Addendum 4: A Certain Magical Penthouse
Kamijou Touma laid in his makeshift bed in the bathtub staring at the ceiling. He was not sleeping, he did not sleep much that night in fact, he tried closing his eyes but his mind could not be put at ease. The boy turned to his side to grab his phone and look at the time, it was currently 7:00 am, January 8th. His winter break had ended so he needed to go to school today. All things considered it was oddly peaceful during the previous week.
After he was caught in that fiasco with the prisoner transport train crashing on December 29th, nothing of note really happened. It was odd though, Touma felt like something was missing on that day, like someone else was supposed to tag along with him through that. Not that he was in any position to complain, he actually did enjoy the past week, celebrating new years, and taking a break from all the craziness he's often caught up in. However, that all changed last night.
As Touma started to climb out of the bathtub he thought about what had happened last night. Just so much had happened he didn't really get a chance to think about it. Index became a magic god, Othinus was restored to her full form, Ainmire tried to kill him, and was still at large as far as Touma was concerned. Not to mention that Itsuwa swore fealty to Othinus and that selkie girl, Muireann, had offered to be his servant. This new school semester was already shaping up to be a chaotic one and it didn't even start yet.
The only silver lining in all this was that the concussion he received from falling down the stairs was a superficial injury and he was let out of the hospital within the hour. Though maybe that was more unfortunate than anything as that means Touma doesn't an excuse to skip the first day of school.
"*sigh* It's no use trying to get more sleep right now, I might as well start preparing breakfast for everyone so that something is done." Touma said before he turned on the bathroom light and began washing his face, the cool water did a meager job at stimulating his brain to operate at full capacity.
After washing his face, the boy then exited the bathroom and headed over to his little kitchen where he started the stove to preheat the pots and pans he was going to use. He brought out his cutting board and reached for a kitchen knife before he noticed something. One of his kitchen knives was missing from the small set he had.
"Such misfortune" Touma said as he then used a small paring knife to do the prep work for the dish he was preparing. As he was doing the prep work, the smell of food reminded him of something Othinus told him before they got home.
"Human, when Index brought me back, something within us got mixed up. There's a little bit of me in her and a little bit of her in me. We found out that I currently have hunger on par with her and that Index is a little more bloodthirsty than usual."
Touma sighed at the thought, it was difficult enough to feed one Index, now there were effectively two Indexes. He wondered if he could get some help with preparing food, Index was no good, but he never really thought of Othinus' ability. However, he also thought the war god's pride might make her stay away from the kitchen. That leaves Itsuwa and Muireann. Muireann was an unknown and Itsuwa at the moment was staying at her own residence but was going to move in later today to serve Othinus.
(Man this dorm is getting crowded real fast.)
As Touma was lost in thought over preparing food, another person in the dorm was awake. Muireann had taken the kitchen knife Touma was planning to use, she pretended to be asleep in order to wait for the right time to strike at Imagine Breaker. Now was the moment, the selkie quietly got up from her sleeping spot on the ground and snuck her way behind Touma. She held the kitchen knife in a reverse grip and raised it over her head. Just as Muireann was about to bring the knife down onto Touma's back, the boy turned around.
He took one look at Muireann holding the knife before saying, "Muireann, that's not how you hold a knife. You want it pointed away from you, here let me show you."
Muireann did nothing as Touma, after setting down his paring knife, walked her over to the counter and changed the orientation of the knife in her hand. Touma in his sleep deprived state did not even register in his mind that Muireann was holding the knife in a way to kill him.
"Look, this is how you slice food, just follow my movements and make sure you don't cut the hand that's holding the food alright?" As Touma explained proper cutting technique, Muireann's heart started to beat faster and her cheeks started to take a reddish hue.
"I-I know how to use a knife Kamijou, h-here I'll help you with the food." Muireann said as she shook her head rapidly.
"Oh thanks, can you finish chopping up the chicken first? I want to give them a sear in the pan before making the stew." Touma said while trying to fish a spatula out of a drawer.
(Wait, what am I doing, he's unarmed and the two magic gods are asleep right now. I'm in the perfect position to-)
Muireann's thoughts were cut short when she heard a loud yawn from the dorm followed by the subtle thumping of footsteps.
"Morning human." it was Othinus, she passed by the two before opening the door to the bathroom. "Are any of you going to use the bathroom soon? I'm going to need to use the mirror for at least half an hour."
"It's fine Othinus, you could take your time in there." Touma said, leaning back a bit to see Othinus
(Damnit, I missed my window of opportunity to assassinate Imagine Breaker, no matter, I can find other opportunities. I just need to get him out of the influence of these magic gods and I can strike him down.)
And so Muireann and Touma prepared breakfast for everyone in the dorm, mainly Othinus and Index since those two would eat the most. The smell of food roused Index awake and with breakfast ready, Touma opened the door to the bathroom.
"Hey Othinus, the food is ready-what's with the fancy getup?" Touma said as he saw the war god dressed in a black and white formal suit with her blonde hair tied into a bun behind her head.
"Oh this? I'm going to find a job today to help you get enough food to feed me and Index, as well as provide some more spending cash for you." Othinus said while adjusting her tie "Though I will partake in that stew before I head out."
(I didn't think I'd see the day Othinus would go out and work for someone else, I wonder what kind of job she'll try to get. Probably a managerial position or something.)
"Oh yeah, what's with that glowing portal over the bathtub?" Touma asked as he pointed to a portal, its edges seemingly rimmed by gold fire. On the other side of the portal lay a green field, with a city in the distance, and oddly enough, what appeared to be a very large pot.
"That's a portal to Asgard, I'm trying to get information on what valkyries I have left after that incident in Denmark and it'll be easier with the records there. Why did you ask about my suit before that?" replied Othinus
"Because some magical nonsense happening is less of a drastic change than you wearing something like that. Anyways breakfast is on the table but wouldn't the food stain your suit?" asked Touma as Othinus walked out the bathroom
"I'm capable of eating with finesse human, now where is my bowl?" the war god said as drool started to drip from her mouth
As the gods began having their fill, Touma, after having a quick bite himself, grabbed his school bag and made his way towards the door.
