And I'm back! And it only took a week short of a month! Man, who would have thought that working on two stories at once that update interchangeably would take so long when you live a life outside of your internet accounts.
*Literally everyone in the known universe raises their hands*
Alright, put your hands down, ya smart alecks.
Sorry for the wait everyone. I hope I didn't keep you all waiting too long. This chapter actually has a fair bit of original content, so hopefully I was able to make something interesting for the controversial Silent Party Arc. With any luck, this will act as the first stepping stone towards making this version of the arc passable in the view of the general audience.
Woohoo to passing the 1000 review mark! Thanks to you guys, this story is now the third most review non-crossover Toaru story on this site, beating out stories that have been in progress for much longer. Seriously, I can not thank you guys enough. It's your support that keeps me writing. I never would have thought that such a simple story concept could have gained so much traction. I'm not even the first one to do it, and it's somehow got this much support!
Now, how about we respond to the latest of those over 1000 reviews?
dhart868: We're a bit far from the point where referencing that would be appropriate, but maybe it will be.
MrQuestionMark: Thank you so much for your continued support! I honestly never thought this story would get this big, nor did I expect it to outpace the growth of some of the older stories on this site. Seriously, who would have thought a concept as simple as "Touma joins Judgement and all the plotlines intersect" could have gained so much traction in such little time? Next thing you know, someone makes a TV Tropes page for this! If it can happen for a Toaru/MLP crossover, why not for a well-written conventional story? No details goes wasted when I write overarching stories like this. I like rewarding longtime readers who pay attention to every detail and occasionally reread past chapters. Honestly, I don't think Touma was necessarily in the wrong when he promised to give Aogami a free dirty magazine. I mean, Judgement has a known repeated sex-offender in Kuroko in their ranks.
5waydragon: I am well aware that that is not his real name, but it may as well be considering that's all anybody calls him. Aogami is a massive otaku and shameless pervert. Pretty sure he's played his fair share of games.
mohamadstar94: Thanks. Just felt like I could have trimmed the fat off the chapter. The joke was good, but a joke only works once when used a specific way.
Exiled Soul Nomad: Touma's future has always been dark. He's acknowledged this since the very beginning.
Healthcare: Thanks for the kind words. Nice to know that my style of writing is an enjoyable one.
Anti-Mage 29: Well, since you're new to this arc, I'll just leave the reveals to come naturally. I can tell you right now that your guess is wrong, though.
felixiglesias8: And you have every right to be worried. Of course, the TouMAN can push through anything with the right tools at his disposal.
BlueJack22: Glad to know I'm living up to expectations. Yeah, those researchers are in for a rude awakening. What exactly was your problem with chapter 43? That was nothing but fluff and family feels, so what could I have possibly done in the last chapter that addressed something in that chapter?
ahsoei: That is actually a really good idea. I actually have a couple of ideas for something like that after this arc.
RedSS: Ah yes, why do an arc if it's originally so poorly written and generally disliked. Two reasons, my friend. The first is that I personally liked this arc. It was a good concept that unfortunately suffered from poor direction. The second reason is that I like a good challenge. There is a lot that I can do here to make the arc better, and it provides me with plenty of opportunities to set up for latter chapters and story arcs.
The unlucky boy: Thank you so much.
ArmoredCoreNineBall: Yeah, unfortunately there was not a lot to work with in terms of variation with scenarios. The most I could really do was juxtapose the atmosphere in the Kamijou home to that of Saten's dorm since Touma was living in a large apartment with no one around while everyone else was in a crowded by cozy dorm room. All that just to drive home the fact that STUDY was cutting into what should have been family time for the Kamijous. I think you'll be surprised by Aliester's response to all this. After all, he is the chess master of the entire series.
Stitches (Guest): Glad you liked the chapter. It's actually implied that Touma knew the Child Error facility that Accelerator grew up in. After all, the two were incredibly close and hung out all the time. After he was taken away, Accelerator spent most of his life in research facilities, not even proper homes. Well, Accelerator does know his own name. Touma was only calling him by it the entire time they were having their fight. I would imagine a guy not used to getting touched would be pretty ticklish.
Generation Zero: Glad you liked the character interactions. Big changes aren't going to be too noticeable just yet. The changes are coming, but they're coming slowly and compounding. Wait and hope, and you will be rewarded.
guest (Guest): Yeah... That hatchet might be pretty difficult to bury when one girl is the older sister of the boy that the other girl has a crush on and the first girl has previously tried to kill the second girl.
Guest13 (Guest): Here's the thing. People who don't believe they deserve forgiveness tend to not ask for it. That's kind of been Accelerator's shtick since the end of the Sister Arc. You can't help someone unless they let you help them. It just so happens that in Touma's case, most of the time, the signal that he has the okay to help other people is that no one tries to stop him from helping them.
TheTimeWalker94: Yup, just a whole lot of rotten luck to go around.
Robby (Guest): Dude... listen... I want to give you a proper reply, I really do. But Google Translate is not doing it for me to help me understand you. The translation is imperfect and the grammar keeps coming out weird. The most I was able to figure out was that you're Indonesian.
