Sorry for the wait everyone. You know how it is. School, internship hunts, watching A Certain Magical Index III as it releases in both subtitles and English dub, grinding on NA FGO Halloween Event 2018.
Well, all of that's behind us now. Now is the time to start the Angel Fall Arc, the obligatory "Freaky Friday" story line. (That's an obligatory story line right? ... Kinda? ... Well it feels like it is.)
Anyway, let's answer some reviews before we get to the new chapter then, shall we?
Mercenory: Really? Wow! Happy belated birthday!
5waydragon: Oof, you might need to get the brain bleach for this chapter than. Don't worry, everyone's stories will merge in due time. "A Certain Strange Addition" doesn't just refer to Touma in Railgun. It brings together all the A, B, and C plots into an united story line.
Xeno01: Well, I like to think I have a pretty solid read on Touma's character. I figured it would be his first reaction. I'm open to all types of ships so long as the aren't inherently squink. Even if they are, I'm usually pretty lax if they're mainly for jokes.
OnePunchPlayer: Oh, hell no! I'm totally fine with Motohara and Maika since that's mostly for a gag and they're adopted, but genuine brother/sister romance is a no go for me. While the Railgang isn't going to be at the beach resort, they will know about it. I can't help a quick gag if I can slip it in.
SolanaLeonhart: Thanks! Glad you liked the chapter. I honestly had trouble putting it together since it's such a unique relationship, but I think I did it well enough.
Bluejack222: (Insert Regular Show Character Group Shot Here) OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!
BakonoftheUnknown: Never a dull moment, right?
Anonymous Noob the 2nd: Thanks! Also, (Insert Regular Show Character Group Shot Here) OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!
ahsoei: Yeah, drama isn't one of my stronger suits, especially when it comes to relationship like this.
Kim454: Glad you liked the chapter. I would say that was an interesting theory... if I actually knew what kind of ground it was supposed to be standing on.
ArmoredCoreNineBall: Glad you liked it. I do my research, and throwing in an Easter Egg or two really make writing this enjoyable. I would suggest you look back at the exact language of the Misaki Easter Egg. It's actually setting up for something I have planned for later on.
RedSS: Wow that is a lot of sins. Honestly, I think I deserved most of them. Drama is not one of my stronger suits, and that chapter was nothing but original content. Not a very promising recipe.
fencer29: You'd be surprised. At least in the anime, Touma's parent's looked completely unchanged for 16 years straight. I think you'll get a good laugh at who I decided to body swap with who.
SoulReaver267: Sorry, I already had plans for how Angel Fall would go down. However, I don't think you'll be disappointed with what I went with instead.
spartannob6: Ooh, sorry. Already had plans for that before the Sisters Arc ended.
mohamadstar94: Glad you liked it.
kagami dhusara: That meeting isn't going to be until after the Three Stories Arc. I already have plans on how that's going to happen.
Guest (1): You're welcome!
Guest (2): Sorry for the wait!
TheTimeWalker94: Yeah, wishing him luck never ends well.
anonimo (Guest): Hey, ships are my decision. I do what I want.
Guest (3): Oh sure. I'll just look up "sister that abandons little brother to work in a criminal underworld under the pretense of protecting him". That will totally help me research this very unique character set up. Not like I don't read TV Tropes on a regular basis for fun.
Chroma (Guest): Huh? That is a really somber and mysterious melody. Maybe I'll use it some day if I ever write a theme appropriate scene.
Bornkiller9: Thanks. I've had things planned out for the Angel Fall Arc for a while, so those suggestions had already missed the window, but I think you'll like what you see anyway.
Percyfan1998: There are some adjustments to how the timeline falls in place. Concrete dates are a pretty rare sight in "A Certain", so I use that to my advantage had just have even few quiet days between events. It helps that some arcs don't even last more than a 2-3 days. Glad you like the story so far.
TeotakuFantasia: If I'm being honest, I do believe Touma and Shirou to be very similar characters with a couple of core differences. Guess that's why I love both of them. Yeah, the file reading part was honestly a bit weak. Could have done better, but what's done is done. The joke with Touma's priorities when it came to the reveal was one I had been waiting to make for a long time, so I'm glad it hit its mark. I had planned out the Angel Fall Arc a fair bit ahead of time, so those suggestions had to be turned down. I do think you'll like what I did put out.
Wryyy: I'm not the biggest fan of brocon, but Shizuri will definitely be over protective.
