A Certain Unfortunate Trainer

by NeoShadows

Kamijou Touma was your average Pokemon Trainer in Academy City. Except he had no Ability or Pokemon as a lowly Level-0 with a weird right hand that brought him misfortune. But upon meeting Index, a girl who memorized a library of forbidden books on Pokemon myths and legends, that normal school life would change. When Science, Magic, and Pokemon meet, a story is told.

3. A Promise Made In The Moon's Reflection

It's NeoShadows, back at it again with more Index/Pokemon goodness!

You know as I was was busy simultaneously on Chapter 7 of A Certain Unfortunate Trainer, putting the finishing touches to A Certain Influx of Time Time Traveling Misfits, and the third chapter to another Index Crossover I've been mulling over for some time in secret before finally starting it two days ago, I realized that I've forgotten to update the foremost fic. I've already done my spell checks, fixed up the structure, cleaned up any errors, and read it over at least three times now. So, why not upload it now before I disappear to play teacher for my little brothers and sister, go dead in my writing as I spend the next few days playing Persona 5 Royal, and take my online ServSafe exam to qualify as a Manager at my work once all this COVID-19 mess calms down?

Even though I'm locked up at home, I'm no less busy.

Now, this chapter was a favorite of mine, just barely tying up with what I've written later down the line, simply because this is the first battle between Esper(?), Magician, and Pokemon! I've also added hints to an event that's drastically different in the Pokemon Universe of ToAru that had influenced this Touma's actions. This will be the first instance of Magic seen in the Pokemon universe but I've opted out of explaining how different yet alike its rules and system are here. You'll all see that explained later but don't be afraid to guess either.

Oh, and if you got any good names for grimoires inspired by Legendary and Mythical Pokemon, give me a few in the reviews, if you can. I've made several already but I need more to play around with, you know?

Firstly, let's get to those reviews!

DN Works: Pfft! This is Touma! Of course, something bad is happening around him! That's just his typical misfortune at play that not even an Asbol could warn him about. Ya liked Jangmo-o too, huh? He's been my favorite Dragon-Type since being introduced in Gen 7 with Garchomp at second. The little guy's been very well-liked since he was introduced. And yes, researchers like Professor Oak would indeed be disgusted by the kinds of experiments that were at play but hidden beneath the shadows of Academy City. Makes you curious just what they could be creating in a world like Pokemon, doesn't it? In the Pokemon Universe, Arceus is commonly referred to as God but that's not to say he's the only God, or the accepted god of other religious sects. As for Z-Moves, and especially Gigantmax, I would say that such techniques along with their research, are safely guarded by their respective regions. To the public's knowledge, such powers do not exist in Academy City or being studied.

Calderoneric758: Dragons do have a thing for a certain spiky-haired high school boy, though I don't think he likes that. As for Touma's Pokemon, I can assure you that he won't be necessarily attaining his own right now. It's complicated and I won't say any more until it's all over. What I have with Ghiratina is a secret that does not involve Touma's right hand. And it would be interesting to see how an Absol would react to Touma; The Human Disaster.

Jazzrapper: Dragons+Fists=Touma. Yes, that math checks out.

BlueJack22: I thought so too. Why else would Komoe pick the little guy out other than seeing Touma in those adorable eyes that wanted nothing more than to be menacing and cool?

ArmoredCoreNineBall: Yeah but this would have never happened if I hadn't finally had time to flesh out the story arcs, characters, the creation of this universes Magic and Esper Systems, and done a fair amount of Pokemon study that's probably kicked out plenty of real-world knowledge to fit it; How does one tie shoes by the way? Keeping the story fresh while not abandoning core aspects of the original canon was a tough challenge indeed. I'm happy to say that I've overcome that trial while meshing in the new world's content for a nice fusion cocktail of sorts. Love for Jangmo-o is always appreciated!

MrQuestionMark: I did it...I conquered that demon god of a story you created, you ridiculous son of a bitch! After two years of on-again, off-again reading, I was finally able to make it to the end of the current arc of A Certain Unknown Level 0! You kept up to date with it alright, up to date of distracting this average human's attention! I-I'm honest to god crossed between the odd realm of being satisfied and pissed. Did you really expect your average human to conquer such a behemoth without their mental capacity being damaged to some extent? You're the devil, I swear.

Onto your reviews though; never mind the same torch I've threatened ArmorCoreNineBall with long ago.

The Esper Power System was an interesting concept to tackle since I wanted it to be different yet alike with the canon system but with aspects of Pokemon being an important factor in its creation. I think I spent about three days mumbling over what to do, hashing out what sounded right and what was obviously reaching, before settling in on how the Espers Personal Reality and Abilities were due to the mental bond they had with their Pokemon. I think I did an alright job of putting it all together and more will be explained as we go. The Magic System has its own Pokemon influences that are key but will be explained at another time.

I literally couldn't think of any better way, or perfect way, to explain what ASRL was to everyone other having our favorite Electric Trainer be the one to show it off. I mean, who else would bust out such a devastating power other than a girl who's firing off Railguns at a normal high school boy? The ASRL System is my answer to Academy City's unique Battle System gimmick, just as Regions have Mega Evolution, Z-Moves, and Gigantamax, they have ASRL. Oh, and what a system it is! Trust me, we haven't even scratched the surface of what such a power born by the mind of a certain Silver Star can do.

This chapter was a great melding of both Index and Pokemon along with the mix of the original canon and my own inspirations for what's to come. Oh? ES-Stones, that's what you think that stone is? Man, are you in for a rock show to come! I also couldn't help myself but call that Poison Trainer Trash, fitting, right? And you are certainly right about Pokemons depth; it matches Index's own when you get to the nitty-gritty of potential that world has to offer.

At the end of the day, we aren't sure what Touma will do about the Pokemon that have shown up in his life. That heart is still gripping onto an old pain. We'll just have to wait and see if he can conquer that pain. And evolve.

...And yes, yes you should get on your hands and knees, and bow your head in apology. Apologize! Be the bigger author, Senpai, and repeatedly bow your head like a hammer to a nail and beg for forgiveneeeeeeeeeessssssssssssssssss!

Guest #1: Why the beginning, you ask? Well, it just felt right and natural to start at that very specific spot. From what I'm picking up, I'm guessing you're asking why I didn't have Touma suddenly appear in the world of Pokemon after either falling into the Arctic Ocean or arriving through the Infinite Hells to be lost after Othinus recreated the world. I wanted to write a story of a Touma who's already lived in that world, not discovering it for the first time.

Cervidas: It's always reassuring to hear that I've written Touma to what he's been portrayed. The last thing I want is for him to come off as OOC, you know?

ConnivingG: Yes, yes, I am glorious. Please do not stop showering me in your praise. I also appreciate a good fight scene, probably the main reason why I got into writing. Interesting note you caught there. What I have planned with the Invisible Thing is rather iffy but you'll have to see what's to be seen later on in the story.

Majin Othinus: Why Jirachi, I ask out of curiosity? Also, I already have a concept planned out for those Magic Gods to come later on in the story, so don't worry; I have forgotten the likes of our lovely Othinus. As a certain Pokemon Theorists on Youtube says; It's all coming together.

Now that those reviews are out, how about we prep up for what's to come!? What are you waiting for? Scroll away already!

---

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to A Certain Magical Index or Pokemon. Both rights are reserved to Kazuma Kamachi and Game Freak, respectfully.

I...have never felt so much pity, respect, and sheer amazement in what teachers have to deal with on a day to day basis when teaching kids. Due to this pandemic, I have had to turn my own room into a classroom. My desk has been taken over by two kids who keep asking when summer starts and complain about doing two hours of work when they use to do eight in school. I am not a fucking teacher, god fucking damn it! What the hell do you mean 'what's 300+300?' Just add three and leave the damn zeroes!

Shit...they're crying. Big Bro's sorry! Don't call Ma and have her beat my ass!

---

Chapter 3: A Promise Made In The Moon's Reflection.

Fire_Dark_Poison_Magic_HUMAN.

Between The Lines 2.

Did you know gangs had a strong familial bond between them? No, seriously; even those no-good punks who spent a better part of their lives causing trouble for others had a sense of comradery. Foul mouth they may be; violent they may be; a good portion of them, dumb, they may be, but those trouble makers did care for one another who were part of their gang and shared the same aspiration and desires as they did.

Even those who wrought violence could make strong connections with another.

Such a case was especially true for an up and coming Skill-Out gang by the name of Toxic Hazard. The gang was comprised of your typical Level-0s who had failed to gain anything as close to an Ability under the Power Curriculum Program that was offered by Academy City. And like many who fell under the title of Skill-Out, they had taken all their pent up aggression, grief, shame, and failure out on the very city that labeled them as worthless. To them, it was the city's fault that they could not advance to the next level; the fault in no way laid with them!

The shared negativity was the core of many Skill-Out brotherhoods that united them to band together against the unfair system that left them powerless. It was through that shared bond that those thugs had grown to see another as brothers and sisters alongside their Pokemon. Though it was from hate, a family had been born.

It just so happened that one of Toxic Hazard's family had been not only injured but locked up for standing up against two arrogant Espers. Naturally, that toxic family wanted revenge. And they would get revenge.

A member of their gang wasn't able to walk free among them; bail was too rich for them to easily pay. But one of their own was able to visit their brother and had lucked out with some rewarding information about the bastard that harmed their family.

Night had fallen over Academy City. At this time, most of the students were expected to return back to their dorms under curfew. Young promising students had no reason to stay up this late; it was unhealthy. So, Anti-skill patrolled the city streets for any naughty children that were breaking the rules created by well intention adults.

Such ridiculous rules mattered very little to Toxic Hazard.

Through the empty streets of Academy City, a lone teen was seen standing in the midst of what could only be described as a broken heap of sparking machinery. He stood at five feet tall wearing a sickly purple leather jacket that was decorated with fanged shaped zippers, matching leather pants designed with green toxic bubbles rising from the pant's ankles, and poorly tied black sneakers. On the back of said leather jacket were the words Toxic Hazard and the picture of their mascot Pokemon; Toxitricity. The boy's hair was dyed to match a certain Poison-type Alolan Pokemon; Muk, with streaks of grayish-green, yellow, and purple that dropped over his gray eyes. His features reminded one of the typical thugs; lazy, uncaring, and cocky.