"Alright, I'm heading out guys, I'll see all of you after school."
The first day of the new school semester was already miserable for Touma. It wasn't that he arrived late or ran into any trouble, it was that he was currently very exhausted. He wished that falling down those stairs left him unconscious longer, class hasn't even started yet and he already feels like dozing off. He nearly did as well, but the momentum instead made him slam his head into his desk. When he recoiled from the impact, the boy had just enough adrenaline to notice a few things.
(Huh, wouldn't Aogami be discussing some kind of perverted thing right about now? Wouldn't Fukiyose berate him, Tsuchimikado, and me at this point? Now that I think about it, the classroom seems pretty quiet right about now.)
It was then that Touma decided to scan the room and noticed that everyone was just as tired, if not more tired, than he was. Well except Himegami, she seemed to be the only one standing out, ironically, being her normal self. It was also then that Touma noticed that Tsuchimikado was currently snoring. In response, the boy started to shake his neighbor awake.
"Huh…oh it's you Kami-yan." the sun glasses wearing double agent said
"You're that tired huh?"
"Well, I didn't get that much *yawn* sleep last night since I heard you slamming your roommate into the wall. The screaming I heard later just sealed the fact I wasn't going to get much sleep last night."
(Huh? Screaming, what screaming?)
A random, half asleep, classmate then chimed in "Oh so you heard that screaming as well? Yeah that shit was so loud it woke me up in the middle of the night.
This was then followed by a bunch of murmurs of agreement throughout the entire classroom.
"Uh…I didn't hear this screaming you guys are referring to."
"Then why are you so tired Kami-yan? And lucky you! You didn't hear a girl scream something about 'there is nowhere in the universe for you to hide' or something like that."
"Yeah, that's what I heard screamed out as well," another random classmate said, which was followed by another wave of murmured agreements.
"Wait, pretty sure we all live in different parts of the district, how in the world did you all hear the same thing?" asked Touma
"I don't know, it was pretty loud Kami-yan, I'm surprised you didn't hear it being my neighbor."
(Ok maybe falling down those stairs was more of a blessing then. Hey wait, class is about to start, where's Komoe?)
It was then that the class's tiny pink teacher entered the room, holding a massive thermos alongside the papers she had for the class. She had bags under her eyes, just like all of the class, except Himegami.
"Morning students, welcome back, I hope you all had a great winter break. Sorry for not really being as cheerful as I could be today," Komoe said as she set her belongings on her desk. "It's just that last night, I was awoken by someone screaming about nowhere in the universe to hide."
Almost all of the class responded in unison "We know, we heard it too."
"O-Oh, ok then let us begin today's lesson. Today we will be covering…"
Touma spent the rest of the school day trying to stay awake, he wasn't even paying attention to the lessons, his main goal was to get through the day so that he can go home and get some proper rest. It wasn't until the final period that the boy felt his body and mind start to waver.
(Othinus help me, I'm nearly at the finish line, just a few more minutes then I can go home and go to bed. Wait…I have to prepare dinner, All-Father damnit. Ok, just one more hour then…one more…hour…)
It was then that Touma finally gave in and proceeded to fall asleep in class. Komoe proceeded to continue her lecture, unaware that students had fallen asleep in her class. Though it was clear her usual enthusiasm and energy wasn't there, despite her constant consumption of coffee to compensate.
"Alright class, that concludes our lessons for today. Any questions on this topic?" the pink teacher asked
Himegami then spoke, "Uh, Sensei, everyone else in the class fell asleep a while ago, they haven't been paying attention."
"Oh…" Komoe said, while such a thing would bring her to tears, this was kind of an exception "Well, I guess that's understandable, I'm going to rest a bit as well. Himegami, can you wake everyone up in an hour?"
Komoe then walked over to her desk and proceeded to collapse on her chair. This left Himegami as the only one in the classroom still awake.
"But I'm tired too."
One hour later…
"Hey Touma, wake up!" said Himegami while shaking the boy
"Huh…where am I? Gah! I fell asleep in Komoe-sensei's classroom! Sensei I'm…" Touma said in a panicked tone before noticing that Komoe herself had fallen asleep "...sorry. Huh…Well thanks for waking me up Himegami, I'm going home now."
With that Touma left the school, as he walked through the streets, he heard a voice behind him call out for him.
"Kami-yan wait!" It was Tsuchimikado now holding a tall can of energy drink "I need to know your secret for how you didn't hear that loud scream last night."
"I…don't know, besides I didn't get a lot of sleep last night anyways. I had to deal with a lot of stuff last night. There was an attempt on my life, I fell down some stairs, got into a car crash, and Index…is doing fine."
"What was that about Index Kami-yan?" said Motoharu as his eyes narrowed, though it wasn't really visible to Touma since his neighbor was wearing sunglasses
"I uh…let's just move onto a new topic, like that source of the screaming, hahaha"
"You're hiding something from me right now, I know it Kami-yan. Why did you even slam Index into the wall in the first place?"
"She…bit my hand and I had to shake her off." Touma siad while pulling the collar of his shirt
"I get the feeling that's not the full story there…"
The two boys continued to walk their way home, Motoharu constantly eyeing Touma suspiciously during the whole trek. Touma in turn, broke out into a nervous sweat at the suspicion and prayed that something would happen to take the spy's attention away. Such a thing did come, though it was also something that left Touma himself confused as well.
Their dorm building has seemingly been replaced with a massive skyscraper with a large overhead balcony. They could not make out the full details of the building from where they stood. Nor did they doubt they got lost and ended up at a different building, they had walked this same route countless of times afterall.
"I…whu…what is this?" Tsuchimikado asked
"Your guess is as good as mine, I have no clue what this is either."
"This is the same address for the building we live in, right?" the spy said before taking out the keys to his dorm…which has since mysteriously transformed into a keycard. Though the address was still etched into just like the old keys. "It…is. Oh god, what about Maika! She was still in the dorm when I left. Maika!"