RPGPersona: I will admit, Febri was a bit of a flat character. Cuteness can only get you so far. Komoe honestly did it best, using her cuteness as a weapon to guilt-trip her students into doing better. Maintaining continuity is a must whenever I write. Wither its an AU/re-imagining like this, or a standalone fanfic, I always make sure no details conflict with one another. Really though, it was Aogami's fault the plan went awry. If only he had taken a different route when going on his break, Febri wouldn't have followed him. Then again, he's also part of the reason it succeeded. I think you'll like what's in store for Touma as a new test subject.
A certain guest (Guest): I see I am in the presence of an intellectual. That is quite a bit on insight you have on the characters that even I didn't have, and I'm the guy drawing new connections between characters as to explain everything psychological through Freudian thought. Practically all the major characters suffers form having given up everything to fulfill a single wish, on to have that wish denied in the cruelest way possible. Touma wants a normal life, but he is bound by a power passed down through a bloodline he isn't even aware to have anything but a normal life. Shizrui wanted to help be a good sister and help give Touma the normal life he desired, but ended up losing herself in the process. Yuri wanted nothing more than to escape his title and be accepted as another person without hurting anyone, but he ends up embracing that title and kills thousands. Saten sacrificed a normal life for a chance at something interesting, but drew junk and now lives in the shadows of those with interesting lives. Trust me when I say that things only go downhill for these characters in particular in regards to their personal paradoxes.
Anycartoon123 (Guest): If you look back at previous chapters, a hoverboard was a thing that Touma improvised and my OC Doctor Bakuya was last scene trying to turn it into a mainstay gadget. If, when, and how it becomes a mainstay is for me to know and for you to lose your mind over while waiting for the payoff. I already have plans for Touma and Mikoto's first official date in a later chapter, so don't you worry.
Herox100: Glad my improvement as an author is visible. That's actually a major flaw with the Silent Party Arc, the timeline screw ups. In canon, Accelerator meets Last Order during the Three Stories Arc, which is also when we are introduced to the Fake Unibara and Touma and Mikoto go on a fake date. Can you see where this becomes problematic? Mikoto couldn't possibly worry about shaking off an admirer she doesn't want to reply to if she's worrying about Febri.
Xeno01: Pretty much. Saten has too much fun teasing Touma and Mikoto to fall victim to Kami Disease, and Uiharu is content watching Touma and Mikoto's relationship develop in a way that looks like something straight out of a fanfiction or light novel (because it is).
X-KT (Guest): I can agree to Febri being adorable, that's for sure. That's not a ship I'm used to seeing, but I will admit I can see the appeal.
LegallyRestricted: Well, Touma and ITEM won't be working together in a official capacity any time soon. Shizuri will make sure of that. That's not to say they're path's won't cross and Shizuri won't help out where she can. The passing resemblance is actually part of the reason why I went through with the additional plotline. The story potential was good enough as it was, but the addition of the connection being believable made it an easy choice.
Xperior: Lucky you. You didn't have to wait too long.
Once again, thank you all for all the support you've given me over the last year and few months. Your support is very much appreciated. Alright then. You've all been here for long enough to know what's next.
Disclaimer: All characters and plotlines of the "A Certain" franchise are credited to Kazuma Kamachi.
Chapter 46: Early Trials
Following the events of the malfunctioning Security Robots, on site Anti-Skill officers were called in to investigate the cause of the incident. The members of Judgement Branch 177, who were present during the incident, were also called in to investigate the matter. They were currently speaking with chief Yomikawa, giving their eyewitness reports. Meanwhile, an Anti-Skill tech specialist was investigating the now offline robots to see if there were any mechanical issues.
"Security Robots malfunctioning like this is a massive black eye for Anti-Skill," the veteran law enforcer moaned.
"Luckily for us, it didn't get too serious," Konori mused.
"No kidding," Touma agreed, "Someone could have been seriously hurt by these things."
"Whoa, that's definitely weird," the tech specialist said as he examined one of the robots.
"Did you find the cause of the problem?" Kuroko asked curiously.
"It's kind of hard to tell," the specialist admitted, "These robots just came on site, but they haven't had their main batteries installed yet."
"That doesn't make any sense, are you sure?" Yomikawa asked, not entirely convinced.
"Yeah," the other officer replied, presenting the empty battery chamber for all to see, "Forget malfunctioning. These things shouldn't be functioning at all."
"Same thing with this one," Touma added, inspecting another robot with his ODD as a flashlight, "Not a battery in sight."
"Maybe there was power left in the auxiliary batteries?" Uiharu suggested.
Taking her subordinate's suggestion, Konori used her Clairvoyance to check the deeper interiors of all the robots. Unfortunately, her in-depth search bore no fruit.
"Nope, not the auxiliary batteries either," Konori reported, "In fact, it's the same case as with the main batteries. They haven't been installed yet."
"There's no way that's right," Kuroko denied in disbelief, "How can these things move if they had no power source?"
