Painted Prison Chronicles

by Sparity Ikari

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

41. Chapter 41

PAINTED PRISON CHRONICLES

CHAPTER 41

MYSTERIES, IN THE SMILE HIDDEN...

Hello! With a bit of work, I am again. I wrote with determination to deliver the continuation and I hope the result is good. As we go on, we encounter new faces, with focus on new side of the world, while also marching towards the the future.

In theme with unexplored characters, we have very interesting and underused group: people connected, through various ways, with Orthodox Church. I knew this made a great premise for a mystery arc. It may not be as vast as Kamijou No Touma storyline, but it will provide some interesting things for us to consider, as we watch Touma fight for the arrival of Future Phase.

I am quite interested in mystery writing. Here we have an interesting concept of ambiguity that is one of the common themes in the events that will follow. Who is really what he or she seems? What are their motivations? What are their allegiances?

And of course, there will be no shortage of purely nice bonding and/or romantic moments for our main girls, because this is something to always look forward to.

And as it's becoming common nowadays, I will probably have much more to say in the ending notes, so check them out. As for any technical notifications, since I will be very busy in upcoming weeks, you can probably expect next chapter in up to a month, three weeks if I get lucky. Unfortunately, this is not my choice to make.

And thank you all for the attention my work seems to be gathering. Whether it's the discussions, memes, or any other form, I am very happy for all of it.

Q&A corner:

Kuroshiragami0: Thank you very much for your praise and motivating words.

FingFangFoom100: Etzali x Xochitl looks like something that would really help Etzali and make him happier. We saw plenty of evidence that he is a caring guy, he deserves to be happy. And there is a lot, lot to say about free will. Our Magic Goddesses are good way to give us lectures about such concepts.

TheDarkPublisher: Hmm, antagonist? There may be one, possibly, but for now, I think it will be more of an antihero. And of course, the saga carries on, we are having new arc as we go forward in making future the reality.

Amad0: Free will is one of my objects of interest in philosophy as well. Touma's a very complex character, pinpointing one philosophical system would be hard. There are moments throughout the series when he displays aspects of various systems. I will think about it and comment my thoughts on it in the next chapter.

Fullbreaker: Sprengel is coming and it will be really fun! For now, we are still occupied with Vasilisa and the lot, but we will get to her. Transcendents are just incredible, aren't they? I really liked GT10, I even teared up a little bit, they made Touma's death so emotional. I found it especially nice that before death he prayed to his own self as a human being, it says a lot about his philosophy and beliefs. And when it comes to Bologna and Misaki, I just wanted to correct it and leave it at that.

Average Stuffy: It's always very touching when Touma begins their relationships anew after revealing memory loss to someone close to him, like Rin was in the past. There is something monumental about it.

5had0wHand: Previous arc is and will affect the future. Even if KNT is gone, he left his mark, in both good and bad way. And Sphynx Arc would be amazing, I am seriously considering writing it. I mean, people underestimate in just how much mess Sphynx is for a normal cat. He deserves some kind of POV too. New Light is amazing, I especially loved making Lessar go through realizations regarding her love for Touma and also using Bayloupe, Floris, and Lancis is so, so, so much fun! I think they make best mini-harem for Touma Magic Side-wise, or at top spots, more rationally speaking, as there are many other contenders. Mina will probably appear, as there is an Accelerator sub-plot lurking around in the background. And I am glad you liked chase after Lilith, it was just so random and chaotic that it made me smile while writing it too. When it comes to New Light's band motif, give a listen to japanglish song, by vocaloids and the like, 'Rule Brittania' for example. It sounds like something that would be epic if that quarter sung it.

Without further delay, let's go!

"What?"

Was the most Kamijou Touma managed to say before the mature nun in red was right in front of him.

"Imagine Breaker" she said slowly." Oh, I heard such remarkable things about you"

She spoke japanese very fluently, but there was a noticeable accent that gave it a skin-crawling, exotic feeling to it. Her "Imagine Breaker" sounded more like "Imagini Breikyer" if anything else.

"Emm... I am sure that there is nothing special about me when you put your mind into it" Touma spat out quickly, his eyes moving around to assess the situation" And even if I were, I wouldn't want to be. There is nothing good in being extraordinary, especially if it can get my killed"

"Oh, you are such a modest guy, Kami-yan" Tsuchimikado grinned, shaking his head" We both know that it's not exactly true. So many tall tales of your exploits can spun in just a moment~"

"You smuggled me, quite literally I remind you, into some of them, so don't try to make it all sweet and nice in this narration."

"Oh well, that's all in the past"

"Really?"

"You and your beautiful ladies are probably wondering why I am here"

"Now that you mention it, I was interested... but most importantly, what do you want? Both of you that is?"

Touma stepped protectively in front of the others, hoping that this gesture would reassure others. He couldn't tell the intent at all. And maybe he was paranoid, but there was good record of evidence for him to act cautiously before proven otherwise.

To his surprise, a smaller hand grasped his own. Amazora moved valiantly to stay by his side and squeezed his hand.

"Don't worry onii-chan. If you don't want them, I can make them leave!"

Touma felt something tug at his heart. Warmth spread along his soul.

He suddenly felt very grateful. Amazora had talent of making very small gesture growing to great magnitude in his eyes. He wondered if it was something connected to brotherly feelings.

As Amazora looked forward with a ferocity of a bloodlusted chihuahua, if said chihuahua wielded a gun, Touma helped Kanzaki get up.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, than y-"

Kanzaki blushed deeply and covered herself. Her swimsuit and dancer combo dress left little to imagination.

"D-Don't look at me! It's embarrassing..."

"What happened?"

"I found her on the street on the way here" Vasilissa offered" I said it before and I'll say it again that dear Kaori has such a potential for cuteness. Not exactly my type for the dress up but... I just couldn't resist..."

Touma wasn't sure if he understand it correctly, but he nevertheless pressed on with his earlier questions.

"So, Tsuchimikado? You are friends with miss..."

"Vasilisa" the nun in red smiled sweetly, her half-lidded eyes didn't leaving him" Charmed. You know Sasha already."

"Yes, I remember clashing with you in Denmark."

"Bygones be bygones" Vasilisa tilted her head with a beaming face" I am still impressed how you managed to turn our Seven Deadly Sins spell on our dear patriarch. And also, I suppose we should chat a bit more instead of letting the Anglicans hit you with that bunker cluster and snatch you away! Tee hee!"

"Don't act like it wasn't convenient for you!"

"Kami-yan, like she said, we are pen-pals." Tsuchimikado clenched his fist in swishing his arm around" Although differing in nationality, affiliation, and principles, we both shared unyielding love for dressing-up the ones we cherish into the most beautiful of cosplays"

"Indeed we do" Vasilisa nodded a couple of times" He was a source of a few ideas... although I don't quite get his drive in some areas..."

"The path of sibling affection is a long and thorny one, that often requires sacrifices" the boy in the sunglasses said with a drama-filled tone of voice" However, I shall not yield or apologize for pursuing my desire to dress Maika into an outfit beffiting the cutest sister ever!"

(MEANWHILE, IN RYOURAN)

"Would you like a bath? A dinner? Or maybe... achoo!"

Tsuchimikado Maika opened her eyes and dabbed her face with a handkerchief. A ticklish feeling in her nose suddenly prompted the young maid in training to sneeze, while she posed in front of the mirror.

She squealed in delight.

"Oh, that's a sign! Surely that's a sign that onii-chan's answer will be 'you'... that is, 'me'!"

Kumokawa Maria glanced at her best friend and school partner.

"I really cannot comprehend why are you so excited over your own brother"

"The same way you are excited of your sister and your shared crush playing lady and lord of the house in front of the lowly maid like you who wants to steal him from under her watchful gaze?"

"That's... shut up"

(BACK TO TOUMA AND THE OTHERS)

"So, how is it going to with your life?" Tsuchimikado smirked at him" I wanted to give you some space, but I see that your dorm being destroyed wasn't so bad after all. Aogami would be soooo jealous. You are welcome, by the way"

"Wait... he is the one that got you this place?" Kaibi asked.

Touma almost forgot about it. He slowly nodded.

"Yeah, he did help me in getting this apart... wait a minute! Did the mistake at the very beginning wasn't just on Amazora? Did you have something to do with it as well?"

Tsuchimikado shrugged with a smile.

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't... but seriously, party of five girls in one apartment? You just have to tell me everything..."

Touma saw that Kaibi and Rikuri were steps away from seriously questioning why two strangers casually entered just to chat with him like that.

He wanted to speak to them. Reassure them that Tsuchimikado could pull up some prank, but all seemed fine, and that at the very least that visit, while unexpected, wasn't malicious.

But he was not given a chance.

In the next moment, someone moved quickly, very quickly.

"Eh?"

And before Touma realized what was going on, Sasha Kreutzev grabbed his hand and, showcasing a peculiar strength for her small build, jumped out of the window with him.

"Eeeeeh?!"

"Touma!" Index shouted, running to the window.

Kaibi was there even faster, looking outside.

"W-W-What did she do?" Rikuri cried in an outrage" Who grabs someone and just jumps out of the window! On the ninth floor too!"

Amazora looked like she was ready to jump and follow suit, disregarding any semblance of a self preservation instinct whatsoever, so Kaibi put one hand on her arm.

"Oh my" Vasilisa said softly" My dear Sasha apparently took initiative. I had no idea she wanted to be alone with him so badly. Is that a rebellious phase?"

All heads turned towards her.

"WHAT?!"

"Quite a turn of events, isn't it? Nee-chin?"

Something zoomed past Tsuchimikado, who sighed and scratched his head.

"There she goes..."

Moments earlier, Touma and Sasha were falling down towards the ground. But before they hit it, the Annihilatus member pulled out a crowbar and smashed it into the side of the building.

There was a loud crack and just like in some circus performance, Sasha made them shot of upwards, grabbing the crowbar and using it like a distribution of weight for a swing. This slowed them down enough to let Sasha gracefully land on the ground and catch Touma in her arms.

Kamijou Touma had some experience with princess carries. He occasionally given them to people he saved, should situation call for it. For example, Shirai Kuroko, to her exasperation and embarrassment, received such treatment four times.

He was even princess carried... or rather princess-caught... on one occasion, too.

But nothing, absolutely nothing, prepared him to be princess carried by Sasha Kreutzev out of all people in the world.

"S-Sasha-san? Thanks for the save... even though you were the one who threw us out of the window... why exactly?"

"Answer: I wanted to talk with you in seclusion"

"I-Is this really the way to do it?"

"Answer: It was the most effective way, I see no problem here"

"No problem, you say..."

Sasha's arms trembled and her legs wobbled.

"You can put me down, you know"

She slowly obliged. As she did so, he also noticed that she was bitting her lip, as if in suppression.

"Are you in pain?"

As he got on the ground, he noticed that Sasha's arm bent on a strange angle and was limply flailing by her side.

"YOUR ARM IS BROKEN?!"

"Observation: It is indeed"

"T-Then that crack earlier was... how are you so calm about this?"

"Assertion: It is only the minor inconvenience."

"I probably shouldn't comment on that since my arm was severed countless times... plus, I know immortal who would rather plunge herself down and turn into bloody paste then bother with the stairs..."

Touma could not decide if Sasha's composure was scary or badass in this situation.

Sasha traced her fingers acrossed her broken arm, fingertips glowing slightly crimson, muttering:

"великие силы, исцели и исправь нанесенный мною ущерб."

The arm cracked again and realigned, healing itself.

Just when Sasha was done however, there was a 'woosh' sound from above.

"What's-"

Kanzaki Kaori dropped from the sky and landed on the asphalt. Apparently, she wanted to check on him after Sasha's sudden exit.

It was remarkable that she could do it without anything breaking her fall. Saint's body was a miracle after all.

Touma was ghastly pale as he watched her leg, that struck the asphalt leaving the web of cracks on it... just in front of his crotch.

In fact, if Sasha didn't react quickly enough and pulled him slightly, he would... he would have...

Kanzaki had to realize it too, because she waved her hands.

"I-I am sorry! I didn't mean... She took you so quickly, I panicked and wanted to check on you... and I just...

Touma slowly fell onto his back, his gaze staring blankly at the sky.

"KAMIJOU, STAY WITH US!"

(FEW MOMENTS OF POST-TRAUMATIC RECOVERY LATER)

Kanzaki was bowing so much that she looked as if there was a spring in her spine, causing her to repeat the motion over and over again.

"I don't understand though! You are usually so valiant in saving everyone, why are you so bothered by- yah?!"

Touma suddenly embraced her, causing her to jump, and shook her slightly.

"Kanzaki, I said this before to Othinus and I say this to you. Don't underestimate the fear of testicles getting smashed in man! Honestly, that would just make all of that mess with Kamijou No Touma be for nothing. If you landed just a bit to the right, entire generations would be destroyed. And Kenjou would never sing for us!"

"A-Ah? Generations? Who is Kenjou?"

"Oh..." Touma bit his tongue, and then shook his head, fighting off the embarrassment" No one, really. Yeah. Now, you said you've been worried? Sasha-san said she wanted to speak with me too?"

Kanzaki wasn't fully convinced of Touma's evasion, but before she could ask further, she made a strange face.

"Mmm? Kyah!"

"Kanzaki?"

Kanzaki wriggled her body. Then a giggle escaped her lips. And then...

Her breasts jumped without her moving, to Touma's absolute shock. Once, twice... and then...

POP!