And so Motoharu ran into the building shouting the name of his sister, leaving Touma by himself at the base of the building. The unfortunate boy sighed before taking out his own keycard, it was gold in color, with the address of the building and his name etched onto the front. However, there was no indication of which specific unit he was assigned to. So the boy ventured into the building to find out, the first thing he noticed though, was the receptionist. She wore a dark blue cotton shirt and miniskirt, her gold hair barely passed her ears, and her red eyes denoted someone that was experienced…but in what regard?
"Greetings, I am here to…oh it's you, she told me to keep an eye out for…ahem, I'm here to provide information about your new dorm building and to navigate guests to the correct units. What would you like to know about the building?"
"Why was the building changed to this?" asked Touma
"I am not allowed to disclose that information." the receptionist said, her face still putting on a smile.
"Uh…what's different about this building compared to the old one?"
"Ah, yes we've decided to provide more facilities in this new dorm as well as expand the size of each unit to allow for a more comfortable living experience."
"Wh-What kind of facilities are there?"
"Private or public facilities?"
"Public I guess?"
"Why would you want to know about the pu-" the receptionist's visage momentarily turned to confusion before she stopped herself "Ah yes, the public facilities, we've decided to offer our residents a laundromat, indoor swimming pool, spa, and gym."
"I suppose the laundromat would make things convenient. How are each of the individual dorms compared to the old one?"
"Why yout-er…The dorms have been expanded to have roughly double the area compared to the old ones, with expanded kitchen area, an extra bedroom for relatives, enlarged living room with a large OLED tv, and complimentary laptop."
"That sounds great…so where is my unit?" Touma asked as he slid his keycard onto the reception desk
"The specific unit is etched onto the keycard itself, which also serves as a form of identification at official Academy City institutions. However for you specifically…you live in the penthouse."
"I'm sorry what? And wait…was this why you were confused when I asked those questions?"
"Yeah I thought you knew you lived in the penthouse."
"Why would I think that I'd live in the penthouse? I lived in a normal dorm just like everyone else."
"Do you also not know…you know what All-Father could tell you. Though while we're on the topic, the penthouse foyer can only be accessed by two methods, either one of the residents gives you permission from the penthouse itself, or with your keycard. Just use your keycard on the scanner in the elevator and it'll take you up."
(All-Father…Othinus and Index are behind this of course. There's no way a building like this could be built so quickly.)
"Alright thank you for the help." Touma said to the receptionist as he made his way to the elevators, they were 9 in number, a common number in Norse mythology, naturally Othinus had employed it here as well.
When Touma stepped into the elevator, he glossed past all the buttons, and instead used his keycard on the scanner. Immediately the elevator started heading up towards the penthouse.
(I wonder how big this penthouse would be, probably enough for me to have a bed of my own, which would be nice. I don't remember a time I slept in a bed that wasn't in a hospital. Also I just thought of something, what exactly is a foyer?)
As Touma tried to remember the definition of the word, the elevator reached the penthouse foyer. The boy stepped out into a carpeted hallway with one direction leading to a dead end and another leading to a set of large wooden doors. The air was constantly blowing through the hallway as Touma walked through. When he got to the wooden doors, he pushed them open to find himself in the foyer.
"Holy…"
Kamijou recently found himself in a huge reception hall, he was getting slight vertigo looking at the ceiling of this place. Thick marble pillars lined the massive hall, a decorated fountain lay in the center, elegant carpets were arranged in a neat pattern along the floor, and at the end there was a set of curved stairs leading to another set of wooden doors.
"So how do you like your new home Huma-I mean Touma?" asked Index, who suddenly appeared beside Touma along with Othinus, who was now in her usual attire.
"It's too big! It looks like it'll take 20 minutes just to reach the other side of this room." said an exasperated Touma
"Human, maybe you should take a look first before passing judgment on your new home." replied Othinus as she put her hand on Touma's back nudging him forward "Why don't we give a quick tour?"
"I…ok I'll see what this penthouse has first before passing judgment," said the unfortunate boy as he began to walk forward.
"Something we implemented in this place is a type of spatial distortion," Othinus explained as the group reached the stairs on the other side of the foyer in a shockingly fast amount of time "It makes it so that traversing large areas like this, take no time at all to residents and welcomed guest. Intruders on the other hand, have to walk the full physical length. It's a modified spell based on Daedelus' labyrinth that Index created when designing this place. Such a measure was made to improve the efficiency of the automated defenses."
Touma stumbled a bit upon hearing those last two words, "I'm sorry…automated defenses?"
The war god then stopped and turned around towards the foyer, before clapping her hands in a specific pattern. This caused several turrets to emerge from the ceiling and floor, laser tripwires to activate on the walls and marble pillars, and the fountain elevated to reveal a machine resembling a transparent jellyfish, it had a dome shaped body with tentacles spreading throughout its body. It was a FIVE_OVER, the model replicating Meltdowner.
"Best Academy City has to offer human, though these are mainly to keep up appearances that this place isn't also protected by magic as well. Each and every hallway and gathering area has these defenses installed. Private areas like bedrooms and private bathrooms are free from these things to keep things…private."
"Touma remember that thing under the fountain? Back in Los Angeles when Stiyl tried to kill you?" asked Index
"Oh yeah, you have Othinus' memories." said Touma with a growing amount of concern "You…aren't angry at him for that right?"
"A little…" Index began sweating a little
"How much is a 'little'?"
"Let's move on with this tour shall we?" said Index as she tried to nudge Touma up the stairs to the halls.
So the tour of the penthouse continued where Touma was introduced to all 9 floors of his new home, the further along the tour he got, the more and more distraught he became.
On the floor containing the foyer, there also contained several office suites and private libraries. For whom these were meant for was unknown to Touma at the time. The floor after that were the guests bedrooms, each one rivaling a 5 star hotel room in the luxuries provided. The hallways themselves were beautifully decorated with a myriad of paintings, suits of armor from every era, and elegant pottery.
On the third floor was the supernatural conservatory, magical means were implemented to make the sun shine down on this floor. Hundreds of potted plants lay within its massive glass halls, some even magic in nature like the berserker mushrooms, mandrake roots, and the tree mimicking the appearance of Yggdrasil. In one section of the floor, there was instead constructed a zen garden, though this one was larger in size compared to ones someone might normally see.
