The next morning, Kamijou arrived earlier than usual; he was scheduled to give a lecture to the freshmen at the request of the headmistress. He didn't particularly want to go, as he would have to kill about two hours until the next event.
— What a drag... - he sighed.
As he walked through the corridors, he often felt curious gazes upon him. It wasn't that it was such a problem; he had already come to terms with being the center of female attention. But this time, something felt off.
Some girls smiled at him oddly, while others deliberately averted their gaze, and a few emanated a strange dark aura.
— What on earth is this reaction? - he kept muttering to himself.
He paused at one of the junctions upon overhearing an interesting conversation.
— ...Did you hear about yesterday? - one girl asked.
— - Yeah, and darn, I'm so jealous! Why did it have to be her? - another groaned.
— Do you think if I twisted my ankle too, he would carry me to the infirmary like that?- a third girl inquired.
— No way! You won't be able to if I do it first!
— What did you just say?! Kihara-sensei is mine!
— Not in this lifetime!
The conversation took a dangerous turn, prompting Toma to decide to move on, as he had no intention of meddling in their squabbles.
— Well, well... It looks like our visit yesterday didn't go unnoticed. I suspected something like this would happen; or would it be naive to think we wouldn't be seen? But that rumors spread so quickly? What am I even surprised about? They're girls, after all; such things are hardwired into them... - Touma mused as he finally reached the classroom.
As soon as he opened the door, a flash of light blinded him for a moment, followed by a crackle of electricity.
When he opened his eyes, he was met with a rather intriguing sight: a girl with red hair lying on the floor, emanating a faint wisp of smoke. The most unsettling part was her depraved grin, which made Kamijou shudder. Not far from her stood a girl with short chestnut hair, from whom sparks of electricity kept bouncing off.
— Hey, you, - Touma called to her, - What do you think you're doing?
Upon hearing an unfamiliar, especially male voice, she turned to face him.
— Huh? W-who are you? And why is a guy here? - she stared at him in surprise, - And I'm not 'you', my name is Misaka Mikoto!
— Great, now I know who to report to the Disciplinary Committee...
— The Disciplinary Committee? B-but why?!
— You used your ability in class, specifically on a classmate, and you're asking questions? - It was Touma's turn to be surprised.
— I-it was an accident! I just subconsciously used it; the charge was weak, and she'll wake up in a couple of minutes! If she hadn't tried to peek into...
At that point, she began to spark again, but Touma preemptively sent an Anti-AIM wave, which immediately shut down her power.
— Wait, why am I even justifying myself? Who are you to interrogate me?! - Misaka retorted.
— My name is Kihara Arima, and I'm your substitute teacher today. And don't get off-topic... By the way, seems no one thought it necessary to check on her, - he shot a reproachful glance at the other girls.
— Well... It's just that this happens often; Shirai-san and Misaka-san practically do this every day, so we don't pay much attention anymore, - one of the students awkwardly replied.
— Ha-a... You've got quite the lively class, - Touma sighed, - Truly a 'bundle of trouble'... - he added, glancing at Misaka, who seemed lost in her own thoughts.
— Okay, I hope no one else has any unresolved questions or grievances regarding skirts? No? Great... Let's get started... - he said, gearing up for the lecture, - And for heaven's sake, bring Shirai-san back to her senses!...
As the lecture progressed, Misaka Mikoto couldn't shake the strange sensation she had experienced. At one moment, it felt as if a chill had run through her, after which she temporarily lost feeling in her abilities. She was convinced their teacher was responsible, but she couldn't grasp how he had managed to suppress a Level 5 ability without doing anything. These questions gnawed at her, and she mentally noted to learn more about him...
***
An hour and a half later, Touma finally finished and left the classroom, wanting some fresh air. For some reason, he wasn't in the best of spirits. A strange, oppressive feeling had lingered since morning, as if something was about to happen, but he couldn't quite figure out what.
Sitting on a bench in the shade of the trees, he kept returning to thoughts of yesterday. The overwhelming amount of female presence had been a bit... off-putting. Although, it was more about the girl in the crimson dress than the blonde with starry eyes.
More and more often, Kamijou found himself thinking that he enjoyed spending time with that girl much more. Yes, she had flaws, like overconfidence and stubbornness, but considering who she was, that hardly came as a surprise. He was sure that most girls at this school could be found with similar shortcomings.