"That's the big mystery, isn't it," Touma sighed, looking even deeper into the empty Security Robot.
In a dark conference room somewhere in Academy City, five researchers were hard at work, preparing for their next experiment. They all typed away at their computers, busy as bees, so they could have everything set up before the end of the day.
"How lucky that we already have a chance to test the data we collected on the Fourth Ranked the other day," one of the researchers mused.
"I would have liked to have had a bit more time to prepare, but I suppose I can't complain," one of the women among the group noted.
"This should be interesting," another man remarked, "I wonder what kind of data will get this time around.
"Well, I think it will at least be mildly entertaining," another man predicted, pulling up two photos for the group to see, "After all, we have two very interesting test subjects lined up. The Railgun, Mikoto Misaka, and Judgement's Certain Strange Addition, Touma Kamijou."
"Indeed. The girl that everyone knows, and the boy shrouded in rumors," the woman from earlier spoke again, "The greatest of all Electromasters and the boy rumored to be capable of defeating her with nothing but his right hand."
"Of course, we know the truth about the one known as Touma Kamijou," the first man added, "We were fortunate to be able to retrieve such top-secret information from the Data Bank. To think such a unique specimen has been hidden from this city."
"You would think they would have better security for something so secretive. It's amazing we learned so much undetected," the second man mused, "Touma Kamijou, the Imagine Breaker. Let us see if your right hand can match our creation."
Unknown to the group, they did not manage to steal such intel without tripping any alarms. In actuality, they were being observed at that very moment, their conversation audible to Academy City's General Superintendent, Aleister Crowley. In truth, the head of Academy City simply saw no reason to intervein. After all, the group known as STUDY only managed to steal the most basic information on Imagine Breaker.
Besides, Aleister knew this group of overzealous researchers would be of no consequence in the long run. After all, they made the mistake of involving both children of the Kamijou line in their plans without proper preparation. Their fates were already sealed.
After a long day investigation, the members of Judgement Branch 177 found themselves rather exhausted. Unfortunately, their searched yielded no results whatsoever, leaving both Judgement and Anti-Skill stumped as to what caused the most recent incident.
"I really don't like this," Touma pondered, "Something caused those robots to malfunction, but what?"
"Come to think of it, we don't know what caused the traffic signal problem the other day either," Kuroko pointed out.
"A brash of mysterious mechanical trouble," Uiharu mused, "Sounds like a story Saten would love to hear."
"Tell me about it," Kuroko replied, mildly exasperated.
"Hey, do you three have some time?" Konori suddenly asked.
"What for?" Touma inquired in response.
The next thing the group knew, they had all gathered in front of a local bathhouse. As per Konori's suggestion, the group of friends came to the bathhouse to relax after all the excitement they dealt with that day. Apparently, it was also Febri's first time going into a bathhouse, so it was a perfect opportunity to make memories before she moved into Asunaro Park. Sadly, Kuroko was a bit too passionate about the chance to go into a bathhouse with everyone, earning her a punch on the head from Mikoto, prompting the rest of the group to leave her behind outside.
Upon entering the bathhouse, the group was greeted by two familiar faces. For Touma in particular, they were both a blessing and a curse, given his current situation.
"Hey Kami," Tsuchimikado greeted with a grin, "Didn't expect to see you here."
"Tsuchimikado? Aogami?" Touma asked in surprise, "What are you two doing here?"
"Have ever worn one of those mascot costumes? You build up a sweet real fast when you're in one of those things," the blue haired boy replied.
"And I tagged along since you don't just go to a bathhouse on your own," Tsuchimikado added, "It's a social experience! You can't just go by yourself! You always have to bring a plus one!"
"Mascot costume?" Mikoto inquired, not quite following the conversation.
"Aogami was actually working at the Academic Reach venue we visited today," Touma explained, "He was dressed in a Gekota costume to help promote some experiment involving frogs."
As Touma explained the circumstances behind Aogami's employment, Saten felt Febri hug her leg a bit tighter than usual.
"Something wrong, sweetie?" Saten asked, "You don't have to be afraid. Tsuchimikado and Aogami might look scary, but they're actually really nice people."
"I don't think that's the issue here," Touma said with a stiff laugh, "Febri actually already met Aogami. She apparently saw him take off his Gekota head. If I head to guess, that's probably the reason she got lost in the first place. Actually, it was thanks to him that I managed to track down Febri as quickly as I did."
"Speaking of which, you have that dirty magazine you promised me?" Aogami asked, much to Touma's displeasure.
"Dirty magazine?" Index glared, "Touma, you're not indulging in lustful materials, are you?"
"Oh wow, look at the time! We better get into the baths before it gets too late to really enjoy it!" Touma cried in a panic, pushing the rest of the Delta Force towards the men's bath, "I'll see you girls once we finish up!"
