*Disclaimer – I do not own the copyright to the Toaru Majutsu no Index series.

*A/N – What's good everyone? Hope you are doing well out there. I hope this story has been entertaining, to say the least. Having only just started writing a year ago, there's a lot that I've picked up on and still am learning as I'm writing. Nevertheless, I truly appreciate the feedback that's been given on this story and ask that you continue to do so. This is a ship I hope to see more of in the future and all sorts of stories going along with it. Crackship, I know. But still fun, nonetheless. Therefore, I hope you enjoy this next chapter and take care of yourself.

Hearing the rogue magicians starting to get closer, Touma couldn't help but keep his gaze on the stairwell door and let out an audible sigh. Things had somehow become a whole lot more complicated in a short amount of time. At this point, he should have been familiar with how crazy his life could get.

"*sigh* How do I keep getting myself involved in these kinds of things? Last time I listen to Tsuchimikado…"

Touma said these words to himself but deep down, he knew that wasn't going to exactly be the truth. There was still a great deal that he needed to learn from the blonde spy about his current circumstances with the angry brunette that was probably impatiently waiting for him to finish up inside. That was a whole other situation he didn't want to think about right now.

However, his thoughts would be shut off completely as the door leading to the stairwell was slammed open followed by several other people dressed in robes while staring daggers right at him.

"What the- Who the hell are you!?"

Scratching the top of his head, Touma readied himself.

"I should be asking you that. What are you guys doing here?"

"Huh? Why the hell are you asking us that? Do you know what kind of situation you've found yourself in?"

Seeing that there was a moment available to talk, Touma figured he could pry himself into the situation further and learn more about these guys.

"It's kind of a short yet long story but… I hope that we can just talk things out. You know?"

That statement sounded a whole lot better in his head.

"The hell? You've got problems."

"Well, we all do. Some are just more noticeable than others. But that shouldn't matter when it comes to understanding a person and their goals or aspirations. What should matter is what they want to achieve and the way that they go about it."

Touma said this both loud and clear for the rogue magicians to hear but based on their reaction they didn't know whether he was an idiot or if he was trying to treat them like they were stupid.

"Tch. Whatever. You can take your mediocre speech and shove it anywhere but here. You have no idea who we are- "one of the magicians started saying but was cut off by the boy.

"You're right." Raising his hands, Touma showed that his attention was directed at them to ease them down slightly by raising both of his hands. "I don't know who you guys are but what I do know is that what you're doing isn't the right thing to do."

The rogue magicians were getting pissed off by the spiky-haired thinking that he could just waltz in here and start telling them what they should be doing or how to live their lives.

"Who the hell are you to tell us what we should or shouldn't be doing? You know nothing! Why in the world are we paying you any mind?"

As one of the magicians yelled this, he raised his hand causing the area around him to start getting colder instantly allowing ice to appear around his feet. Under his breath, brief phrases could be heard but it was all hushed. Without warning, the man threw his hand forward which caused a large spear of ice to appear and gun straight for Touma.

Not letting this intimidate him, he easily threw his right hand out in front of him, which managed to barely touch the ice spear which caused a glass-breaking sound to appear in the room.

"How the- He did it again! Who are you?"

Lowering his hand and staring back at the magicians, he could see that the ice spear-throwing magician wasn't putting his all in his attack leaving him to come up with an idea. Based on what he had managed to learn from Tsuchimikado on these guys, they weren't any high-standing magicians and were basically low-tier grunts who went rouge from Necessarius. That meant that talking was still on the table albeit in a short and direct manner.

"Does it matter who I am?" Touma laid out clear as day.

"Huh? What are- "

"If you must know, I'm a nobody. Just a regular high school student who managed to get drawn into a strange and unusual situation like this. But the important thing here isn't who I am. What's more important is you" the spiky-haired boy stated clearly to the group.

Two of the magicians who hadn't said anything merely frowned at him and began to act. But Touma saw this and wouldn't let them get time to take their turn. He continued to speak.

"Why are you all here? Just to steal something that's not yours?"

"Oh, shut up! What do you know? Didn't you just say that you're a nobody? You shouldn't even be here! Let alone know that anything was taken" one magician replied, getting ready to act against him.

"You're right. I shouldn't be here. But guess what? I am here now, and you guys talk so loudly that I have a small idea of what your whole deal is" Touma stated as he wanted to keep anything regarding what Tsuchimikado said to him under the rug for now.

One of the magicians who appeared to be standing at the forefront of the small group took a step forward indicating that he was acting as the supposed leader of this rogue posse.

"Quit talking like you understand what we're going through. You don't know the first thing about what's going on here. Why the hell are we letting this guy keep talking? Shu! End him!"

Before the guy called Shu, who he suspected to be the ice spear-throwing guy, could act, Touma hurriedly responded.