The fourth floor consisted of the olympic sized indoor swimming pool, access to the balcony, the outdoor olympic sized swimming pool on the balcony, the helipad on the balcony, several bathhouses and spas, and the indoor gym. The fifth floor consisted of all the utilities like private labs and workshops, laundry machines, and a brewery and massive cellar. There was also a large kitchen area there but it seemed more scientific rather than culinary in purpose.
The sixth floor consisted of a vast library and computer lab, though it was nothing like a public library. The library not only contained books, but also scrolls and ancient parchments stored in glass for preservation purposes. In fact, artifacts and relics of all sorts were displayed throughout the library. As for the computer lab, there weren't just normal computers you could buy at an electronics store, there was a server cluster and supercomputer named "Tree Diagram 2." Oddly enough there was a sign on the supercomputer that read "Sorry for blowing the first one up-Index."
The seventh floor contained a massive dining hall and not one, not two, not three, not even four, but five different kitchen areas. One for each corner of the dining hall and a special circular one at the center, each equipped with an extensive array of cooking equipment. From advanced machines, like industrial ovens and automated mixers, to more traditional cooking hardware, like a clay european ovens, tandoori ovens, and even just a large pot over a bonfire, each kitchen area had a varying array of these to make sure they aren't too similar. It was pretty clear that Index had put in a lot of work and effort into making this area.
The eighth floor consisted of the entertainment facilities, including a theater, a game room, an arcade, a bar that was added on Othinus' insistence, and the centerpiece of it all, a large ornate ballroom. Tall windows with fine silk curtains lined 3 of the 4 walls of the ballroom, an eye-catching crystal chandelier hung over the center of the room, and there was an overhead area accessible by a set of stairs within the ballroom that overlooked the ballroom itself.
The ninth and final floor were the private quarters of Index, Othinus, and Touma. It had a large balcony with a helipad and pool like the fourth floor, a bathhouse area, a personal kitchen area, their bedrooms, and another room with an unknown purpose. This floor was the final one covered by Index and Othinus' tour. By the time it was over so much so that the sun was now setting over the horizon.
"And that's your new home human, well there is the 10th floor for the staff, but I don't think you need to see that one, it's a lot like the second floor." said Othinus "So how do you like your new home?"
Touma's mouth was in a state of perpetual shock, it took a minute for him to finally get some words out.
"T-This Kamijou-san demands you turn everything back right now. Wait! Give me a minute."
Touma then ran into the private kitchen area and soon emerged with a few implements in his arms. Chief among them, a stand mixer, an immersion blender, and an egg beater.
"Ok now turn everything back."
"What, you just want those cooking gadgets?" asked Index
"This Kamijou-san needs every help he could get in preparing meals now that he has to look after two freeloaders with black hole stomachs. Besides, these are very expensive…I also wanted to try baking, all the recipes I found online required the stand mixer."
"Not a freeloader anymore human, I successfully got a job." said Othinus puffing up her chest.
"Oh and we forgot to tell you about your new maids!" Index said rushing down the hallway "I'll go introduce them to you."
"M-Maids? Ok I shouldn't be surprised at this point."
"Touma, here are you new maids!" Index said coming down the hall with over a dozen girls in tow, most seemed to be blonde which made the ones that weren't stick out even more. Namely there were three that stuck out, Muireann, the selkie girl from before, Itsuwa, who seemed to be taking her oath to Othinus pretty seriously, and one Kanzaki Kaori. Though most of the maids were dressed in traditional maid attire, Kanzaki was dressed in her Fallen Angel Ero maid costume.
"T-That's too far, this Kamijou-san wants you to turn everything back to normal right now! Why did you even bring Kanzaki into this?" screamed the panicked and surprised Touma
"Well I went around asking a bunch of the female friends you had if they wanted to be your maid and Kanzaki was the only one I asked who answered yes." replied Index as she lightly tapped her fingers together
"What about the Anglican church, what would they think if you suddenly just grabbed a saint like this?"
"Don't worry Touma, I left them a note."
Meanwhile at Necessarius headquarters, there was complete chaos as an organization wide search for one Kanzaki Kaori was conducted. All the members searched everywhere they could, in every closet and room, person sized container, and even, among the more desperate members, in vases and under rugs. However none of them could find Kanzaki, that was until someone found something.
"I found something guys, it's a note." it was Agnese Sanctis, she held the note up high so that people could see it before turning it over to read it "It says, 'I took Kanzaki to be with Touma, we'll take care of her.' Hey, isn't this Index's handwriting?"
Tatemiya Saji, upon hearing those words, fell to his knees and slammed his fist into the ground, "Damnit Othinus, was Itsuwa not enough? Is this the punishment you've decided to enact on us, you forced Index to take Kanzaki didn't you? How could you be so cruel?"
Another voice then rang down the halls, "Hey the washing machine Kanzaki liked so much is missing…and there's a note here…isn't this Index's writing?"
"Is there nothing sacred to you Othinus!?" screamed the substitute pontiff of the Amakusas "Is there nothing sacred? You will get what you deserve, you evil god!"
Back at Touma's penthouse, the unfortunate boy was being introduced to his new maids. He wore a deadpan expression on his face. Muireann, Itsuwa, and Kanzaki were Index's choice of maids. Othinus on the other hand, decided to call upon her ranks of Valkyries.
"So human, these are some of the greatest Valkyries I have available, well except one, she's late right now. Also a bit of a rookie."
It was then that a short blonde haired teenage girl dressed in a long skirted maid uniform ran down the hall, "Sorry, All-Mother. In the end, I was busy with the mission you assigned to me so I couldn't respond to your call in time."
"For the last time Frenda, it's All-Father not All-Mother!" said Othinus as she facepalmed
"In the end, isn't All-Mother a more fitting title since you're female?"