"Tch, what a bunch of stupid bucket of bolts! Just because I'm a Level-0, doesn't mean it would be so easy to take me down! Do I look like a Magikarp?!"

The scraps of machines around him were once patrolling drum-shaped robots that had the duty to report anyone breaking curfew if they fell under a certain age group. So, a middle schooler like him who had dropped out was to be expected to return to his dorms. To someone without an Ability, to Level-0s with no power, those machines were all that was needed to keep them in line. But such thinking was naive.

From the pile of beaten, sparking metal, one of the security bots rose up. It had suffered several dents but found it could still function. It was designed to warn students to return to their dorms or suffer submission by the machine as it notified the proper authorities. Being that it was made in a city that developed Espers, its body was capable of withstanding up to Level-3 Abilities of varying destructive natures. It could also deal several attacks that disrupted Esper's Abilities. From the top of its trash like frame, a hidden pistol-like taser was brought up to deal with the troublesome student.

The Toxic Hazard thug grinned smugly.

"Haven't learned your lesson, huh? Don't look down on a Level-0 in this world inhabited by other Supernatural Beings! Byoki, Sucker Punch!"

Skill-Outs were commonly known to use whatever tools they could grab their hands on to make up for their lack of superpowers born of Science. And what better tool in this world than Pokemon?

From thin air, a dark ball like wisps of ghostly gas appeared protectively before the thug. The ball of ill-boding energy grew white eyes with beady pupils and a devious smile. In response to the sparking taser locked onto its master, the Ghost Pokemon retaliated with an action of its own. It giggled with mischief as a pair of fists born of Dark energy began to rain blow after blow onto the patrol bot. Knuckles were imprinted onto the durable frame of the bot before it found itself unable to respond to the vicious attack. With one last knuckle to its camera lens that utterly shattered it, the security bot was sent flying, bouncing across the streets before the light in its broken lens faded.

The Pokemon, Ghastly, laughed at the demise of its opponent. Its master shared the ghost's poisonous ghost's sentiment.

"Stupid piece of metal! Did it really think I would listen just because I don't have any powers? Machine, Anti-skill, Judgment, Pokemon; who fucking cares?! As long as I got a Pokemon of my own, I can seriously level the unfair playing field!"

Kicking away the wires and circuit boards at his feet, the Toxic Hazard thug continued on his way to his original mission. Followed closely behind by his Pokemon, the thug's eyes narrowed as he entered District 7 at last. It was here where a certain male dormitory laid. And where his target laid.

'Kamijou Touma, eh? Did you seriously really think you could get away with messing with one of our own? It may have been a pain to dig up your address but its all worth the chance to punish you for putting my bro away! Even if your just another Level-0, I'll beat you down like you were another asshole Esper that had been unfairly gifted an Ability!'

---

"For some reason, she came all the way back here. Even though she was making her way here with such a grievous wound, she didn't stop for even a moment. Guess she must have left something behind."

That damn voice.

"Still, it is surprising that Kanzaki could carve her up so bad. She would have been careful if she had known that Index was vulnerable. That habit of her hers, The Walking Church, should have protected her from harm. Even the blade of a Saint shouldn't have been able to penetrate the defense of a Spiritual Item in the likeness of the Holy Turbine. Oh well, dead or alive, the girl is coming back with us."

The form of Stiyl Magnus stepped closer, followed closely behind by the Pokemon at his side; a Houndoom. The smirk on the redhead's face didn't let up as he addressed the silent spiky-haired boy standing protectively over Index.

"Those 103,000 Forbidden Grimoires are important, you know? We can't let them fall into the wrong hands at any cost. So, step aside, boy. We, Magicians, have a job to do, and I wouldn't want to dirty my own hands to keep you quiet."

Styl stopped right in front of that quiet high school boy that was stained with the blood of a forbidden library. The Magician quirked a brow, finally noticing the boy turn his head at him.

Cold, barely restrained, seething dark eyes of anger stared back at Styl. They spoke of nothing but rage.

"H-How could you possibly talk so casually about that girl's life!" Touma whispered harshly.

It was taking everything in his power to not charge blindly at the redheaded bastard and plant his knuckles deep into his face.

"She's just a little girl for crying out loud! Yet you talk so casually about her life as if it wasn't anything more than some trivial chore! Doesn't it bother you at all that you've harmed an innocent girl in cold blood?! Just what the hell's wrong with you?!"

"Didn't I tell you that I'm not the one who carved her up like some cooked Farfetch'd?" Stiyl rolled his eyes, absently flicking some ash from his cigar as his Houndoom growled softly, "An acquaintance of mine was the one who struck with the intent to scare her. We know all too well of the protective qualities of Index's robe; Kanzaki's wires would be nothing more than a gentle breeze. Yet those robes were torn apart like soggy tissue. It was as if someone had destroyed the defensive walls of her Walking Church."

Imagine Breaker came to mind. Touma flinched, recalling his cursed right hand had torn apart Index's habit. Anything supernatural, be it Science or even Magic, was destroyed upon a touch of his right hand. Did that mean that the one at fault for the seeping red painting the floor from Index was his fault?

No, it was there's! They were the ones attacking a girl in the first place! Even if Touma had negated Index's protective robe, he wasn't the one who had spilled her blood!

"As for the why; Isn't it obvious? We're here for the immense library of grimoires the girl carries with her."

Over 100,000 forbidden books. Hardback literature that supposedly detailed magic born of legendary and mystical Pokemon whose knowledge could deform the laws and nature of the world into the illusions of beings from another world.

'I am Index Librorum Prohibitorum; Holder of 103,000 Forbidden Grimoires that detail Spells and Abilities of Mythical Pokemon and Magicians. It is because of this library that I wield, that I believe that they are after me.'

Index hadn't been kidding?

"Bullshit."

Did that red-haired thug actually expect Touma to believe that the petite silver-haired girl was carrying an entire library of magical books with her? What a load of complete Taurus crap! How could a girl like her possibly carry around even twenty books, let alone over a hundred thousand! Was this just some excuse from some diluted thug getting high on some drug?

"I don't see a single book on her! Even if she posses all those books, it's obvious she wouldn't have it on her!"

The hostile stature Touma was displaying began to set off the glaring Fire/Dark hound Pokemon by Stiyl's side. The Houndoom took a step forward in Touma's direction, the Pokeball rolling in its sharp canines caught in the flare of flames escaping its maw. Stiyl rested one of his hands on his partner, easing the ready to burn dog's temper until he gave the word.

"Do you know of the term; Photographic Memory?"

The smirk on Stiyl's face was taunting as Touma's face twisted in confusion.

"Perfect Memory? What the hell are you talking about?"

"As someone who resides in a city of Science, I would have expected you to put two and two together. Never would have thought a Magician would have to explain such a condition to an Esper; aren't you freaks suppose to be geniuses or something?" A click of his teeth and a hand moving his lowly burning cigar to the embers released from his Pokemon, and Stiyl continued, "Perfect Memory means that one is able to recall every minuscule detail of one's life. Even something as idiotic as the label of some off-brand soda can on the street would be forever etched into their brains. Pictures, emotions, sounds, touches, tastes, and scents, no matter how small or useless the information, would be recorded permanently. Such a skill is rather extraordinary if put to good use. Such as, say, memorizing over a hundred thousand forbidden texts never meant for mortal eyes."

A cold chill crawled down Touma's spine as he glanced back Index. Perfect Memory? A girl who supposedly carried a library of magical books with her? A Cabal that was hunting said girl down because she was the keeper of said library?

"Do you get it? That girl isn't just called Index Librorum Prohibitorum to sound unique; she's literally a walking index of grimoires. Over thousands of books are perfectly memorized and contained in that little silver head of hers."

She hadn't been lying. The entire time Index had been speaking with Touma, she had been speaking nothing short of the truth.

The expression of realization brought a pleased grin to Stiyl's face. Good, the boy was beginning to understand the circumstances. That would make things a bit easier, so long as the spiky-haired boy cooperated.

Sulphure was itching for a reason to char the Esper to smoking crisps.

"As you may understand, Index poses a serious threat to herself by simply walking the streets with that sweet smile of hers. Since the day she memorized her first grimoire, she's had a target painted on her back. Those in the Magical community who come across the knowledge of her existence would be all too eager to capture her for their own selfish desires. To put it simply; one book is all it takes to bend the fabric of Space and Time." Stiyl explained, "There is a rumored grimoire written after two mythical Pokemon said to represent Time and Space. Index has memorized that tome down to the letter to the point she could theoretically perform the Abilities of those great dragons herself to manipulate the great expansion of space and the recording nature of time. But that girl is unable to harness mana and unable to perform spells." he said softly under his breath before taking a step forward.

Touma instinctively went on guard, putting himself in the way of the redhead and his Houndoom. Stiyl quirked a brow before scoffing.

"Our intent isn't to kill Index. We simply wish to retrieve the knowledge she contains within. She's a vulnerable asset we can't afford to keep our eyes off. So, we're here to protect her from the threat of people who would desire only to use her."

"Protect?"

The seething hiss amused Stiyl enough to grim smugly, "Correct; protect. A girl like her couldn't possibly stop her abductors from getting what they want. She's an innocent child; the likes of mental abuse, physical abuse, drugs, and even harassment would be too much for such a fragile thing. She would crack under it all. That is why we are here. We will ensure such knowledge doesn't fall into the wrong hands for her own good."

An audible snap could be heard that represented what little restraint Touma had been holding back.

"You fucking piece of shit!"

For her own good? Was the bastard trying to paint it as if he was simply doing what was in Index's best interest, or the best interest of those who wanted her grimoires to themselves? What part of her laying on the ground, bleeding to fucking death, was for her own good?!

With a guttural roar erupting from his throat, Touma had charged straight ahead at the grinning red-haired magician with a clenched fist.

