SYSTEMMajin the warped World view of a former god

by craytherlay

Sometimes it only takes a single change in one's life to entirely alter the course of history forever. So when Touma saw Othinus's face that day in denmark, he knew she would sacrifice herself to save him. (Cover by Ebora/Youngmanisdown)

5. A god's first day out

Hey readers it's been a while, so long you probably all thought this fic was dead, and as such I owe you all an explanation. But, as said explanation involves specific individuals, I must make sure to cover my basis to avoid backlash that it may incur. So, under no circumstance should you go to the individual mentioned in my explanation and harass them, as such would only put you in the wrong. As unlikely as it is for someone to go out of there way for me like that. The chance is not zero as much as that irks me, so I have to do what I can to stop it happening to begin with as it would be rude to those involved. Now then, moving on, the reason I was gone for so long was due to a falling out with my editor Dragonrails, which left me quite unmotivated. We have had a long running issue for a while now where Rails would jump to conclusions about something I said, or a behavior I did. And refuse to listen when I tried to correct said misunderstanding, now while the individual incidents on their own weren't that big an issue. The problem lay in the fact they never stopped happening, and every time I tried to bring up this issue, Rails would do everything he could to avoid fixing it. Giving vague unspecific apologies, changing the subject, or just outright ignoring everything I said and claim he was 'giving me space'. Now, this isn't to say I was entirely in the right, I have a habit of getting easily annoyed and often over-reacted. However, unlike rails, I acknowledge this, and have been slowly but surely improving on it, because I know, its the right thing to do. Rails would not, he doesn't even seem to want to acknowledge a problem exists, which unfortunately is a red flag for any relationship. Granted i'm pretty sure he doesn't even know that he has this issue, considering he never took the time to read my replies any time it got brought up. Heck he probably wouldn't even understand the issue even if he did, but it was an issue, a slow poison that rots friendships from the inside out. To be clear, I did try to resolve this after the initial falling out through a mutual friend we shared, explaining the situation and admitting to my own flaws. However the entire time I was doing this, and going out of my way to DEFEND rails, he was going behind my back, lying, and insulting me, trying to sabotage my current friendships. Which is NOT something a friend does… it's something a petty, immature, childish bully on the school playgrouund ground does when someone upsets them. And as a result, I decided to cut off the relationship, realizing that it was going to continue negatively impacting my mental health. If i'm honest, I doubt Rails actually realizes how much of an ass he was being, as from his point of view, I was the petty one. Let me make that clear, rails doesn't realize that he was making a misunderstanding, this doesn't excuse his actions of course. But it does make them understandable. From his point of view, I was getting worked up, over stupid, pointless fanfic stuff and ranting. And the only way to deal with people like that, is to be bigger person and just, walk away, now I'm not going to say I won't be happy if he wants to continue our friendship. But if he can't even remember what it is I was upset about, let alone specify what it is he did wrong, I have no reason to trust him. Again, let me reiterate, DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE go and harass Rails, he doesn't deserve to be abused for his mistakes. And if you do harass him… YOU'RE AN ASSHOLE, okay? an immature asshole… so don't harass him okay? With that out of the way, I want to make note that despite our issues, I'll still be using the ideas the two of us have worked on together. He had a lot of good ideas, and some of my best work was because of the two of us fucking around, and I'm not petty enough to deny it. And as such, whenever one or the scenes which we worked on together comes up, I will give credit where credit is due. Anyways! reviews! [{Majin Othinus: well as I've said before, I plan this version of Othi to be much more possessive than you normaly see. So gatekeeping is to be expected from her}

{Kuroshiragami0: thank you and I will, I hope you enjoy my stories and chapters too}

{whwsms: I expected you'd enjoy that, keep an eye on those two cause that will serve as the basis for their relationship later on. And I think you'll enjoy what I have planned for our dear stalker senpai XD

Touma's issue is he panics a lot, so with Othinus's help he can prepare for all misforunate eventualities. But nah Himegami's not a ninja, she's just naturally invisible to anyone not Touma or Fukiyose kek. But yeah Fukiyose couldn't handle the concept of Touma finishing his homework on time let along getting it in to Komoe.

Yeah sorry, but don't get your hopes up too much with them, most of my canon divergent plans come post NT13.

Also shame, what things went missing?}

{Mem: Well technically… I won't spoil, but you'll see how she fits into his plans like… literally the first scene of this chapter.

Honestly? Until you brought these things up regarding St. Germain, the MGs and the AAA I hadn't even thought about them. But it actually makes certain details much easier for me to justify so I don't need to bed over backwards, so thanks. Now I can go ahead with my NT13 plans without worrying about explaining how Othi goes up yet ANOTHER level…

Oh truuuuuuuust me, the things she'll be able to do once she gets a hang of her ability will make you realize how terrifying canon Uiharu actually is. And why Kimi should be fing glad Saten was there to put the leash on her rabid stalker GF when she did.

Its always been heavily implied that espers can't achieve an awakening without obtaining a monicker of understanding regarding magic. This is why despite how powerful she is, Mikoto never achieved an awakening, she refuses to accept or understand magic. Meanwhile Uiharu, even if she didn't realize it, subconsciously accepted magic when she confronted the angel dragon. And worked to understand it, be it form a scientific angle, this is also why technically OT keks never had a actual awakening. So by that logic Othinus should naturally already be capable of an awakening… right?

You are right, just like the fairy spell she'd be interested in how Aliester took advantage of the self nerf to double nerf the MGs and strip their divinity from them.

You'll see what I intend, but I think you'll like what I have in mind, hint, look at the number of spheres on Othi's shift form on the cover.}

{Superboy813: I give credit where credit is due my friend, your'e an unsung hero and GOD FING DAMN IT! I before E except when I ISN'T EVEN NEXT TO E!

Its heavily implied through interactions between Othi and Touma that she was a eager wide eyed curious probably chunni girl. However, I suspect the latter bit was quickly beaten out of her once she started getting serious about magic. And based on her lines to Touma when they are in the tower in NT20, we can safely assume the stories of both mimir and Kivasir are accurate to the reality. She mentions both of them in their mythological contexts, resurrecting mimir's severed head, and Kivasir getting turned to mead. Don't ask her about what happened to that mead though, she'll kill you out of sheer embarrassment.

I felt it was reasonable for them to know something about Othinus, even if they don't quite realize magic is related to it. Members of Gremlin were caught by Academy city shortly after baggage city after all, however its unlikely they'ed remain in their custody for long. But it's long enough for someone to get some intel out before they have to be transferred elsewhere. But not enough to tell them just what they are dealing with, while keeping them focused away from the real threat.

Only as much as any AC darksider would honestly, she'd know about denmark and the lvl fives being sent after her. And while she may be aware of things connected to her, she wouldn't be aware of magic of course, not yet at least. And ye, the irony, someone call the shepard's boy cause I just saw a bird fly up to that diamond mountain over there.

To be honest? So am I… wonder what I'll come up with for it…

NP, you kinda earned the shoutout and to be fair ideas aren't as hard to come by as you might thing… it's the motivation to write them that harder to find than gold in the gold rush. And I hope they enjoy them to, I also kiiinda maybe sorta hope they'll pick on the, at least in my eyes, obvious hints I'll be dropping throughout the early arcs. I think you know which ones i mean, as for himegami… well thats where your fic comes in doesn't it?}

{Mr?: Yeah its not really something I've done before, specifically in this manner so I'm not gonna get it on first go. This chap however should be much better in those regards, but no… full sized othi ain't a new concept, just hard to find good ones that are still ongoing fics.

In some cases, I've implied that, however I'll probably mostly stick with the myths to an extent for this with interesting twists on how things worked. As we know based on Othi's lines to Touma in NT20 when he commented on her dorm manager skills. That both Mimir and Kivasir existed as real people within their mythological contexts as depicted in the myths. Othi mentions resurrecting mimir's severed head, and that she made Kivasir out of the spit of all the asiers before he got turned into mead. Theres a good reason she didn't go into any more detail and Touma will use that against her if she tries anything XD (look up the mead of poetry if you wanna know.) But theres a good reason im showing these flashbacks… and lets just say, Othi really needs to stop forgetting her prophecies XD.

? where did you get that idea? The current world isn't the original phase she would have released onto the world. Thats the phase of norse mythology itself, or you could say the yiggdrassil, the current world may have been a phase she created. But it's not the original one she would have first unleashed onto the world as I was trying to imply. As for 'focsuing on the novels' ooonly really up to NT14, and… no? Dude remember WR requires sufficiently conflicting desires. And tell me, what sort of desire could possibly conflict with Othinus's overwhelming desire to be by Touma's side? Just like Kamisato's desire for revenge prevented him from being WR, Othinus, in any setting post NT9 would be immune to WR… ironically even if Touma got WR. As that wouldn't cause a conflicting desire to form, just force that main desire to the surface even more overwriting all others. Its the irony really, had he caught her in NT8 or before WR would have worked on Othinus, but after NT9 theres not enough conflict in her heart for it to work.

Oh no, those were really just Othi being pissy and trying to mark her territory, the only one that could really be said had proper value was the 'you didn't win' one. Remember this is a much more possessive Othi, and im sure theres one roast queen who can cut her ego down to size quite effectively.

I hope this one turned out to at least be a diamond of serviceable quality then.}]

With that out of the way, Remember constructive criticism is both encouraged and desired, and unlike what some people say. I can and have on many occasions taken it into account even when people have been rude, for example I think in my reboot someone mentioned I make Touma say his name in third person too much… yeah I… I kinda do don't I? But constructive criticism is not just bashing a story… its pointing out a flaw, and then giving an example of how to fix said flaw in the future.

Anyways, let this tale of an infinite commence once more!

---

Chapter 4

A god's first day out

Within a dark, dimly lit room whoo's floor was covered in countless pipes and cables with no clear purpose. A human sat, floating within a large central tank filled with a dark crimson preservation fluid. Their body orientated upside down as their long silver hair drifted around them and emerald eyes gazed out without emotion. Both masculine, and feminine, saintly, yet sinful, old… yet young, their appearance could only be described as human.

On the surface of the glass tank around them were various screens and windows displaying all sorts of information. Research data regarding recent scientific advancements, details regarding the developments of various espers. And video feeds giving him a direct look into the lives of his citizens, and students as they went about their daily routines.

Their name was Edward Alaxander Crowely, the silver star, also known as Aleister and once greatest magician who fought in the battle of blythe rode. A man who renounced magic and turned to science after the death of an unborn child to the collisions caused by the shifting phases A supreme pervert who once described the male genital in over 100 ways and was kicked out of Italy for his depraved acts of degeneracy.

Observing one of the screens before him, his eyes seemed to almost narrow, but not quite as he mused on the information. A small shift in the flow of information that did not fit in with the expected parameters he had calculated. Some kind of virus or bug which had recently gained access to secret facilities in the old cloning laboratories.

He would need to check on it later however as he was brought out of his thoughts by the arrival of a twin-tailed redhead who appeared. With her the blond sunglass wearing, hawaiian shirt boy, Tsuchimikado motoharu stood, slowly approaching the man with a frown on his face. The girl quickly vanishing once more as Aleister closed the various screens as his body lay suspended within his tank.

"Tsuchimikado, I've been expecting you, how is our friend settling in?" he asked, his voice filtered through countless speakers. Although he did not move his lips or speak at all, "I trust she is doing well not that she is with the Imagine breaker who has recently recovered."

