Using her small body to slip past extended hand, she ducked and placed small explosive on the man. It was powerful enough to stun, but not kill.

The guy's eyes opened widely when she uttered two words.

"Move it"

In a flash of light, the man was thrown against the wall, as Amazora bent slightly, away from the explosion, without changing her expression, when she continued her march of death.

The others fell back, calling for reinforcements. Such was the wrath of Gokusai Amazora.

Some could think that the wrath of Gokusai Kaibi, who could manipulate the distances between hearts, or Gokusai Rikuri, who was a masterful prodigy of chemistry and drone technology, were the most terrifying. They were certainly warranted to think as such. But for Amazora, the girl who was still growing and only started to realize her feelings for Kamijou Touma, wielded a completely different form of anger.

If comparing Gokusai sisters to good old terminology of freudian psyche: id, ego, and superego, one could argue that dutiful Kaibi were superego of the group, free and versatile Rikuri an ego, but there was no doubt that Amazora was an id. And by that parallel, that, in a way, made her most terrifying of all.

Id was an embodiment of wild instincts, cravings, basic needs, living only guided by pleasure or displeasure. Amazora was cheerful and playful, but if she got angered, there was no room for true negotiation. She would crush her opponents to truly protect her family.

Because above all else, Amazora was tired of losing, anything, in any shape or form.

She used that greed to fuel her fighting spirit. And now she combined it with her feelings for Kamijou. When she hated, she hated fully. When she loved, she loved with all of her heart. In time, those extremities would probably disappear but for now, they were clear as day.

She would crush anyone who could potentially separate her from Kamijou Touma. Even if it was out of selfish wishes, Amazora's feelings still longed to be with the boy.

"If onii-chan dies, I won't be able to grow up and seduce him like Kai and Riku onee-chan do" she muttered in frustration" but this floor doesn't have any stairs. Where is he?"

(MEANWHILE)

"What are you doing here?" Kamijou uttered rather awkwardly, after what he just witnessed.

Besides Hokaze, there were other two familiar females. One of them was Kongou Mitsuko, the other was Gokusai Kaibi. The only thing was...

"Are... are you okay?"

"I am Kongou... Misssuko... I do not get... dizzy... but... I will just..." Kongou, who had hair in such state that her already large forehead looked twice as big, took a few steps, and collapsed into Touma's arms.

Kaibi wobbled around, disappearing behind the corner, and then... a sound of vomiting reached Kamijou's ears.

"No, seriously, what the hell did you three do?!"

"Eto, eto..." Hokaze waved her hands around" W-Well, there is this incident, with Miss Misaka and Miss Kongou being captured..."

"WHAT?!"

(ONE EXPOSTION LATER)

"I knew something was going on! Thank you for telling me this, Junko-san, we must help them at once! So, how did you even found us?"

"Well, Hamazura-san phoned his girlfriend... Takitsubo-san, was it... to pinpoint your location."

Touma blinked. He did not have an AIM field, so how on earth did Takitsubo...

Oh...

"She noticed a place where AIM field of the city felt less dense" he muttered, more to himself, than anyone else, but violet haired girl nodded vigorously.

"Exactly. But she only gave us a rough estimation of the direction so we had to search through district 10 and its underground"

"What?! But you had so little time!"

Junko made a rather cute pose, touching a finger to her cheek.

"If I am not mistaken, Gunha-san used to call it... that thing in those... video games" she said it in a tone that suggested that it was some exotic term to her. And it probably was, as Hokaze Junko was in Touma's eyes a virtuous and polite ojou-sama" When you already know what to do, so you complete the game really fast..."

"Speedrunning?!"

"That's it!"

"Wait... you speedran the entire district... literally running... how?!"

"Allow to elaborate. My ability, Rampage Dress, allows me to control my bioelectricity to strengthen my muscles or enhance my senses, among others. I can channel the energy into my legs and it makes me able to achieve over 90% of speed of sound! I can also amplify the acuteness and reach of my sight, smell, taste, touch, hearing, boost my cognitive skills, and I used all those abilities to search for you while on the run. I took in everything. Although...I collided with you. Please forgive me my incompetence"

Touma stepped forward, grasping the girl's hand, who yelped slightly in surprise.

"What are you talking about? You brought me the most important news. Thanks to you, I can take action now. You are my hero right now, Hokaze Junko"

Hokaze blushed slightly, lowering her eyes in modesty.