"That's it, for the next month starting tomorrow you have the duty of cleaning all the toilets in this penthouse alongside your other duties!" the war god shouted
Frenda then started shuffling away, muttering to herself obscenities as she stared at the floor. Touma then turned towards his understander before asking her a question.
"She seems to hold you in contempt and you don't seem to like her that much. Why did you even bring her into this?" asked Touma
"Make no mistake, Frenda is very capable, and though she doesn't show it to me. I know she's immensely grateful for me bringing her back from the dead. She's also one of the moles I planted around the city." Othinus responded with her arms crossed
"Moles? Why did you plant moles around the city?"
"For your safety of course, I have one planted in that hospital you frequent, one of them is monitoring visitors into the city, and Frenda is my insider into the darkside of Academy City as part of my new job. Speaking of which, I need to show up for an announcement soon." The All-Father then snapped her fingers and had changed her attire into the formal suit she wore that morning
"Oh yeah, what is your new job anyways?"
"I'm the new member of the Board of Directors."
Touma froze in place for a minute before shaking his head rapidly, "Othinus, can you change it so that the events of this day haven't happened yet, and then not do all the things you did with Index?"
"No." Othinus said blatantly
"What do you mean no?"
"I'm refusing your request human."
"Why?"
"Because I think this arrangement is better for all of us, besides Accelerator would be very angry at me if I quit on my first day."
"You probably used your powers to manipulate Accelerator into giving you this job in the first place!" Touma shouted as she pointed at Othinus
"I did not, in fact, you can call him right now to make sure." Othinus said handing Touma a piece of paper with Accelerator's phone number
"I think I will!" Touma replied as he snatched the paper from Othinus
Meanwhile at a special cell in the adult reformatory the chairman of Academy City sat in his chair looking over some details on a screen when he suddenly received a call.
"Sir, one Kamijou Touma is requesting to speak with you," an emotionless female on the other side of the call said "Should we send him to the usual call centers?"
"No, I know this guy, send him through." With that another caller came through "So what do you want, Hero?"
"Alright, so you made Othinus one of the new members of the Board of Directors right?" asked the voice on the other side
"Yes." Accelerator replied simply
"You aren't feeling unwell right, like someone is controlling you in some way right?"
"Nope."
"You do know that Othinus was an international terrorist, why'd you make her one of the Directors on your Board?"
"Hero, don't you live with her? I find it ironic that you of all people are pointing out her past crimes. Also if you haven't fucking noticed, I'm currently in prison." Accelerator said while pinching his nose.
"Ok…but why did you hire her?"
"Well it went something like this."
Earlier that morning, Accelerator sat at a specially constructed interview setup. The sterile steel room was separated by a clear barrier with Accelerator on one side and the candidate on the other. He was given a computer to look at the credentials and records of those he was interviewing. The chairman sighed as he scrolled through the records of the previous candidate, he then brought out his phone and dialed a number.
"Will, Qliphah, did you get that interview recorded?"
"Yes, master, we saw everything through the hidden cameras, when will you let me be by your side again?"
"When we finish interviewing this last candidate. To be honest I feel like this day has been a bust, not one of these candidates is a good pick. I guess this job just attracts a certain kind of person."
"Perhaps you should just pick the most qualified person for the job /escape?"
"Yeah but that doesn't address any ethical or moral requirements, we could be hiring a Kihara by the end of this."
"From the looks of it, none of these candidates were ethical in the first place /return. In fact, I think all of the Board members are practically looking for an opportunity to betray you /return. So really, the best option is to hire the person best suited for the job and to keep an eye on them /return."
"You're probably right Will, alright let's see about this last candidate." said Accelerator as he took a sip of canned coffee.
Then, international terrorist Othinus, in her full size, wearing formal attire, walked through the door and took a seat. Accelerator nearly spit out his coffee at the sight, he immediately turned on his collar, tapped his foot on the ground, redirecting the vectors towards the woman, shattering the clear barrier in the process, and kicking up a large amount of dust. The chairman was protected from the debris thanks to his vector control so he was untouched during all of this.
The white haired boy stood up, ready for some counter attack once the dust settled. Instead, the unscathed magic god remained seated with a bemused look on her face before speaking.
"So is this part of the interview?"
"You're…actually here for the job?"
"Did I not make that clear when I registered my qualifications?" Othinus asked as she looked around the room, viewing the destruction Accelerator caused, "Want me to clean up your little mess here?"
Accelerator nodded in agreement, in turn Othinus snapped her fingers and everything returned to the state it was before Accelerator launched his attack. The chairman then sat back down and checked Othinus' information on his computer.
(Damn AI assisted selection process managed to have this terrorist pass through to the interview stage. I mean seriously, a fucking child could tell this is all bogus info, the age is in scientific notation, there's 50 doctorates on file dating all the way back middle ages. Alright then I'll ask her a few questions to see if she could put her money where her mouth is.)
2 hours later and Accelerator was…surprised to say the least. He had asked Othinus about every scientific concept known to man from CRISPR to string theory, and the war god had perfectly answered each and every one of them. Providing details and nuance on par with leading experts in the field. Othinus was the god of knowledge for a reason it appeared. Meanwhile, the chairman's right hand was currently tightly gripping the top of his head, disheveling his hair in the process.
(Am I really about to hire this terrorist? The one I was sent to kill back in November? But Will-tan said to hire the most qualified candidate and this woman just blew away all the competition.)
Accelerator then shook his head before straightening himself on his chair and continuing the interview.
"So…Kamijou Othinus huh? Where did you happen to get that surname from?" asked the chairman
"It's a fake one, I just took my understander's family name because I doubt many people would think Othinus by itself was a real name."
Accelerator cleared his throat in response to that remark, as he was officially known as Accelerator, just that single word was his name, "So why do you want to become a member of the Board of Directors? What's your plan for this city?"
"I plan to make this city a better and safer place for my understander. Being by his side, I saw the lacking aspects of this city as well as the rot that has taken place. Most of this I understood was intentionally implemented by the previous chairman to cause conflict for my understander. I wish to root all of this out and create a peaceful environment for my human…or at least have him go to the hospital less."
