Disclaimer : I don't own Naruto or Toaru Kagaku no Railgun/Toaru Majutsu no Index
The Trinity of Tokiwadai
Chapter Ninety Six: Smashing Homecoming - Heroes Unite
A few days after the foolish and thankfully thwarted attempt by Freshmen to kidnap Fremea-chan, Ruiko was accompanying Frenda-chan on a round of grocery shopping. Though to be honest that was little more than an excuse on both their parts that they had used to justify to their families why they were leaving the house. In truth, they had made plans to visit a new retro themed cafe that had opened up in School District 19, Café LycoReco, together.
Café LycoReco was owned and run by Nishikigi-san and Inoue-san from the Black Knights courtesy of funding they obtained from a loan from Zero. An investment that seemed to be paying off for both parties, as even though it had only just opened, it had already received rave reviews for its sweets and desserts on the Dark Side boards. That Nishikigi-san and Inoue-san also took shifts there as waitresses was also apparently part of its appeal.
And I can see why. Ruiko thought as she recalled the photos she had seen of the two gunslingers in their waitress outfits. They certainly looked cute enough to draw in the crowds.
"That's the place?" Frenda-chan asked as they arrived at the address listed for the cafe and she let out an appreciative whistle. "It looks very nice. Very on theme."
Ruiko had to agree. Café LycoReco was sold as a quaint neighborhood cafe with a retro style and it certainly lived up to that billing. Housed in a building that sat on the corner of a small road junction, it had a homely mix of modern and traditional Japanese architectural styles.
"Oh, without a doubt." Ruiko agreed as she shifted the bag of groceries she was carrying to a more comfortable holding position.
I really shouldn't have bought that bag of rice when I knew we'd be going out after we were done shopping.
"I wonder if the food is as good as the reviews say it is."
"Wait, didn't they have that poop shaped cake?" Frenda-chan asked with a shaky smile, struggling to hold back her giggles.
"Yes. It's a sour point for Inoue-san from what I have heard. Apparently, she's mortally embarrassed about how she didn't realize how it looked until after it got super popular and now she can't take it off the menu. So don't mention it. We don't want her to shoot us."
"Awww, okay~" Frenda-chan said with a whine even as she casually reached over and took the bag of rice that had been giving Ruiko so much trouble from her hands and added it to the half dozen bags of groceries she was already carrying.
Frenda-chan certainly is strong, isn't she? Ruiko thought as she offered the other girl a grateful smile but not without sneaking a peek at how the Norwegian's well defined muscles bulged slightly at the increased strain she put them under. A sight that had Ruiko licking her lips and imagining what it would like to run her hands over those muscles. Her arms are proof of that and she pulls it off without undermining her femininity at all.
"You're drooling, Saten-sama~!" Frenda-chan teased as she reached over and wiped a tissue across Ruiko's lips. "Stare all you want but remember we're in public."
The level 5 turned the other way, trying to cool her burning cheeks at being caught. "O-Okay."
Giggling in a way not unlike how Ruiko herself did whenever she won one over Accel when they made out, Frenda-chan finished helping clean her up and hopped back. And then without missing a beat, she changed the subject.
"Well, LycoReco's reviews are almost all from Dark Siders aren't they?" Frenda-chan said as casually tossed the used tissue into one of the City's ubiquitous bins and she began leading them to finish closing the distance with the cafe.
Ruiko just nodded, still a little frazzled by the lustful lapse she had earlier.
"Then the place should be good. We Dark Siders are very difficult to please when it comes to these kinds of things, so that their opinion seems universally positive is a good sign. It comes from living on the verge of death all the time."
"Perhaps." Ruiko replied half-heartedly. "But I'll withhold my opinion until I've tried it for myself."
As she finished speaking, the duo entered the building and found Nishikigi-san and Inoue-san doing their jobs as waitresses. Both assassins were dressed in uniforms that consisted of a samue, dark blue kimono skirt and a beige apron wrapped around their waist. Nishikigi-san's outfit's top was red with dark blue and lime-green accents. In contrast, Inoue-san's samue was a cerulean blue with dark blue and yellow accents. Uncharacteristically, the latter gunslinger's usually free flowing hair was tied up in a twintail style.
