I'm not dead! Remember what I said about me updating at irregular intervals? This is what I'm talking about. Unfortunately, I have admittedly lackluster planning skills, so my time management has been a mess. It also didn't help that my original plans for this chapter evolved to a much greater scale than what I originally had planned. Still, this chapter went from just a fun little filler chapter to one that actually expands on the plotlines I created. In that case, it's all good, I guess.

I'm surprised that only one person even attempted to guess who Touma's sister was. guess I won't reveal it here. I'll keep that a surprise.

Here it is everyone, the chapter you were all waiting weeks for. But before we get to that, let's do a little Q&A!

Willgm: Congradulations for attempting to guess. Don't worry, you'll learn who she is eventually.

mohamadstar94: Glad you liked it. No, it was not an indirect kiss. The Popsicle broke in half, just unevenly.

MrQuestionMark: What can I say, I love references, interconnected plots, and slice of life. They're like my ultimate happiness elixir. The thing with Touma's sister was something I came up with after remembering a story I read. I figured it would be a good way to really shake up the story and make it unique.

ArmoredCoreNineBall: I didn't steal you Unlimited Ship Works. Don't you know how Field Spells work? I just played my own copy for me to control! Regardless, I activate my Counter Trap, Giga Imagine Breaker! When my opponent and I are in control of different copies of the same Field Spell and my opponent attacks me directly while I have monsters on the field, I negate the effects and abilities of all other cards on the field and the attack. Then, you take the damage I would have taken if the attack had landed! (Man, these references really are getting out of hand.) Glad you liked all the original content. I would think you would know who the old friend is by now, I haven't exactly been subtle. I actually have read your Nasuverse crossovers. They were what got me into it in the first place. Here's a theory for you, what if Imagine Breaker is the condensed essence of Gaia itself, and the Dragon King is the condensed essence of Alaya itself? After all, Gaia slowly degrades the works of magicraft and Imagine Breaker seems to suppress the Dragon King. Interesting theory, eh?

ahsoei: That's for me to know and for you to find out.

Bluejack222: Glad you liked the chapter. Now that I think about it, he would make the mistake of setting up multiple appointments without realizing they overlapped. Who knows, I might do something with that in the future.

ALostBlueIdiot: Hey man, I personally don't have a problem with them. I'm just leaving their punishments up to interpretations so they can be as tame or as brutal as the reader wants them to be. Just go ham with your imagination if that makes you happy.

RedSS: I don't know man. I'm just pulling these quotes from the Carnival Phantasm Tiger Dojos. Glad you liked the chapter.

5waydragon: Who knows? I planned a lot of this story ahead of time, but I mostly write this as I go while keeping continuity. Like Scott Cawthon with FNAF. Sorry, missed that earlier question. I using the anime as my base since it is more accessible so I don't remember anything about a failsafe. Well, Mikoto needs some leads first. How she's going to get them, I have no idea.

Anonymous Noob the 2nd: Yeah, I like phluff too.

RPGPersona: Don't worry, they all move out eventually. She is a giant bug zapper, so not exactly subtle. The whole chapter was meant to be a feel good chapter, so feel good! You know what they say, for want of a nail. Lots of stuff can change because of this one revelation.

RareSilver: References are my life, especially the funny ones. I'm surprised it took you this long to figure it out. I've been setting Yuri up since like chapter 3 and I have not been subtle in the slightest. I really wanted to create a sort of character drama situation between all of the characters with upcoming reveals. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'm Kamikoto trash. Don't worry, I reveal the sister in good time. Thanks for being so understanding with the slow updates.

Guest (1): Sorry for the wait. The sister will be revealed soon enough.

Guest (2): Don't worry. The Sisters Arc is the arc I am most excited about. Rest assured, I will be pulling all the stops from that point forward if I haven't been doing so already.

Guest (3): Yup.

linkstore49: I figured I kept everyone waiting on divergences long enough, so I decided to drop a big one here. The sad thing about this story is that most of the divergences don't take full effect until the Sisters Arc, and that's a long time coming. Still, I hope you enjoy what I have in store for the future.

Kim454: I'm surprised your only figuring this out now. I set up the Accelerator thing all the way back in like chapter 3 and been building it up since. That scene was the whole crux of my theory and headcanon. That's what this chapter and the next are for. Thanks for the concern with all the extra reviews.

Guest (4): Thank You!

