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!

17. Chapter 17

PAINTED PRISON CHRONICLES

CHAPTER 16

SPECIAL III: AT THE INFINITE COST

Hello everyone! I got some busy time with taxing exams, but fortunately, I could focus on writing in the last two weeks. This is third and last special chapter that serves as the bridge between two halves of this story. Also, Happy Valentine's! This chapter accidentally has some fluff that might go well with the spirit of this holiday.

Some things concerning technical details regarding deviations this story may have from original timeline. As a rule, I don't alter events and try to be faithful to the plot, unless something is not explicitly said and might be an interesting connection to explore. Some of the alternations from possible canon plot was giving Maidono the ability to fly, and Oriana's connections with Gokusai sisters. Although this was through the usage of Rikuri's similarity to Oriana, and I thought that if the Kamachi decided to make Mitsuari Ayu from Shokuhou's rejected design, making Oriana Rikuri's relative can be an interesting take to explore. Lessar's and New Light's backstories WERE NOT supposed to be direct alterations. I assumed this can be a possible backstory because I believed that such group as New Light is so close together because they experienced horrible things during their upbringings. I don't think it's all that controversial, because although pathology is still part of life, as sad as that is. From a psychological point of view, this is a rather sound hypothesis. I also, for the life of me, don't recall Lessar's parents to be ever mentioned in the main series. I can be wrong however, and then the backstory would become an involuntary AU twist. I hope you enjoyed it either way.

I am not fully sure how long will be the wait for the next chapter, but I will try to make it shorter than for this one (no promises). I hope you will consider second arc to be a good one and I thank you for making it this far into this story. It is so much fun to write for all of you!

I wish to thank you for liking my version of Touma + Lessar interaction. I greatly enjoyed writing it. It's also very rewarding for me that you wish Touma x New Light dedicated fanfic. I will make more concise Q&A next time (or maybe update it tommorow)

My name is Nephthys. Although I have a different name, the humans coined this epithet for me and I like it a lot.

I would also like to mention that I am a god.

I don't mean it as a metaphor. Although I am not a God with capital G, I am a very real Magic God.

Yet, (and this is the exciting part!) I am currently an exchange student in the school helping someone who is the topic of interest of me and my friend. I am engaging in the act of walking like a completely ordinary human!

Okay, maybe humans don't take that much of a joy from simple act of walking. But this is so exotic! Not being able to just be omnipresent or teleport to your desired location is quite mesmerizing. To think they do this every day makes me want to cry at their determination. They are so fragile yet they try so much!

But I get ahead of myself and timeline got all mixed up. It started as ordinary day.

But even I, an ancient god, could not predict where it will take me.

Nephthys reached the gates of Certain High School. Now, she was standing there in wait.

People walking around her turned in awe. Some of the boys actually collided with the stone walls instead of walking through the entrance. Well, it was no wonder that she attracted attention.

Even if she altered her form to look a bit more like a teen, her body was still unbelievably attractive and it showed. Even if she relented and wore modern clothing, it still revealed a lot of her brown skin, with her silver hair adorned with small pyrmaids perfectly glossy and smelling like sandalwood and jasmine. Even if she was supposed to be a transfer student from Cairo, and as such it would be expected for people to believe that colour of her skin was natural, apparently the mental associations with gyaru subculutre were too strong. It only made her attract more people.

To repeat, even though she was a transfer student, she quickly ascended to be in the pantheon of Certain High School's most revered beauties. This made many girls, including even the famous Beauty Senpai, to raise an eyebrow in collected and cold astonishment.

The boys, to simply put it, went absolutely crazy for the Magic Goddess. The sheer amount of invitations Nephthys received was absurd. She was invited to lunch, karaoke, study clubs, and so on. Some students actually formed a fanclub of Nephthys herself, dedicated to spreading her beauty in forms of art, posters, even T-Shirts. They called themselves Nebenians, a term coined from Nephthys' school alias.

The other girls looked at the Nephthys shrines and posters with amount of disgust no one would think possible on a human face. However, Nephthys only laughed and said:

"They are quite perceptive, this bunch"

After all, why would a literal goddess shy away from worshipping?

Among the girls, there was a visible rift. Some of them admired Nephthys, although because of much less lustful reasons than the boys. Meanwhile others did not really appreciate what the newcomer did with the place.

However, all the fuss could as well be meaningless as Nephthys had eyes (at least in everyone's opinion) and in fact actively spent time with only one person.

Namely, one Kamijou Touma.

For the reasons not disclosed, the egyptian 'student' apparently felt comfortable enough and liked to talk with Touma. This was enough to cause a flood of dark, bloody jealousy from both genders, regarding each of the parties in the pair. Nephthys didn't really mind, but Touma found it quite terrifying.

And speaking of Kamijou Touma...

Nephthys smiled as she saw a silhouette approaching from the distance.

She couldn't help but rejoice after seeing Touma, her earlier irritation at him being late disappeared. Even if she counted for a walk together, Kamijou's mere presence was more than enough to keep her entertained and that was what make it worth the wait.

"Kamijooooooou, over he-... oh?"

Her arm froze mid-wave. The boy wasn't alone.

She recognize the small girl that was piggy-backing on Kamijou's shoulders. That was Gokusai Amazora.

But there was yet another figure. Another boy, wearing something that obviously pointed out that he wanted to disguise himself.

"Hello there. Is there any reason that you missed our planned randez-vous walk before school?" Nephthys leaned over in front of Kamijou, which made her big chest bounce slightly.

"There are... quite... a few... actually..." the out of breath boy muttered, before setting Amazora (who was not very pleased with that separation) down to the ground." Well, maybe I will let him explain."

Nephthys looked at the disguised boy, who slowly removed shades and hat.

Her eyes widened.

"Oh?! And what are you doing here?!"

(LET'S REWIND TIME A LITTLE BIT)

Family.

Kamijou Touma never thought he would use it so casually, still relatively soon after his memory loss. But through the twist of fate and decision of three sisters of Gokusai family, he gained one in which he was welcomed. Even if they had differences, Amazora, Kaibi, and Rikuri agreed that Touma was a part of their life and newly-attached part of their family. Kamijou himself didn't quite know how to react to that. But it was certainly something pleasant.

Of course, he, Index, and Othinus, formed a close-knitted group, but neither the nun nor ex-Magic God ever addressed it as family. And ever if Kamijou was inclined to call it that, this time, he was the one that was incorporated into familial realtionship by someone else.

And for one reason or another, it was very nice. Even if it was for a moment in his life, he lived in a great apartment, with the group he thought he will never interact with after he lost his memories. Not only that, but he re-encountered and re-forged so many bonds he thought were lost.

He also managed to talk with Index. Although it didn't go fully as planned (because Index heard the voices of the girls and Touma could swear she tried to bite through phone on her end of the line), the conversation and explanation went relatively well. Index was still going to be in England for a moment more, but the reality of her return was getting real.

Touma honestly felt good in his newfound daily reality. He didn't delude himself, with his luck, that he will be given this time for very long. It could very well end today. But this was all of the more reason he cherished the time with three siblings with which he lived under one roof. Apparently, even Touma was still learning what truly brought him happiness and relaxation. And although Gokusai sisters were definitely a handful bunch, each in their own way, they clearly realized by now how truly misfortunate Touma's life was, and tried not to add more troubles on their own. Well, it didn't always work out, but Touma appreciated the thought.

If one were to describe a typical day, it would probably went somewhere along those lines

5.45- 6 AM: In the regular day, Kaibi usually woke up for a short morning jog, and return an half an hour later. Apparently, she adjusted to the early wake ups in her SCHOOL days.

6:30 AM: Touma would wake up, and usually start to tidy everything for the morning just as Kaibi returned. He would usually prepare something small for her as she was very hungry after the jog. As Kaibi went to wash herself, Touma would go to wake Amazora and Rikuri. While Amazora was grumpy getting to wake up, it was usually not a problem. Being a heavy sleeper, Rikuri was much more difficult, although Touma devised an ingenious method to draw her out of the covers with the smell of food (albeit the drawback was that she occasionally started munching on Touma himself while half awake)

6:45 AM As still messy and yawning Amazora and Rikuri rejoined Kaibi in the bathroom, Touma prepared cold elements of the breakfast, before heading to the baths himself. He and the sisters shared the bathhouse-styled bath, with him being usually restricted to one corner of it and behind the wide curtain. Although, in certain cases, Amazora and Rikuri liked Touma taking care of some of the morning rituals. In case of Amazora, Touma was apparently a great help in washing her hair, as she didn't really do it herself and didn't enjoy her sisters forcing her to do so, saying the shampoo was getting to her eyes. Rikuri liked for Touma to brush her luscious hair, and occasionally, requested a short massage to help her wake up. As it turned out, Touma picked up enough skills from caring about Index that he handled those very well, and the sisters were rather eager for him to assist them. It also created a unique bonding experience. Kaibi, although too prideful to ask for any treatment, was also casting glances when Touma wasn't looking. She was also keeping her sisters in line, supplying them with swimsuits whenever Touma cared for them.

7:00 AM As sisters took longer to finish their preparations, Touma went to the kitchen to prepare the rest of the breakfast. Later, they would sit together and eat while having the view on Academy City. As with many meals, Touma tried to personalize the breakfasts. Amazora liked pancackes and juice, Kaibi panini with sausage or scrambled eggs, and Rikuri fresh fruits and bread. The breakfast usually was eaten rather hastily, but it served as time to chat about most simple of things, bicker in a friendly way, and tell each other about plans for the day. Afterwards, everyone went to prepare stuff for the day and Touma made bentos for everyone.

Later on, they split up. Touma went with Amazora and split from her at the bus stop, Kaibi went to her high school or roamed around the city, tying up some lose ends from her SCHOOL days (she didn't fully disclose what exactly was that she was doing, but Touma had certain suspicions). As for Rikuri, her relationship with Hanatsuyu twins brought some major development in her college work. She sometimes stayed and worked at the apartment, went to acquire chemicals or machine parts, or venture to campus for a lecture. It depended on the day. She usually got so busy that she forgot to eat, that's why Touma also made bento for her lunch.

Usually, Touma returned home first (if something misfortunate enough didn't keep him for doing so), and waited for Amazora to arrive at the bus. Sometimes she brought her newly found friend Yume with her. It seemed the small light manipulator developed a small crush and admiration for Touma, although she was fairly reserved in showing that because of how possessive Amazora could get in regards to her honorary older brother. Usually, older brothers were more overprotective of younger sisters, but in this case, the roles were usually reversed.

After dropping Amazora home, Touma phoned Kaibi and they went on errand round together, which consisted of visiting supermarkets, buying house supplies, and occasional sundaes for Kaibi's sweet tooth. They both used this chance to relax in each other's presence, simply attending the pragmatic routine and chatting idly about the day. Although Kaibi tended to be strict and temperamental, she was also attentive and organized. Thanks to her, Touma didn't have to worry about forgetting to buy something, and she apparently had plenty of discounts through her connections from rental girlfriend times. Touma couldn't complain, and even if they weren't excessive in their compliments, ever since that night before Kyozetsu mess Kaibi changed. She was still herself, but more open, warmer, and considerate. Maybe that was the reason why such simple things brought the feeling of peace they both longed for.

For that matter, Touma couldn't help but appreciate that the sisters tried to engage in daily life. With no... maybe a little bit of an offense on Index and Othinus' side, they never really helped in a daily life. To be fair, Othinus could not do much in her form, and Index was in fact trying to improve. It felt as if it was ages ago, but it started this whole thing in the first place. But although sisters weren't perfect, Index could learn a lot from them...

When Kaibi and Touma returned, Rikuri welcomed them with food. Touma helped her improve and although it was still rather unsavoury, the girl was making progress. Very slow, but visible. Although Touma was not a fan of throwing the food away, Rikuri was very determined. She was also not so secretly fond of all the praises her efforts could get. And even though initial efforts ended in Touma and the others spending the night over the toilet, Touma still encouraged the oldest sister to perfect housewife qualities.

After all, the allure of a gorgeous onee-san welcoming you home with dinner was too great to pass. Even though Rikuri was still learning, her chemistry knowledge, under Touma's guidance, made their shared dishes something beyond heaven itself.

Depending on the day, the later events included watching a movie together, going out in the city in a group, or staying to deal with some educational duties. Kaibi usually helped Touma with cleaning, and Rikuri tutored him if he had troubles with his high school classes. Meanwhile Amazora was the main source of diversity in their daily routines. She had the ideas what movies to watch, were to go, and always shared lots of funny stories from her days in school. Even if that wasn't much of a practical support, Touma always appreciated just how much caring for her made his life more... calm, in a way. It was chaotic, and messy, and unorthodox. But playing with Amazora, combing her hair, helping her decide on what dress to wear, watching movies with her and her sisters, and doing lots of stuff together felt strangely... relaxing to Touma. For one reason or another, he and Amazora grew close in those small moments.

After all those late evening activities, Kaibi usually went to sleep first. Touma was usually convinced by Amazora to tell her some stories before sleep. Although if Touma were to choose, he would rather read something to her. But Amazora was vehement on the choice of bed time stories: Touma's adventures from the past. She said that she had best dreams after them. The storyteller himself had doubts on that and shared a suspicion that Amazora purposely wanted to have scary dreams so she could come to his bed. But still, he tried to choose a little bit less extreme stories.