"Running ahead with a fist, huh? That doesn't seem anything like a proper Esper at all. And not even bothering to call upon your Pokemon to do the dirty work for you either? You're only further ruining the image of Espers I've been given, boy."

Stiyl didn't even bother with calling upon a small flame to chuck at the spiky-haired boy. Sulphure would do just fine to deal with such annoyances.

"Sulphure, Fire Blast."

Houndoom was all too eager to follow through with the command of his master. Spitting out the Pokeball belonging to the white-haired nun, the hellhound took a deep breath, his clenched jaw leaking with repressed licking orange flames before the roar of a searing flame molded cannonball was fired straight ahead at his target.

Touma stared at the orange-red cannonball without batting an eye, not even as the shell of over a 1,000 degrees flames began to shift into the kanji for fire that all but blocked everything in sight but itself in Touma's eyes. The orange-red glow of seething cruelty lite the dark hall.

Fire Blast. A common yet powerful Fire-Type Move that dealt devastating damage in the shape and symbol of literal fire. To another Pokemon, it would no doubt knock them out, or heavily damage them with Burn. But to a human, Esper or not, it was a whole other story.

An attack like that would consume a normal human's body and leave only a crackling corpse in the explosion of the combustible kanji.

Yet that spiky-haired high school boy didn't budge an inch. Those plain dark blue eyes glared at the roaring flames that singed his skin and caused a light sweat to form over his body as Fire Blast was only a moment from devouring him in a flash of blazing orange.

Stiyl would have found the behavior suspicious but chalked it up to the boy being frozen stiff by the fear of death about to roast him alive. It wouldn't have had to be like this, killing was never something the red-haired mage had enjoyed. Even less when he had left the dirty work to his beloved Houndoom. But, he resolved with steel illuminated by the Fire Blasts burning form slamming into the spiky-haired boy, sometimes he had to dirty his own hands for something more precious than his moral code.

The kanji of flames swallowed the high school boy whole like some great maw, detonating with a brief flash before a great explosion erupted and burned everything in sight in the raging fires that sent a powerful buffet of wind to toss Stiyl's red hair back.

At least that was what should have happened.

Before Stiyl's very eyes, that great symbol of fire cracked like it was made of glass. He made out a hand of all things stopping the powerful attack from striking Touma, holding it back briefly with no strain. Then it happened. The sound of shattering glass echoed in the hall of the male dormitories.

Somehow Fire Blast was broken to illusionary shards, vanishing into nothing as the spiky-haired boy swiped his hands of the dispersing embers.

That plain-faced high school boy, who should have been paralyzed with the fear of burning to death, glared dauntingly in the breaking flames, having never taken a single step back. The hall was burned by the flying path of the Fire Blast, scorched black as smoke wafted all around them in the darkness of the night that had once been illuminated by flames. The damage done made it looked like some great electrical fire had raged between the path facing an 'Esper' and a Magician.

Sulphure, the Houndoom, glared furiously with a cautious step back.

Pokemon were known for many great abilities. From calling upon the power of the constellations, bending space, siphoning the lifeforce of the planet, and even splitting the earth. The feats of Pokemon were endless. But one of the most common and often overlooked of those abilities was sensing danger. A foreboding sense of disaster; The most famous Pokemon known for such a sense was the Pokemon of Disaster, Absol.

And in the face of that simple human boy with a head of furry spikes, Sulphure felt an ominous prickling sensation run along its skin. Its hair stood up as it eyed that boy's unflinching stare.

Unnatural, even by a Pokemon's standards. That plain-faced human was something that did not belong. That unknown presence sent it on edge and only made Sulphure more than eager to banish that unnatural being from his world. And from making any more contact with its beloved nun.

"Tch. I don't know what you did, Esper, but it seems that you have an Ability to counter my Pokemon's flames. That's fine, Sulphure's not known as a Fire/Dark-type for nothing!"

Sulphure snapped its jaw open, a dark glob of phantasm like energy already beginning to form without a further word. The hellhound knew his master all too well to think of what he was planning.

"Sulphure, Shadow Ball!"

Instead of fire, a ghostly cannonball of ominous energy was fired with a roar of Houndoom's throat. It crashed through the air in a straight line, locked onto Touma to robe the very life of its target.

In Academy City, scientists had created numerous research divisions to study the effects of certain Moves that Supernatural Pokemon performed, and how they would affect the human body when compared to Pokemon. Those Pokemon Types that fell under the Supernatural spectrum to scientists were, Dragons, Fairies, Dark, Psychics, and Ghost; Types that weren't considered Natural and Abnormal in nature when compared to Pokemon affiliated with natural elements and force.

Ghost Type moves were found to deal with a rather nasty effect on the human body. Shadow Ball for example not only dealt damage akin to an explosive but also damaged the cells of humans. The skin would be found wrinkled and cracked, drained of vigor, almost like the body part had suffered mummification. It was as if the life force of whoever was struck by the phantasmal energy would be drained.

Flames would not be burning the boy this time. The ghastly curse of the undead would be ensuring that he too would know of the world beyond this mortal plane.

A right hand moved swiftly to intercept the Shadow Ball, knuckles barred in a pathetic attempt to stop the darkness born of the afterlife from taking him back to its home of origin.

Like Fire Blast, Shadow Ball cracked and shattered upon contact with that right hand. Stiyl furiously bit down onto his cigar as Sulphure's attack was broken to pieces.

"What the hell? Sulphure! Crunch!"

For some reason, Special Attacks weren't doing a thing. It was puzzling, but Stiyl had no time to think much of it but go with another form of attack on what little he garnered from his two failed attacks. If Special Attacks failed than Physical Attacks would have to do.

Sulphure's visible canines began to brighten with a vicious power before it charged ahead at Touma. The hellhound reached Touma easily, its powerful legs springing it up into the air as Sulphure opened its jaw wide. A cruel set of additional illusionary fanged teeth formed over Houndoom's snapping jaw from dark energy, aiding in utterly crushing their target with deadly force.

This time, Touma moved as the Houndoom dove down and those great fanged teeth followed to make mincemeat of him. With an angled side step, Touma dodged Sulphure's Crunch. That did little to stop the Fire/Dark Pokemon as it landed on its feet. Those great constructed jaws did not disappear as Sulphure simply turned to attack again. Charging ahead, the Pokemon sprinted and moved to sink his teeth into the right arm of that unnatural human with the sound of crunching bone.

Touma met the powerful set of teeth with a swinging fist of Imagine Breaker. He could care less about the thought of Pokemon cruelty as his fist impacted against the Houndoom's cheek, the contact with his ill foreboding hand nullifying the power of Crunch and shattering the additional great teeth. The force of his punch knocked the Pokemon into the side of the wall with a loud thump and a pained whine.

Fighting against Pokemon was sadly not a new experience for Touma. Not since the day he was dropped off into Academy City. Espers may have had Abilities to fight with, but they much rather prefer to not waste their powers and instead have their Pokemon deal with problems. Still, Touma had never liked the feeling of his fist impacting against those wondrous creatures.

The fault was not their own, it was their Trainers.

His face displeased, Touma looked back to the stunned red-haired 'Magician', "Can't you fight for yourself? You're a Magician, right?! Then why don't you step into the ring instead of relying on your Pokemon to fight your battle instead?!"

He heard a mad snarl. Suddenly, his skin could feel a searing burn. A glance to his right revealed Stiyl's Houndoom leaping with a set of burning teeth empowered by Fire. As much as he hated it, Touma smashed his right set of knuckles into the snout of the Pokemon, canceling out the Fire Fangs before they could pierce his skin. The force of his blow once again sent the Houndoom smacking into the wall, cracking the already heavily burnt wall as the Fire/Dark Type slid down with a bleeding snout.

Touma was by no means considered as a Fighting-Type Esper. But after so many fights against both Espers and Pokemon, his fists could be considered on the level of a Mega Punch by his opponents. He thought though it was just a normal punch with a little more weight behind the blow. It got the job done though.

Stiyl ground the butt of his cigar with a spiteful scowl. The low, pained whine reaching his ears only made him grow more pissed off.

Only two punches. With only two blows, that spiky-haired bastard had caused his Pokemon to visibly wobble on his feet. How some high school boy could deal that much damage with just his fists, he didn't know. It must have been the boy's ability.

"Step into the ring, huh?" The low, furious growl fit well with the vicious grin on Stiyl's face as he removed the cigarette from his lips.

His red eyes went towards his Pokemon, his brows knitting as he noticed his Sulphure grit his teeth to stand and fight once more. Stiyl shook his head, the vicious grin only growing sharper.

"Rest for a moment, Sulphure. Recover your strength first while I deal with this pest."

So, now the tall redheaded Magician was going to fight. Touma couldn't but grin fiercely, more than eager to finally smash his fists into the bastard who was the reason why Index was bleeding out.

More than anything, he wanted to scoop up the young Sister. He could still feel the blood that had splattered on his face cool with a chill down his spine. It sickened him. All this fighting was wasting precious time he could be spending taking Index to a hospital; she was losing blood and paling with every second!

But the so-called Magician presented a major roadblock. Stiyl would no doubt stop him, caring little for how close to death Index was growing. The man wouldn't even care if he brought Index back dead, or alive.

It was frustrating. Luckily this opportunity presented a great stress reliever.

Again, Stiyl noticed the spiky-haired boy known as Touma stand his ground, ready to fight. It was enough actually to make him impressed. He could acknowledge such courage to even an enemy. Said courage must also be answered in strength.

"I believe a true introduction is in order, boy. Allow me to grant you the grace of something truly special to us Magicians. My name is Stiyl Magnus; I Prove My Name Is The Strongest Here, Fortis931!"

The cigarette hanging lazily between the fingers of Stiyl's left hand began to burn brightly at the sound of Stiyl's voice. Touma felt the hairs on his arms stand up as a cold sweat formed on his face. Something felt...ominous.