'His hand is warm and has a nice grip... it's very comforting...'

She suddenly came to a halt.

'Wait... is this the legendary... handholding I heard so much about?! B-But... if I am doing it with Kamijou-san, does it mean... no, I already did it with Gunha-san once, when he wanted to show me a nice place for a fighting session... and I held my Queen's hand when we performed combination attacks... I also handheld Misaka-san in excitement when we went to Gekota festival and we were chanting countdown to the reveal of new Gekota pyjama reveal!'

Hokaze Junko's pure and innocent ramblings went on and on...

'But I thought you can only hold the hand of true love. But I heard that Gunha-san carried Kamijou-san... I knew I saw my Queen and Misaka-san displaying fondness in Kamijou-san... Kamijou-san clearly knows Misaka-san and there is some strange reason why he and the Queen are not talking all that much... but that means..."

Of course, such purity led her to some abstract conclusion.

'It's the romance of five parties and I am the only one unaware! Awawawawa! B-But what if everyone... asks me..'

Now red Hokaze imagined being face to face with her friends.

"Hold my hand Hokaze-san. I am excited to get to know you better" said Imaginary Touma.

"Grab my hand Hokaze. It will surely be a blast" added Imaginary Gunha.

"You are my most loyal right hand. You should hold my hand" Imaginary Shokuhou interjected.

"You are my most trusted Gekoer companion. Hold my hand in the name of Gekota alliance" insisted Imaginary Mikoto.

"Aaaah?!" Hokaze Junko waved her free hand in the air" I want to hold hands with all of you, but I only have two!"

"Hokaze-san?! Are you alright?" Touma looked at her with worry, as she quickly let go of his hand.

"Y-Yes, I am fine..."

Little did Touma know, a certain misunderstanding was created.

'Misaka-san and the Queen warring over a guy... did it happen because I was indecisive or not supportive as a friend? Then... I just have take their love and protect Kamijou-san as well. If I am the only part of this... what was it called... har-am?... that is not reincorporating those feelings. Oh, no! Maybe Kamijou-san... actually got a crush on me, and this is causing all those problems? Or maybe... Gunha-san actually...'

She shook her head and looked at Touma. The blush intensified. Hokaze's pure mind was now overdrive beyond any rationality.

'Kamijou-san... you being source of happiness of everyone around me makes me so happy... and this makes me even more convinced... I wish to protect you even without my Queen's orders. He is a remarkable gentleman. And as such... why wouldn't I have feelings of warmth towards him? I wish to get to know him and thank him for all of the good things he did for those close to me. It makes my heart so happy and content'

And as such, Hokaze Junko's harem, which never actually existed, only strengthened her resolve.

She felt it before, when Touma defended her, but she was now certain. She wanted Kamijou Touma to be a part of her life. He was important to her most precious friends, and brought them happiness, which made Hokaze's own heart soar. And as she looked at the boy, she only felt pure gratitude and fondness.

'I don't know if I can get in the way... I don't wish to hurt my friends... but if I could be a little selfish... I want to have time with Kamijou-san... because from the bottom of my heart I want him to be a part of my life. In fact, I feel like I missed out a little.'

Hokaze Junko, from just a little handholding, reached a certain realization in her happiness.

Her feelings for Kamijou Touma were complicated by more than one bond. But won't it be beautiful to see them shine?

Meanwhile, unaware of Hokaze's delusions and struggles, Kamijou finally addressed an elephant in the room.

"So... what happened with you two?"

"Oh..." Junko snapped back to reality" W-Well... we volunteered to search for you. There were others, yet we draw straws, and we won. I asked for them to hold my hands"

"So let me get this straight. You were dragging them along for all that time..." Youen finally spoke, first time till the trio of the girls arrived"... while running and taking turns at nigh-supersonic speed?!"

"W-When you put it like that... miss..."

"Hanatsuyu. Hanatsuyu Youen. That girl looking identical to me is my twin sister Kaai. Before you ask, we are eleven."

Junko's violet eyes widened, as she realized that the girl was only 4 years younger than herself yet their breasts were almost the same size.

"That was... horrible..." Kaibi stood up, wiping her lips clean" Never... again..."

"Truly awful... my life flashed before my eyes..." whispered Kongou.

She was still leaning on Kamijou, and it made the blond let out an irritated sigh.