Once safely in the men's bath, Touma took the opportunity to relax. Unfortunately, his friends had other plans in store for him. The entire time they were together, Tsuchimikado and Aogami made it their goal to make as many jabs about Touma constantly being surrounded by girls as possible. They talked none stop about how he essentially had a harem and how he should just choose a girl already so that the rest of the female population could be taken by the likes of lonely men like themselves. To make matters worse, the men's and women's baths were separated by a single wall that didn't reach all the way up to the ceiling, so the girls could hear everything the boys said, and vice versa.
"Seriously Kami, just pick a girl already!" Aogami complained, "You're constantly surrounded by all types and genres of girls, so you have no excuse for not having someone that fits your preferences."
"I mean, come on, look at the girls with you right now!" Tsuchimokado pointed out, "Seven girls total, one's a loli, four are middle schoolers, one's a little sister figure, and the last one's our age! Among them there are high level Espers, computer experts, nuns, law enforcers, wild partiers, rumor hunters, and masochist lesbians! There is so much variety there!"
"Can you please not talk about them like that when they're right there!" Touma yelled, pointing towards to wall dividing the baths.
"Ah, let them talk, Kamijou," Saten insisted from the other side of the wall, "It's actually kind of flattering."
"I'm pretty sure you're the only one that thanks that, Flipper," Touma moaned.
On the bright side, the incomplete wall meant that Touma was still able to converse with the girls and could hear Mikoto and Febri making progress with their newly developed friendship. The middle school girl even went as far as to officially concede the Pink Gekota Finger Puppet to the smaller girl. Another plus was the ability to soap and shampoo whenever one side had run out, though this also led to inevitable slip-ups on Touma's part, causing him to fall over and receive multiple head injuries.
Strangely enough though, Touma had yet to hear a word form Kuroko. Considering is was a shared women's bath, he would have expected her to be all over Mikoto by then. Even when the girls were all soaking in the tub and washing each other's backs, there was not a peep from the Teleporter.
"Hey, did you boys know the men's and women's sides of the bath are totally connected by the central tub?" Saten suddenly called out.
"Saten, why would you tell them that?!" Uiharu reprimanded.
"You might be able to see stuff under water," Saten continued, "Or maybe you'll even manage to swim over."
"Don't encourage them!" Touma yelled.
"For the sake of our manhood, we must do this!" Tsuchimikado declared, standing up from the tub the Delta Force were soaking in, "We must do whatever we can to surpass Kami!"
"Aye sir!" Aogami cried in agreement, "I will follow you anywhere, Siscon Sargent."
While Touma was not willing to tempt fate, the other members of the Delta Force were all too happy to try. On the other side of the bathhouse wall and central tub was a room full of naked girls, including a high school girl their age with one of the most impressive busts they've seen in a while. To not make an attempt to reach that paradise would be blasphemy.
Thus, like true idiots, they dived straight into the central tub that feed into both sides of the bathhouse.
"Dive challenge!" the two boys cried as the dived straight into the pull.
Unfortunately, they failed to realize that the central pool was filled with the hottest water in all of the bathhouse and jumped straight out, screaming in pain.
"They keep us separate by supply all the hot water right there!" Aogmai screamed as he poured kiloliters of ice-cold water over his head.
"Let's freeze our heads so we can take the pain!" Tsuchimikado suggested, doing the same thing.
"Dive challenge number two!" the boy cried out as they attempted another dive.
Sadly, the result was exactly the same as before, only this time the two boys suffered reddening from their burns.
"I can't believe they fell for it!" Saten laughed.
"Figures she was trying to goad us," Touma sighed.
As the sun began to go down, the group departed from the bathhouse, completely refreshed. Even Tsuchimikado and Aogami felt pretty good despite the injuries they acquired from their misguided attempt at peeping. The only person not refreshed as Kuroko, who apparently got caught up helping the Tokiwodai Dorm Manager, who was also visiting the bathhouse.
"Well, that was certainly relaxing," Mikoto sighed happily.
"Could have gone without the shenanigans," Touma complained, taking a sip of his soda.
"Come on, you loved it as much as we did," Saten encouraged.
"I'm pretty sure you're the only who enjoyed that, Ruiko," Index snarked.
"I'm inclined to agree," Uiharu added.
Suddenly, Touma began choking on his soda can. Acting quickly, Konori got behind her subordinate and performed a Heimlich Maneuver. After three thrusts into Touma diaphragm, he spat out something small and pink on to the ground.
"Are you okay?" Konori asked, concerned for the choking victim's health.
"Y-yeah. I'm fine. I-it's just," Touma stammered.
"Just what?" Konori inquired.
"They're… touching me…," Touma answered reluctantly.
Looking down, Konori realized that she was still latched on to Touma with her ample chest pressed against his back. With a slight shriek, she left go of the boy stepped away, hiding her chest in in her arms.
"S-sorry about that," Konori stuttered, blushing slightly.
"Don't worry about it," Touma replied with a blush of his own, earning a glare from Mikoto, "Thanks for the save."
"Damn you Kami," Aogami and Tsuchimikado growled under their breaths.
"What were you even choking on?" Mikoto asked, bending down to get a closer look.