Glancing around, Ruiko noted that despite the nice atmosphere, there weren't many customers. Though the few customers that were there included a number of Dark Siders she was acquainted with.
At one table up on the second floor, Ruiko spotted all four members of the Lamperouge-Fennette family. Whilst sitting at the counter was Naru-chan's older friend, Ishiwata Chikage, enjoying a massive sundae. And squeaking past them while carrying several bags full of takeout was Angelica Matsumura of the Giarraputo Social Welfare Agency, who gave them a brief nod as she departed.
Last but not least, at least not in regards to Ruiko's sense of entertainment, cowering at a table next to the door upon seeing her was Scavenger. She offered them a wave, a malicious smirk on her face. This caused their lauded 'Leader', Iizumi-san, to pass out in fear and made the others pale in fright.
Frenda-chan giggled, "Man, Saten-sama, you really are a cruel ojou-sama."
"I was just greeting them." The Tokiwadai student dismissed, trying to act demure.
Her pretense just made Frenda-chan burst into giggles. Her laughter was infectious and soon Ruiko joined her, leaving them giggling like a pair of schoolgirls.
"Oh, Saten-sama, Seivelun-san! Welcome to LycoReco!" Nishikigi-san greeted in her usual genki manner, a sunny smile on her face and with an energetic wave, as she skipped over to them.
"Greetings, welcome to LycoReco." Inoue-san said with a bow in greeting in a much more well-mannered way.
"We have a pair of seats for you, please follow us~" Nishikigi-san winked and twirled around, moving on ahead.
Inoue-san gestured with a hand to follow and the pair did so.
In short order, they were shown to seats on the first floor at a Western-style table and menus were handed to them.
"Ehehe, so what can we get the cute couple? A shared drink for two? A Love-Love dessert? Mood lighting?" The genki girl teased, only to get a chop on the head from her girlfriend from behind. "Owie!"
"Takina~! Why? They're clearly on a date aren't they? I mean, they look even more lovey dovey together than we are most of the time!"
"Pardon Chisato, Saten-sama, Seivelun-san." Inoue-san said, stepping on her lover's foot, causing her to wince.
"Nah. You're mistaken, Nishikigi-san." Frenda-chan said with a shake of her head as she gestured at all the grocery bags that they had put down around their table. "We're not on a date. Saten-sama and I were just out picking up groceries and decided to use the fact that we were out of the house as a chance to visit your cafe "
"Oh?" Nishikigi-san said, shooting Ruiko a teasing smirk. "Is that true? Are you on a date or not?"
Ruiko just hummed noncommittally and just proceeded to place her order. "I would like a latte and a side of toast please."
Frenda-chan shot Ruiko a questioning look at her non-answer to Nishikigi-san's question but [Multi-Skill] was not in an elaborating mood.
"Just place your order, Frenda-chan."
Frenda-chan gained a frown, but still complied. "Fine."
Turning back to Nishikigi-san and Inoue-san, she gave her order. "Give me an Irish coffee and a slice of black forest cake."
"You do realize that Irish coffee is alcoholic correct, Seivelun-san?" Inoue-san, acting the professional waitress, asked, looking at the blonde meaningfully.
"Do you need me to flash you my fake ID?" Frenda-chan asked with a dazzling smile.
"No, no need. You're a Dark Sider. If you're old enough to kill, you're old enough to drink." Nishikigi-san said with a shrug. "So, Saten-sama, knowing that, would you like to change your order?"
"No," Ruiko said with a shake of her head. "One of us has to be sober when we head home."
Nishikigi-san smirked, probably about to tease them about the fact that they practically lived together. Before she could though, Inoue-san jabbed her side, silencing her.
"Okay. Your order will be here shortly." The Clairvoyant said as she herded her pouting lover away and gave Ruiko and Frenda-chan some privacy.
"So~! How do you like this place so far?" Frenda-chan asked as Ruiko heard her slip her feet out of her low heels.
"It's nice so far. Nishikigi-san and Inoue-san are good hosts." Ruiko said with a shrug. "Your feet hurt?"