"That names translates to 'Great' or 'Mighty', though the etymology really doesn't matter to an Esper. It is my Magic Name, signifying that I have stopped limiting myself and accepted you as a true threat. Since we Magicians do not give out our Magic Names so freely, it's safe to say that it bears a great significance to you of what is to come. To make it simple; A Magic Names has another meaning."

Touma found his eyes following the greatly burning cigarette as Stiyl casually flicked off to the side of the hallway's left to fly out into the wind.

"We call these names; Killer Names."

The simple cancer stick erupted into a great roar of fire that cast a light in the dark night like a beacon from hell. The newborn flames levitated in the air, quickly breaking apart into thick ribbons that flew over to the darkly smirking red-headed magician. Stiyl rose his left arm up high above, calling the flames to gather in a mighty bonfire in his clawed hand. Like confetti, embers danced in the hallway as the Magician banished the night's darkness that fell upon Touma to deliver scorching pecking kisses onto his open skin.

'What is this? Is this...Magic?' Someone outside of Academy City was performing a supernatural feat right before Touma's eyes. Without a Psychic Ability granted by their Personal Reality fueled by AIM and the bond of their Pokemon, the tall redhead man was commanding fire without the aid of his mind. This wasn't a miracle born of Science. It was something beyond the realm of fact that caused the atoms to vibrate at ridiculous speeds to create heat that burned in the form of fire.

Magician; A human who could perform supernatural abilities based on belief and fiction. An illogical being that didn't require research of the mind to break past the limits of humanity. In Touma's mind, he saw that impossible being no different than a Pokemon; another being that had no need for science to bare supernatural powers without the aid of drugs or testing.

That was the kind of man Touma was facing, who held literal raging, thrashing bonfire above his head as if he was preparing to dunk that great fire onto him.

For once, Touma felt uneasy before that new element. He had dealt with Espers and their Abilities; Pokemon and their Moves. But those threats fell under the realm of Science. But this was Magic. Imagine Breaker had never faced the likes of this kind of supernatural threat. Would his cursed right hand even be able to hold such power back?

"...ouma."

In the face of magical flames, born of fantasy and faith, Touma's right hand had begun to tremble. That trembling grew still, his grip grew taught. He swallowed the inkling of fear and steeled his resolve as Stiyl began to chant.

Someone was in pain. That innocent nun didn't even have the strength to cry out for help! And here he was, terrified of standing in the way of the threat that wished to do her more harm because he wasn't sure he could do a thing or had a Pokemon to fight with?

Long ago, in the distance of Touma's memory, he recalled another helpless girl with fluffy brown hair. The nightmare of a Dragon that did not exist naturally, assassins and flames, the greed of one man, and the silence of someone now walking in the dark because of his failure to be a hero. A bitter memory of loss he could never take back. The stroke of bad luck that forever haunted him and moved him to act now as a hero for someone with tears. Would hesitation of the unknown once again bear the same results? Would fear be to blame again for his failure to do more?

Screw that.

FUCK THAT!

"Ash to Ash; Dust to Dust: Squeamish Blood Rood!"

The bonfire was sent swinging down at Touma, almost as if it were a swing of a sword. Its form changed, lashing out like a raging, bladed whip that burned both the ceiling and floor to a fine charred black crisp. To Touma's vision, he could see nothing but what he could only describe as the hungry, licking flames of hell lashing out like a tendril from the depths of the inferno. Again he could feel the very air burn his skin; he winced with a hiss as it felt like boiling water grazed his skin.

Imagine Breaker was thrown up to shield Touma from the light of those bloody red flames that burned his retinas. He was going to die to magical flames.

Magical flames born of the supernatural. Though the only flames he had ever negated were of psychic origin, Esper and Pokemon alike. This would be the first time he tested the erasing nature of Imagine Breaker with a power that couldn't be categorized under the label of Science. He was throwing his hands into the literal fire.

Right fingers uncurled as the mighty lashing flame reached. For a split second, everything, the world he knew, was flooded by the licking flames of another world opposite of his own. In that fleeting second, Touma could feel the very heart of the magical fire as his finger enclosed over the intangible red inferno.

He didn't feel any heat, no pain, no blisters, no sweat. The odor of foul burning flesh didn't reach him.

The lashing bladed whip of flames blew up in Touma's face, bringing a victorious grin to Stiyl's in the roaring boom that followed.

"Not bad, boy. For a plain-faced nobody, you displayed some serious courage. I wonder what that Ability of yours is." Stiyl mused, recalling how the spiky-haired boy had easily negated his Houndoom's Moves. Speaking of which, Sulphure walked over with a small whine. He gave his faithful friend a gentle smile, his smile growing somber as Sulphure's eyes roamed over to the bleeding form of Index, "I know. But it's over now. We've retrieved Index at last. Once she's returned, they'll take care of her."

"Who the hell says it's over!"

Stiyl's breath caught in his throat, he swore he nearly choked.

Looking back to the twisting wall of flames that had erupted to eat away at the high school boy, he found himself taken back as something pierced through the red, searing curtain.

A hand broke through the flames, clenching fiercely to shatter hell's fire. The veil of flames broke apart and vanished into thin air as a strong wind blew by in the absence of the fire.

And there he stood.

With a grin, smug and fierce from victory, Touma stood firm and daunting in the wake of a magical attack that Imagine Breaker had negated easily. Said hand grasped the air the flames had been twisting with a lingering smoke that slithered before withering away in the absence of heat.

"Man, I honestly didn't think that would work! I've destroyed flames from Espers and Pokemon before, but this really was the first time I've tried it out against magical flames. I should have known though; if it's Supernatural, Imagine Breaker will no doubt shatter it! My hand has the power to destroy Index's robe; it was made of magic. I should have known from the very beginning!"

Touma released his grip over Imagine Breaker, his fingers flexing and readying for another magical attack as he challenged the tall, stunned redheaded Magician with a broad grin.

"Looks like we're done setting up the Prologue, huh? Well then, get ready, Magician! Because I think it's my turn to attack!"

---

Murkrow was having a rather pleasant night if it did say so himself.

The feathered Misfortune Pokemon glided through the breezy night sky of Academy City by the flowing air currents provided by the marvelous academic city's wind-powered turbines. It didn't have to twitch a wing on days like this, lazing about along the windy waves with a yawning caw on its beak.

Today so far, the Murkcrow had found a rather cozy nesting spot after his last one was demolished by a couple of arrogant humans who carried the weird aura of Pokemon on their skin. Having lived in Academy City for so long, it had already gotten used to these humans who could perform not only their Abilities but carry their Weakness as well. And it so happened that the smug humans, known as Espers, had a weakness to Dark Type Moves. And who just so happened to have a rather nifty arsenal of Dark Type Moves?

This Murkcrow, that's who!

Sadly, its home was already in shambles after Murkcrow had fired off a Dark Pulse in the hooligans' way. After an hour or so of flying though, it had found a perfect place to nest. Murkcrow's eyes closed in content, thinking to the nice newspapers it had found to nestle in later tonight. Maybe it could take a moment to pass by one of those human-eating spots that was designed for outdoor eating, and snag himself a tasty fishy snack before dozing off? It honestly didn't feel like catching dinner tonight. Fried Magikarp dipped in batter was more delicious right now.

Yes, he felt like he would do just that. First, though, it's bedding of discarded newspapers wasn't complete just yet. No, it was missing one crucial piece to making it absolutely perfect. What it required was a few sheets of incomplete homework from a certain spiky-haired human.

Oh, just the memory of that stagnant, ill-boding, and fortune devoid air that particular human exuded was enough to make Murkcrow snicker. Out of all the humans it had encountered in this highly advanced city of humans, Pokemon, and Espers, that one high school boy stood out among them all like an Alolan Exeggutor among Pichu.

Since Murkcrow had encountered that misfortunate boy, a child who had at one point at the beginning of his arrival to Academy City exuded a much thicker and heavy aura of misfortune, he had found a constant source of entertainment. Murkcrows were known as the Misfortune Pokemon after all; A Pokemon such as itself was always drawn to those miserable humans due to their Dark-type Nature. And though that heavy sense of misfortune the spiky-haired boy possessed had lessened considerably, Murkcrow still found the human as an enjoyable waste of time.

That lack of powerful foreboding was fine with him. After all, he wasn't fun to laugh at a human's utter misfortune when their faces were painted with despair and hopelessness.

A snack, the last of its bedding, and some mockery at the spiky-haired human's expense; what a better way to lull off to sleep?

Knowing that the current-carrying its wing along would lead him to that spiky-haired human's home, Murkcrow whistled a nice little tune it had heard playing earlier as it set its sights to the building complex up ahead. His red eyes did blink, finding an odd dust particle flowing along with the wind.

It seemed to glow with a slight heat that burned out like a candle. Several more began to fly by his feathers, the heat they gave of warning Murkcrow to actually use its wings to avoid what he now realized was something dangerous.

Embers. Fire.

A bursting spike of the inferno.

Murkcrow's eyes grew wide as it caught the whiff of smoke in the air. The building complex in his sight was suddenly alive with flames that had uprooted from the upper floor. The flames had pierced high, breaking through the roof to touch the sky like a beacon for several moments. The orange-red lights that burned the night were snuffed with an all too familiar sound to the Murkcrow's ears.

It was the sound of shattering glass and an otherworldly whine that no other being could ever hope to replicate.

Murkcrow halted his flight, flapping still in the night sky that now warmed his feathers from only half a mile away. The raven crow Pokemon's red eyes narrowed at the raging flames crawling over the top floor of that spiky-haired boy's nesting spot.

A battle was being fought. The Murkcrow could hear the faint sounds of knuckles cracking, growls, crackling flames, and broken glass amid the growing flames that would eventually come to devour the entire dormitory. Natural instincts warned the Murkcrow that whatever was transpiring in that fire was dangerous.

So, he stayed put, flapping his wings as he observed the licking flames grow ever brighter in his unblinking red eyes.

---

Jaws glowing with a dark nature snapped with enough force to break the trunk of a tree with a boney crunch.

Sweating profusely, Touma evaded the charging Crunch from Sulphure, his eyes still warily watching the tall red-headed Magician that followed closely with an open flame in his right hand.