Generation Zero: Oh don't worry. I have big plans for the future.
LazinessRules: Sorry for the wait.
Guest (4)): I would answer that question if I could actually tell what the question is.
jun (Guest): Sorry for the wait.
Well, that took a while. Let's to do the disclaimer so we can get to the chapter.
Disclaimer: All characters and plotlines of the "A Certain" franchise are credited to Kazuma Kamachi.
Chapter 40: Freaky Beach Day
It was picturesque summer day at the beach. The water was clear, the seagulls were calling, and the shore had all but been abandoned by everyone accept a single party of people. That party of people was none other than the recently reunited Kamijou siblings Touma and Shizuri, as well as the Sister-in-training Index. Index was off playing in the shallows of the beach while the siblings stayed farther inland. Shizuri was laying out in the sun working on her tan while Touma stayed in the shade to keep an eye on Index.
If Touma were to be honest, he wasn't all too excited to go on this vacation when he was first ordered to. After all, that meant pushing back on remedial classes and not getting as much work done as he would have liked. Even seeing his parents on the trip wasn't doing much for him. However, Touma's tune towards the trip changed with the last-minute return of his older sister. Being able to go a vacation with everyone in his family was one of the few blessings he has ever gotten. Because of his amnesia, Touma had no memories of family vacations with his sister since he only started the journal after going to Academy City and she disappeared not too long after. This complementary vacation/exile was the perfect opportunity to reconnect. Unfortunately, there was one little detail that made the experience more than a little awkward.
"Something wrong, Touma?" Shizuri asked from her place in the sun, "You don't look like you're enjoying this."
Touma spared his sister a glance for barely a second before averting his gaze, only long enough to grasp what she was wearing. It was a purple, violet, and white bikini that showed off her curves, of which she had developed many, and was accompanied by a matching, floral patterned sarong. Touma could not deny that his sister looked amazing in that suit but looking at her in it made him feel all kinds of awkward. To make matters worse, there was some other sort of newly awakened feeling in the pit of his gut that made him glad that no one else was at the beach that day.
"It's nothing," Touma denied.
"Don't lie to me. I can see you avoiding eye contact," Suzuri reprimanded.
'Should have figured a trained assassin would be extremely preceptive,' Touma thought to himself.
"Are you really that embarrassed to be at the beach with me?" the elder sister asked.
"How else am I supposed to react when I go to the beach with my recently found older sister who is surprising attractive for the first time in ten years?" Touma retorted indigently.
"Relax. If any guy were to try and hit on me, they'd be swimming in a pool of their own blood in a heartbeat," Shizuri replied.
"That's not exactly reassuring," Touma deadpanned, "When did you develop such a dark sense of humor?"
"How else do you expect me to react when I've been working in Academy City's Underworld for the last ten years?" Shizuri replied, parroting Touma's earlier question.
"Touché."
"Anyway, I've been meaning to ask. Why did you bring the nun along for the trip?" the sister inquired.
"It's a bit of a long story…" Touma trailed.
While he tried to keep calm on the outside, Touma was completely freaking out on the inside. With the sudden addition of his sister, he had been unable to think of an acceptable excuse for why he had brought Index along. He couldn't just go and tell her that magic was real, and he oversaw guarding a nun with a photographic memory of every magical text on the planet. Not only was the story rather hard to believe, even if Shizuri believed it, it would only cause her to worry about him twice as much since he'd be facing twice as many threats. Besides, he needed to maintain the secret of magic as best he could. The fewer people who knew, the better.
Thankfully, Index arrived just in time to dodge the question.
"Hey, Touma! Check out this cool hat I found in the ocean!" she cheered as she ran towards the siblings.
Thankful for the sudden interruption, Touma turned towards the young, swimsuit clad nun. Unfortunately, a second later he realized why the beach was so empty. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a sign on the beach warning patrons about the recent jellyfish infestation. Soon after, he found out that what Index had found was not a hat but one of the many jellyfish swarming the waters, and she had just dropped in on his face. What followed next was a lot of stinging, screaming, a blasting.
After getting the jellyfish off Touma's face, the group quickly evacuated back to the resort they were staying at and requested their first aid kit. Touma now sat on the floor of their room while Shizuri treated the many sting marks and electron burns he got from the jellyfish incident. The entire time, Index apologized the causing so much trouble as she had never seen a jellyfish before and had no idea of how dangerous they could be. While Shizuri was a least a little miffed, Touma was rather understanding. Index may have had a photographic memory, but this was the first time she's seen the ocean. Coupled with the fact she was constantly on the run and getting her memory erased up until earlier that summer, it made sense that she had no idea.