"A little." Frenda-chan said with a teasing grin as the blonde rubbed her pantyhosed feet against Ruiko's bare leg under the table. "I'm used to it. I can even manage fighting in heels. But it still hurts after a while."
"Oh?" Ruiko asked whilst sucking in a deep breath as Frenda-chan's feet began to teasingly trail up and down her own legs. "Then why do you wear them?"
"To throw people off." Frenda-chan said with a shrug as her wandering feet reached the hem of Ruiko's skirt and began to tease slipping beyond it. "And to help me appear more normal outside of a fight. I mean, would anyone expect someone in heels to be ready to get into a life or death fight?"
"T-That's a good plan." Ruiko said as one of Frenda-chan's feet finally slipped under her skirt and she began running her stockinged toes over the Level 5's panties.
"H-How are you not falling out of your chair?" Ruiko hissed.
Frenda-chan just smirked and pressed her upper body hard onto the surface of their table. "I just have good balance."
Ruiko just nodded, even as she could feel her panties start to grow damp from Frenda-chan's teasing.
"I-Is this pa-payback for what I did at Spa Re-Resort Serene Springs?" Ruiko asked in a whisper in between heavy breaths as a fire in her lower abdomen began to heat up.
"For us getting interrupted back then, yes." Frenda-chan said as her feet started to tease the edge of Ruiko's panties. The Level 5 had to grab the edge of the table hard so as to not jolt from the action.
Ruiko wanted to tell her to stop. Frenda-chan was going too far! Not because they were in public, Ruiko didn't care about that. But because they hadn't settled just what the relationship was between them, much less with Accel!
I think someone is in for a little punishment for pushing the line she knows full well we shouldn't cross yet. Ruiko thought even as Frenda-chan finally gently pushed aside her panties and the toes stood poised to touch her moist flower. Her very, very wet flower.
Now, a normal Esper in the condition she was in would have been too out of it to run the computations to use their ability. Much less with the precision required for what Ruiko intended. However, Ruiko was no ordinary Esper. Thus even as her body was on the verge of being overwhelmed by the pleasure that Frenda-chan was subjecting her to, her mind as it sat within her AIM Body remained clear headed enough to do what needed to be done.
Thus using some of her emulated Electromastery, Ruiko sent a burst of precisely controlled electricity into the toes that even now Frenda-chan was slipping past the lips of her own labia. A bolt of electricity that she sent shooting up the Norwegian's foot, leg, and thigh until it reached her target: Frenda-chan's vagina.
The blonde's response was immediate and as dramatic as Ruiko hoped. First, she pulled her leg away from the Level 5 as if she'd been electrocuted, which she had. Secondly, her face twisted into a wonderful mix of shock and pleasure, producing an ahegao face that Ruiko used her nigh computerized mind to make a mental snapshot of that she was sure she would return to many times in the future. Third, she quickly stuffed an arm over her mouth to stifle the cry of pleasure that threatened to escape, managing to turn it into nothing more than a muffled cry. Fourth, she all but collapsed onto the table as her body went through minor convulsions from the intensity of the pleasure that Ruiko had induced in her. Last, and certainly not least, she squirted so badly that it visibly stained not just her panties and pantyhose, but also her skirt. All of which now had a rapidly spreading wet patch. Heck, some of her fluids even dripped onto the floor.
That is not to say that Frenda-chan was the only one who enjoyed the results of Ruiko's little punishment. Oh no! In an unexpected turn of events, Frenda-chan's swift withdrawal from her body due to the electric shock had produced enough delightful friction that, when added to all the previous teasing, caused the [AIM Sovereign] to experience a minor climax of her own. It was nowhere as dramatic as Frenda-chan's own, but it was still nice.
We'll both need a change of clothes after this though. Ruiko thought idly. At least we would if not for the fact I happen to have emulated powers that are perfect for this situation.
With that thought in mind, she tapped into some heat inducing powers to carefully dry their wet clothes and some odor suppressing ones to eliminate traces of what transpired. She even spent a hefty chunk of her computational capacity to use some demolecularization to vanish away any traces of their orgasms she didn't want to keep. She left the wet stains on Frenda-chan and her own underthings though. She had to keep something to mark her success after all and so long as they kept the stains from seeping through their skirts, they'd be fine.