"You're right! I don't know what's going on with you all. And I don't think I could ever understand what you're feeling right now, but I know that at least talking about it will- "

Coming right at him, several more spears of ice appeared in front of the magician named Shu who now had the bottom of his shoes frozen due to his casting of magic. Touma saw that he couldn't block every spear coming his way which resulted in taking an evasive move and dived to the side.

The main floor of the building was still covered with many boxes acting as small pillars of cover that provided at least a moment of breathing room from being attacked. This is where Touma positioned himself after leaping to the side and tried to stick his head out to get a better idea of what was going on but was soon met with a spear made of ice passing centimeters away from his face and embedding itself into the ground.

"Shu, corner him. Takumi, draw him out."

Hearing the rouge posse leader announce these commands, Touma knew that words wouldn't get through to them and decided to act. Interrupting their so-called plan.

Jumping out of the spot where he was hiding, he lowered his body while continuing to run right out toward the group but spotted something that could help in his act to throw them off.

"He's right- "

*whoosh*

*bam*

A small wooden box was hauled right at the posse leader's upper chest which caused him to stumble back and let out a curse while falling to the ground. The impact from either the box or slamming into the ground managed to knock him out which left the other magicians witnessing the sudden attack started fighting back.

The ice spear guy began to hold his hand out while the bottom of his feet continued to freeze getting to the point that both his shoes were covered in ice. Touma spotted this reoccurring act and realized something that he hadn't seen before.

Judging on something with only a quick glance and not much time, he concluded that since these guys were basic level grunts for the church, then that meant their magic was still being worked on. Meaning that he if could act quickly enough, then he could deal with them before they hurt themselves.

However, whether it was due to his focus being directed toward the ice magician or just not watching his surroundings, the spiky-haired boy was suddenly hit on the side of his body by a sharp object which caused him to go slamming into several pillars of boxes. Feeling himself grimace, Touma lifted his head to see what happened but didn't get much time as he saw several more ice spears heading his way.

Rolling to the side and face-first into the broken box debris, he narrowly missed an ice spear that was aiming straight for his leg and pierced the ground. Shooting his head to the other magician while pulling himself back to his feet, he saw the other magician most likely the guy named Takumi holding his left hand out while speaking in a strange manner. Something that he couldn't quite decipher.

Suddenly, a strange feeling managed to take his attention away from the magician as he couldn't exactly move his feet or even pick up one of his feet. The area surrounding his feet suddenly felt… heavy?

Looking down, Touma instantly donned a worried expression as he saw what appeared to be a large mound made of rock appear around his feet. This was the initial reason why he couldn't move and felt heavy. The situation also didn't seem all that comforting as the ice magician started casting even more spears to lunge at him.

'Crap. I don't have enough time to block and dodge. I can't even move! Is it susceptible to Imagine Breaker? Wouldn't it just be considered rocks? No, wait, if this happened due to magical interference, then… '

Touma wouldn't get the chance to ponder the idea any longer due to the ice magician throwing both of his hands forward and creating what appeared to be a large icicle that was spontaneously forming into a giant spear. Seeing that he wouldn't get the chance to plant his right hand to the ground to see if the effects of Imagine Breaker would stop the strange phenomenon, Touma quickly shot his hand palm forward toward the incoming icy attack.

Like song and dance, the large icy spear came barreling toward him and upon touching his right hand a glass-breaking sound could be heard as the icicle instantly broke apart leaving him to smirk and the magicians to go wide-eyed.

"Again!?"

"How does he do that!? Stop him!"

Not going to let this opening go to waste, Touma slammed his right hand down onto his foot which caused another resounding glass-breaking sound to play out. The rocky pillar that had formed around his feet started to instantly break apart leaving him able to move again.

In the next instance, he then lunged forward toward the magician who could cause him the most trouble out of the two.

"Aarrrggh!"

Seeing the incoming attack, the ice magician started casting another ice spear to strike at the boy, but it was too late. Touma had broken into a sprint and was keeping a level balance as if the need to dodge an attack was viable, he could roll to the side and keep his momentum going toward the spear-fanatic magician.

"Stay back! Damn, you!"

Chanting soon began again and this time it was much clearer to hear, however, it wasn't exactly something that Touma knew. The words didn't make any sense, but it did for sure sound like a language. He'd have to ask Index about that later, but right now, his focus was on stopping the magician from casting any more ice attacks or worse hurting himself as it appeared that his entire foot was encased in ice.

Coming within a few feet from the magician, Touma yelled out to the guy.

"Can't we talk about this!?"

"Not a chance!"

With that hopeful idea out of the box, the misfortunate boy decided to go with option two.

"Fine, then sorry about this!"