A humanoid figure shot out from between masses of flesh, rapidly growing in size, until she nearly fell on Touma, blond hair following suit and falling on her back.

Othinus coughed loudly, gasping for air and leaning on Touma.

"Othinus?"

"I wanted to... see what happened... so I jumped from nun's shoulder, but miscalculated and slid between... well, you saw."

"And then your size shift occurred"

At the very least, Othinus wasn't naked. Earlier that day, Touma asked Niang-Niang to enchant clothes of Othinus to change size along with her, as well as to give them small ring to warn them about the changes.

He glanced slightly between Kanzaki and Othinus. The now teenage-sized girl gave him a stern look.

"Human, between any of some strange young boy fantasies pop into that brain of yours, I almost suffocated in between those!"

"..."

"Can you imagine a war god going out like that?! I certainly c-can't"

Trying his best and mostly failing to change his thoughts, Touma focused her attention on Sasha.

"So... you wanted to talk?"

Sasha nodded.

"Confession: I wanted to apologize."

"Apologize?"

"Archangel assuming my form caused quite a commotion for you. Not to mention, we were convinced our your injustice in Denmark and pulled you through quite a lot."

"You are apologizing to him now?" Kanzaki asked incredulously.

"Explanation: I needed to gain... fortitude and clarity to gather my words."

Touma blinked and looked at the blond, who lowered her face.

Was Sasha just... shy?

"W-Well, that's alright. During that time, everyone was pretty much upset with me and Othinus. It was though, but it ended alright... although, both you and Vasilisa-san... we didn't have many chances to just talk like normal people, huh?"

"Justification: Of course we didn't. Last time we met, we were enemies. There is usually not that many words exchanged during a fight against the adversary."

"I see... can I take it that you are not my enemy now?"

"Affirmation: I have no need to be. I also want to apologize additionally, for Vasilisa. She dragged me here to annoy me, that's certain, and also wanted to complain to a japanese company for a headpiece that was missing from a costume... but apparently, she found some interest in you, too"

"Me?" Touma asked in surprise" I don't even know her that well. Why would she-"

"Regret: I do not have any particular idea."

"Well, people taking interest in you, or your ability, doesn't usually lead to anything good, with your luck that is"

Othinus looked, somewhat awkwardly, to the side, after saying that comment.

After all, it applied to her in the past as well.

Kanzaki shivered. Only now, Touma noticed she was standing outside in the outfit that provided almost no warmth. He quickly took of his hoodie and handed it to her, which she accepted with gratitude.

"Thank you. I already called for spare clothes, since Vasilisa kind of forgotten that she took them"

(FEW MOMENTS LATER)

Itsuwa arrived soon. According to Kanzaki, they were supposed to meet anyway before she stumbled onto Tsuchimikado and Vasilisa, falling prey to their shenanigans.

Itsuwa looked at her superior awkwardly, eyeing the clothes that she lend Kanzaki.

"Priestess, I am so sorry that I didn't take your own. I didn't know where they were... and I wanted to get them to you as quickly as possible..."

"Think... nothing of it. I am... grateful, I feel warmer already... although" Kanzaki scratched her cheek, which reddened a bit" It... may stretch, just so you know"

"It's alright, I rarely wear this one anyway..."

Itsuwa got Kanzaki her own clothes: the ripped pantyhose and tank-top plus sweater combo, similar to one Touma already saw when they were facing Acqua of the Back, only it was blue, instead of fuchsia purple and pink.

However... Kanzaki's proportions were different from Itsuwa enough to make the combo appear like just tank top, with much material being stretched over her chest, which caused her belly to be completely exposed. However, even if the clothes were too tight, Kanzaki didn't complain.

"I think I have some idea about the situation right now" Itsuwa said, looking at Sasha" Although, is there a reason to actually be preoccupied?"

Kanzaki and Sasha exchanged glances.

"You don't have experience with Vasilisa, do you?"

"Not really?" Itsuwa said, deep in thought" Is she dangerous?"

"Very" Kanzaki replied" Or at least, she can be, should she want to"

"Clarification: Vasilisa's great strength lies in ambiguity and incertitude"

"Ambiguity?..."

"Interjection: Before we proceed..."

Sasha took out the large knife from under her habit, which looked like meat cleaver, spun around and threw it in the direction of dimly lit alley behind them.

There was a shriek and a girl stumbled out of the shadows.

It was a blond haired young woman with blue eyes, wearing green clothes: turtleneck and miniskirt, in addition to thigh-high brown boots. She was very familiar somehow...

"O-Oi, what the hell? If you know I was hiding, you could just say so and call me out! In fact, I was going to come out anyway! There was no need to hurl a knife at me"

Sasha didn't bother with a response.

It was Othinus who first spoke to the girl

"Saronia? What are you doing here?"

"Othinus?" the girl blinked in surprise" Wow, talk about blast from the past. You were standing behind him, so I didn't "

Saronia?

Now Touma remembered. Of course she was familiar.

During initial stages of the clash with Gremlin, on Hawaii Islands, he and Umidori fought blond haired magician using slavic-based magic to control people's minds by creating natural enclaves.

Of course Othinus would recognize her immediately. After all, at the time, this girl was her subordinate.

Her name was Saronia A. Irivika.

"You? What are you doing here?"

What was going on with the influx of magicians in the city those days?

For long time, Kamijou could not fathom the reason for it. He wondered what was going on in Accelerator's head. There was no way he had no knowledge of this.

So did he have some plan he didn't share with anyone else?

"Well..." Saronia waved her hands defensively, glancing at Sasha" That's a long story. I am going to tell it anyway, so please, stop glaring at me like this. Maybe we can find some place to sit down?"

(FEW MOMENTS LATER)

Saronia happily slurped her shake, kicking her legs with a grin.

"Mmmm! Delicious!"

The group found themselves in a familar setting. It was the same cafe in which Touma, Kumokawa Seria, and Mitsuari Ayu spent the night once. It was also the place of their battle planning before going to save Ayu from Veritas.

Kanzaki, Sasha, and Saronia were sitting on the one side, while Itsuwa, Othinus, and Touma sat on the other.

"Ey! It's been a long time since we saw each other too" Saronia grinned at Touma

"The last time we did we pummeled one another quite hard. You were one though girl to fight" Touma mused, remembering magically infused pollen that took away control in half of his body.

It could be strange that he conversed freely with a former enemy like that. But so much happened since that time. Alice, Transcendents, Anna Sprengel, Coronzon, Kamijou No Touma, Kamisato, Magic Gods... not to mention entire battle with Othinus and many phases he died through, and the time he actually died and had to travel through afterlife. After taking that into comparison, Touma gained distance to some of events in his past that were... well, on smaller scale of misfortune.

"Well, you weren't so bad yourself." Saronia admitted with another slurp" To this day, my body hurts from the memory. The fact that you managed to destroy my enclave is both annoying and impressive"

"Shouldn't you be in prison?" Othinus interrupted" After Hawaii, you were put in one"

"Yes. Thanks for never busting me out by the way, boss" Saronia snorted, speaking the last part with sarcasm laced voice" For your information, I was imprisoned for a moment. I had no luck, like Cendrillion did."

Cendrillion. That was another name he didn't hear in a while. He needed to check, somehow, how the Cinderella-based magician was doing those days too.

"However..." Saronia continued" I was pardoned and taken out of it by the Patriarch."

"The Head of Orthodox Church?"

"Yeah, I was surprised too. After all, I defected and joined GREMLIN. But, he told me that because no one would believe that he took me back again, I was ideal candidate to work for him, undercover. I didn't want to stay in that place, so I agreed. Besides, I wanted to be of use to my country anyway."

"So you are a spy?"

"Sssh" Saronia playfully shushed Touma" Yup. That's it"

"Declaration: She is here to watch Vasilisa. Question: Am I correct?"

"Bingo. Kranz was really exasperated when she took off like that and sent me after her. You noticed?"

"Confirmation: I did. I allowed you to follow us since you didn't seem hostile. However, I was inclined to confront you out of Vasilisa's sight."

"Like I said, I was going to come out anyway. I wanted to say hello to them" Saronia pointed at Touma and Othinus.

There was a moment of silence, before Itsuwa spoke.

"So, about Vasilisa-san... you were going to tell us more about her? I don't really know her all that well"

Touma didn't either. And he was strange mixture of feelings and opinions in that regard.

On the one hand, she seemed open and friendly. She was beautiful too, definitely a proper onee-san material. She had that ditzy playfulness in some of her actions that gave her fresh feeling of airheadedness...

Or it would, if not for other things.

Touma knew a thing or two about his own perception of onee-san archetype. And while Vasilisa could pass as the dorm manager onee-san look wise, the core feature of such woman should be a calming presence, a soothing aura that would let one to feel at peace and be able to get rid of their troubles in their presence.

But Touma wasn't sure if he could feel that way around Vasilisa.

There was something slightly unsettling about her, something magnetic in her eyes, that seemed like a quicksand despite all the dopey cheerfulness. She was older, more cunning, and more experienced that she let out to show.

She reminded him of the beginnings of his encounters with Mugino Shizuri, where even if the level 5 was enchantingly beautiful and completely in line with his type, all possible kinds of alarms were blaring like crazy inside of his mind.

For one thing, he was almost certain that Vasilisa was aware of Saronia's spying attempts. It was just a hunch, but something gave him that feeling. But supposing she knew, she didn't react or be bothered whatsoever. There were two reasons for people doing that. Either they were naively reckless... or so powerful that there was never even a need to be bothered in the first place.

But, adding to his analogy to Mugino, he and Meltdowner were in good relations, with some work from both sides of course. Even if Vasilisa gave him similar vibes, who said they couldn't end up in a good relations.

For that matter, why were they assuming that Vasilisa was up to anything bad?

Itsuwa must have had similar thoughts to him, because she voiced them out loud.

"Well... of course, we don't know that" Kanzaki answered" But from my contact with her, she can be a bit... unpredictable"

Approval: Saint of Far East is right. And it is quite peculiar that she set her sights on you too"

"Unpredictable? Is she like Alice?"

Alice Anotherbibble, with whom Touma shared quite a bit of history, was known to be quite capricious and unpredictable in that there was no real logic of motivation in her theory-bridging magic. She could create something, lose interest in it only for it to switch to something new, in the blink of an eye.

"Not exactly" Othinus clarified" With Alice, she was actually pure and random through that purity. If what I assessed is correct, then Vasilisa she gives off that feeling and is still quite capricious, but still pushes forth her own agenda with high degree of rational thought behind it."

"Confirmation: Vasilisa has a reputation for being uncontrollable. Even her own superior cannot do much to subdue her should she have an idea"

"Then..."

"It's best to watch her and see what she expects from you. You will not be alone in that"

"I for one thing would like to stay here for a while" Saronia remarked, looking around" This City is huge and completely different from anything I ever saw. Who knows when will I visit again. Until Vasilisa is here, I will be here too, so I might as well see some places"

"You were much more serious when we worked together..." Othinus sighed.

"Othinus..." Touma addressed his Understander" Would you mind going to Kaibi and the others to tell them that I am okay? I will rejoin you soon, just want to check the few things. Can you do this for me? I am sure they are worried"

Othinus gazed at him for a moment, before sighing and nodding, getting up rom the table

"Alright. Don't stay here long though"

"It will just be a moment"

Her green eye narrowed at him.

"It is a moment until it isn't. Even if I don't have the need to sit on your shoulder as frequently, it still gets quite lonely when I am away"

"I didn't know you from such a romantic- ow! My foot..."

Othinus went to notify Gokusai sisters of Touma's whereabouts. Meanwhile, back at the manga cafe, Saronia poked Touma with her finger and whispered into his ear, while Kanzaki and Itsuwa convered with Sasha.

"Would you mind showing my around the place?"

"Eh? The place? You mean the city?"

"Да! Like I said, I would like to explore it more and who better than to see it with than you, the poster boy?"

"Me? Are you sure you are not talking to Misaka or something?"

"For Magic Side, whenever some thread to Academy City appears in media, you are always there"

"That's just sucks! Why am I only known from getting in trouble? Was there no progress on this journey of mine?"

"I wouldn't say that. Didn't you save the world many times? Many people acknowledge that too, aside of you being troublesome. Come on, with your rumoured bad luck, I am sure you ran around this city on many occasion and know it better than any official guide"

"That argument stings much more than I would like it to!"

Saronia let out a good-hearted snicker at his outburst.

Sometime later, small droplets start to fall, intensifying moment by moment.

"Oh, it seems the weather worsened" Itsuwa said, placing her hand on the window.

"Maybe it will be over soon." Touma hoped" I think Othinus should have enough time to get home"

"Well..." Kanzaki smiled gently" Since we are already in good company, let's wait here until it lessens"

But the rain did not appear to less in strength.

The flow of conversation continued, until Sasha started rubbing her eyes, which was soon followed by big yawn from Saronia. It didn't take much longer for the two of them to doze off.

Touma was surprised by that, until he remembered that both girls came from a different timezone. Jet lag had to be hitting them hard, and the soothing sound of rain probably help them fell to the tiredness.

And there came a moment, with Kanzaki excusing herself to go to the toilet, and two other girls sleeping, he was left alone with Itsuwa.

He didn't expect this to happen, so he didn't get his hopes up.

But since it did, he couldn't waste it.

When he said that he needed to check something to Othinus, he meant something rather personal. In older days, he would even consider it ridiculous selfishness.

It only showed how much he was battered and bruised by misfortune and how much he disbelieved his chances for happy life.