Guest (5): I'd have to disagree. He forgot his own name, so forgetting that of his friend is even more likely.

Generation Zero: I was trying to give off the idea that the girls let it go since Touma didn't make a big deal of it either and Styil provided an explanation that could explain such an unscientific occurrence. Sorry if that wasn't clear. Just keep guessing. Misaki will appear soon enough, just not sure when.

LZWriter: That's some rather high praise, thank you!

School (Guest): I don't remember much about SCHOOL, so probably not. Most characters will show up when they show up. You just got to wait and see.

Now, disclaimer time!

Disclaimer: All characters and plotlines of the "A Certain" franchise are credited to Kazuma Kamachi.

Chapter 19: LPD Emergency

It was late and Touma was exhausted after the day he's had. Despite not having Judgement work that day, he still ran into a lot of trouble and his personal and profession obligations forced his hand. The day was so painful he didn't want to think about everything that had happened. If anyone were to ask him about what went down, he would just say the main accident involved an earthquake, a run-away ice cream cart, and several unruly students and leave it at that.

All Touma wanted to do was get back to his dorm and sleep the rest of the day away as to wipe it from his memory. Unfortunately, fate had other plans of him the moment he stepped out of the elevator.

"Yo, Kami!" Tsuchimikado greeted as the elevator door opened.

"Perfect timing, man!" Aogami cheered next to his fellow idiot.

"What do you two want?" Touma asked, clearly not in the mood for his friends' antics.

"Don't be like that," Aogami said cheerfully before suddenly become serious, "This is a dire situation."

"We got a call on the Delta Force Hotline," Tsuchimikado added in the same tone as his compatriot, "It's a LPD emergency."

Touma suddenly straightened up at the sound of the code name.

"No kidding?" Touma asked with a determined look in his eyes.

"We'd never kid about this," the Siscon Sergeant confirmed.

"The client is still on the line," the blue hair teen noted.

"Show me," Touma demanded.

The Delta Force quickly made their way into Tsuchimikado's dorm where they sat down around the table. On the center of the table was a single, black home telephone with a red triangle drawn on the face of the base. The phone was currently on hold, but the call immediately resumed once Tsuchimikado pressed the appropriate button.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, miss," Tsuchimikado apologized, "The entire Delta Force is now present and ready to take your request."

"It was no problem at all," a very familiar voice said on the other end of the line, "I figured the last member of your team would run into some difficulties getting to your head office."

"Pigtails? Is that you?" Touma asked, recognizing the voice, "What are you doing calling the Delta Force Hotline?"

A while ago, Touma told his Judgement friends about the side business he and the rest of the Delta Force often got involved in. They were curious about his odd choice in friends, so he figured he would explain their side business in depth to give them an idea of what kind of antic the three idiot high school boys got themselves into out of brotherly comradery. Touma even told the girls about the phone number the Delta Force use to take requests for their side business, but he never expected any of his friends to actually call it.

"Let's keep things professional for the time being," Kuroko insisted, "As for why I'm calling, you should know already. I have a job for you three and it is one of your highest priority type of jobs."

"Does this involve Zapper?" Touma asked flatly.

"Not at all," Kuroko replied, "It's much worse. The person I'm making this call for is a woman in her late twenties."

The three boys gave each other a look before coming to the same conclusion.

"It's worse then we though," they all agreed in unison.

"You three interested in the job?" Kuroko asked, her voice oozing with confidence.

The next day, the Delta Force arrived at Asunaro Park Children's Orphanage in District 13. As they approached the Child Error facility, Touma couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia. Something about the area just resonated with him. Despite his missing memories, he couldn't help but feel like the orphanage had a special place in his heart. He wasn't a Child Error; that was for sure. So, why did the area feel so familiar?

Regardless, the trio of high school boys met up with the rest of Touma's friends from Judgement, as well as the client that Kuroko told them about. Everyone save for Kuroko was surprised to see the other party present. The client, the dorm manager for Mikoto and Kuroko's dorm building, was particularly surprised. It was clear that she was a bit skeptical about their presence.

"Shirai," the dorm manager asked slowly, "why are these three boys here?"

"They're the professionals I told you about," Kuroko explained proudly.

"Please, allow use to introduce ourselves," Tsuchimikado injected, gesturing for Kuroko to stop.

"Please don't tell me we're doing the thing," Touma begged.