As Shizuri finished treating Touma's injuries, one of the resort's staff stopped by the room and gave them some rather disappointing news. Apparently, the party set to join them, consisting of the Kamijou parents and their niece Otohime, would be running late and not arrive until tomorrow. Touma was pretty understanding about the news while Index couldn't help but whine a little. Only Shizuri remained quiet, not entirely sure how she should feel.
That night, while everyone was in their respective gender's bath houses, Index dropped a landmine of a question for the Kamijou siblings.
"Hey Touma, Shizuri, what are your parents like?" Index asked.
"That interested, are you?" Touma inquired from his side of the bathhouse wall.
"Just curious," Index admitted.
"You want to take this one, sis?" Touma requested, which translated to, "Please do something so she doesn't learn about my amnesia!"
"Let me think," Shizuri said wistfully, "I guess the simplest way to put is that Touma and I take after them quite a bit."
"How so?" Index inquired.
"Well, when we were kids, people always said Touma resembled our dad while I resembled our mom, both in looks and personality," Shizuri elaborated, "Though, dad always said Touma has mom's face, especially her 'thinking/worrying face'."
"Does that mean your dad is constantly gaining the attention of girls and gets in trouble for it?" Index asked.
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!" Touma yelled from his side of the bath.
"Can't say for certain. We were too young to really notice back then," Shizuri admitted, "But if he did, mom was most likely the one to straighten him out. She can bet pretty scary when she gets mad."
"I can confirm that," Touma added, "A while back, I met someone whose older sister used to have a crush on dad when they were in high school. Mom apparently scared her and a bunch of other girls away."
"Your parents sure are interesting people," Index mused.
"Well, you'll see how interesting they can be when you meet them tomorrow," Touma replied.
That night, the party slept peacefully in their hotel room. However, Touma remained awake, unseen from behind the curtain that separated him from the girls. He was taking the time to write in his journal, a way for him to vent out his emotions in private.
For the first time since I've lost my memories, I will be meeting my parents face to face. This journal, which belonged to the previous me, has been helpful in helping me learn about them and I still write letters to them regularly, but I still have so many questions. There are only so many things that could have been put into words, and even then, there are gaps. Having Shizuri back in my life makes things even more complicated. Will we be a family just like before Shizuri and I went to Academy City, or have things changed to much for that to be possible?
This road began with a blank memory and stretches on without end. It is plagued with Espers, magic, and things I have yet to comprehend. I have no choice but to walk down it. As long as I keep walking, I can hold out hope that I'll be able to live a normal life. That hope keeps me going. This is the road I must walk. If it crosses with those of people that my previous self knew, then I'll take it in stride. That is all that is left for me.
Closing his journal, Touma put it to the side and laid back on to his futon. Tomorrow was a big day. He could only hope he was mentally prepared.
The next morning, Touma woke up to the sound of the hotel phone ringing. Reluctantly, Touma picked up the phone and answered, moderately surprised that it was the hotel staff on the other end of the line. Apparently, his dad had called ahead and told the staff that he was on his was, and they in turn told Touma over the phone.
With news of his parents' arrival, Touma got out of his futon and exited his corner of the room to find Index and Shizuri still asleep. Somehow unfazed by the sound of the phone ringing, both were hidden under their blankets, only stirring slightly. Smiling to himself, Touma decided to leave the girls be. It would probably be best for everyone if he eased his parents into his sister's return before she made herself known. He didn't want the to freak out too much over it.
After cleaning himself up a little bit and changing out of his sleeping wear, Touma stepped outside waited just outside the hotel door. He was greeted with a sunny summer day, perfect for a family reunion. Not too long after stepping outside, Touma spotted a man walking up the path. A closer look revealed he's face to be one that Touma had seen many times in his journal. Without a doubt, it was the Kamijou patriarch, Touya Kamijou, Touma's father.
"Hey dad!" Touma greeted, walking down the hill to meet his father halfway.
"Touma!" Touya replied, giving his son a pat on the shoulder once they met, "You're looking well. Anything new happen?"
"You don't know the half of it," Touma chuckled, "You're looking well, too. It's good to see you."