"Flaming Sword!"

Though Stiyl's Houndoom missed, he himself stepped in with a jet of red hot flames that were swung down as if he was wielding a long sword in his hand. Unlike Houndoom's teeth, which would still harm Touma if he were to negate the power of Crunch, Flame Blade was entirely made of supernatural energy. Watching the bladed jet descend in a downward slice that burned the very air, Touma countered the Flaming Sword with a swipe of Imagine Breaker. The flames shattered, but a threat still remained in the form of Stiyl's Pokemon. Sulphure was quick to react to the shattered flame blade and swung its devil pointed tail after Touma's midsection.

Imagine Breaker swung back to negate the damage, but the glow of a burning lash of flames going after Touma's head forced him to switch target. The flame lash was shattered. Houndoom's tail suddenly gained a metallic tint reminiscent of being bathed in silver. An Iron Tail slammed directly into Touma's pectorals with the force of a crowbar.

Touma's eyes scrunched in pain as he held back a scream. It felt like his stomach muscles were torn by the brute force! It was a surprise he wasn't coughing up blood. Yet.

"Roaring Kindle; Fire Blast!"

The Iron Tail was strong enough to stun Touma, allowing Stiyl to prepare an attack joined by his Pokemon. From Stiyl's left hand, a small yellow-orange flame clump was tossed in Touma's direction. Behind that crumbled excuse of a flame was the illuminating form of Fire Blast that swallowed it up, serving to triple the Fire Type Move's size along with adding in a sinister glow thundering roar. The entire dorm hallway was burnt to a crisp as it crashed forward. It was almost as if a trailer truck was lit on fire and rushing forward.

From what Touma understood from witnessing the flame clump spell, it served nothing more than as an amplifying fuel to increase the power behind Fire Blast. The symbolic flames were triple their strength now with a brightness that burned his eyes. Yet that didn't matter at all.

'If all the other attacks didn't work before, what makes him think that this is going to work out any better?!' Touma charged straight at the roaring augmented Fire Blast, right fist reared back and ready to break the flames as if they were brittle ice. He could feel the heat cause his skin to break out into more sweat as he did the impossible; punched literal fire. Fire Blast was negated by that simple right hand with a whine, its sudden absence causing a gust of wind to assault Touma as it blew his hair back.

He could feel the heat of another flame-based Attack or Spell following next. Imagine Breaker was already clenched and ready to destroy whatever would attack. A flamethrower like plume of scarlet flames burst forward, large enough to obscure whoever was behind the move. Negating the attack, Touma ran forward to drive his fist into the smirking form of Stiyl. The redheaded Magician didn't move a muscle as Touma's knuckles were swung at the man's smoking face like a sledgehammer.

The sound of a negation made Touma's eyes widen in disbelief, watching as the body of Stiyl Magnus was shattered to pieces. An illusion? The broken illusion carried a smoky scent that carried a slight heat. Smoke?

"Now; Thunder Fang!"

The illusion served its purpose, distracting Touma from the sneaking jaws of brimming with sparks. Faster than he could evade, Touma found Stiyl's Houndoom leaped through the shattered illusion with a Thunder Fang ready to Paralyze him. Seeing as he couldn't dodge, he had no other choice than to simply take the attack. On his terms.

Right hand met Thunder Fang, negating the Electric Typing and Effects of the Move, but doing little to do anything about the canine's fangs digging into his hand. Touma cursed loudly as Houndoom bit down with a snarl. Just a little more force and the hellhound would break his hand. Which was why Touma kicked his foot up, digging his shoe deep into the Pokemon's sides. It was more than enough to cause Houndoom to let go with a pained yelp.

Ignoring the flowing blood from the puncture, bruised wounds on the back of his hand and palm, Touma continued the attack with another sidekick to the Pokemon's head. The kick sent Houndoom falling to its side with an audible crack.

As much as it pained him, Touma realized he just may have either broken Sulphure's jaw or at least broken a few teeth.

"You really are a cruel boy, aren't you, Esper? You didn't even flinch as you attacked a Pokemon with your own fists, showing no regret to the poor creature. A sinner like you deserves to be burned!"

A fire raged from the back.

Swinging his right hand around, Touma shattered the whipping red hot blade swung to bisect him from his waist. The failed attack did little to change the expression on Stiyl's face. The redhaired Magician's face was blistering with fury as he continued to attack.

From Stiyl's right hand, a blazing white blade of spewing flames erupted; from Stiyl's left, a scorching red blade of flowing flames raged. And both blades moved with wild swings to burn their target to finely cooked slabs. Touma gulped as he ducked under a wide swing for his head, stepping back from the downward swing of both flaming blades that burnt the floor like cheese, continued to step back from the hacking swings designed to horribly wound him, and finally countered a spinning slash with Imagine Breaker. The spewing white blade of fire was shattered, leaving Stiyl to continue his attack with one Flaming Sword.

Magical Spells weren't working against such an odd boy. Was this the power of an Esper. No, Stiyl frowned with doubt as he began to step back from Touma, who chose to attack with several straight right fists and uppercuts. Something was different about that spiky-haired boy. Something...unnatural that sent chills down his back.

Thinking quickly, Stiyl timed the next charging fist from the high school boy and swung his Flame Sword up at the ceiling. The burning blade crashed into the upper level with a boom like a rushing spear, raining down debris to do what his Spells or his Pokemon failed to do properly.

Touma grit his teeth as he was forced to jump from the falling slabs of the ceiling. Thanks to his shitty luck though, he still wound up suffering a chunk of debris crashing onto his left shoulder with a sickening crunch.

"God damn it!"

Was his left shoulder dislocated? A quick attempt to move said that; No, it was not. But it certainly wasn't going to be of much use in a fight if it was put under too much strain.

"Flames over 3,000 degrees Celsius didn't work, flames capable of reducing even stone to char didn't work, and even fangs brimming with lightning didn't work, yet a simple piece of debris is more than enough to harm you as the fangs of a Pokemon without the empowerment of an Attack Type?" Stiyl mused amusingly as he kicked away some of the rubble in his way, "Special means have no effect against that right hand. How strange. Is that a power born truly of Science? Or Magic." he asked with a narrowed gaze on the scowling high schoolboy.

Touma laughed bitterly, "Your guess is as good as mine. This damn power's been stuck to me since the day I was born. I have no idea what it can really do, or why I of all people have it. But that really doesn't matter right now! It's a pain in the ass, and I've just recently learned from the Sister that Imagine Breaker is the reason why I have such bad luck, but it's currently the reason why I can stand up to a bastard like you!"

"Oh? Do you think you're actually putting up a fight? From my point of view, the only one hurt in our exchange is you." Stiyl smirked smugly before a sour, angered expression took over, "That, and my Pokemon. But Sulphure's done his job. He's given me plenty of time to set up the finishing move."

Finishing move? Touma found his feet taking a step back. The air began to burn again, the heat consuming the entire hallway as he made out visible heatwaves. The hair on his forearms stood up as his school uniform was drenched with sweat in seconds.

"Sulphure, it's time to complete our mission and finish the boy off. Prepare for the Ritual Spell!"

Gathering its remaining strength, Sulphure stood back on his feet and sprinted after his master. The Houndoom panted tiredly as it stood stubbornly in front of his master with burning red eyes that spoke of its resolve to keep fighting. Sulphure was hurt, that ill-boding right hand having been capable of dealing damage, unlike a normal human's fist. A couple more hits, and he was sure to collapse. Yet he snarled fiercely and allowed the magical energy of his master to flow into his body as Stiyl chanted. A seething orange-red outline overcame the horned Pokemon's body as its eyes burned cruelly with red.

"One of the Five Great Elements From Which the World is Constructed; The Great Flame of the Beginning; It Is a Light of Blessing that Raises Life and Light of Judgment that Punishes Evil; It Is Overflowing with Calm Blessings and With Freezing Misfortune that Destroys Cold Darkness; Its Name is Fire and Its Role Is The Sword; Be Manifested and Become Power that Eats Into Our Body!"

A twisting tar-like flame leaked from Houndoom's body, quickly forming above the Pokemon's body into a raging inferno. The flames molded themselves in the image of Sulphure, standing on four feet to completely fill the dormitory hall in the visage of a giant Houndoom. Its appearance was licking flames and oil like tar body with two large horns shaped like chipped fangs that stood over the original body and their master protectively. With the last of its body solidifying, a new flame erupted from the snarling jaws of the giant Houndoom; a large cross was clamped between the Fire Type beast's fangs that burned with bluish-white flames.

Stiyl grinned in victory as the spell was completed with the last of the incantation leaving his lips, "Burn the Heretic, King of Witch Hunters; Innocentius!"

A bestial roar nearly ruptured Touma's ears as the burning Houndoom; Innocentius charged like a berserk Taurus. The burning cross was swung with Innocentius's mouth like a bat to a baseball, flowing with embers trailing behind. Touma smirked, knowing that he didn't have to worry about the being made of magical flames.

It didn't matter how powerful it was. Imagine Breaker would make short work of it.

"Don't you get it? It's useless!"

Touma timed his next carefully, dodging low as the cross swung overhead and smashed into the dorm room wall with an explosive bang. In the midst of the shower of debris, dust, and flames of the missed cross, he ran under the large fire beast's jaw and drove his right knuckle deep into its jaw with an uppercut. Imagine Breaker shattered the conjured beast like all other Spells, Abilities, and Pokemon Moves. He grinned in victory.

Until he witnessed the shattered oil like flames swim back together again.

The flame born Houndoom known as Innocentius rose back from destruction with a vicious snarl. Once again, the burning cross was ignited in its jaws, flipped so that the hell-beast could bite down on handle's tip, and swung up high, destroying the upper floor with a bang, to burn the spiky hair boy in the bonfire that had once consumed sinners and heretics. Touma found himself stunned at the sight of the Spell surviving Imagine Breaker's contact, left wide open as the burning cross was slammed down onto his very much fragile and burnable body alongside burning rubble.