Afterwards, he spent some time with Othinus, just the two of them. Later on, already after midnight, he either covered Rikuri with blanket and gave her a pillow under her head (because she usually fell asleep during her work after the movies) or carried her to sisters' bedroom, before finally going to sleep himself.

And now, it was a beginning of another day. It was quite strange. Because for the first time in a long while, he felt... hopeful. Hopeful that this would be a great and peaceful day! He was having great time! After awakening, he felt...

"I feel like I can take on anything the world can throw at me! This hard fought life of happiness is a progress. And there is nothing that can make me change my mind!"

With those triumphant words, Kamijou strolled through the room and opened the doors to his closet...

Where his gaze met crouched down figure of Kamisato Kakeru, wearing only his underwear, and staring at him, frozen mid-motion.

After few seconds of wordless staring, Touma closed the door and turned around, facing his bed.

"Of course, too much optimism can lead to reckless death. So, maybe the best option is head back to bed, after all..."

The doors behind him burst open.

"DON'T PRETEND YOU DIDN'T SEE ME!"

"Fukou da! I said I would face anything but that's crossing the liiiiiiiiiiine!"

(10 MINUTES LATER)

"So... would you mind explaining why did I find you wrestling on your bed with a half-naked guy?" Kaibi's eyes emitted almost tangible pressure on two boys in front of her.

"Please, don't put it like that. I knew my luck was weirdly good, but I had no idea this would happen"

"Heh, as if it was ever good..." Kamisato muttered, but Kaibi glared at him even harder.

"And you! Who are you, how did you get here, and what do you want? For that matter, you seem familiar with him, Kamijou."

Touma and Kamisato looked at each other

"Well, I would lie if I said we didn't know each other..." Touma in a with a hesitant tone.

"Let's not... dwell on that too much" Kamisato sighed, straightening up on his chair, also a bit awkward in his speech.

"I don't buy it" Kaibi crossed her legs, as Rikuri and Amazora curiously watched from behind her. "Talk. Both of you"

"Yes, I am curious too, what the hell are you doing here? I thought... well, I thought I will never see you again."

"I am not exactly thrilled to see you, you know. I am grateful that you helped me back then, but believe me, if not for circumstances, I would not mess with your nauseating, harem-filled life"

"Come on, we've been through this." Touma rolled his eyes and facepalmed with a groan" There is no harem in my life!"

"Does Imagine Breaker erase your intelligence as well?"

"No, maybe some part of your brain was left in the New Wor-"

"GUYS!" Kaibi raised her voice "focus, please"

"Well, my name is Kamisato Kakeru." the brown haired teen introduced himself" Me and Kamijou do know each other from the past, yes. I am also sorry for the intrusion. But... I am in a dire situation and had a reason to do so"

"Dire? For you?" Touma asked with confusion" What the hell caused you to be almost naked in my closet? What made you run away, especially with your ability?"

"I was just getting to this! And I wasn't running away. That was a... strategic retreat. You surely remember that I travel with 100 girls, right?"

The eyes of the sisters became big as dinner plates, but Touma ignored them.

"Yeah, it was a little bit hard to miss. And?"

"Well... they kind of got crazy."

"What?"

"The thing is... that ever since you pulled me out of the New World, I thought... that I will give this harem life a chance. I decided to live with them. And for the most part, it wasn't that bad. Sure, it wasn't exactly what I wished for, but it was... tolerable and nice. We were a good team. Until one day..."

"One day?" Kaibi leaned closer. Even though she appeared majorly confused, it was clear that she was trying her hardest to follow the hidden line of conversation the two boys in the room seemed to conduct.

"It was the day of my birthday. And all of the sudden, they simply got insane. They thought that sleeping with them would make a good gift. They all wanted to give me a pleasurable experience... they wanted to... take my clothes off and-"

"Have your babies?" Amazora chimed in and Kamisato shivered.

"I still have nightmares. That was completely insane and they turned so lustful that I couldn't reason with them"

"You know... many would kill for something like this"

"Oh really? Do you think getting suffocated all over by a literal wave of bodies is funny?"

"W-When you put it like that... you really couldn't just talk with them?"

"I tried to! But they thought I was just being modest. I already saw it coming this year by yesterday's evening, so I came here after losing the chase!"

"Why here, specifically?"

"Because this is probably the last place they would expect to find me"

"He is... right, in a way" Touma nodded.

"And sorry about your wall"

"You erased the wall to... why does everybody keep breaking the walls and doors in places I live in?"

"I am not sure if I follow" Rikuri tapped something on her portable computer" But let's recap. Your friend..."

"We are not friends"

"Kamisato-san basically seeks refuge here. Am I correct?"

Kamisato nodded.

"As inconvenient as it may be for me, yes. But only for a moment." Kamisato rose up and took a few steps towards the kitchen" Do you have anything to eat?"

"So... you want to stay here for one day? Well, we can surely lend a helping hand"

"Well..." Touma looked at Rikuri after, she made that comment, and relented" We are not enemies anymore, so... yeah, if you need help, I will do it."

"But you will have to pay for the wall repair. We don't exactly own the place." Kaibi pointed at the hole in the wall.

"Oi, Harem Accepter! Who are those girls?"

"First of all, don't start with that stupid nickname. And secondly, those are my roommates, the Gokusai sisters. This tall beauty is Rikuri, the menacing one is Kaibi... ow! You didn't need to kick me... and this ball of uncontained chaos is Amazora"

"Well, I don't really get your relationship and I am still not 100% sold, but if Kamijou says it's okay, we are okay too" Kaibi offered Kamisato her right hand to shake.

The boy surprised her by squeezing it with his left hand.

"Sorry for the lack of manners. I don't know if you are unwavered and even if I have control over my right hand, I don't want for you to accidentally disappear. Bad memories."

"W-What?" Kaibi blinked, and Touma shook the other boy's arm.

"Bad memories? Don't tell me that you actually banished someone by a handshake before?"

"It was... one time thing. I had no control over World Rejecter back then-"

"Wait a minute! Banished? Erased? World Rejecter?" Kaibi interrupted, pulling her hand back" What is this all about?"

As Rikuri, Amazora, and Kamisato started to prepare things for breakfast, Touma took Kaibi on the side.

"You see, Kamisato is a bit of a unique case" Touma said, glancing at the other side of the room.

"What kind of unique?"

"MY kind of unique."

"You mean... that strange hand of yours..." Kaibi nodded while snapping her fingers " You have the same power!"

"Well, sort of, but not really. Our powers have similar origin, but they are very different. You can say his right hand is the opposite or compliment to mine. And they don't really like each other."

Kaibi giggled, and tilted her head with amused grin.

"Like matter and antimatter? So if you hold hands, there will be a great explosion and everything disintegrates!"

"Please don't try to test it out. And since when making fun of me is so entertaining?"

"It always was. I think I just started to notice its value with time." Kaibi said, poking Touma in the chest. The boy blushed slightly and quickly resumed the proper subject.

"A-Anyway, he is more than meets the eye. His power can be devastating"

"Oh? What exactly does it do?"

But then, the message about the food being ready stopped their conversation.

(AFTER BREAKFAST)

"Let me say this. We are not going to change our plans because of you, Kamisato-san. I need to go make a few errands, Rikuri-san wants to go to spa before lecture, and Amazora..." Kaibi came to a halt, as her younger sister tugged at her clothes.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. My class has day off because we have a presentation for friends and family day. I am going to have to tell about my family... all of you"

"What?!" Kaibi, Rikuri, and Touma exclaimed at the same time.

"But since I know a lot about onee-chans, I will be going to onii-chan's school today, to prepare for my presentation!"

"You will what? Wait a second, that's a little bit sudden! You can't just-"

He was met with two big, twinkling pools of crimson-pink vulnerability.

"No, no puppy eyes! You and my school equals trouble."

The eyes seemed to grow even bigger.

"N-No! We have Kamisato here as well, so there is no way we will introduce another element of chaos-"

(LATER...)

To no surprise, Amazora joined Touma. Kamisato decided that his temporary cover was best by Kamijou's side, so he decided to tag along as well.

"Off they go..." Kaibi watched the other group disappearing in the distance "I am not so sure about this Kamisato guy..."

"I checked him. Apparently, he has visiting pass but is also registered as a level 0" Rikuri said, as they walked together to their respective destinations.

"That's strange. Kamijou said that his ability is quite powerful. Although... he also said that Kamisato is similar to him. Maybe City can't measure his strength properly. Or maybe he is faking something..."

"Mhm..."

"Hey..." Kaibi put her hand on Rikuri's shoulder" Are you okay?"

"I'm fine..." the older sister looked the other way, which completely ruined her nonchalance.

"Oh... you were planning to do something with Kamijou today, weren't you?"

"W-Well... I only woke up early to put my makeup, choose my best dress, calmed my nerves, and it's totally not like I dreamed to ask him out on a date..."

"Sister, you were never good actor like me. You obviously cared about this."

"D-Don't be silly. Now then, I must go... powder my nose!"

"Before spa?"

"I-I am not 'miss of campus' for nothing! Now excuse me, time surely flies and I must be off"

"The spa is that way!"

"..."

"You are REALLY upset, aren't you?"

"I-I meant to do that! Until later, little sister"

Rikuri fled, leaving exasperated Kaibi alone in the streets.

She knew this wasn't Touma's fault. Who could expect Kamisato's sudden arrival? But on the other hand...

Loving Kamijou Touma was no easy task. You could not separate his misfortune from him and you always had to prepared for some unpredictable strike of bad luck. This was one of the reasons why Touma himself didn't believe in his chances in romantic life. After all, who would have commitment and patience to go through something like that their whole life.

However, Gokusai sisters were no mere spectators of life. They were family, stitched with darkness and love for one another. Something like Touma's bad luck didn't erase all the wonderful things he did for all of them. Things they loved him for.

He saved Amazora's life, even when it seemed that saving his own skin would be a rational thing to do. He gave her true brotherly attachment, and helped her sisters to care for her.

He accepted Kaibi in her entirety, darkness and fear included, and set out to discover her true self alongside her, even when she was cold and brash with him.

He saw Rikuri's hopes, dreams, and insecurities, genuinely seeing the many shades and colours of the young woman, giving her hope and beautiful feelings of care and comfort.

There was no way they would turn their backs on him.

That being said, sometimes it could get a little bit frustrating. It was for that reason Amazora could be possessive at times and why Kaibi became irritated at Touma's antics. But overall, they coped with those happenings rather well. They were the types who enjoyed challenge.

But Rikuri was different. Even though she was modest, she was definitely not used to things going awry when it came to the other sex. Even if it was not intentional on Touma's side, Kaibi knew Rikuri wasn't mad at Touma, she was simply upset that opportunity to go on a date went wasted.

Measure Heart understood that sentiment. After all, she too kept thinking about opportunity to go on a date and give Touma his present. Not to mention... confessing her own love.

But this still had to wait. Although Touma made her frozen heart burst into beautiful flames, there would be no fire if previous ash remained. Kaibi still needed to find Kakine. She needed that talk, no matter what form it would take.

Those were her musings, as wandered on through Academy City's streets, when suddenly, a female voice called behind girl.

"Hey! Blond girl in a dress! Can you help us?"

Kaibi turned around to find two girls dressed in such a peculiar way that they obviously stood out even in such unusual place as Academy City.

"We are looking for two guys. One is our boyfriend, the other is an old friend of ours." added the other girl.

Kaibi raised an eyebrow. Our boyfriend?

"I can help... depending who is asking"

(BACK WITH NEPHTHYS, WE ARRIVE AT EARLIER MOMENT)

"Oh, so that's what happened... that's amusing" Nepthys nodded, smirking slightly" So you went here to hide from your army of girlfriends. Oh, poor World Rejecter, suffering from success?"

Kamisato was wearing a 'disguise': hoodie, beanie, too big sunglasses, and baggy jeans. In all honesty, it made him look quite strange and definitely didn't achieve the effect they were looking for. But they were in the hurry and it was the best they could achieve.

"You know, I don't exile Magic Gods anymore, but keep this up and I might reconsider-"

"Come on, no one is exiling anyone. Nephthys, don't make fun of him"

Othinus got out of Touma's pocket and was clearly stifling snorts of laughter.

But final straw was Niang-Niang, who suddenly came from behind Nephthys, pointing at the boy, chuckling loudly.

"This is the... dumbest... disguise...I've seen in decades!"

Touma intervened before Kamisato sent entire section of the surrounding area to the remote reaches of the timeline. He lightly grasped Nephthys' hand, motioning to the school building.

"Everyone, come inside. We will be late if we don't hurry. I have to explain Kamisato and Amazora to Komoe-sensei. Niang-"

"Don't worry your spiky head" Niang-Niang suddenly was straight by his ear, and he shivered because of ticklish sensation her breath made next to his ear. "Your friendly ninja Niang-Niang will not be noticed."

In the next moment, she already was nowhere to be found.

"Let's go, tanned onee-chan" Amazora beamed at Nephthys, who awkwardly shook her leg and hip, which was embraced in the starfish-style hug.

"Hello, small human. Yes, let's go. And for your information, that's not a tan"

(LATER)

Touma felt exhausted already.