"Well, I can't wait to here all about it. But first, I've got you something," Touya said as he searched his pockets.
After a little digging, the grown man pulled out a small idol on a chain. It was a small, bronze elephant wearing loop earrings and sitting cross-legged.
"I got this from my recent business trip to India not too long ago. It's apparently one of their gods," Touya explained, handing his son the souvenir.
"Really dad, another good luck charm?" Touma chuckled, still accepting the gift, "I appreciate it, but you don't have to get me a new one from every country you visit. You're going to go broke if you keep this up."
"Nonsense. I want to give these things," Touya insisted, "Who knows, they might actually bring you some good luck one day."
"Want me to take your bag?" Touma offered.
"I can handle it. You can take care of your mother's and Otohime's bags, though. They should be arriving soon."
The two Kamijou men stood side by side, awaiting the arrival of the rest of their family. As they waited, Touma glanced over at his father, lost in though. He had read a lot about his dad in his journal, allowing him to converse casually as if nothing happened. However, there was still a sense of longing in the depths of Touma's heart. This man was his father, but he still felt like only an acquaintance. There was just so much that was lost in his accident that couldn't be recovered through his journal. Touma didn't wish to know everything. All he wants is to feel like he knew his own family, like any son should.
"Sorry we came so late," Touya apologized, "You know how hectic moving can be."
"You guys moved?" Touma asked, not recalling anything about it in his journal.
"It told over the phone a few months ago. Remember?"
"Huh? Guess it slipped my mind."
Soon enough, Touma could see a young girl running up the path towards the hotel. She yelling his name at the top of her lungs, clearly excited to see him. No doubt, this was his little cousin, Otohime. From what he's read in his journal, Touma deduced Otohime to be an incredibly sweet middle school girl, if not a bit overly affectionate. Figuring that the two of them were pretty close, Touma ran up to her to meet he half way as to make their interaction as close to how it would have been if he still had his memories. He knew she would most likely jump at him for a hug, so Touma opened his arms, ready to catch her when the time came.
However, as soon as the young girl had been close enough for him to get a good look, Touma realized something was off. Instead of the short black hair that she had in his most recent photo of her in his journal, she had slightly longer chestnut hair. Her face it was completely off as well. While it was still a face he recognized seeing before, it was not the face of his cousin, but rather that of Mikoto Misaka.
Touma's cognitive thought went into complete shut down as the girl looking like Mikoto threw herself into his arms. He just stood there with a blank look on his face as the young girl nuzzled her face into his chest. He didn't whether to find the gesture sweet or creepy.
Desperately trying to sort everything out, Touma recalled how Mikoto had extreme objections to Shizuri coming along with him on this vacation. She even went as far as to insist on coming along with them. Touma understood why she was suspicious, his sister had tried to kill her only earlier that week, but he unwaveringly refused her request. This was supposed to be a family vacation, and the only reason Index was an exception to the rule was because Touma was technically her guardian. The only thing he could do to pacify the electrical girl was to promise regular video calls with her and the rest of their friends, just to make sure Shizuri didn't do anything fishy.
'Could she have snuck out of Academy City herself just to keep an eye on Shizuri?' Touma thought to himself, 'But if that's the case, why would jump me like this? I know she said she'd be going all out to get me to fall for her, but it not in character for her to be so affectionate. Zapper's usually pretty reserved.'
"I'm so happy to see you again, Touma! Did you miss me?" the young girl asked, "I'm so excited! We'll all go to the beach together, right? Right?"
"Uh, sure. Just one question," Touma stammered, "What are you doing here, Zapper?"
"Huh? Who's Zapper?" the girl who looked like Mikoto asked.
"I told you ahead of time, didn't I?" Touya asked, "I was bringing your cousin Otohime along with us for this trip."
"And I was happy to come along!" the girl Touya claimed to be Otohime cheered as she gave Touma another hug.
"Come on, quit it! Enough with the hugging," Touma begged as he tried to pry the girl off.
"Come now, Touma dear, there's no need for that," another voice said from just down the path, "Otohime is just really happy to see you because it's been so long."
Looking in the direction of the voice, Touma was shocked to see Index walking the path. She had the same sliver hair and blue eyes, but now wore a season appropriate sundress and hat as opposed to her usual (and uncomfortable) torn apart nun's habit.