"Oh, we're doing the thing," Aogami confirmed.

"The thing?" the girls asked in confusion.

Letting their actions speak for themselves, the Delta Force took a step back and lined up, side-by-side. Touma stood in the center with Tsuchimikado to his right and Aogami to his left. The blonde quickly whipped out his phone and started playing a recording of a steady, jazz beat. Tsuchimikado then struck a pose, holding his right elbow in his left hand and gently covered his right eye with his right hand.

"I am the brains of the operation," he said, "The man with the plan, Motohara Tsuchimikado."

Aogami followed suit with a similar pose. The only difference being that he held his chin in his right hand rather than cover his already closed eyes.

"I am soul of the group," he said, "The gal game guru and expert on the second dimension, Peirce Aogami."

"And of course, the heart of the team," Tsuchimikado followed up, gesturing towards the center boy with his left arm.

"The man that makes the impossible, possible," Aogami added, doing the same with his right arm.

"The tenacious god incarnate," both boys said simultaneously, "Touma Kamijou!"

The unlucky boy crossed his left arm behind his back and his right arm over his chest and bowed slightly.

"We are the ultimate team in the match making business," Touma said.

"We are," all three boys said in sync, turning away from their audience before quickly spinning back around, snapping their figures and pointing to the girls in one last pose, "the Delta Force!"

The group remained standing like that in silence for a few seconds before they were interrupted by some gentle applause. Turning to the sound of the clapping, the Tokiwadai residents were surprised to see that Saten and Uiharu were the source.

"What?" Saten defended, "They had good showmanship."

"Man, I hate doing that," Touma complained, "At least some people find it enjoyable."

"Anyway, ma'am, you can trust in us to make sure you find happiness in your love life," Tsuchimikado explained.

"The three of use are masters of gal games and know everything there is to know about making couples," Aogami added, "Our success rate is incredibly high, and our fees are none existent. You have no risks when utilizing our services."

"Of course, we realize that you may still be skeptical," the blonde continued, "If you have any questions, please feel free to ask them."

"I am curious about one thing," the dorm manager admitted.

"Ask away," Touma insisted.

"You said your name was Kamijou, right?" she asked, earning a nod "Do you have any relationship to Touya Kamijou?"

"You knew my father?" Touma replied, clearly shocked by the revelation.

"My older sister went to the same high school as him," the woman explained, "He had many girls swarming after him back then, my sister included. Of course, you fiercely competitive mother won out in the end. If you are indeed his son, I suppose you would know a thing or two about romance, albeit unconsciously. I guess I can leave my love life in your hands."

"Thanks, I guess," Touma replied awkwardly.

"However, make me look bad and I'll have Shirai's head," the dorm manager quickly added, causing Touma and Kuroko to gulp in fear.

"Dear god," Aogami whispered.

"Kami Disease is hereditary," Tsuchimikado noted.

"Would you two shut up about that already!" Touma yelled in exasperation, "How many times do I have to tell you idiots that that disease doesn't exist?!"

"I'll be honest. I didn't think you three would be so willing to help a stranger," the dorm manager admitted.

"I'm more surprised she was actually willing to let these idiots help," Mikoto whispered to her friends.

"She did threaten them afterwards," Uiharu noted.

"Don't be. This is the norm for Kami over here," Tsuchimikado pointed out.

"Besides, this is a high priority job, a LPD Emergency," Aogami added.

"LPD Emergency?" the girls asked.

"Lost Pairing Delta!" two thirds of the Delta Force cheered.

Everyone else could only laugh stiffly at the boys' enthusiasm.

With introductions out of the way, the group entered the orphanage where they met with the Child Errors, the facility's director, and the object of the dorm manager's affections, Daigo. Upon meeting the mystery man, the Delta Force gave him a quick once over. From what they could tell form a few glances, he was a very suitable man. Hardworking, a kind demeanor, and decent looking, it was not hard for the Delta Force to see why their client was interested in him.

As the group introduced themselves to their charges for the day, they got a rather unique surprise from the orphanage's director.

"Touma, is that you?" she asked, apparently recognizing the misfortunate high school student.

"Huh?" everyone else replied in confusion.

"I suppose you wouldn't recognize me," the director, Kazuko Shigenomori, giggled, "It has been a couple of years since you moved out and started living on your own."