However, since he was already fighting for the better future, since he already realized that so many had feelings towards him...

'I have no excuse to be a passive spectator. Not anymore. I have to take some form of action, to address it in some way. This may be hard, or awkward, or strange, but I have to. I don't want to leave them hanging when they do so much for me. I still have yet to figure out what to do with those feelings, or how to respond to them... but talking about them is something I can and have to do. And with Itsuwa...'

In truth, Touma wanted to talk with Itsuwa specifically about this topic. She was the best start he could think of.

There were apparently many, many girls that this talk had to happen with, but to say he was inexperienced in this area was an understatement. He could see million ways in which talking about feelings could backfire when it came to certain people without prior experience.

For example, if he were to talk to Misaka, Fukiyose, or even Index, he would fear about his health.

Itsuwa was gentle and understanding. Of course, she was also shy, but that was more relatable to him than straight out fury.

He was making a good call, he was sure of it.

"Itsuwa... I know it might be strange thing to just ask, but..."

"Mhmm?"

She looked at him with wide eyes and lips around the straw in the cup of hot cocoa. She tilted her head cutely, with light of the room creating luster on her purplish hair.

As Itsuwa put the cup down, he realized that he saw that look before. Or he will be seeing it, depending on the perspective.

He remembered the small girl with double eyelids and with longer purple hair of the same hue as Itsuwa's, staring at him from below with sparkling excitement.

Shiina Tsushima, named after his mother and Itsuwa's friend in Amakusa, simply called Shishi within her family. The very first child of his that he saw in the future phase and very first sign of how much complicated and crazy, but also happy and fulfilled his life might become one day.

The expression of surprised anticipation was identical on the faces of mother and daughter.

He steeled his resolve. He needed to do this.

Not only for the world, but for himself as well.

"Itsuwa... are you in love with me?"

"PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFT!"

Itsuwa's eyes bulged out and stream of hot cocoa shot from her mouth as she coughed loudly, choking on remnants of beverage.

Needless to say, the stream hit Touma straight on the face, with pain exploding all over it.

He stifled a cry of pain and quickly started getting the liquid off.

Well, he knew it was going in a suspiciously lucky way.

Itsuwa slowly stopped coughing.

"S-Sorry... oh no! You are hurt!"

Touma's face was red. Both from the cocoa dripping from his face and the fact that he was dying on the inside.

"It's okay, don't worry about that..."

At least he wasn't burned on the eyes. He took out the cream he usually carried in case of misfortunate emergencies that weren't life threatening and started to smear his face with it.

The cream, which smelled like fermented leaves and something acidic, was courtesy of Youen who insisted on making it for him. Touma wasn't sure if he wanted to know what were its indgredients, but the cream numbed the pain and sped up the regeneration processes tremendously. He didn't get around to figure out how to take her out on the city to spend time together yet. Youen wasn't exactly the most normal looking eleven year old, and he absolutely didn't need people making wrong assumptions. Nevertheless, he spent time with petite twin, visiting her either for the tea or to test some weird invention for her.

He sometimes wondered about the turns that the fate took for other verisons of himself, scattered across the phases by Niang-Niang's magic. Apparently, one of those versions actually got together with Youen, once they both grew up and became adults. He knew that it wasn't this version of him, the original, with all the fondness he had for the creepy biochemist in recent times. Touma wondered what circumstances got that other version of him the mental fortitude and drive to wait for Youen like that. He knew he would find out eventually, alongside with each other version and story of himself, once they will be reintegrated and Future Phase will properly come to be.

"No, no!" Itsuwa still expressed her worry" It's basically as if I spat-"

She covered her mouth.

It wasn't just an indirect kiss, she realized.

It was as if she kissed him all over his face.

As blush on her face seemed to be determined to give Itsuwa the best tomato impression, Touma sighed.

With yellow fries and chips that Sasha ordered earlier on, they created an impression of trafic lights stretched across the booth, with Kamijou's face smeared with aloe-vera green, yellow snacks, and Itsuwa's crimson red face.

Yep, misfortune was truly a romantic killer.

But even still...

"Itsuwa..." he slowly spoke again" You didn't mishear me. I am sorry for startling you, but I had to say it. And... you don't have to answer it now..."

Itsuwa's lips opened and then closed.

"For that matter, maybe... maybe you should just forget..."

"N-No! I don't want to forget. I was just... I didn't expect..."

This time around, Itsuwa found her voice again.

"I-It's not that. I thought about it before... I couldn't find courage to say it though..."

She put her hands on her cheeks and timidly met his eyes.

"... ever since we met, you've been inspiring me and encouraged me to do my best, even if you weren't speaking to me or even when you were away... I-I think my life is so much better since you came into it."

Touma, bracing through his own embarrassment, smiled back at her.

"Actually, it's the same for me"

"Really?"

"Yeah. I've been meaning to thank you for some time. For quite some time, I am trying to fight for better future for everyone. Knowing that there is someone as kind and caring as you around is really a true motivator."

"But... I didn't do anything special... I was just trying to be nice to you... b-b-because you deserve a lot of kindness..."

If Itsuwa's face was crimson earlier on, now it was turning scarlet.

I mean it, I am always happy whenever you want to do something nice, just like that. For the most of my life, people with a heart like yours... it wasn't a norm. So thank you"

"I..."

Itsuwa's words came out as a whisper.

They were so focused on one another that they didn't heard doors to the booth creacking slowly...

"I do love you!" Itsuwa said louder, closing her eyes and clenching her fists in determination.

CRASH!

Their heads shot in the direction of the sound and found Kanzaki Kaori, frantically trying to clean the glass of the floor. She didn't look bothered, but Touma noticed her hands seemed to be shaking slightly.

"I brought you... some shakes" she said.

"Oh, tha... thanks" Touma said, trying to calm himself.

Itsuwa turned away, and he saw that she did her best to get the colour of her face back to normal.

To add to the awkwardness, Saronia slowly fell onto Touma's shoulder, drooling slightly in her sleep.

Touma tried to get her away, but instead, she fell back on him again with a force to make him tumble below the table

BAM!

Kanzaki clenched her fist, which caused another shake to slip out of her grasp and almost share the fate of the one on the floor. She managed to catch it, bust hit the wall, causing Sasha to jump up, awake.

Down on the floor, Saronia yawned and rubbed his eyes, sprawled on top of Touma.

"Oh, hello..."

Kanzaki put down the shake with rather unnecessary force.

"I hope I am not interrupting anything important..."

But the worst was to come from completely unexpected direction.

"Outrage: Why are you getting cozy with that woman with you still didn't make up for what you did to my own body?"

Kanzaki tensed up, her lips moving as if she was a fish out of water.

Sasha jumped over the table and landed over him and Saronia.

"S-Sasha-san?"

"What is she talking about?" Kanzaki inquired.

"W-Wait a minute... what is going on?"

"Disbelief: I find it awful that you forgot!" Sasha leaned over, and for the first time, her bangs moved in a way that allowed him to see her eyes. They were of unusual, deep orange colour, as if the ring of pure amber was laced over her irises" On the Star of Betlehem, you inspected me body!"

Kanzaki's hand lightly touched the hilt of the nodachi.

"Quite an interesting story..."

"Wait, Kanzaki, I had reasons, valid reasons... Back on the Star, I was looking for the... S-Sasha, c-can you please not play with your saw?"

"Determination: Maybe one who inspects someone so through should not have the chance to pass the vileness onto next generations!"

"N-N-N-No, don't lower it! Don't lower the saw!"

"What a twist of action!"

"Saronia, get off me already, you are enjoying this far too much and you are the root of the problem!"

"Me? I am not the one who apparently inspected poor Sasha from every angle!"

"I really didn't do anything"

"Lament: You breathed the aired filled with temptation over me... what if I got p-p-pregnant? Я не смогу выйти замуж. I-I won't be able to get married..."

"Come on, are you one of those girls who think touching someone or kissing will get one pregnant? And you are a nun, why do you think about marriage?!"

"Actually, orthodox rite accepts marriage in many cases"

"Itsuwa, this is not helping my case!"

(COUPLE MINUTES LATER)

In the end, they managed to pacify Sasha enough for Touma to explain and not come closer to second time his family jewels were threatened in the space of hours.

In the meantime, the rain finally lessened. Touma, Sasha, and Saronia were gathering to go, when Kanzaki called to them.

"I apologize, but I lost one of my talismans when I broke the shake. It must have slipped out of my pocket and dropped on the floor. Itsuwa, would you mind helping me search for it? It's rather important for me."

"O-Of course!"

"In that case, I can also..."

"No, that's not needed" Kanzaki bowed apologetically" In this case, your right hand would make it useless if you accidentally touched it, so please understand. That's very sweet of you though"

"Alright, if you are sure"

"We will be with you shortly"

As others left the cafe, Itsuwa and Kanzaki stood in silence for a moment.

"Priestess... did you hear it?" Itsuwa finally asked.

"Yes. Yes, I did" Kanzaki admitted.

They of course meant Itsuwa's confession in response to Touma's question.

The real reason they stayed behind to talk.

Itsuwa didn't know quite what to say.

Meanwhile, Kanzaki was in quite a turmoil. She did not know what she felt. Surprise? It was Touma who suddenly asked that question. Joy for Itsuwa, who was her friend and for who wished her well? Or stinging jealousy that Touma chose Itsuwa to ask that question and not her?

Did he suspect that Itsuwa was having feelings for him and didn't draw the same conclusions in her case?

But... she too...

"For how long?" Kanzaki finally asked, her voice soft.

"I can't... really say. It wasn't at first sight. Rather, each time he was with us, a I felt something... take shape in my heart. I appreciated and cherished him more and more, until I realized I love him. And you?"

"Me?" Kanzaki turned around to look at Itsuwa.

"Yes. I know that you love him too. Don't you? Let's... let's be honest with each other"

Kanzaki bit her lips. She took a deep breath, finally admitting something she knew for a long time, but could not put in words, even in front of herself.

"Yes... I love him... I love Kamijou Touma. I guess I had a suspicion that something like that could happen after he saved Index or resolved Angel Fall... but I kept making excuses, or I couldn't believe in my feelings, telling myself that it was just an obligation. A debt I had to repay. But in reality, I knew for a long time... he was always there when ones I loved needed it. He gave me strength to improve, he showed me how that Saint like me, someone who devoted her life mission to salvation of others, should truly act. Even though he was battered and bruised, even if for most part he thought like ordinary human. He brought me back to my friends and family... because of that and many other things... I love him so much..."

"So why? Why didn't you say anything, priestess? You are so strong and yet..."

"Even if my body is extraordinary, I still have a human heart, with everything that's linked with it. For some time, I was unsure and couldn't decide what to do. I... still have to talk to Touma about this, but I recently confronted one known as Kamijou No Touma, albeit briefly. He seemed angry at me... and I think I understand why. For the very reason I was afraid of my own feelings. Because I hurt Index unknowingly just before Kamijou Touma sacrificed himself to save her. Throughout my life, there were numerous instances where I unknowingly hurt others because of blessings. Even if I didn't have intention, people died or were hurt. This is why I left Amakusa when back then, years ago. I hope that my fortune and his misfortune... that it will fit together like broken puzzles. But what if my presence somehow will make it worse? What if take all of it away from him?"

"Priestess..."

Itsuwa slowly walked to Kanzaki, placing hand on her arm.

"I think Touma is fearing the very same thing when it comes to love. That he will hurt others through misfortune, just like you fear about taking their fortune for yourself. You both suffered through things beyond your control... so maybe you can both work through them together? You are both wonderful people. I want to have you in my life, forever and always"

"You... you are right. All of that is what I used to think" Kanzaki sniffed, brushing away bits of moisture" But not anymore. I accept that I fell behind right now. It was my karma for not being forward with my feelings and giving way to my fears, instead of acting the way I was supposed to act all along to pursue my love. So I accept it, and I will rise stronger than ever. I will give him all the love he deserves and confess to him properly"

Silence fell once again, until both young women spoke in unison.

"I envy you..."

The simultaneous comment caught them both off guard. Itsuwa was first to speak, putting a hand to her chest.

"Wait, you envy me? I always envied you!"

"Why would you envy me?"

"With all the respect, really? Priestess... I am me and you are you!"

"This is evident... but where is the point in that?"

"The point..." Itsuwa raised her hands into the air"... the point is that you are charismatic, talented, lucky, strong, and so very beautiful! I would love to have half of those traits. You are amazing and inspiring for everyone. Meanwhile, I am ordinary and average... compared to all of that..."

"Now that's some utter foolishness."Kanzaki countered" You have plenty of useful skills. You are kind, sweet, charming, can cook, drive, and fight. You can make someone happy in so many areas. What use is for being extraordinary if I can't seize most ordinary things? There is nothing wrong in being safe haven for him, you know"

"You have plenty of good moments with him and see him more frequently. It's just logical. I know he thinks of you as embodiment of his dreams"

"He does? I mean... that flatters me, but I know that was looking your way too. He needs kindness and love, and you are perfect in that."

"W-Well, I am too shy to actually do anything!"

"You just confessed!"

"Only because he asked me. I would never have the courage alone. I wish to have your bravery!"

"I wish I had your loyalty to your feelings. I am constantly torn between heart and duty. It's frustrating. I am not going to sit by and watch"

"Me neither! I always felt inferior to so many, but I want to love him"

"Me too! I will give him best love he can ever imagine."

"Well, I am going to go even beyond that!"