"Thank you for cleaning up after yourself, Saten-sama." Inoue-san said just then as she arrived with their orders even as she released a sigh through her nose and kept a stoic face. Ah, they were caught.
"I wouldn't want to cause the cafe unnecessary trouble." Ruiko said airily.
"We thank you for such forethought. Here's your food, Saten-sama, Seivelun-san." Inoue-san said as she delivered and served their food, all whilst shooting a meaningful look at their table. "Please enjoy your time here at LycoReco."
"Thank you, Inoue-san." Ruiko told the Level 3 on both her and Frenda-chan's behalf. With the latter still all but collapsed onto the table, she was in no position to do so for herself.
"You should, Saten-sama." Inoue-san said as she made to leave. "If not for Chisato's ability hinting that something like this would happen and us making accommodations for it, you'd have done it at a table in full view of everyone."
Ruiko doubted Nishikigi-san's Precognition gave her much of a clue as to how things panned out. It could at best glimpse a short time into the future. However, considering how things progressed that was likely more than enough for her and Inoue-san to conclude that providing Ruiko and Frenda some discretion was warranted. She appreciated the gesture somewhat, honestly she did, mostly however she simply did not care either way. The Number 3 thus just shrugged. "I wouldn't have cared."
"We know." Inoue-san said with a parting wave. "That's the problem."
Ruiko hummed noncommittally.
"W-Why don't we just enjoy our food and drinks?" Frenda-chan said as she finally regained some measure of her wits and she pushed herself back into a sitting position, all whilst sporting a furious blush and she rubbed her now slick thighs together. Her body was even twitching minutely every so often, no doubt from tingling muscles.
Ruiko just smirked. It seemed the Level 0 had gotten quite an orgasm.
Quickly composing a text with her Electromastery, she sent it to Naru-chan to inform her that her idea of using Electromastery to trigger an orgasm worked. She'd have to get Naru-chan something nice for her suggestion, producing the lovely sight before her definitely deserves a reward.
She was already being text bombed by her friend in excitement. But she would wait to reply to her later. For now…
"Yes, let's enjoy our meal, Frenda-chan." Ruiko said, offering her prospective mistress a coy look. Though her mind was less on the food and drink before her and more on the chance to admire the Norwegian girl's looks as they ate.
About an hour later, as the not!couple were leaving Café LycoReco, Ruiko suddenly froze in place. Thanks to her emulated Electromastery, she maintained a near constant connection with her information network and it had just picked up some important chatter.
Noticing, Frenda-chan tilted her head towards her. "What's up?"
Frowning, the [AIM Sovereign] replied, "It seems Kamijou has just returned to Academy City."
"You ready to go, Shortstuff?" Accelerator asked his eldest daughter, Last Order, as the two of them prepared to leave their house to pay a visit to the Hero, Kamijou Touma.
Apparently the [Imagine Breaker] had finally returned to the City and the first thing he, or according to Ruiko more accurately the Magician who had found him after the end of World War 3, Leivinia Birdway, did was invite himself and Hamazura Shiage to meet at the Level 0's dorm room on the day after his return. Where, if the invitation was correct, the Magician intended to brief them on the workings of the Magic Side and inform them of a new enemy targeting Academy City. He didn't need the former, Ruiko and their trip to Russia had taught him all he needed to know about the Magic Side. But the prospect of knowing beforehand about a new enemy? Yeah, that was something he could waste an afternoon listening to things he already knew to learn.
Though, why the hell does this Birdway Magician want a second stringer like Hamazura there? Accel couldn't help but think as he carefully watched as Last Order put on her shoes. Then again that guy did beat a Level 5. Even if it was only [Meltdowner], that's nothing to sneeze at. So there's definitely more to him than meets the eye. At the very least, he's not a second stringer.
"Papa, help me put on my coat. Misaka Misaka demands." Last Order said with a demanding and angry glare as she pointed at the light purple winter coat decorated with bows that Ruiko had bought her for the season.
"Yeah, yeah." He said patiently as he unhooked the coat from its place on the coat rack and carefully helped his eldest put it on. "You sure you want to come with me? It's mostly going to be boring talking."