But aside from that, she was generally a pleasant girl. Cute, especially when she blushed, cheerful, always smiling, and capable of helping others. Take yesterday, for instance; yes, she had gotten herself into trouble, but the important thing was the fact itself. She had acted, instead of just relying on her powers to coerce someone. It may seem trivial, but such small things formed an impression. If he overlooked her easily fixable flaws, she was quite a good girl...
— Ugh, when did I start seeing her in this light? - he shook his head.
— In what light? - he heard a familiar voice nearby.
Mentally cursing, he turned his head and saw the blonde, who seemed to have magically materialized from his thoughts.
— So, who are you seeing in what light? - she repeated her question.
— Just a girl who's apparently a notorious truant, - Kamijou smirked.
— Well... It's gym class right now, so I decided to spend my time a bit more productively, - Misaki replied, looking away.
— So, skipping class?
— Well, yes! Are you happy now? - she puffed up.
— Mixed feelings... Are you sure it's wise to say that to a teacher? And won't there be problems because you're sitting here with me so sweetly? I've had enough of yesterday's rumors...
— Mmm, so you're already in the loop?" - For a moment, her smile waned; apparently, she felt a little embarrassed about it, - Sorry if this caused you any issues. I should have anticipated something like this happening... - she said, lowering her head.
— Come on, it was my idea, so the consequences are on me... But if it makes you feel better, let's agree that we're both at fault, - he smiled, reaching out to pet her head.
— Hey, I'm not a cat! - she protested, but more for show than anything else.
— By the way, Touma...
— Hmm? What's up?
— "Are you free today?"
— Well, aside from my lecture in an hour, yes, I'm free... - he replied after thinking for a moment.
— I was thinking, maybe we could go somewhere again? - she asked in a strange tone.
— Are you asking me out on a date? - he smirked, bracing for her to blush and start denying it.
But her reaction surprised him a bit.
— And if I am, would you refuse? - she asked, looking him straight in the eyes.
Her answer slightly threw him off balance. Misaki had always been quite confident, but in matters of romance, all that confidence seemed to deflate like a balloon. But it seemed that now the balloon had transformed into a ticking time bomb...
— Uh... No... I'm not against it, - he stretched out, trying not to show that he was slightly flustered.
— So is that a 'yes' or a 'no'? - she pressed.
— Yes, I agree. No need to insist so much, - he raised his hands in peaceful surrender.
— That's good to hear, - she smiled, - Then let's meet at the exit after your lecture, okay?
— Okay, - he smiled back.
***
After making plans with Touma, Misaki headed off to her classes. However, she barely paid attention to them now. All her thoughts were occupied with her prince. And not all of them were cheerful.
Last night, she had contacted someone to dig up information about her prince, both of his alter egos, and that girl – Kaibi. She wasn't particularly comfortable prying into her chosen one's past, but she consoled herself with the thought that it was normal to want to know everything about her future boyfriend.
Unfortunately, the result was completely unexpected.
Her informant, who was also one of the best hackers in Academy City, had reached out to her just about an hour ago, and he was not in the best mood...
He was able to learn very little about that girl. Her name was Goukusai Kaibi, she was 17 years old, officially studying at the Hekiyo Academy, while also working as a singer in one of the clubs in District 11. She was a Level 3 esper, but neither her abilities nor anything else was documented.
The dossier on Kihara Arima turned out to be perhaps the most disappointing. Aside from information that could be obtained through official means, there was nothing else.
However, the dossier on Kamijou Toma was the most unexpected... The surprise was that aside from the most standard details, everything else was classified.
In general, all the dossiers had varying levels of secrecy, but his was coded like those of Level 5 espers or members of the Board of Directors...
But the most shocking part was that just five minutes after his attempt to hack the code, armed thugs broke into his apartment, quickly pinning him to the floor before giving him a "chatting session"...
He shared all of this with her without holding back his words. After that, he cursed them all and told them not to call him again.
The entire situation seemed almost insane... To break in and interrogate someone over a single dossier? And considering how quickly they tracked him down, the security was simply unimaginable, which meant the value of the information was truly staggering.
— Who are you, my prince? What is it about you that people from the heights and depths of this city so fiercely guard every shred of knowledge about you? Who are you? Scientist Kihara Arima? The possessor of the inexplicable power Kamijou Toma? Both? Or neither? — Misaki thought frantically, literally going crazy from all these intrigues.