"Kamijou used to live here, Miss Shigenomori?" Uiharu asked.

"I thought this was a Child Error facility. Kamijou still contacts his parents regularly, so he can't be a child error," Kuroko pointed out.

"That's true, but Child Errors aren't the only children we take care of here," the director explained, "We also take in students that are too young to take care of themselves. When Touma and his sister first arrived in Academy City, they lived here for their first few years."

"You never told use you had a sister," Saten said, "How come we've never met her?"

"I'll tell you about her some other time," Touma replied, waving off the topic, "Besides, we have a job to do, so we best get started."

"Always eager to help. You haven't changed a bit, Touma," Shigenomori laughed, "In that case, I'll leave you to it. If you need any help or you don't understand anything, just ask."

Waving goodbye, Shigenomori and Daigo went off to another corner of the orphanage to take care of some other business. As soon as the pair was out of hearing range, the dorm manager dragged Kuroko and the Delta Force into a group huddle. She looked over her shoulders one last time before addressing the students.

"Okay, so what do you have planned?" she asked in a desperate tone.

"In my gal game experience, nothing brings a couple closer together than sharing the experience of creating something together," Aogami explained.

"My research also shows me that we have a couple of birthdays today," Tsuchimikado added, "Thus, we had Kami bring along one of his greatest cake recipes. Kami, if you would?"

Reaching into his back pocket, Touma pulled out a folded sheet of printer paper. Opening it up, he presented the group with a cake recipe of his own design. The girls recognized this recipe as the cake recipe that he prepares for Index once every week in order to pacify her more violent tendencies in the event of an emergency. Although the cake used cheap and simple ingredients, they came together to create a pastry that had the power to bring joy to anyone's taste buds.

"The deceivingly simple ingredient list makes for an equally simple baking process," Touma explained, "This recipe of my own creation will surely give the two of you a blissful experience with one another and surely help to convey your feeling for him."

"Nice going!" Kuroko cheered.

'Who knew these guys were such the romantics,' the rest of the girls thought to themselves.

Within a few minutes, the Delta Force had gotten the dorm manager set up in the kitchen with all of the supplies she and Daigo would need. Touma took the liberty of handing his recipe over the Daigo and telling him about their plans for a birthday party. The teacher bought everything Touma said and quickly went to the kitchen to help. Everything was going according to plan.

"Looks like everything is going smoothly," Touma commented as he rejoined the group.

"Yup, Operation: Fruits of Love is going perfectly!" Aogami cheered.

"I thought we agreed we wouldn't call it that!" Touma suddenly yelled.

"What if something happens to mess the plan up?" Saten asked in concern.

"Don't worry. We have contingencies," Tsuchimikado grinned, "We wouldn't be professionals if we didn't."

"Can you really call yourselves professionals if you don't charge anyone for your services?" Mikoto asked skeptically.

"Our payment is a job well done!" Aogami cut in, "Regardless, if something goes wrong with the cake, I'll just take them to the café I'm crashing at to pick one up."

"They still get to spend time together and get a cake for their efforts," Tsuchimikado added, "Talk about having your cake and eating it too."

"Still, I can't help but feel like we're overlooking something," Touma said, holding his chin.

"Hey, big brothers and big sisters!" one of the children called out as they ran towards the group of older students, "Come play with us!"

"Are they what you forgot?" Uiharu asked.

"No, we planned for them," Aogami denied.

"We already decided to have Kami and Misaka in charge of entertaining the kids," Tsuchimikado added.

"Why am I a part of your plans?!" Mikoto asked in shock.

"I'm sure it will come to us eventually," Touma said as he grabbed a few of the kids' hands, "Come on, Misaka, let's show these kids a good time."

"O-okay," Mikoto stuttered as she nervously followed the group outside.

The remaining students silently watched as their friends led the children outside to play. As soon as the pair was out of hearing range, the girls turned towards the boys and gave them looks ranging from suspicious to knowing.

"You paired those two together on purpose, didn't you?" all three girls accused.

"No comment," the boys replied with cheeky grins.

"Good grief," Kuroko sighed, "You idiots can really take your job way to seriously.

"So, what now?" Uiharu asked.

"Now, we wait on standby," Tsuchimikado said with deadly seriousness.

Outside, Touma, Mikoto, and the children were playing a game of tag. The two older students of the group kept at a slower pace as to keep the game fair. Everyone ran back and forth, laughing their heads off as they played. Anyone with a heart could tell that the Child Errors were having a great time, something that Touma and Mikoto took solace in.