"Not if I go beyond what you feel like is my limit first!"

"Is that so?"

"Yes!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

"Why are we shouting?!"

"I don't know!"

Both Itsuwa and Kanzaki were panting heavily, looking at each, other in silence, before slowly breaking into smiles, and chuckling, closing their eyes and slowly feeling their bodies relax.

They've been friends and sisters in arms for a quite some time. But even they couldn't escape the tension that was bound to arise from one simple fact:

Those two girls, Kanzaki Kaori and Itsuwa of Amakusa, fell in love with the same boy, Kamijou Touma.

Even though they wanted each other's happiness, forfeiting their own was simply not an option here.

"Well... I think we can agree that we are both pretty great in some things and worse in the other. But regardless, Itsuwa, I am not giving up on him. You know that, right? I will make him fall for me and make him happy."

"Yes, I know. And I... I am not going to lose to you. Not in this!"

"Good. I would expect nothing else from you."

Kanzaki placed her hands on Itsuwa's shoulders.

"Thank you. I suppose... I needed that"

"Y-You don't have to thank me. I think it was something that I needed to say too."

(MEANWHILE)

Touma was staring intently at his three sibling roommates.

They were on their way to the apartment, when Othinus unexpectedly returned with both index and the sisters. From the first glance, Touma knew that something happened, from various degrees of embarrassment from their faces.

"What did you do?" he asked sternly" Please tell me you didn't start any war when I was gone"

Kaibi's face told him that the answer wasn't straight 'no', which caused his heart to sink.

"She... really rubbed me the wrong way" Rikuri grumbled defiantly.

"Well, well, it was just a harmless banter... you have quite a charming group of young ladies with you..."

"Touma's compliments are sufficient for me, do not need false ones"

An unfamiliar smell and wave of blond hair washed over him as Vasilisa suddenly embraced him from behind.

Touma noted quick expression of shock on Rikuri's face, before expression of controlled anger replaced it, as she and Vasilisa eyed each other in haughty, challenging way.

"Vasilisa-san..." Touma asked, ignoring his personal space being ignored for yet another time" Can you tell me what you truly desire? Maybe I can help you?"

Vasilisa's face flickered in surprise, before she let out a gentle, warm-tinged laugh.

"Help me? о Боже, I assumed I saw it all in Denmark, but your instincts to help others are truly baffling. Or, perhaps, foolish at times... but mostly endearing. With attitude like this, I even regret not meeting you when..."

She trailed off for a moment, and Touma thought he saw something akin to genuine sadness in her eyes.

"Vasilisa-san?"

"No, that's fine" just as soon as it appeared, it was gone" Nonetheless, I simply wanted to take a look around and see you again. I, Vasilisa the Beautiful, think we can both benefit from one another in the future"

"Benefit?" Touma inquired, ignoring the faces Kaibi made at the phrasing of the older nun.

"There are many types of salvation you might not be familiar with. Types of people who you wouldn't think need it. Others, who despite your efforts will never reach it. And connections in places you would never imagine. Like in our shared circumstances"

"Shared circumstances?"

Did that nun see something he didn't? They only met, so what she assumed about connections in their histories?

Vasilisa's smile could rival Mona Lisa's. Touma could not figure out what was she thinking about. All he knew was that that woman, who up until this point weren't properly acquainted with him, focused on him... or on his power? With expression of... what? Many things, it appeared. Nostalgia, curiosity, and... strangely, longing, but not sexual one. Rather one someone experienced after realizing something important and setting course for it.

Her face also reminded Touma of those portraits in the churches Index sometimes showed him. She was passionate about christian lore and sometimes took the chance to educate him.

What were they called? Ah, madonnas.

There was something sad, serious, and even unsettling in those blue eyes.

"Vasilisa-sa-"

"Well, those costumes won't try on themselves"

Once again, Vasilisa demonstrated the ability to completely subvert the profoundness of the atmosphere.

Vasilisa grinned and embraced Sasha, who audibly groaned.

"To the mall!"До свидания, everyone!"

"Bitterment: My existence is suffering. I was not created for this world to look cute!"

"Oh, that's nonsense, Sasha dearest..."

"Wait!"

Vasilisa winked at Touma, who called after them.

"We will see each other soon, Kamijou Touma. Until then..."

She turned around, waving her hand slightly as both her and Sasha disappeared from sight.

"That was... unusual" Kanzaki remarked.

"If you ask me, she doesn't need to see us" Rikuri said, putting hand on Touma's shoulder and glaring at Vasilisa's back.

"Okay, what happened? Did those two have a fight or something?"

There was silence.

"I was joking..." Touma facepalmed." Really?"

"No, although I... it was close" Rikuri muttered, embarrassed.

"Well, after you left, she became interested in us too... " Kaibi began.

(EARLIER THAT DAY...)

"Oh, you are so cute! You will grow up to be such a precious sight"

"How did she..." Kaibi looked at Rikuri, who was just as clueless as she was.

Somehow, Amazora was wearing glittering dress that looked straight out of the anime convention, with Vasilisa practically melting out of glee from how cute the youngest sister looked. Amazora herself looked torn if she wanted to be defiant about her new outfit or actually enjoy herself.

Both Kaibi and Rikuri were bound to notice if Vasilisa dressed their sister up. But for some reason, they didn't.

"So..." Vasilisa looked at Kaibi and Rikuri" about you, I didn't know. Who are you?"

"Why are you asking?" Kaibi asked back, trying to remain neutral and dyplomatic.

Rikuri didn't seem to bother. From the very first moment, something didn't click between her and russian nun. And it was not the usual fact that she was, knowingly or not, possessive of Touma when it came to well-endowed older women.

She didn't like the way Vasilisa looked at Touma, as if she knew some secrets yet didn't share them. It unnerved and irritated her.

Rikuri didn't want to come off as possessive. She wanted to give Touma space and respect his time to reincorporate the feeling of any girl he wanted.

But at this time, she wanted nothing more than to put her foot down, scream 'mine!' in Vasilisa's face and run away with Touma in tow. It was stupid, since she didn't think Vasilisa thought of Touma like that. But she still felt it.

"I see now more than before that you are sisters. Quite fair you are" Vasilisa eyed all of them" You are yet to reach full bloom of adulthood, but you are already like beautiful flowers"

"Some of the most beautiful flowers are poisonous" Rikuri grumbled under her breath.

"Though, I am surprised. You are trying to be a family with him"

"And what if we do?"

"It's just that I assumed that he would rather stay more associated with our side. Since more people are aware and knowledgeable of his situation, I would guess he would get better help out there"

"We are good just the way we are." Kaibi answered slowly

"Besides, onii-chan ability is on neither side, from what he said"

"Hmm, yes... I am just saying it too spare you some pain." Vasilisa raised her hands" From what is known of this right hand, it takes quite a lot to truly be happy. It's not something trifle. And ignorance can take you so far."

Kaibi narrowed her eyes at that.

Rikuri felt her anger flare inside like contained explosive.

With the tone Vasilisa said it, it didn't see like threatening or something of this sort. It was as if she truly bewildered, in a good-natured manner at that, that Touma were keeping the three of them by his side.

And in a way, that was even worse. If there was apparent hostility, it would be so much easier...

There was a artificial, pill-like capsule hidden under Rikuri's tongue. Since they heard someone entering their apartment, she took it as a precaution. No one would suspect to search for weapons inside of her mouth. She had lot of practice with that kind of tricks and she could speak well, while also carefully handling the capsule inside of her mouth, until she needed to attack. All she would need to do is spit on the enemy and upon stronger impact, the capsule would break.

The capsule contained compressed chlorine gas, reactive and highly toxic deadly mist. It would create rash, inflammation, coughing, sneezing, and burning sensation for one exposed to its yellowish fumes.

Although no longer dealing with dark side affairs on regular basis, Rikuri didn't lose her touch.

She was the mother of Academy City's chemical warfare. Even if she was supressed by Carrier and Decomposer in terms of biochemistry, in Academy City's dark side there was no chemist or toxicologist more prodigious and more acquainted with combining chemistry with technology than her.

She was a Potion Lady, dark side's poisonous nightmare. Albeit weak in physical confrontations and shining only in triad with her younger sisters, her infamy was such that her supreme beauty was rarely witnessed more than once by the same enemy. Who would, naturally, don't witness anything else after said encounter.

Except... she promised Touma and herself to leave this side of her behnd. Or rather, to use her abilities only in crisis or emergency.

And as much as she wanted to prove Vasilisa wrong, preferably in a triumphant and obnoxiously 'in your face' fashion, she restrained herself.

(LATER THAT EVENING)

Index demanded lunch. She even tried to help Touma make it, but after almost setting the meal ablaze, she was delegated to put out the dishes instead.

Even though Vasilisa and Sasha left, Kanzaki, Itsuwa, and Saronia stayed to eat.

He was more than curious where was Tsuchimikado. His spy friend apparently took his leave when Touma was dragged out of the window. Typical. Touma bet he was now hiding somewhere, laughing his ass off. Or maybe... he was watching Saronia from somewhere.

Touma was still surprised on the fact that Saronia was actually there. And not only eating, but also joking around and being interested in many things around her, such as food of japanese cuisine, which was apparently completely exotic to her.

He found himself glancing at Saronia from time to time, due to his aofrementioned bewilderment, and also due to the fact that both Kanzaki and Itsuwa, despite trying their best to not show it, were becoming visibly flustered when he looked them in the eye. Over the course of lunch, it got better but it still made him focus on Saronia more.

Also, Touma couldn't help but notice that Othinus and Kaibi whispered something to one another, while also watching Saronia.

Was Kaibi having mixed feelings about Saronia?

The russian magician was mind controller. And it wasn't a mind kind of control, but a very dangerous obedience. It required rather specific conditions, but it could take away your free will nonetheless.

Then again, this could not exactly be criterion for the badness or goodness of the person, right? After all, Misaki, Ayu, and Kaibi herself all fell onto that category, and they were very important parts of Touma's interpersonal life right now.

He would like to see the extent of change in Saronia's heart since the last version of her, all that time ago, didn't leave the most friendly impression. Yet that was that and this was this.

It seemed like forever when proper members of their household were only ones remaining.

Touma slumped onto the couch. With Index watching TV in sisters room and Othinus going to get a bath (which she enjoyed much more in her regular size) he was alone in the room with the sisters.

Amazora unceremoniously crawled on alongside him and lied down perpendicularly to him, with her head resting on his lap.

One of the greatest signs of growth of the relationship between him and her was the fact that while Amazora was incredibly talkative, towards practically everyone, with Touma, she felt safe to just enjoy his presence in silence and indulge in very simple things, which however made them feel very connected. At this point, they almost understand each other's needs without words, in those particular cases.

Touma cherished Amazora a lot since she had intuitive abilities to discern his worries and determination to go a long way to cheer him up, even if she didn't always succeeded, he always appreciated the enthusiasm. In turn, Amazora loved Touma for being very thoughtful and patient with her, in the way that Kaibi and Rikuri weren't always able to. He gave her a lot of attention and helped her in both her emotional and more mundane troubles, which was a luxury that couldn't always be afforded during their life as darksiders.

Never in her life Amazora had a male family figure that could be there for her, as her father died when she was just a very small infant. In Touma, she found a brother she didn't know she yearned for earlier on. He pampered her, like Rikuri did, and scolded her if necessary, just like Kaibi, while also trying to engage in Amazora's more action-oriented passions, which weren't exactly the cup of tea of neither of her older siblings. For him, the degree of care he put on the girl was normal. But for Amazora, raised in the unusual, estranged circumstances, it was more than enough to earn passionate, fierce loyalty and protective love for her big brother.

Right now, he caressed her hair in the way he always did when she had a nightmare, with the girl purring in a cat-like fashion.

Touma looked up to notice the two sets of identical eyes watching him intently.

"Hey, what's up?" he asked Kaibi and Rikuri.

He knew sisters long enough to know when they wanted to talk to him regarding something important.

"Well..." Kaibi began" It's not like I am totally comfortable around that Vasilisa woman either. She has some strange atmosphere to her. But... there are some things she said I can't easily disprove. What I mean is... can you consider talking to us about your troubles?"

"What troubles?" Touma said in surprise" We just defeated the big bad enemy! I am as good as I can-"

"NO!" Kaibi raised her voice slightly" I don't mean now, specifically. She said something about us not being able to understand what the owner of your ability goes through. And according to what I told us about your life recently, you faced some horrible things. I thought that being on a dark side for years was bad, but your life... I have to admit that it was so much worse. Memory loss, facing some otherworldly being, sustaining life threatening injuries over and over again, even apparently dying countless times somehow... and you just... never stop. You never even ask for a thank you. Because that's who you are. And yet, this is not normal. Your world was almost destroyed, your life held on a balance for so long, and you never even stopped to say: "Oh, what the hell?"."

"What I was supposed to do though? I needed to save everyone!"

"They are not your responsibility alone. But even assuming that, it's not like you did something wrong. It's just that you didn't do anything right either."

"What do you mean?"

"Even if you lost your memories, your innermost psyche still remembers the basic patterns and reacts to danger, despite not being able to access formation of those patterns in your younger years. That means that even if you go forth, saving the world over and over, you can't overlook the damage the danger and stress going over and over on repeat. Trust me, I know how fragile human hearts and bonds can be. You can break those and you can rebuild them with effort, but you can't do this infinitely. Sooner or later, you will wear yourself down. With each time you are hurt and have to painstakingly crawl back to the limits of sanity, those parts crack a little. If this continues throughout all of your life, at some point your heart will shatter."