But... who was she to judge him? How was she different from him? Her past concealed plenty of darkness and dirt; lies had literally become part of her nature, she was used to living with a false smile and toying with the minds of others, rarely caring about the consequences...
These thoughts led to others, even darker. Did she deserve this? After everything that had happened? Yes, perhaps he was hiding a lot from her too, but who was she to him for him to bare his soul? They had known each other for only a month, mostly seeing each other within the school walls, having only gone out a couple of times. Yes, they enjoyed each other's company, but that hardly made them anything more than friends.
— No... I shouldn't think like this! Once before, I almost let my despair break me, and he was there, able to help me, even though he wasn't obligated to, especially after everything I said and did...
Just look inside yourself and do what helps you to be happier...
— That's what you said... And now, I'm going to follow your advice."
***
A few hours later.
Streets of Academy City.
Misaki and Touma were leisurely walking through the streets of the city, chatting casually. However, both found themselves in a strange state of anticipation, both sensing that something ominous was on the horizon, yet they were trying their hardest to shove that feeling down deep within their souls.
For a moment, Toma stopped; his intuition was literally screaming danger, and he decided now was the time to stop ignoring it. He heard a whistling sound, far too familiar for him to not recognize it amidst a thousand noises.
A heat-seeking missile!
There was no cover nearby, dodging was impossible; only...
— There's no choice... — he thought just before he spoke — Misaaki... - he said, just before hearing the familiar sound — ...get down!
Misaaki opened her mouth to argue, but upon seeing his gaze, she immediately crouched down and covered her head with her hands...
A moment later, a missile crashed into the same spot, shaking the ground, shattering windows, and scattering everyone around.
People clad in power suits sprang out from corners and above, some with additional limbs or missile launchers strapped to their backs. Within seconds, they had surrounded the attack site.
— Did it work?
— I'm not sure; let's see.
— Who was that guy next to her?
— It doesn't matter now; may he rest in peace.
— I would argue with you here... — came a voice from the smoke.
The smoke suddenly cleared with a gust of wind, revealing two standing teenagers. The ground around them was melted, but the spot where they stood was intact. Not a crack or sign of impact...
Connection with the Tree of Diagrams established.
ND field synchronization complete.
Scenario RX1 activated.
Charge level 98%.
Shield integrity 100%.
"Damocles" protocol successfully activated.
All these words echoed in Toma's mind. To protect himself and Misaaki, he had to use his power, a force that was opposite to his Barrier Destroyer...
He called it the "Sin Eater"...
— Touma... — Misaki looked at him with shock, struggling to comprehend what was happening.
— How did he survive?
— Good question... Hey, you! How did you withstand a direct hit? — one of them questioned Kamidze.
— Tch, are we in some stupid movie where the villain explains how his power works? — Touma scoffed.
— I'm giving you one chance, walk away and forget everything you've seen. You're not our target; we don't care about you.
— And you think I would do that? Seriously?
— I see... Looks like she's controlling him. Let's make this quick.
— You guys sure have some nerve... Just who the hell do you think you are?
— Nerve? More like it's your case... You're standing there before thirty armed espers and acting like it's a preschool playdate...
— Accepting people who try to preach to me after they blew me up with a missile? More like a bunch of idiots... — Kamidze spat.
— That girl is the reason we all stopped growing, because she controlled us all, at one point or another, with her power; because of her, we can no longer become stronger in this city, she's the reason we call ourselves "DEADLOCK"... Because without her death, we will never be able to move forward.
— Death to her!
— Death to the Level Fives!
Touma almost laughed. Yes, hatred for the stronger was nothing new, but this... This was starting to look like some kind of cult... A very well-equipped cult. Those were definitely power suits, but he could neither determine their model nor their capabilities.
— Your point of view is pathetic... Like any other loser, you blame others for everything. You portray her as the devil incarnate, while you all came here like a pack of jackals, in broad daylight, to cause this whole ruckus just to kill a girl who can't even strike back, and then you preach to me about universal justice?! I understand you're all just a bunch of rejects and fools, but not everyone is as stupid as you...
While Touma and the DEADLOCK member continued their discussion, Misaaki couldn't help but hear the words of that man. Could it be true? Could she really be the reason they were all like this? Misaaki had always been cautious when taking over another person. If someone she controlled died or killed someone, she had to be punished like the one controlling the situation. She always tried to minimize harm... But what if it was pointless?
