Just to let you know, this will probably be the last chapter for a while. I'm not going on hiatus again, I just want to write out a plan for the next few chapters going forwards so I'm not writing by the seat of my pants.

Also, some recent reviews have left me with a need to answer some questions so I'll do that here.

First off: No, Touma cannot see The World, nor can he interact with it physically. If The World punched Imagine Breaker, the only thing that would happen is Touma's hand being absolutely wrecked...which isn't really an issue unless the hand is completely removed.

However, Imagine Breaker DOES grant Touma the same immunity to Time Stop that DIO, Jotaro & now Itsuki enjoy. However, since he lacks a Stand and isn't as physically STRONK as DIO, he can't take full advantage of it like Itsuki can.

To elaborate: During Time Stop, no outside forces exist save for those exerted by the User/Those Immune to Time Stop (Eg: Jotaro & DIO). This apparently includes Gravity, which is why DIO & Jotaro were basically flying all over Cairo like something out of DBZ during their fight.

Itsuki might not be as STRONK as DIO (lol, not even close) but thanks to The World he can recreate this flying effect to move around Academy City without much issue. Touma, however, lacking a Stand, would be limited to ordinary human Zero-G Movements.

Getting back on track, last time Itsuki got out of the house to do a supply run, only to run into Saten. After reassuring her that she wasn't about to be sent to Horny Jail by a certain Tele-Stalker, they stumble across a Level-Upper Deal gone sideways, prompting Itsuki to straighten them out...

With that said, please enjoy!

Chapter 10: July 21st Part 2.

Heart 2 Heart

'Well, that was a complete waste of effort.' I sighed, looking on dispassionately as [The World] sent the last of the thugs flying through the window of a nearby condemned building 'Seriously, did they honestly think simply having an Esper Power would make them untouchable?'

It was sadly a common misconception that Level-0's were totally powerless against Espers, but that was mostly due to the Board of Directors showing off the sheer overwhelming power of the Level 5's as a benchmark for all Espers to aspire towards.

In actuality, the overall danger level posed by most of the Esper Students in the city was rather low. Truth be told, even in Academy City, the likelihood of bumping into a combat capable Esper was actually pretty low unless you were Kamijou Touma or went nosing around where you really shouldn't. Or Both.

I mean, think about it for a second: Why else would the [Skill Outs] believe there was 'Safety in Numbers'? Simply overwhelming an Esper with sheer numbers wasn't going to work if they were all powerhouses like Misaka or could teleport needles into your body like Shirai.

At the end of the day, despite their higher overall rank on the societal ladder & barring those with actual combat training, there wasn't much Lower-Ranked Espers could really do with their powers in regards to self-defence, especially if their opponents came at them like they owed them money on Black Friday.

The only way they could conceivably avoid such a fate would be to raise their ability Level, a process that carried with it several risks, not the least of which being reduced to a mere lab specimen at the complete mercy of some unscrupulous scientist looking to create the next level 5.

Which is why [Level-Upper] was such a big deal. A music program that could alter your brainwaves to amplify whatever Esper-Potential you might possess? Without the cost or risks normally associated with such growth? Something that could finally allow Skill-Outs to claw their way out of the gutter?

To the downtrodden and the neglected, such a thing was like the discovery of Gold in California and the splitting of the Atom all over again; suddenly everyone wanted to get their hands on it, regardless of how many lives they had to trample over in the process.

You may think I'm exaggerating, but believe me, I understood the appeal of Level-Upper just fine. Hell, I'm fairly certain the real Itsuki would've traded his left nut just to get his hands on it, only to turn around and abuse his newfound power to keep others from doing so, the hypocritical little shite.

After all, as much as Academy City tried to portray itself as a place of enlightenment & progress, beneath the surface they were beholden to the whims of the Board of Executives, an amoral group of sociopaths wholly invested in pushing their own agendas when they weren't sabotaging one another.

It was such a publicly known secret that most people didn't even blink when it was brought up in conversation, as who else would you put in charge of a City-State where almost everyone was exposed to suspicious drugs and borderline illegal surgeries in hopes of developing a super power before they died?

However, it was precisely for that reason that the Board preferred things on the surface remain as squeaky-clean as possible. After all, while Academy City was technically an Independent City State, it was still forced to interact with the outside world, particularly via the media.

With this in mind, so far as the Directors were concerned the apprehension of Level-Upper, an unlicensed program that threatened the status quo, should have been a top priority, yet for some reason the higher-ups weren't using all their resources to clamp down on it, at least not publicly.