It was easy to explain Amazora's task, although same couldn't be said about explaining Amazora that she should sit still while the class was in session. But thanks to Komoe's benevolence, homeroom had 20 minute integration time through which the girl could talk with Touma's classmates and ask questions. Touma was already dreading what info was she writing in the notebook she was carrying with her.

Nephthys took place by his side and Kamisato sat on the far back of the class with Amazora. Touma managed to convinced Komoe that Kamisato was visiting their school because he was interested in applying to it, but Fukiyose still berated him from bringing strange people to class.

Well, that was one of the things she was mad at him for.

Speaking of Fukiyose, Touma could not phantom why she kept glaring angrily at Nephthys like she was right now. For some reason, the girls did not like each other ever since they met.

Come to think of it, he recently didn't see her all that much. He was busy, and didn't have time to talk properly. Well, Fukiyose was usually angry at him, but... as strange as it sounded, he missed having a good talk with her. It could have been missed by an outside observer, but she was as essential part of mundane part of his life as Tsuchimikado and Aogami.

He knew Fukiyose for a while now. They were friends and were through some adventures of their daily life together. Even if they had differences, which usually ended in painful outcomes for him, it could be said that they were close.

Or at least... it seemed so. Did something change?

Maybe not for Fukiyose, not that Touma would know, but as for himself... he had dreams. Very vivid ones. He actually wondered why was that or what caused him to have them now. The point was, a lot of them involved his worse experiences... including his deaths, and circumstances that led to them.

He couldn't deny that when Fukiyose got angry at him, the vision of different girl, in different world, twisting shard of glass into his torso flashed before his eyes.

This made him quite uneasy. He didn't know why he had all those strange dreams, and it wasn't like he was scared of his friend. That wasn't it, he was sure of that. But there was something definitely going on. He had hope that Fukiyose didn't feel avoided, but he knew that this conclusion could be reached rather easily.

There was no way to explain that to her in rational terms. But sudden nightmares couldn't ruin his life and his bonds with friends. So he had to talk with her.

As he looked at Komoe-sensei, occupied with writing something on the blackboard, he suddenly felt a weight on his shoulder. He shivered when he noticed the cause.

Nephthys was napping with her head on his shoulder, with her silver-white hair stuck between his shoulder and her cheek.

For some intelligent observers, yet not to a certain dense boy, Fukiyose's glares would suddenly make a whole lot of sense.

(MEANWHILE, NEPHTHYS POV)

I am surprised myself.

I am currently drifting in between sleep and waking world. Which is strange because I don't need to sleep, eat, or even breath. But I assume that my curiosity is getting better of me.

Even though this relaxing feeling consumes me, my mind knows no rest. And even though I may appear asleep, I am still aware.

We, Magic Gods, are living our dreams and enjoy the moment. That's the way it should be. With our powers, we can do almost anything. Nothing is out of reach.

It is so great... that it may as well be completely redundant. It is puzzling how omnipotence can bring out total excitement and complete lack of enthusiasm at the same time.

In all I can see, I see infinite possibilities. Billions of shimmering echoes of what could have been, possible worlds, phases begged to be brought to active existence. It's blinding, exhilarating, enchanting... and overwhelming.

When you can do everything, what is the point in morality? In effort? In any activity at all?

Contrary to me, those mortals would lose their short lives on chasing dreams. Look at this blue haired deviant. He has his lustful desires and will pursue them without questioning anything. This girl in a headband who follows Kamijou like a second shadow. That peculiar pink creature. The girl with a power sealed by magical artefact, that broke into tears when I complimented her. Even that busty loudmouth.

Their lives are short, their actions feeble and insubstantial, and in time they will all die and not even ash of their bones will remain. Meanwhile, I will endure eternally and carry on throughout time.

The extent of the things I can do that those mortals cannot is unimaginable. And yet each of them is apparently more driven than I could ever been.

I am still weakened, but I am steadily regaining my strength, At its peak, I can solve all of the problems of this world. I can inverse cause and effect, create whatever I want, destroy whatever I want, toy with time and space, redefine the very history and logic with off-shot idea.

I can bend reality to my whims. I can do anything, literally. I am almost omnipotent.

Yet for all I can do, there are times I would not do anything at all. Because contrary to those mortals, my limitless power brings me the most limiting thing there is. My own self. I could easily help them out. But in state between dream and waking, I feel chaotic. All it takes is one thought, but I don't feel motivated to channel my power into anything.

So what if I change the sky golden? So what if I turn rainforests to deserts? So what if I cause Earth to spin the other way round and destroy entire civilization? So what if I fix all problems of this reality?

Those mortals can find meanings in such futile things. And this is truly admirable. Because of how long I lived, everything you can think of already happened from my point of view. Been there, done that. I am consumed with obsession of creating new worlds for the sake of it. It's all fun, it's all a game. With no meaning whatsoever. Meanwhile humans are so admirable because they manage to find, or at least strive to find meaning in their actions.

Oh sure, they will all be gone in a moment. By the way, no offense, but whoever made the original phase, the Pure World, really messed up. Billions of lifetimes, over billions of years, and all they amount to is mere dust in the wind? I can sneeze better realities than this. Probably already did by some point. It also makes me want to tear up.

I cry a lot, for a lot of reasons, from hitting my toe in this human form, to watching someone die. It's in my nature as a goddess of mourning. But when was the last time I shed a genuine tears?

Niang-Niang usually doesn't dwell on such metaphysical problems for so long. Maybe this is Imagine Breaker's influence? The point is, for vast majority of time, we have fun, and just do whatever we want... because there is so much to do and see for us. Yet occasionally, there is a certain Feeling overcoming me.

This Feeling is specific only to immortal beings, and I doubt there is a proper expression in the mind of someone who is limited in time. One can probably think of it as immortal equivalent of depression or melancholia. Kind of ironic, because this Feeling represents the lack of meaning and void, and in itself can't be expressed easily.

But that's why I find the company of Kamijou Touma so interesting, and I am sure that Niang-Niang feels like this as well. In the kaleidoscopic mirage of possible worlds that we see in every being and time of this reality, in this wave of shimmers and shadows, Imagine Breaker is like an unchanging anchor. It has no possibilities, no deviations or alternative ways that can explode into new layers of reality. Its stability is tranquil and mundane. It remains fixed, as it supposed to be.

I kept the Feeling away from others, but I am starting to suspect that it may be connected with my new life. The only question is... what should I do?

(LATER)

"What the hell was that, Kamijou?! How many times do I have to tell you not to demoralize the class by pulling crap like that?!" Fukiyose fumed, confronting Touma with hands on her hips.

"I bet Nepht...Nebena-san was really tired" Touma backed away from the girl, but she took few steps forth, not allowing him to escape.

"That doesn't justify anything. You almost made Komoe-sensei cry. Also, you didn't seem upset that this sleazy abroad student was sleeping on you."

"Sleazy? Not my fault I look good" The eyes of Nephthys lit up a little, as she curled her lips into a grimace of distaste" Kamijou-san did nothing wrong, so please stop being noisy"

"I am not noisy, I am merely vocal out of compulsion, and only because you forced me to. You are a distracting influence ever since you got here."

"Oh, am I? Well, I am thinking that you could relax a little, or you will never get a boyfriend"

"W-What does this have to do with anything?! I bet you ran away from Egypt because your personality made you a bitter, manipulative loner!"

"Can't we just..." Touma tried to say, but both his bust classmate and egyptian Magic God 'hmphed' and walked in opposite directions, first quickly and with enraged face, second with cold dignity and grace.

Touma sighed, rubbing his head.

"I can't tell, why those two can't just get along?"

"You really aren't the brightest in the feelings department, are you human? Well, it's not like it is something unknown" Othinus sighed while peaking out of Touma's pocket.

"Yeah, he really isn't"

Touma looked at Niang-Niang, who once again appeared out of nowhere. It seemed like time slowed down all around, for everyone except them.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing... wow, this booby girl is tough one. I like her! Even if she could be a little more direct, and a little less violent... but I also love good beating down, so applause for her, ahahaha!"

"Why are you here, Niang-Niang?"

"Oh, don't tell me you missed me?" Niang-Niang winked at him, ignoring Othinus gripping the material of Touma's shirt with frustrated face "I just wanted to ask you about something. But maybe I will do it later, should situation call for it. For now, I need to talk to Nephthys about her little situation. Oi, toothpick, come with me too."

With a flick of Niang-Niang's finger, Othinus was pulled out of Touma's shirt.

"Oi? Niang-Niang, what are you-"

"See ya!"

With a snap, both she and Othinus disappeared in a flash of light.

Touma stood there in shock, as time resumed its proper flow.

(MEANWHILE)

Kamisato Kakeru was walking around Certain High School. If not for the uneasy feeling of being hunted by his group of girls, this would actually be a rather pleasant experience. Even if Kamijou and him didn't exactly see eye to eye in all things, his school reminded Kamisato of his own, back in the good old days before Magic Gods granted him World Rejecter. The so called great power he never wanted to have in his possession.

Well, there was one different detail and it was a small girl walking nearby and staring at him intensely.

"What is it? You've been staring like that for quite a while now."

"I just dunno... onii-chan is my one and only super special onii-chan, so I can't call you that... so maybe... uncle Kamisato?" Amazora mused out loud.

"If you are trying to figure out how to address me, just stick with Kamisato"

"Uncle Sato!"

"Were you listening at all?!"

"Why do you hate onii-chan? He is so cool!"

"I don't exactly hate him... anymore. It's just we have different opinion on romantic life, and value different things."

"So... you are scared to be loved by many people?"

"Look, shouldn't you be more concerned about doing this report thing?"

"I already have a lot of things written down"

"You are not going to leave me alone until I explain myself, right?"

"No. Onii-chan is not here, so I am being a hero now!"

"Great, now there is two of them. Fine, if you must know, I don't believe that many people can be drawn to me for genuine reason. For a long time I believed it was only due to my power, because I attracted many girls after it manifested. But after I was left without it, those girls still wanted to hang out with me and save me. I still can't believe it... it seems too much like quantity over quality for me"

Amazora thought for a moment.

"I am not good in those things, but Kai onee-chan always says that if someone is so stubborn about opening up to something, then he must have some unfinished problems."

Kamisato stayed silent for a moment, before putting his right hand forward and staring at it

"I had... a girlfriend. Before I got my ability, I had one girlfriend, and we were happy. I was just an ordinary guy, but I was perfectly good with that. Then all of the sudden my life got thrown upside down. Group of powerful people gave me this power, that I never wanted... and I was so damn angry..."

"What happened with your girlfriend?"

"I...I don't know. I was scared of my power, and I... ran. Ran far away in a quest for vengeance, joined by more and more girls"

"So... you were a coward"

Kamisato's eyes darkened and he slowly raised his right hand, with shadow seemingly stretching across Amazora's face. However, girl was unfazed by his actions, causing the boy to sigh and lower his hand.

"You have quite sharp tongue. Half a year ago and you would gain one-way ticket to New World"

"I don't quite understand, but I learn from the best"

"But, well, my actions were a bit cowardly. But how can you explain something that happened to me? I couldn't just tell her-"

"You should just try, uncle Sato! When I am scared, I am doing my best to shoot through my fears!"

"That's a metaphor... right?"

Amazora blinked, as if Kamisato said something dumb.

"Metaphor? What caliber is this?"

Kamisato shook his head in exasperation.

"You might as well be this idiot's younger sister. You two are worth each other"

"Really?!" Amazora beamed, hugging Kamisato's arm, as if it was the best compliment she could have heard.

Suddenly, there was a loud booming noise on the outside.

"Oi, did anyone see Nebena-san?" asked a boy running

"Hey, what's going on?" Kamisato asked him.

"I know it may sound weird... but there is a mob of angry girls outside!"

Kamisato suddenly got up, his eyebrows knitting into one line.

"They found me. Time to go! Hey, do you want to see something cool?"

He raised his hand, so the shadow covered the wall. And then...

"Wow, it disappeared! So does it mean you are... "

"Sure does. This power can banish everything with conflicting desires and-"

"... an illusionist! Riku nee-chan once showed them to me on TV."

"What?! Listen, I got to run. Either go with me or stay here"

"I am coming with you and find onii-chan on the way! Also, do you have pigeons in your sleeves, uncle Sato?!"

"AGAIN, I AM NOT AN ILLUSIONIST! I really erased the... you know what, nevermind..."

(SOME TIME EARLIER, ELSEWHERE...)

Niang-Niang and Othinus rematerialized on the sands of the desert, far from any human settlements. Nephthys rose her head, as she sat under the palm tree in the oasis clearly crafted from her power.

"Oh? How did you find me?"

"Oh please, you always go here when you are on Earth and need to relax" Niang-Niang said, coming down to the grassy meadow in the middle of grass.

"Why is she here?" Nephthys shot a glance at Othinus.

"Because she has the right to hear your problem, if it concerns Kamijou Touma"

The silence of the desert was deafening, before sensual lips of Nephthys uttered a short

"Excuse me?"

"I will be frank with you" Niang Niang's green eyes focused on the face of her best friend "Are you experiencing the Feeling right now?"

Othinus' face flashed with shock, as she looked at her fellow deities.