"You were in better shape than I was. You are just taking advantage of the situation, so stop being all over him right now"

"I have no idea what you are talking about" Kongou slowly opened her eyes and slowly stood next to Touma.

"Well, there is no time to waste. Hokaze-san... did you know where are the others?"

"They follow Misaka-san to the location described by the kidnappers. We should go there as well"

"Wait, wouldn't Kongou-san being with us be a problem for the other side? If they don't see with Biri-Biri..."

"This is not a problem" Kongou offered an explanation" We intent to fight either way, so they trade off is annulled"

"But won't they hurt the hostages?"

"Well, according to Misaka-san, they had a certain distracting to shake off their fighting spirits."

"Kamijou, just to be clear..." Youen butted in, looking at spiky haired boy "We are not obliged to actually save anyone. But... I guess we will stick along too. Fighting some idiots can be amusing. And also... I am curious about... you know..."

"Yeah. It's a promise, Youen."

Kongou twitched slightly in a twinge of jealousy, looking at the small girl in labcoat.

"Darling already has promise to keep. Wait in line" she said, getting close to Touma once again and embracing his arm.

"Ho?! And who is supposed to be there? I bet I knew him before he met you" for some reason, Youen was acting antagonistically and Kamijou could not understand the cold gazes between the two.

"If you think getting bigger breasts makes you look cute, you may be just compensating for something because it's absolutely creepy"

Youen chuckled coldly, while examining Kongou's face

"Isn't Kongou family in aviation business? Your brow is so wide that they could build a runway on it and save lots of money"

Kongou reddened, straightening her back and glaring viciously on Youen.

"Do you want to be blasted to space?!"

"Do you want to be eaten by ants?!"

Touma groaned and Junko was only watching with confused expression.

"WOULD YOU CUT IT OUT?!" Kamijou yelled, grabbing both girls by the shoulders. Because of the height difference, he had to do it almost diagonally. Kongou shivered when she touched her, feeling something similar to electricity. "Right now, we need to save two people, including your mother, Kongou-san. And for that, I need your strength, all of you. Can I count on you?"

Girls looked at each other.

"There is no way I am letting you go alone" Kaibi walked by Touma's side."We still have some unifinished business to attend to"

"Who do you think you are talking to? This is my mother we are talking about, and with my darling here, I am completely fearless. Also..." Kongou stuttered a little at that part" I wish for you to return with me... so I will be watching your back, commoner, to make sure you stay safe"

"It's same for me" Hokaze motioned towards her big chest" Both for myself, and in the name of my Queen, it's an honour and joy to fight alongside you"

Youen and Kaai looked at each other, with Youen sighing and Kaai shrugging.

"As I said, we don't really have some grand motivation, but we don't want you to have all the action"

"We should probably get going, just like Kamijou said" Kaibi motioned towards the depths of the tunnel.

"Ehm, everyone..." Hokaze Junko shyly pressed her fingers together, looking extremely embarrassed" There is just a little bit of a problem..."

"That being?"

"I ran so fast... and we did so many turns that I... don't...exactly remember... where we started..." Hokaze had a face of someone who simply wanted to disappear. "B-But don't worry, I can fix this!"

(ELSEWHERE)

Rikuri was on a relentless chase. As a responsible older sister, she would reprimand Amazora for sneaking away. She would show Kaibi that she could put her foot down, and as the middle sister chased after Touma, Rikuri decided to search for Amazora.

She was great in gathering intel and soon enough, one of her drones confirmed that Amazora entered a certain building.

"That is near the spot mentioned in that letter. How that little... how she managed to get there? Then again, her ability to enter problems and fights is almost as misfortunate as Kamijou's"

The young woman straightened, starting to valiantly run forward.

"Young lady, your big sister is coming! I will not rest, I will not sleep until I get you to safety."

10 meters... 20 meters... 50 meters...

"Okay... maybe... one more... stop..."

The girl panted, leaning over the sign.

'This is... so embarrassing. Kaibi nagged me to exercise more, but I couldn't find time during my research. Aw, please Kamijou-san, never witness this! And to think I was able to cheerlead in the past... I am a failure!'

As she wailed in self-despair, she noticed that one of the manholes nearby moved, ever so slightly.

"Huh? Now, what is that?"

(ELSEWHERE, 15 MINUTES EARLIER)

Shokuhou Misaki hated the situation she was in.