Joining her on the ground, Touma picked up the pink object he spit out by the tips of his fingers. Upon closer inspection, both students instantly recognized it.
"A Pink Gekota Finger Puppet!" Mikoto squealed, "You got the one in twenty cans finger puppet!"
"Guess I just found you a replacement," Touma chuckled, not appreciating the painful method in which he won the toy.
"It's this great, Febri, now be both have a Pink Gekota!" Mikoto cheered.
"Yay! Gekota!" the little girl beamed.
"Simply adorable," Uiharu mused.
Taking the new finger puppet to a nearby water fountain, Touma washed the Gekota off before wiping it clean. Once he was sure it was presentable, he handed the frog to Mikoto, who graciously accepted it.
"Well, I have a little sister waiting for me at home, so I'll be taking my leave," Tsuchimikado said with a wave as he walked off.
"I have to get going too," Aogmai said as he walked off in another direction, "Got to get to a certain maid café before they close. See you later, Kami."
"I better getting going too. I'll be heading this way," Konori spoke up, pointing down the road.
"Mind if I join you? My place is actually that way too," Touma asked.
"I don't see why not," Konori agreed, "We'll see the rest of you tomorrow, okay?"
"Sounds good," Uiharu replied, "See you two later."
"Have a good night! See ya!" Saten and Mikoto added.
As the two high schoolers walked away, Touma could have sworn he heard Kuroko moaning about a lost paradise that rightfully belonged to her.
"We've had a pretty big day today. Huh?" Konori mused.
"Tell me about it," Touma moaned, "First the Security Meeting, then those Security Robots go haywire for no apparent reason, and then I nearly choked to death. I'm telling you, that's my rotten luck at its finest right there!"
"Well, at least everything turned out alright in the end," Konori pointed out, "Thanks for all your hard work today."
"Just doing my job," Touma replied, "I should be thanking you for putting up with me and my rotten luck."
"Come on, don't say that," the Judgement Chief encouraged, punching the boy playfully, "You're one of the most promising officers to join recently. You're help in the Level Upper and Poltergeist cases was invaluable."
"Honestly, it feels like they would have turned out just fine even if I didn't get involved," Touma shrugged.
"Even if your help wasn't needed, I still appreciate having you on the team."
"Glad to know I'm appreciated."
As the pair of high school students continued their way through the streets of Academy City, they found themselves taking a awful lot of detours. For some reason, there were detour signs everywhere they went, limiting them to a single possible. What was particularly strange was that the detours eventually lead to a dead end in an unoccupied construction site filled with oil barrels and wooden shipping crates. Unbeknownst to either of them, they were being followed by a single black van with tinted windows.
"Okay, this doesn't make sense," Konori pondered, "Last time I check, detour signs were supposed to lead you away from dead ends, not towards them."
"Maybe we took a wrong turn somewhere," Touma suggested.
Pulling out his phone, Touma tried to check his GPS to see in they took a wrong turn somewhere. However, he instead found a large number of missed calls from Kongou, most likely made while he and the girls were all in the bathhouse.
Touma tried to return one of the calls to ask what the occasionally airheaded Level 4 was so desperate to talk about, but he stopped when he noticed something odd about his surroundings. From the far side of the construction site, just beyond a stack of empty oil barrels, he could hear the sound of humming, like an engine or motor revving up to go. The sound was also getting loud, meaning either the source was getting closer, more powerful, or both. With these signs in mind, Touma quickly took action in response to the impending danger.
"Get down!" Touma yelled, tackling the girl next to him a few meters away from where they were originally standing.
No sooner after he did, a green Powered Suit crashed through the stack of oil barrels before running straight through were the two high school students had been standing. Had Touma not reacted accordingly, they might have been roadkill.
Realizing that they had a fight coming, Touma immediately picked himself off the ground and attempted to activate his ODD. However, his trusted weapon of choice did respond to his thoughts and remained in its collapsed Standby Mode. Checking the apparatus on his wrist, Touma realized that, for some reason, the was no signal exchange of between ODD and its neuro link apparatus. To make matters worse, he couldn't connect to the Disciplinary Committee Network with it either, so calling for Judgement or Anti-Skill through it was impossible.
"Rotten luck! Of all the times to malfunction!" Touma moaned, putting his weapon away, "Chief, I'm going to lead it away! Meanwhile, you contact Anti-Skill!"
"Wait, Kamijou!" Konori cried out, but was ignored as the boy ran off.
Picking up a random stone off the ground, Touma threw the rock at the Powered Suit in an attempt to gain the pilot's attention. When the stone hit, the Powered Suit didn't even flinch, but it still directed its attention solely on Touma. As the mechanical suit gave chase, Touma quickly climbed up a stack of nearby crates to get away. While Powered Suits can be pretty mobile on level ground thanks to having motors in the soles of their feet, they were terrible with lateral movement.
Unfortunately, the pilot of this particular Powered Suit didn't seem to care for lateral movement. Instead of working around an uneven playing field, they opted to completely flatten it. With its heavy weight crowbar and bulky frame, the Powered Suit tore apart the crates that Touma had escaped on top off, slowly but surely stripping Touma of his high ground.