This implied two things as far as I was concerned; not only were the higher-ups aware of Level Upper's existence, they likely had some hand in its distribution, or at the very least they were milking this situation for all it was worth to see what the potential downsides could be.

'This entire city's just a damn petri dish for those bastards.' I spat, shivering as unwanted memories rose to the fore before turning my attention to Saten, who was gaping up at me from where the last thug had tossed her to the floor "You okay?" I asked, reaching out to help her up "Need a hand?"

"Huh? Oh! S-Sure…" the clearly dazed girl stammered, reaching out to accept my hand, allowing herself to be pulled to her feet, where she proceeded to dust herself off "Thanks for the help."

"Don't mention it." I assured her, turning on my heel as the sound of sirens drew ever "You coming? I don't know about you, but I've no intention of sticking around just so Anti-Skill can make me roast my ass off in an interrogation cell for doing their job for them."

"Ah-Wait up!" Saten exclaimed as she stumbled to keep up with me, clearly more shaken up from her close-encounter than I'd thought "Um…what was that thing you did earlier? I mean, you said you were a Level-0, but you took those guys down like it was nothing!"

"Bottom-feeders like that like to talk a big game, but at the end of the day they're no-more of a challenge than your average Skill-Out." I pointed out, waving a hand dismissively "Seriously, Touma could've taken all three of them down in half the time using only his fists."

That wasn't an exaggeration either. Say what you like about the unfortunate Kamijou, but when it came to street fighting he was no slouch, which came as no surprise given how he'd been forced to defend himself from people stronger than him even before he moved to Academy City.

"Yeah, but, you didn't even lay a finger on them!" Saten exclaimed, a mix of confusion and some other emotion I couldn't identify warring in her eyes as she matched my pace "Aren't you a level-0 too?"

"Technically I'm a level-1." I confessed, which wasn't entirely false, as that had been Itsuki's rating prior to Truck-Kun sending him off to Melromarc "My Ability-Rating took a dive after some asshole ran me over with a truck, so I had to transfer into Touma's class."

Saten's POV...

'You sure sound awfully cavalier about being run-over…' Saten deadpanned whilst shaking her head in exasperation, as in all honesty she should probably just accept that powerful Espers came with their own quirks and foibles, like Misaka's Gekota-Fetish.

'Though Shirai-san takes the cake.' She conceded, shivering as she recalled Uiharu's complaints about the pigtailed Teleporter's antics, particularly whenever the Level-5 Electromancer was concerned. 'Seriously, if that girl were any thirstier she could swallow the ocean. Fish and all.'

"Still, I gotta admit it's kind of humbling to hear you say that." She confessed with a half-hearted smile, walking with her hands linked behind her as she gazed up at the sky "If this is what you're like now, I can only imagine how strong that ghost thing of yours was before you got run over."

ゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴ-!

"…what did you just say?" Itsuki demanded, Saten's eyes widening as something grabbed her by the wrist, spinning her around to face the blonde as he loomed over her, his features hidden in shadow save for his piercing green eyes "Just now, what did you just say?"

"Senpai…?" Saten stammered, only to wince as the grip on her wrist tightened, glancing down only to blink as she realized that the hand gripping her wasn't either of Itsuki's, but rather a spectral limb attached to a muscular, equally spectral arm that led up behind the teen "You're hurting me-!"

Itsuki blinked, his eyes widening as if he suddenly realized just what he was doing, the oppressive atmosphere vanishing along with the shadows that obscured his face as he took a step back, the spectral limb releasing its grip on Saten's wrist.

"Sorry about that." the teen offered, sounding so sincere Saten honestly couldn't bring herself to be afraid of him "I'm just not used to people actually being able to see this thing." He confessed, gesturing over his shoulder at the muscular figure that appeared from behind him "You can see it, right?"

"Y-yeah." Saten confirmed, rubbing her wrist a little as she glanced at the figure as it regarded her from over Itsuki's shoulder "It's a little fuzzy around the edges, like a low definition video, but I can definitely see someone standing behind you…" her eyes widened in shock "Wait, is it a ghost? Can I see Ghosts-?!"

"Calm down!" Itsuki hissed, glancing around warily even as the ghost, spectre, whatever it was, clamped a hand over her mouth to keep her from talking, which was a weird sensation seeing as she couldn't actually feel anything whenever she stuck her tongue out "Let's go somewhere more private…"

Before Saten could even think of a saucy response to the teen's statement, she suddenly felt the world around her shift, her eyes widening as she found herself sitting on a park bench at least a block away from where they'd been standing before.