She should be with her Prince, and not with...

"Why am I even on watch duty?" she grumbled "Not to mention with you of all people"

"Don't you worry, star-chan, everything will be alright. It's a gutsy team of guts and glamour" Sogiita Gunha laughed boisterously and gave a pat on the back.

That "pat" almost broke her back in half though, and made her bust rebound, so Misaki felt as if the kinetic energy travelled back and forth, making her wobble.

"Great..." she hissed" at least you are aware that I am the glamour part."

'Seriously, what does Hokaze see in this crazed fitness maniac? Although I must applaud his bravery in certain situations, his mannerisms are abhorrent. Oh, my wonderful prince, I don't care that you don't remember me, I want to snuggle you so hard right now... I hope Hokaze finds him... to be honest, while I am relieved that she went to check on him, Junko-chan and Kamijou-san can get along pretty well... wait, am I jealous? There is no way, Hokaze-san, while clearly independent, is devoted to me and has this musclehead over here. Mooou... but they can clearly find their common ground really well. And they are both rather pure...'

"Are you thinking about Hokaze?" Gunha spoke next to her.

Shokuhou turned her head in surprise. As far as she was aware, he didn't possess a thelepatic application of his power... although, with Sogiita Gunha, one could never be sure about anything. And it was not like she could easily check it out.

The problem with level 5s was that she was unable to peak into their heads for various reasons. Accelerator and Kakine could easily deflect her attempts. Misaka-san had electromagnetic barrier that could be breached only with great strain, and although Shokuhou never got a chance (nor did she have a true interest) in reading the thoughts of Meltdowner, she suspected #3 and #4 had similar defenses. She was not sure about Aihana Etsu. But, surprisingly, she could enter Gunha's mind. The only problem was that his mental processes were so erratic and fast-paced that she felt as if was on 3 different concerts of 3 different music genres playing all at once. Gunha's thoughts were vivid, evolving and one thing shifted into the other so fast that it made it hard to read and comprehend them at all. Sogiita didn't seem to mind, but for Shokuhou, it was such a pain that she dropped the possibility of reading #7's brain.

"Yes... she had... quite high eagerness ability to save him. I hope both of them will be okay"

"She is strong. One of the most gutsy girls I ever saw. There is no mistaking what I felt through my fists. If she is with Kamijou, I can rest assured that they will be okay" Gunha commented with a grin on his face" Got to tell you, star-chan... you have a good taste in people. Hokaze is your right hand girl, right? And you have interest in Kamijou"

Shokuhou blushed and whispered rapidly

"How did you kno... oh, right... your guts, or whatever"

"Oh, I am interested in him as well"

Shokuhou's eyes could very well be replaced with starry dinner plates

"He is filled with amazing kind of guts. I can't help, but admire him. We are like brothers from different mothers and... star-chan, are you okay?"

Shokuhou was clutching her chest and looking quite hysterical

"Oh, so that was what you meant... hah hah hah..."

The vision of certain type of love manga with Touma and Gunha in main roles, featuring Hokaze Junko, was fading from her consciousness like a terrible feverish dream.

"Well, if you are okay, then we are just waiting for the signal. I hope Kamijou joins the fight in time. Hamazura and Railgun-san are coordinating it... oh, and one more thing..." Gunha looked above the wall they were hiding behind" You don't have physical guts... but guts of your heart are bright as day. Thanks for being such good friend to my own friends"

Shokuhou did not expect this, let alone from Gunha. She would feel bad if she didn't reincorporate it in some form.

"You are not so awful after all. In your... strange... way, you are caring for Junko, who is one of my oldest friends. And you aided Kamijou during that battle with Misaka-san... even if we don't see eye to eye and it may sound strange... thank you. A lot"

Gunha uncrossed his arms and gave a thumbs up, before giving her a "pat on the back" once again.

"No problem! One level 5 to the other!"

This time, the pat almost threw her to the ground and Shokuhou was certain that she had a red handprint at the middle of her upper back.

"By the way, I cut off our main escape route. This way, we can take longer route if we are ambushed and improve our stamina if we are found and have to escape."

"YOU WHAT?!"

Shokuhou could really cry in that instant.

'He is insane! Junko-san! Where are you when I need you to comfort meeeeee?!'

(MEANWHILE, ELSEWHERE)

Only a moment after activating her ability, Hokaze Junko sneezed.