What if, when controlling countless people, unknowingly, it led them to lose everything, close off their futures, or even to perish?
— In any case... — Touma remarked, — I don't care who you are... And you know what? I don't give a damn if someone controls me or if this feeling comes from my heart... I don't care if these are my thoughts or if they were imposed on me... If it makes me stand here... Makes me want to protect this girl, to safeguard her smile and future... Then I really don't care about the reason. So let's sort this out now and you can move on...
— Move on? To where is this "move on"?
— Well, where do you think? — Toma mimicked, his lips twisting into a maniacal smile, — To the grave, of course... You have nowhere else to go!
— Ha-ha-ha-ha! Well, come on, clown...
But before he could finish, Touma shot at him with supersonic speed, smashing him into the building across the street. The sound of multiple bones snapping echoed, signaling that he would not survive.
A multitude of missiles shot towards them, but all of them changed their trajectory and began to fall right on the attacking members.
Despite their initial confidence, panic ensued among them. Facing such an opponent clearly was not part of their plan.
In that chaos, Misaki tried to help him. Targeting one of them with her control, she wanted to seize him, but nothing happened...
— Does this suit detect psionic influence and switch control to a program? Wait, if that's true, then these suits were specifically designed to kill me! Mental Out is a powerful psionic ability that only works on humans, not machines or animals; something like this couldn't have been randomly programmed... Someone gave them this, someone familiar with how my powers work! — she pondered.
Meanwhile, the fight continued. But it was more of a massacre...
One of them created a massive ice spike and hurled it at Kamidze, but it literally shattered against him, after which he conjured a powerful vortex at over 120 m/s. The air blast literally swept her and several nearby away, while ice shards ruthlessly tore their skin and shredded their armor.
Switching to RX3 scenario. Until completion... 0.7 seconds.
Sparks crackled across Kamijou's body, transforming into lightning. Creating a sphere of electricity in his hands, he launched it at the attacking members of DEADLOCK. It exploded upon meeting several fiery attacks. The electrical energy converted into kinetic energy, resulting in a massive blast that overturned cars in its wake.
Suddenly, several vehicles crashed down where he had been standing, exploding a second later with more force than they should have. One of the members of DEADLOCK, clad in armor with mechanical limbs, watched. With his ability, he had managed to amplify the natural explosion by accelerating the gravitons. But after a couple of seconds, he realized that Toma was no longer there.
- What?! Where did he go!?
- I'll fuck you up, you piece of trash! - he heard a mocking voice above him.
He hovered twenty meters above, after which electricity enveloped his body again and he plunged down, gathering electrons from the air to amplify his charge.
The ground trembled violently; the impact site turned into a pit, at the bottom of which lay a charred mass of flesh, bones, and molten metal.
Switching to RX4 scenario. Until completion... 0.7 seconds.
After a couple of minutes of this slaughter, only six of them remained alive.
- Damn… Damn… How could you… How dare you treat us like this… Damn…! Damn…!- one of them repeated.
- Impossible… This is just impossible! How can one esper possess such power!?
- What's the point of explaining anything... to a corpse? - Touma replied indifferently.
A green sphere appeared in his hands, transforming into a splitting beam of unstable electrons. An instant later, he literally split two of them in half, but the others managed to dodge.
But that hardly saved them...
Next to Touma appeared four more like him, firing beams at the remaining ones. The attack was anticipatory, and they didn't even have time to be scared; their suits exploded, blooming like flashbangs...
- It's over... - he murmured barely audibly.
Then he collapsed to the ground, but not out of exhaustion.
- Toma? - he heard a voice above him.
Raising his head, he saw Misaki standing beside him.
- I'm sorry…
"What?"
- I'm sorry, I have to go, - he replied and tried to stand and leave, but she grabbed his hand and wouldn't let go.
- Well, where do you think you're going? she asked quietly.
- You saw what I did…
Yes, I saw… You saved me, you saved my life.
- Let go…
- Not a chance…
- Please…
- Why do you want this so badly?
"Misaki… You're a smart girl… You've seen how I killed them all, you must already understand that this isn't the first time, not even the twentieth… Yes, right now they were targeting you, but what if next time it's me? My life is filled with these bloodbaths; I don't want all this blood and filth to stain you… It's happened before… and it will happen again… It would be better if you had never met me.