(Seems like a noble goal, but can a person like her be trusted? Can she be redeemed? Wait, why am I of all people asking that question? The answer is probably yes, besides there's that piece of advice Will-tan gave me. I wonder what she would think of this choice.)
Meanwhile in a surveillance room not too far from there, the Will of the Misaka, who was currently possessing a willing Misaka clone, was banging, with her fist, on the monitor viewing the camera overlooking the interview room. Qliphah Puzzle 545, was busy trying to hold her back from smashing the screen.
All the while Will-tan was screaming, "FORGET MY ADVICE /return. NOT HER, ANYONE BUT HER /return."
"Well, Othinus, it looks like you were the most qualified…and ironically the most ethical and moral candidate. So I welcome you aboard the Board of Directors, I'll send a file detailing what's expected of you and your duties to your place of residence."
Upon hearing that, Othinus very slightly seized up, though it was still noticeable to Accelerator.
"You still live in the Hero's dorm room don't you?" Accelerator asked with a deadpan expression on his face
"It is a suitable residence, not many people would think to look for a top ranking official at some basic dormitory."
"You are expected to be able to hold meetings at your place, Othinus, and I don't think the Hero would take very kindly to a bunch of people in his living room out of the blue. It's fine though, we could arrange everyone living in that dorm to move to a larger residence, I think the-"
"No need." Interrupted Othinus
"What?"
"I have some ideas about tidying that place up for my human."
"Very well, I will be keeping an eye on your actions as a member of the Board of Directors. Don't disappoint me."
"And that was how Othinus got that position, Hero." the albino said
"So you were the reason my dorm looks like this now? How did you even know about the part about Will-tan bashing the monitor if you were in a different room too?" asked the unfortunate boy
"Uh, are you complaining about living in a fancier residence now? Also Qliphah told me about Will-tan freaking out."
"Fancy? This place is gaudy as hell, I'm going to feel dirty just living here, not to mention all the maids. I'm not some king of the world, I'm just a normal high school student, I'm not supposed to have this stuff. Also, did you say that Othinus took my family name?"
"To be honest, with the way you two interact, you might as well be married." joked Accelerator
"We aren't! I could just imagine someone getting the wrong idea and think I'm married to a member of the Board of Directors." Touma sighed then pinched his nose before realizing something. "Where's Othinus?"
"She must've gone to the announcement about her membership. Speaking of which, I need to get ready for that as well. Bye Hero."
"Wait hold on-" and with that the chairman of Academy City hung up the phone before readying himself for the camera.
Later, Accelerator sat in front of a camera and a screen that displayed a stage and crowd somewhere in Academy City. A light then lit up on the camera indicating that it was now broadcasting. He gave a casual yet professional look towards the camera before saying his introduction.
"People of Academy city, following the arrest of Neoka Norito, the Board of Directors, normally 12 in number, has had a hole in its ranks. I sought to fill that hole as quickly as possible while employing a suitable candidate for the job. With that, I am here to announce the new member of the Board of Directors, Kamijou Othinus."
He then saw in his peripheral view a blonde haired girl walk onto the stage. It was Othinus, who stepped onto a podium and began speaking into a microphone
"Greetings mortals, I Othinus have taken this role as to make up for some glaring deficiencies in the Academy City system. I announce, with my appointment onto the Board of Directors, that I will be refining the esper development programs in Academy City to produce more high level espers, as well as the improvement of law enforcement institutions such as Judgement and Anti-Skill. However my ultimate goal is the creation of a stable level 6 esper."
That last statement began to echo in the head of the chairman as he shifted his eyes towards Othinus, the SISTERS project and the slaughter of over ten thousand clones was still fresh in his memory. All of that, all of the atrocities he committed, was supposedly in pursuit of one thing, the creation of a level 6. Now his new hire was in pursuit of that same goal that took so many lives.
(Did I hear this right? Is this bitch serious? Does she know what she even said? Did…Did I make a mistake in putting her in this position?)
"And before any of you mortals ask, no the chairman will not be partaking in these experiments as a level 6 candidate. I am confident in my own abilities and the abilities of my subordinates that a level 6 shall be created by the end of the year. That is all mortals."
(That does not put my fears at ease, if not me then who else? And by the end of the year? What kind of things would she do to achieve that goal?)
As Accelerator watched the magic god walk off the stage, he picked up his phone and dialed a number. The phone rang a few times before it was picked up.
"Bitch, what was that about a level 6 esper?" said the chairman, the vitriol apparent in his voice, his grip on his phone tight "You better choose your next words very carefully or things will get very messy."
"Relax mortal, I know your history with the previous level 6 project. Just so you know, I believe Gensei to be an absolute fool. Experiments with results that are impossible to repeat are almost anathema to the scientific method developed by humans."
"Wait, 'repeatable results' does that mean you plan on having more than just one level 6?"
"I do intend for that mortal."
"Don't you think that Aleister would've created one by now if something like that was possible?"
"Mortal, given that you are in his former position as well as your experience with the projects, you should know that the experiments conducted were never intended to actually create a level 6. They were intended to create problems for my human in order to make him stronger. This entire city was designed for that purpose. However, now that he is gone, things could change around here, no more lies, no more secrets. I will usher in an age of enlightenment through hard work and dedication, to better the world for my human."
"You want to create a utopia through the creation of level 6s?"
"There is no such thing as a perfect world, but I will make this one better."
"That still doesn't put my suspicions at ease, everything has its price and what you propose…"
"How about this mortal, I won't kill anything in pursuit of a level 6. I will kill when necessary for self defense or for the goal of law enforcement when the situation demands it, but for this new SHIFT project, no lives will ever be lost. If they are, then you have every right to come after me."
"Is that a deal?"
"No a promise, to you, to myself, and most of all, to my human."
The chairman sighed before responding "Just so you know, I'm not placing my trust in you, rather trust in the Hero that he really changed you. Go, do your experiments, but the moment you cross the line, I will do everything in my power to stop you."
"I'd expect nothing less from you." with that last statement Othinus hung up
Accelerator then pinched his nose "The first day on the job and she's already proving to be a handful. I almost feel like I need a drink of water and a lie down."