"Are you alright?" Touma looked at her with worry.

"I'm fine, but..." the girl stumbled back, clutching her face with slightly watery eyes as sparks faded around her" I used Rampage Dress to boost my olfactory cells and track traces of my smell to get us back to the surface. But I never done this in the sewers and I am afraid that amplifying my sense of smell in a place like this is just irritating my nose...

The explanation was forcibly interrupted as violet haired girl sneezed twice more.

"Bless you" Touma handed Junko a tissue, which she accepted with gratitude.

"Pardon me" she elegantly tidied herself up, and smiled apologetically" And thank you. But as you all can see, we won't get anywhere like this. Excuse me, for being useless"

"Don't apologize. You did more than enough already, so don't force yourself" Touma looked at the violet haired girl with a smile, which caused her to smile warmly in return, with a slight touch of crimson on her cheeks.

'The Queen was right, she is extremely kind and considerate. She was so anxious for me to be his protection, but it is clearly my desire to protect such kind person, who is important to my friends... and to me as well'

"Well, if we are talking about the surefire fast track to the surface..." Youen thought for a moment, before snapping her fingers" Wait for me, I will be right back!"

And so, she dashed back. Kaai raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? So she wants to use him... well, this will be awkward for her. I can't wait"

"Him? We are adding another person? It's becoming super crowded in here!"

Silence lasted for a minute or two, before Hokaze clapped her hands with a smile

"You know, this smell oversensitivity of mine I experienced a moment ago reminds me of a certain legend of Tokiwadai..."

Kongou visibly shuddered and shook her head.

"If you are talking about that horrid place... that was humiliating..."

"But when Ryoukan fell prey... it was a bit funny even if unfortunate..."

"I guess it was" Kongou couldn't help but smile." She was like everyone-achoo!-to the-achoo!-rooms!"

"Ehm, we are little bit out of the loop with the inside joke. Since we are waiting, care to enlighten us?" Kaibi motioned towards herself and Kamijou.

"Ara maa, of course, you wouldn't know. Are you familiar with 7 Mysteries of Tokiwadai?"

"Not at all" Kaibi and Touma answered in unison.

"What? You don't?"

"I have a friend, who could have mentioned it once. Saten Ruiko, that's her name" Touma added after consideration.

"You know Saten-san?! She is a charming girl! She and my Queen met her before. I am so happy that we have even more shared friends" excited Hokaze grabbed the hand of surprised Touma and leaning close with a smile

"Hokaze-san, would you get back to your story and don't bother him" Kongou muttered, grabbing Touma's another hand.

Junko blinked and jumped back, embarrassed from her instinctive reaction. Kamijou was also slightly red from having a girl jump so close to him so suddenly.

'I thought Tokiwadai are a bunch of self-obssessed sheltered brats, so it would make sense for them to be interested in each other, since they have no experience with man... but damn... if Tokiwadai is a yuri paradise, then Kamijou Touma is a straight-demolition wrecking ball. Although I don't sense straightforward feelings from Hokaze-san, she definitely has some form of affection. She is the type of girl who wants to befriend others... but I swear there is something there, besides that...' thought perplexed Kaibi.

"As I was saying, over history of Tokiwadai, there were certain theories about our school. Usually, there are 7 at the time. Even if one emerges, the other takes its place. We don't know if number 7 holds any significance, but... I can tell you certain examples. First..."

Junko took a few steps trying to appear more menacing.

"A staircase that can never be ascended. There is a mysterious staircase that can be reached all the way to the top. Because when you reach the penultimate step... you realize you stand at the very bottom!"

Kamijou bated his breath. Kaai raised an eyebrow, Kongou gulped, Kaibi remained unphased.

"Maybe some telepath is playing pranks on you" Measure Heart offered sarcastic retort.

"But Queen said that she tried to sense anything like this and failed! One of my friends from the clique was terrified the whole day. Secondly... in outside dormitory, there sounds of moaning and screams during the night. The light gets dim and the girls can't sleep!"

Touma moved closer to Kongou and said quietly

"Call me crazy, but isn't this just Shirai and Misaka?"

Kongou stifled the burst of laughter into her hand through the very last moment, and cast a glance at Touma, her twinkling eyes suggesting that she will start laughing if she loses even a bit of control.