Slap!
Misaki slapped Touma across the face hard enough to leave a mark...
- Shut up… - she said, lowering her head.
- What... - he asked, shocked that she had struck him with such force that he felt pain.
- Do you even know why I was in that forest!? I wanted to erase my memories, forget everything!
- ... - Touma couldn't find a response; he simply was at a loss for words.
- Everything, my entire life has been filled with darkness... And because of my own selfishness, I ultimately let my best friend die in the name of science. After that, I devoted myself to ensuring that it would never happen again, and once I succeeded in that… I felt empty. Nothing remained for me; I had long lost my innocence and stained my hands… I thought that maybe I could get everything back if I just rid myself of all these thoughts. But then I met you. At first, I thought you were just like everyone else, only wanting to use me… But you weren't like that, the only one who genuinely tried to help me, and for a brief moment, I forgot what darkness felt like. After that, I never thought I would see you again, yet here you are… It felt like fate when we met again, and once again, you didn't care who I was or what I had done; you treated me just like anyone else, and in that moment, I really felt happy… You showed me that my way of doing things only causes pain to those close to me, you taught me how to make real friends. You showed me that the world isn't only full of darkness and despair; there's something good in it, something bright and truly kind...
- Stop making nonsense, I didn't do anything like that.
- That's where you're wrong… This past month, though filled with ups and downs, has been the happiest time of my life, and I wouldn't trade it or erase it for anything in the world... Yes, you and I… we have many skeletons in our closets, enough for a whole graveyard. But they are a part of us; they are what made us who we are…
- Do you know why I broke up with my first girlfriend? - he asked after a pause.
- No.
- When I met her, she was a complete perfectionist, - he sighed. - Either it was her way or the highway. And for a while, that's how it was. You could say it was one long dream… But every dream has an ending, and the moment of waking comes. The moment when you realize that the world is not always going to play by your rules. Her ideal shattered like crystal… She tried, wholeheartedly and diligently, to put it all back together, but… The more she tried, the further and more unattainable it became. Can you imagine how it feels to know that no matter how hard you try, your dream moves further away? I think… at that moment, she broke, something inside her… I tried to help her, to ease her pain, to guide her to another path in life. It's just that in my desires, I stopped thinking about the consequences, and when I realized it, it was too late. The darkness that filled my life burst into hers, consuming her entirely. She began to lose her humanity; the despair and hopelessness that tormented her then turned into obsession and cynicism. Honestly, that's when I decided to leave her. I just thought I had done everything I could. It was hard to see her sink into darkness and know that I contributed to it… I admit it was more of a cowardice on my part, but I don't consider it betrayal.
- Touma…
- Do you understand now? My life is full of darkness; everyone who becomes even a little part of it risks falling into it. I don't want you to be dragged into that abyss. You deserve better, better than someone like me…
- Idiot…
- What?
- Do you really think I'll accept that? I understand… You believe that if you let someone in here... - she tapped her finger on his chest, - ...you'll only bring misfortune upon them… You distance yourself from them, thinking you can never truly be happy, which is why you want others to avoid you, to keep them safe… But it's just an illusion you've placed on yourself to prevent you from even trying to find happiness. So if that's your only reason, then I won't accept it. I won't accept some illusion you've imposed on your heart just because you're afraid that you might cause me harm…
Touma looked at Misaki, and what she was saying... it was all true... But even after all this, he still wanted to find a reason to say "no" to her. But no matter how hard he tried or how he looked at it, he couldn't…
- Why? - was all he could ask.
- Isn't it obvious? - she quietly asked, stepping closer to him, - Because I fell in love with you.
For a moment, there was silence between them as neither of them knew what to say. Thus, Misaki took the first step, leaning into Touma's face, and before either of them knew it, she kissed him on the lips. Toma felt her soft lips against his, he could smell sweet honey emanating from Misaki...
His mind was in chaos... He didn't know what to do or what to think. Thoughts tangled, preventing him from concentrating; he couldn't gather the willpower to do anything. His mind was silent, powerless. But something inside him took over the situation.
Before he realized what he was doing, his hands wrapped around her slender waist, gently pulling the unresisting girl closer to him...
They stood amidst the devastated street, surrounded by the dead, lost in their kiss, seeing and hearing nothing else...
All the darkness that surrounded them had never felt so distant...