"Any chance Anti-Skill is on their way?" Touma called out, slightly panicked.
"No good! I can't get a signal!" Konori replied, tossing a stone of her own to try to draw the Powered Suit away.
For some reason, the pilot didn't notice the stone hit the suit. It just kept smashing away at the crates like nothing else mattered. It was as if Touma was its only target.
Soon enough, the crates had taken too much damage and gave way. Touma's high ground collapsed, spilling out its supply of pipes. With a less than graceful PK roll, Touma managed to land safely on the ground and still keep some distance between him and the hostile machine. Now on the ground, he acted quickly and grabbed one of the many two-meter steel pipes scattered across the ground. While it was no Omni Defense Device, the pipe would surely make for a useful weapon.
Charging at Touma once again, the Powered Suit raised its heavy-duty crowbar over its headpiece before bringing it down on its target. Quickly adapting to the differently distributed weight of the pipe, Touma barely managed to parry the strike, using the shaft of his pipe to redirect the momentum of the falling crowbar. Touma repeated the process with each subsequent, stepping back with each strike and barely managing to maintain his defense. Even though he now had a tool that could potentially punch through the large visor, Touma didn't dare attempt it out of fear of harming the pilot.
'What's with this guy? Why is he only attacking me?' Touma asked himself in he head as he was slowly backed into a corner, 'Chief threw a rock at the suit too, so why didn't it react when it had a much easier target? Unless…'
Thinking back to what Shizuri had told him before about one of her bust jobs, there existed Powered Suits that could be controlled remotely and didn't need to have a pilot inside. If this was indeed the case, then there might not be a reason for him to worry about hurting anyone.
"Chief!" Touma called out, "I need you to use your Clairvoyance to check the inside of the suit! Is there anyone inside?!"
"What? Why do you need to know that?" Konori asked in response, not entirely sure what Touma was planning.
"Just do it! Hurry!" the misfortunate boy pled.
Although still unsure of her coworker's plan, Konori did as she was requested. Looking into the depths of the Powered Suit, she was more than a bit surprised at what she found.
"It's completely empty!" the Judgement chief reported, "No pilot, and no batteries either!"
"So, it's the same as the Security Robots, huh?" Touma mused, quickly formulating a plan.
Just before he got pinned into a corner, Touma quickly rolled to his right, barely dodging the Powered Suit's crowbar as it drove itself into the ground. Using the few seconds the Powered Suit took to pull it's crowbar out, Touma quickly ran over to one of the scattered barrels and stood it upright. As soon as the Powered Suit was focused on him again, Touma positioned himself so he was to the left of the barrel and slightly behind it. With his pipe staff in hand, it was time for Touma to test his bull fighting.
With its target in sight, the metaphorical bull that was the rouge Powered Suit charged at the red cape that was Touma Kamijou. Just before the rouge piece of hardware would have run him over, the high school boy sidestepped to his right and orbited about the barrel. With everything aligned, Touma jumped off the barrel for a boost and cleared the height of the Powered Suit. By the time the suit turned around, Touma drove his pipe staff through the visor, using his own weight to increase the force of the impact, hoping to knock out the suit's systems.
Sadly, Touma's plan failed at the most crucial step. While the pipe did pierce through to the lowest level of the Powered Suit, the machine remained functional, leaving Touma dangling from the suit as it thrashed violently to reached him. In an attempt to stay on and maybe pump the pipe to do further damage to the internal systems, Touma gripped the rim of the headpiece with his right hand. However, as soon as he did, Imagine Breaker reacted, ringing out its signature chime of shattering glass. Next thing Touma knew, the suit stopped moving. Its limbs went limp and it collapsed in on itself, falling backward in a heap of metal. At the top of that heap was Touma Kamijou, completely lost as to what just happened.
"What the hell?" Touma asked himself, unsure of what just transpired.
"Kamijou, are you okay?!" Konori cried, quickly running over to her comrade.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Touma said as he got up, "Just really confused."
At the same time that Touma took his right hand off of the Powered Suit, the black van that had been following the pair of Judgement Officers up until then pulled away. Once the van was gone, Touma receive a notification from his ODD's neuro link apparatus. All network connections had been restored. The same applied to Touma and Konori's cell phones.
"Of course it decided to start working after the action is over," Touma moaned.
"Has that ever happened before?" Konori asked.
"No," Touma replied, "That's the strange part. It's worked perfectly fine since the day I got the first prototype."
"Any idea what this Powered Suit was doing here and why it attacked us?" the chief inquired.
"No clue. The most I can figure out is that this thing was specifically targeting me and something supernatural was responsible. It didn't even seem to notice you, Chief, and my right hand made it stop," Touma admitted, kneeling down to inspect the fallen machine, "Could it have been a Technopath?"
"Unlikely," Konori replied, debunking Touma's theory, "While Technopaths can manipulate technology from a distance if they are a high enough level, they still need that technology to be in working order in the first place. This Powered Suit didn't have any power source."