Before the magician could respond, he was sent flying back and slammed right into a stack of boxes along with his face in immense pain. The boxes broken upon impact were now scattered all over his body leaving him a pile of debris.

The reason for the sudden launch was due to Touma reaching the magician and throwing one heavy punch right at his face causing him to let out a groaned yelp while being sent flying back. Leaving him flat on his ass with pieces of wood all over the place.

Seeing his friend get taken out, the other magician started to panic and fumbled with his spell chanting leaving nothing to really happen. With that plan not going anywhere, he grabbed the closest thing possible which was a piece of broken wood from the ceiling that happened to be on the ground. He didn't know how it got there but it didn't matter. It would now be used as a weapon.

There were other pieces of debris from the ceiling lying around the area due to Touma falling through several different floors. Something that he also knew would probably leave his back scarred and rough looking.

"I don't think that you'll get far with that?" Touma commented, seeing the debris in the magician's hand.

"Doesn't matter. I'll just use it for this! Hyah!"

The magician suddenly just threw the ceiling debris at Touma which threw him off guard and managed to hit him in the shoulder of all places causing him to wince loudly.

"Aaah! Dammit!"

Annoyed by the magician, the spiky-haired boy began grabbing hold of his shoulder while yelling out to the man.

"Seriously? Who just throws a piece of the ceiling at someone!?"

"Someone tired of this crap!"

Touma sighed while narrowing his gaze at the magician and slightly peering at the others. The Posse leader looked to still be out but that could change at any moment, and the ice-wielding magician was knocked out cold. No pun intended.

He needed to get his point across to at least one of the magicians otherwise he wouldn't get the chance to later.

"Look, *sigh* I have no idea who you all are or why you stole the church's documents…"

"Aha! I had a feeling you knew more about this whole thing than you were leading onto" proclaimed the man while pointing at him.

Ignoring the magician's words, Touma continued speaking diligently, "But going about this way is surely going to get you all into some real trouble. The church isn't going to let this fly by."

"So, what!? What the hell do you know? This was our shot at getting what we wanted. Nobody would listen to us or even pay us any mind. But once we took something of theirs, then everyone's attention is directed at us."

"There had to be some way to get whatever you all wanted to be cleared up. Some way that- "

"Don't you think we tried? Because we did! WE TRIED! But no one listened. I lost track as to how many times we tried getting our voices heard but because we're a group of nobodies… nobody cared to listen" the magician said, contempt in his voice.

The feeling of not getting your voice the attention you are asking for… Touma wasn't quite sure what to say in response. Hence, he started to really think about this and went with the first thing that made somewhat sense to him.

"But doing something as ridiculous as getting on the church's bad side? That's going to bring nothing but harm to you and everyone else involved."

"I don't care. None of us care anymore! We spent too long doing their dirty work. Work that not even the lowest of the low wouldn't get assigned. Why were we outed and forced into that position? Why… "

Because of what he was hearing, Touma began to put together the bigger picture of this unexpected situation. This group was thrown into circumstances that were considered to be terrible even to those who were familiar with being assigned to do things that normal members wouldn't be tasked with. In their view, the church was acting in ways that prevented their voices from being heard and the only way to get any attention was to do something stupid yet effective.

Stealing the documents that were of some importance to the church.

Touma frowned after gathering his thoughts and released everything that he was feeling toward the rogue magicians and what he wanted to get across without all the fighting.

"But still… that doesn't mean you have to throw away your lives!" Clenching his fist, the boy who encountered misfortune daily and experienced countless new things raised his voice loud and clear for it to be heard. "Life is unfair! There's no changing that. You're angry, anybody in your position would be, but deciding to steal from the church and get a target painted on your back is not the way to go about things!"

The magician looked a bit puzzled albeit frustrated by what he was hearing coming from the high school boy's mouth. It all sounded like the common run-of-the-mill answer anybody would give to try and-

"You're unhappy about how your lives are now. I can try as I might to understand where you are coming from, but the truth is I won't even get close to really understanding. However, you guys aren't thinking straight about all this."

"…What?"

"Your actions would in a normal situation be classified as an all-time idiotic decision. Making you all complete dumbasses."

"Insulting us now huh? Why the hell am I bothering to listen to- "

"Because you all have your feet up your own asses! Don't you hear what you're saying? You hate the position you're in and decided to do something about it, but you did so without worrying about the one thing that matters!"

The dark-haired boy's eyes did not leave the magician's and he continued to speak what needed to be said.

"You! Yourselves! That should have been the first thing you made sure was going to be all right with all of this. You believe that you all deserve better… or at least better than what you were currently dealing with. But that all doesn't matter if you're not going to get the chance to see if your actions will truly make a difference. It's only a matter of time before someone decides to reprimand you guys, and not in the typical employer and employee manner."