"Bwuh-?" she stammered, gaping around at her surroundings in confusion, only to yelp as something cold was pressed against her cheek, looking up to see Itsuki standing over her with a bottle of water from a nearby vending machine.

"Didn't know what you liked so I went with the safe option." He offered, waiting until she accepted the proffered drink, taking a seat beside her as he popped a hole in the bottom of his soda can using the finger of the spirt, shot gunning the beverage in one-go "And for the record, no, you can't see ghosts."

"But-!" Saten protested, only to blink as a pair of spectral fingers placed themselves on her lips, the muscular phantom shaking it's other finger with a 'tsk-tsk' expression on it's masked face "Then what is that thing if not a ghost?"

"The guy who explained it to me called it a [Stand]." Itsuki explained, reaching out with a nearby stick to write the word into the dirt In kanji "He called it a 'visual manifestation of life energy', but I prefer to think of it as a 'Psychically Manifested Punch Ghost'. "

"Subtle." Saten snarked, unable to help chuckling as the phantom, The STAND, rolled it's eyes in apparent exasperation with the teen's words "You said it's psychically manifested…does that mean it's basically your Esper Ability?"

"My Esper Ability is 'Accuracy'." Itsuki countered, tossing his can over his shoulder into a nearby bin, an impressive shot but nothing to really write home about "Or at least it was, I haven't really been able to use it since the accident, which is around the time this guy showed up."

"Which is why you got transferred to Kamijou-san's class." Saten deduced, all the pieces slowly fitting together in her head "I'm guessing whatever this Stand thing is, it doesn't register as an Esper Ability?"

"Got it in one." Itsuki confessed with a nod, reclining back on his chair with a sigh "Which is kind of ironic, since apparently people used to confuse [Stand Users] as Espers back before Academy City was founded."

"I suppose it makes sense." Saten marvelled, eyes glittering in awe at the idea of something so Bizarre existing right under her nose "I mean, people were claiming to be Espers way before Academy City made them Mainstream." She blinked "But if that's the case, how come we've never heard of them?"

"Because unlike Espers, you can't just churn out [Stand Users] on an assembly line." Itsuki scoffed, waving a hand dismissively "You have to be born with the ability, though it's not uncommon for someone with potential to awaken theirs later in life."

"I think I understand…" Saten mused, knowing better than anyone just how hard it was to awaken an Esper Ability despite the countless advances that had been made over the years "In a sense it's just like the [Power Curriculum Program]…you either have the potential or you don't…"

"Close, but not quite." Itsuki countered with a shrug "The PCP," he scoffed at the anagram "is constantly evolving as they streamline the process of awakening Esper Abilities. I wouldn't be surprised if they actually develop a way to mass produce Combat-Capable Espers in the future."

"Sign me up." Saten chuckled, only half-serious, for as much as she'd love to have an Esper Ability of her own, the idea of using it to hurt other people rubbed her the wrong way "So what's the big difference between a Stand User & an Esper?"

"Well for starters, unlike Espers, it's possible to be born a Stand User." Itsuki confessed with a knowing smirk "However, since controlling a Stand is tied to the users Will, most potential users never manifest their Stands until later in life, usually as a result of a life-or-death experience."

"Like when you got run over by the truck?" Saten deduced, shivering in apprehension at the blonde's nod of confirmation "Yeah, I don't think I'm desperate enough for an Ability that I'd risk my life."

"You might not have to." Itsuki countered, smirking knowingly at the girl "See, there are two other things that separate Espers from Stand Users." He held up a finger "First and foremost, despite their rarity, Stand Users tend to be sub-consciously drawn to one another."

"What, like salmon?" Saten wondered, giggling at the image of an entire school of fish with Itsuki's hair and deadpan expression swimming up-river whilst miniature copies of The World kept punching any that got too close.

"Who knows?" Itsuki confessed with a shrug "For the longest time I figured I was the only Stand User in Academy City," he smirked at Saten wryly "but it looks like I was simply the only [Active] one."

"…wait what?" Saten stammered, blinking at the blonde in confusion, her eyes widening as she slowly processed what he was implying "W-wait, you don't mean me?!" she exclaimed, jumping to her feet in alarm "No-Way! How can I be a Stand User? I'm not even an Esper!"