Nephthys didn't change her gaze in the slightest

"So what if I do? The Feeling is for us like a cold for humans. Every Magic God experiences it from time to time. It's the price we pay for being eternal yet retaining our hearts and emotions. But I am sure you are aware of that"

'No, she is right, but the Feeling is much more than that' Othinus thought, clenching her small fists ' Feeling is experience of void and meaninglessness connected with decay of material world and nigh-omnipotent abilities. It should not be ignored.'

It couldn't be fully expressed and differs for each individual Magic God. Nobody could really predict when or why specifically it would strike. Some, like Niang-Niang or Nuada, had a good personality to deal with it. Some, like High Priest, had such spiritual knowledge that the risk was reduced. But not tending to Feeling could be disastrous. Othinus heard that Prozerpina spent 500 years literally frozen in sorrow thanks to it. And it was due to her own tainted emotions that she felt the hopelessness that made her feel lost, destroy the entire world, and inflict so many deaths on her Understander.

"Nephthys, this time it is different, isn't it? Our life in Academy City changes you. Is it because of Kamijou Touma? Did you develop attachment to him?"

"Don't be silly. We are only there to deal with problem within his right hand. Which I will get to immediately"

"Really? Because I can totally understand the interest. And it seems to me that you experience jealousy"

"Oh really? I am a goddess, why would I be jealous over a one, insignificant human?" Nephthys said calmly, but the grass around her turned into sand once again. Niang-Niang sighed and Othinus reddened in anger.

"Toothpick here will bite you if you call Kamijou insignificant. Besides, we both know that you are pretending now. You value Kamijou. Was it that short time while World Rejecter was around and you tagged along? Or was it right now? Either way, you found yourself caring. But you know what happens when Magic God develops attachment to a mortal, whether it's friendship or affection-"

"I AM AWARE!" Nephthys raised her voice, and clear sky darkened for a moment before becoming blue again" I am more than aware, I am a goddess of mourning after all. We both bid farewell to so many..."

"Kamijou is kind of special. I am not sure why did you start to consider him important, that's for you to tell him. But I know you long enough to know that you apply the rules to anyone except for yourself. You want to play hero and deny that you have needs?"

"You know that's not what I want."

"Then were you jealous of mortals?" Othinus asked.

Nephthys stopped, and for the first time in a while took a good look at God of War.

"Just a few centuries ago, I would absolutely laugh at that notion" Nephthys sighed, as the three stared at the mirages from the heat appearing in the distance "Just in this one second, I can think of millions of ways I could change reality in one simple motion. To have all that and feel empty is like a bad joke. But... I admit that watching them interact in this mundane manner feels me with bitterness. When one can do everything, he loses direction of what was the starting point. This was your problem, Othinus. As for me, I don't know what is genuine anymore. Humans live only a futile fraction of eternity. But they live the only short life they had with such tenacity. This booby forehead girl from Kamijou's class berates him for no good reason, not realizing what wonderful luck she has."

Niang-Niang and Othinus were silent. They knew what Nephthys was talking about. Magic Gods had amazing adventures and almost limitless abilities. But if they didn't kill their own emotions, forming bonds was out of question from one simple reason. The proportion of immortal beings to mortal ones.

Mortals could spend their entire lives with immortals, but immortals could not do the same for their mortal companions. The bonds had to be severed all over again, and loneliness had to be killed in order for one to go on.

"Nephthys... I buried countless people too. I crafted many phases when they were alive again, but not even that can truly cheat death" Niang-Niang said slowly" And I know that it hurts. But the alternative, the avoidance, is not meeting them at all. And that sucks even more!"

Othinus shifted uncomfortably, but still voiced her opinion

"Besides, if you try hard enough, you may be able to find something wonderful. It took a lot of time, and I lost my immortality, but I found my Understander and even if it's a simple life"

Nephthys slowly rose up, and looked at Othinus

"You know what? You are absolutely right. I shouldn't concern myself with it that much..."

"That was easier than I-"

"...because there is something that agitates my souls even more" Nephthys muttered darkly. The sun suddenly got dimmer, and the sky blacker. "Did it ever occur to you why we couldn't see eye to eye? It wasn't because of your personality. It was because you always went along with your own sense of justice and did what you wanted with no regards to consequences"

"As if you were any better! For that matter, that's the whole point!" Othinus exclaimed, pointing at her angry adversary" We warred over reality for eons!"

"Maybe for God of War like you value of a life is nothing, but I mourned everyone your beloved conflicts killed! It's true I wished for my reality to prevail but I still have some rules. You two are right, Imagine Breaker is special. It could guide me to my original phase, just like you wanted, Othinus. But I don't want to go back. I want to have meaning to guide me forward. With Imagine Breaker's influence of giving certainty in infinite possibilities, this is realizable. You don't know what is like, Othinus. You took that path because you chose to! I never had any choice, I simply popped up into existence with dozens of voices, souls, and destinies formed into my being. And despite that, I tried to do my best. So imagine what was it like when I heard of that little stunt you pulled off while trying to get Imagine Breaker."

Sky was now completely dark, and Othinus flinched at the words of Nephthys

"If our roles were reversed, I would never commit those atrocities. There were other ways to get Kamijou Touma to help."

"Don't speak like you didn't want to use him later on! We all wanted to take advantage of his right hand" Othinus shouted back.

"Use him back then? But of course! I never said I was a saint. Manipulate him? Seduce him? Bribe him? All were plausible. But immeasurable amount of killing? Your actions were a disgrace to Magic Godhood!"

"I... realized that... and I am atoning for that now" Othinus spoke in a more humbled tone.

Nephthys' eye twitched, as stream of her tears trickled down onto the sand, accompanied with flash lightning.

"I just can't comprehend his thinking! When confronted with someone presenting peaceful way, or someone who killed him more times than the age of universe, why are you the one understood and walk without a care in the world?!"

CLANG!

Nephthys fist collided with a sturdy wall of weapons forming a Pao-Pei that emerged from the sleeves of Niang-Niang.

"Nephthys, you are my best friend, and you helped me more times than I could count. That's why I know that you are not acting like yourself now. Don't you see your words and actions are somewhat biased. We didn't lift a finger during Othinus's actions, so we are in no place to talk. Your emotions are clouding your judgement. If Kamijou's actions really impacted you in any way, do you think that he would like you and Othinus hurting each other? I am all for fighting, but what you need right now is talking. With Kamijou. Whatever problems you and Othinus have, you can solve them later after you cooled your heads down. Come on, don't make me be the voice of reason here, that's usually your role, it's kind of freaky"

Nephthys slowly backed away, as if awaking from the trance.

"Oh... he would hate that" she whispered softly, before looking at Shijie-Xian. Othinus also fell back on the sand.

"Why did you do this? Snapped me out of it..."

"I mean, I like both of you. You and Kamijou. So I can't have him hating you, or you discarding yourself away"

The eyes of the egyptian goddess lightened up

"You... are a really good friend, you know that?"

"Well, duh. Go on!"

"Othinus, we will resume this conversation. For now, sorry for getting carried away"

"It's fine... I guess" Othinus let out air she didn't know she was holding inside. She didn't expect the emotions to get so intense.

Nephthys vanished as if she was one more mirage of the desert.

(MEANWHILE)

Kamijou Touma collided with Gokusai Kaibi in the school entrance, when he got out to investigate the source of earlier noise.

"Ow! Kaibi? What are you doing here?"

Kaibi dusted herself off and pointed behind herself.

"I met those two, and they apparently want to see Kamisato to explain the situation to him. They also say they know you as w-"

Kamijou was tackled into double hug before she could say anything else.

One of the girls was small and wore a pink hoodie with strange golden antenae on her head. The other was taller and wore dark coat, accompanied with a hat adorned with feather and an eyepatch.

"Kamijou!"

"Fran! Luca!" Touma was genuinely surprised, as he managed to get a good look in their face. "Why are you with Kaibi?"

"Well, long story short..." Touyama Luca adjusted her pirate hat and looked beyond Touma's shoulder "We are looking for Kamisato, and apparently, there was a misunderstanding that we need to clear out. Miss... Gokusai, was it... said that he was with you. Where is he?"

"He is right-" Touma then realized that both Kamisato and Amazora weren't in fact following him "... not here"

"Can you help us search then?" the ufo-girl, Karasuma Fran, grasped Touma's hoodie in her small hand" That's very important..."

"Sure, but you can slow down a little..."

Kaibi watched yet another of the many peculiar interactions she witnessed while being around Kamijou Touma. From what the girls told her, they were only Kamijou's friends, and were not interested in him, which is a phenomenon on a... well, enormous scale. Kaibi were a bit disappointed that they didn't see either Kakine Teitoku or Oriana Thomson, two people she was looking for, but nevertheless, she decided the two were worth investigating upon.

"How did all of you meet?" she asked.

"Huh? Well..." the trio looked at each other, before Touma picked up" They are loyal to Kamisato. When he went missing, we had an adventure together while trying to bring him back. Sort of a near-death bonding experience. Afterwards, we each went our own ways, but decided to keep in touch. I think it's safe to assume that we became relatively good friends. Of all of Kamisato Faction, those two have the most positive connection with me. Not counting Salome, that is"

"Salome?"

"Kamisato's sister. I worked with her too. Strange, really strange even, but reasonable enough"

"Okay... by the way, where is Amazora?"

"Emm... that's the funny thing... with Kamisato, probably"

"Probably? And with the guy that is supposedly powerful and dangerous?! For that matter, your friends are strange as well."

"I am sure she will be reasonable"

"I think you know by now that my sister and reasonable don't mix with each other rather well"

"He is not dangerous" Fran fumed, before muttering" He is more reasonable now"

"Let's see what the ruckus is about" Touma said, running behind the school building with 3 girls following suit. But when they got to the school football and tennis fields, everyone, especially Kamijou, froze with a shocked faces.

"And I thought things couldn't get any stranger... hehehe... silly me" Touma sighed, looking forwards with a mixture of confusion and resignation.

Kamisato Faction was heading this way, so he was kind of expecting them to be here.

But while this was indeed a huge group of girls, this wasn't Kamisato Faction.

It was...

"Wow. Why is almost all of Tokiwadai on your school grounds?"

Touma sighed again. LOUDER.

"I think I may be repeating myself... but once again, I am kind of afraid to know. This is going to get even more bizarre, isn't it? When things are relatively calm, justice seekers are all over the place, so where is one now, when we need the god damn intervention?!"

(NOT SO FAR AWAY...)

"Hachoo!" Fukiyose Seiri sneezed while wiping the blackboard clean. She waved her hand around, clearing the air of the remnants of irritating chalk powder.

"Bless you" came a quiet whisper behind her, causing Fukiyose to jump and stumble, before regaining her bearings and noticing Himegami, standing in the entrance with a focused, tranquil look on her face.

"Thanks, Aisa. I didn't notice you, you really startled me."

"Heh, tell me something I don't already know about my presence..." came the melancholic comment.

As Himegami didn't change her expression, Fukiyose shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

"Well, thank you for taking class duties for me, now I can check what the hell is happening out there-"

"Wait..." Himegami grasped Fukiyose's arm "There was a reason why I wanted to see you now. Before you go, I need to ask you something"

Fukiyose was somewhat surprised by the quiet, yet stern tone in which her usually reticent friend said that.

"Okay... what is it about?"

"It's about Kamijou. Did... something happen between you two?"

"Wha... what?!" Fukiyose took a double take, looking incredulously at the miko girl "Where did that come from?!"

"Kamijou-san is playing it well. But he is distant when he is with you. As if he was weary... and you seem to be harder on him than ever. You scold him on practically every occasion"

"That's ridiculous!" Fukiyose's shock quickly turned into anger, as she looked at Himegami with fire in her eyes" Why should I care about what this moron thinks?! It's not like I begged to be liked or anything"

"Don't lie to me. I have little presence, but this makes me good in observing people. You were concerned that Kamijou is getting distant..."

"Aisa..."

"...but you didn't know how to act with those feelings, so you became angrier and angrier, and blamed everything on Kamijou and scolded him. But this only made you feel worse..."

"Aisa, that's enough..."

"... so you were forced to admit to yourself that you actually care. And you became jealous of Nebena-san because she came from out of nowhere and-"

"I SAID STOP!" Fukiyose roared, slamming her fist against teacher desk. Himegami remained unfazed, clearly accostumed to her friend's temperamental nature.

"Is this reaction a confirmation of my suspicions?

After few deep breaths, Fukiyose spoke again

"Let's suppose... that I care about what Kamijou thinks of me. In this hypothetical situation, do you think I went... overboard?"

Himegami tilted her head, deep in thought.

"Well, you scolded or even hit him when he was late, when he was looking at you too much or too little, when he complained, when he made a mess, when he was sick, when he supposedly flirted with other girls, when you deemed Nebena-san a distraction, during your usual battles with him, Tsuchimikado, and Aogami, when he had an accident-"

"Okay, that's enough, thanks" Fukiyose bit her lip, turning around, as her face got slightly hotter.

Although she knew some of her outbursts were justified, the frequency and intensity of them in recent times...

When it was laid down in lengthy list by her friend, it felt...