Touma said this, along with the one thing that this magician and the others needed to hear.

"You all just wanted things to get back to normal, huh?"

The magician didn't say anything because he was right. That's all this entire little display was. An act of rebellion to gain something so simple yet enveloped in complexity.

For things to go back to normal. The way they were before.

It would be a second before the magician uttered another word but when he did, it was only one word.

"…Why? Why do you care? You don't even know us and yet here you are commenting and giving your two cents" the magician said while looking at the boy.

"Because it sounds like no one else has. You all have differing thoughts on the entire matter. I'm sure that talking with each other has somewhat helped, but… that's not enough."

Looking down at the ground in front of him, the magician simply let out a sigh before closing his fist slowly.

He had his feelings and in order to get the recognition they needed, he would not give up on his goal no matter how stupid, ridiculous, or outright hypocritical it was. He just wanted things to get better. For everyone.

"It doesn't matter. It's not like anyone will remember our names… even if we drop our plan now, then what? Knowing the church, it's likely that nobody will even know who we are."

"Then I will!" Touma shouted. "I'll remember you all. No matter what happens I'll remember your actions… your desires… your hope. But there is one thing that must be done before anything else…"

Not sure what the spiky-haired boy was saying, the magician was now stuck in limbo.

"What? What else is there? You're just talking to talk. Trying to relate to us. Twisting your words and finding some invisible ground to relate to us. That ends now!" this was said as the magician started twisting his hand and silently muttering something.

He needed to act fast and end this little charade.

Seeing that he needed to knock some sense into the magician, Touma knew what to do. Something that he was getting quite used to at this point.

Raising his fist and pointing it at the magician, he let aloud what he was thinking.

"I know that there's so much more that needs to be said and addressed, but for now all I can do is this. Clench your teeth because I'm going to give you the best advice anyone can give you to help get your thoughts together and realize just how much you and your friends matter. What you do next is all up to you but for now… know this. I'll remember you."

Without wasting another second, Touma immediately started rushing toward the magician before he could finish his chant. Following through with making sure to keep an eye on the robbed man, he clenched his right hand until he saw the magician raise one of his hands while the other pulled out what appeared to be a small knife.

Knowing what was about to happen, in quick succession, Touma leaped to the side while rolling on the ground and pressing his right hand to the ground. A familiar glass-breaking sound was heard.

Jumping to his feet, the spiky-haired boy broke back into a sprint while throwing his fist back and saw the worried look on the magician's face. Seeing that his spell was once again disabled, he anxiously gripped the handle on his knife and started running at him with it being pointed straight ahead.

"Hhaaaa!"

The scene could be depicted as two cars coming head-to-head with only one likely to receive the most collateral damage while the other would be damaged but still functional.

But at that moment, Touma had a feeling of where the knife would be thrust upon his body once it came close enough in contact that he was ready.

Throwing his left hand forward, he managed to cause the magician to change the trajectory of his stab and pierced the misfortunate boy's hand. He instantly wanted to yell out in pain or at the very least swear, but that wouldn't come to fruition as he was pushing past the pain.

In a single moment, Touma's fist slammed right into the side of the magician causing him to go flying backward and flop his body to the ground even slightly sliding across the floor. No motion could be seen coming from his body. A complete knockout.

Checking on the magician to see if he was breathing normally and getting a look at if there were any worrisome injuries to take note of, he was glad to see that nothing was of concern. Scanning the area, he also saw that the other magicians were still knocked out, leaving him with an idea in mind. Grabbing all the fallen magicians, he soon found himself placing them against the wall while making sure that they were ok.

Once everything checked out, he was about to leave when he figured that he should at the very least do something for them. Something that… sounded like they needed.

Rummaging throughout the room for a pen and paper, Touma finally came across the two materials after going through different boxes and tables on the main floor. Once he had them, he got right to work leaving them a message. Something to help them in the long run.

After he was done, he took one last look at the lined-up magicians and started to lend his thoughts out once again to them. Having to deal with life being ultimately unfair… although he couldn't exactly help them with getting their old positions or structure of life back. He at the very least hoped that the realization that they needed to take care of themselves first before taking the next step forward. Things can change. It only takes a bit of work and time.

Once he was now outside and took a look at the building realizing that it wouldn't be long until Anti-Skill arrived at the scene due to the explosions that were most likely caused by Tsuchimikado. He still needed to catch up with the blonde idiotic spy. But for now, he simply started to walk away from the building. The walk back home would surely be one where-

"And just where the hell do you think you're going? Ka-mi-jou..."

The metaphorical sound of tires stopping and screeching on the ground could be heard in Kamijou's head.