"No, I won't let it happen. I have strong desire to fight for the future where everyone is happy. I will not break-"

"Until that point? And then what? There is no sense in having a lifeguard saving others, if he will drown himself, all the exhaustion cramping him up? Don't stop fighting if you desire too. Just consider saving yourself too. And I am not talking about selfish desires. I am talking about realizing just how far you went for others and that you never rest. We just want for you to talk to us, to let out some things that may be hard. This is what family is for. Sure, you can go on, but with Measure Heart or not, I can tell that at some point, you will stop to feel and will just save people out of obligation to the ideal, of which the meaning will be forgotten by you. With my ability, I've seen this countless times. How people with ideals pushed to extreme will end up doing it endlessly, losing the very meaning of initial reason that made them commit to this dream in the first place. There are countless ways for you to go on. But unless you face the fact that you are still haunted by some things, unless you confront your own pain and weariness, you will end up putting up a facade."

Kaibi's bracelets glittered and gently clanged together, as she put her hand on top of his and looked him deeply in the eyes.

"You taught me that, and made me feel again. Your emotions and your humanity is something we love about you. I would be damned if I allowed a person I love to go down that path if I could prevent it. Even if, like Vasilisa-san said, those troubles are not something we can outright understand, please talk to us. Tell us everything and you will surely feel better"

Touma felt Rikuri's arms grabbing him from behind and gently put his head on her soft, warm chest, putting her hand on his head, just like he was doing with Amazora.

He twisted slightly to look up.

Her beautiful face was looking at him with both concern and endearment.

"You know..." she said" I am not as well versed in psychology as Kaibi-chan. But I do know that poison taken in small doses over time is as lethal as one-time big dose"

"Really?"

"It's called Haber's Rule. He was a chemist that invented method of synthesis of ammonia from hydrogen and nitrogen, which allowed the production of fertilizers. Erm, in addition... he also weaponized chlorine gas during trench deadlocks of World War I. I even utilized some equations to... oh, I am getting off topic. W-Well, what I meant by my analogy, is that doing accumulating psychological damage bit by bit can break you just as much as suffering one, life changing trauma."

She paused, pressing him slightly harder, as if making sure he was really there.

"Our recent fights made me realize that there is probably a lot we won't be able to face with our current strength. You deal with things way beyond our imagination, after all. And maybe Vasilisa-san is right, as much as it irks me up. Maybe you are in pain. And suffering from the poison in your heart that I can't outright find the remedy too. Maybe we won't be able to understand everything. But this doesn't mean that I don't want to try my very best to help you if you need me. We owe you a lot, so the very least we can do is be there for you in any way that is possible. I love you. I want to help you to be happy and calm, regardless if it takes my words, actions, or body to achieve it. You are free to choose any solution and I will comply. You earned this, and much more"

Kamijou Touma felt tears misting his eyes.

He smiled.

It was a tired, broken smile.

But it was smile of genuine Kamijou Touma.

"Thank you" he simply said.

He thought he should not burden ones he loved with his problems.

But apparently, he was still learning to truly relay on the ones close to him.

That evening, he told them everything. Everything he could put in words.

He didn't hope for understanding. He already had someone else to fulfil that role.

But nevertheless, he felt lighter and even if for a moment, he attained true happiness.

(THE NEXT DAY)

In one of Academy City's parks, Ladylee Tangleroad was watching pigeons with blank expression on her face.

The bread she bought for them was long since been eaten.

Honestly, she didn't even know why she was wandering around listlessly and feeding pigeons.

She felt old... which she was, but there was no point of rubbing it in.

There were some days like this one. The 'bleh' days, were it seemed like she saw everything.

She knew it wasn't true, but that was the feeling she got.

That everything seemed just... dull.

"Hello?" a voice made her snap back to reality" May I join you?"

The long dark hair diving like branches, gathered in a very long ponytail. A symmetrical face with prism-like eyes and casual clothes that didn't seem like chosen by the girl herself.

"Yes, I suppose" Ladylee said to Kankyougami Hasako.

"Thank you" Beginning Child replied politely, sitting on the bench beside her" What brings you here?"

Ladylee didn't say anything for a while.

"I don't really know. Just wounded up in this park"

"That's alright" Hasako said, looking calmly at the sunlight permeating through the lush green baldachin of leaves." If you prefer, we can sit here in silence. I just walked out of my meeting with Kumokawa-san and decided to use such a beautiful day to relax a little"

The moment passed in silence, with Ladylee looking forward while supporting her chin with her arm and Hasako softly smiling to herself. A butterfly landed on her finger, which completed the serene atmosphere.

To her own surprise, it was Ladylee who spoke first, breaking the silence.

"What would you prefer if you had to choose? Animals or plants?"

The pigeons took off, high into the sky, with both girls watching them. Hasako frowned in contemplation, as they were left alone in the park, usually empty at this hour.

"That's a hard question. I love all nature, no matter the kingdom or size of living being."

"Just pick one"

After a moment, Hasako said

"I would say animals. I love to explore their behaviours and lives. There is such a great diversity in their looks, cravings, and exploits, not to mention all the environments that they live in"

Ladylee smirked slightly.

"I would go with plants. I was a herbologist once"

After a moment of silence, Hasako urged on.

"Is there another reason?"

Ladylee sighed, absentmindedly playing with her romboid earrings.

"Animals are rulers of space. They can move around and explore the world, but their life is fragile and short. In contrast, plants, especially trees, are the rulers of time. They are destined to stay in one place for rest of their lives, but they witness generations passing, decades, hundreds of years even"

"You feel a connection with them?"

"Maybe" Ladylee leaned on the bench, looking upwards" I would like to be a tree. That way, I would still be pretty much ancient but I wouldn't have to feel a single thing"

Hasako looked at her with sadness.

"But isn't that a bad thing? To be rid of those feelings?"

"After all that time? I don't know... I thought I lost them... I saw... countless seasons... dozens of generations... sorrow, and grief, and pain, and birth, and death... I felt those too... "

Only for a brief moment, she touched her stomach, before shaking her head.

"After going on for so long, I question if there is any higher purpose in life at all. As simple as that. Is all there is to it is just living on endless repeat throughout eons to come? The world keeps changing, and there is nothing stable in it but the change. What's the point of clinging to it?"

"Well, I... I know what is like to be lost in the change" Hasako said pensively" At the end of 1940s, I was tricked and put into frozen stasis. It was not exactly sleep, but to me, it felt a bit like that. A long, cold, dreamless nightmare. One moment, I was there. Just a moment later, I woke up in a completely different world. But what seemed like a moment to me was nearly 7 decades. My whole family, anyone I could consider someone close from that period... they are gone."

"THIS IS NOT THE SAME!" Ladylee suddenly snapped angrily" MERE 70 YEARS ARE NOTHING! PEOPLE LIKE YOU CAN AT LEAST FANTASIZE OF ENDING IT ALL WHEN THINGS GET TOO HARD! I AM DENIED EVEN THAT!"

Hasako recoiled, as Ladylee panted for a moment. After her outburst passed, and she calmed down, she sniffed, closing her eyes and muttering

"I am sorry. I have a really grumpy day, it seems"

"I-It's alright. It was me who preposterously assumed that I could empathize-"

"No, actually... in some areas, you had it worse. Yes, I lost countless people I cared about in my life. More times than I could remember with clarity, actually. But I lost them gradually. Not by jumping through history, like you did. My heart accustomed to that pain"

"No" Hasako shook her head" I don't think anyone can just be normal with something like that"

Ladylee sighed deeply

"Again, I apologize for that, really. You are a good kid. Perhaps someone who, even if imperfectly, still can understand my struggles better than anyone aside from Kamijou Touma"

"Touma?" Hasako asked, surprised.

"I think that is his thing to share, don't press me on it"

"I understand... hmm, I feel strange with someone calling me kid by a girl who looks like 12 at a generous estimate. As individual, I am closing to my upper 80s."

"But biological state of your body and contents of your mind do not. And besides, even if we go by that count, you are still faaaaaar younger than me, kid. All of you are"

They chuckled, the tension dispersing as they did.

Hasako thoughtfully studied small immortal's expression, before slowly asking

"What I gathered from listening to you... and I really don't want to make assumptions, but... Ladylee-san... Are you afraid that you might feel-"

A feminine shriek echoed throughout the park.

Hasako blinked in surprise and then got up.

"Let's remember when we left this conversation, as I have no intention of letting it end here. This sounded pretty intense. I shall check to see if someone is not in trouble"

"Sure, go ahead" Ladylee waved her hand" That fool's attitude is really rubbing off on you, huh?"

Soft blush dusted the cheeks of Beginning Child.

"I would be delighted if that was the case"

(SOME TIME EARLIER)

Saronia A. Irivika had not forgotten to appear on Touma's doorstep the next morning after her departure.

"It's time for you to show me around" she said authoritatively.

Touma didn't get much sleep last night, preoccupied by telling the sisters things that weighed down his heart, so sightseeing wasn't exactly the first thing in the morning he wanted to engage in.

On the other hand, he had enough experience with persistent girls to know that Saronia, who chose him to guide her for some particular reason, would not stop pestering him about it until he conceded. So he did, to get it over with.

To give her some justice, Saronia was not the worst possible companion. She did seem genuinely interested in the city landmarks he showed her and about his life in the city. And her smile was nicer than anything he saw on her face in the past.

Although he guided her, she was the one who commanded the pace of the tour. Even though she was different, there was still that slightly haughty, temperamental side of her he remembered from Hawaii. In a way, it calmed him, seeing that there was something familiar that he could relate to.

On the other hand, it could be a pain in the ass.

"You really can't walk?"

"No. And I would like to get to someplace we can eat in"

"This park is not all that big. I am sure you can walk there"

"Come on, carrying me it's not that big of a deal, right? Isn't it chivalrous to do so when the lady asks you?"

"Did you conveniently forget that I punched you repeatedly after our fight? What part of 'gender equality' is unknown here?"

"Pretty please. 20 minutes of carrying for my feet to rest"

"10 minutes"

"Are you suggesting that I am heavy? 15 minutes!"

"I am not, I am sure you are light, but I am still tired and this scenario is like a misunderstanding magnet. But if you carry me as a justice, on the way back, then sure"

"Y-You wouldn't exploit poor girl like that, would you?"

"Try me"

10 minutes of carrying on the back it was then, with Saronia happily humming, with hands on his shoulders and legs crossed over his belly.

As always, it was going well until it wasn't.

Because roughly after 6 minutes of carry, Saronia shrieked suddenly and started to widely throw herself around on his back.

"Ack! What's going on?!"

"S-S-Spider! Spider! Get it off, please, get it off me!" she screamed.

She threw herself around so much that they lost their balance, and they both tumbled down the long, grassy slope.

After Touma regained sense of equilibrium, he felt rustling overhead. He shook the grass of his face to notice that Saronia frantically discarded her turtleneck and T-shirt.

A small spider, possibly half dead and probably much more terrified than even Saronia, if it was possible for it to feel as such, fell off the turtleneck and disappeared in the fallen leaves.

The russian magician sighed and slumped down upon him

"O-Oi! Why are you on me again?"

"T-That was so scary..."

"Come on, it was a very small spider, it probably wouldn't even bite you... hold on, your magic is based on nature, isn't it? Why are you freaked out?!"

"I-I am actually an indoor type! I don't like insects or strange bugs touching me!"

"Talk about irony... also, c-can you please put something on now?!"

Only now Saronia noticed that in her frantic need to get rid of the spider, she was left over Touma with just boots, skirt and bra, not counting her natural headband.

She looked away in embarrassment and started to reach for her discarded clothes.

Touma tried to assure him that the park was usually quiet that early in the morning. The chance of someone coming there was slim.

There was just two of them, on the grassy meadow, surrounded by smells of trees, soil, and salt.

Wait... salt?

Touma moved his eyes and froze in place.

Saronia had to notice his face because she looked back as well.

Kankyougami Hasako was standing couple meters away, looking at them wryly.

"I came here as quickly as I could thinking someone needed help. But it appears..."

All of the hair on Touma's body stood up straight.

Maybe because Hasako was making face he saw his own mother make many times. The well-mannered expression of 'I will kill you in your sleep' that never signified anything good.

"... that if you don't get off him, you might just need it"

The wind got stronger. And there was no mistaking. It smelled like salt.

Like the breeze one would encounter on the shores of the ocean.

"H-Hello. You see, this is not like you think. I admit that this is actually on me..."

Saronia had the decency to try and explain their situation.

But in the next moment, the air became misty. The cold water poured down, getting denser and more agitated by the seconds.

Touma instinctively dug into the ground as hard as he could with his limbs.

"What is happe-" startled Saronia began to say.

The oceanic environment, appearing in the middle of land, whirled around Hasako and shot out in enormous, 10 meter high waves covered in foam, hitting and washing Saronia away effortlessly down dozens of meters down the hill, as if she was a small pebble, while also crushing over Touma like a liquid equivalent of thunder.

After couple more seconds, water slowly disappeared.

Hasako helped Touma get up.

"Now, tell me what happened" she demanded.

(FEW MINUTES LATER)

"Achoo!"

Salty and wet Saronia let out a sneeze, as she was slowly regaining warmth in her body after coming face to face with cold, oceanic wave of water.

She and Touma were sitting close to Hasako, surrounded by pools of magma and foliage.