'That... actually sounds awful, I can admit that. I felt so frustrated that I might have gotten a little carried away. Wait... why was I frustrated in the first place? It's certainly not because Kamijou was off to god knows where and this exotic flirt seemed to be connected with that part of him! Agh, I am supposed to be having a breakthrough here, so why thinking about it makes me want to hit Kamijou even more! This reckless, insufferable-'

She shook her head so much, that her hair came undone. Tucking it back into orderly fashion, she turned back to Himegami.

"Aisa... does Kamijou hate me?"

"Oh, so you really do care..." came another phlegmatic quip.

"Ugh, just answer the question!"

"Kamijou is not the type to hate anyone for something so simple" Himegami smiled softly, as if remembering something "He goes to impossible lengths to ensure the happiness of others, and I am sure he has some good reason now. Even if something distanced you two, the best way is to talk it out. I would love to do that if I was noticed mo-"

"Talk with him?!"

"You need that. You are frustrated, he has something troubling him, and you both don't deserve to circle around in misunderstandings. The best way is to be honest, even if you want to just fist your problems away"

"I-I don't... always... fist my problems away." Fukiyose mumbled, as her usually unshaken demeanor wavered slightly. "By the way... you like Kamijou, don't you?"

Himegami blushed, but answered without hesitation

"Yes. He saved me from being misused and pulled me out of my illusion, so I could meet all of you. Even if he doesn't notice me as a heroine in the story of his life, I will always cherish our bond"

"So... why do you help me? With Kamijou and all of that?"

"Seiri... you are my best friend. You deserve to be happy. And if Kamijou gets to be happier because of that as well, that is the best"

Fukiyose smiled back at quitter girl

"I am not good in touchy feely stuff... but thank you. That means a lot"

"Well, some amount of attention for me would be great too-" Himegami started to say, but Fukiyose was too immersed in her erratic thoughts over a newfound discoveries to hear her anymore, as she marched off the classroom, completely forgetting about the noise that she meant to investigate.

(MEANWHILE...)

Touma thought he saw some weird things today, beginning with boxers-wearing Kamisato Kakeru in his closet.

But he wasn't prepared for a mob of clearly angry ojou-samas on playing field of his school.

Even more strange was the reason of their anger

"Bring us the girl called Nebena Hettori!" some girl screamed, and others followed.

'They want Nephthys?! But why?!'

He looked at Luca and Fran, who shrugged at him. Kaibi looked just as puzzled.

Luckily, the answer arrived in a form of a sparking, chestnut haired girl.

"Hey idiot! Explain yourself!"

Biri-Biri?! What do you mean, explain yourself? Why don't you tell me why there is a bunch of furious ojous screaming for Nephthys by the side of my school?"

"Kamijou-san..." Shokuhou Misaki came to Mikoto's side, while handing him some photos. While calmer, she too seemed agitated" I am Shokuhou Misaki, Misaka-san's... acquaintance. Apparently, in your school there is a student called Nebena who bragged about being more graceful and beautiful than 'the overrated, pompous, spoiled hags from Tokiwadai'. So we want to have a little chat and do the justice right."

Nephthys said that? That didn't seem like her. This looked more like...

"Oh, come on, don't tell me..."

"Do you know what is going on?" Kaibi asked him.

Touma raised his hands while looking at two level 5s.

"Look, some idiots from our school are obsessed with Neph...Nebena-san, and they must have do this. I am sure of that."

The long and short haired duo looked at each other, and then back at the object of their shared affection.

"Well, if that's true, then half of the problem is cleared"

"Wait... half?"

"Look at the photos"

Touma looked and what he saw was him and Nephthys together. In some cases, rather close to each other.

"The implications many of us got is some kind of... romantic involvement ability between you and this... female" Shokuhou spat ending of the sentence as if it was some ancient curse and not regular japanese and if she was struggling hard not to use words other than 'female'.

"Well, that explains bloodlust" Kaibi nodded knowingly. Even Fran and Luca seemed to know what was going on.

"Eh? Eh? Am I the only ignorant here?!"

"That is nothing new"

"There is no novelty ability about this one"

"And now Biri Biri and beautiful golden acquaintance are putting salt on my wounds!"

"Idiot, you still have some explaining to do. This girl looks exactly like the woman we met when we were chased by that mummy. Come to think of it, I remember those two girls behind you as well. What is going on? Shokuhou, aid me here!"

"Heheheh... even if he doesn't remember, he called me beautiful~~" the golden hair girl giggled, looking at Touma lustfully "Whenever you do this, even without meaning, my body gets all-"

"Okay, on the second thought, keep quiet, I DON'T WANT TO KNOW" Mikoto chimed in before Touma could say anything "And either I am crazy or you keep hitting yourself in the head because you definitely met Shokuhou before and-"

Before Touma could become more confused, Fran coughed loudly to bring everyone's attention to present problems.

"Kamijou, we need to locate Kamisato, remember? We have misunderstanding to clarify"

"And Amazora" Kaibi added.

"Something tells me that the rest of them may need more time to calm down though" Touma whispered, while looking at the crowd.

He noticed familiar faces. Hokaze Junko looked grumpy, which for her pure soul was already quite a lot. Even more girls from the group she was in seemed really angry, and was in shouting match with the girls from Touma's own school. There were many more girls, forming different groups, but all of them were looking as if they were looking someone.

Nephthys? And maybe... him as well?

Finally, he located someone else and closed in to approach her.

"Kongou-san!"

The raven-haired girl quickly spun around with face so angry that Touma had to force himself not to jump back. Moments later, the anger vanished, turning into happiness.

"Darling?! What are you doing here?"

"Well, for one thing, I go to high school here and... wait, were you crying?"

"No!" Kongou quickly tried to rub away the dried trails of tears" Well, I might have gotten a little... emotional, when the entire school learned that you and this brown skinned thief are..."

"Wait a second, there was a misunderstanding! And why everyone is getting so worked up about- wow!"

If Touma didn't dodge, he would be hit in the cheek by Aero Hand Bitch Slap and sent flying. Kongou pouted and turned around with arms crossed, muttering something about dense men.

After recovery, Touma put hand on Kongou's shoulder

"Kongou-san, can you please help calm down the situation? I really need your assistance"

And so, he explained the misunderstanding and told Kongou that he must help his friends in clarifying yet another mishap.

The girl faced him, and although she tried to feign disinterest, her flushed face and slight fidgeting betrayed her.

"If I do calm them down, would you consider taking me for a little... randez-vous?"

"I am gonna do a tactical nod for that, and what I can propose..." he leaned to Kongou's ear and whispered something to it.

"Darling, I can't..."

"Come on, it will be fun, you won't regret it"

"Very well... you shall have Kongou Mitsuko for assistance" Kongou coughed, and dashed away, trying to hide the happy smile.

However...

"OI, you idiot! Since when you and Kongou-san are this close?!"

"OI, you moron! Since when you go on some secret encounters behind my back?!"

"Help, enchanting golden stranger! Tsundere duet is bullying poor Kamijou-san!"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A TSUNDERE?!"

Finally, the both sides (namely, girls from Tokiwadai and girls from Certain High School) calmed down enough for Touma to go in between. Kongou gave him thumbs up, when he raised his hands in the air.

"Okay, I will now explain the situation... I know you were upset..."

"I will never allow you to be taken!" shouted some girl from Tokiwadai's side. It was followed by murmurs like "I wuv Kamijou-san", "we can offer you more, Kamijou-san", "Kamijou-san, I dream of you every night"

"Ekhm... right. So, if you are willing to follow my words..."

"I will follow you everywhere in the world..." this voice, although not identified by Touma himself, belonged to a girl wearing a white headband, one of his classmates. Certain High School girls were in no less agitated state, muttering things like "we saw him first" "Get lost, rich snobs", and so on.

Touma was about to speak, when...

"Kamijou! There you are!" Nephthys suddenly appeared with her arm around him. And by suddenly, it was so sudden that no of the girls noticed her approach.

"Kamijou, I was looking for you"

"Heeey Nephthys~, you know, there is a sea of death glares around us"

"Well, that's strange, but the thing is, I really have to talk with you. This is important"

"Maybe not in the middle of what looks like an angry mob trying to murder us"

"They can give up, I am immortal. But... oh dear, you can still die"

"Thanks for reminding me. Now, can you please set things straight?"

After short recap of what transpired...

"Really? That's amusing..." Nephthys giggled to herself, before tossing her hair aside and stepping forward" So you say I should apologize?"

"I think this should calm them down a bit, until we find out who actually sent the photos"

"Okay then... ATTENTION EVERYBODY! I am the one you've been looking for" Nephthys spread her arms, looking at Tokiwadai ladies, but addressing also the girls from Touma's school" I am Nebena Hettori. There was an unfortunate accident. But if I am to apologize, I am sorry that you couldn't realize my superiority earlier on. I am deeply saddened that the difference in our levels of experience and beauty caused you to suffer."

If the earlier anger was like fire, now both sides radiated something that could be described as fusion of radioactive miasma and hotter-than-hell magma

"WHO DOES SHE THINK SHE IS?!"

Touma felt like he was about to collapse from stress.

"Nephthys, are you nuts?"

"What? I am a goddess, it's not my fault I look amazing. I thought you agreed to that"

"Can't you Magic Gods do something about superiority complex?"

"But I am superior to them. It is not an affront, I am a goddess! Strange... maybe I should go before I make anymore complications due to my lack of human etiquette. If you find time, please come by the river"

And just like that, she was gone.

"Are you kidding me?! What next?!"

"Onii-chan!" a voice called out from the crowd, and there was a blur of pink and golden hair as Amazora came into view, chased by rather tired Kamisato Kakeru. It seemed that he followed the girl, not having the heart to leave her.

"What?!" Touma, Kaibi, Fran, and Luca all exclaimed at the same time.

"Onii-chan and... onee-chan too! I found you!"

But in the next moment...

"Kamisato-sama!"

There was a large booming noise, and Touma paled, noticing that a big wave of various attacks rose up heading straight for the running girl.

Kamisato turned around, Touma jumped forward, Amazora finally noticed the danger. She opened her lips to scream.

One right hand was put forward, the other sliced air in horizontal motion, with its shadow trailing the wave of attacks.

Amazora fell on her butt, as both Kamijou and Kamisato walked forward, with right hands still outstretched. No material structure launched crashed down, no magical or esper attack ever got to its destinations.

"What do you think you are doing, Salome?!" they both screamed in anger.

Two groups of girls looked at the entrance to the playing field to notice a girl looking like a bona-fide gyaru, with tan and silver hair, barefoot and wearing translucent raincoats on herself. She was accompanied by multiple other girls, dozens of them, each looking peculiar in their own ways.

"Why are they here?" Touma muttered to the Fran and Luca, that ran to his and Kamisato's side.

"Well, I did give Salome a tracking device so we could stay in touch... maybe she suspected something and went to search here?" Fran looked at Touma apologetically.

"Great, just great" Touma looked to Kamisato Faction, using the confusion Tokiwadai and Certain High School felt regarding the arrival of new party" Salome, what the hell? You almost hit Amazora!"

"Hey Kamijou, long time no see" gyaru girl waved at him "Actually, we were aiming for those girls, so if you want to step aside do it now-"

"Wait a second..." Kamisato put his hands to a 'time-out' sign "You girls assumed that I ran away because I was looking for other group of girls?! Wait, that's not true at-"

"Onii-sama, you don't have to say anything. You could have been brainwashed by those hussies. We will free you and treat you better if you go back to us!"

"Salome, you can't be serious!"

"Yeah, we don't want this brown haired bore" the wave of ojous cried out" Kamijou-san is our hero!"

Some of the members of Kamisato Faction made sounds that sounded dangerously close to hissing.

"Brown haired bore? Kamisato-sama is ten times more benevolent and awesome than this plain hedgehog"

"Oi! Don't badmouth Kamijou!" there were shouts from Certain High School side" especially after trespassing on our school grounds! Will we tolerate this, girls?!"

"Tokiwadai took too many insults today with patience. Comparing Kamijou to that guy crosses the line. We will show you why we are the elite!"

"Don't underestimate faithful to-be-wives of Kamisato-sama! We will obliterate you, thieves!"

"Girls, can we please-"

"YOU STAY OUT OF THIS!" a choir of angry voices made Kamisato and Kamijou recoil.

And then the groups simply charged at each other. Even Shokuhou and Misaka's battle spirited reignited. Soon after, the playing field became a battlefield, when 3 groups of girls clashing with each other. It was a total chaos, with abilities, esper powers, limbs, and even everyday objects, such as chairs, flying around.

Touma grabbed Amazora and gave her to Kaibi

"Okay, you get out of here"

"I want to stay with you. I am not abandoning you in the middle of the fight"

"No, get Amazora away. I will handle this."

Kaibi looked as if she wanted to argue, but finally relented. She slipped her hand into his and squeezed it once.

"Once I secure her, I am coming back to you"

Touma nodded and turned around, towards the cloud of dust that raised from continous .

"Okay then, it's the end of Mr. Nice Imagine Breaker. Everyone is just popping out, they're multiplying! Who is next? Anti-Skill? Ancient espers? Coronzon? Anna Sprengel? Come on!"

The door burst open, revealing the missing male populace of Certain High School. Their eyes were grim, but for another reason then the eyes of warring girls.