"Last Order will go! Misaka Misaka insists." The girl said determinedly.
Accelerator just sighed. Ever since he got back from Russia, Last Order had been extra clingy. The girl hadn't told him herself, but from what he could gather from Yomikawa, apparently she was worried he'd run off and do something stupid like kidnap her Mama and fly off to Russia again. Nevermind that he had a perfectly good reason to have done that.
She was also upset over the whole thing too and was punishing him by forcing him to pamper her. Which was something Accelerator was honest enough to admit to himself, and maybe Ruiko but no one else, that he enjoyed doing anyway. Especially if she kept it to small things like helping her put on her winter coat.
"Done?" Accel asked his eldest daughter once she had finished buttoning up her coat, only to have her nod. All without her once letting up on the glare she sent his way.
Argh! What do I have to do to get her to stop raging at me? The Number 1 thought with a sigh as he offered her his hand.
It was something that troubled him all the way from the time she slipped her hand into his own till the end of their uneventful journey to the Hero's dormitory. And despite the immense computational power available to him between his damaged brain and his access to the Misaka Network, he was unable to find the answer.
He was thus almost relieved when he arrived at Kamijou's apartment and found something to distract him from the seeming lost cause that was his ponderings. And what was said distraction? Well, it took the form of the Hero standing at his doorway and desperately trying to get a bunch of girls to leave. It was quite the throng too. Not only were there a lot of them, but outside of what, by the looks of their uniforms, were a bunch of the Hero's schoolmates, there also seemed to be a whole bunch of notable people too. Luminaries that included Ruiko's sister, Kazakiri Hyouka; and the [Railgun]; and even his own former GROUP teammate, Musujime.
"Hey Hero!" Accelerator shouted, just marginally amplifying his voice with his powers. "Are they all invited too?"
"No, they aren't! It's just you and Hamazura-san! My apartment isn't big enough for so many people!" The Hero shouted back. "Help me get them to leave, would you, Accelerator?"
"Yeah, no. They're your problem, Kamijou." Accelerator said as he picked up Last Order, who was in the middle of waving hello at her aunt and the [Railgun]. "Can I use your balcony to get in?"
His question caused a few of the girls' eyes to light up at that but before any of them could act on the idea that he'd planted in their heads, Kamijou wisely cut them off.
"Don't even think about it!" The Hero shouted. "Accelerator can use my balcony. But anyone besides him and Last Order-chan who tries to follow him in through there will be treated like a trespasser and evicted accordingly."
The [Imagine Breaker]'s statement was met with uproar from the crowd of girls but Accel ignored them and just looked down at Last Order.
"Hold on tight."
He waited for the girl to tighten her grip on him and nod before he used a power assisted jump to leap over over the railing of the corridor he had been standing in before using his powers to float them around the building and to the balcony of Kamijou's tiny ass apartment. He had a dorm to get into and a meeting to attend. The Hero could settle his girl problems on his own!
"Argh! He could've at least told us he was back, you know!" Mikoto complained with an angry growl as she sat down at the Trinity's favorite booth in Joseph's Coffee and Restaurant, alongside her teammates and Ruiko's sister, Kazakiri Hyouka.
"Yeah." The aforementioned AIM Angel said with a pout. "It's so mean of him to not at least drop us a text or something."
"Do you even have a phone, Kazakiri-san?" Naru asked, looking at the Kirigaoka Girls' Academy student curiously.
In response, the girl just fished out a smartphone. A latest model iPhone at that!
"Onee-sama got me one. We have a system set up so I can read messages even from the Imaginary Number District. We're still working on calls though." Kazakiri-san, who spent most of the time disembodied and living as a shade in the Phase created by the collective AIM fields of the City's Espers known as the Imaginary Number District, said with a shrug.
"Wow! How does that work?" Naru asked, turning to Ruiko.
"Hyouka can still see the Physical Phase from the Imaginary Number District, so all we needed to do is set up a way for her to interact with it whilst she's disembodied. We got around that by having her manipulate AIM fields, which she can do even from the Imaginary Number District, around a set of dedicated AIM sensors in my house. So when she's in the Imaginary Number District she accesses things in the Physical Phase using those and does so normally when she's materialized."