However, the game was soon interrupted when Shigenomori came by.

"Alright everyone, that enough of that for now," she called out in a calm, motherly voice, "We're having a birthday party for Meg and Kei, so I want all of you to make cards for them."

"Okay!" all the kids cheered.

"Misaka, could keep an eye on them for a minute?" the older woman asked, "I need to have a word with Kamijou."

"Sure," Mikoto replied with a nod, "Come on, kids, let's go inside and make some birthday cards."

"I'll catch up with you in a bit," Touma promised.

"I'll hold you to that," Mikoto called back.

As soon as the kids were back inside the building, Touma turned to face the orphanage director that asked to talk to him.

"Did you need something, Miss Shigenomori?" he asked.

"It's nothing," she replied, "I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to help out here today."

"Well, you know me," Touma chuckled, "Always helping people."

"Oh, I remember," the director smiled, "You were always such a big help here back then. I'm sure your sister would have been proud to see you still helping others."

"Yeah," Touma agreed, smiling sadly at the ground.

It was times like these that Touma really wished his journal was a bit more complete. All of his memories were lost the night he saved Index, yet only so many were preserved in the book he wrote in regularly. He just wished he could at least remember his sister's face. What kind of little brother was he to not include a picture of her in his journal?

"It really is a shame she disappeared," Shigenomori continued, "I remember that day like it was yesterday."

10 Years Ago

"Miss Shigenomori?" the six-year-old Touma asked, "Isn't Shizuri going to eat with us?"

Everyone in the orphanage was seated at the dinner table, ready for supper. The orphanage's director looked down upon the young boy sitting next to her as he stared at her with pleading eyes. To the boy's right was a single empty seat, the seat normally occupied by the boy's older sister.

Touma had come home late that day after a string of unfortunate accidents. By the time he had gotten back to the facility, it was time for everyone to eat. He had yet to learn the sad news about his only family he had at the orphanage after their parents sent them to Academy City to get away from their home town's superstitions. Shigenomori knew she had to tell the boy sooner or later. She just wished she didn't have to tell him like this.

"No," Shigenomori replied, "your sister isn't joining us tonight."

"Did she do something wrong?" Touma asked.

"No, nothing like that," the director hesitantly answered, "She's just not going to be able to eat with us tonight."

"She's eating with us tomorrow, right?" Touma asked again.

Shigenomori sighed in defeat. The moment she rued ever since that unfortunate event.

"No, Kamijou," she admitted, putting down her chopsticks, "your sister won't be able to join us for any meals from now on."

"W-what?" Touma stuttered in confusion, "What do you mean?"

"Before you got home, a group of men from the city came by," the older woman explained, "They wanted to study your sister's ability up close and needed to take her to live at a separate facility. At least, that's what they told me. They gathered her belongings, removed any traces of her living here, and drove her away in a limousine. She's not here anymore."

Touma just stared at the director in complete silence. The table itself had gone silent as well, save for the whispers of the children that overheard the news.

"His own sister left him behind?"

"Talk about unlucky."

"I bet his own rotten luck drove her away."

"Wasn't she always super protective?"

"Maybe she finally got tired of helping him."

These whispers did not fall on deaf ears. Touma heard every single one and refused to even consider the possibility that anything he heard in the least few minutes were true. Without a word, Touma rushed away from the table and ran into the sleeping quarters. He quickly approached his sister's bed, only to find that it was completely clear of any personal belongings. Still refusing to believe it, he turned face and ran straight out of the building, not even bothering to put on his shoes.

Ignoring the pain of running without any footwear, he ran down the street, calling out for his sister. He would not believe it. He refused to believe it! His sister would not just abandon him like that! She had always looked after him and promised she always would. It was the whole reason she came to Academy City at all. He would find her. He had to find her.

Eventually, his feet just couldn't carry him any further. They were bruised, and bleeding form the continuous running. Touma collapsed onto his knees, unable to continue. He sat there crying, bemoaning his own misfortune at his apparent abandonment.

The tears were interrupted when he felt a jacket drop over his shoulders. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Shigenomori looking at him with sad eyes and downcast lips. She held him close, doing whatever she could to comfort the unfortunate boy. When he calmed down, the woman picked him up in her arms and took her to the nearest hospital, specifically that of a certain frog faced doctor, to get his feet treated.