For some reason, Touma actually preferred his older enemies, because he knew exactly what was going to happen next.

"Aogami... just listen to me..."

"Kamijou... I am sorry we have to do this. But we can't allow such harem flaunters to walk around unpunished"

The crowd of guys nodded. And so, the hero of the world, Kamijou Touma, was forced to flee, running in circles around angry catfight, while chased by the group of his schoolmates filled with rather murderous intent. Although he did not have time to watch the fight, while fleeing for very life, he knew that both Certain High School and Tokiwadai girls were getting really fired up against common enemy of Kamisato Faction. He also saw that few people, including Fran and Luca, tried to stop the fight, but in vain. He noticed flying objects, that looked suspiciously similar to Kongou's fan, Mikoto's arcade coin, and a remote.

And speaking of Kamisato, he too was chased by male part of the conflict.

"This! This is why accepting harem is bad!"

"Duly noted, but don't you think that we have more pressing issues at the moment?! And why do you make it sound like it is my fault?"

"Shit like this is always your fault!"

"Just focus on running!"

(MEANWHILE...)

Fukiyose walked and walked, so deep in thought, that before she realized it, she came to one of her favourite places in the City. The spa and massage center. Being a health product freak, Fukiyose adored natural skin-care products that was used in this establishment.

Right now, she was feeling so confused and dizzy that before she knew it she got herself a treatment, got undressed and laid down on the massage table.

It took her a while to get to comfortable position, due to her large chest, which captured the attention of the other massage participant.

"You have a beautiful body" the other girl complimented her" You must take care of it a lot"

"Not as much as you" Fukiyose complimented the older girl back, and it was absolutely sincere. This girl had such looks that even Fukiyose, who was very developed for her age, felt intimidated in front of such feminine virtue.

Apparently, both of them had worse day and they began to chat with each other, and later engaging in full blown conversation once they entered a rejuvenating bath after treatment.

Normally Fukiyose would be so chatty with the stranger, but the girl had something very appealing about her, something approachable. There was also the fact that apparently, she was sad that her date plan didn't work out today. She came her before her lecture, and later was about to sulk and eat ice cream (Fukiyose skipped on commenting how counterproductive to the treatment that would be)

"That guy you are talking about... do you, ehm... love him? You sound like you care a lot"

The collage-age girl smiled and submerged herself deeper in the water. Her chest, more or less the same size or even bigger than Fukiyose's, remained partially on the surface

"When we first met, he saved my younger sister. He also changed the way I saw the world and gave me new hope. When we met again, he was attentive, caring, didn't mind my past misdeeds, and supported my hobbies. Yes, I do love him. A lot. And I am very, very proud of that. It's a shame that my plan didn't work out though..."

"Well..." Fukiyose shifted her legs in the water before continuing" I think you need to be more assertive. Show dominance. Fight for your time. Offer something amazing to him. Give him as much attention as you receive or more. You said that he is interested? It shouldn't be that hard..."

"Well, he is not an ordinary guy, that's certain. But you are right, my love is too strong to sulk like this. And what about you?"

"Me?"

"You said that you want to speak with the guy you love, but don't know if he hates you..."

"I-I deeply appreciate him, d-didn't say anything about love! I wish to speak with him, and for the things to go back to normal"

The older blond girl watched her, before snorting in laughter.

"What's so funny?" a twinge of irritation permeated Fukiyose's voice.

"You said yourself that I need to be assertive, but it seems that you are not sure of your strengths in this particular case. Listen, what is it that you want?"

"I... don't want him to hate me..."

"I have a younger sister, that would rather say 'not hate' than 'love'. For crying out loud... but anyway, here is the onee-san's advice! If you don't want to be associated with punching and brute strength, and want to have an honest talk to make amends, think a step further. Don't try to get back to how things were, improve them!"

"Improve? How?"

"Surprise him, catch his attention. Be romantic, do something he would not expect! Be nice to him, and listen to him. It will all work out"

"But romantic? Me? This will not work-"

"I think you said before that you respect hard work and stepping out of comfort zone. If you expect that from that boy, be honourable and do that for him. I got the impression that this is the kind of person you strive to be"

Fukiyose could not help, but smile.

"Touché"

As they finally got out and get to the changing room, Fukiyose bowed to the unknown young woman.

"Thanks. Nice to have a calm time of relaxation with such good advice. Even if it sounds impossible..."

"No, no, the pleasure is all mine. You gave me new motivation to try again in my own romantic advancement."

"Is that bit about you being able to synthesize your own cosmetics was true?"

"Yes. I am a chemist and constructor, and I pride myself in my work. Beauty products is not exactly my main line of work... but I do make my own, healthy skin-care products. Would you like to try them?"

"I would love to! If you need a business regarding health products and some ideas, I have plenty"

"My my, it's a deal then. Be sure to drop by some other time to chat at the spa. We can also meet somewhere else if you want to" the blond shook her hand after finishing combing her long hair "I am sorry for not introducing myself before. I am Gokusai. Gokusai Rikuri"

"I am Fukiyose Seiri. Well then, see you around, Gokusai-san"

And such, Fukiyose was back on the street again. Even though what Gokusai-san said to her seemed like an impossibility, it kept coming back to her.

'Surprise... beautiful... feminine... romantic...'

Suddenly, her thoughts drifted to one particular item she kept in her closet at home. The attire she never used in her life and was a gift when she qualified to Academy City.

'No... I can't possibly... no, that's not my style at all...'

The Iron Wall tried to convince herself and kept her sturdy façade upright.

But before she knew it, she made her choice.

(SOME TIME LATER...)

"That was terrifying. Straight up out of nightmare!"

"Alright, Kamijou-san... it's not like I don't enjoy hugging you, you are super good hugger as a matter of fact, but can you please explain me first what is going on... so I can actually understand?"

Thus, Touma told the story once again.

The fight ended with Anti-Skill intervention, as the teachers got affairs in their own matters. Group from Certain High School. The Certain High Schoolers got back to school, Tokiwadai somehow managed to flee (Touma supposed some thelepatic tricks at work) while Kamijou, Kamisato, Fran, Luca, and the rest of Kamisato Faction had to run away from the chase. Losing the pursuers was not easy with the group of over 100 people but using talents of few girls from the faction, they finally were left alone after 2 hours or so.

Then, after Kamijou held Kamisto with Imagine Breaker, confirming to Salome that he wasn't in fact brainwashed or anything of this sort, the leader of Kamisato Faction finally talked with his faithful girls.

It turned out that they learned a lesson from previous year and wanted to have a normal surprise party for Kamisato, but when he ran away, they assumed he found a different group of girls.

Touma's reaction was a proper hit to Kamisato's face for blowing things out of proportion. But before a fight ensued, Salome suggested hiding somewhere until today's commotion settles down.

Turned out, she made a friend during her visit in Academy City, even before she got into the fight with Misaka Mikoto.

And who had the talent of making the most unusual people friends, regardless of circumstances?

"Are you mad that we came here?" Touma looked at the owner of apartment, that was filled to its limit (some of the girls were standing or floating outside of it) and hosted Kamisato Kakeru's birthday party.

Saten Ruiko shook her head and smiled.

"I was just a liiiitle bit shocked. I do have many people coming around, but never 100 at once. But hey, that's legendary level 0 hospitality" she slipped out of his embrace, and tied her hair, before putting on her apron.

"I can't believe you became friends with Salome" Touma commented, looking at Kamisato, being tossed around the apartment by squealing girls.

"I simply can't belive onii-sama thought that lowly of us. Although, on OUR birthdays, it will be a different story..." they heard Salome scream, which was followed by laughter.

Saten shrugged, pulling out cooking products.

"Well, I don't discriminate when it comes to making friends. Speaking of that, your own friends from this group are fascinating. I swear I saw this girl, Luca, change into a grown-up woman to get some drinks"

"Yeah, they are a strange bunch"

"You have this worried look in your eyes..."

"I am just saying, I don't want you to get into trouble by befriending someone truly dangerous..."

Saten playfully poked Touma's chest and grinned to him once again.

"I have a lot of luck. Besides, I can always count on a hero to save me. I trust you, Kamijou-san. Misaka-san told me all about you"

"Well, you are basically Academy City's urban treasure on your own. Damn right I will protect you"

Saten blushed, and waved her hand

"You are exaggerating..."

"Are you kidding? Listing all of the good things about you would take me all day. Also, you are cooking! This is simply beautiful!"

"Why is that? Your own cooking is better than mine"

"Yes, but to see hospitable girl cooking... that just melts my heart. My old roommate didn't cook, and as for 3 new ones... one can't, one won't, and the dishes of one, despite the best efforts, are still half-toxic. So you cooking is just beautiful"

"Thanks. You know, I realize that as a level 0 I will not matter much in a grand scheme of things in this city but talking with you always makes me feel happier about myself"

"Likewise. Do you need a hand in making those dishes?"

"You bet!"

And so, Touma helped Saten with the cooking, and spent the party getting up to speed with Fran, Luca, and Salome. Finally, he wished Kamisato happy birthday, regardless of the hectic day that they had. In the meantime, he sent a message to Kaibi, who arrived after leaving Amazora in their appartment, making the apartment even more cramped.

Suddenly, Touma got one more text on his phone

'Kamijou, meet me in front of Lagune, in an hour. It is important.'

It was from Fukiyose.

Touma got up and walked to the kitchen

"Saten-san, my friend needs my help"

"Okay, have a nice evening. Thanks for coming, as always"

"You are leaving? I will come with you" Kaibi offered, but he shook her head.

"This is something I must do alone, she is asking for me specifically. We will meet up later. Can you help Saten-san in my place"

"Argh, fine, since you will go anyway... do your hero time, just be careful."

"It's not a... okay, never mind that"

(AFTER AN HOUR)

Lagune was an italian restaurant, not overly expensive, but also not the one Touma would go to on his own. As he stood in front of it, a movement on the edge of his vision caught his eye.

He turned slightly, and then was stunned beyond anything.

"Fuki...yose?..."

The girl before him was undoubtedly his classmate. But she didn't look like she usually did.

She had crimson dress with burgundy accents, reflecting street lamp's light in the enchanting, fiery glow. The dress perfectly accentuated Fukiyose's curves and her large bust, however it was not revealing enough to leave her exposed. Fukiyose's hair was glossy and combed, her forehead in medium between her regular style and Forehead Deluxe. Touma could swear he saw faint trace of lipstick, barely, yet it was noticeable.

"You probably don't know what is going on, so I will just-"

"Beautiful"

Touma had to say it straight out. He felt he would become less of a men if he didn't

"You are absolutely beautiful, Fukiyose"

The girl stopped in mid sentence, and although she felt as if her heart was suddenly filled with blazing fire, she kept her composure.

"Thank you. Don't worry about being underdressed, this is one-side arrangement."

"You didn't rob anyone, did you?"

"I had lot of view changing experiences today, so I will let this slide, but you are very close to getting a punch to the face right now. No, this dress is a present from my mother. It belonged to her when she was my age. Now, let's go inside."

The inside of the Lagune was warm and cozy, with walls painted with views of Tuscan panoramas.

They were seated, chose their dishes (in all of the commotion, Touma didn't actually eat) and looked at each other awkwardly.

"Is everything alright, Fukiyose?" Touma looked at her with concern "You seem to be sweating a little bit"

After taking a deep breath, Fukiyose began

"Kamijou... I want to talk about something important. As you know, I am a woman of action. It is easier for me to punch something or arrange things to be in order, whether I organize a festival or teach three stupid idiots a lesson"

Touma smiled at that, as the girl continued.

"But I realized there are certain things I can't just force to be good. I have to take a step back and talk it out. This is why I am here now."

"What... do you want to talk about?"

"We know each other a while now. Longer than everyone else in the class in fact. Remember that? Our first meeting, I mean?"

'Good we talked about it before' Touma thought 'It's not like I can remember anything before my memory loss'

"Please don't make me remember that. I fell on you through the roof of the bathing house and my face got stuck in your... well, it was super embarrassing"

"I chased you and pummeled you with my fists. It was a great memory. How did you fall through anyway?"

"I would rather not remember that..."

"Well, anyway, the point is, you may be lazy, irresponsible, drive me mad, and shield yourself with so called bad luck... but I don't think about you as only that. Tell me, do you trust me?"

Touma had no hesitation in answering

"Yes, of course"

"Then... why are you avoiding me?"

"What? I don't-"

"Don't!" the girl raised her index finger in the air" Don't lie. This will only work if we both go out of our way and be honest. So, what is this about?"

"Fukiyose, it's not..."

"Do you hate me?"

As always, the Iron Wall girl went straight to the point.

"What? Why would I hate you? No!"

"Then... are you scared of me? You don't avoid me physically, but I sense the distance that wasn't there before. Please, tell me what happened. I won't get mad at you for it... but we are a team. If you feel the same, please talk to me"

Their food arrived, and as they ate, and this gave them some space as Touma thought about what to say.

In truth, Touma knew Fukiyose was right. That distance grew ever since... what he saw in Alpha World. But he couldn't tell her. That at the beginning of his torture, in the phase vastly different from the one they knew, a version of Fukiyose rejected him and stabbed him with a shard of glass.

This wasn't her fault. It was just a play of the goddess wanting to crush him. A world like infinite others.