"Thirdly... the haunted toilet, which bites your... ekhm, posterior, when you follow the call of nature"

Kongou momentarily lost all colour.

"Everything okay?" Touma asked her.

"W-Well... there was this one time my python got lost and she got into canalization..."

"You have a snake?!"

"It's not just a snake. Her name is Ekaterina-chan. I will introduce surely introduce you to her. I am sure she will love you"

Kamijou did not have her certainty.

"Fourth mystery... the eyes of portraits and monuments are moving. The girls could have sworn that they felt a gaze watching them, especially in dressing rooms."

Kaibi nodded, totally unconvinced, but Kamijou was a different story.

'Damn that old perverted magician! Aleister, seriously?!'

"Speaking of dressing rooms... some girls could have sworn that one of them is haunted. A guy emerged from there out of nowhere and caused an uproar, with the majority of the school chasing him. Some girls even locked themselves in that lockers hoping they will have an... ekhm, secret meeting with a boy"

Touma laughed weakly.

'That was so damn embarrassing! That time when I got smuggled in because of that fake altar. To think that it would become an urban legend...I had good reason, but Tsuchimikado, you will pay for that one day'

"Six... there is a courtyard that makes one sneeze to the point of being hospitalized..."

"That sounds ridiculous" commented Kaai.

"But it is true. There were many brave attempts to laugh it off. Queen and Misaka-san could not control themselves when they entered there, neither did my friends from the clique . I tried entering it myself and something in the air tickled my nose so badly that I started sneezing senselessly before I knew it. A truly dangerous place."

"That was the most stupid and humiliating thing for all of you" Kongou stated haughtily.

"Oh? If I am not mistaken, you tried to enter there as one of the first people, saying it is ridiculous to fear an empty space. Even when Wannai-san and Awatsuki-san started to sneeze long since, you managed to endure quite long. Yet... pardon me for saying this... but you looked absolutely ridiculous."

Junko searched for something on a small Gekota phone and what she demonstrated was a photo of Kongou doing one of the silliest faces they ever saw on her, likely fighting the effect of the mysterious courtyard, with her face cringed, lips puckered out, eyes closed, and eyebrows knitted together.

The raven haired girl's face exploded in red hue. She snatched the phone away and instantly deleted the photo before Touma could see it. However, Kaibi started to snicker with no restraint, looking at furious girl.

"In the end, Dorm Supervisor tried to enter it herself and also suffered the same effect. The case was described as the allergy outbreak, even though there was nothing that could produce such effect on courtyard. It was closed off as a restricted area. And speaking of Dorm Manager... there is a rumour that she has a secret admirer!"

(MEANWHILE)

"Where are those girls?!" the brown haired woman sighed, slamming her fist into the table "I swear, I don't care how high of a level they are, they will suffer the consequences."

She adjusted her glasses. She truly needed to calm down in order to find the missing students. And there was one, secret method to do it. One that could never be found out.

She walked across the room, looked outside, and after confirming that no one was there, she got back inside, lock the door... and sprinted towards her bed.

In her nightstand, there was a collection of letters. One day, she started to receive them, from mysterious source. At first, she thought it was a joke. No one ever wrote her letters, except for complains about how strict she was. But those letters... they were different.

A person who wrote it described himself as simple admirer and fan of her skills. That person applauded her skills in managing the dorm of one of the most prestigious schools in the world, encouraged and praised her to do her job to the best of her abilities, but also described what kind of problems she might face and tried to console her.

She should be crept out... but instead...

Her eyes were slightly moist, an incredible rarity for that steel-strong woman.

"He understands... everyone thinks that I am some heartless monster, but he really understands and appreciates my work... he thinks that I am a perfect blend of beauty and strength... he is daring, very daring... but I can't help but..."

She did something she didn't do since her teenage years. She squealed, while hugging the letters into her chest.

'I love love love love love love love love love love love this!"

He looked at the signature

Sincerely, KT

Whoever you are, you are my inspiration. You are the only one who truly understands the value of my work. Oh, why do you have to remain hidden from me?!

She hummed to herself, feeling that her mind returns to the state of clarity.

What a wonderful day to be alive. She thought so, bringing her lips closed to the letter...

"Ryoukan-sama!" a staff member knocked to the door. "You are needed downstairs."

"Understood. I will be there soon" answered the woman in a cold tone.

She gently put the letters into their place.