"Better report this to Anti-Skill then," Touma suggested, "This might shed some light on what happened with the Security Robots earlier today."
"Already on it," Konori reported, already dialing for Anti-Skill on her phone.
While Konori was making the call, Touma continued to perform a primary investigation of the Powered Suit. As per Judgement protocol, he was not allowed to touch the evidence without Anti-Skill supervision in the event it was contaminated. Considering his luck, it was probably for the best regardless. Still, this meant he could not look in the interior of the suit to look for evidence since that would entail opening it up after it had been disabled. Anti-Skill was the only group with authorization to do so, so Touma was left with nothing to do but analyze what was immediately visible. However, before he got the chance to really get into the search, he heard two familiar female voices calling out his name.
"Kamijou!" the voices cried out.
Turning around, Touma saw Kongou's friends, Wannai and Awatsuki, running towards him. They both looked to be out of breath, as if they had been running around the city for a while.
"Thank goodness we found you," Wannai panted, out of breath.
"Hey Wannai, Awatsuki," Touma greeted, getting off the ground, "Is there something you needed from me?"
"We need to tell you something important. It's about Febri," Awatsuki explained, panicked, "Do you know where she is now?"
"Whoa, easy there! She's with Mikoto and the others," Touma replied, "Why? What's wrong with Febri?"
Before Touma could get an answered out of the two Tokiwodai girls, he got a call from Mikoto. Quickly picking up the phone, he asked what was so important for her to call him now of all times. Unfortunately, it was not good news in the slightest. Febri had collapsed and was sent to the hospital.
"Excellent. We now know that our work can hold its own nicely against Railgun and her ability," Shunichi Kosako of STUDY reported, going over the recently recorded data, "Though, it would have been preferable if our machine made it through the experiment in better shape."
"Well, we all take risks in the name of greater knowledge," fellow STUDY member Kenji Madarame remarked.
"It's too bad the same thing cannot be said about the trial conducted on Touma Kamijou, who managed to best our work with the use of his right hand," Jun Sakurai mused, "Still, today's data has ensured that the program will be even more accurate."
"It's actually a good thing that the third ranked and compatriots interfered," Hirotada Sekimura concluded."
"Today's experiments have demonstrated something vital," The leader of STUDY, Haruki Aritomi pointed out, standing up from his seat at the head of the table, "The fact that even those Espers who possess the strongest abilities are vulnerable to attack. And while our work was not able to best Touma Kamijou, the experiment has shown that no Esper is truly invincible against the power known as Imagine Breaker. Academy City's inconsistency will be exposed. Now, my friends, its time to call a vote concerning Febri's disposition."
While most of STUDY was more than happy to continue their work, one member in particular was not. Sitting opposite from Aritomi sat one Shinobu Nunotaba, wearing her usual passive expression.
When Touma, Wannai, and Awatsuki arrived at Heaven Canceller's hospital, they were greeted by the sight of Mikoto, Kuroko, Saten, Uiharu, Index, and Kongou. After getting a call from Mikoto regarding Febri's condition, Touma entrusted Konori to handle the report to Anti-Skill while he and the girls rushed to the hospital to check on Febri. When Wannai and Awatsuki heard the news, the quickly contacted Kongou, who had been with Mikoto's group at the time. Since everyone had business with everyone else concerning Febri, they all decided to meet at the hospital to get everything settled.
"How is she?" Touma asked as he approached.
"Last we saw her, she was still unconscious, and her fever was getting worse," Saten explained.
"How did this happen?" Touma inquired, continuing his investigation.
"We don't know," Kuroko admitted, "Anti-Skill is investigating now, but we haven't found any leads so far."
"All we know is that an unpiloted Powered Suit with no power source attacked Misaka, there was no record of it on the security cameras, our phones wouldn't work at the time, and Febri collapsed soon after," Uiharu explained.
"Wait, you too?" Touma asked in shock.
"What do you mean 'you too'?" Mikoto asked in response.
"Chief and I got attacked by a Powered Suit in the exact same way," Touma explained, "It was solely targeting me, and I couldn't even use my ODD because of it. Thankfully, I was able to improvise some weapons and stop it with Imagine Breaker, At the very least, we know the cause is supernatural."
"Well, that's good to know," Mikoto pondered, placing her hand on her chin.
"Excuse me? Care to fill us in on what you're all talking about?" Kongou requested, not appreciating her and her friends being left out of the conversation.
"Never mind that right now," Mikoto insisted, "You said you had something to tell us, Kongou? The reason for all of those calls?"
"Oh, yes! I nearly forgot! We believe sweet Febri may be in danger," Kongou revealed.
"What?" Touma asked, "In danger how?"
"At the Reach Assembly, we ran into the man that insulted Kongou and was told off by Kamijou the other day," Awatsuki explained.
"Awatsuki and I wanted give him a piece of our minds, so we followed him," Wannai continued, "However, we overheard him mention Febri on the phone, apparently having attempted to take her earlier today, treating her like some sort of mission objective."