Sighing, Tsuchimikado glared, placing a hand to his hip, "too well actually-nyah~ your former magic god has already gone up a level. And her influence actually helped Kami-yan finish his homework for once and begin improving as a student. But you already knew that didn't you? Aleister," he hissed, glaring at the man in the tank before him. "You were hoping Othinus's influence on him would accelerate your plans," he accused the man with clear disgust.

As a spy for the magic side and a magician, Tsuchi would want nothing more than to shank Aleister in the back. But even if he knew which of the countless pipes, if any actually contributed to his life preservation tank. He likely couldn't so much as touch the creator of modern magic and would die a horrid and meaningless death. But he needed the damn bastard anyways and worked with him mostly begrudgingly in order to support his sister.

A soft chuckle slipped from Aliester as a small smile seemed to form, looking more like a muscle reflex than a genuine expression. "I didn't know for certain, rather, I knew that facing a hopeless situation where he could not win. Had a high likelihood of forcing him to develop his thelema in a way that would normally take more time than I have. Although, I did not expect him to save her so thoroughly," he mused, "this may prove quite interesting and hasten my plans further." His expression then became neutral again, "however, to suddenly develop so quickly as an esper… is most intriguing."

"Maybe you should start reconsidering your plans," Tsuchimikado snarked, "wasn't the entire point of making her an esper to strip her of her power? Not, just give her an entirely fresh new set to play around with? Cause at this rate she'll reach level five in no time." The spy crossed his arms as he spoke, Aliester's eyes for once showing a slight level of genuine intrigue.

"Yes… when you put it that way, this is a most intriguing development," the human mused, returning to his usual stone-faced expression. "I wonder if her experience with Kiharah Kagun, Bersi, have given her enough insight to tackle the power curriculum? Or, is she more experienced than originally calculated?" he chuckled knowingly as he continued. "No… a magician should not develop as an esper so quickly, not without prior understanding, could her time as a magic god be related? So many questions, none the less I am quite impressed," he smiled, causing a chill to run down Tsuchimikado's spine. "I'll need to adjust them a bit, but this could prove quite beneficial to my plans now that Kamijou Touma has an active influence in her life."

Tsuchimikado's hand slammed against the glass as he looked at Aleister in complete and utter shock. "Are you kidding me!? What are you talking about? Why aren't you worried Aleister! A magic god, former but still. Could very well end up becoming the eighth level five and you're not so much as slightly concerned how that could change things? Your greatest enemy is mastering the very system you made, and you're not worried she might turn it against you for endangering Kamijou Touma? Your plan is gonna backfire because of her and you're just content with that!?" he asked, entirely baffled at the figure before him.

"Backfire? Please, my plans are not so flimsy that a former magic god becoming a level five would cause them to crumble. Besides, she renounced her ways as a magician, so she is no longer my concern, not after giving up her power as a god. So as long as I don't ruffle the wrong feathers, she could be a very valuable asset, and even open new doors I did not consider before. So I hardly believe the possibility of her becoming a level five, as unlikely as that is, is worth panicking about," he mused, further confusing Tsuchimikado.

"Tch," clicking his tongue, Tsuchimikado turned, "of course, the usual cryptic bullshit-nyah~ why did I expect a straight answer. Fine then, I'll leave it at that, I just hope you know what it is you are doing, cause something tells me we're missing something about Othinus. And whatever it is, you really don't wanna be caught without it when she comes knocking," he warned, before walking off.

Chuckling as the spy was escorted out by the redhead teleporter, Aliester opened back up a window on one of his screens. An old photo from world war two depicting a pair of german soldiers flanking either side of a familiar one eyed girl displayed on it. The human's eyes narrowing in curiosity at the image before another alert came up and he turned away.

"We will figure out who you truly are later, Othinus, but I have some… guests to entertain first," he mused. Opening a new window which displayed footage of the three magic gods who had entered his city and smiled ever so slightly. "Ah.. there you are, Reading thoth, contact Kihara Noukan," he declared, and there was a buzzing sound as a call window opened up.

After a few short beeps, there was a click, as a mature sounding voice not dissimilar to a middle aged man's spoke up. "You need my assistance Aleister?" they asked, "I was in the middle of quite the lovely discussion regarding the romance of home-made vs ready made meals."

Aliester gave a cold smile, "Nokan… it's time"

"Prepare the Anti Art attachment."

— — — —

It was an early morning for Othinus as she got ready for school, having woken up an hour or so earlier than she needed to. She wasn't about to make the same mistake she had the day before and end up being woken by Fukiyose again. To be honest, she was still a little concerned at how Himegami had somehow managed to slip by her notice and sneak inside. The former war god half suspected her as some kind of assassin, although knew better than to make assumptions.

Having washed her face off and eaten breakfast, Othinus spent the next hour of free time she had studying. Going over her homework and quickly correcting any mistakes she had made while tired the night before. She wasn't about to get anything less than a perfect score, not because she cared so much about the lessons. But rather more because her pride as a former magic god demanded that she get a perfect score, especially as a god of wisdom.

Putting down her pencil with a sigh, she stretched her arms, arching her back as she did so and yawned, still tired. She was used to waking up early of course, but she also wasn't entirely set on doing so now that she wasn't a leader. She honestly would have preferred if she was allowed to sleep in, but she was quickly beginning to remember that kids in the modern age didn't exactly have free time.

Satisfied with her work, she decided to use the remaining minutes she had left to see if there was anything interesting on. Switching on the TV as she leaned back and began surfing through the various channels with a bored expression. There were mentions of the comet that would be passing close to earth's orbit, historical artifacts arriving at the dianoid. And even a couple specials talking about where the former members of Gremlin had gone now that she, their leader, was no longer in control.

"One does have to wonder whether or not some of them still desire revenge after their leader abandoned them." A young female news anchor said as she talked with an older man that sat across from her in the talk show studio. "I know that there have been reports of unrest in places affected by Gremlin's actions ever since her death sentence was waived."

The man gave a short nod, "Hawaii, Japan, even portions of Denmark and Norway, many people are upset by how easily she got off. It wouldn't surprise me if some of these people personally affected by her would go out of their way to target her directly. Honestly, I don't blame them, it was only a ten percent turnover for the number of people who were willing to forgive her. But the court deemed that alone enough to spare her despite it being well below the majority vote," they noted.

Othinus scoffed, the way the man had said ten percent like it was some kind of insignificant number was laughable. Even had only one percent of the population that had access to a TV screen, phone or otherwise forgiven her. That was still about sixty million people, which was not an insignificant number in the grand scheme of things. Still… there was something about that which made a strange warmth fill Othinus, causing tears to form at the edge of her vision.

Six hundred… million people had been willing to forgive her for all the pain she had caused and give her a second chance. They had been willing to look past all the mass murder, the terrorisim, the war crimes, and chose to let her redeem herself. Risking their way of living, knowing that she could very well spit on their kindness and hurt them next, just to give her a chance to smile. Sure, there were still five billion, four hundred million people who wanted her dead, but six hundred million had forgiven her.

Was this the world Touma had fought, and died so many times to save? A world where countless blinding lights shined out to banish the darkness? If that was the kind of world he had wanted to return to, how could she pretend like it was any less worthy of existing than her own?

In response, the young female reporter nodded at her partner, "true, but that doesn't mean their voices should be ignored. People's bias is often colored by their experiences, so we should not disregard the minority simply because they don't share the same opinion. We all heard the young Othinus's cries for help in that courtroom, so its only right that we at least ask ourselves if there was something we as a society could have done to make her turn out differently."

An almost pained smile formed on her face as she gave a small chuckle and turned off the TV. "I wonder if they can feel that way because I didn't wrong them personally. Or… maybe, had other people known what happened to me, if even more would be willing to forgive me for my sins." She turned her head, looking up at the sky out the balcony window, "maybe you were right about this world Human."

Standing back up, she picked up her school bags and opened the door to find Fukiyose just about to knock. The ironwall girl blinking in surprise at the former war god as she stood there before regaining her bearings and flashing Othinus a smile. "Glad to see your already awake Wothnaz, I was just about to come check on you, make sure you were awake and all. Wouldn't wanna nearly be late like last time now would we?" she gave Othinus a playful nudge with her elbow.

"I'm not incapable of getting up early, miss Seiri, yesterday was simply a fluke due to me staying up late the night before." Othinus gave her own, more forced smile as she shut the door behind her, locking it as she brushed her hair back. "You can go on ahead, I'll meet you all in class after I've made sure my Understander isn't late, understood?"

"Well someone needs to make sure that idiot gets to class, and you've already been a great influence on him. So I expect to see you two arrive before the bell rings okay?" Fukiyose smiled, before turning her head to the left. "Come on, lets go Himegami-san," she noted, bringing Othinus's attention to the girl standing beside her.

"Coming," the dark haired vampire killer said, flashing a small glare Othinus's way.

As the two vanished round the corner, Othinus found herself scratching her head in confusion. Wondering if Himegami really was that good at hiding her presence.

Or if maybe she was just losing her touch.

— — — —

Making her way down the sidewalk in search of Touma, Othinus sighed, crossing her arms in thought. She had checked the boys' dorms to make sure Touma wasn't still sleeping, only to find he had left not too long after she left her own. So, she had decided to check along the boy's usual route she had memorized after their time together. When she ended up overhearing some voices coming from up ahead which caught her attention.

"Eek!? I know I'll be completely out of place here, but I have no choice. I have to go there! District 15 is no place for me and the Christmas season only makes it worse. In all seriousness, I'll be crushed! The entire world is going to crush me from all sides!" Her understander's panicked voice cried out as he seemed to be worrying about their planned visit to the Dianoid.

"What is this? Are you the kind of person who says he's afraid of steamed buns?" the familiarly irritating voice of the railgun snapped. Her strained tone giving Othinus the feeling she was on the verge of unleashing a couple billion volts of electricity onto her hapless understander.

The former god caught sight of the two ahead of her as her trembling undersander responded to Mikoto, visibly panicked. "That's not it! I really am scared! The people in District 15 are from an entirely different world! I bet they all play guitars and ride motorcycles around! What even is a club and what do people do there!? I doubt I could understand a word they're saying even though they're speaking Japanese!" He made a number of wild assumptions before turning down another road at which point Mikoto's eye twitched.

Sighing, Othinus hurried along to catch up with Touma, making sure to avoid getting spotted by the middle schooler and the odd, star eyed miniskirt santa next to her. She was pretty sure they were being controlled by that blond bimbo stalker girl she remembered having a habit of constantly harassing her understander in the many hells she made.

"Human, you do realize that rich or no, those people in district 15 are still people right?" she asked, causing Touma to jump. "Also you really shouldn't be associating with such a violent girl who can't be honest with her feelings towards you. My son had a similar issue and would always take his anger out on hapless joutens instead of talking things through. Honestly I know Its my fault for hoping you'd discuss your concerns with me, but you know you could have talked to me about going to the Dianoid." Othinus flashed him a gentle smile as Touma coughed awkwardly and looked away, slightly embarrassed.

"H-how much did you hear?" he asked as they continued their way towards school.

Othinus chuckled slightly as she absentmindedly spun a pen around in her hand, freezing and unfreezing it with her ability. "Enough to know how much you're panicking about this visit to the Dianoid, you do realize I've lived in high society before right? I'd be more than willing to help you learn how to fit in if just to ease your anxiety over the whole, sticking out bit. Not that I care, honestly many of those fools forget just why 'high society' exists and don't realize that without the working class they wouldn't have that yacht they bought with that million dollar loan they were given to by their father."