"Like I said, while it's not uncommon for Stand Users to be mistaken for Espers, their abilities a different enough that it can't be detected by Testaments." Itsuki assured her "Besides, even if you aren't one now, I'm fairly confident that you possess the potential to become one in the near future."

Saten gaped at the teen, her throat working and yet no sound emerging as she found herself unable to give voice to the cacophony of questions that were threatening to tear her mind apart. "How…" she managed to croak out, her words trembling with desperation as she gripped the hem of her skirt in a white-knuckled grip, her bangs covering her eyes as she stared at the ground so he couldn't see the tears forming in her eyes "How are you so certain that I'll become a Stand User?"

A part of her was dimly aware of Itsuki rising from his seat, of his slowly walking towards her, though she didn't react until she felt a hand on her head, opening her eyes to find him standing before her, coy smirk in place as he ruffled her hair.

"Because one of the funny things about Stands…" Itsuki mused, thumbing over his shoulder at the massive form looming over his shoulder "Is that [they can only be seen by Stand Users], or those who are close to awakening as one."

Saten blinked, her eyes widening in realization as she looked between the stern, impassive features of Itsuki's Stand and the blonde's cock-sure grin, before bursting out in laughter, burying her head in the teen's torso as she let the tears she'd been holding in go.

Itsuki's Bitchin' Bachelor pad...

"I'm back." I called out, slipping into my apartment, having left Saten to the company of her friends after making sure she was okay and promising to be there 'for emotional support' when she handed her copy of Level-Upper over to Shirai the next day.

'More like she plans to use me as a human shield to keep the pig-tailed pervert at bay.' I scoffed, only to blink at the sight before me, namely of a pouting Index curled up into a ball in the corner of my bed while a decidedly morose Touma applied iodine to several fresh looking bite wounds.

"Oh, hey, welcome back." My urchin-haired compadre greeted with a wan smile while Index continued to sulk in the corner, the Chibi-Nun refusing to even acknowledge my existence, clearly still butthurt from earlier "What kept you?"

"Ran into some muggers." I confessed, waving away Touma's look of concern "Relax, I went easy on 'em. Even called in an ambulance and Anti-Skill before I took 'em down." I nodded towards the chibi-nun as I set the bags on the table "So do I even want to know what crawled up her ass and died?"

"She wanted to go out and get something to eat." Touma sighed, his exasperated expression combined with Index's indignant glare all I needed to understand the situation "I tried to compromise by ordering takeout but none of the numbers I rang were open or delivered at this time of day."

"You probably wouldn't have been able to pay even if they did." I pointed out, earning a shrug from the eternally short-changed Kamijou, as he knew his own luck better than anyone "Still doesn't explain where she gets off using you as a chew toy. I'm fairly certain cannibalism is a sin after all."

Index, predictably, merely huffed and averted her gaze, the little brat lacking even the decency to even pretend to feel remorse for Touma's misfortune. Fortunately for her, I was honestly drained from having to deal with Saten earlier, so instead of continuing to sass the freeloader, I opted to bust out some of the cup ramen I'd purchased.

"You are a godsend." Touma praised, ignoring Index's huff as he clapped his hand together, offering a quick prayer to the ramen gods for the heresy we were about to consume, only to groan in defeat as the doorbell rang the very second he snapped his chopsticks in half.

"I got this, you tuck in." I assured the teen, Index not even bothering to look up as I got to my feet, the little nun proceeding to inhale the contents of her own cup before eyeing the rest of the cartons greedily "Don't burn yourself pouring the water in."

"I'm not a child!" the loli-nun protested, huffing indignantly as she set about preparing her second helping, Touma's cry of pain a clear indication that she'd somehow managed to overfill her cup the second I turned my back.

'Viva la bachelor life…' I mused, idly wondering if this was karma for passing away before I ever had kids of my own even as I opened the door to the sullen, haggard faces of Kanzaki and Stiyl. "Jesus, you two look like hell warmed over."

"Didn't sleep a wink." Stiyl grumbled as he admirably failed to suppress a jaw-popping yawn, an equally haggard Kanzaki silently making her way to the small kitchenette where she began brewing a cup of green tea "Seriously, how do you people manage to find anything in that sea of information?"

"There's this wonderful invention called a 'Search Bar'." I sniped back, reaching up to hand Kanzaki the tea bags as she worked away "Though I suppose it must have come as something of a shock for a sheltered choir boy as yourself."