"What the hell? What are you doing here, Index?" Touma asked, utterly confused, "You were still sound asleep in the room just a few minutes ago. How'd you get out here so fast, and from the opposite direction was well."
"What's gotten into you, Touma? Don't you recognize your own mother?" Touya inquired.
"Huh?" Touma replied, "You're kidding me, right? She looks like she's 15. How can anyone that young be someone's mother?"
"While I appreciate the complement, I'm getting concerned too, Touma dear," the woman claiming to be Shiina Kamijou said, "Are you alright?"
The air went silent for a good five seconds after everyone seemed to genuinely believe that the only strange thing was Touma. Realizing where he stood in the situation, Touma couldn't help but laugh at this turn of events.
"Oh, I get it," Touma said between laughs, "This is some sort of elaborate prank Shizuri set up while I wasn't looking, isn't it?"
"What are you talking about, son?" Touya asked, confused, "Your sister had nothing to do with this."
"Are you sure you're okay? Your behavior isn't normal," Shiina noted, "Why would you bring up your sister? You know she's been gone for the last… ten… years?"
In the midst of trying to figure out what Touma was talking about, Shiina found herself trailing off. She then dropped her bag on the ground, bringing her hands up to her mouth and looked like she was on the verge of tears.
"What's wrong, dear?" Touya asked, confused as to why his wife was getting all worked up.
"Shizuri…" she whispered, taking a step towards the hotel.
The rest of the Kamijou family followed her intended path with their gazes and saw what exactly she was heading towards. Just a bit further up the path stood the newly returned Shizuri Kamijou. At least, that's what most of the family saw. In Touma's case, all he saw was his sister's blond friend from the diner in his sister's clothes.
"Hi mom, dad," the girl who was supposed to be Shizuri greeted meekly, "It's been awhile."
"Shizuri… is that really you?" Touya asked as he approached his daughter.
"Yeah, it's me," Shizuri replied.
"I can't believe it," Shiina whispered as she wrapped her arms around the girl, "My baby girl. You're really here. We thought you were gone forever. Where have you been all this time?"
"I'm sorry," Shizuri apologized, returning the hug tenderly, "I didn't mean to make you worry. It's a long story."
"That doesn't matter now. All that's important is that you're back," Touya insisted as he joined in the hug.
"Uncle Touya, aunt Shiina, who's this?" Otohime asked, approaching her hugging extended family.
"Uh? Oh, that's right, the two of you never got the chance to meet," Touya realized, "Otohime, this is your other older cousin, Shizuri. Shizuri, this is your little cousin Otohime. She was born around the same time you disappeared."
"So you're the Otohime Touma has been telling me about," Shizuri said with a smile as bent down to meet the younger girl.
"You're pretty. Are you really my older cousin?" Otohime asked innocently.
"It would seem so," Shizuri replied, "it's nice to meet you."
"It's nice to meet you too!" Otohime chimed.
Touma could hardly believe what he was seeing. The family reunion had gone kilometers better than he could have hoped for. His parents didn't question Shizuri, far too over joyed to have her back to care. Shizuri instantly warmed up to Otohime, something he was unsure of given how bubbly his little cousin could be. Everyone in general felt like a genuine, normal family. The only issue was that they didn't look like it.
Apart from his dad, everyone in his family looked like someone completely unrelated to the recent turn of events. His mom looked like Index, his cousin looked like Mikoto, and his sister looked like her blond friend whose name he never got. The worse part was it didn't seem like it was an act either. As someone constantly living a lie, Touma knew good acting when he saw it. The girl that looked like Mikoto was too composed about being affectionate with him. If it was really Mikoto, the façade would have cracked the moment she jumped him. In addition, the way the girl who looked like Index acted was exactly how you would expect a mother who has just found her missing child to act. There was no way that could have been an act, especially with Index as the actress.
It was all too much for Touma to take in at once. He didn't even hear his parents calling out to join them in the reunion. Instead, he made quickly made an excuse that he forgot something in the hotel and needed to take care of it right away, making a bee line past his family and too his room. On the way there, he noticed that the hotel staff looked like one of the Sisters and Stiyl, an American reporter on television looked like Miss Komoe, US president Roberto Katze looked like Kuroko, and most frighteningly of all, Index looked like Aogami.