"And what happens to the phone when she dematerializes?"
"The same thing that happens to my clothes." Kazakiri-san said with a shrug. "It follows me to the Imaginary Number District. Same when I materialize. Don't ask us how, we're still trying to figure that out."
"No offense," Mikoto cut in. "But we're not here to discuss Kazakiri-san's difficulties. So maybe we can talk about the real reason we're meeting up?"
Before the others could reply, a waitress came by and there was a break in their conversation as they placed their orders.
"So, what was it that you wanted us to meet up to talk about, Senpai?" Naru asked as the waitress left with their orders.
"Well, I wanted to know if Onee-sama knows what Kamijou-sama is meeting with Accelerator-san and Hamazura-san to talk about." Kazakiri-san said before she turned to look at Mikoto. "Misaka-san?"
"Me? Yeah, I want to know what that Magician is telling those three too, but mostly I just want to vent about how Kamijou is a jerk for not only not telling us he was back but also refusing to let us join in on the meeting!" Mikoto sent with an angry huff.
"Why would he let you join, Senpai? I mean you weren't invited." Naru pointed out logically.
Logic could go screw itself though. Mikoto was too annoyed to care about what it had to say. She however had enough self-control to not direct her anger at her kohai, so she reined in her feelings and just let out another unhappy huff.
"If it's any consolation, Senpai, Kazakiri-san, you're not missing anything for not attending." Naru said placatingly at the sight of Mikoto's upset.
"What do you mean, Naru?" Mikoto asked with a frown.
How could Naru know that?
Unlike her however, Kazakiri-san had directed her questioning look towards Ruiko. Or should she say she shot her sister with a knowing look.
Smirking at her sister and friend, Ruiko pulled out her phone and with some Electromastery turned on its speaker.
"...Idol Theory postulates that duplicates retain the properties, attributes, and powers of the original source." The voice of a girl their age said through the speaker of Ruiko's phone. "For example, a cross of a church that duplicates the cross where the Son of God was crucified will retain the holy power of that cross. Although a duplicate can only retain a small amount of the original's power. …"
Mikoto gasped. And, again, Kazakiri-san proved to be the more productive of the two of them and asked the question that she should have. "How?"
Ruiko shrugged. "I asked Order-chan to call me as soon as the discussions began and leave the call open, so I could listen in."
Mikoto shot her kohai a disapproving look at that. "You're exploiting Last Order just so you can gain some intel?"
"Not at all." Ruiko countered, surprisingly unoffended. If Mikoto was in her place, she'd have blown a gasket at someone, even the girl's sister, accusing her of taking advantage of one of her daughters. Then again, Ruiko had always had better self-control than she did. "Order-chan was the one who suggested that I spy on the meeting to make sure nothing happened in the first place."
She did? Mikoto thought, blinking in surprise.
"Why would she do that?" Kazakiri-san asked.
"That is because ever since Accel received Birdway's invitation-"
"Wasn't Kamijou the one who invited Accelerator to attend? I thought that's what the intel report on the meeting said, wasn't it?" Mikoto said, interrupting Ruiko's explanation.
"You didn't read the full report again, did you, Senpai?" Naru asked with a sigh. "If you did, you'd have known that later in the report, it made it clear that Kamijou-san is only acting as an intermediary for Leivinia Birdway."
Caught red handed at not having done her due diligence, Mikoto blushed.
Thankfully, no one chided her any further. Instead, Ruiko just smiled in amusement and continued. "As I was saying, the moment Accel received Birdway's invitation, Order-chan and the Misaka Network began researching her magical organization, the Dawn-colored Sunlight. They even roped me in to help them."
"And what did you find? Are they up to no good?"
"That's the thing, Senpai. That, surprisingly, does not seem to be the case." Ruiko said with a shake of her head. "At worst, they are as bad as the average Magic Side organization. In fact, outside of being one of the leading and most powerful magic cabals in England and the whole world, they are of little note."
Mikoto shot the info broker a disbelieving look.