Touma let out a sigh of his own and let his shoulder's sag, "yeah, but its just, you know, you wanted to go. And I was worried I might botch it up, s-sure I'm your understander and its not like I don't know you wouldn't mind me getting you something cheap. But I really don't wanna make you settle for something sub-par you know," he scratched the back of his head. "M-maybe this Kamijou-san is just overthinking it" he said, laughing nervously as Othinus felt her heart skip a beat or two again.

"Human…" she smiled fondly, "honestly what am I to do with your moronic ass? You don't have the money for anything fancy. Besides I was joking about the whole, buying me something, I'd never force you to do that, and you know that." She paused, looking away as she scratched her chin, "but… It makes me happy you still wanted to get me something… T-Touma, Kamijou."

Hearing her use his name despite being alone, Touma blushed again, but this time in response to Othinus as he found the way she had struggled with his name cute. A laugh leaving his lips as he seemed to get over his anxiety and pick up the pace as he caught back up with her. Having paused in place when Othinus had said his name, a gentle smile gracing his face as he responded.

"Is that so? Well then guess this Kamijou-san will just get you a friendship bracelet or something," he teased. "I mean, since you don't want me blowing my budget on a big, fancy gift for you or anything," he gave a mock sigh. "Honestly what a relief, I can stop worrying about my wallet, maybe I'll use the savings to get you a cheap dinner too!"

Othinus's expression instantly fell and she glared, "ooooh no, you don't get to be all passionate about getting me a gift. And then turn around and buy me some cheap plastic the moment I say I don't mind, you set up expectations boy. So you need to live up to them," she smirked a bit at him, "I'm looking forward to it~" she flirted, before going on ahead as the school came into view.

Watching as Othinus greeted some of their classmates with a stunned expression, Touma let out a sigh of acceptance and let his arms sag.

"Such Misfortune…"

— — — —

Sitting in a small office in district 7 not too far from the Sakugawa Middleschool, a young girl with black hair in a pixi-cut typed on a computer. She wore a flower crown upon her head and was dressed in a dark blue sailor uniform with a red tie and a long skirt. On her right arm was a green armband with white shield marking her as a part of the student run decency community known as judgment.

She was petite in appearance although not entirely unattractive for her young age with a small frame but clear potential to grow. Her gentle brown eyes continuing to scan the screen before her as her small yet nimble fingers danced across the keyboard. Flicking through various windows as she typed out some paperwork regarding a couple recent reports.

Her name was Uiharu Kaziri, a member of the esteemed judgment organization which acted as a form of law enforcement. Run by students, its main advantage was the fact it employed espers to fight fire with fire, although they were not allowed to do anything dangerous. Not that that stopped Uiharu in the past, as she had more than once gotten herself nearly killed, stopping various scientific conspiracies, and even a jailbreak.

Sighing, she wiped her brow and relaxed, leaning back in her chair, often sickly, she was not the most physically fit individual. But where she lacked in physical capability, she more than made up for with computer skill so advanced they'd make Guy Fawks blush. As what was effectively a whitelist hacker, she could break into systems even Academy city did not want her to and gain access to experimental military satellites. And had even, on more than one occasion no less, if told to hack the pentagon, she could do it while half focused and having a heated argument on the other screen.

Her programing was so advanced, it was said that the 117th judgment branch where she worked, had cyber security more advanced than even the board of directors. Earning her the title of goalkeeper, as she had even employed her skills to protect the bank which held the data on every esper in the city from a mysterious electromaster hacker back in June of the current year.

In addition to her advanced skills, she also happened to be close friends with the third ranked level five, Misaka Mikoto. Having been introduced to her through her co-worker in judgment, Shirai Kuroko who would often act out of her jurisdiction in the school garden. And join Uiharu here in the 117th branch of judgment, to the point that most people didn't even realize she didn't belong there.

"Uiiharu? You done with those reports I asked for? Cause I need those ready by tomorrow, and I got some new reports I need you to work on." A voice came in from nearby as an older girl, with glasses and a similar haircut poked her head out from behind one of the shelves. She was much more mature in appearance, and even had a fairly sizable chest despite only being in highschool. Something Uiharu attributed to her constant consumption of Mashino brand milk she loved more than life itself.

Turning the young level 1 esper got up from her chair and stretched, "Yes Mii-san I just sent it to the printer now. So, what is it you need me to check?" she asked, walking over as the older girl, Konori Mii, her branch manager, sat back down.

Holding out a tablet, she handed a series of reports that just came in to the younger girl who quickly scanned through. "Missing persons, odd behaviors, est, apparently both, students, and teachers started showing up places where they shouldn't. Before being seen interacting with other people who also vanished shortly after," she sighed, shaking her head. Accidentally smacking her hip against the table next to her and causing some of the paperwork to scatter about.

"Hm?" noticing one of the photos, Uiharu raised an eyebrow, "um… hey what's that?" she asked, pointing at one of the files.

"Oh… that? Just some last minute paperwork regarding a recent transfer into my school who's been causing a lot of fuss. She kinda broke two boy's limbs on the first day when they tried to harass her," Konori sighed, shaking her head. "Whatever, it's nothing really, just focus on that," she said, pointing at the tablet she had handed the younger girl.

Nodding, Uiharu turned and headed back to the computer, but not before stealing a glance back at the photo on the table. Frowning at the image of the blond haired girl with a leather eyepatch and a single emerald eye as she furrowed her brow.

Where had she seen that face before?

— — — —

Lunchtime had arrived at a certain highschool and Othinus stood in line beside her fellow students as she got her serving. Clicking her tongue in annoyance at the meager slop as she started making her way to one of the many empty cafeteria tables. Carefully making sure to pick a seat far from the other students as she slowly began to nibble at her meal.

She honestly had thought that a city whose entire appeal was being a massive school would have better lunches. Yet here she was eating something the US educational system would consider healthy and cringing at the bland flavor. If she had made the menu, she'd have made sure the students had a full course feast every single day of the week. You can't work on an empty stomach and you certainly couldn't focus on your grades if you were too concerned about getting your daily nutrition.

Of course, she partially suspected that was the point, Academy city read like a false utopia designed to only appear perfect. When in reality there was a deep seeded corruption, and she didn't mean that just because that's exactly what it was. But because she was pretty sure that it was made with that exact purpose in mind due to the very nature it functioned.

There was a trick certain groups used to find targets by creating a scenario where only someone with a specific set of skills could reach the goal. For example, creating an entire city full of supernatural powers to find someone capable of negating said powers. And knowing what she did about the silver star who ran the city, she had no doubts this was what he had intended.

"You just going to sit there and brood the whole time ooor should we have a conversation Othinus?" said Himegami across from her.

Nearly jumping out of her seat, Othinus swore and jabbed a finger at Himegami, "how… HOW DO YOU KEEP DOING THAT!? I swear this table was empty, I specifically chose it because there was no one nearby damn it!" she snapped. "So how in Hel's name do you keep sneaking up on me like that?" she demanded, sweat rolling down her brow.

Her words caused Himegami to instantly deflate, a self deprecating smile forming on her face as she hung her head in despair. "Even a former terrorist can't see me, am I really that invisible?" she muttered, shaking her head before recomposing herself. "A-anyways, you didn't answer my question," she said, blushing slightly in shame as Othinus recomposed herself.

"Right…" she began, sitting back down as she let out a sigh, "but first… can you not say my real name in public like that. Also, how did you know my real name anyways?" she asked, pointing her utensil at the dark haired vampire killer.

"I watch the news you know, besides I was saved by Kamijou-san too, I'm not exactly a stranger to the magic side. Look, I even have a magic wand," she said, before pulling a stun baton out of the chest of her outfit and showing it off. "Still, fine then, Wothnaz, can can you answer my question now?" she said, putting the stun baton away, where Othinus had no idea.

Taking another bite of her meal, Othinus frowned a bit and rolled her eyes, "fine, we can talk, it'll help me learn to socialize again. But I don't know exactly what we can talk about… considering," she glared to the side at the surroundings. "Can't exactly discuss my past without getting in trouble after all," she noted with another sigh.

Himegami nodded as she placed a portion of her meal into her mouth and thought for a moment before speaking. "Well, what about Kamijou? You called him your understander, but what exactly does that mean? What's the relationship between you too? I was only ever saved by him from the alchemist, so I never really was on the receiving end of his fury," she explained.

Thinking for a moment, Othinus considered how best to tackle the topic, seeing it as the perfect chance to crush the poor girl's heart. She didn't need other girls thinking Touma was free for the taking, so making it clear he belonged to her and her alone was important. And starting with those who were saved by him was a good way to figure out how to best handle other homewreckers.

"Well… not that I expect you to grasp the truth behind what happened at the sargasso between us, let alone believe it. But let's just say we spent a very long time getting to know each other," she drawled out, a smirk forming on her face. "We may have been enemies, but we were also rivals seeking the same thing, its just that the thing we sought had two different and conflicting endings. But because of it, we got to see everything the other tries to hide from the world through unclouded eyes. Every dirty secret, every nasty little fetish, oh even how the other prefers to have their fish seasoned," she said. It was a slight over-exaggeration, but should be able to get the point she was making across as she continued. "Safe to say that after Denmark, there's not a single thing the human could do that would surprise me if I saw it. Think of it like how some old married couples can communicate simply by looking at each other," she sneered.

"I see, so basically I should ask Kamijou-san what's the most embarrassing thing you ever did," Himegami casually remarked. Leading Othinus to spit out her drink in shock, "Or I guess I could ask you what his favorite position is during intercourse." The dark haired vampire killer's musings caused the poor former god to go red in the face, having not expected such an unbothered response.

Stammering Othinus recomposed herself, "you know what? I don't wanna know, and thats saying something girl. I'm going back to class before this gets any more awkward, honestly who gives a response like that, I swear." She muttered to herself as she put her tray away and made her way out the cafeteria, Himegami already following close behind.

Getting a confused glare from Othinus, Himegami responded again with a casual tone as they walked down the hall. "I was pretty much done myself anyways, so it's not really a big deal," she mused, "aren't you going to ask me any questions?" she asked.

"Nope!" Othinus stated, opening the door to their classroom, only to be met with a cacophony of noise and sigh. "And the Hu- I mean, Kamijou, is at it again," she muttered, looking up to see the deltaforce once more in the middle of one of their arguments.

"You son of a bitch. Are you insulting the world's little sisters?" shouted the blond anglican spy as the three of them played a game of fan-tossing. Othinus and Himegami clearly having walked in just after someone had said something about little sisters he found offensive as a siscon.

"I never put one fetish over another. Even if she has the lower half of a snake or a spider, I say you gladly accept. What's that? You were expecting a girl with cat ears but got a full realistic cat head? So what!?" the blue haired pervert's response once again proved him to be a degenerate to rival Zeus as he tossed the makeshift paper in his fan.

Touma, who seemed intently focused on aiming his fan, spoke up then, striking his friends where it hurts with expert precision. "Y'know, you've dyed your hair blond and wear sunglasses in class while you've dyed your hair blue and pierced your ears. It looks to me like you two want to be popular more than anyone else."

The reaction was instantaneous as both perverts turned on their friend with a vengeance.

What!?", the blond spy said with a dumbfounded expression as he looked at Touma with an expression of betrayal.

"D-don't be ridiculous, Kami-yan. Can you stop changing the Akashic records!?" the blue haired pervert stammered out. Trying to recover from such a deadly blow as Othinus watched on in amusement, the three having yet to notice her.

Touma continued to twist the knife deeper, working out some pent up stress from what Othinus could tell as he ripped into his friends. "You keep calling yourself an otaku, but it feels like you're trying to place yourself higher than others by thinking of yourself as better than those other otaku around you."