Dashing past the confused nun, Touma quickly dug through his things before he found what he was looking for, his laptop and his ODD. When it became apparent that he would have to leave the city, Yomikawa and Doctor Bakuya pulled a few strings to let him take the experimental weapon out with him. They figured it would be a good opportunity for Touma to test its more mundane uses, considering he would not be in the technical marvel that is Academy City for some time. They even gave him the additional bonus of a Kevlar glove for his left hand to go with the device to help deal with the issue of relative motion making the ODD return at relative speeds faster than a human hand could withstand.
Retreating to the hotel bathroom, Touma attacked the ODD bracelet to his wrist and activated one of its more passive functions, a medical diagnosis. Since the device was worn on the wrist and linked with the user's nervous system, it was in the perfect position to gather general medical data, such as temperature, heart rate, and neurological anomalies. After about a minute of collecting and analyzing Touma, the device on his wrist projected a holographic screen displaying its diagnosis. Apart from signs of stress, something that was apparent from his recent experience, Touma was perfectly healthy. No sign of mental instability or hallucinations.
"Okay, so this isn't all in my head," Touma concluded, checking the mirror in the room, "And I'm still the same. Best guess is it's some form of magic. All that leaves is who or what caused all this, why they would do such a thing, and why someone like my dad is unaffected."
Taking the bracelet off his wrist, Touma shifted his attention to his laptop. Turning the device on, he opened up a video chat room and invited Mikoto, Kuroko, Saten, and Uiharu. Something magical was going down, and he needed to tell them what was going on at the very least. Who knows, maybe they could help him figure out what was going on. Besides, he needed to confirm whether or not they were affected by what was going on.
After a few minutes of waiting, three video feeds appeared on screen. One was for Mikoto and Kuroko, while the other two were for Saten and Uiharu. Of course, just like everyone else, they all looked like completely different people. Thankfully, their response to his call made it clear who was who.
"Seriously? I know I told you to call us daily while you were away, but I didn't mean first thing in the morning, idiot!" Mikoto whinned, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.
"Sorry about Sissy," Kuroko apologized, "She can be pretty grumpy in the morning."
"Morning Kamijou. How's your vacation going so far?" Uihaur greeted.
"You sure seem energetic," Saten yawned.
"Good to see you girls too," Touma chuckled, "Listen, this is going to sound crazy, but I think something magical is happening over here."
"Well of course, it is a family vacation to a beach resort after all," Uiharu chimed.
"I think he meant that in a literal sense, Uiharu," Saten deadpanned.
"What exactly is going on?" Kuroko asked.
"Well, for some reason, nearly everyone in the world looks like someone else, but no one seems to be aware of it," Touma explained, "From what I can tell, all the swaps are completely random. When my family arrived this morning, I was glomped by my little cousin Otohime. I was prepared for it since I read about it in my journal, but what I wasn't expecting was for her to look like Zapper! I honestly thought it was her for a minute."
"Seriously?! Oh man, what I would have done to see that!" Saten laughed, "I wish I was there for it! Hey Misaka, you should do that once Kamijou gets home."
"Absolutely not!" Mikoto refused, blushing profusely.
"I don't think you would have been able to notice if you were here, Flipper," Touma pointed out, "It seams that only people who have not been affected notice the changes, and from what I'm seeing, you've all been affected."
"You mean we all had our appearances swapped and we don't even know it?" Uiharu asked.
"That's right," Touma confirmed, "I was able to tell from context clues, but you girls all look completely different."
"So, who exactly do we all look like?" Kuroko asked.
"Let's see," Touma pondered, "For one, Pigtails still has her pigtails, but they're a different style and the shade of her hair is darker. You also still have that perverted air around you, but now it has a straight pedophile vibe rather than a lesbian molester vibe."
"What do you mean 'still have that perverted air'?!" Kuroko yelled indigently.
"Zapper's now blond and has much longer hair," Touma noted, "She also has star shaped pupils and boobs that are barely kept inside of her shirt."
"Damn it! Why did I have to look like her?!" Mikoto screamed.
"You know this person?" Touma asked.
"Shut up, idiot! Don't ask!" Mikoto snapped.
"Okay, geez," Touma resigned, "Anyway, Flipper looks like my classmate, Fukiyose."
"Oh, I remember her," Uiharu chimed, "She was that girl in your class that pushed you to join Judgement, right?"
"That's what my journal says," Touma shrugged.
"Cool," Saten mused, "What about Uiharu, Kamijou."