Imagine Breaker didn't work, but it was the only tool Touma could rely on when dealing with a matter that was of the supernatural. Even if Innocentius had somehow reformed itself, Touma had no choice other than to raise his right hand up defensively as it made contact with the red hot cross.

For the first time ever, Touma could feel the flames of the supernatural against the palm of his skin.

Hot, hot, hot! The very skin on the tips of his fingers felt like they were pressing up against the bubbling oil of a skillet, his palm could have been facing against a grill and not even know the difference! Touma's face twisted in agony as he held back the giant cross aflame with hellfire bearing down onto him. He felt his knee's groan as the pressure only continued to grow, refusing to give an inch as Innocentius fought against the puny human boy.

Like before, Imagine Breaker wasn't able to negate the spell. Yet he could hear it, sounds of something shattering over and over again like a hammer repeatedly breaking glass panels in a frenzy. It wasn't a waste, his right hand could destroy whatever this magic was.

The answer to this riddle was simple when Touma thought about it.

'Regeneration!'

The large body of flames was being negated, but regenerating itself at high speeds. The problem wasn't that Imagine Breaker had failed to destroy it, but that his negation couldn't compete with the speed of recovery of the magic spell.

Having the answer though wasn't any good though. If he couldn't destroy the fake flame body in the image of a Houndoom with one punch, then what could he do? What other options did he have in the current position he was in?!

"It is the reflection of the moon."

Even as Touma's knees began to buckle, his focus entirely settled on Innocentius, he could still make out the soft, gentle voice belonging to certain bleeding out nun.

"Index?!"

Glancing back, Touma could see the still heavily bleeding silver-haired Sister standing up. Her movements were stiff like that of some machine, her green eyes empty and absent of any light, and her expression was devoid of any human emotion. Yet she still spoke, polite yet dull of any feelings whatsoever.

"Indeed, I am the Grimoire Library of Prohibited Sorcery; Index Librorum Prohibitorum; Magic Name, Dedicatus545. Due to the runes scattered over the vicinity of the building, Innocentius will continue to regenerate infinitely. The runes provide the spell power to reform no matter the attack that destroys the spell. Think of it as the reflection of the moon. Be it a blade, rock, storm, bullets, or explosives, the reflection of the moon on the surface of the water will not be erased. It will reform itself as long as there is water to provide it with its reflection no matter the damage the 'mirror' suffers."

The exerting pressure and weight of the flames pushing down against Touma's right arm were becoming too much. His face grimaced as he was forced to buckle beneath the crushing burning cross.

'So, this thing won't be destroyed unless I find the source of its power, and negate it? Kinda hard to do that when I can't even afford to slack off!'

But that was what Touma needed to do, right? If he wanted to stop the red-haired Magician who now had a nifty card in his hand that could keep up with Imagine Breaker than Touma would have no choice but to dismantle that annoying card with other means. If he wanted to protect Index than that was what he was going to have to do!

"Ash to Ash, Dust to Dust..."

Touma's lips were pulled back with a grimace at the sound of an incantation being prepared. Another attack was being lined up. Of course, there would be an attack when he was basically a sitting Farfetch right now. Might as well cook the goose.

Something sliced through the body of Innocentius without breaking it apart, slipping through the flames to attack the spiky-haired boy. A whipping flame blade, red hot as iron bathed in furnace flames, flew straight after Touma's chest. If it hit than that was it.

Carefully while still keeping the cross overhead at bay, Touma skipped back a step, allowing both the cross and red blade to intersect. The meeting of flames, Imagine Breaker, and regeneration created a sudden eruption of force to strike both attackers. Innocentius's form wavered like a ripple on the face of a pond. The runes hidden about made sure to patch the large beast's form.

The same couldn't be said for Touma himself.

---

"UWWWAAAAAAA!"

The rupturing blast that crashed into Touma had thrown him off his feet and over the railing of the dormitory hall. The night's cool breeze kissed his skin, soothing the burns he had suffered as he fell straight down from several floors. Like the red blade of fire, hitting the ground would be it. So, of course, he flailed about in his descent to his death.

One of his panicked hands that was mindlessly waving around struck metal. He wasn't sure what it was but decided to grip whatever had caught his hand with all his strength. From the feel of it, he had latched onto the railing of a lower floor. The sudden action of stopping his descent caused a painful lurch in his body, but he swallowed a cry as he threw his left hand out to pull himself over to land on the dormitory floor.

The first thing Touma did now that he was out of the frying pan that was a fight between a Magician and a Fire/Dark Type Pokemon? Gasp gallons of fresh, cool sweet air!

"Holy shit! I-I was about to die! I was seriously about to fucking die!"

If the flames, the fall, or Pokemon couldn't kill Touma right now than it would be his pounding heart that would do the job. It felt like he was on the verge of a heart attack!

But for the moment there was no threat. Since this all began, he could take this little respite to breathe. Calm down. Get his thoughts collected and think of what to do next.

Shutting his eyes, Touma worked to control his breathing and settle his rapidly beating core that he was pretty sure would break out of his chest. As much as he hated to admit it, he needed this small moment away from the fighting, even though that meant abandoning Index.

'Index...'

Burns now marred his skin from the flying embers that emitted from the body of the large hellhound made of flames; Innocentius. His white school shirt now stuck to his chest from the sweat. Plus his left shoulder ached and struggled to listen to his commands. Despite that, he could still fight. He wasn't running away!

With a hiss on his lips, Touma stood back up and readied himself to run back to face the red-haired Magician.

The air began to burn and the smell of smoke hit Touma's nose a moment later. The low, aggressive growl from around the corner came next.

From thin air, the large and intimidating body of tar-like oil and flame formed at the end of the hallways' corner. Oxygen was seared to nothing, leaving the poor high school student little air to breath as Innocentius leered at its prey. The arrival of the bonfire beast cast an illuminating light to the passageway of the dorm, providing Touma with the sight of something odd. Stamped against the walls were hundreds upon hundreds of photocopy paper, each inscribed with odd symbols that were unaffected by the searing heat of Innocentius. The paper didn't burn even as the flame beast giant stepped forward and grazed several of the yellow sheets.

A word came back to Touma at that moment, from the mouth of the holy Sister who had spoken to him.

'Runes?'

The power source of Innocentius laid in the runes of the photocopy sheets in his vision. Because of them, the spell could not be dispelled normally like every other supernatural ability Touma had faced. It was those runes that provided high-speed regeneration to allow those living flames to stand up to Imagine Breaker. This meant that if he wanted any hope of defeating Stiyl than Touma would have to take down every last one of those annoying runes.

'How the hell am I suppose to do that though?! Am I supposed to rip them all off, one by one, while being chased by a flame beast giant on my tail?! That's impossible for your average high school boy without an Ability or Pokemon!'

Touma seriously wanted to cry. This entire situation was just plain unfair! It was cheating! What hope did have now against such an impossible hurdle? It was like someone had changed the setting of his Normal everyday life to Hellish Mode! He didn't want this kind of difficult setting at all!

Innocentius was done waiting for its prey to move and dashed forward like a burning dumpster set downhill. Seeing the hell-beast projection of fire magic rush forward, Touma saw no other choice but to charge ahead himself. It was true that Innocentius could survive the power in his right hand, but it wasn't without a hiccup. The burning cross fell down to stamp Touma into a searing smear on the floor, only to miss as the high school boy dove past the downward slam. He rolled underneath the belly of the burning image of the Houndoom and threw up his right hand. The spell was shattered to bits but quickly reformed itself at the same speed it was destroyed. But that single moment it had lost its form was all that Touma needed.

He didn't stop running, ignoring the swimming fragments of the oil-fire building itself back to a beast behind his back. Touma continued running straight ahead of the passageway of the dorms, jumping down the flight of stairs at the end as he felt the air behind his back burn. The head of the white-hot cross slammed forward, missing its target but breaking apart the wall ahead in a shower of burnt rubble. Touma dodged the few bits of rubble that fell down the stairs, grunting as the jump down past the stair had sent a painful jolt up his ankles. He ignored the pain and wasted no time in running away from Innocentius as it returned to chasing him down.

Again, he found himself running through the straight hallway of the dorms. A few more floors awaited the spiky-haired boy before he reached the bottom. Why was he running for the bottom, you may ask? Well, where else was he supposed to go?!

Sweat ran down Touma's singed face as Innocentius only picked up in speed. The giant flame beast was, of course, the faster of the two. It would be within striking range in just seconds. Which meant he would be forced to block a spell that could clash with his negating right hand.

'Damn it! Think, think, think! What can I do to avoid being killed here?!'

Innocentius once again rushed forward in a spear tackle of its weapon aimed to pierce through the normal high schoolboy. And Touma's Imagine Breaker would have to hold it back and endure the pressure of the flaming cross striking his palm. His hand would be safe, it would hurt his bones, but attempting to hold it back would result in a scenario reminiscent of a muscular man pushing back against a Machamp.

The human of the two would be able to hold the incredible strength of the Pokemon, but only for so long. Eventually, the human would be pushed back by the superior strength of the Machamp's four, muscle bulging arms.

In this instance though, wouldn't Touma want to be the human? The thought sparked an idea that he had no choice but to follow through as Innocentius sent its large cross stabbing forward at his back.

Steeling his nervous hand, Touma spun around to face that mighty cross point. And with his right hand, he slammed his palm against the weapon made of 3,000-degree flames. Just as he had seen when faced with the spell as it regenerated upon their first meeting, Touma's unknown ability had failed to outright repeal the flames that stung his skin. Unlike before though, he did not hold his ground.

It was like he was hitting a powerful spring. Touma's right hand had tried to break apart the flames but only found itself bounced back like a superball. He had to grit his teeth as his body was thrown back to the very end of the hallway the next moment later. His back hit the wall, cracking the surface as a shout of pain left his lips. Yup, he wouldn't be surprised to find a big old bruise there tomorrow. Probably painted over the old knife scar.

But his split-second plan had worked to save him. Picking himself back up, Touma continued to ignore another wound on his body to rush down the flight of stairs. A ferocious roar followed behind the glow of flames that chased after.