"That guy wanted Febri?" Mikoto asked, shocked by what she heard.
"Yes. We tried to call you before, but we couldn't reach any of you," Kongou explained, "So, we decided to split up and search the city for you, and as luck would have it, we managed to find all of you at around the same time."
"Sounds almost contrived when you put it like that," Index noted, "Like something an author would write as a convenient way for everyone to meet together."
"Regardless, thanks for telling us," Touma said with a slight bow, "We truly are grateful."
"Oh no, no thanks are necessary," Kongou insisted, shielding her face behind her fan.
"Well, it's getting pretty late," Wannai noted, "We better get going."
"Is it that late already?" Awatsuki asked, checking the time on her phone.
"Is that so?" Kongou inquired, sounding rather disappointed, "We're terribly sorry to leave you all, but we must go now. You'll keep us updated if anything happens to Febri, right? After everything that's happened, we're all Febri's friends, aren't we?"
"Yes, we are," Mikoto agreed with a nod, "We'll be sure to tell you if anything important comes up."
Reassured that they would be kept informed, Kongou, Wannai, and Awatsuki left the hospital for the night. After hearing the news that the three Tokiwodai girls provided, no one in the group could get a clear grasp of what was happening. Febri was a target and was being treated like some sort of object. It was hard to believe that anyone could be so cold to such a sweet little girl.
The group waited the whole night in the hospital for Febri to get better. They were so worried for the little girl that the likes of Mikoto and Kuroko didn't care if they got punished for being out past curfew. Febri's health was by far the bigger concern. Soon enough, exhaustion got the better of them, causing the girls to fall asleep where they sat at once bench and Touma to fall asleep just behind them.
The next morning, Touma woke up to the sensation of sunlight on his eyelids. Stirring from his slumber, he looked around to get his bearings. Among the first things he saw as he arose from his slumber was an annoyed face he did not see much of over the last couple of days.
"I finally get some free time and come home, only to find that you spent the night in the hospital with several girls," the owner of the face sighed, "Why am I not surprised?"
"Sis!" Touma jumped upon recognizing the face, slamming his head in to the back of Mikoto's head, waking her and the rest of the girls up.
"Ow! Watch it, idiot!" Mikoto complained as she rubbed her head, barely registering the fact that Shizuri was present.
"Good to see you too," Shizuri replied, "Care to explain why you spent the night at a hospital when you're not even injured."
"T-that's a bit of a long story," Touma chuckled a humorless chuckle.
Before the unfortunate younger brother could explain the situation, the doctor known as Heaven Canceller exited Febri's room. Greeting the visitors, he invited them all, Shizuri included, to come she what had become of his most recent patient.
Entering the hospital room, the group was overjoyed to find that Febri was completely back to normal. She didn't appear to be suffering any of the ailments she had the other day and was back to talking to her Gekota Finger Puppet. Upon seeing the little girl in the hospital bed, Shizuri instantly understood what the story was. After all, it wasn't too hard to figure out when Touma was involved.
While most of the group was checking up with Febri, the doctor suggested that Shizuri go introduce herself to the young girl while he spoke with Mikoto and Touma in private outside the room. Seeing no harm in it beyond leaving her brother with the Railgun, Shizuri agreed, letting the frog-faced doctor discuss his matter with the two oldest students.
"Doctor, we'd like to thank you for all your help," Mikoto said with a bow.
"Seriously, you are a genuine miracle worker," Touma complemented with his own bow.
"Please, I didn't actually do anything," the doctor insisted, throwing both students for a loop.
"Huh?" both students replied.
"I'm sorry, but helping her is beyond my capabilities," Heaven Canceller explained sadly.
"What? Is it really that bad?" Mikoto asked in horror.
"Come on, doc. Surely there's something you can do," Touma begged.
"No, sadly. If it were some human illness, I'm sure I could. But the fact is, she's not human," the doctor revealed, much to Touma and Mikoto's confusion, "The girl has been scientifically engineered. She's a construction."
Special End Card Segment: Animan Temple
"Welcome back to the Animan Temple! I'm your host, Animan von Elysium X!" the master of the temple greeted with gusto, "And with me is my every faithful assistant, Priestess Number 1, Aisa Himegami."
"Thank you for your unyielding support," the high school priestess said with a bow.
"Over 1000 reviews! Can you believe it, Himegami?" Animan asked with a massive grin on his face.
"Too bad it had to happen during the worst arc in the entire series," Himegami deadpanned.
"...Still on that, huh?"
"Well, at least it's starting to look better," the hime cut wearing girl admitted, "The fight between Kamijou and the Powered Suit was nice, and it was definitely one of your better choreographed fights."
"I thought all my fights were well choreographed."
"Keep telling yourself that, Master."
"Ouch," Animan cried, feeling like he just had his own sword run through his chest.
"We'll see you all next time for the next chapter, 'Into the Darkness'," Priestess Number 1 said with a wave.
"See you..." Animan said weakly.