And when he meditated on why this bothered him so much, he suddenly realized something.

"Fukiyose... this might be hard to explain... but I had a dream. We were together in a devastated world, and you-"

"I hurt you, didn't I?"

"Well..."

"I knew it. You do hate me." Fukiyose's face became deeply distraught, and she wanted to get up, but Touma stopped her.

"No, listen till the end. Yes, in this dream, you do hurt me. For some time, I was reliving this vision, not knowing why. I am sorry if you felt like I hated you. This is not true at all."

"But... if you had a dream like this..."

"I know why I went through... I mean, had dream like this. Fukiyose, you are one of the people I consider connected with my normal life. There is nothing more important to me that all of my friends smiling together in that peaceful normality. When Fukiyose from my dream hurt me, I was afraid. But I wasn't scared of you, I was scared about you"

"W-What?"

"Fukiyose, I never want you to become like you were in my dream. This is why this strengthened my resolve to protect our shared normality, our life, and everything you consider dear. I... don't want to lose this. Not ever!"

Something stirred deeply within Fukiyose's heart, as she slammed her hands on the table

"What are you saying? Even if I hurt you, you would still want to protect me? Are you mental?"

Touma lowered his head and chuckled

"Call it as you want, but it's the truth. You know me well enough to know I am sincere here. I am going to save you, even if the world gets against my way. I am a selfish human, but I know that I want to protect this shred of peace I can have. And you are an important part of it. I am sorry for making you feel bad."

Something rose up in Fukiyose's throat, as Touma went on

"I must have really gotten you mad this time. I mean, you have every right to be angry. But it's not like you actually hurt me or anything. I know that our banters are part of routine. But don't worry. I sometimes can't really read your moods. No matter if you care or not, I will never hate you."

"I care..."

That came out as a chocked whisper, different from Fukiyose's usual voice, and Touma barely heard it. But what followed, spoken in the tone mixing anger and sorrow, showed just how much this was weighing on the heart of the presumably iron-hard girl.

"I care! I care! Of course I care! What do you think I was thinking and doing all this time?! I knew you were going off to god knows where and I couldn't stop it! I wanted to convince myself that it's not my business or that you have good reasons. To hell with that! Even if both of those are true, I can't simply let you die! Do you know how much I was worried when you just disappeared?! I felt things I couldn't describe even in my better time. So I went on and hit you, kicked you, and wasted my time to teach you that you are only human! You have one life! I don't want... to find you in the news, crushed, killed, or defeated by some obstacle! I thought that if I try hard enough, we could stay like we used to. But ever since you met that nun friend of yours, you got even more reckless. I tried so god damn hard to give you free hand. But it kept coming out in the worst possible ways. This wasn't supposed be like this! I just can't... I am not good at feelings! I just wished... I could tell you that. But I was too prideful. I watched you risk your life so many times that by this point those feelings should be killed. But they only hurt more. I couldn't deal with them, so I put them in my fist, and blamed you for making me feel this way. But it was wrong! It was so ridiculously wrong! You are a moron, you never take things seriously, and you have the most illogical ideals, some in direct contrast to mine... but even when you stood up to me, I noticed tenacity and willingness to fight stronger than in any other person. You never argued back, not because my gender, or because you thought it was a waste of time. You went through some horrible things, and cared even for our quarrels because this was reminding you that things were well again? And I was too blind to notice it before... Kamijou, listen. You saved many people, including me. Aisa told me that you saved her too, which means it's partially thanks to you that I have one of the best friends I ever had. The point is... I value you. I don't want you to risk yourself needlessly, but I know this is something that is in your nature. It's just so frustrating that I want to scream, and punch things, and I don't know what to do with myself. But I won't lie to you or to myself. I care, more than I ever realized. And if you ever find yourself in danger, and feel the need to fight for that life we cherish... you can think of me, okay? Because if I can't stop you... I want you to return safe. Always do and always will. So there, I said it! I do... care for you... so make damn sure to come back to me"

Fukiyose was breathing heavily, as Touma stared at her, wide-eyed.

"Wow..."

"I was actually expecting a lot more... wait, are you laughing?"

Touma was indeed laughing. When he stopped, he smiled at Fukiyose

"Sorry, it's just...I am glad. I am so very glad, it's as if some weight was lifted off my chest"

"Yeah... I know what you mean" Fukiyose couldn't help, but let out a chuckle of her own.

It was a simple reaction, but it showed just how much relief both of them felt in that moment.

"You know, for that matter, I never properly thank you for Daihaseisai. I know that you managed to punish the person who made me sick that one time"

"I also owe you a thank you for that moment during heat wave. They told me that you didn't leave me side back then"

They looked at each other with a smile.

"Seems like we both are pieces of work."

"What do you say about being work in progress together?" Fukiyose said, leaning forward.

And then...

"Oh no! Excuse me, sir."

A waitress accidentally pushed strongly onto Touma's chair while balancing the tray, which caused him to fall forward and bump into Fukiyose's forehead.

"Ah..." they both uttered at the same time.

It was a deja-vu moment, as they were once in the exact same position.

Only this time... Fukiyose didn't feel anger. Only a strange fire in her heart, that spread throughout the entire body.

"Fukiyose..." Touma muttered, also seemingly entranced by the closeness.

Although certain parts of her screamed in embarrassment, the fire quickly consumed them, as her feelings roared in approval. And as she closed her eyes, and their lips were about to touch...

Kamijou's phone beeped, and they quickly moved away from each other.

"Oh... seems like I have to help..." Touma looked at Fukiyose, who sighed and shook her head.

"I might not be the best to tell you this, but learn some delicacy!"

Fukiyose should expect interruption, but...

'Damn it! It might be embarrassing, but I really, really wanted to kiss him just now'

"Don't worry. We are classmates after all. You will see me soon" she said nonchalantly, a tone of determination and strange happiness entering her voice.

"About the bill..."

"It's on me. Treat me next time"

"You are the best!"

"One more thing before you go." Fukiyose didn't know why she wanted to ask that question, maybe to indulge some strange curiosity. She slightly pushed up her breasts with her hand" As you know, they are rather big. Do they look good in this dress?"

Touma looked forward, nodded sagely, and gave thumbs up

"They look absolutely amazing"

It wasn't common to want to kiss and kick someone at the same time, but Fukiyose Seiri accepted that today was the day of impossibilities.

(LATER, BY THE RIVER)

When Touma got down the stairs near the riverbank, Nephthys was already waiting for him.

She put her hands together in a mark of apology

"Sorry about your date. And about running from that chaos by the school. I assumed you had everything under control. You got Niang-Niang's message?"

"Is she around?"

"Probably. Othinus too."

"Well, that's fine. And it wasn't a date... I think. Me and Fukiyose just said what we needed to say to clear our relationship"

"Your honest naivety is very cute. I believe I already told you that" Nephthys sighed, making water in the river swirl with motions of her finger.

After a moment of silence, Touma spoke again

"Hey... back then, you wanted to talk about something important. Can we do this now?"

"Yes. That is in fact why I wanted to meet you. You see, I was overcame by a negative state of mind and went too far, so..."

And then Nephthys told Touma of her feelings regarding mortality, her argument with other goddesses, and how she thought Touma could help her. After she finished, the boy stared at the river in contemplation.

"Why me?"

"Hmm?"

"You said you wanted to talk to me specifically. I am a regular human, a mortal. I am no expert in metaphysics of immortality and feelings of gods. Wouldn't Niang-Niang, Othinus, or some other Magic God be better for the job? You said I was special. But why?"

A wind rose up from the east, making the grass on the shore rustle and pyramid-like ornaments in Nephthys' hair chimed slightly.

"Why, you ask? In contrast to other Magic Gods you know, I came to existence not really knowing my ambitions besides the fact that I am Magic God and Lady of Mourning. Niang-Niang wanted to save her relative and became a Magic God to try to rescue her, Othinus sacrificed her eye for knowledge and power, High Priest's attempt to become a Buddha was foiled. Each and every one had some history prior to becoming a Magic God. Yet I... simply came to be, one day in the pyramid, over 4000 years ago. I was formed from wills and lives of slaves. And so I never knew. Who was the one they called Nephthys? The voices of people who formed me were embedded in my being. Dozens of wills, fighting over control. It took me centuries to learn and control them, but doubts still remain. Who am I? What do I want? What is my desire? I discovered my place as the goddess of mourning. But death could not fully satisfy my desire in life. Even after changing reality so many times with my powers and living through so many mortal lifetimes in different phases, I have yet to find my answer. Meanwhile you... lost your memories. You were left in the strange and unfamiliar place, with no connections and knowledge of how to go on. You had to learn everything from scratch. Just like me. Not only that, but you possessed Imagine Breaker. You can't be altered by phase manipulation. You are stable amongst the unstable. No matter what happens, from perspective of Magic Gods, you are genuine. You are cure for the void of the Feeling"

The waves smashed by the shore, as Touma shook his head.

"I don't think so. I think only you can decide your destiny"

"It's not about the decision. It's about having an anchor, something to return to. Your mortal life may be short but because of this shortness, you place amazing value on it. When you can do anything, value of everything is slowly devoured. You can either kill your emotions or..."

Nephthys sighed and stretched her slim arm. Her uniform shimmered and changed back to her usual bandages.

"You know, for a moment, I was thinking about asking World Rejecter to send me back to the New World?"

"What?!" That actually shook Touma up quite a bit" You would be trapped again. Why would you do that for?!"

"I was... unsure. I wanted to run away because I felt that something was changing in me. And it was. But maybe... just maybe... it was for the better. Kamijou, I respect but also hate death. It pains me to bury people, while they could be enjoying lives as long as me. There are so many potentials, blown away like warm candles. That's why I actually enjoyed immortality. I wanted to guide as many to calm and peaceful ending as possible. But... even we can get tired. This is what the Feeling is. But I am tired of running! That's why... I will not discard life on Earth altogether. Neither will I abandon my life as a goddess. Niang-Niang is my friend. We are not ready to go separate ways. Although..."

"You were considering becoming mortal, like Othinus. Am I right?"

"I am not sure... but if I ever get so tired that I will not be able to continue... then maybe it will be so. In theory, it should be possible for our power to self-destroy itself. We can do almost anything after all."

"Would you survive that?"

"I don't know. I was never mortal, like other Magic Gods, unless I am treated like an extension of the slaves that formed me. So who knows how the process may affect me. Like I said, it's a hypothetical situation that I am not sure I want. Besides, if I become mortal, I would have nowhere to go"

"That's not true" Touma spoke quietly, causing the goddess to look at him in surprise. "Nephthys, I heard you were jealous of Othinus".

"My anger already subsided a lot" Nephthys muttered, twirling her white hair in her fingers" But I simply cannot fathom why you acted like you did. She was cruel to you! She killed you, for heaven's sake, multiple times! And you still... protected and chose her... while we didn't account for High Priest's behaviour, we would surely treat you better. So why..."

The 'why wasn't I understood' was never said out loud. There was no need to spell it out.

"Nephthys... Othinus needed help, just as much as you. What happened between us was, at first, negative, toxic, and surely many people would see it as weird. But you surely know how much can happen in the scale of time we are talking about. We were together for eons. Our bond is special, and I am not sure if anything can ever replicate it. It might not make sense to others, but it is something I treasure beyond anything. Othinus is someone I can't live without"

Nephthys said nothing. Tears in her eyes, whether as an instinctive reaction or emotional overflow, changed her heterochromic eyes into well look-alikes of crystal blue and golden yellow.

"That being said... I am not going to let you down just after learning good sides of you and Niang-Niang. I don't know if I can satisfy you if you compare yourself to Othinus. But I can promise it now: if you ever are in trouble, need help, or want to talk with me, I will do whatever I can to save, help, or comfort you, no matter where or when I am. You and Niang-Niang are welcome here, and in our home. It may not be much to omnipotent beings, but if you ever need me to, I will do my best to make you happy."

Nephthys' eyes brightened a little bit.

"You would do that for me? Even if I take different form, or will be on the other side of the earth, or-"

"Yes. As long as you don't endanger others, I am on your side"

Once again, there was no chance to notice a blush in the darkness and on the dark skin tone.

"Nephthys, I have one more question"

"Ask away"

"Can you Magic Gods create phases that have time flowing differently than here?"

"Hmm... yes, it can be achieved. It's not something regularly done, but-"

"Then it's settled"

"What is?"

"I have two more things to add to my promise. If you don't know if you want to resign from being a god, that's all fine and cool. Go to a phase with a differently flowing time, and have a blast with Magic God adventures that my ordinary brain won't even comprehend. Live on, a long and happy life filled with adventures. But if you ever feel the need to become mortal and live like me and my friends, no matter if it will happen after decades, hundreds of years, or more, come back to this phase and find me. I promise that if you manage to turn human, I will stay with you and help you organize your life here, in one way or another"

Nephthys smiled at him and suddenly extended her hand, tracing it on his cheek.

"W-W-What are you doing?!"

"I think I can fully understand now. How Othinus was saved, that is."

She then turned around. Yet Touma, coming back to his senses, spoke further

"There is one more thing. You could have been jealous, but your reflections on mortality and your feud with Othinus weren't the proper reason of this negative emotional state... that Feeling... they were only the catalyst, weren't they? The true reason of your anguish...