"But that's what makes it suspicious." Naru cut in. "There's no such thing as a squeaky clean organization on the Magic or Dark Side…"
"Which means this Dawn-colored Sunlight scrubbed anything potentially incriminating about themselves. And that they both felt the need to do something like that and managed to pull it off makes them both very suspicious and likely very powerful." Kazakiri-san concluded with a frown.
Looking down at Ruiko's phone, Mikoto took a moment to listen to the lecture that Birdway was giving. It seemed she had transited from the mechanics of Idol Theory to how it had influenced the various organizations of the Magic Side.
"...Because of the need for Magicians to emulate the characteristics of the forces from which they draw their power, magic organizations usually end up emulating the characters of those forces too. Using the Christian example again, that means they will order themselves in much the same way that their denomination's Church does. For example, Necessarius, the Anglican Magicians, are led by a Bishop. Or how the Catholics Magicians all organize themselves into orders like their mundane religious orders, all whilst nominally declaring their obedience to the Pope. …"
"So that's why we're keeping such a close eye on Birdway?"
Ruiko nodded in agreement to Mikoto's question.
"Exactly," Naru added. "No matter what Birdway might be up to, if it puts those we care about in danger, we'll be there to put a stop to it.
Mikoto and Kazakiri-san both nodded their agreement. No one was going to hurt their loved ones without a fight. No one!
Being the super amazing listener that she was, Last Order took in every detail of what Leivinia Birdway - A silly name by the way. It was so over the top European! - said, as the twelve year old girl of a Magician with short blonde hair, blue eyes and a petite figure who was dressed in a white dress that she paired with black stockings explained what she knew.
"You see, in the aftermath of World War Three, a newly formed magical organization named Gremlin has decided that Kamijou Touma needs to be eliminated at all costs. They reason that due to his defeat of Fiamma of the Right, he is the 'Hero' of the Science Side." The haughty girl explained, adopting a teaching pose, resting a hand on her elbow as her other hand pointed a finger into the air.
Last Order took great offense to this on behalf of Onee-sama, Papa, Mama, Hyouka-oba-san and Naru-nee-sama. Were they chopped liver!? Did their contributions to ending World War 3 mean nothing!? Just because one guy stuck his nose into every problem he ran across, did that mean that everything could be attributed to him!? It made her want to rage!
Yet she kept her mouth shut. The littlest Misaka would vent her frustration later. Right now, she had to do her job and be a good little listener so she could tell Mama what was being said later.
"Thus, Kamijou is being targeted as they perceive him as the biggest threat to the Magic Side, both because of his proven ability and because of the power of his Imagine Breaker."
"The hax hand, huh?" Papa drawled, making the blonde magician look at him with a scowl for interrupting her. The nerve!
"As I was saying, it all comes back to the Imagine Breaker. Or more specifically, how it has surpassed even the constructed right arm of Fiamma of the Right, a pinnacle of magic."
"I can see where they are coming from." Index-san, Kamijou-san's roommate and the holder within herself of 103,000 magical grimoires, said with a thoughtful frown. "Fiamma of the Right's arm at the end of World War 3 was one of the most powerful magical tools in the world. For Touma to defeat him even then… Yeah, if I didn't know Touma personally, I'd be worried too."
"Ah, this is going to be a pain in the ass." Kamijou-san said with slumped shoulders.
Last Order felt for him. He had just returned home and now he had to deal with another Incident? Even the Trinity needed breaks to stay sane! Though Misaka 20001 had to question how sane her Mama and her friends were at times. It was a coin flip really.
Unlike her, Papa had no sympathy for Kamijou-san and just shot him an unimpressed look. Then again, he had been sporting a bored look most of the meeting. Especially during the parts when Birdway was explaining about how magic worked and the Magic Side in general. Which was to be fair, not really his department. Naru-nee-sama was the black hound that ripped and tore apart magical threats that tried to make their way into the City. She was the one who defused magical Incidents from happening in the first place, barring the Incidents that slipped through the cracks and which Kamijou-san seemed to stumble across like a drunkard.
Of course, there was another reason why Last Order couldn't blame Papa for being bored. He knew most of the basic things that Birdway was telling them already, having learned it from his own research or from Mama, who either got the information from Naru-nee-sama or the Bank.