Tsuchimikado was floored instantly, falling flat against the desk the three of them had surrounded as he made an unintelligible sound. Meanwhile Aogami cried out indignantly, "Wh-where'd this come from? What did we ever do to you, Kami-yan!? It's not like you were wanted alive or dead and the entire class chased you around trying to kill you, so nothing calls for that kind of cruelty!"

The irony of the blue pervert's statement did not go unnoticed by Othinus as she almost burst out laughing. Knowing that, that exact thing had indeed happened to Touma in the very first hell she had created for him during their fight. Making her question if the pervert secretly had some kind of ability to see into people's hearts for a short moment.

Holding the fan up as he got ready to throw, Touma let loose a battle cry as he made a declaration and flicked his wrist. "Whether as a wife or whatever else, it's gotta be a lovely dorm managerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!" he cried out, the fan leaving his fingertips.

Only for a small gust of wind from an open window to blow it off course just as the pencil case they had been aiming at fell over. Forcing Othinus to catch the object out of the air as the three froze in place staring at her in shock and a bit of fear.

"Uh… hi Wothnaz-san…" Touma said nervously, "h-how long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to hear you talk about dorm managers while already having a very lovely, and very caring Understander right here." She smirked before glancing at the pencil case, "by the way, even had that gust of wind not intervene… I'm pretty sure the pencil case already fell before your fan would have reached it Kamijou," she commented, causing Touma's head to slump over.

"Such Misfortune," he muttered, before immediately falling forward as the three idiots toppled over each other.

— — — —

"Truly fascinating," the first scientist noted, "we suspected it was possible but now we have actual proof. Miss Wothnaz's ability creates sub-atomic particles which then combine into new molecules that get radiated off as energy. And it seems to be subconsciously influenced by her emotional state, just now she was emitting photons, so she was quite literally glowing."

The second scoffed, "only if you put her in a pitch black room without any external lightsource whatsoever. But true, and earlier she was generating electrons, with protons being detected intermittently around the same time. Although her default appears to be neutrons," he mused, examining the data he was getting from theri scanners.

"Yes but its important to note she's still early development and, the fact she's generating Bosons, fermions, and composite Hardons, shows her power may be even more fundamental than the first ranked. We don't yet have enough data, but if she can create those fundamental particles, then is she doing it by generating the quarks and leptons that make them? Or just producing the raw subatomic particles themselves?, depending on that answer she could be able to even create entirely new states of matter. A solid with the properties of plasma, or a gas with the density of a liquid, she could directly bypass the dangers of radiation and fusion. Create matter from thin air, what else do you call that other than a god?" the third scientist mused, a smile creeping onto his face.

The first scientist frowned, "yes… even Accelerator and Dark Matter's abilities are limited in some fashion. Accelerator alters direction and magnitude of vectors, Dark Matter merely generates matter which abides by its own rules. But that matter is formed directly rather than being assembled using elementary particles…" he noted.

"More than that," the second leaned back, "when she used her ability to create frost, she was directly erasing the photons and thermal radiation while it was in contact with her AIM. However even when she removed her hand, the amount of energy within the target was significantly reduced by a factor of 0.003."

The third held his chin curiously, "so, she really does destroy it, I know we already knew it, but its nice to see it properly confirmed. Miss Kaziri's ability is limited to thermal energy, but with this info its also possible that the extra or missing energy only exists within the bounds of her AIM. That would explain why theres no lasting effect after contact is removed, still dangerous as it means her body could be entirely immune to thermal transfer. But its limited to her immediate vicinity and any damage already done by heat can't be undone by her power."

"Another reason we've chosen to focus our research on Othinus," the first scientist noted before pausing. "Hm?" he looked down at his device, "strange… some of our files are missing, I don't recall deleting them. And since I haven't been in contact with any shady individuals, I should have noticed a hack if anyone other than Miss Kaziri was trying to access my files."

The second scientist looked to the side, eyes narrowed, "that's a bad thing isn't it? Forget Antiskill or Judgement. If someone gets wind of our research the board of directors will have our heads!" he snapped and rushed over. "What the hell?" sweat rolled down his brow as he examined his own device, "here too, my reports on Othinus's daily routines are gone!"

"Thats valuable data you idiot! We need it to figure out how to best develop her ability!" the third panicked. "Quick! Find out whoever's doing this, while I… Wait a minute!" he paled looking at his own computer, "my data's all gone too! Who the hell's hacked our systems!?" he snapped, and glared around, his heart pounding as he swallowed nervously.

Unbeknownst to any of them, the perpetrator was in fact in the room with them… so to speak. More, he was both there, and elsewhere as a smile formed on his synthetic face and he chuckled to himself. Scanning through the data he had just stolen from, amateurs who had devoted themselves to completing his research.

Removing his consciousness from their database, he chuckled, opening a black ringed eye as he folded his hands together. Sitting cross legged in an old lab where a certain group of military clones was once manufactured for a particular experiment. An experiment which had ended in failure not once, but both times he had attempted it… but for a scientist such as him.

Failure was always an option.

"Honestly… such fools, you're not going to achieve anything simply by sitting around watching Othinus, Uho…" A wicked grin formed revealing unnaturally white teeth as opposed to the usual yellow white, "I need to make a few last preparations. But then I can get rid of you, no need to risk your amateurish hands ruining dear Othinus's development. Lets just hope Misaka-kun can remain useful a little longer for me," the figure said, their creaky voice echoing in empty halls.

The gears of dark science had already begun to turn.

— — — —

"Man, it really is december isn't it Wothnaz-san, only 5:30 yet it's already dark out," Touma mused as he looked up at the sky. Making sure to use Othinus real fake name so as not to arouse suspicion while in public before glancing her way.

Shortly after school, Touma had headed back to his dorm to get Index, while Othinus changed into casual wear at her's. The three of them meet up a little ways outside of district 15 so they could take the subway that would let them reach the Dianoid. That tower of carbon with a structure similar to diamond who's entire 120 ton mass was held 10 centimeters off the ground. The top secret graviton based gravity control device capable of creating a black hole being used as an earthquake prevention measure. Although that little tidbit wasn't public knowledge due to the danger it posed, it wasn't hard for a former god of wisdom to get a hold of.

Othinus smirked, having made sure to read up on their destination in her free time yesterday before she responded. "Yes… and you can't even see the stars, light pollution in the city is always such a hassle, erasing the universe's natural beauty. Almost as if the science side has an urge to sterilize even the night sky itself," she shook her head and let out a sigh. "Still… its a pleasant change from my home, the sun would set even earlier there, and in the far north it wouldn't emerge at all in the winter." She gave Touma a small grin, "still in return we had the midnight sun during the mid summer festivals. I should take you sometime human, those celebrations are quite something," turning, she smirked, noticing the small blush on Touma's face.

"The mid summer festivals were considered times of abundant harvest in pagan times, dedicated to Freyja and Freyer. Norse gods of fertility, and often had rituals done in their name to banish evil spirits thought to be more active during the midnight sun." She suddenly lit up, "but besides that Touma! I just heard a flute, is it the charumera I've heard so much about?"

"Stop it Index! If we detour now, I'll lose the nerve to head to the Dianoid entirely, and Wothnaz-chan would probably drag me by the collar." The boy stammered in a cute manner to Othinus, trying his best to convince the hungry nun not to deviate from their initial plan. "A-anyways if we're heading to the Dianoid what do you two intend to get? I assume you have some kind of plan in mind."

"You don't have to keep calling me Wothnaz human, we may be in public but hardly anyone is going to be listening. With this much noise our voices are going to get lost in the wind," Othinus shrugged as they entered the subway. Swiping her card through the reader and stepping through the automatic gate, "however, considering you asked. I intend to buy myself a couple of different casual outfits, maybe something for formal occasions," she tugged on the loose tracksuit she was wearing. "I… had to borrow this from Miss Fukiyose cause all I had was my divine garb which I've been explicitly told never to wear outside of bed."

Touma deadpanned as he helped Index with her ticket, "I can't imagine why," he said sarcastically. "But alright, I can't fault that plan, good to have spares… I would know," he looked away with a dead expression. "What about you Index? What do you want to buy? Othi-chan said she'd pay for it, remember," he smiled.

Thinking for a moment, Index held her chin and pouted, "hmmmm something cute probably, like what you got me at the airport. I want more cute clothes cause I like it when you get me cute clothes Touma!" she beamed before looking away. "Any maybe something functional, my habit isn't easy to move around in, and Othinus pointed out that if I get in trouble again people can take advantage. And I couldn't deny the possibility after she rudely tugged at my habit and made me trip," she huffed, crossing her arms.

"Othinus…" Touma sighed and put his hand on his hip, "can you stop starting fights with Index just cause she annoys you? I appreciate you looking out for her, but you can't go tripping her, okay? its not a good look on you and you already have a bad enough reputation. So don't make it worse by harassing a member of the anglican church," he said, giving his understander a stern gaze.

Othinus tilted her head in confusion, boarding the train, "how so do you mean human? I was only demonstrating the dangers to her. I made sure she wouldn't get hurt, the nun and I may not get along, but I'm not going to risk injuring her over something petty. She's important to you, so she's important to me," the former god smiled, causing a blush to form on Touma's face.

"Touumaaaaa, don't let her flowery words seduce you! She took the name of a god of deception, remember?" Index growled, jabbing a finger at Othinus as she glared at the former god, "don't think I don't see what you're doing Othinus! I won't let you manipulate Touma even if you do care about him okay?" she stated, a fiery determination in her gaze.

"I know Nun, and I expect you to hold up that end of the bargain," Othinus smirked a bit and placed a hand on Index's head. "If you can, that is," she chuckled as Index ground her teeth angrily at being treated like a child by the older woman.

Holding his face Touma sighed as the train started up, "not now you two, please, this Kamijou-san doesn't need you fighting. He's got enough to worry about heading to this land of the rich and famous okay?" he said, looking at the girls exasperated. Although Othinus could tell by the small tug on his cheek that he was actually happy, moments like this acted as a reminder of the normalcy he fought for.

Letting out a sigh of her own, Othinus's smile softened and she backed off, "only because you asked Human. I didn't mean anything by it honestly, as much as I don't trust the nun, I do trust she cares about you despite her behavior. So, if I need to teach her a few things to improve her chances at protecting you when it comes to it, so be it."

Index's eyes narrowed, "I don't need your help, but…" she looked away, relenting a bit, "I do wish I could do more. Touma's always getting hurt protecting me, but… If I could defend myself better, even without being able to use magic. Then, maybe… just maybe next time he won't have to worry about me so much," she muttered the last bit under her breath.

"I… guess that's alright then, just try not to hurt her when you're training Othinus," Touma said, before turning to the window.

— — — —

The rest of the train ride to the Dianoid played out in relative silence, with the casual comment or interjection from other passengers. With the group safely arriving at one of the many underground entrances, while Index was initially disappointed. By the time they took the elevator up to the lower shopping levels, the girl was in awe at the enormity of the building's size. As if she had walked into a small telephone box only to find it was an immense time/space machine out of a British sci-fi TV series.

"The first twenty floors are all shopping, from brand name clothing stores such as White snake and El Asine, to other objects of material value. Honestly I think we'll find what we're looking for here pretty quickly," Othinus quipped, using the trivia she had learned from her research last night. "In addition, despite it's name, the Dianoid isn't actually made of diamond as that can ignite under pressure, and is brittle. Rather it's a carbon based material likely similar in structure to carbon fiber but more crystalline in nature."