Nephthys nearly stopped breathing, as she turned around to find Touma staring at her with a sad smile on his lips.

"... wasn't because you were tired of your role. You were scared that if you ever were to die, no one would cry for you. You always cried for everything dying in this world. But who would mourn the goddess of mourning? That's why I promise: if you ever die, on that day...I will surely cry for you, Nephthys"

And in that moment, the goddess hugged him tightly. Tears, more than ever, flowed down her eyes, drenching Touma's clothes. But the boy paid no mind, caressing that whitish silver-head and letting all the emotions, dulled by millenia of mourning, flow out.

"Let it all out. I will stay with you as you cry, as long as it takes"

Nephthys did cry, and even whimpered, but for the first time in eons, she also smiled in the middle of her tears.

Those tears weren't of pain and sorrow. Those were tears of hope and relief.

"Thank you... thank you so much!"

Meanwhile, Niang-Niang and Othinus, magically hidden, watched the scene unfold with many emotions in their own hearts

"Wow, Nephthys is the emotional one, but even I felt something in that cold chest of mine. Toothpick, are you mad at Nephthys?"

"I was, at first. But after my human's speech... I just can't be mad. This is the thing about Understanders" Othinus smiled with pride" He just did a thing I love him for".

(15 MINUTES LATER...)

Finally, Nephthys stopped crying. After conjuring a tissue and blowing her nose, she spoke to Touma

"So, what now?"

"Aside of what we just talked about? Well, I suppose we can simple talk further. About both mortal and immortal topics... provided that I know how to respond"

And so, they talked. One of the topics of interest was the art class in Certain High School.

Nephthys laughed as Touma handed her one of his sketches.

"What's this? It's supposed to be me, right? One eye is higher than the other! And my waist is not that thin!"

"You don't have to laugh at it though! This Kamijou is trying his best!"

"Oh, I don't mean anything bad, it's endearing. Honestly, modern style is great. I have sentiment to egyptian art, but after thousands of years of seeing myself from profile, I actually craved something new. And at least you got the hair and the nose right" She giggled again, tracing her finger across the bridge of her slim nose" You know those legends about Cleopatra's nose? Those were actually about me."

"Get out of here! Hmm... oh, can you tell me about how it feels like to create a new phase?"

"Hmm, how to express it could for mortal to understand... It's a lot like weaving. The universe is your material and you let it expand like a never ending snowflake fractal-"

(LATER ON)

The life went on.

As usual, some things got resolved while some new questions appeared.

Touma still needed to discover who sent the photos to Tokiwadai, among other things. But all in all, things ended on a good note.

When he separated with Nephthys, he messaged to Fukiyose with an apology for leaving. She wasn't mad and wished him good night, warning him not to be late to school next day.

Kaibi and Saten managed to give Kamisato a good brithday party and satisfy multitude of guests. Touma celebrated it by buying 3 sundae, which the trio ate together after Kamisato Faction left.

Before that happened, Touma was once again hugged by both Fran and Luca, promising to write to them regularly. Salome also came to say goodbye, alongside Kamisato himself.

"So, what will you do now?" Touma asked him.

"I planned to... go back to my home town. I need to make things right with my old girlfriend"

"That sounds challenging... I mean, with your group"

"I will make it work some way. This little blond squirt made me realize a few things. She is almost as annoyingly preaching as you are. Anyway, I don't want to run away anymore"

"Well... good luck then"

Touma turned to Salome, who was watching their conversation with amused look on her face.

"Please watch over him before he does something stupid. Take care of yourself and try not to kill too much... preferably, at all"

"You don't have to tell me twice. I am his beloved imouto after all. As for the killing, I make no promises, but I will try to keep it in mind. You take care too! Will miss ya!"

(BACK AT THE APARTMENT)

When Kaibi and Touma returned home, they found Amazora and Rikuri asleep on the couch.

Measure Heart looked at Imagine Breaker. She motioned at the couch.

"Come on"

"No, really, I can't-"

" COME. ON!"

He didn't voice further objections. It's not like he actually had anything against it.

They went to change into their sleeping clothes, and in the meantime, Touma found Othinus, half-asleep on his bed.

"Welcome back. Are you okay?"

"Yes. Just... tired. Did I mention that I... love being on your shoulder? Niang-Niang has no delicacy whatsoever..."

Touma delicately picked the half-asleep goddess and placed her in the pocket close to his heart.

When he returned, Kaibi was already back in her pyjamas.

They made themselves comfortable on the couch, close to Amazora and Rikuri. Touma covered all of them up with blanket and soon enough the patchwork family of four (plus former goddess) was fast asleep, enjoying each other's warmth.

(NEXT DAY...)

In the closing words, it is nice to mention events of the next day.

Amazora looked at the crowd, while making her presentation for friends and family day.

Touma, Kaibi, and Rikuri all managed to find time for her, and were present in the audience.

However, pride quickly turned into horror.

"I love my family very much. I have 2 older sisters and 1 older brother. Kai onee-chan always keeps me safe and teaches me new and cool things. She is super pretty and talented in everything she tries. I love Kai onee-chan very much. Even though she never gives me any oysters, leaves tubes of ice cream everywhere when she has a bad day, and talks in her sleep about how she likes onii-chan."

Kaibi spat out part of the drink she bought earlier.

"Riku nee-san always gives me what I want and is there for me whenever I am sick or injured. She also buy me ammunition and all kinds of super cool accessories. Riku onee-chan is so pretty boys can go blind while looking at her! Even if she sings off-key under the shower, makes poisonous food, and can't run 50 meters, she is the best sister in the world!"

Rikuri's face exploded in crimson hue.

"Onii-chan is the best onii-chan in the world. When I was smaller, he was about to leave me in flaming garage, but he didn't and saved my life. He fed me when I rubbed my thighs against him, and moistened my hands so I could eat with him. Onii-chan has many different girls wanting him, but he still find time for me. I love my onii-chan so much!"

Touma got so pale that his face looked as if cowered in snow.

(10 MINUTES LATER)

"Owowowowow!" Amazora wailed while held by the ear by Kaibi

"Honestly, I knew that this would happen and I asked an old colleague from my dark side days to do some memory wiping, but why did you have to mix good things with bad stuff?"

"B-Because I thought that I will talk about stuff that is bad and still show that I love you, this will make my love for you muuuuuuuuuuuuch better. Onii-chan said that being in love is for both good and bad"

Touma, Kaibi, and Rikuri looked at each other, and sighed.

"You might have misunderstood the idea just a little bit"

"You are lucky that you are my cute little sister. But I understand what you wished to say and that you didn't want to insult anyone."

"Besides, we already know each other's flaws. We try to make up for it. That's what it means to be a family. So thank you for all the good stuff anyway and for giving you the feedback on the bad. Only next time... don't do it in public"

"I am sowwwwwyyyy, I didn't want to be meaaaaaaan..."

"Well, you can rehabilitate yourself, by going shopping with me"

"Eeeh? But shopping for house things is so boring!"

"Choose: either this or no oysters for a week"

"Shopping with Kai onee-chan is so fun!"

"Isn't she just precious?" Rikuri said to Touma" she has your sharp tongue, and our looks. She will become a wonderful young lady"

"Yeah. I can't even be mad at her." Touma replied back.

"Also, Kamijou-san... my food isn't poisonous anymore, right?"

"See you later, you three! I have something to take care off now!"

"W-Wait, you didn't answer my question! Kaibi-san, my food is nutritious and definitely not poisonous, right?"

"L-Let's go Amazora, the day has only so much time!"

"Don't dodge the question! Moooou!"

(AFTER SCHOOL, THE SAME DAY...)

Kongou Mitsuko was given her randez-vous. It took place in a dark alley, with no prying eyes.

"Darling... you can grab me harder..."

"I don't want to grasp to tightly..."

"No, this is good... very good..."

"Are you ready for this?"

"I am whole to your disposition"

Touma grasped Kongou tightly, his breath making her shiver.

"Are you ready? When the this goes off, there will be no turning back"

"I am Kongou Mitsuko. I am ready for everything you can throw at me"

Touma positioned himself behind her with smiled wickedly.

The deed was about to be done.

"Then... get those ejection points going!"

They were sitting in the old shopping cart. The cart that zoomed forward in the next moment, propelled by the powerful gust of wind.

Using Kongou's power for this version of high speed cart travel was an amazing idea.

Touma and Kongou started to meet after Kyozetsu incident, and they usually interacted by introducing each other to parts of their daily lives. Kongou invited Touma to fancy restaurant (in which he didn't have to pay, thank god) and on the fashion show, while Touma showed Kongou his favourite manga store and arcade.

But in their opinion, the most interesting were moments in which they both experienced new things. The middle ground.

The cart zoomed through the streets of Academy City, with majority of the people too confused to even notice what was happening. Touma chose place where the chance of having someone recognize Kongou was pretty slim.

They could steer the cart by activating more ejection points on the back or the sides of the steel object. The experience turned out to be incredible.

Well, aside from adrenaline, Kongou could squeal in fright and hug Kamijou, which was the very great bonus in her head.

Finally, after dozens of twists and turns, the cart came to a halt.

"That was so extraordinary! Being launched at the speed of my power is terrifying yet also so liberating! Thank you for suggesting this!"

"I... wasn't sure that you would like it."

"I surprised myself as well. Now, can you help me tidy myself up?"

"Yeah, I can do that. What should we do next?"

(THAT EVENING...)

Touma had to admit that spending time with Kongou Mitsuko was very much fun. In the end, their different personalities did provide some problems, but also made their relationship very entertaining to both of them. And honestly, there was something very cute about Kongou's face when she was looking at him, although he couldn't place why she looked like this.

"Hello?!" he shouted after entering the apartment."Is anyone here?"

Kaibi and Amazora were probably still out. But where was...

The lights blinded him and when he got to see again.

Rikuri was standing there, wearing only red ribbon, which covered intimate parts and ended in two big bows on her back. Drones hovering under the ceiling were scattering something that looked like rose pettals.

"What? What? WHAT?!"

Rikuri batted her eyes, before stretching to full height, walking confidently to Touma, who was still frozen, and placed a finger under his chin lifting it up

"Kamijou, go out with me. Let's have some fun, just the two of us"

Touma said nothing. Rikuri kept staring straight into his eyes, until he felt something on her finger

"Oh my~, blood!"

The trickling blood left Kamijou Touma's nose as he majestically collapsed backwards with a loud thud, passing out on the spot.

Rikuri looked at the boy, deep in thought.

"Fukiyose-chan said to be assertive and dominant... could it possibly be too much? Did I overdo it?"

(MEANWHILE)

Touma was supposed to be knocked out with no consciousness to speak of.

But he instead found himself in a strange and unfamiliar place. It was filled with mist of the colour that was hard to describe. He was standing on the peak in the middle of great abyss, stretching as far as his eyes could see.

"H-Hello? Where am I?"

"Welcome, Kamijou Touma. We were expecting you" spoke a deep voice, which resounded throughout the abyss. It was profound and sounded very old.

" What's going on? Was I... abducted?"

"Not physically. Your body is still safe and sound" another voice, feminine yet still vast and powerful, echoed from the other side.

"Although this might change soon if things stay as they are" another raspy male voice, accompanied with something that resembled cracking of electricity.

"We brought you here because it is high time for us to meet properly" fourth voice, ethereal and whispery, invaded his ears.

"Who are you?!"

"You met us before. Even in hiding, we watched your actions as the host of our containment" fifth voice, feminine and melodious, sang from behind him

"What... what do you mean? Show yourselves so I can see you!"

"Very well then, if that's your wish."

The mist lifted and Touma took a step back.

He was surrounded by dragons, dragons of all shapes and sizes, that hovered in the air of the abyss without any support. Dragons of so many hues that they looked like rainbow. Dragons, who were without a doubt focused on him.

He recognized some of them. A green dragon with 4 eyes. The indigo dragon that once swallowed Aureolous Izzard whole. The one eyed-cobra that even now dripped posion down her body. The skeletal dragon burning with undead red flames. The golden dragon which scattered lightning when he moved. The white dragon which scales looked like crystals or icicles. And finally, the dark black dragon with no eyes.

The black dragon lowered his head, and Touma felt as if temperature dropped several degrees. His head suddenly filled with visions that he never wanted to see again. The dragon must have noticed that because he withdrew a little bit.

"Have no fear, young human" he spoke. It was his voice that Kamijou heard first" We are all your allies here. But for that not to change, we must gather now and discuss what shall become with dark forces, that threaten the harmony of Imagine Breaker itself"

The other dragons nodded or roared in approval.

Kamijou Touma, still shocked, joined in as the mystical gathering in the place unknown began.

TO BE CONTINUED...

See you in Arc 2, in chapter Rikuri III. As you saw in this chapter I wanted to explore more of Kamijou's therapeutic side in addition to his action driven, punching character. I think Touma is amazing when he talks with others. Fukiyose and Nephthys had opposite, yet parallel problems. It was a treat to write. Fukiyose's "I care" speech was directly inspired by "It bothers me..." and it is exactly half of its length. This chapter had certain references to other parts of the series and nods to character struggles. I was really interested in the concept of 'immortal depression', which I explored in the concept of the Feeling.