Present Day

"You had such a hard time after your sister disappeared," Shigenomori said, "The rumors you were trying to escape from only followed you with her disappearance."

"Maybe, but I'd say I'm doing pretty good for myself," Touma argued.

"Of course," the older woman agreed, "Your kindness to others improved your reputation immensely, especially among the girls. I see that still holds true now."

"Come on, I get enough of that from Tsuchimikado and Aogami," Touma chuckled.

"Regardless, it's good to have you back and we'd love to have you over again some other time," the director said with a smile, "If you ever need anything, know that our doors are open."

"Thanks, Miss Shigenomori," Touma replied, "I'll keep that in mind."

"Good. Now, how about we go and help the children make some birthday cards?" Shigenomori suggested.

"You know me, always willing to help," Touma joked as the followed his former caretaker into the building.

A little while later, everyone had gathered in the orphanage's dining room for the birthday party. The kids all sat at the table while the volunteers stood on the side. As the children began to dig in, Aogami, Saten and Uiharu recounted to events of their trip to the café when plan A inevitably failed.

"It ended up being a big ordeal," Uiharu explained.

"First, we went the wrong way, then we got chased by a dog, and nearly fell into the river," Saten listed.

"How did that even happen?" Mikoto asked, "You were just buying a cake."

"Seriously, I'd expect that kind of stuff to happen when Kami is involved," Tsuchimikado noted.

"Don't blame me, it was the client," Aogami defended, "She was so stiff and love-struck that she wasn't paying attention to where she was going."

"Well, at least they seem closer now," Touma pointed out.

"Look at that, they're being all lovey-dovey!" one of the children yelled, pointing towards the dorm manager and Daigo.

"Case and point," Touma said with a smirk as everyone else laughed at the adult's expense.

"Hey, you shouldn't be teasing grown-ups like that!" the dorm manager yelled in embarrassment as she turned around.

"That's just silly," Daigo chuckled, "For one thing, I'm sure your big sister would have no interest in me at all."

"So, what would be your ideal woman, Mr. Daigo?" Tsuchimikado asked.

"Let me think," Daigo replied, "Someone I could respect, I suppose."

"And what would require?" Aogami followed up.

"Well, someone who puts the needs of others before her own," the teacher explained, causing the dorm manager to blush.

"So basically, a female Kami," Tsuchimikado joked.

"Not funny," Touma cut in, ignoring the laughter being redirected at him.

However, the festivities were suddenly interrupted by a surprise earthquake. Noticing the danger, the dorm manager quickly composed herself and ordered everyone under the table. Everyone did as they were told, with the older students taking care to usher the Child Errors under the table. However, Touma noticed out of the corner of his eye that one of the kids had started running around the room in a panic. The young boy eventually tripped and landed in the path of a falling pitcher.

Reacting quickly, Touma used his right hand to push himself off the ground in an attempt to protect the boy from the falling object. However, he hesitated when he heard the faint sound of glass shattering as he touched the ground, a sound that went unnoticed by everyone else in all the panic. That moment of hesitation cost him, making him unable to get to the boy in time. Touma was just glad that the dorm manager took charge and was able to save the boy in his place.

"As it stopped?" Saten asked, noticing the shaking starting to subside.

"We've had a lot of these lately," Uiharu noticed, "thankfully, it was small."

Touma was mostly oblivious to the conversation. He didn't even care that the Delta Force's client was making progress with Mr. Daigo thanks to her display of heroism. His biggest concern at the moment was his right hand. As soon as he touched the ground, Imagine Breaker went off and the shaking had stopped. Something had happened for Imagine Breaker to go off when he touched the ground. The only question was what that something was.

Later that night, the Delta Force was called in for espionage when Kuroko informed them that Daigo had called the dorm manager out to Jona Garden. The group of students hid behind a set of pillars just a few tables away from the two adults. The girls looked on with excitement while the boys did so with a sense of professionalism. Based on the girls' observations, they suspected it was a proposal in progress. However, the idiot trio knew better than that.

In every gal game they've collectively played, the Delta Force had never run into a scenario were the player character proposed to a girl the same day that he earned her affections. That was the beauty of gal games, they created romantic fantasies that at the same time remained feasible. Daigo proposing to the dorm manager was just too much of a fantasy. There was no way a sensible man like Daigo would just propose to someone out of the blue like that. Not to mention the fact that the Delta Force still felt like they were forgetting something, like they had overlooked some crucial detail.