"Yeah, yeah, we get it. Some shits called Gremlin are after Kamijou and by association are also targeting the City. Tell us something useful, like what can they do? What numbers do they have? What do we need to look out for? Stop boring us with a lecture and debrief, kid." Papa cut through Birdway's yammering about why Fiamma of the Right's arm was so impressive magically speaking that she had carried on for the last little while. A lecture that seemed to be boring both Kamijou-san and Hamazura-san to tears. Only her fellow Magician, Index-san, seemed interested in what she had to say but even she didn't seem all too invested in the lecture.
"Personally, I want to know why Birdway-san here is even telling us all this?" Hamazura-san asked.
The blonde girl looked ready to blow her top, her face red and she no doubt had a sharp retort on her tongue. Yet, before she could say a voice, she paused, stiffening in place. As one, both she and Papa turned to look west.
"Papa-" Last Order began but was gently cut off by the Number 1.
"Order, pull out your phone and turn it off silent."
Confused, Last Order nevertheless obediently did as she was asked and laid her phone out on the dining room table as the room's occupants gathered around it. As they did, everyone, save Papa, looked surprised that she had been using the phone to broadcast the entire discussion to everyone that really mattered in this type of situation.
"What is the meaning of this! I came here in good faith and this is how I'm treated?!" Birdway said in a tizzy, her face red and blotchy. "To be spied upon when I'm feely sharing information!? How ungrateful!"
A sight that despite the situation had both Last Order and Index-san snickering at her expense.
"Zip it, you mesugaki." Papa sneered and looked down at the phone. Birdway looked like she was struck across the face. Tch, she needed a smacked bottom with how she was acting! "You already gave us the exposition dump, so make like a good NPC and zip it. Oi, Ruiko, what is that thing I'm detecting distorting the ley lines in the sky out west of the City?"
"Based on what the City's surveillance systems are showing? It's a half sized recreation of the Star of Bethlehem that appeared out of nowhere seconds ago. The City has codenamed it Radiosonde Castle because like the Star it imitates, it looks like a castle and also because like the City's Mesosphere Radiosonde observation equipment, it is floating in the mesosphere at fifty-two kilometers above sea level."
"Discount Star?" Papa questioned even as everyone else turned as pale as a sheet.
"Yes. Like I said, it even looks like the Star of Bethlehem."
"And let me guess, the enemy is planning something overly complicated and stupid?" Papa asked as he roughly scratched his grown out hair in frustration and clicked his tongue.
"Unfortunately. Based on its course and specifically how it is slowly descending? They intend to crash the Castle into the City."
Sharp gasps filled the room, but Papa just looked annoyed as his fingers tapped the table in a rapid fashion.
"Casualties?" Papa asked.
"Based on the estimates of its mass and density we're getting from our readings… The Castle is the equivalent to an asteroid capable of bringing an ice age should it impact the Earth."
"I swear to Science these magical shits are so damn stupid and dramatic. And yes, I'm including you when I say that, Bird girl." Papa scathingly informed the flabbergasted Magician.
Last Order saved the image of the Magician girl's sputtering reaction to the Misaka Network for posterity's sake.
The others in the room just paled and panicked. What rookies! This was a Saturday to Papa and the Trinity!
"So, Ruiko, what's the plan?"
Done and done! Thanks to Nameless as always!
And here we are! Touma is back, much to some people's annoyance and/or happiness. Or thirstiness from the degenerates of Academy City. And with this arc… we were not amused. Saints are this OP but shit at other stuff?! BS! We got the heroes gathered, time to roll in the heroines too. This is Academy City, they will defend it. Not some magical force. And also, Birdway is a brat, so Accel treats her like one. So just wait and see what we got in store for you!
Nameless: If you could not tell, there is gonna be quite a bit of departure from canon for the Homecoming arc in the TOTverse. To be honest, I was not impressed with its canon iteration. Seriously, why is Kanzaki Kaori the hero of the arc!? Why are Necessarius the ones destroying the Castle? The story explicitly gathers its three heroes in one place and then doesn't have them resolve the arc's central point of conflict? That's just wasted potential! To that end, we'll be taking a different approach to things as you'll see in the next chapter.
You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!