It was then an emotionless voice suddenly chimed in, "Sir, the Board of Directors is contacting you about their new member."
The chairman then rubbed his forehead before leaning back "Of course, start a group call and put them on the line."
With that the screen in front of Accelerator then shifted to displaying 11 portraits of people in shadow. They cluttered the speakers with their questions, remarks, and curses.
"Sir, why didn't you tell us about this new member?"
"That girl looks a little young, are you sure she's up for the job?"
"What the hell were you even thinking?"
Accelerator then put his hand in the air, it appeared the call was a video call as the Board of Directors stopped talking.
"Alright third rates, just so you know, I intended to tell you about the new member before the public announcement but I was interrupted by a call from someone else. So now is as good of a time as any to brief all of you on this new member to the Board."
A few grumbles and murmurs then came from a few of the members before Accelerator continued.
"Othinus was brought on to help with the law enforcement of this city. Recent incidents concerning Operation Handcuffs and the Overhunting train have shown me the deficiencies that the previous chairman has intentionally left in our law enforcement organizations. The new member was the most qualified for the job having experience in law enforcement and evasion tactics."
(That experience was her as a terrorist fighting against law enforcement organizations and evading those hunting her, but I'm not telling these third rates that.)
"She's also a master of espionage who employs some…usual tactics many of you aren't familiar with. Othinus is frankly a highly dangerous person that shouldn't be trifled with."
"That's rich coming from someone currently in prison for over ten thousand murders." remarked one of the male figures
"*sigh* I am not joking when I say that, nor putting it lightly. Othinus as an individual possesses capabilities far beyond your understanding. Do. Not. Mess. With. Her."
"If she's so dangerous, then how are you going to keep her in line?" asked another figures, this one female
"I have my methods, let's just say I know what her chain is and that chain and I are on speaking terms."
As Accelerator continued to brief the Board of Directors, one of the members started another call, ringing someone else up. The way the chairman spoke about Othinus, it didn't sit right with them, there was something more to the new member, and they knew the right person to dig up more information.
Kumokawa Seria was currently sitting on her couch in her apartment. In front of her stood a brown haired girl in handcuffs and a uniform from one of Academy City's reformatory. Her name was Mitsuari Ayu and she was flanked by two armed guards who kept an eye on her.
"My my Mistuari, what a handful you are, trying to kill the 5th ranked level 5 like that. If you didn't have your uses, you would be left to rot in a cell for the next few decades of your life." Mitsuari just glared angrily at Kumokawa in response "Don't worry, I'll pull some strings to get you out early and-"
The phone in Kumokawa's pocket then began to ring, the girl then took it out and looked at the contact info.
"Hold on this is important, give me a minute," Seria said as she answered the phone "What is it?"
"Kumokawa, there's a new member of the Board of Directors and I need you to dig up as much info on her as you can. The chairman is currently dancing around most of our questions about her." said the voice on the other side of the call
"I'm sorry, when did this new member join the Board?"
"Apparently she just joined today, she's giving an exclusive interview to one of the news networks right now."
Upon hearing that, Kumokawa then grabbed the remote on the couch and began to shift through every channel before she came across the one with the interview.
"So, Kamijou Othinus, how did you initially react to getting one of the top positions in Academy City." asked the reporter to Othinus.
"It looked like a great responsibility but I remained professional in light of my acceptance by the chairman."
Kumokawa Seria then did a spit take upon seeing who the new member of the Board of Directors was.
"IT'S HER!? I..no this can't be it, this has to be a joke." the girl then pointed at the two armed guards "Make sure she stays put and does nothing to escape. I'm going to take this call to a more private area."
With that Kumokawa Seria left the living room of her apartment leaving Mitsuari Ayu and the two armed guards alone. With nothing else to do, the incarcerated girl turned towards the T.V to watch the interview.
"I wonder why this girl has the same family name as Touma." Mitsuari asked
As if on cue the next question by the reporter came up.
"It's rumored that every member of the Board of Directors has a special advisor they have. Do you too have one of these so-called 'Brains'?"
"I suppose that the closest person to that role would be Understander" answered Othinus "We actually live together and have the same surname."
"Understander? What are you two married?"
Othinus then waved her hand in a dismissive fashion "No, marriage doesn't even come close to how deep our relationship goes."
"Anything you can tell me about this person then?"
"For the sake of his privacy I won't reveal any more of his personal information, but I will say that he's faced some of the darkest depths of this city and not only survived each encounter, but triumphed over them."
Mitsuari Ayu's jaw dropped at the answers Othinus gave to those questions. She was shocked as if she was in a race and the winner wasn't even on the listings to begin with. Her mind was flooded with thoughts as she pieced together the clues.
"She lives with someone who shares the family name 'Kamijou' and that person has faced many dangers, is also a boy, and they're relationship is deeper than marriage. It…it can't be him can it? I mean there are a lot of other boys with the name Kamijou right? It can't be Touma right? Oh what am I kidding, who else could she be describing? Touma is the only person that fits that description, but that would mean...understander…marriage…girl…"
It was at that point Mitsuari Ayu's brain had shut down from the revelation, in other words she fainted from shock. The two guards looked at each other before looking at the girl and scratching their heads as to what had just occurred. It was then that Kumokawa walked back into the living room.
"I swear I need a glass of water and a lie down after learning that this terrorist is now part of the Board of Directors…hey what happened with Mitsuari?"
At the same time, Touma was watching the same interview with Othinus in his new bedroom that was the size of a classroom filled with luxuries that the boy wouldn't have even hoped to have in his lifetime. For instance, his T.V was the latest in screen technology with the highest graphical fidelity possible and a size that practically took up one third of the space on the wall.
"You know, I hope no one takes that remark Othinus made about me the wrong way." said the unfortunate boy. Unbeknownst to him, another news story was developing about several girls throughout Academy City fainting for some reason. Most notably these included the level 5s Shokuhou Misaki and Misaka Mikoto.
Kanzaki then entered the room before bowing, "Master, supper is ready."
"Kanzaki, you don't have to be so formal with me, also I've been meaning to ask, why are you wearing…that, when it's different to what the other maids are wearing?"