'Oh no… shit. I forgot about… '

Slowly turning his head to the side, Touma saw the tea-color-haired girl who was simply staring at him with her arms crossed on her chest with her finger tapping on her arm. She also wore a very angry expression on her face that made the boy realize that he was screwed. He momentarily forgot that he had kept the fourth-ranked Level 5, Meltdowner, waiting there while dealing with the magicians.

There was only one way he could successfully get himself out of this situation while not defusing the situation entirely.

"Hey…Mugino..."

Silence.

"H-How are you doing on this… fine… clear night?"

Silence.

"I'm guessing you have questions…?"

Silence.

Touma was starting to fear for his life now. The girl in front of him simply did not say anything and just kept staring at him like she was debating on what she should do to him. The ideas of being barraged by lasers or strangled by her were thoughts roaming around Kamijou's head but suffice it to say none of those things happened… yet.

Lowering her arms and putting her left hand up to her hip, Mugino simply spoke in an annoyed tone of voice. One that did not need to be elaborated on to know just how pissed off she was.

"Start talking. Now!" she growled out causing the black-haired teen to start waving his hands repeatedly.

"Wait a minute, Mugino-san! Don't you think we should talk somewhere else?"

"Why? So, you can pull another one of your shitty attempts to drag on this conversation for too long. Ho-ho, that's sure as shit is not happening this time around" the brunette girl retorted.

Raising his hands to try and ease the direction that the conversation was turning, Touma quickly said the first thing that came to mind.

"Interrogation!"

Mugino raised one eye while watching the boy carefully.

"Think about it. The noises going off in the area are surely going to bring Anti-Skill out here. It's only a matter of time until they arrive and if they see the two of us standing here, then we are bound to be brought in and interrogated on why we were out here" he quickly explained, hoping that she would find that direction feasible to follow.

Spending a moment to consider what he was saying, he had a point. Things would certainly become bothersome if she had to deal with Anti-Skill at a time like this. This is why she finally relented and let out an obviously annoyed sigh while biting her tongue. Here the bastard was again, prolonging himself from having to talk. But she would not let him get away. Not until she found out what the hell he was doing here of all times and places.

"Fine. Then where? And don't even think about trying to weasel your way out of here."

He already had a thought of what would happen if he did.

"I know, I know. This is starting to sound like song and dance at this point. And don't get me started on the whole spiel about you tracking me down. I got it the first time" Touma nonchalantly responded, already having an idea of what the girl might say.

Having a good twenty things she could say or rather curse at the boy, Mugino stopped herself as it would only continue to push the long-awaited questioning. She had already spent too long waiting for his dumbass to finish his shitty attempt at a heroic speech with the other nitwits.

"How about… there." He said while pointing to the east. "That way, we won't be walking further into the district but still be far away from anyone bothering us."

"…Or… you're just trying to make sure that you have an easier time getting away in case shit hits the fan. Is that right?" Mugino asked the boy while glancing at him.

"No, no. Nothing of that sort. Besides, this poor Kamijou-san could probably run all the way back home and make it in good time. It wouldn't be the first time I've had to haul ass across the city…" Touma stated, having that last part mumbled under his breath.

Spending a few seconds considering what he was saying, she didn't know why she was putting up with his crap but figured that it would be better to get out of there than have to deal with even more distractions.

"Tch. Then what are you waiting for? Get moving."

Frowning at the girl, Touma couldn't help but think of a word to help describe his point of view of Mugino and that would have to be demanding. No, she was more unapologetic. Strict? Harsh? Scary? Definitely. But none of these words really depicted how he could view her. Granted, he didn't exactly know her all that well. Hell, he had only really met her not that long ago and gotten a good idea of who she was aside from her title and status.

In hindsight, he still had no idea what to think about considering all that had happened to him today. Err… tonight. This was not how he planned to have his day go about. He figured that it would have involved the usual sequence of Lady Misfortune coming and messing with him along with getting caught up in something again but that was it. Not having to deal with another Level 5, aside from Misaka, gunning after him. A true sign of misfortune being unpredictable.

Snapping out of his thoughts, he began walking in the direction that he suggested to Mugino all while noticing that the Level 5 had one of her hands freely open while the other looked… closed. Not in the usual closed-fist kind of way but almost as if she would need to quickly act and use that hand.

Ah… that's why.

Jumbling his thoughts around, he quickly came to the consensus that based on observing her earlier… interaction that she like most other espers needed to process how their ability would be used. Of course, being a Level 5 also meant that she had a great deal of power and utilization with her ability. So far, he had only seen her use several orbs of light to shoot beams. He had no real idea about all that she could do. Hence, he could also relate to her on some level of keeping one hand at the ready in case of anything.