"My deepest apologies." Hasako bowed her head" I didn't know it was an accident. From my perspective, it looked like you were about to violate him"

One of the things Touma adored about Hasako was that, contrary to many other girls in such situations, she rarely assumed he was guilty at first glance. Here, she was saying 'it looked like he was in trouble' instead 'I was mad because he was doing something stupid'. Her faith in him was just that strong.

Of course, it didn't mean that he never suffered through her anger at all. But it was never directed straight at him and she always did everything she could to make sure he was alright.

"W-Well, as long as it's all cleared out. I admit that there were not many other ways for it look like..."

They had to stay close to Hasako so they wouldn't be burned, both from the outside and from the hot air, but it gave them opportunity to talk and explain themselves, as well as introduce Saronia and Hasako to one another.

Hasako used her volcanic environment as high speed drying machine. The heat from immensely hot air and ground was more than enough to make the moisture and coldness go away.

According to Beginning Child, the salt from oceanic environment destroyed the plants of the hill. By burning the area and enriching the ground with volcanic minerals, she actually did it a favour and revitalized it faster.

Even if Saronia was angry at the intensity of Hasako's attack, it was quickly changed into silent awe at the display around her.

"What... how did you do that?" she motioned around them at boiling ground and " You are an esper, right? I thought you control water, but this? How?"

Hasako turned away shyly, not expecting to be the object of attention.

"I control and adapt the environment around me." she admitted.

"No way! That's so amazing!" Saronia seemed genuinely impressed" Any environment you want?"

"Not exactly. I have to have genetic material of animal that would benefit from that environment" glass necklace that Hasako always wore clattered on the wind" But other than that, yes. As many environments as there are organisms"

"I am so jealous. It would save my a lot of time if I had a power like that. I wouldn't have to prepare so much"

Hasako's head perked up a little.

"Do you have ability that is connected with environment too?"

"More or less. I have to create enclaves within bodies of nature using specific plants or animals to execute control over it."

"Interesting. Would you be able to show me later?'

"Oh... sure. Although I am certain it's nothing as cool as yours. It's so beautiful"

"Thank you. So, you introduce new species to preexisting habitat to modify it?"

"Right. From Russia, specifically"

"But isn't it dangerous for present fauna and flora? What is it expands to much and disrupts the ecosystem?"

"Well, I actually carefully select species I use, so..."

Touma was astonished with the speed at which Hasako and Saronia became hooked onto the conversation, discussing environments, ecology, landscape architecture and natural enclaves.

As minutes became hours, it became apparent that Hasako found a new friend.

"That was more fun than I expected, actually. See you tomorrow, then."

After she was gone, Hasako looked at Touma with a small smile.

"I am very happy. May I... request an embrace from you?"

"You mean a hug?"

"Oh, right. Yes, a hug"

"You don't have to ask, really"

They hugged each other, with Hasako putting her head on his shoulder.

She smelled like fresh pine needles and wild flowers.

Hugging her always made him feel as if he was resting on warm summer day, shielded by soothing shadow, in the midst of the field. He remembered that Maidono also shared that sentiment.

"Thank you." he heard her whisper.

He pulled away to look at her.

"For what?"

She looked at him too. Her multicolour eyes were mesmerizing in the sunlight. He always thought he could see flashing fire, crackling ice, crashing waves, sprouting vines, scorching sand, and blooming meadows all within that single pair of irises.

"When I went to sleep, I thought I had no one in the whole wide world. And now I feel like I have everything I could ever dream of, but my world keeps growing. I make new friends too. There are no words for how grateful I am to you"

"But it's not only my contribution"

She stood on her toes, closing her eyes and resting her forhead against his with a smile.

"That's true... but it's all possible because ultimately, you were the one to insisted to fight not only with me, but for me. Who wanted to save me and who snapped me out of confusion, who showed me that someone may still care about me. Even if I were awakened, I wouldn't be here if not for you"

She shifted her head and planted a soft, tender kiss on his cheek, before opening her eyes and stepping backwards, smile not leaving her lips.

"So that's why I thank you. And I will continue to do so for years to come"

(THE NEXT DAY)

The surface of the water rippled and few rusted beams rose up from below the surface.

Maidono Hoshimi moved her hand, steering the parts to the shore.

"Thanks a bunch, little miss. That will save us a whole lot of trouble and money" the workers shouted to her.

"Don't sweat it. That's not even heavy" she shouted back.

Those days, people tended to have lots of peculiar side jobs.

But probably no one would think Maidono Hoshimi would like to work both at the junkyard and harbour. It was an unusual place for a girl like her to be, at first glance

But if someone thought about it deeper, her reasons became clearer.

Maidono Hoshimi's telekinesis was absurdly powerful, even by Academy City's standards. She was a level 5 in anything but a title. Apparently, her ability was not well versed enough and monotematically destructive for that.

Maidono had couple reasons to work like she did.

Firstly, to disprove the above statement. She knew for a fact that her power could be useful, especially when it came to construction, transport, handling heavy objects, or rescuing people.

Secondly, while for many years she was stuck in complexes regarding her ability, she was moving past it. Since she lost mobility in mini-motorics of her fingers, she could as well invest time in perfecting her power. Maybe she could go well beyond 100 000 ton limit without hurting herself one day?

To do this, she regularly lifted heavy objects. It was similar to building up your body while going to a gym. Only except dumbells of tens or dozens of kilograms, her weights were of tens, hundreds and hundreds of thousands of tons.

The people who called her for help also benefitted. She worked at the sights were equipment could fall into water or be buried under ground by accident. It was often costly to retrieve it by other machines. Meanwhile, all she had to do was grab it from the distance and command it to go up, regardless if it was a couple ton steel beam or thousand ton ship.

Besides... it was always more money. That couldn't hurt anyone.

'YOU RAISE ME UP!...'

While she lifted another old tank-like vehicle, that apparently served as model from some invention, like many things did in this place, her phone rang. The melody persisted for a several moments, before notification sound replaced it.

Still holding the tank in the air with one hand, she attracted her phone to herself with the other from several meters away. She looked that it was a message from Hasako.

Namely, from Hasako's social media account.

To keep her synched with the modern day times, Maidono created that account for her. Hasako didn't mind whatsoever, in fact she was very happy with it, albeit she was completly clueless to how smartphones worked sometimes, so social media was still foreign concept to her. In the end Maidono managed the account when they were together. It served as digital chronicle of their friendship.

But this time, it was apparent someone else uploaded it for her

"Out with a new friend... planting the flowers?" she slowly read.

"Maidono-san, you've been working pretty hard, do you want a bre-

SCREECH!

The words of the chief of recycling brigade were drawn out as the tank crumbled and folded into itself, before falling heavily onto the ground.

The man gulped, as Maidono strolled into the cabin made specifically for her, before turning around

"I think I will. And also, I want to request a favour. Can I borrow this place for one hour tomorrow?"

The chief looked at the crumbled tank, and then at Maidono.

"O-Of course" he said, sweating slightly" We have less work tomorrow anyway, so feel free"

"Lovely" Maidono smiled and made a sliding, inward motion with both of her fingers, causing the doors to close together.

The man wiped his brow.

"I honestly pity anyone who got that girl pissed"

(THE NEXT DAY)

"I told you this would happen" Touma whispered to Maidono.

"I know... I just thought that I wanted to post a memory of this. I thought I was getting a hold of this recently"

Maidono found out about Saronia. And she had pretty strong opinions on the newfound friend of Hasako.

They were at the junkyard at the lower part of the river, which Maidono reserved for one hour of time.

To put it shortly, Maidono challenged Saronia to a duel.

And what's even more incredulous, Saronia accepted it.

"Is that really necessary?" Hasako pleaded" With respect, I don't need your approval to have more friends"

"Look, it's nothing personal. It's just that I need to know if she is worthy"

"And how is fighting her going to prove that?"

"In a lots of ways. We fought too"

"That was different"

"Was it really? Look, she accepted it"

Touma looked at Saronia, who shrugged.

"I am no chicken, I won't run away from someone who says I am no good. Besides, this girl looks interesting"

Sparks flew as Maidono and Saronia clashed gazes. Hasako groaned.

"I am flattered, really, but..."

"It will be fine" Saronia assured her" Really, I don't mind"

"But it's not fair. There is no nature here. How can you use your power here?"

"That's true" Touma joined Hasako" You are at major disadvantage here. I have something else. I don't like to use it, but I am willing to bet on it..."

Saronia smirked.

"Don't worry. I would be a pretty lame magician if I was a one trick pony"

"For me, the fact that she accepted this battlefield is something in itself. I like the fact that she has guts" Maidono nodded" It doesn't really matter if she wins, which I doubt she can but nonetheless, or loses. I just want to see how she handles herself."

"Honestly, for the love of-"

"Maybe they should do it" Touma said suddenly.

"Huh? Really?"

"Well, some of my friendships began with me pounding someone with my fist. It's not unheard of. Maybe they need it"

"I don't think that you are a norm in that regard..." Hasako sighed, but nodded" Alright. The let's do this"

Saronia and Maidono found a open spot surrounded by debris and wreckage, while Touma and Hasako settled down on the hill a distance away from them, to not get caught up.

"Begin!"

Maidono lifted couple of bricks, alongside car and bicycle, throwing it at Saronia, who quickly dodged to the side.

With a lazy gestures, new projectiles shot up and the blond was forced to evade and evade and evade.

As battle went on, it became obvious that while Saronia was still up and kicking, she was majorly outclassed in strength of offensive power and was forced to focus on staying in battle and not be knocked out by many projectiles that Maidono could send.

To Touma, this felt like experiencing his first battle with Accelerator from the outside. Only Saronia could not negate Maidono's defenses even if she were to get close to her.

She panted as Maidono looked at her, raising truck sized portions of the earth above her head.

"I am impressed that you are still standing."

"You... should be. As I said, I am... indoor type. I am surprised myself"

"But honestly, I expected something different. At least try to hit me, instead of evading all the time"

"Well, I think you've been holding back too" Saronia said with a smile" I am ready. Show me what you have"

Maidono's eyes glinted.

"Oh, you don't want all-out me"

"At least give me something other than whatever you had going up until that point. That was a bit... bland"

"Is she seriously provoking her?" Hasako whispered to Touma.

"Alright, fine. You are either cheeky or stupid... let's test it out"

Saronia darted besides the pile of wreckage.

"Oh, you will need a headstart" Maidono said, rising her hand.

There was a rumble and slowly, something rose from below other objects.

No... it was covered by it and it was resurfacing, just like a...

"Oh no..." Hasako paled."That's too much"

Contrasting with still crimson sky, a colossal ship was rising into the air. It was rusted and old, but still majestic in its enormous build, with radars and cannons on its towers. It was a honestly amazing that something like this lied here, hidden. It had to weight hundreds of thousands tons.

The ship stopped the ascent and hovered above them, making them feel like ants.

Maidono, extending her hand, smiled at the sight, before using her other hand to swipe away the nearest pile of wreckage, where Saronia hid before.

They were greeted by another peculiar sight.

Saronia's wrist was bleeding and there was a circle of blood around her.

As the shadow was cast on her, she looked up.

Fear flickered in her eyes. Touma saw this reaction before.

It was a natural one, coming from someone confronted with the true extent of Maidono's ability.

People couldn't believe their eyes or the size of the objects hovering above them.

But Saronia regained her bearings, and intoned.

"Do tego miejsca, znaczonego dziewiczą krwią, przyzywam Światowida, Silnego Pana, który widzi wszystko i przenika chmury i mgłę. Wstąp we mnie, natchnij mnie, daj mi wizję, by uniknąć razów, które na mnie spadną!"

It wasn't russian, Touma thought. It sounded a bit different. He listened to Vasilisa, Sasha, and Saronia long enough to know that.

Something flickered in the air, and the sound was heard.

It was similar to heart beating, but also sounding like a low drumbeat, loud enough to bellow through the area.

Golden sparks, as if solar flare, bathed Saronia all over. Her image flickered, like a mirage, and then...

She lifted her face... no, faces. Plural, as there were four.

Each corresponded to the side of the world, and were on the front, both sides, and back of her head. The eyes of each face, all four pairs, were wide open and in the brightest hue of blue Touma ever saw, marked with golden circle alongside the limits of the irises.

Saronia's clothes also shimmered into what appeared to be white and beige tunic. Her feet were bare and four pairs of lips were in deep hue of crimson, as if berries were smeared on them.

Maidono looked a bit startled, but put up an indifferent face.

"Well, some visual tricks won't be enough to-"

Saronia sprinted forward.

The speed was so tremendous that she was in front of Maidono in just a moment.

The shock caused the girl to momentarily lose her grip on the ship.

She regained it... but not before the stern crushed into the ground, just over Saronia.

"No!" Hasako screamed" Hoshimi..."

"I..." Maidono stammered, trying to regain her bearings" I didn't mean to actually drop it... She could have dodged that, right? She had to!"

She lifted into the air.

The ship was sticking out of the ground diagonally, buried to half of its length, with the bow sticking up into the air.

"I don't see here from up he-"

Something shot up from the hole in the bow.

"Ow!"

Maidono instinctively caught it with her hand.

"What the-"

And then...

Saronia A. Irivika launched herself into the air from inside the ship.

Everyone's jaws dropped. Maidono the most, as Saronia rose above her, getting ready to punch.

In the midst of her flight, the strange, divine aura disappeared, but she still went for it.

Maidono managed to snap back to reality in last possible moment.