With most of the lighting being indirect and filling the building with soft flesh tones, the most notable characteristic was the interior. The structure itself being of a high-rise building with each individual aspect more similar to japanese style construction. Wooden appearing floors, with an amber polish and spaces divided up by sliding doors and screens rather than the usual hinge design of western doors. Even the lighting mentioned before was emitted by square paper lanterns hanging from the ceiling above.

Whistling, Touma looked around, "you know… I bet Kanzaki would like this place," he mused, getting a scoff from Othinus.

"If my read on that saint is correct, she would slap you for that human, this place is unauthentic, false by her standards. It's only designed to look likeclassical Japanese, but it is not truly in the spirit or culture, like those ads we saw earlier. They're marketed at luxury but they're no different than the cheap stuff beyond the brand name they're presented with. Its a classic marketing tactic, capitalism is about making the most money while spending the least of it. So psychological manipulation is a key factor, knowing just what you need to say to sucker as many people into buying your product before they realize what hit them"

Noticing one of the many decorative flat screen TVs installed on the various walls, columns and otherwise. Index spoke up, pointing, "Touma Touma! What TV is that? I don't recognize it from the newspaper I read," she said. Looking to the boy hopefully as the horridly technophobic girl sought knowledge about something unfamiliar to her.

"I'm not sure whether I should be amazed you've memorized the TV guide or concerned that you have that much free time," Touma Groaned. "That's a behind-the-scenes broadcast from TV Orbit, the mid level up above is a TV station. So an AD or someone goes around backstage with a small camera, it isn't broadcast over the air, but some idol fans come to the Dianoid just to see it."

Index tilted her head confused, "TV station?" she asked, confused, nearly causing Touma to gawk.

However instead, Othinus sighed, "human, don't bother, I'll explain it to her later, just worry about running into. Oh I don't know, some random magician out for revenge because you stopped their plans for world domination or something." She reached into her pocket, "now then, I made sure to print out a pamphlet for you just in case you lost yours. That way we can plan our visit effectively," pulling out a folded up piece of paper, she held it out to Touma who held a hand up.

"No need, but thanks, this Kamijou-san printed one out at the convenience store, you two can go on ahead. I wouldn't wanna get any weird looks waiting around while you two tried on different outfits, and knowing my luck…" he sighed.

"You'd get accused of harassment, and peeping, chased out of the store and arrested for misconduct. I get it. Very well, I'll give you a private showing back home," she teased, causing the boy to stammer a bit as she turned. "Come on nun, I was thinking we should try one of the less known clothing stores first, brand names are always needlessly expensive after all. This way," she gestured with one hand as Index seemed to be struggling with the cat she had in her habit.

"S-sphinx is getting really restless, Touma… Othinus!" she cried out, chasing after the former war god as Touma stayed behind.

"I wouldn't try that if I were you Calico cat!" Touma called out, "I know you want to sharpen your claws, but everything here is made of carbon materials and I bet even the sliding doors would stop a bullet. Your claws can't even scratch them." He shook his head as the two girls vanished into the crowd and he looked at his pamphlet with a small smile.

Noticing something about dollhouses on the fifth floor, Touma couldn't help but snicker, imagining a fairy sized Othinus running around. It did bring up the question of what may have happened had he not noticed her smile back in Denmark and she tried to kill herself. Could she have ended up being shrunken down as the turn to a fairy spell suggested? He shrugged, as fun as it was to imagine, it wasn't really something he needed to bother himself with.

With nothing better to do, Touma decided to explore, he was unlikely to come here again, and even less so buy anything. So, making note to return to the first floor in about an hour or so at most, he decided to make his way up each floor in succession. Quickly browsing through each one before he made his way to the next in case something caught his interest. Not that he'd be able to buy it, although that was when he remembered the promise he had made to Othinus.

"Shit! I gotta get her a gift or something," he swore, quickly checking through his pamphlet at the various stores. "Most may think that the cheaper stuff would be near the bottom, but that's what companies want you to think. You won't fool this financially challenged Kamijou-san with your psychological tactics! The customer traffic there is, the more affordable it'll be! And at times like this… when there's something being advertised…." he looked up, "the fifth floor is most likely to be on discount!"

It was hopeful thinking to believe that you'd ever find a discount in a capitalistic juggernaut like the Dianoid. In fact, while one may consider it intelligent to have a sale in surrounding stores when a new product is advertised. The reality was that stores rarely had discounts even if there's reason to believe they'll have an influx of customers. Despite being titans in the industry of manipulating psychology, often brand name companies and similar didn't believe they needed to play smart.

So, by the time Touma reached the fifth floor, following a reasonable, and honestly intelligent assumption about marketing. He was disappointed to find, despite how crowded everything was, there was not a single sale going on. Not even in the exotic jewelry store which was showing off designs and symbols from cultures abroad. From western culture in the british isles, to more eastern symbols from china, india and russia, things Touma knew Othinus would appreciate.

Sighing in resignation, Touma lumbered over to the store, he came up here so he might as well get something. Finding that the store in question was shockingly quite filled, which shouldn't have actually been that surprising. Just how american children will often enjoy an japanese j-pop song without realizing it was about suicide. Or a japanese kid would enjoy an american song without realizing it was about drugs and sex. It was common for people of one culture to find symbols and objects from another 'cool' or 'neat' without understanding it's meaning.

However for someone who did understand it, like Index or Othinus, they likely would have vomited at the mish mash of trinkets. Which was why Touma was glad he wasn't them when he made his way in, and started browsing through the different objects. There were necklaces with varying triad symbols from celtic, norse and even greek cultures, animal skin-coats from wolves, bears and even a harbor seal. And talismans of various types, things which Touma would have expected more to see in a magician's shed than a store in the Dianoid.

Acting as the cashier, an old american man sat, wearing a suit and tie like some kind of businessman, he casually leaned back as laying legs over the counter and read a book. The label was in english, so Touma didn't quite know what it said, but he did recognize the symbol on the cover. Having seen it a few times in relation to some tree of something or other often cited by magicians that symbolized the distance between humans and god.

It was a bit unsettling to Touma, but he knew there were people who had interest in these things without being magicians. So, instead he focused on browsing, pushing any uncomfortable thoughts out of his mind, before something caught his eye. A single brooch-like necklace nestled between a seal coat and thin gold chain with a single eye symbol flanked by a raven and wolf on either side.

Touma wasn't an expert, but he had did a little research the night before on the head god of norse mythology. Wanting to see what he could find about Othinus's past to see what she might like, so he recognized Odin's familiars. Huggin, Munnin, Grekki, and Frekki, Odin's Thought, Memory, Greed and Gluttony, symbolic of the mind and body.

"Ah… the five senses of Odin," said an unfamiliar voice causing Touma to jump before he looked up to see the American man leaning over. "Your expression said it all, let me guess? She's a mythology buff?" he chuckled at Touma's stunned look. "The ravens symbolize the mind, Huggin and Munnin were Odin's eyes and ears, telling him all they heard and saw. Meanwhile, Grekki and Frekki symbolize the body, they ate for Odin, and the eye symbolizes Odin themselves. The one eyed god, I put a lot of work into designing these, so I had hoped someone would notice the symbology."

Stunned, Touma met the man's gaze, "you made these?" he asked and the man nodded, "this Kamijou-san doesn't have to worry about weird curses or something does he?"

The American man laughed, "curses? Young man, is that superstition, in this Academy city?" he wiped a tear. "I'm not some warlock or secret god who's testing you, just a traveling businessman who wants to spread his knowledge about other cultures. And what better way to do that than through art? I rented out this space for today, but I don't expect to sell out. So, having someone who appreciates my work is enough for me," he said leaning back in his seat.

"W-well… yeah I guess… not exactly the right audience if you ask me, but yeah I was hoping I could get this. But… I don't think I have the money," he muttered the last bit, "and you're not gonna say something like 'the price isn't money' or the like are you?" The paranoid boy asked, having had one too many encounters with magicians to take chances with a dude selling culturally significant trinkets.

After all, the last time he saw this many different symbols in the same place was his own home, and that dragged a christian angel down from heaven.

"Of course not, but its not nearly as expensive as you'd think, I already got my main pay from this job bringing an old relic here. An english shield that supposedly doesn't exist or something, so I'm not really doing this for profit anyways. If your girlfriend would appreciate that brooch I made, go ahead, buy it, only ten thousand yen, which is what? Hundred dollars? Trust me… thats cheap for jewelry, " he looked away, "and cheap for the effort put in to make it."

Touma fell silent, his gaze falling back down to the brooch as he imagined for a moment Othinus wearing it, and a smile formed on his face.

— — — —

"Ten thousand yen my ASS! Damn bastard didn't mention tax! Is that even legal!? This is extortion!" Touma wailed silently to himself as he wandered back towards the escalators, hoping to meet back up with the girls, small bag in hand. "10 percent! TEN PERCENT! Why did I let him get into my head with the fact these things are hand made!?" he cried out.

Letting out a sigh, Touma paused, noticing something in the corner of his eye before he turned. There, leaning up against a column with a hand held to the center of their flat chest was a short androgynous figure. Their cheeks were red, and they were gasping for breath, large beads of sweat rolling down their forehead implying they had just exerted a lot of effort.

A little concerned, and confused, Touma made his way over, "H-hey, are you okay? If it's too stuffy in here with all the people. You should go rest on the benches over there," he suggested, pointing with one hand towards an area a little ways from the crowd.

The younger individual opened their mouth to speak, seemingly out of breath, "I-I'm… I'm Ai," he panted. But clearly didn't have enough energy to properly speak, causing Touma to sigh as he looked around a moment.

"Calm down. This country has these wonderful things known as vending machines. I know it seems wrong to have to spend 140 yen on water, but why not get something to drink before trying to talk?" Reaching down, he grabbed the person's hand gently which was much warmer than it should have been. And lead them past the brand name stores and over to a vending machine corner as they followed with their head down.

Holding his phone up to the vending machine without thinking, Touma's eyes bugged out a moment before he groaned. "Damn it! As if I hadn't already been scammed enough over a stupid necklace by some shitty american, water here is more expensive than a sports drink!?" He let out a long and depressed sigh of defeat, "eh… whatever, too late now, just means my student debt grew a little more."

Buying the mineral water who's bottle supposedly decomposed which Touma honestly didn't think was more ecofriendly than just drinking from the tap. Touma handed the bottle over to the younger figure who he was still trying to figure out how to refer to as. A bit hesitant to ask if they were a boy or girl due to the worry of offending them, it's not like he hadn't questioned his own identity before after all.

"If you're too dazed to drink, you should probably just go to the infirmary, that means there's a problem with your autonomic nerves. So, it's best not to have an amateur decide how to treat it," he pointed out, a little disturbed by his own intimate knowledge on the subject. He didn't happen to be a medical doctor in one of the many hells Othinus put him through and somehow forgot was he?

"Th-thanks…" the younger figure took the clear bottle and removed the cap, wrapping their hands around it before taking a long drink. Letting out a gentle breath after a few gulps, not coughing anything back up which caused a wave of relief to wash through Touma. It appeared to not have been anything serious so the older boy was glad he didn't have to call an ambulance. "But you don't need to worry about me. I'm not suffering from heat stroke or dehydration."

Holding the plastic bottle with both hands, the shorter individual looked over at the line of vending machines in order to avoid looking at Kamijou. A few high school girls were gathered there and they spoke shrilly in front of a machine covered in an LCD screen. It used the hesitation in one's finger when choosing what to buy in order to analyze the customer's personality and search for other recommended products.

Touma folded his arms, and leaned back against one of the vending machines, "it would be nice if it was that easy. But if people could be so sure of it we wouldn't need to worry so much, it impedes thinking, and other cognitive processes. So you're often not aware of it until it's too late," he pointed out, causing the younger person to get flustered.