He lowered his eyes to glance down at his right hand and how strange his ability truly was. That was a topic that… he didn't even know where to start thinking about. But for now, he would put that subject to the side and focus on the bigger problem walking right next to him. It seriously felt like he was walking right next to a ticking time bomb. One that… would put a hole in him due to high-intensity light and not shrapnel. Either way, he would do his best to find a common ground for all of this craziness. Plus, thanks to Tsuchimikado's comment, he knew that the problem affecting the tea-color-haired girl was something related to the magic side.

Thinking about magic in general, Touma also realized that he needed to find a solid explanation of what exactly was happening to Mugino. She already showcased her behavior on the supernatural, and it was not of the friendly type.

He would have to find a way to get her to at least listen to him. Perhaps even twisting the explanation of it being something magic based and coming up with it connecting to the science side of things. Whatever the case, he had to make it work.

After walking for a few minutes away from the scene that was once filled with action, the two high school students found themselves standing in what appeared to be an old, abandoned park where there were a few swings intact and a small playground. It was also open enough for them to talk and in the worst case… fight without having to worry about anyone getting in the way. Something that Touma wanted to make a number one priority. Nobody needed to get hurt because of him and his problems.

Calmly walking up to the swings, he planted himself in the seat to see if it was strong enough to hold him, and wouldn't you know it? It did.

Seeing the boy sitting there and beginning to swing, Mugino merely kept standing and glaring at him while not having said anything yet and just kept to herself. There were many things that she was pondering in her head. She was a girl that did not like to be kept in the dark about anything that interested her. Nor was she someone that allowed others to test her patience. Which was something that Kamijou Touma seemed to be good at. Almost as if he didn't take her all that seriously. That wasn't completely true… somewhat.

Tapping her foot on the ground, Mugino got the spiky-haired boy's attention and demanded that this so-called question-and-answering session start.

"Well? Start talking."

"Uh… about what exactly? This is a rather complicated series of events that this poor Kamijou-san has gotten himself involved with… "Touma replied defeatedly.

Knowing that instantly letting her Meltdowner beam attack the boy would lead her nowhere closer to finding the answers she wanted. Hence, Mugino could only narrow her gaze at the boy while letting her hand roam next to her pocket where she had at least a couple of silicon cards left.

"*sigh* Alright, fine. I'll start with how I'm… well, involved in this whole thing."

Nodding her head, the brunette girl beckoned for him to explain. It only took a couple of hours later. Kamijou seriously had a problem with just stating the damn facts.

"After we went our separate ways at the restaurant I… got pulled into a bit of a situation. To make a long story short, I was asked to come to this district and find some papers that had been taken away" Touma explained, giving the briefest of brief elaborations.

Mugino merely locked eyes with him and spent a good minute just glaring at him while not saying anything. For a moment, he thought that she bought the brief explanation and sensed that everything might be alright.

However, in the next instance, he realized that was simply just a far-off dream as the tea-color-haired girl scowled at him.

"Oh, really… that's quite the story. That I find as absolute bullshit."

"But it's the truth. The trimmed down truth" Touma responded.

Based on her intelligence on the matter, she knew Kamijou was adamantly keeping some stuff unmentioned. Especially with all the information and speculation about how he could just show up here and know inherently about the documents that were being propped up as the target for her mission.

"And yet there's a whole lot of information missing from that so-called trimmed-down truth."

"…I could say the same thing about you, Mugino-san. What were you doing here?" Kamijou countered.

"That's none of your damn business" she angrily retorted.

Shooting her a deadpan look, Touma realized that they both had things that they didn't or rather couldn't exactly discuss. Perhaps he could try and change that. A sort of middle ground.

"*sigh* Look, I know that we both are not getting this conversation anywhere… again. But can we at least start somewhere? Honestly, it feels like nothing is getting answered."

Casting a glance to the side and toward the other playground equipment, Mugino couldn't help but silently agree with Kamijou's statement. Here they were chatting and yet it didn't feel like any useful chatting was going on. That would need to change. Even if… she had to swallow her pride and talk about herself and her actions to this plain-looking idiot.

"Goddammit… Fine. Where do you want to start, Kamijou?" she asked while saying his name with a tone that conveyed that she was forcing herself to cooperate in a minimal friendly kind of way.

"Hmm. Why don't you start by explaining why you are here? I know that based on our previous… chats… along with some of the things you mentioned and Misaka-san's word of caution that you're someone with not just power but influence. The dark side of Academy City… Is that why you're here?" Touma carefully questioned the tea-haired girl.

This bit of speculation could be broken down based on the bits of information that Touma started compiling together about Mugino Shizuri. Aside from her status and power as a Level 5, the comments that she made about having come across several files containing information about him or how she knew where he went to school. Along with other small things that not any ordinary person could find. That meant that she was someone who had access to things that wouldn't be easily gained. Plus, he was starting to think that all the Level 5's were in some way involved with the dark side. Misaka and Accelerator proved that point and now with Mugino that makes up about half of the seven.