KT... whoever you are, you are the most wonderful person in the world, even if we both keep our feelings hidden

(MEANWHILE)

'Nah, there is no way' Kamijou Touma dismissed a sudden thought' There is no way that my letters actually reached any Dorm Manager. Hello, this is Kamijou Touma's life. Some lucky guy probably did it before me!'

The curse of being a misfortunate idiot did not end with simple bad events. The problem was also in the fact that when good things, as rare as they were, actually happened to Touma, he simply could not believe that something could go his way. Kumokawa Seria could attest to that.

"Kamijou-san... there was one more legend... do you... believe in ghosts?" Junko asked quietly.

Kaibi looked as if she was about to laugh. But Kamijou remained serious.

"I have no reason not to believe in them. I would need to see them first, but I am just a normal high school boy. This world is too big and there are too many things in it for me to just laugh it off"

Talking about it made Kamijou nostalgic. He recalled how sceptical he was when Index first told him about magic. It felt as if it was eons ago...

Hokaze Junko, who encountered a special form of ghost, and Kamijou Touma, who faced wonders of magic, looked at each other. And even without knowledge of their respective lives, Hokaze felt her eyes being filled with wonder as her heatbeat quickened.

'He... is not joking.'

"Sorry for the wait" Youen finally returned, carrying something in her hand. "Kamijou, meet... Kamijou"

The thing in Youen's hand was a rat. A rat that was apparently called Kamijou.

"He is highly intelligent and I trained him for various tasks. He will help us find a way to the surface.

"You named a rat... after this moron?" Kaibi could not decide to be amused or weirded out.

The human Kamijou looked at rat Kamijou. It was strange, but it only showed that Youen somehow missing, so it wasn't a bad thing entirely.

Youen put a few drops of orange mixture before the rat.

"Once he inhales the scent, he knows that he needs to locate exit route to the surface"

And indeed, the rat started to run.

"We really are following him?"

"If it's insects and vermin, Youen is the boss"

And so, after 10 minutes of twists and turns, they arrived under a manhole.

For some reason, the metal steps were not done all the way through, which meant that they had to ascend by climbing on each other.

Attempt 1) Kongou on Kamijou's arms:

She could not quite reach the steps.

Attempt 2) Kamijou on Kongou's arms:

The perspective of having her head essentially next to Touma's crotch caused the lovestruck maiden to overheat and pass out, with Touma tumbling down.

Attempt 3) Hokaze on Kamijou's arms.

Apparrently, Hokaze Junko was ticklish, which was closely experienced by Touma. When his spiky hair brushed against skin of her thighs, she exploded into a fit of giggles and instinctively pressed her legs together , which caused Touma's (un)fortunate head to be squished from both sides by her thighs with strength equivalent to a hydraulic press, which in turn made him actually pass out for a moment. The end result was extremely embarrassed Junko bowing repeatedly while Touma was coming around.

After that, Youen and Kaai lost their patience and commanded hundreds of butterflies to lift them all up.

And so, 5 girls, 1 boy, and 1 rat emerged from the sewers in the stream of insects... almost giving a heart attack to Gokusai Rikuri.

(Moments later...)

"Well, looks like we finally made it" Touma sighed, looking at everyone around him.

Kongou were speaking with each other about something, Kaibi looked at something on her phone, possibly a map. But the strangest thing was...

"Oh. My. Goooosh!" Rikuri was fidgeting and grinning in excitement" I can't believe it... Kamijou-san, how did you know t-t-the Carrier and Decomposer?! *Squeee!*"

Youen and Kaai were as equally confused as Kamijou.

"I met them once, and I had no idea" Touma began, but Rikuri skidded past him and grabbed hands of the twins. She began to shake them to the point of getting the Hanatsuyu sisters themselves off the ground. Touma found it somewhat surreal for over 19 year old to act like a small child in front of an actual children (with big busts) who were somehow assuming the role of the senpai here.

"Oh my god, control your breathing Rikuri... m-my name is Gokusai Rikuri, and I am your biggest fan! I read about your ingenious research on plant enzymes and venoms, I just can't get enough, you inspired me to become a chemist of the dark side!"

"Would you look at that" Kaai mumbled" we have a fan. I knew those streams would pay off"

"Streams?"