"It's true. I'm sweating because I was running ...Honestly, I have to search out the Dianoid's secrets to find a way to rescue that girl, but I ended up having to run away from those weird things right off the bat."

"That… girl? Run away?" Confused, Touma's tone dropped a bit.

Frantically waving a hand in front of their face, the shorter individual shook their head, "A-anyway! That was only because I dislike spilling unnecessary blood and kindly let them have that victory! If I was serious, the world would come to an end! I wasn't serious there at all!" they nervously declared. Touma's eyebrow quirking up awkwardly causing them to panic further, "You're doubting me, aren't you!? I may not look it, but I'm Academy City's #6, Aihana Etsu!"

The usage of that name caused the surroundings to seem to shake, students passing by looking over in shock. Others hurriedly moved away for fear of angering the individual in case they were the real Aihana themself. Having met a fake himself, Touma understood a bit on why all the focus on that name was divided into two categories.

However, not one to let the possibility of having met another level five get to him, Touma spoke up casually. "Oh, you're one of them? Have you met Accelerator or Misaka-san then? Not that being a level five guarantees you know others. As far as I know, only those two have any direct connection, and to be fair they aren't exactly on speaking terms."

"Eh!? W-what!?" failing to notice the visible distress on the younger individual's face Touma continued.

"Still, you don't seem like someone who'd throw lightning spears at someone the first time you meet so guess it doesn't matter. … More importantly, what was that about running away, are you okay?" he asked before realizing something. "Oh! Right, I forgot to introduce myself, bit rude of me there, I'm Kamijou Touma, it's nice to meet you Aihana-san."

"HYAAAAH!" Aihana, if that was their real name, fell onto their back end the moment Touma's name left his mouth. Sliding backwards onto the floor as they trembled like a leaf as if someone had just invoked the name of a dark lord. "K-Kamijou-san?" he asked in a trembling voice. "Y-you mean the Kamijou Touma!? The boy said to run around the city at night, knocking out even the most mighty warrior with his clenched fist and snatching up every girl in his path no matter how young or old!?"

Groaning, Touma held his forehead, "oh my god… my head hurts, this reminds me of that world, damn it Othi-chan." Normally, he'd have questioned what had become of his image but thanks to the trauma triggered by Othinus's actions. Who he now realized probably could have just asked for his help, left him covering his head in his hands. Granted, he couldn't really blame Othinus entirely for not coming up with that solution given her environment, but still.

However, by the time he looked up, the younger individual had already vanished into the crowd without a trace. Before a hard clack entered Touma's ears, and all sound seemed to vanish as all the hairs on his neck stood up on end. All previous assumptions were thrown out the window as he slowly turned to face the source of the noise. The color of the surrounding area growing distorted by the time he realized said noise was that of a cane hitting the floor.

Standing before him, a man in his late forties to early fifties ignored the flow of people around him. Wearing the sort of comical tailcoat found in costume shops and the kind of silk hat worn by stage magicians. A monocle could be seen set over his right eye as he held a cane that gave him the feel of a stage illusionist rather than a ceremonial garb. Rather than change his outfit to match the surrounding atmosphere, the surrounding atmosphere changed to suit his outfit.

And as Touma sat there with a confused expression on his face, the strange individual said a simple phrase.

"Hi"

— — — —

Shortly after splitting off from Touma, Index and Othinus found themselves browsing around one of something that caught their interest. The white gold nun hummed happily as she ran about in a child-like manner, pressing her face up against various display windows to get a good look at the products. Human vision worked at a max of 60 frames per second and had a resolution of around 576 megapixels. Meaning even if Index's vision was max specs, without supernatural enhancements, her perfect memory was still bound by those limits. So it was still always better for her to get in close to a target to make out all the little details rather than glance at it from a far.

Of course, Othinus suspected there was a little more going on with her than that, as no normal person could contain the knowledge of all 103k grimoires from the vatican without consequence. Not only did eidetic memory only really apply within the first few minutes of observation. Meaning truly perfect memory was biologically impossible, but even those who spent their whole lives working with Grimoires. Commonly had to clear their minds and even then often suffered negative effects. Which made Othinus wonder if Index had in fact been altered beyond her perfect memory which defied the limits of human cognition.

However, rather than dwell on the possibility the nun was artificially made like some kind of homunculus. Othinus decided to focus on the present as she noticed the nun slip into one of the many different shop fronts. Letting out a short sigh at her lack of self awareness as she followed after her so she didn't lose sight of the nun.

Stepping into the band name store after quickly checking to make sure she had everything she needed. Othinus looked around for a moment, taking in the various styles and fashions that were far from what they as magic users were used to. Especially for Othinus herself, who, although she would not admit to it, had grown accustomed to wearing practically nothing.

"Hey... Othinus, did you think about how we're going to pay for all this?" Index asked, looking in horror at a set of dress pants. "We won't be able to get food if you bought a single pair of panties from this place! Don't they know people need to eat!? What's with these unfair prices."

Othinus gave a short huff at the nun's antics as she walked by and began browsing through various outfits. "A store's job isn't to provide you with the things you need nun, It's to get you to spend as much money in as little time as possible. Name brands over inflate the price of a bundle of cloth and string because people just assume they are worth that much. When in reality the amount of work and effort that goes into these as it does something from a dollar store are practically the same."

Examining a set of leathers, Othinus held her chin leaning to one side, "and you shouldn't worry about the costs anyways. Did you think it was cheap to put Radiosonde castle together? Sure, work labor was fairly cheap, we were all working towards the same goal. And things can be quite efficient when you have multiple people with super strength carrying tons of Rebar and I-beams. But did you think we just found all those materials randomly? cause I can tell you that Thor's lazy battle crazed ass didn't pay for a penny of it."

Index blinked, and turned to Othinus, holding a pair of pink and white undergarments in her hands, likely to have some spares. "You mean we can buy all the clothing we want and still have money for a full course meal at a fancy restaurant!?" she beamed. "Wh-where did you get all the money!?" she paused suddenly glaring, "did you steal it?" she demanded getting Othinus to sigh.

"I'm over 3000 years old by you mortal's standards, if I had lived that long, and didn't have a penny to my name of some kind. Do you really think I'd have lasted as long as I did without destroying the world?" she pointed out, causing Index to gape as she continued. "Yes, yes most of my funds were confiscated by the anglicans due to being gotten through illicit means to begin with. But I was quite good at procuring clean money through various investments and careful spending. It's not like I needed it for food, shelter or anything else I could provide with magic, but transport, passports. A lot of the stuff I needed to get around required money, and I have quite a bit... I think my networth was in the billions?"

Looking through a series of darker colored outfits, Othinus thought to herself, wondering what would have happened to all that money had she not given up her power. In all likelihood, even had she not died and was just reduced to an actual fairy, as ridiculous as that scenario sounded. Her various accounts, legit and otherwise, would have been frozen and all the funds returned to their respective governments. The only reason she still had access to that vast pool of wealth was her agreement with the Anglicans and American government.

As long as she worked for them, and let them seize all her dirty money, she would be allowed to keep her legit wealth for recreational purposes. So as long as it was in service to her job as Touma's personal bodyguard, which she felt included improving his and Index's comfort. Something which buying spare outfits for the nun would be a perfectly valid example of in her own opinion.

Of course… Othinus's eyes narrowed, glancing down to her pocket where her phone was, remembering the student account she now had. The amount of funding she had gotten through that specific venture had gone up a substantial amount since her ability improved. Too much in fact, almost as if they knew something about her ability that she didn't, which was very irritating for her.

"Thank you Othinus!" Index squealed, embracing the former god from behind, "Touma and I have never been able to buy whatever we want because he has so little money!"

Caught entirely off guard, Othinus found herself going rigid as she held a black skirt with gold lining, her cheeks flushing slightly. Index's brazen and friendly behavior having entirely thrown off her thought process as her voice caught in her throat. Unable to really speak as she tried to process what was happening and felt Index's face nuzzling into her back.

"I-I..." Othinus stammered slightly before her arms relaxed and she found herself smiling, "you are welcome nun. But do not think I will be granting you such privileges willy nilly, this was just the generosity of a god understood? the human may not understand how his financial situation has changed . But maybe you can at least give him a sign" Othinus said, a small smile tugging at the edge of her lips, a strange warm sensation filling her chest.

Index went to speak, before she paused, and her eyes widened as she quickly pulled away blushing in embarrassment. "Wait, I'm not supposed to be thanking you! y-you hurt people!" she shook her head and gave a cute pouting glare. "How dare you try and manipulate me with food, how simple do you think I am, one eyed Othinus," she declared, jabbing a finger at Othinus.

Laughing, Othinus smirked, leaning sideways with a finger to her chin, "oh, I don't know, but you seemed excited at the idea of going to a fancy restaurant. Here, how about I get you some chocolate at the checkout counter and we'll forget all about that slip up of your's," she teased. A smug grin forming on her face, trying to recover from Index's earlier actions which had left her a bit confused.

"H-hey! don't go tempting me with chocolate right after I told you not to! I-I got my eye on you Othinus, don't think I trust you." Index rushed behind some clothes racks, poking her head out as she glared Othinus's way like a child who had just encountered a friendly stranger.

Wiping a tear from her eye, Othinus couldn't help but smile at Index's antics, finding them adorable in a way that made it hard to believe she was the same age as Touma. Or well, the same age he had been before the sargasso, even if her understander refused to accept he was well over legal age. Whether because of her countless memory wipes, or because this was just how she naturally was. Index held an air of innocence in spite of her role as the grimoire library, which tugged at Othinus's instincts as a parent.

She now understood why so many had thrown themselves into the flames of insanity for this innocent child in order to save her. And she was beginning to wonder if that same innocence was influencing her in a similar fashion whether or not she wanted it. A bubble of discomfort floating up from inside as she felt herself growing a bit angry at herself for letting Index get to her. She wasn't that close to her, besides the only reason she was doing any of this was because Touma cared about Index. And if the nun got upset he would too, which was something Othinus could not allow to happen no matter what. The thought that one day, she would willingly throw her life on the line for someone who wasn't Touma scared her. So why was she getting so worked up over Index like this? It wasn't like she was just gonna change overnight.

Sighing, Othinus turned back to the row of tops she was looking through and decided to try and distract herself. "You remind me a lot of myself when I was younger, you know nun, so eager to learn, but constantly being used by others."Although," she glanced over to just below Index's collarbone, "I was a bit more gifted at your age," she she playfully teased. Causing Index to blush as the former war god smirked, feeling a bit smug at how quickly the nun grew insecure about her body.

Covering her modest chest beneath her white habit, Index flashed another glare at Othinus as she turned away. "Hey! I'm still growing, Touma just can't feed me enough okay? Just get some stupid outfits so we can go eat already! I'm hungry," she huffed, turning away as she looked towards the exit and pouted at the lack of places to eat.

"We'll need to go to another floor for food Grimoire library, besides," Othinus picked up a cute pink frilled blue dress. "We still have yet to pick out any outfits for you, I've never really had someone I could call a younger sister after all. So get over here, I wanna do a little dress up," she declared, grinning broadly as she reached for the nun's hand. Hoping to get a little payback on her for the surprise attack against her still vulnerable heart Index had made earlier.

Eyes wide, Index gave a short cry as she was dragged over to the changing rooms, Othinus having picked up a series of different outfits when she wasn't looking. Before being gently, but strongly pushed into one of the stalls as Othinus stood outside and gave a smirk, crossing her arms. Satisfied by her revenge as the girl sat there, glaring tearfully up at her covered in various stray bits of clothing.