Two sets of chains encircled and caught Saronia just seconds before she landed her punch.

Maidono tightened them and slowly sent them to the ground, with her opponent secured.

Maidono was shivering slightly.

"What was that about?"

She then looked at small thing that Saronia threw at her from inside of the ship.

It was a piece of wood, smaller than a twig, but bigger than a splinter.

"A piece of wood? How did you think this was going to-"

Suddenly, her face went blank.

Wrapped in the chains, with blood dripping from her lips, Saronia smiled weakly.

"Control... assumed"

And then, her eyes rolled in their sockets and she passed out.

(FEW HOURS LATER)

Saronia woke up as she was being carried. As she groaned, Touma looked at her, with Hasako and Maidono turning to her side too.

"Oh, you are awake? Thank gods, we were just going to hospital with you"

"I am... fine. Just hungry"

"I am glad you are okay" Hasako said with relief" Are you sure you don't need any help?"

"I will be okay. It's normal after I use that spell"

Maidono walked over, as Touma put Saronia down.

"I am... sorry I dropped that ship on you. I didn't want to, I just wanted to scare you. But what you did... it was kind of freaky, but in a good way. Cool, even. Just to be clear, you were actually in the ship. It crushed onto you, and you manouvered through all of it and jumped out to punch me"

"Well, yes"

"Okay... how? No one ever did something like that, except..." Maidono shot Touma a glance.

"I can explain, but please, I am starving! Let's sit down!

As they settled at Joseph's, Saronia explained what she did, while devouring truly monstrous mountain of pancakes

"While magic I am most proficient in is the one based on Leshy, in truth I am able to use most spells that are based on Slavic Mythology in general. I just preferred not to, because some can take a lot of me, like this one I just used for example"

"I never heard of that mythology"

"Othinus knows it, she can tell you about it more. It is not as well known like others, but it has plenty of stories that can be a basis for pretty good spells, if you do the interpretation right"

"So... what was the four-faced thing?"

"That was the manifestation of Światowid"

"Sifa... what?"

"Well, he is technically called Świętowit, Strong Lord. He is an arconian god of virlity, strength, and ferility, among other things. But some people read his name as Światowid, World-Seer, which is what I used for the spell. By making a summoning circle with blood, I invoked an area in which I gained omniscience over everything that was happening in that area"

Seeing that her three conversation partners were struggling a lot, she sighed.

"Basically, I could see everything, and peer through every single thing in that area, including the path that would lead me away from harm and into the safety. Something like ultimate clearsight."

"And that's how you ran through the ship like it was nothing?"

"Pretty much. But it only lasts couple of minutes and it doesn't do much good for my actual fighting skill. I have to additionally strengthen my body, and all of this makes me pass out after getting a shot or two. That's why I avoid it"

"What was that language you chanted in?" Touma asked.

"Polish. When it comes to Slavic Mythology, it's always better to use the language of the place where the cult was widespread. I know quite a few slavic languages, to be able to use the magic efficiently"

"Emm... right..."

"Ha, jesteś uroczy, gdy próbujesz coś zrozumieć!"

Touma knew she was teasing him, regardless of what she said.

"Well, I guess there is no way out of it then!" Maidono sighed, and then smiled" I nominate you Hasacchi's 'honorary, good, but not best' friend"

"Yup, fine with me"

"Sorry about Maidono. Before Hasako, she didn't have many friends, and she is watching her like a hawk"

A telekinetically controlled mug painfully collided with Touma's brow after that comment.

"Hmph, and when it comes to you... please tell me that your new type are blond slavic girls? I thought that you said you liked me better without the wig."

"I like you in both versions. And how did you get that idea?"

"Well, you do know Aleksandra Kreutzeva. She is one of the deadliest members of Annihilatus, but she appears to be rather meek around you."

Touma stared at her blankly

"Wait, Kreutz... you mean Sasha?"

"Pfft, I never heard anyone in the proper Annihilatus, maybe except Vasilisa and the Patriarch, to call her that. Sasha is diminutive of Aleksandra, that's her real name."

"And Kreutzeva? Where did the 'a' come from?"

"The better question why do you japanese keep dropping that 'a'. Russian surnames are gender specific. Since she is a girl, there is an -a at the end. Thus, Kreutzeva" Saronia explained" For example, my surname could be Irivikov, if I was a guy instead of a girl."

Touma suddenly grabbed his head in terror.

"You want to tell me that all that time, I addressed that girl both as if she was a guy, and also as if I was using -chan to her regular name?"

"From what I know about japanese, yeah, pretty much. Quite daring, I must say"

"This explains why she wanted to me to take responsibility so fiercely too"

"What was that?"

"Nothing, nothing important at all!"

"So, we call it a draw"

"Saronia did assume control over you before she passed out, but you completely incapacitated her, so yeah, seems like a draw to me"

"Wait, assumed control?"

"Emm..."

"What did she make me do?"

"For that one command... it appears she ordered you to show us your panties"

"That's it, I am dropping skysracper at her!"

(LATER, THAT EVENING)

Touma looked at the sky while standing by the railing close to the river. He had important dinner to attend to.

Scavengers and Tsukuyomi Komoe. His chance to help fix the relations between the aunt and the niece.

But for now, he contemplated something that happened earlier on.

"They don't really know either, huh..."

He tried asking the Transcendents about Vasilisa.

The result was not at all what he could expect.

Namely, Aradia, Bologna, and Mut Thebes started to shake as if they had a fever.

"She is... that scary?" he asked.

"She always clothes you in something that renders your divine cosplay powerless" Aradia said" It's terrifying. Even more terrifying that the tape you battled us with"

"When you say it like that, it sounds incredible lame..."

"I didn't meet her personally, but the stories I heard from other actresses of Mut Thebes..." the brown skinned Transcendent gulped.

"So she is bad match for you, huh?"

"She always picks the most clashing clothes and renders us helpless. Ah, the injustice!" Bologna wailed dramatically.

"Oh no, you fell to actually being dressed, like all decent cilivilized beings" came a sarcastic comment from Good, Old Marry" The horror! Mama can't even begin to imagine how devastating being clothed is for you"

"T-That's not it, Good, Old Mary" Aradia shouted, reddening.

"Right, right! What if she somehow switched your very special underwea-"

"Tribikos"

Part of giant alchemical tool fell onto Mut Thebes, shutting her up.

Good, Old Mary scoffed and looked at Touma.

"Mama admits that one known as Vasilisa the Beautiful is shrouded in mystery. But know for a fact that she is not what she appears"

Back in the present, Touma groaned

"This tells me a whole lot of nothing!"

"Busy day, I see"

He was only slightly startled by Nephthys appearing next to him.

He glanced at her.

"Hi, Nephthys. Good to see you"

"Really? My my, that is nice to hear"

She was sitting on the railing on her (almost) bare underside, with wind blowing her hair around. It looked like strands of silver silk in the moonlight.

He focused on her face, as Nephthys' entire body was rather risky territory for calm of growing highschooler to be maintained.

The goddess laughed, a delicate sound similar to crystal bells, only warmer in tone.

"You can look if you want. You are my favourite mortal now, it has its perks. I won't turn you into sand for it. In fact... it makes me feel revered"

"Are you reading my mind or something?"

"I don't have to. It's visible... and adorable"

She brushed few tears from under her eyes. Tears of joy, which she started to cry because of Touma.

She smiled mischievously at him.

"What are we going to do with such a fine date then? That's what mortals call it, right?"

"Date?! What date?!"

"The one on which we are on right now, of course"

"Are we?! You just popped into existence next to me"

"Don't people say 'no time like the present'? Or maybe... you don't want to?"

Touma quickly shook his head before collosal stream of tears found its way to world

"No, no, I am honoured, Nephthys-sama!"

"Alright, alright, I am teasing you..."

"But... well, for a date, I suppose to take you someplace nice. Buy something for you... but do you even need that?"

"I suppose..." Nephthys mused" That I would gladly except something you gave me, even if I can create almost anything you can imagine. But since I did drop here unannounced and I have slightly bigger possibility of making something memorable with something tiny like bending reality to my will, I am more than ready to take the lead. In fact, I wanted to show something to you"

She snapped her slender fingers.

VOOM!

The lights of the entire city went out.

"You cut of the power?! What about the hospitals?"

"I left it in all places that it is needed, do not worry. Now, look up"

As he lifted his gaze, he was met with a beautiful view.

Not only the stars, but even the stripe of Milky Way was visible.

The moon suddenly got dimmer too, so they could clearly see the vast space of darkness, freckled with points of silvery white, and smudged with purple and gold at few places.

"Wow! That's... incredible"

"Isn't it? In my times, sky always looked like that at night" Nephthys mused.

"A-Aren't you a bit to close?"

"Thou shalt not lie to your god. What do you really think?"

"This distance is amazing, please stay like this, oh generous Nephthys-sama"

She laughed again, as they looked at the starlit sky together.

She was right. They didn't really need to do anything fancy. It sufficed to just share the moment and one another.

After a while, Touma asked

"While you are here, can you tell me more about naming magic?"

She looked at him and sighed

"It's about Othinus, isn't it? You are curious about our deal, aren't you?"

"W-Well..."

"First of all, she will not be harmed in any way. Nor what I gain from it is hurtful to anyone. I made it so it will not be disclosed... because I don't want to ruin the surprise"

She looked at him with half-lidded eyes, and for the first time he realized...

"Does that contract has something to do with me?"

"Maybe... but if you are curious about naming magic itself, I can humour you..."

Nephthys snapped her fingers. Her hair flowed upwards and formed an elegant hairstyle with a bun and hair-loop. She also conjured up a pair of golden-framed glasses, placing them on her nose. Her heterochromic eyes seemed to glow like miniature sun and moon in the darkened city.

She winked, noticing Touma's expression.

For all the control he had, he could not totally hide excitement at that look.

"Let the lesson begin. It's not always straightforward, so pay attention"

She obviously enjoyed playing the part. Nephthys loved to explain things, which was something she shared with Othinus, but Touma didn't have the bravery to comment on that to either of the frenemy deities.

"The naming magic is closely connected to egyptian concept of the soul, from my native magic system, but it can be extended to almost any magical framework. The components of the soul are Khet, the physical body, Sah, the spiritual body, Ren, the nominal identity, Ba, personality, Ka, vital essence, Ib, the heart, and Shut, the shadow. The idea is as follows: The words and names are strictly connected to the concept they represent. The whole world..."

She pointed to the starry sky and then to the ground.

"Is filled with magic. It's interconnected through magic. And the magician can exert the influence of his desires by linking himself to something through the usage of the true name. What exactly can be done with it depends on the name, that is, the aspect of the soul you are using"

She pointed at the river underneath them.

"Inanimate objects have only Khet and Ren. Khet is the description of physical vessel, so it's the word in your common language. With it, you can use the imperative to enchant the matter with any effect you desire, if it is something river usually could do, should circumstances allow it. You manipulate the object without changing the object itself. For example: River, lift yourself into the air for ten seconds and then return to your proper flow.

There was a roar of water, when entire river that Touma could see suddenly soared into the air, like changing and shifting arc, before falling down and slamming into the bottom of the canal, assuming the earlier flow.

"Things go a bit tricky when you want to change the nature of the object, modify the object itself. Then you use Ren. It's the core identity of either object or a person."

She lifted a pebble under her feet and stared at it for a moment, before saying.

"Be aglow"

The rock lit up, as if Nephthys was holding miniature star between her fingers.

"But... you didn't say the name"

She shook her head, extinguishing the pebble with another short command.

"Ren, the true name, is not verbal in case of objects. It appears within the mind, as you visualize the concept or thing. It's more like a... story, or feeling. To change the nature of a pebble, you must know what makes a pebble what it is. To feel its... pebbleness, so to speak"

"It sounds like something straight out of zen book"

"Niang-Niang said the same when I explained it to her! This is why it can be tedious at times. But usually, with practice, Ren appears on their own after some time with the object"

"What about people?"

Nephthys pondered on it.

"Well, living beings have Khet, Ren, Ka, Ib, and Shut, at least. In case of humans and some animals, we include Sah and Ba too. Each of those has a different name for every single thing in the world. With knowledge of Ka, you can control vital forces. With Sah, the perception and spiritual awareness. With Ib, minds and hearts. With Shut, hidden side of the being, its shadow. But in general, if you know Ren, the true name, that should suffice for almost any purpose"

"Does it mean... is it possible to bind other people into doing something against their will?"

Nephthys hesitated, before nodding.

"Yes. If you know Ba, name of personality, you can change someone's sense of self. If you know Ren, you can issue any command you want, as you basically link to the very essence of that individuals being. From 'clean this room' through 'tell me everything you know about...' to 'fight all the enemies until you die'. But it's much harder to know true names of living beings. It requires extensive knowledge on that being and alignment of what you think about it with what it actually is. I wouldn't be able to just come to someone on the street and order them to do something. Although... true name can be shared by someone who already realizes it...if they can verbalize it..."

"Wait... you told me your-"

"That was my magic name. It's not my true name. Nephthys is my Khet, name of my bodily self. But don't worry, I will tell it to you someday, promise"

"Isn't this... a big sign of trust?"

"Mhm. But I am The One Who Speaks Through Silence. Who knows, maybe you will learn about my essence just by watching me"

"I don't know. You are kind of complicated."

"Well, thank you~"

Nephthys smiled and looked at the stars.

"I hope I satisfied your curiosity a little bit more now. I think this might prove useful to you in the future."