"Ironically, Headband's appearance didn't change much," Touma chuckled to himself, "You actually ended up with Otohime's face and the two of you already looked pretty similar."
"That is pretty funny," Mikoto giggled.
"Need us to do anything from our end, Kamijou?" Kuroko asked.
"Actually, I just called to get some confirmation on what exactly is happening," Touma admitted, "But, if you can keep an eye out for anything suspicious in Academy City, it would be a big help. With this spell affecting the whole world, there's no telling where the caster can be."
"We'll keep an eye out, promise," Uiharu agreed for the group.
"Don't worry, with Uiharu and I on the case, we won't leave a single stone unturned," Saten cheered reassuringly.
"What about you?" Mikoto asked, "With nearly your entire family looking like they do now, I can't imagine it be very comfortable."
"I'll deal. It's not the craziest thing that's happened to me this summer," Touma replied, "Actually, I don't exactly know where this lands on the craziness scale. Still, even if they look different, they're still my family. I'll just have to make the best of it while keeping an eye out myself."
"Hey Touma, you in there?" Touya called out from just outside the bathroom, "We're all heading to the beach. Are you coming?"
"Yeah, I'll be out in a minute!" Touma called back before turning back to his video chat, "That's my dad. I better get going."
"Alright then," Kuroko nodded.
"We'll keep you posted if we find anything on our end," Saten chimed.
"Have fun with your vacation," Uiharu added.
"Good luck, Touma," Mikoto said with a wave.
"Thanks girls," Touma finished as he hung up.
The rest of the day went as well as one would expect when your entire family has their appearances swapped with those of unrelated people you know. That is to say the entire experience was awkward as hell for Touma. Like any family, the Kamijou family has their fair share of quirks, but their current appearances completely clashed with their personalities.
First, there was Otohime, Touma's excitable and bubbly little cousin. Touma recalled from his journal that she was all around a very affectionate girl that he enjoyed spending time with whenever they had family gathering. They were extremely close, so close that it got to the point that people would confuse them for siblings on occasion. But now that she looked like Mikoto Misaka, Touma couldn't bring himself to get too close to her. Last thing he wanted was to slip up and end up treating her in the same teasing/flirting manner he had recently adopted.
Touma's sister Shizuri was a bit easier to handle, but she still had her own problems because of their predicament. Because of her decade long absence, the person she was now was almost a complete stranger to Touma, especially with his amnesia. While she still exhibited some of her old habit as his older sister, they seemed almost foreign since the person enacting them looked nothing like her.
Then there were his parents, whose situation was especially awkward given that only Touma's mother had a swapped appearance. He parents got along extremely well, so much so that Shiina was willing to wear any swimsuit that Touya suggested. Unfortunately for Touma, this meant extreme awkwardness for him since his father's tastes were rather risqué and his mother currently looked like the fourteen-year-old Index. If Touma didn't know better, he would have taken Touya for a pedophile.
However, the worse case by far was Index herself, who now looked like Aogami Pierce. The sight of Aogami in a little girl's swimsuit was one he wished he could forget. The entire situation eventually became too much for the poor high school boy and he excused himself to go on a walk. He just needed to get away from it all.
'I need a vacation from this vacation,' Touma thought to himself as he climbed up the path of stairs on the cliff face, 'This whole vacation is way more awkward than I thought it was going to be. And to top it all off, I don't have any leads for why everyone's faces are switched. Rotten luck.'
As he continued to climb up the stairs, he noticed something particularly strange. A bit further up, there was a girl in an extremely questionable outfit. Said outfit consisted of a red hood and cloak that covered her eyes and back, a black body suit made from bands of fabric, and an awful lot of metal braces and chains.
'Okay, weird girl in a ridiculous outfit on the stairs,' Touma noted in his head, 'From what I've seen so far, this spell only affects people's bodies, not their clothing. If that's the case, even if this girl has a different face, those clothes are still hers, so she must be a sorceress. Maybe she knows something about what's going on."
"Hey there," Touma greeted as he walked up to the strangely dressed girl, "I'm not sure if we've ever met, but are a-"
Touma never got a chance to finish his sentence. Faster than he could blink, the strange girl had brought a jagged knife of this his throat. Touma was in a very dangerous situation, unarmed and completely at the mercy of this girl.
"Question one: are you the spellcaster?" the girl asked coldly.
"Wait, spellcaster? You mean for this freaky face swap thing?" Touma asked, frozen in shock.