"Hey! That was rude! couldn't you have asked?" Index said, pouting.

Othinus shrugged, "maybe, but you were being a bit rude earlier with all the accusations, now hurry up and try a few out. I wanna see how you look in them before I take my pick," she stated, and pulled the curtain shut in front of Index.

Chuckling to herself, Othinus waited outside the stall as Index's irritated grumblings could be heard from the otherside. Waiting as the girl got changed into one of the many different outfits Othinus had picked out for her to try on. It was odd, to be honest, she found a strange sense of enjoyment from teasing the small nun much like she had someone else in the past. Finding Index's aura of innocence not too dissimilar to the playful one her old friend Loki once held before she betrayed them.

For a moment there was a bit of silence as Index's shuffling stopped before she nervously spoke up, addressing Othinus. "U-um... Othinus, are you sure about this one, sure it's not... weird or anything, but it kinda reminds me of what you wore."

The curtain opened, Revealing Index wearing a leather outfit consisting of a series of pads around the sides of a full body jacket that left the legs bare. Gold trimming lined the space between the more flexible black leather torso, and padded leather sides giving it a rich feel. The way it had clung to her sides, back and front emphasizing her modest, yet visible chest, and petite rear as she blushed. A pair of black gloves and heeled boots on her hands and feet completing the biker girl look that the outfit was meant for.

Holding back her laughter, Othinus recomposed herself as she cleared her throat and straightened out, frowning. "No, you're right nun, it doesn't feel right, I'll take it though, should fit if I adjust the straps, but it just doesn't fit you. Now then," she beamed clasping her hands together as Index posed, "try on one of the cuter ones I picked out for you."

"You're enjoying this aren't you! you're enjoying embarrassing me!" Index huffed, slightly tearful.

"What? Nooo~ I would never nun, I'm just enjoying watching you try out new outfits," Othinus said, leaning back as she teased. "But to be serious, this is something I never had before, so please, let me enjoy being a girl for once instead of a god." Her voice became softer for a moment as she stood there, gently gripping the edge of the curtain and looked away. A sense of earnestness in her tone as she felt her gaze drop down, not wanting to show any vulnerability.

That caught Index off guard as she looked away, blushing deeper, "I-I guess it wouldn't hurt to show you there are better ways to have fun than hurt people. I-I'll go try on the other outfits," she said, before pulling the curtain shut, causing Othinus to smile a bit softer this time. Her gaze became gentle for a moment as found herself reminiscing on the life she had lived up to this point.

She wondered, would she have been like Index had their roles been swapped? the wide eyed and kind girl that loved equally? Would Index have been like her had she been born into the harsh world of bronze age denmark and norway? Eager to learn but getting beaten down by the world till all that was left was the hollow, empty shell of a girl who wanted a companion? Seeing Index, Othinus was reminded of those simpler days as she watched the girl trying out various outfits she had picked. From sailor uniforms with silvers, blues and pinks, to flower dresses and sun bonnets that brought out her innocent charm. Othinus found herself seeing that young, excited blond seither girl eager to show off in the village square to the elders.

She remembered how she had often blown things up and caused fires, leading people to laugh at her chaotic antics. How harsh her father had been, how gentle and encouraging her mother had been in her pursuit of knowledge and power. The joyful look in the reflection of a sphere of water she formed for the first time now reflected on that silver haired nun's face when Othinus praised her outfit.

Waiting for Index to put on the final outfit she had chosen, Othinus looked through a couple of her own when Index spoke from behind the curtain.

"Hey, Othinus?" she asked.

Pausing Othinus looked up, "yes nun?"

"I know you hurt Touma... and I don't forgive you for it," she said as Othinus's head sank down and she waited for the nun to continue. "You did... terrible things to him at the sargasso, and I may not know exactly what you did to him and for how long you did it. But, I know that it was enough to leave a scar so deep it shows in his eyes... so, for that I can never forgive you, okay?"

Othinus looked away, having nothing to retort with as Index was entirely right, in every way, so she just nodded in silence. Her expression having hardened as she felt the warmth fading from her chest and her eyes narrowed coldly. She had already known this moment would come, it was only natural that Index would want to call her out on all she did. So Othinus had long since prepared herself for what she had to say, even if it meant the nun would hate her more.

But what Index said next shocked her, "which is why I've decided you're not Othinus anymore," she said, causing Othinus to look up. "Othinus was the evil magic god who took Touma away from me without me even knowing and hurt him so badly he can never heal, but that's not you."

Pulling the curtain Open, Index stood wearing a white overshirt, with a sky blue long sleeved undershirt with flared cuffs. A long navy blue skirt draped over her legs where a set of long black stockings could be seen ending in a pair of dark dress shoes. The silver hair on the nun's head had been brushed back straight, giving her a pretty vibe that enhanced her innocence.

"You're Wothnaz! the troubled lonely girl who brought Touma back to me in order to atone for past deeds and saved him. Ready to sacrifice your life to protect Touma even if it meant taking the blame for all the crimes of Othinus in the process. So, you deserve a second chance," Index beamed, folding her arms behind her as she smiled, causing Othinus to stare in shock. Her expression faltered as she felt her heart squeeze a bit, before her gaze dropped and she looked away.

"Is... that so?" she asked, finding herself unable to meet Index's eyes.

Index nodded, "you weren't always Othinus were you? the old you died and became Othinus, just as the old me died and the old Touma died. Sure, you didn't get your memory erased as we did, but you're still different than you were yesterday or you will be tomorrow. Why should I judge you based on who you were then, and not who you are now?" she asked, tilting her head in a cute manner. "It's something I realized shortly after Touma saved me from having my memory erased that july. We're all different people, all throughout our lives we're different, from the day we're born, to the day we die. Each step in our life we become someone else, this me, isn't yesterday's me and won't be tomorrow's me. But that's okay isn't it? As long as we remember all those other us's we were before we can keep moving forward. That's why having my memories erased was the single worst thing ever to happen to me… cause it deprived me of that ability to move forward from who I was. But you, you have that chance, so I won't deny you that because its the right of every person on the planet."

Index's smile was so blinding, that Othinus felt herself unable to look at her at all, tears forming at the edges of her eyes. Chuckling, she smiled, "and how do you know this isn't just another trick, or manipulation of mine, naive girl?"

"I don't!" Index said without hesitation.

"I'm sorry... what?" Othinus blinked, stunned, her head snapping up as she stared at Index's smiling face in complete shock.

Index walked over and leaned her back against her, "I don't know this isn't another trick or manipulation. You took the name of Odin, a god of deception and betrayal, of course this could be a trick, or trap, set to hurt Touma. But you know what else Odin was a god of?" she asked, looking into Othinus's eyes. "Oaths... Odin was the god of Oaths and vows, outside Fenrir, he never, ever broke a promise, just found loopholes, so, I hope you are the same."

Othinus found herself entirely taken aback by Index's words, and began to laugh at just how right, and accurate Index was. Half tempted to just outright tell the nun that her hopes were more literal than she could have possibly realized. After all, she truly was Odin, and the vows Index spoke of were the vows Othinus herself had been the one to make. Even her tragic betrayal of Fenrir which she continued to regret to this day, as it had been the moment she lost her way.

As Index tilted her head, Othinus wiped her eyes and let out a small sigh, "I see... you're just as dumb as the human aren't you?" She smiled, ruffling Index's head, "come on then, let's go check in on that foolish boy and make sure he's not got wrapped up in another apocalypse or something."

"Hey! he doesn't always get wrapped up in world ending events... just... twice so far," Index pouted as they made their way to the counter. "Why was Touma dragged into two world ending events to begin with!?" the nun suddenly realized, causing Othinus to laugh again. "Hey! not funny Othinus, he could get seriously hurt if we aren't there to protect him next time," she insisted tugging on Othinus's outfit.

"No, no, you're right, just one apocalypse is too many, so let's hurry up before he finds himself stopping a third... Index," Othinus said. Catching Index off guard as she turned, and made her way over to the counter to pay for the clothes they just picked out. Index's words continuing to echo in her mind as she felt a warm sensation filling her up from within because of them.

If Index, who had every right, more than anyone else to hate her, had chosen to accept this version of her now. Despite the risk of her betraying them at any moment for some greater goal or long game she had been playing. Then maybe… just maybe, Othinus really could fit into this little family that Touma had started making for himself.

However, just as the two girls began to leave the store, holding a bag in each hand, a familiar anguished cry filled the air.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!?"

— — — —

Pushing her way through the crowded subway, the flower crown wearing Uiharu gasped, and panted for breath. Chasing after a raven haired girl from the same school as her, "S-saten-saaaan! Wait up," she called out. Leaning her hands against her knees as she paused to catch her breath beside the girl. "H-honestly, when it comes to urban legends, y-you're really fast you know that?" she said, glaring up at the girl.

"Sorry sorry! But can you blame me?" The raven haired Saten turned in place, beaming at Uiharu with her hands behind her head. "I mean this one's about a guy we both met, and I gotta hear about it from the source himself if the stories are true. Misaka-san refuses to talk about the dude, but based on my interaction with him, he seemed like a pretty standup guy/"

Uiharu blew some hair out of her face and straightened out, huffing a bit, "well im here just in case those stories are true. Just because he seemed like a nice guy in one or two interactions doesn't mean he's a nice guy, might mean he's a 'nice guy' okay? And I don't want my friends being tangled up with a self entitled jerk, alright?" she said, straightening out her judgement armband."Besides, I might as well make use of my time to go on patrol even if it's a little outside my jurisdiction."

Poking her head over the crowd, Saten frowned a little, "hey what's the hold up? Is everyone just hanging around the entrance? Come on guys! get a move on, some of us have places to be, well sorta, not me personally, but you know, other people!" She called out over the crowd, getting a frown from Uiharu as she began pushing her way through.

"Excuse me, sorry, judgement coming through, what seems to be the problem?" she asked, using her authority to help clear a path. Flashing her armband as she arrived at the entrance to the building known as the Dianoid, where she saw a couple people trying to pry the doors open. "Hey hey! What's going on here!?" she demanded, glaring, "why are you trying to break the revolving doors?"

"They won't budge! Its like the damn thing is sealed shut or something," one of the people cried out, slamming their full body weight into the door.

"Trains are stopped too! But the last train doesn't leave till curfew!" another said, gritting their teeth in effort.

Frowning, Uiharu got in close, and gently nudged the people trying to force the entrance open out of the way. Saten behind in the crowd trying to see what she was doing as Uiharu took the crowbar and tried to jam it under the door. Only to find it hitting against something solid with a clang, before she instead dropped to the floor and began examining the edges of the revolving door.

Her eyes widened, it was less that the doors were jammed, and more like there wasn't even a door to begin with. With not even the smallest gap visible between the edges of the door and where the connected with the frame. Uiharu found herself beginning to sweat nervously as she ran her fingers along the grooves where the door should be. A baffled expression on her face as she muttered to herself, no wonder they hadn't been able to get it to move. They were trying to break through a solid wall of carbon nanostructures designed to handle impacts from a tank.

"Wait, are you sure this is just a system error? If someone messed with the airconditioning too, they could set it up so the people inside would suffocate." A rude and insensitive boy spoke up over the crowd, holding his phone up as he filmed what could very well become a tragedy. Showing no regard for the fact there were living, breathing people, trapped in the building as they stood.

"Well, I doubt this is so simple, but in a way, the lethality of being inside there is probably even greater than that. After all...St. Germain has begun to move."