"Useful? But I can't use magic"

"But some of your children will be able to. There is also one more important thing about naming magic I forgot to mention. The purpose of its research, at least to ones who don't stop at simple reality manipulation, issuing commands, or transforming nature of objects, is to discover the most powerful name of all. Can you guess what it is?"

Touma thought for a moment. He had a gist of what it could be, but could not frame it well in words.

"Some sort of... ultimate cheat code of the universe?"

"Hmm, yes, to put it crudely. The Name of Names, Name of Creation, Name of The Universe, whatever you want to call it. The name that encompasses the entire existence and all the other names within it. The knowledge of which will give one the power over everything there is. Even to say 'creation, cease to exist'"

"Didn't Othinus do something like that already?"

"Erasing a phase by putting other one with no matter in it and outright destroying all of creation are two very different things. One of your children will attain mastery of this type of magic and will come very close to Name of Names, which even I don't know."

Touma nodded, deep in thought.

"Nephthys... if you and Othinus made a pact using naming magic, does that mean you know each other's true names?"

Nephthys was silent for a moment.

"... Yes..."

It was the least enthusiastic 'yes' Touma heard in a while.

"So, it means you were close in the past? Like you and Niang-Niang..."

"No! Desert sands, no! But... we were... different... back then... and we thought we could..."

"I know you don't exactly see eye to eye. But what exactly happened that caused that rift?"

Nephthys scoffed

"I think this is a story for another time. I have no intention of spoiling such a fine moment we have together"

Touma knew he should not press further, despite his curiosity.

"I can't really control Othinus. We enchanted ourselves to be immune to such control from the other side, long ago. So rest assured, your ice queen is perfectly safe"

"I believe you"

"Now, I believe you indulged my whims long enough to earn a reward."

"R-R-Reward?"

"Pick one thing I can do for you right now"

"D-Do you think I would indulge into desire just like that? I am not such a cheapskate"

"Desire? Oh my!" Nephthys made an innocent face" You can just ask for house cleaning or bento to school, but you still go for something like that"

Touma realized she had him.

"Come now, mortal. I think by now you realized that a bit of selfishness is needed in life. It will do you good"

Touma sighed, then looked around.

"I can try erasing the world if you want privacy"

"No!" Touma shuddered" anything but that! But... there is something small..."

He whispered a request.

Nephthys smiled in amusement.

"This is quite innocent. I like it. And you say that the hair and glasses are crucial?"

"YES!"

"You really like the teacher aesthetic, right?"

"Dorm manager, but yes"

Nephthys smiled, lied down and beackoned Touma to join.

She put him on her lap, with head on her chest.

She started to softly brush her hand through his hair and sing a nostalgic, beautiful song in a long gone language, that rose up to the starry sky.

Some time later, Touma opened his eyes.

"I think I have to go. I have important dinner to go to. Thank you so much"

"Pleasure is all mine. We shall see each other soon"

"Hey... before you go... you said my child will learn name magic and be close to this ultimate name. Which one?"

"Well..." Nephthys rose into the air, rotating herself so her face was upside down on the level of his" What if told you that it was ours?"

"WHAT?!"

"Just kidding... or am I?"

Touma was glad the lights only after Nephthys disappeared, because this time, he couldn't stop extreme embarrassment as he ran to meet with Komoe and Izumi.

(BETWEEN THE LINES)

(?)

There was once a daughter of a merchant. As her mother died, she gifted her a protector: a doll that, if hidden away from prying eyes and minds, would protect her and help her.

She suffered a scorn of her father's new partner. But even through cruelty, that girl, with a help of the doll, got through all the ordeals the stepmother and her daughter tried to impose on her.

Out of her father's notice, the stepmother moved the family away from their original home, close to the hut of Baba Yaga, in hopes that sending the girl out into the forest will get her killed from the hands of the witch, or at least tarnish the girl's wondrous beauty.

One day, her step-family forced the girl into collecting the light from the Baba Yaga's house. With doll's advice, she went. And as the riders of white, red, and black passed her, she arrived at the crooked house on hen's leg. The fence was made of bones and lanterns made of skulls.

Frozen in fright, the girl was found out. Baba Yaga, the primordial witch, ordered her to work in order to earn the fire or part with her life. She was to clean the yard, do the laundry, and make the dozen worth of food. The girl worked bitterly, but with the help of the doll, she got some rest.

The white rider passed by again. Then, the red, at high noon. By the time black galloped by, Baba Yaga returned and could not complain about anything. She gathered the oil and ask the girl if she had any questions.

The girl learned that three riders of white, red, and black were Day, Sun, and Night. Warned to not ask about any of the bones in the house, the girl was in turn asked by the witch about source of her success in completing the tasks.

As she heard of her mother's blessing, she cast the girl out, not wanting any magic of that sort near her, giving her a skull filled with burning coals. When the girl returned home, she found out no fire could be lit by her step-family ever since she left. As she arrived, the skull burned her stepmother and stepsisters. The girl then buried it, so no one could use its power to harm others again.

As her beauty grew, she was appointed as an assistant of the cloth maker in the capital, with such a skill, that she attracted the attention of the Tsar, who ended up marrying her

(IN THE PRESENT)

Vasilisa opened her eyes.

She rose up from her bed and looked at the desk.

A small sawing kit, a hollow skull, and a book

Народные русские сказки

Russian Fairy Tales

She smiled, rising up from the bed.

The tale didn't end there. It spanned over centuries of devotion, love, determination, and tragedy.

It was far from over.

She dressed up in her habit.

The reasons that outfit differed so much from the cloth of catholic nuns were plentiful.

From historical to liturgical and sociological.

But for Annihilatus itself, there was one more practical reason.

They were to subjugate and contain mystical forces and creatures. By force, if necessary.

And, by simple logic, blood was less visible on the crimson red than on black.

She gently traced her fingers on the desk, while peering out into the night of Academy City.

Kamijou Touma had every right to be confused. By his own reckoning, he didn't meet her before, not counting their battle in Denmark.

But even if he didn't know her, she knew him.

Or, at the very least, a part of him. A part that he was a legacy of.

She put a hand on her lovely lips and sighed, living a faint trace of steam on the window.

"Can you really save who you need to save, мой дорогой?"

(SOME TIME LATER)

"I wish I could just burn that stupid place"

There was a pair going through the streets, going to their dormitories through quiet back alleys.

A boy, looking quite plain, but with a face friendly enough, with sandy brown hair and brown eyes. And a beautiful girl with black hair and blue eyes.

"Don't say that. You are just proving their point"

"I know, but the fact that everyone is making fun of me behind my back sucks."

"Cheer up, at least they are not telling fart jokes anymore"

"Thanks, that's so much better. Now they switched to silent discrimination..."

Aikawa Enka, a methane-using esper searching for his place in life, groaned audibly.

"This must be a joke. There is no way my esper power really makes it so difficult to find a job."

His girlfriend and ex-Tokiwadai student, Hanamiya Kaira, tossed her hair aside and scoffed.

"Stop with your scowling. It is unsightly."

"Yet you still bothered to rampage throughout that office because you love me..."

"I did not rampage through anything..." she muttered, stomping her foot on the ground" And I only voiced myself because you don't have a spine."

She sized his hand and dragged him forward, fuming.

"I swear, you are kissing my hand a hundred times for making me go through that..."

"I can kiss more if you want..."

"D-Don't g-get ahead of yourself. As if I let you! B-But, just for the reference, what you had in mind?"

Was she a tsundere or just really stubborn? Enka didn't know.

All he knew was that despite how she acted, Kaira gave him a lot of love and patience in her own convoluted way. And it was far much more than a loser like him could hope for in life, at least in his opinion.

They were probably one of the weirdest couples in the city, with his street-smart, pessimistic, calm nature, and her lady-like, stubborn, go-getter streak. Both were rejected by their crushes, and met on the wreckage of the battlefield, where he saved his life because he wanted to be useful to someone in some way.

He would never guessed that they would end up like this. Not that he minded.

The story was rather funny one and completely not a traditional fairy tale.

But this had to wait.

Because they were about to wound up in something strange once again.

They heard a strange splashing sound ahead. As if something soaking wet was dropped down onto the ground.

And then, sound of quickly leaving footsteps.

There were no other sounds. And that made it so much worse.

"Something off is going on"

Kaira quickly reached towards the ground.

Her ability, Spaceshifter, allowed to control molecular bondings and shift them into new configurations within preexisting bodies of matter she touched. It could create various structures or shift the topology of the terrain, which was the effect she was going for now.

There was a rumbling sound ahead of them.

Enka hurried forward, but found only newly formed wall, with no one closed to it.

The person that made the sounds of steps vanished.

As he hurried back, Kaira was staring at the darkened alley branching off from the one they were in.

They looked at each other and nodded.

Enka carefully condensed a cloud of methane above them, making it sparse enough to not cause an explosion and then lit it up.

In the flash of airborne fire that flooded the alley, they noticed a pool of red.

And what apparently used to be a human being.

Enka felt sick.

It looked as if something compressed the poor guy...or a girl, he couldn't tell... to the ground.

The only good thing was that the victim probably didn't feel a thing if it happened as quickly as he thought it did.

He felt Kaira nudge closer to him and he instinctively embraced her protectively.

"What is going on?" she said, her tone without its usual spiciness.

"I... don't know" he admitted, swallowing hard." But maybe our friends will know something about it. It doesn't... it doesn't look like a normal crime"

The methane above them burned up, leaving them in the darkness once again.

The danger of Kamijou No Touma was over.

The future was coming closer than ever.

And yet, in the heart of Academy City, in the depths of the night, someone lost his life.

A new mystery was painting itself clear on the horizon, as important as destiny and as ominous as moonlight, that was hidden behind the curtain of clouds.

(TO BE CONTINUED)

And... done for now!

If I had a nickel for every time Touma's balls were almost decimated in this chapter, I would have two. Which isn't a lot, but poor Touma, it happened twice.

In this chapter, we will begin the mystery of Vasilisa. She was intiguing to me ever since I saw her. I wanted to write her as both attracting and unsettling, and most of all ambigious and uncertain when it comes to her motivations. What are they? Does she actually have a clear plan? What is she hiding when it comes to something she knows about Touma? Lots of questions about this fascinating enigma of a character.

We also have a return of another russian girl, Saronia, who has few mysteries of her own. I remember that I didn't have very strong opinions on Saronia. She was okay, just there. So to remedy that now, I wanted to expand on her and introduce her to story, because we are, in part at least, on the topic of Russian Orthodoxy and even if she was in GREMLIN she is from that side of the world.

I thought that she and Hasako have a bit in common, and could become friends under right conditions. This similarity sets Saronia apart from Maidono, because Maidono and Hasako's friendship is often based on how different and complimenting they are. To be honest, Hasako needs to be protected and I am just happy trying to make her happy. Not to mention Saronia and Maidono may have some pretty hilarious moments of rivalry... although not everything in the future may be rainbows and sunshine.

I thought Gokusai sisters would be a great group of people, forming Touma's new family, to confront him about the fact that he does, in fact, needs some help and venting, more than he realize. He's accustomed to pain and bad luck, but it doesn't mean that they have no effect on him. I wanted to give them more family moment, of good depth. I toned down romantic tone in favour of familal because it wouldn't be the same if he started to kiss them or get all lovey-dovey, but I think it proves more than anything that all three of them deeply love him.

And speaking of love, I fall deeper and deeper in love with Touma's relationship with Hasako, with and without Maidono to the mix. There is just so trusting, wholesome, and innocent about it. Every time I am writing their moments, my heart gets cozy too. I wish there could be art about them.

The same could be said about Nephthys, although that relationship is absolutely different. Nephthys still keeps her deal in the dark, but she came a long way since she met Touma. It's completed by the fact that she is completely in Touma's type and it just feels logical that there would be some attraction there. Let's be honest, if Nephthys was sent to scout for Kamijou instead of High Priest, he wouldn't deny the offer so easily.

I read a lot about name magic originating from Ancient Egypt and find it absolutely fascinating. It will surely come back in lots of ways as it is very versatile and requires psychological complexity, which makes it quite compelling for a story like this.

I though that it was high time to have someone bring Slavic Mythology to the mix. Like Saronia says, it is not as well known but it deserves a spotlight, such as in the case of Światowid. Which reminds me, here you have a small glossary of russian phrases in this chapter, as well as the polish incantation used by Saronia. I am using phrases from various languages since linguistics are also within sphere of my interests and its utilization makes the story feel more life-like in my opinion:

великие силы, исцели и исправь нанесенный мною ущерб. - Great powers, heal and mend the damage I have caused.

Да - Yes!

Я не смогу выйти замуж - I won't be able to get married

о Боже - Oh God

До свидания -See you later/Goodbye, till next time

Do tego miejsca, znaczonego dziewiczą krwią, przyzywam Światowida, Silnego Pana, który widzi wszystko i przenika chmury i mgłę. Wstąp we mnie, natchnij mnie, daj mi wizję, by uniknąć razów, które na mnie spadną!"- To this place, marked with virgin blood, I summon Svetovid, Strong Lord, who sees all and permeates clouds and mist. Enter me, inspire me, grant me vision, to avoid hurt, which will befall onto me

мой дорогой - My dearest

Last and not least, we have... oh you know, a murder. And return of the familiar pair of rejects, that are involved in it one way or another. What does it mean to Touma and the others? Are any of the new arrivals to the city involved in it?

Stay reading to find out...

Until we see each other in writing next time. Love you all!