There was no sign of that thing stopping anytime soon. Due to the delay the flame beast had suffered from Touma's plan, it had failed to catch up to him as he safely made it down to the next floor. About halfway down the next hallway, it caught up and was once again within killing distance. It didn't wish to play around any longer, changing its tactics to better match the cunning spiky-haired boy.

The oil-fire body of Innocentius erupted with greater fire to envelop it entirely to a form that completely hit all sides of the wall. The great fire twisted maliciously to form the head of a snarling dog that parted its maw to reveal meat searing and rending teeth that streamed forward as if it was performing Extreme Speed. The action came in far too fast to properly dodge or replicate the same plan as before.

Touma's face grew frantic as his eyes could only make out the open ledge ahead at the end of the hallway. Could that really be his only option of escape? Would it even work?

Well, it wasn't like he had any options to play around with the thought.

Swallowing his fear, Touma ran forward with everything he had and leaped over the ledge. He had jumped just in time to escape the snapping jaws at his back that shattered the ledge. In that instance, he was free of danger. At last, he could sigh in relief as the night's cool air kissed his skin.

That sigh soon changed into a scream as he finally noticed he had jumped from the second floor from his dorm building. Below he noticed the fastly approaching concrete street and bicycles parked in his landing spot.

There really wasn't anything more Touma could do right then and there. His right hand could negate the Supernatural but this wasn't a supernatural matter. The powers born of Science and Magic had nothing to do here. All the normal high school boy could do was attempt to soften whatever pain he would suffer next.

As Touma hit the unforgiven asphalt, he rolled his body to disperse the kinetic energy as he hit the asphalt. The maneuver had helped to soften the fall as he rolled onto the ground with a pained grunt, knocking over the bikes that were in the way, before stopping on the soft grass ahead. Several scraps had developed on his arms and his uniform short had been torn, but he was relatively fine.

Above on the second floor of the student dorm, an ominous orange glow devoured the oxygen amid a ferocious bark.

Touma stared up to find the towering form of Innocentius glaring down at him from above. For some reason, it had stopped chasing him. Almost like an invisible wall was in its way. If it could, it could simply jump from its position and attack with a diving swing of its cross. After a fall like that, Touma felt completely drained and lethargic. He wasn't sure he could avoid an attack like that as he fell onto the grass with a pant.

'Does that mean that some kind of rule is stopping it from continuing on? Those runes were stuck to the walls of the dormitory. I can't see them outside though. It's those office papers that are providing Innocentius with its source of power. Without them in its general area, it can't cross over?'

Like Espers, it seems that even Magicians had to follow certain laws to their magic powers. It wasn't anything like a video game where a character could use a spell without any setbacks to prevent it from being used. If this was a game than Innocentius would be free to rampage about once it was cast. This world that held Espers and Magicians had laws, rules, to it though. Outside its ritual sight, it could not roam free to attack.

A shaken laugh broke out of the normal teen's mouth as he fell back against the cold, wet, grass. Now that he was free of danger, he felt the very last dregs of his energy part from him. He was tired, exhausted! For god's sake! He was just your average, ordinary, highschool student! What part of that meant he could perform these crazy stunts and fight a Magician, a hellhound Pokemon, and a giant flame beast without collapsing!? Yet he somehow was able to make it out of that disaster alive!

He was finally safe from harm's way. Safe from the raging fires of hell that devoured the innocent.

'Than will you accept being dragged along with me through the searing flames, to the gates of Hell with me?'

Touma had escaped the gates of Hell. But in doing so, he had left the poor girl to be consumed in its wake. Those malicious gates were creaking shut.

The normal spiky-haired boy bared his teeth in frustration. Seriously, what was that girl thinking? How could he do such a thing as go along with her to Hell itself? Literal flames awaited him! He wasn't cut out for this kind of thing. He wasn't some kind of hero straight out of a manga. How many times did he have to stress the fact that he was just a normal high schooler?! He was a failed hero at best.

'Wait, the police can help; can't they?' Anti-Skill was better equipped with dealing with problems like this! Maybe even Judgment, who was designed to tackle Espers capable of creating combustible balls of fire or hijack a person's mind. Those heroes were the ones who should be saving Index, not him!

This was someone else's problem. Someone else was better equipped and experienced to handle this disaster. Someone else could save that girl better than he could!

Why should it be Touma that had to save Index?

There was no reason.

Those sore muscles relaxed. Anxiety and stress withered away. Taking in a deep breath, Touma forced his body to stand up once again. What injuries he had sustained were no longer anything to fret about as he set his dark blue eyes to the sight of Innocentius backing away to its master.

Due to his attention being fully focused onto the male dormitory, he had failed to take notice of the approaching presence from behind.

---

What luck! Just before his very eyes, his target was in sight! Distracted and unaware of who stood right behind him! Seriously, how easy was this?

The Toxic Hazard thug did quirk his yellow dyed brow as he followed Kamijou Touma's sights. Was that an orange glow and smoke emitting from the male dormitory? What happened there? Did it have to do with the distracted spiky-haired boy? Kamijou Touma did appear wounded with bruises on the back of his arm and cuts; dirt also marred his torn up school uniform.

Eh, what did he care? If the spiky-haired bastard was wounded, it only made it easier to beat the boy up! There was nothing wrong with tenderized meat!

"What's got your eye, Kamijou Touma? Shouldn't you be tucked into bed by now? You know, you're breaking curfew right now. That's breaking the law."

The thug's voice had caught Touma's attention, causing the spiky-haired boy to glance back to find him. A vicious grin grew on the thug's face.

"You've seriously fucked up, man. Not only breaking curfew but breaking my bro's face? Didn't anyone teach you that if you're messing with one of Toxic Hazard's own, you're messing with all of us?! Did you really think you could get away from a serious smackdown?!"

"...Who are you?" the ignorant spiky-haired boy asked with a scratch of his head.

"The names Gebi Shizen, proud Enforcer of Toxic Hazard's boss! And the guy who's seriously going to pummel you into a sickening mess!"

Snapping his fingers, Gebi summoned his Pokemon, Ghastly to appear floating at his side. The ill-mannered thug with a hair color scheme inspired by Alolan Muk readied himself with a seven-inch dagger designed with an odd hoop at the bottom of the handle. From the tip of the polished blade, a foul-smelling bead of purple slid off to hit the ground.

The sight of both Gebi's Pokemon and weapon sent Kamijou Touma on edge. That was good, the Toxic Hazard thug wanted the lame faced boy to be afraid. And the spiky-haired boy would be even more afraid at what happened next. From Gebi's left sleeve, a white-colored mini audio player was slipped out. The thug's thumb moved quick and pressed play, causing an odd-sounding audio tune recording to loudly blare like a siren.

"Don't bother calling out for any of your Pokemon. What you're hearing now is a nifty little audio file designed to create soundwaves that disrupt a Pokeball's functions! I don't know how and I don't care! It's called Ball-Lock and as long as you come within thirty feet of its audio waves, you won't be able to use your Pokeballs! Leaving you seriously screwed!"

Game, set, match.

A Level-0 was truly powerless without a Pokemon to make up for their failure. This meant that the spiky-haired boy would be helpless to defend himself! Not only would the high school boy have to deal with Byoki's Ghost and Poison Attacks, but Gebi himself had a nifty little dagger to do damage as well. The dagger contained a special poison vial in the hilt that caused those envenomed by the blade to grow weak, short of breath, and dizzy. The poison itself was made by the toxic gas emitted by his own Pokemon, Byoki, to drain them of there energy and harm their lungs. All members of Toxic Hazard utilized weapons that used poison created from their own Poison-type Pokemon. And it just so happened that the poison he was using had been created by their resident chemist who was currently locked up, Gomi.

This would sadly be an easy beat down. Gebi was actually a little saddened that it would be over with quickly. Kicking his opponent's unresponsive body was just no fun to him unless they were awake to beg for mercy. He could drag it on, but he had other matters to deal with too. After all, he still had to pay a visit to the Judgment members who were also responsible for his bro's incarceration.

A frustrated glare was sent Gebi's way from the spiky-haired boy. He couldn't help but be amused to see what looked like frustration in those dark blue eyes.

"Hey, don't look at me like that. It's not my fault for the crappy situation you created. You're the one who got in the way of my bro having some fun with a couple of uppity Esper bitches. You could have walked away none the wiser. But you didn't. I don't get why." Gebi scoffed as he commanded his ghostly Pokemon to move forward.

The glare on the spiky-haired boy's face grew stern and furious. It looked like the face of someone who had found disgust with what was being witnessed before his eyes. The expression ticked Gebi off.

"You don't understand why I did what I did?"

"Of course not. Aren't you a Level-0 too? At least, that's what my bro, the guy you beat up yesterday, told us." Gebi growled. He flipped his poison glistening dagger in a reverse grip as he prepared to attack alongside his favorite tool, "You seriously had no reason to butt in as you did. You could have walked away, gone about your business, and forgot what you might have heard or seen. No one would have cared if you acted if they were none the wiser. Seriously, sticking your neck out for others who look down on you brings no benefit to you! Besides, it's not your responsibility to play a hero! Leave that shit to those who've failed to do their job! Just look where it's got you now!"

About to be beaten half to death; that's what playing hero has gotten that spiky-haired idiot.

Gebi had enough talking and charged ahead with his dagger aimed to slash away that annoying expression on the highschool boy's face. At the same time, he threw out a command to his Pokemon.

"Let this be a seriously painful reminder of what happens to those who play hero! Byoki, Sludge Bomb!"

"So, that's it. That's what I have to do, huh? Heh, to think I'd doubted myself this entire time. It must be the smoke created by that shitty red-haired Magician's flames. But now I have no more doubt in mind."

A great ball of toxic liquid was fired straight ahead, intent on dealing a powerful physical blow and poison its target. But Sludge Ball found itself shattering to pieces as it met with the right fist of the normal high schoolboy. The Supernatural attack was negated easily, taking both Gebi and Byoki by surprise.