"Don't listen to her" Youen said to Rikuri" Well, thank you for such an enthusiastic approach to our research. People tend to underestimate pathogens spread by animals as a mean of biological warfare"

"No, I think this is the crucial point to be made. I cited you in one of my research papers and when I defended my thesis"

"What was your work about?"

"Isolation and chemical properties of amphibian venoms in military technology"

"Hmm... oh yeah, there was something like that. I had a few remarks, but a rather good job. Few things actually surprised me"

"THE Hanatsuyu Youen was glad with my work! Ohmygodohmyohmygod!" Rikuri hugged Touma and started bouncing in the air with him" I am so happy!"

When Touma was released, he managed to ask the question

"Rikuri-san... why are you here?"

That managed to snap the grown up girl back to reality

"Oh, yes, I am tracking down Amazora... she went after you on her own and there is a huge chance she actually ended up in the hideout of Kyozetsu"

At that time, Touma's form rang. It was Hamazura Shiage.

"Boss?! Oh thank god, we couldn't contact you. Takitsubo helped us vaguely locate you, but we couldn't contact you so..."

"It's okay now. I was underground, but Hokaze-san and the rest managed to inform me about everything."

"Great. That will save me a lot of time. However, I have to tell you some strategy and plan of action. It goes like this..."

(10 MINUTES LATER)

After he finished the conversation, Touma hang up, and shouted

"Everyone!"

All the girls looked in his direction, ceasing to talk.

"Now is the time. I will tell you what we will do now and how we will go about the plan to save everyone. Hamazura said that Misaka and the others will provide help, but I am going to the first line. So I ask this: can I count for you to lend me your power?"

Not even after 2 seconds, all hands were raised in the air.

"Thank you. I just had a brief strategy meeting. So, it will go like this..."

(SOME TIME LATER...)

"Is everyone on the positions?" Hamazura asked quietly, observing Misaka Mikoto approaching the building on the other side of the street. After round of confirmations, he observed what was about to happen, as did quite a few Tokiwadai girls, Sogiita Gunha, Shokuhou Misaki, and Kankyougami Hasako.

Mikoto wasn't alone. Next to her was a girl with a short, brown-to black hair who was crouching down with her eyes closed. That girl was Maidono Hoshimi.

"Misaka Mikoto, so you've come as agreed. But who is this girl next to you? And where is Kongou Mitsuko?" the voice echoed from non visible speakers.

"As much as it pisses me off, this is our trump card in luring you out" said Mikoto.

"What the hell are you talking about? I told you not to try to attack us or try anything for the sake of your mothers?" the voice was interrupted by the laugh of Maidono.

"Really? Because I think that there is someone there, who is already laying ruin to your plan. And if it's for this guy, then for someone like you..."

She slowly lifted herself to straight posture, her index finger getting higher and higher.

"...I only need to lift this one finger!"

There was rumbling from under the ground. It felt as if the earth itself was roaring.

Cracks spread encircling the building, as Maidono stood confidently with her right index finger smiled and uttered a single word

"Levitate"

The pipes, electricity cables, and everything connecting the building to the ground snapped. And then, the figure of the building itself rose into the air. But it didn't end on the level of the ground.

Just as Hamazura Shiage suspected, the base was underground hideout. If they didn't know it, they would fall for the trick of the gang.

But this did not matter for Maidono Hoshimi. She just stood there in concentration, as her unparalleled telekinesis did her work, floating thousands of tons of materials into the air.

10 floors were already in the air... 20... 30...

Hamazura's lips opened

"Holy... shit..."

Shirai Kuroko dropped her walkie talkie.

"What... what...is..."

Sogiita Gunha breathed in deeply. Shokuhou tried to say something but failed. Wannai Kinuho and Awatsuki Maaya fainted on the spot.

The 50 floor inversed skyscraper was lifted high into the air, thanks to the raised finger of a single girl.

'Mental Out promised me to alter everyone's memories, so I agreed to do it... tch, it's quite heavy. I would say 80 000 tons. Well, it's still fine as long as I concentrate. Now, let's move it! This is the start of the true battle!'

And as Maidono Hoshimi thought, this action was the start of true battle for the safety of Misaka Misuzu, Kongou Minako, and retriving Gokusai Amazora.

Yet there was another story, going on inside of the building, some time before that climax. The details of which involve valiant hero and his friends, fighting for the salvation of innocent women.

The details of which... will be continued next time

TO BE CONTINUED IN ENTRACTE: PART 2