"I chose to wear this…master," Kanzaki blushed as she spoke those words "As well as the way I refer to you. Anyways, Index is already eating. Why don't we go?"
"Fine…it's strange not preparing food for myself and Index in my own home…"Touma said as he followed maid Kanzaki
Even though the dining room was two floors below Touma's personal quarters, the layout of the penthouse shifted and morphed so that the boy and Fallen Angel Ero maid arrived at the dining hall in less than a minute. There, Index was already chowing down on the feast that the maids had prepared. As Touma walked over to take a seat, Muireann placed a bowl of fish stew in front of Touma's seat.
"Here master, I prepared a bowl of this for you." the selkie said with a smile on her face
(Ha, I poisoned this bowl of stew, this will surely kill him, and if anyone suspects me, I'll just point out how the entire pot was not poisoned and frame one of the other maids for the murder.)
Just as Touma was about to dig into the stew, the bowl in front of him disappeared. The boy's first instinct was to look at Index, however the Great Devourer was eating a different dish and an empty stew bowl was nowhere near her. So Touma scanned the table, it was then he had noticed Othinus was right beside him, quickly chowing down on the poisoned stew.
"Wiw, I'm really hungry after doing all that formal work."
"Othinus, that was my bowl."
"Don't worry master," said Kanzaki, carrying another bowl filled with stew "Muireann made an entire pot of the stuff."
"Aw, that's sweet of fish sticks." remarked Index
(Damnit, thwarted again by Othinus, it's like she knows I'm out for the boy or something.)
And so, the rest of Touma's day passed rather uneventfully, besides him getting used to his new home. The bath was a bit too large for his taste given that only one person was using it, it was strange that other people brought him new clothes while he was bathing, and Muireann kept muttering strange things to herself as she followed Touma, but other than that there was nothing to note. That was until Touma went to bed.
Just as the unfortunate boy was about to close his eyes for the day, he heard someone else get into his bed with him. He turned on his side to see who it was, only to come face to face with Othinus in bed.
"W-What are you doing in my bedroom Othinus?" stammered Touma
"I think you mean our bedroom human." replied Othinus
"Our bedroom? You mean, you didn't make yourself one in this penthouse?"
"No human, I made it so that we shared the same bedroom…and bed."
"Well ok then…" Touma then tried to get up but soon realized that Othinus was tightly hugging him so that his movement was restricted
"Don't think you could just leave like that human, this bed is big enough for both of us, and it's the most comfortable one in the house. So just relax, human."
Touma, heeding Othinus' advice, decided to stay in bed. It was then he thought of something.
"Why did you do all of this, becoming one of the top officials in Academy City, the apartment, the maids? This seems a bit much, you know a lot less than this would make me happy you know?"
"Human, I think among everyone on this planet, you of all people deserve this. Not some politician that lies to their voters, not some warlord plundering riches, not some businessman that preys off others, not some monarch who inherited their wealth, but you. So I hope you enjoy these luxuries, it's the least I can do for you after everything I did…"
Elsewhere, Tsuchimikado Motoharu was currently in an elevator heading up to the penthouse level. The elevator stopped before reaching there and a voice rang out on the intercom.
"Oh, it's you Tsuchimikado." said a familiar voice
"Wait, Nee-chin, what are you doing here?" replied the spy
"I can ask the same for you, sorry for the obtuseness by the way. They told me I have to do this to everyone that tries to come up here and doesn't have a keycard." said Kanzaki who's slight embarrassment was evident in her voice
"Well I was wondering what happened to my dorm building after checking on Maika, so I asked around and was led to the penthouse. Also who's 'they'?"
"The people I work for now, I officially quit Necessarius and work as a maid for Touma now."
"I…you know what, good for you, I hope you get Kami-yan. So can you let me into the penthouse?"
"Sure can, here you go."
With that, the elevator resumed its ascent before stopping in the hall leading to the foyer. Tsuchimikado then pushed open the doors to find…
All the automated security Othinus had turned on earlier, several laser pointers shined their lasers on the spy's head. A myriad of guns and ordinance turned to point at him. At the center of it all, the FIVE_OVER model began to whirl with power and turn towards Motoharu.
"You know what, I think I'll come back later." Tsuchimikado said as he slowly backed away into the hall
AN: So fun fact about the previous chapter...it was all written in like a 12 hour time period. I wasn't kidding when I said I really wanted it to get it out. I kinda felt like it should've been part of chapter 4 now, but what's done is done. Also I found out that FFN doesn't let special characters into the title so I can't put the Fren/da joke there.
Anyways some fun facts about this chapter:
The penthouse itself was partially based on the mansion from the game OTXO and I really hopped I got across how fancy it is in that description on each floor.
As a college student, that segment about Touma's class suffering from sleep deprivation came from the heart.
This is longest chapter so far, which I attribute to so much stuff going on within it
That scene where everyone in Necessarius was looking for Kanzaki was inspired by an artwork by DNA_Kayoko, its an old one so you really gotta search through their gallery to find it.
Also noone figured, other than Cray who I already told, figured out that little hint I gave last chapter so I'm answering it here. The first level 6 esper is originally going to be a level 1. Why? Cause I feel like a level 5 is too obvious and a level 0 also somehow too obvious. Ironically, I think the level 1 I picked is also a bit obvious but hey.
Anyways see you all for the next chapter "Inquiry 1: The World View of a Soon To Be God" focusing on Uiharu, who's going to be the first level 6
Also here's something extra
Between the Lines: A Little Early for Tea Time
When the selkie raised her knife against the boy's back that morning, there was technically a fifth person in the room at the moment. Unbeknown to Touma, Muireann, and even the two magic gods, there stood a person quite similar to Muireann in appearance, except with shorter hair and a silver arm.
As Muireann raised her knife, this unknown person raised her own arm against the girl. Had the knife been swung down, it would not have made contact with the boy, this person would make sure of it, no matter what it would take. Fortunately, Touma turned around, and in an instant the unknown person disappeared. Leaving none the wiser about her presence.