"Response is unclear. I will ask again: are you the spellcaster?" the girl said.
"Hold on a minute," a third voice interrupted from the top of the stairs, "It's too early to conclude that he's the one."
Looking up the stairs, Touma was surprised to find two somewhat familiar figures. First, there was the sword wielding Kaori Kanzaki whom Mikoto and the rest of the girls had once described to him not long after the Deep Blood incident. More surprisingly however was Tsuchimikado, one of the last people Touma would have ever expected to be associated with a sorceress.
"That was close," the blond boy quipped, "Looks like we made it just in time."
"Tsuchimikado? Kanzaki? What are you doing here?" Touma asked while strange girl kept her knife by his neck.
"Would you look at that, we still look the same to him," the boy on the top of the stairs noted.
"Yes. However, the fact that he can identify us correctly may mean…" Kanzaki mused
"I don't think that's the case," Tsuchimikado cut her off, "You've seen what he can do first hand."
Kanzaki pondered a this for a moment before addressing the knife brandishing girl.
"It would appear this boy has evaded the problem just as we have. I am a sorcerer with the English Puritan Chruch's Necessarious, Kaori Kanzaki," the katana brandishing girl introduced herself, "Our purpose in coming here is the same as yours, to gauge the center of the distortion. However, it is ridiculous to think that this boy is the caster."
Having been given a reason not to threaten him anymore, the strange girl removed her knife from Touma's neck, allowing him to put some distance between himself and her.
"Russian Orthodox Church's Annihilation Survey. I am Misha Kruetzev," the girl identified herself.
"Uh, excuse me?" Touma asked, earning some odd looks from everyone else present, "Sorry if I'm being rude, but could someone please explain what exactly is going on here? Nothing any of you guys have said in the last five minutes has made sense."
After some rather unnecessary jabs at his apparent immaturity and ignorance, Touma found himself at a seaside snack bar with the known sorceresses and his friend Tsuchimikado. While sitting down, it was explained that there was an imbalance in the natural ranking of all beings as a result of an unknown spell. This spell brought an angel down to the rank of humans, resulting in physical manifestations to be juggled around, creating the perspective of everyone have switched faces.
The origin of this spell, appropriately titled Angel Fall, appeared to be centralized around Touma himself, making him the target of sorcerers like Misha who sought to stop and reverse the spell. Thankfully, all of Misha's suspicions were relieved once Tuschimikado revealed to her the existence of Touma's Imagine Breaker and its properties. With Touma now clear of any charges, that meant that the caster was someone close to him and there was a ritual sight somewhere nearby. Thus, the only ways to stop Angel Fall was to destroy the ritual site, or the caster themselves. However, despite all the exposition, Touma still had a very crucial question.
"What do you have to do with the, Tsuchimikado?!" Touma yelled in frustration, "How are you involved in the magic world?! And how do you know about Imagine Breaker?! Answer me already!"
"Heh, it's a simple explanation, really," Tsuchimikado chuckled, "You see Kami, I'm am member of Necassarious too."
Special End Card Segment: Animan Temple
"Man, this new season of A Certain Magical Index is awesome!" Animan cheered, a gallon sized slurpee next to him as he stared at his laptop.
"Master, you are supposed to be hosting the most recent Animan Temple," Priestess Number 1, Aisa Himegami, reprimanded as she entered the room.
"Fine, I'm coming," Animan sighed as he got out of his seat and turned to face his assistant.
However, as soon as he did so, he his sword, Mugen, and pointed it at Himegami.
"M-master?!" the priestess stuttered.
"Who are you and what have you done to Himegami?!" the master of the temple demanded.
"M-master, it's me! I'm standing right here!" Himegami replied in a panic.
"Impossible! My precious priestess has black hair in a hime cut an a totally generic face," Animan yelled, "You are an albino loli with exotic red eyes that make you super recognizable! There's no way you are her!"
Raising the blade over his head, Animan screamed as he brought the blade back down, barely missing the girl in the priest outfit who was clearly not Illyavial von Einzbern. Pulling the blade back, Animan then shifted it settings so the energy blade was a brilliant blue and the symbol read "to cut".
"Mugen Buster!" he yelled as he made another attempt to nail the defenseless girl.
"Come back next time for the next chapter, Secrets and Lies!" the Priestess cried in panic as she dodged another attack, "Maybe master will have calmed down by then!"
"Get back here, impostor!"