Noticing how Mugino seemed to sort of relish in his astute observations, the brunette girl simply wore a sly smirk on her face while closing her eyes. Only to open them and flash the boy a smile with mixed implications.

"Huh, you're sharper than you look. I'm guessing you put together the things I mentioned when we first met?" Mugino asked, watching his reaction.

"Yeah, I did. I'm also going to pretend that you didn't say anything about me being sharp insinuating that I'm an idiot. The things you said didn't really register until now. Besides, it would make sense that you learned about me before confronting me outside my school. And it also does allude to why you are here now."

Moving her head to now look near the swings but still not looking in Kamijou's direction, Mugino defensively responded to what he said.

"Well, you hit the nail on the coffin." Pulling out her phone from her pocket, she checked the time and then continued to talk to the boy. "Yes, you're right about me being affiliated with the dark side and that being the reason why I'm here, but that's all you're getting out of me" she stated to him.

"*sigh* At least that's something. Well then, since you explained yourself, I'll do the same."

Clearing his throat, Touma silently hoped that he didn't say anything that could come back to bite him in the butt.

"It's like I already said. I got pulled into a situation where I was only told that something of an… acquaintance got taken and needed to be returned. I was also informed that it was several documents that had been stolen." Shooting a look over at the girl, Touma could see that she looked like she wanted to say something but bit her tongue and remained quiet. Hence, he continued explaining his part. "And before you ask, I do not know what was on those documents. Just that they were important, and I had a picture of what they looked like. That's all."

"And then, we ran into each other on the top floor. And… you know how the rest played out. I took care of those guys and… yeah" Kamijou added to his explanation.

Finally glancing over at Kamijou, Mugino couldn't help but wonder why he didn't mention much about those guys they encountered. Only a brief mention of them when that couldn't be further from the case.

She recalled poking her head into the building and could hear a bit about what the thieving bastards and Kamijou were talking about. Something along the lines of their jobs or positions not being liked or it being changed in a bad way which caused them to steal the documents that seemed to be of some interest not only to the dark side but to Kamijou's acquaintance as well.

That was a whole different topic that she would need to keep an eye on and ear open for more information.

However, going back to the topic at hand, she wasn't sure what to think about Kamijou and his interaction with the people inside the building. They were the ones who stole the documents yet rather than beat them all to a pulp or deal with them quickly, Kamijou took his time trying to get to know them. Not in the go out and grab a beer kind of way but trying to better understand their reasoning for having the documents and what they tried to accomplish.

It was impossible for her to recall everything that was talked about as there was a bit of fighting that went down between the spiky-haired boy and the thieves, but there was one thing she did take away from hearing Kamijou talk, and that… he was a shitty hero through and through.

"…I take it you just left them there?" Mugino asked, putting her thoughts on pause for a moment.

"Not just on the ground per se. I gathered them all up after knocking some sense into them. They should be fine until Anti-Skill shows up to deal with them. Or until they decide to wake up and get out of there before the authorities arrive. Don't know how that will affect the magic and science sides relations" Touma stated while having that last part be said in his head.

"Hmph…" came her response.

This should have been an obvious case due to not only seeing the boy's actions through her dreams especially the incident involving Accelerator and the Railgun with the cloning program, but his behavior overall. One would think that having dealt with the crap that he went through, he would turn out to be a cocky bastard going around fighting whoever and thinking that he was top shit. That nobody could beat him, or that he could ask for whatever he wanted as a reward for helping people. But that couldn't be further from the case.

Kamijou Touma was somebody that didn't care for all the fame or prosperity that could come to someone that claimed or wanted a reward for having helped participate in some difficult or mundane challenge. He was a person with one simple goal in mind. To help others. For instance, if someone in a moment of crisis called upon the boy to lend a helping hand, he would show up. It was also safe to assume that he was also a figure who knew how to handle himself in a fight or if survival was brought into question, then he would give it his all to make it. Kamijou Touma differed greatly from her on so many occasions. Where she would easily take a life, he would show up to save a life. If someone asked her for help, she would ask for something in return. If someone asked him for help, he would gladly do it and not ask for anything in return.

The ideology of someone willing to go far and beyond just to help other people… it made no sense. Not even in the degree of circumstantial thinking. Perhaps this was just a point that she could not understand very well due to her upbringing in life being so radically different from practically everyone she had ever met. Growing up in a family where money was never an issue or the desire to want something was easily met by a wave of her hand. Mugino lived the life of a spoiled rich girl that got everything she wanted and used her family assets and powers to not only give her an advantage in life but also to allow herself to grow in many fields. Power specifically is one of those fields. Hence, seeing Kamijou parade around like a hero and do things that she couldn't comprehend left her feeling… conflicted. Like, there was something about him that he had that she did not, and it was nothing obvious such as money or influence.