Uiharu was about to give the insensitive prick a piece of her mind, when a new voice interrupted her thoughts. Freezing her in place and causing her blood to run cold as she slowly turned to the source of the enchanting, seductive tone. Her eyes widening as she found three new figures standing either side of the boy that had not been there a moment ago.

One was a dark skinned woman, with a mature body wrapped in nothing but bandages, her eyes changing color every time she blinked. The second was an old, dried up mummy of a man in gaudy purple and gold robes with a golden staff in one hand. And the third was a small petite child-like girl with deathly pale skin, a chinese dress and a charm slapped to her forehead.

Uiharu didn't even register the boy's reaction to the three appearing around him as she just stared silently. A fear beyond anything she could have imagined penetrating her body, demanding she not move, not draw attention. As if even death itself would not be an escape if she caught the eye of one of those three monsters who didn't even bother to hide.

Despite how crowded the subway was, it was as if everyone except Uiharu and the boy simply ignored the three's presence. They stood out like sore thumbs, yet no one even paid them a glance, even though two of the figures looked like walking corpses. The pressure they exuded prevented Uiharu from even breathing, as if she was in the presence of divinity itself. And that breathing around them would be akin to blasphemy worthy of getting herself smited by them.

"Yes, but his tastes baffle me. Although it is fortunate that he does not chaotically destroy the world to the extent Othinus did and that he sees a clear division there." The mummy of a man spoke, splitting his dried skin as he spoke a name that Uiharu had only seen in news reports, and anti-skill files.

"Aaaah, damn it, why does that microbial moron have to butt in now of all times!? We can't go grab the imagine breaker like this! If we use our powers now we'll shatter the world before we've even tried! I just hope that idiot gives the one eyed thief hell. Honestly, if only she hadn't become his understander!" the childish pale girl whined, flailing her arms around.

As the boy between them screamed and ran, Uiharu reached to her arm and tugged her armband, finally finding her voice. "T-this is judgement! I-I demand y-you sh-show me some identification o-or I'll detain you as suspicious individuals!" Her voice quivered and she stammered, her instincts screaming at her for making such a suicidal move.

The old man tipped his head up, and Uiharu's voice hitched her body stiffening as those eyes met her's. "Uh-hoi… seems we've outstayed our welcome, Naing Naing… we'll need to work a bit more on concealing our presences. It appears our weakened state made us more perceptible to mortals," he mused, causing the pale child to glance over.

"Hm? Oh, whoops, right, stupid St. Germain getting me all worked up," the girl referred to as Niang-Niang pouted. Her eyes barely seemed to register Uiharu's presence as the girl couldn't even let out a breath. Her heart seemed to have stopped as the three figures turned away, the action providing no solace to the girl who felt like she was going to die.

And then… just as quickly as the pressure had appeared… it was gone, along with the three figures, and Uiharu could breathe again. Collapsing to the floor as she gasped for breath, before Saten rushed over clear concern on her face as she helped her up. Uiharu's heart, pounding a mile a minute to make up for the time it had stopped, trying to get fresh oxygen to her brain.

"Uiharu!, a-are you alright!? You looked pale and were shouting at thin air, its like you saw a ghost!" Saten said. Her face marred with worry as she held Uiharu's shoulders, the girl finally relaxing as she regained her composure.

"N-no, I-im fine… just…" she looked back at the Dianoid and frowned, "who would want to trap an entire populace inside the Dianoid, and why?"

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A/N: Hey, welcome to the bottom, didn't expect to see Uiharu so soon now did you? I jest, you guys probably guessed pretty quickly she'd be showing up soon with how often I had her mentioned. Now, for those of you who wanna know some of the thought processes that went into writing this. As well as clear up any confusion you may have regarding certain scenes (like why Othi knows Aliester) I'll be addressing those down here.

To start with, that beginning went through two, or three different version, however I started with the Othi scene first. I'll admit this one took way longer than I'd like it have too partially due to that lack of motivation caused by me being hung up over a failing friendship. But also cause I COULD'T STOP WRITING FOR A STORY I SHOULDN'T BE WRITING FOR YET. Safe to say by the Time SYSTEM's first arc is done I'm pretty sure I'll have completed the first sequel to LoCG as well XD.

Anyways continuing on, I believe the original version of that Othi scene was pretty rushed and didn't even have the moment with her watching the news in it. However it served as a basis for me to add onto later with the news scene where she reminisce on how many people forgave her being a brainwave that case to me later. And was fleshed out again with the added addition of the mention of the minority vote being just as valid in court cases. A suggestion given to me by Superboy which I enjoyed…

Now after the first iteration of that second scene, I wrote the first iteration of the Aliester scene which was frankly horrid. Janky, awkward, read weirdly, and just felt… off all round, I did of course keep most of the basics for it. But I entirely reworked it and decided to include a moment with Aliester finding one of Othi's old photo. Which is where im sure a few of you will have your first questions aka "wait how would Othi be around during WWII" I jest honestly, but I have to cover my basis cause there are sadly some people who don't get that Othinus being odin means she' FING ODIN AND OVER 2K YEARS OLD EVEN WITHOUT COUNTING PHASE SHIFTS. Sigh, anyways to explain that, Othinus is the inspiration for the myths and legends of Odin in toaru, In fact Odin isn't even the original name, hence me having her go by Wothnaz which when I began writing this story was the oldest known version of Odins name. Through that you can see how you'd get the names Odin and Othinus from that, You got the Wo, and the TH,the TH becomes that weird t'd symbol which begins looking like Wodnaz which goes to Woden, which goes to Odin. Then on the other end you have the Othnaz bit which goes to Othinaz and then Othinus. Aren't languages fun? Anyways, im getting off track, but even if we don't look at IrL theres moment in GT9 which proves her age. When CrC shows up, Othinus mentions that she doesn't fear him because 'her magic isn't based on the rose and cross'. Which on its own means she cannot be using modern magic as dictated by Aliester as thats a direct descendent of the rose and cross system. So by that logic her magic is older than the stuff Aliester uses, and there is one magic system from norse mythology that fits the bill. One Odin himself learned by disgusing as a woman… Seither magic, making Othinus likely a practitioner to what would become Seither. And as for the nazi's well we all know those idiots somehow mixed up loginous and gungnir so you do the math there.

Moooving on… In my notes, the scene with Othi overhearing Touma went a little diff, but I kept most of it. With the irony of Othi saying that Touma shouldn't associate with abusive woman like Mikoto considering what she herself has already done. And a bit of teasing being passed between the two as they headed to school to fill out the chapter a bit and give some light hearted fun.

Now after that, we have our first Uiharu scene in the story, Originally there was only going to be the one at the end. But I decided to add a second on in the middle because It felt lacking otherwise and I felt it would make the buildup more natural. Everyone's favorite def not borderline yandere hacker who has at least one doujin involving Touma is doing paperwork!... yaaaaay. In all seriousnes though, if any of you read NT12 you have picked up on the whole missing person thing being connected to ST. Germain. I forget exactly if it's explained in the novel, but I did realize that people would notice if lots of random individuals suddenly started acting weird. So I decided to work that in to give Uiharu a natural lead in to the arc as these details will in fact be important later. Especially with her recognizing Othi's face…

Then after that we got another Othi scene with the obligatory invisible Himegami joke, leading in some embarrassment for Othi as Himegami just, does not care for her BS. Which may be where your next question comes in "how does Othinus know about Aliester?" Simple… reread NT9, she directly mentions "the man calling himself the silver star" and brings up him 'tampering with the pure world' in her fight with Touma. Meaning not only did she know of Aliester… BUT SHE KNEW MORE ABOUT HIS PLANS THAN EVEN TRUE GREMLIN DID. Its another of those details alongside thor knowing the world was destroyed that I picked up when rereading moments form the novels to get some details right.

Before I moved on to an alternative version of a scene from the LNs, its these moments I struggle with quite often. I need to find a unique way to describe things Kamachi already has without making them seem boring or repetitive. While also adding small changes here and there to fit with what may happen with Othi full sized and an esper. Hence the paper fan going for Othi instead of the pencil case just falling down, as it's more misfortune for Touma if his fan goes way off course and nearly hit his understander than it is for just the pencilcase to fall over. Which you'll note, it still did, so no matter what the world Touma wasn't gonna be hitting that pencil case XD.

And next we have the scientists where you get a bit more explanation behind Othi's ability as well as a possible reason for the limit's to Uiharu's. I hope you found it interesting as I had to put some effort actually figuring out the differences between various sub atomic particles and their components to make it work. There was a moment when writing that scene where I got sevely stuck cause in my notes it just said the scientists notice something 'odd' but never specifies. So here I was, panicking asking myself, BUT WHAT WAS ODD!? Before eventually, after weeks maybe a month. Realizing… oh sh*t I didn't actually decide on that back then did I? Which was when I decided to go with more blatantly obvious foreshadowing, c-can you guess who the guy obsessing over Othi is yet? I mean… only one person it really can be right? Lets just say those poor three fools aren't exactly long for this world anymore…

Next we have some more alternatives to scenes from the novels, so there isn't too much to say on them minus the bit about the midnight sun which I felt would be a nice touch to have Othi bring up. Up until Touma arrives at a mysterious jewlery store, now you guys liiikely won' get the reference there as… well I've not written it yet. You can blame SB for convincing me to include it, but it's not without purpose as I realized it was a perfect place to plant future foreshadowing… as to what… well you'll have to find out. Touma getting scammed by an american selling exotic jewlery also just felt like the perfect thing to have happen, and it as funny. So I had mr strange jewlery seller get one over on him before he ran into Kanou shinka who you'll notice I never refer to as he. Yes, he's a he I know that, but Touma doesn't not yet at least, and im not sure if its a translation issue, or if its actually in the original japanese. But it starts calling Kanou a he before Touma has figured out or been told wether or not he's a he or she. I hear something similar happens with Accel who while uses masculine words like, Boku or is it Kimiwa?, may not actually be referred to as male in the japanese. Probably referred to as Accel and like that one RvB character has a villain complex with doom in their pants.

Now after I end the scene with Touma seeing St. Germain for the first time, we get to a scene I first shared with Rails before the falling out. The initial version had Othi and Index much more friendly than they are in this one but simply by changing the context around the dialogue I was able to alter the vibe. Othinus wouldn't start warming up to Index this early on till the end there with the whole, 'you're not Othinus speech.' Which I took inspiration from the 11th doctor's regeneration speech from Doctor who where he discusses how we change over time. I hope it tugged at least a little at your heart strings there.

Of course people were gonna be wondering how Othi could afford this shiz, so I hope you enjoyed my explanation. I got the idea from a joke online where someone asked something similar about Vampires and why they always end up rich. And someone responded, if you lived for over 300 years and are still broke, just walk out into the sunlight dude. Like come on… you really think thor of all people has a PENNY to his name? Dude's too busy bashing heads to make a living. Someone's gotta handle the finances for all those projects and it sure as hell ain't him, or misses I make furniture out of people!

And finally, we have another alternate version of an existing NT12 scene except… this time with Uiharu present. And frankly someone else who should have been harassing Touma ever since NT10 but Kamachi was too nervous to use. Like come on people no way Saten was NOT chasing him down after learning his name was itself an urban legend. This scene was one I had originally planned for th chap but went through two iterations as the first time I again forgot the dianoid entrance was underground. However I knew I wanted Uiharu to see the MGs and be subjected to the same thing Komukawa maria was back in NT8. Before they left after realizing she had noticed them I hope you enjoyed that scene, you'll see why im building this up… later.

Anyways, now that we've gotten that out of the way, let us close this book on an infinity for now.