An unnatural phenomenon had just transpired before the Human and Pokemon's eyes.

The negation of Gebi's Pokemon's attack didn't stop his charge. He snarled and buried the spiking sense of anxiety and confusion as he swung his toxin coated dagger at the boy's right hand.

"Byoki, Confuse Ray! Sukota, Poison Jab!"

The call of another Pokemon made the spiky-haired boy tense visibly. For good reason. Gebi was a fan of keeping his best weapons hidden from plain sight. No more so than his Pokemon. That was the awesome thing about Ghost Pokemon; they could be hidden right before your very eyes.

From the back of Kamijou Touma's very back, a set of gaseous clawed hands slipped out of thin air. A body formed from the same purple-black gas with spikes running down its side, triangular eyes with slit pupils, and a long pink tongue. Its name was Haunter, the evolution to Ghastly. And its right hand gained a deadly venomous hue that was slick with a harmful poison to both Humans and Pokemon.

A mysterious ray of haunting energy was fired from Byoki's forehead, intent on causing the spiky-haired boy to lose his senses and fall to confusion. And from the front and back of that highschool boy, Gebi and Sukota aimed to run him through with envenoming attacks.

Or at least, that had been the plan.

Another presence had made its self known before Gebi could enact his vengeance.

---

Glinting talons designed to tear through flesh with ease clenched tightly, gaining ill-boding black energy to coat the winged feet in the image of hard beating knuckles. Before anyone on the battlefield outside the male dormitory could react, those dark knuckles planted themselves in the stunned face of Gebi's Haunter, Sukota, with the force of a police ram. A Dark Type Attack met with a Ghost Type Pokemon; it was elementary to realize what happened next.

The Super Effective hit proved to be more than just that; it had caused what one may call a Critical Hit to add insult to injury. Which was why the small detonation of dark energy created by the meeting of conflicting types had sent the Haunter crashing into the ground with spirals for eyes. With one hit, it had been knocked out; One Hit K.O.

There was no time for the surprise interruption to show on Touma's face. Not when he still had to deal with a ghostly ray and thug's poisoned blade.

Though it wasn't like he already knew who had helped this down on his luck high school student out.

First, Touma dealt with the Confuse Ray that proved far faster than the attacking thug, Gebi. Facing his right palm out, he negated the Ghost Type Attack and dashed straight ahead at the now nervously sweating Alolan Muk hair colored Toxic Hazard thug. Over his left shoulder, he made out a jumbled stream of black rings fired past him and Gebi to its own target; Ghastly.

"You're right; I had no reason to save those girls yesterday. I didn't get anything worthwhile out of it on my part! There was no logical reason for a normal guy like me to act as I did! So what?! Does anyone seriously need a reason to save anyone in trouble?! Of course not! You don't need a fucking reason to save anyone in this world! You do it because its what you want to do and you act on that selfish want with all your heart! Because no one deserves that kind of silent suffering as I did!"

Dark Pulse worked its magic on the much weaker and inexperienced of Gebi's Pokemon, knocking it out as the pulse of dark power knocked it out of the air. The Skill-Out no longer any more tricks up his sleeve. All that was left was the glinting dagger on hand.

That deadly dagger was stabbed forward with an angered yell of frustration from Gebi's lips. He put in all his anger, his strength, his confusion, into the seven-inch blade that would weaken the idiot who harmed one of his own Skill-Out brothers!

Touma ran in with his fists thrown up, both set on attacking as the two delinquent like boys intersected beneath the pale moon's light before the smoking male's dormitory building behind them.

The knuckles of Touma's left fist trembled and interrupted Gebi's stab with a punch to the thug's wrist. Something cracked. The dagger fell out of the Toxic Hazard boy's damaged hand. But all was not lost for him, he still had his left hand to pick it up before it hit the ground! He could still win!

The glinting metal was swooped out of the air before Gebi could blink by a dark shadow. His breath was caught in his throat as he made out the cackling form of a Murkrow of all things flying overhead with his last hidden weapon to defend himself. At that moment, this Level-0 was truly powerless.

"I don't give a damn about why you're here or why you're attacking me! A bunch of idiots who got nothing better to do than harass a high schooler is the least of my problems! If I have to deal with you morons than I will! But right now, there's someones deafened cries that take priority over your delusions of revenge!"

The right fist of an ordinary high school boy planted itself beneath Gebi's chin with a displeasing crack. His teeth were forcefully clamped together with a boney smack that he was sure broke several of his front teeth. The whites of Gebi's eyes were seen as his vision rolled back. And all that had occurred before the force of some boring looking boy's fist had seen his body flying up from an uppercut that should have been performed by a Hitmonchamp.

Gebi's body soared up into the air, his mind going blank before one last thought passed through his fading mind.

'Bro was right; that's no ordinary high school brat. That fist seriously anything but ordinary.'

His body hit the asphalt with a dull thud among several knocked down bikes. Another sound could be heard as he hit the ground, an odd crack that put an end to the odd sound file that been playing the entire time they had been fighting. With Ball-Lock broken, Gebi's Pokemon returned to their Trainer's Pokeballs in streams of red energy and a pleasant ding.

The fight was over. Well, at least one fight was. There still laid the main Boss of this event that had to be dealt with.

"I'm surprised you of all Pokemon would come to my aid, Zenchou-san."

Touma would have never thought he would feel the weight of a certain Unfortunate Bird rest atop of his spiky head. Or that the Dark Type Pokemon would nestle itself on said head like it was the nest of its own making with a caw that seemed to say 'Did you expect me to just watch you get beaten to a pulp? Even I'm not that much of a bastard!'.

An unlikely ally had saved Touma's life. He couldn't help but feel a small smile tug on his lips.

The damn bird had been a plague on his school life since the day Touma had arrived at Academy City many years ago. It seemed to derive some sense of pleasure and whimsy at the many strokes of bad luck that would occur around this high schoolboy. And Zenchou had even played a role in bringing misfortune to Touma's door for fun. It was the kind of Pokemon that would say things behind your back and snicker with poorly concealed tears in its eyes. Touma had even thought his ever-present bad luck had been due to Zenchou; it was believed that Murkrow's brought nothing but an ill fortune to those it had taken in interest in.

Yet that mocking bird had dived in to protect Touma from harm in the end. Who would have thought?

Sadly there was no time to really question why Zenchou had come to save him. The night wasn't over with. Turning his eyes back to the dormitory, Touma once again clenched his already battered fist.

Was there ever truly a reason one should save a life? Did you really need one to step up? What was the reason a shield protected others, other than by design?

Did it matter?

Powers born of Science, Magic, Pokemon; It didn't matter. None of that crap mattered!

All his life, he had been bemoaned with misfortune. Since he was just a toddler, he had to deal with the pain and suffering that he had just learned originated from his right hand. Imagine Breaker was to blame for the random strings of bad luck and bad events that lead to his most infamous of a nickname.

The God of Pestilence.

And all that time, Touma had been silently suffering. Too afraid to ask for help. His cries of despair and pain ignored. Even when he had a Pokemon of his very own to share the pain with and gain some happiness, his misfortune had struck.

An Event left him all alone again. Eventually, his parents could only find solace and safety for him in a city that didn't believe in superstition.

Touma never wanted to experience that kind of suffering again. No one deserved to silently suffer like that.

And before his very eyes, a girl was suffering without a voice to call out to save her. She was struck by misfortune just like him.

Seeing that alone was what gave his right hand the strength to fight an unknown threat from a world of fantasy.

There was no reason; there never needed to be a well thought out reason, to begin with! Not as long as those protected from harm could return to smiling. So long as they were never subjected to the same cold shoulder he had suffered long ago!

"Go along with you through the searing flames; to the gates of Hell, huh? Are you kidding me? As if I would ever go along with you through such hell!"

No one would dare to dive into hell head first. It was crazy! What kind of idiot would smile and go along with the suicide pact that brought no amount of happiness to either party? Wasn't the clearer option much simpler?

Touma grinned fiercely under the reflection of the pale moon above, fist curled and ready for what may come as the Dark/Flying Pokemon that rested on his head cackled.

"I'll just have to pull you out of that cruel hell, won't I?"

Get ready for Round 2, Magician! Because this unfortunate high school boy was far from running away from battle!

---

No matter what manner of violence mares that pure reflection, that vow would not waver.

A Failed Hero. That hesitation was born of two events that had borne that need to make up for the past failures to keep a hold of pleasant memories from Esper and Pokemon alike. A fleeting crack in your compromised memories also haunts you.

What reason do you need to risk that sickening repeat? Why tighten your fist at all?

When two embodiments of misfortune join together, the reason is nothing more than a lost cause in the flowing flames.

Just fight.

And we're done here for today! Next chapter should be the conclusion to our fight before we begin entering into stranger waters. Magicians are abound, no doubt about that. But have we really forgotten about the noxious material that's moving its way within the shadows of that city of Science? An all new side to this story will show itself with a vicious sting to come!

Trust me, you're going to enjoy the Side-B Arc to A Certain Poisonous Index. Especially the familiar and newly created characters to arrive.

For now, I'm going to take a break before updating again. This entire week, I've been doing nothing but tapping away on thee old keyboard, staying up until midnight as I worked on writing up new chapters for all of my existing stories. Plus I've been working on a new crossover-I'm a huge fan of crossover fics- for Index and have already finished three chapters and working on the forth. What is is, you may ask curiously with a cute tilt of your naive heads?. I will not answer or give any of you pestering boys and girls a hint.

But you better Believe It when I say it's a work of love.

The only other story I'll be updating next week will be A Huntsman's Awakening. I can't tell you how many people have been begging me to update that one. It's funny, I've got a good cache of chapters finished on that story too but I haven't taken any time to edit it for mistakes, clean up paragraphs, and touch up on vocab. I better get back to updating my other RWBY stories too while I'm at it.

Anyways, if you got any questions, or wanna chip in with creating a grimoire or two based on Pokemon Lore, drop it off in your reviews.

Read and Review! It's common courtesy.

NeoShadows fading in and out.