"We're magicians, not luddites." Stiyl scoffed, lighting up a cigarette as he sank onto a chair "We might not be up to date on the latest trends, but we're not so out of touch that we can't use a computer. What I meant was how you're able to discern the pertinent information from the chaff."

"Welcome to Academy life." I chuckled, waving a hand towards the modest room I called home "If you're not spending hours trying to discern which of the hundreds of attested theories is the most viable, you're not passing your mid-terms."

"Please don't remind me about mid-terms." Touma groaned as he buried his face in his arms, allowing Index to casually reach over to swipe his almost untouched cup of ramen for herself "I thought I was going to cry when Sensei read out my score."

"To be fair, you did set an Academy record." I mused, chuckling at the teen as he glared me "Sure it was the record for lowest score in the Academy's history but that's what you get for playing good Samaritan all the time."

"So his sticking his nose where it isn't wanted isn't a one-time thing?" Stiyl mused, smirking to himself as Touma flipped the priest off "You have my condolences, it must be rough having to clean up after him all the time."

"Eh, it lets me vent." I confessed, using [The World] to hand him a cup of ramen, the redhead eyeing the vessel warily before gingerly accepting it, stumbling slightly as it released its grip as Kanzaki took a seat at the table "So did you manage to confirm what we talked about?"

It didn't take a mind-reader to comprehend the reason behind their sudden flinches, Stiyl looking like he'd sucked an entire lemon tree while Kanzaki fingers twitched, her normally reserved expression like a porcelain mask as she struggled to keep her emotions in check "For what it's worth, I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Kanzaki countered, her expression taut, though it was clear from the slight inclination of her head in my direction that she bore me no ill-will "The truth hurts, I know this better than most, but still…I did not think it would hurt this much."

Put simply, my advice to scour Academy City's vast library network to verify my claims may have borne fruit, but it might as well have been sour grapes for the Duo from Necessarius, the countless records of in-depth, attested and highly regarded research into the human mind stored within the Academy's databanks having effectively shattered the delusions that Index's caretakers had been living under for what must have been the majority of the girl's life.

A life, it should be stressed, that was no longer, and indeed had never been, in danger of being snuffed out simply because she was essentially a walking database of arcane knowledge the likes of which a certain association would probably have slapped a [Sealing Designation] on in order to keep her from wandering off if she'd been born in a certain other highly-acclaimed franchise.

"But…why?" Touma wondered, the eternally confused Kamijou looking like he'd been slapped in the face with a basket of fish and bread "Why would the Church lie and say Index would die in a year unless they erased her memories?"

"Don't be so quick to believe them, Touma." Index countered, the loli-nun scowling at her self-proclaimed protectors warily "Magicians are known for being treacherous opponents, and the knowledge within my Grimoires would be more than worth the effort of constructing such a fable."

"Except they could care less about what's in your head so long as it doesn't wind up splattered all over the walls." I reminded the girl "Or are you seriously questioning the word of her Holiness, the Bishop?"

"D-Don't go putting words in my mouth!" Index shot back, flushing furiously at the reminder of her earlier call to Necessarius' leader "How do we know that this information you supposedly possess wasn't doctored in some way to fool us?"

"Hey, Touma, which of these sounds more likely?" I asked, raising a finger "A. Necessarius, a secret organization tied to the Church, which has a long history of lying to its believers, lied about needing to erase the memories of their living portable hard-drive." I held up another finger "Or B: A pair of Level-0's have the clout to alter the contents of Academy City's Database. The self-same Database used by Hospitals and Pharmaceutical companies for the express purpose of furthering the development of medicine and the betterment of mankind, just to screw with three people they literally met yesterday."

"We get it, you made your point." Stiyl sighed, the priest raking his fingers through his crimson locks in agitation "What I don't understand is why they'd go to such lengths? As much as I hate to say it, they could have avoided all this mess if they simply kept her locked inside headquarters."

"I-I'm certain Bishop Laura has her reasons." Index insisted, having flinched at the idea of being locked up like a bird in a cage, kept only for the forbidden knowledge she possessed "She's the one who authorized me to travel where I pleased!"

"Not without an escort, however." Kanzaki reminded the chibi-nun primly "And that's another thing to consider: Stiyl and I are only Index's most recent caretakers. Just how many countless others have driven themselves to despair because of the Bishop's lies?"

"Are they lies though?" Stiyl pressed, cutting off Index's attempts to defend the Bishop's honour, earning a quirked brow from yours truly. And could you seriously blame me? After literally having the truth shoved in his face, he still has the cojones to try and make excuses? "Kanzaki and I have experienced first-hand what happens if we try to avoid resetting Index's memories. None of those symptoms appeared in the files we examined."