As they watched, the Delta Force confirmed their suspicions that it was not a proposal. However, they did confirm that Daigo was asking about the implications of marrying someone with a considerable age gap. Maybe they were wrong. Maybe he was going to propose.

Regardless, the girls saw it fit to congratulate the dorm manager in person. They group outran the lucky lady and beat her to the Tokiwadai dorm building in order to surprise her. When the surprise was sprung, she did not react in the slightest, as if still stunned form the prospect of Daigo proposing. She asked for someone to pinch her cheek as to make sure she was not dream. Touma took the liberty of doing so, making sure to use his right hand as to remove any supernatural illusions that might have been cast on her. Confirming that it was all real, the dorm manager asked the students for one last favor.

The next day, the students gave the dorm manager a total make over. She wanted to give Daigo a proper answer, and to do that, she needed to look her best. After a quick trip to Seventh Mist, she was dressed in a new white blouse, black skirt, fresh make-up, and no glasses.

Once they arrived at the orphanage, the students hid behind a bush just beyond the fence and watched as the two grown-ups talked.

"I can't put my finger on it, but there's something different about you today," Daigo observed.

"Um, about our conversation the other night…," the dorm manager said.

"Yes," the teacher replied, "I really appreciated that. I finally have the courage I need and it's all thanks to you."

Daigo took out a small, black, jewelry box. He opened it, presenting the love-struck woman with a silver ring adorned with violet jewels.

"Oh, what's this?" she asked.

"I'm going to propose to my girlfriend," Daigo confessed.

"Girlfriend?" the dorm manager asked in surprise.

"Girlfriend?!" the Delta Force quietly screamed, barely kept quite by the middle school girls.

"That's right," Daigo replied, closing the box and looking in Shigenomori's direction.

"And your girlfriend is…," the dorm manager guessed, following Daigo's gaze.

"Yes," Daigo admitted, "I was nervous, but then you said age doesn't matter as long as you respect the person, and you were right. I can't tell you how grateful I am to you."

"Sure. It's no problem. I'm glad I could help," the heart broken woman replied with a smile, masterfully masking her disappointment, "Congratulations. I wish you all the best."

Daigo stood up and gave her one last thank you before rejoining Shigenomori and the Child Errors. The dorm manager remained still for a moment before reaching into her purse. Finding what she was looking for, she put her glasses back on and stood up to join everyone else. Even if she was rejected without letting her feelings be known, she could at least be there for the children who cared for her so much.

Back behind the bush, the students were disappointed by the turn of events. However, none were more disappointed than the Delta Force, who were all crouched to the ground in a circle, gripping their heads in frustration.

"Damn it, I knew we were forgetting something," Tsuchimikado growled.

"How could we forget the worse pitfall in the history of gal games?" Aogami asked himself.

"I can't believe we fell for the classic misdirect!" Touma yelled, "Rotten luck!"

"This is all your fault, Kami!" Tsuchimikado screamed, grabbing Touma's shirt, "She's your old caretaker! You should have known this was a pointless endevour from the beginning! Do you have amnesia or something?!"

"What are you talking about!" Touma argued, "How am I supposed to know that she was his girlfriend?! I don't go around knowing everything about other people's love lives!"

"Yes, you do!" Aogami yelled, grabbing the opposite side of Touma's shirt, "It's your job! It's what we do for a living!"

The two members of the Delta Force proceeded to shake the third member back and forth, bringing him close to passing out. It took the combined efforts of all four girls to get Touma free from his friends' punishment. It had truly been an eventful forty-eight hours.

I hope you all liked that chapter.

Lots of references this chapter. Some Power Rangers SPD here, some Carnival Phantasm and Ginyu Force there, lots of references.

This chapter was supposed to be just a funny chapter, but I ended up writing a rather heavy part in. I had just finished watching Angel Beats before writing this chapter, so I had a bit of pained feels I needed to vent. I actually nearly teared up writing that flashback. Also, lots of additional backstory for Touma!

Did you catch the name of Touma's sister? It was blink and you'll miss it, so you better had been paying attention!

Tell me what you all think in a review. See you all next time!

Go! The answer is Fifty! Eighty! Absolutely!