It was something else.

Drawing her attention back to the boy, Mugino decided to ease her annoyance and start getting to the root of her curiosity. The documents that both she and he were after.

"You've already said that you have no idea what was on those documents that you destroyed…"

"Now, to be fair, this Kamijou-san did not purposely destroy the documents. I didn't know that they were supernaturally enhanced or imbued or whatever. That's not my fault" Kamijou defensively argued.

She shook her head at hearing his weak counter.

"Whatever. But what does pique my interest is that both of our… let's say esteemed acquaintances were interested in those documents. Why is that?" Mugino pondered aloud.

Realizing that he was getting close to a topic correlating with the magical side, Touma had to come up with a somewhat reasonable response. One that allowed him to not get stuck in a hard place based on his answer.

"Err… I'm not sure. It could have been anything really."

"Tsk. That's some insight" Mugino said, unamused by his answer.

"But there was something else that I wanted to research more about before confiding with you" the spiky-haired boy replied, getting the girl's interest.

"Oh? Something of interest you say. Well then, seeing that neither one of us is going to outright talk about what happened back at the building with the documents you might as well move the conversation along."

Nodding his head, Touma began describing what he had learned regarding her strange situation.

"About your… problem… I'm still looking into it. There's got to be something that we aren't thinking about that has some connection to it all."

He quickly changed what he was going to originally say which was that he might have a lead on what is causing her to keep seeing him everywhere. While that was right, it was only partially so. There was still some needed information that Tsuchimikado seemed to have which put him in a difficult situation. Hence, he decided to just mention it so that he wouldn't get cursed or worse shot at by the laser-firing girl.

"That's it?" Mugino did not look amused. "I thought you were going to tell me that you had a damn lead on it or that you dropped the damn magic idea."

"I thought it would be nice to let you know. *sigh* This helpless Kamijou-san has been quite busy today so, it's very critical of you to think that your problem will be solved today."

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Mugino once again pictured herself cursing the boy out, which would then result in him leaving her due to her anger rising and causing her to shoot a beam or two at him. But that's not what she wanted. No, thinking about Kamijou and the entirety of his character was something that got her to consider a few things. One is that while he was a pain to deal with, he was infinitely better than most of the people that have crossed her path. Not to mention, he was certainly someone that could be looked over and not paid a second glance due to his plain and ordinary features aside from that spiky hair of his, but that was not a problem when you truly considered who he was and what he had done.

Kamijou was something akin to an outlier. Someone that could also be considered a wild card.

He was also someone that Mugino had more or less taken an interest in based on his previous exploits and experience. Someone with the ability to not only stop attacks directed toward them but who also had battle experience proven by his interaction with her and the incidents she saw in her dreams. He was starting to resemble a grand prize that you find at a yard sale and come across knowing just how valuable he might be in the future. She wasn't going to let this outlier getaway, especially if more and more people learned of his strange ability.

"Kamijou."

"Yes, Mugino-san." Looking over at the tea-color-haired girl, Touma had a bad feeling. "I don't know if I like that look on your face."

Ignoring what he said, she figured that she would ease her way through this plan of hers. "I've started thinking about everything that's happened today so far."

'Why does that not sound good?' the boy thought to himself.

"And I think I've come to a conclusion on what I should do."

'That seriously did not sound good!'

Touma couldn't help but just keep quiet and listen to her maybe he was just thinking negatively… maybe?

"Kamijou Touma, how would you like to join Item?" Mugino asked while displaying a bright and attractive nice smile on her face, however, it also contrasted how she looked not that long ago from an annoyed expression on her face. Such a quick change in attitude.

Regarding her question, there was no real accurate response he could give at the time which led to him saying the most common and plain old jane type of answer in a situation like this.

"…Uh… what?"

*A/N – Good to see you down here. I hope you liked the chapter and this strange kind of story. I've realized that after looking back at the chapters before and where the story will go… I've got to do better. Posting more chapters should be obvious. Just know that even if this story might go stale for a minute or two, it is not forgotten or abandoned. I wish there were two of me writing my stories. I have so many wacky and stupid ideas I want to incorporate and create, and sadly it does leave me lagging a bit. I need to do better on all levels of the playing field. Such Misfortune lol. Either way, I hope you have a good one, and take care out there. Until next time.

**A/N** - I also would like to shout out Sparity Ikari for mentioning my story in his anniversary chapter for Painted Prison Chronicles. That story seriously kicks ass to the point that it's a joy to always sit down and read. I wish them well and that they keep on giving us a story that has become so amazing, and it's not even been a year since its release. Thanks.