"They don't appear because there aren't any symptoms associated with perfect recall." I cut in, refusing to let the man hide behind his delusions "She also doesn't appear to possess any of the negative traits that are typically associated with it, so it's clear the problem isn't with her brain, meaning it has to be something from the outside affecting her."

"Maybe she's cursed?" Touma proposed, flinching as everyone's attention snapped to him "I mean, maybe one of the books she memorized was cursed and resetting her memory is the only way to keep it from killing her?"

"A sound suggestion, but unlikely." Kanzaki countered, though not without a nod of approval "While there are doubtless several such books amongst Index's Grimoires, they require the user to possess mana to manifest their abilities." She nodded towards Index "Index was specifically chosen not only for her perfect recall, but because she would be unable to use any of her knowledge if she wanted to."

"Huh, I gotta admit, that's actually rather clever." I confessed, honestly impressed with the Bishop's forward thinking "Even if she did go rogue, she wouldn't be able to use her knowledge against them."

"It was for that reason that Index has always been assigned caretakers capable of defending her." Kanzaki elaborated "Of course, it was rare for them to remain after being forced to reset her memory."

"Or it could be that's precisely why she was assigned guardians." Stiyl mused, his expression darkening as he nodded towards Touma "The kid's comment got me thinking: We know for a fact Index was specifically chosen to host the Grimoires because she has no magic…yet we've also seen her suffering from symptoms that could, in theory, classify as a curse."

"I think I see where you're going with this." I mused, nodding towards the chibi-nun as she sat there in confusion "If Index's lack of magic is what protects her from cursing herself, then the only explanation behind it is that someone else cursed her after the fact."

In short, Bishop Laura, or at the very least someone highly ranked within Necessarius, never truly held any faith in Index's caretakers. Why would they need to when there was a perfectly secure method of ensuring their precious 103,000 grimoires remained out of enemy hands?

After all, just because index couldn't use the spells buried within the recesses of her mind didn't mean she couldn't write them down for someone, and given their supposed closeness, it wouldn't be too far-fetched for at least one of said caretakers to have taken advantage of her naivete.

"What are you saying?" Index demanded, the loli-nun's eyes wide with fear and disbelief as she stood there, shaking like a leaf, unwilling or unable to believe that her own people would do such a thing "I'm not cursed…I can't be cursed! Bishop Laura would never have authorized such a thing!"

"And even if she did, it would have required a mark of some sort be placed on her body to ensure it remained in effect." Kanzaki supplied with a scowl "I would have noticed such a marking long ago given how many times I have assisted Index with her ablutions in the past."

"Christ, you can't even let her take a bath by herself?" I scoffed, ignoring the heated glare the loli-nun sent my way while Stiyl & Touma coughed awkwardly "You ever check her hair? I mean, it's not as if they couldn't have shaved her head and tattooed it on when she first memorized the books right?"

"You certainly are a paranoid one." Kanzaki marvelled, looking honestly impressed, or perhaps unnerved, by the depths my mind was willing to sink "Though I can assure you there's no such mark under her hair, nor in any other places on her body." She nodded her head solemnly "My ministrations during our ablutions are quite thorough, I would have noticed anything unusual long ago."

"How…thorough of you." I applauded, honestly a little unnerved by the woman's dedication as I turned to offer the mortified nun a look of pity while Touma and Stiyl tried to hide their bloody noses at the image Kanzaki unwittingly conjured into their heads "You brush her teeth for her too?"

"She's not a child-!" Kanzaki sighed, only to trail off, her eyes widening as she suddenly snapped her head towards Index, who was busy pummelling a Certain Randy Kamijou with her fists for his indecent thoughts "Wait…you don't think-?"

"Eh?" Index blinked, the loli-nun pausing in her disciplining of the raging beast of male teenage hormones that was Kamijou Touma as the swordswoman rose from her spot and crossed to them with a determined expression "W-What is it naow-?!"

"Uh…she does know I was just kidding about the whole toothbrush thing, right?" I asked Stiyl, the redhead looking just as surprised as Kanzaki proceeded to force the flailing nun's mouth as wide as she could to peer inside.

And the second, of many, divergences from canon revealed! Will anything come of this? We'll just have to wait and see.

Things will be coming to a climax soon, as the gang come to a decision regarding Index' memory.