Author's Note: Ooh, this one's going to be fun. There'll be a lot of foreshadowing for future events in this chapter, at least I'm pretty sure there will '

Aaaaaaaaaand there's a surprise planned at the end~ It's something that I had in mind since I started this fic, started the idea of it even.

I won't spoil whether or not it's good or bad~

AND ALSO, I combined chapter's 2 and 3. Not just because they were the two shortest chapters but also because I felt that they should be. They're the same event spread over two chapters, is what I'm getting at.

Plus, I'm updated early because I'm not sure I could update any other day this week and I don't want to miss one since I've been maintaining this schedule pretty well, if I do say so myself. That being said, I might miss next week's update, which would conclude this arc. So if I do end up missing it, I apologize. If not then I was just being a worrywart over nothing.

Skullkidwil: Thank you!

just a dude who reads alot: Thanks! This is a little different from my normal writing style to better match the light novel's side, yeah.

Agent Nine: I feel the same way. QQ Also thank you, that's good to hear!

FoxOnPie: Oh drat, I can't believe I let that slip by me. It should be corrected by the time this goes up though~.

Guest: I'm the only one who can answer that and yet I cannot!

No-One: I'm glad that you're enjoying the story! I think part of the reason they mesh so well is that, well, they were intended to be a part of the same universe from the start.

/Scene: Opening Phase: 「Daze」

Chapter 6: Memories Just Out of Reach

Location: School District 7

Date: July 21st

Saten Ruiko walked along a path, alone. The stitches in her back ached a little, she had only just checked out of the hospital that morning after all, but she ignored it. She frowned, gripping the phone in her hand tightly. She felt no noticeable change from Level Upper.

Concentrate as she might, she could still do nothing.

And it bothered the hell out of her. That was why she was walking, to clear her thoughts.

"Maybe it's not the real Level Upper." She theorized. After all, this was just an audio file. How was that supposed to improve an Esper's level anyway? "But then…" She raised her hand and looked at her phone.

"Ruiko!" A female's voice caught her attention. She turned her head, looking at three girls who also went to her school, and were also Level 0s like herself. "Hey, over here!"

"Akemi? Muu-chan? And Mako-chin too?"

They talked for a while, it had been some time since they'd all met up, and decided to continue their walk together.

"So, Ruiko." Akemi started. "What're you doing here all alone? Usually, you're with Uiharu." She paused, as if for tension. "Though word around the school was that you've been seen with a certain high school boy a lot too."

"They were talking about that in school!? You're kidding." She groaned. Akemi giggled.

"Afraid not. Who's the mystery boy, huh?" She poked her.

"He's just a friend."

"Right, right. That's what they all say."

"Seriously!"

"What are you doing here though, Ruiko?" Muu cut in.

"Nothing really. Just walking around." She admitted. "How about you guys?"

"We were studying and trying to finish our summer homework early at the library." Akemi placed her hands on her hips. "We don't have any powers so we have to study hard."

"Though, have you heard?" They all stopped. "About that Level Upper thing?"

"What's that?"

"Oh!" Mako had heard about it a few times before. "It increases your power or something like that, right?" She placed her hands behind her head.

"Yeah, yeah. They say you can have it if you hand over your money."

"I don't have money like that." Mako snapped.

"Ah, guys…" Ruiko turned to them. "I… I've gotten a hold of it." If it didn't work with them, then she'd know for sure if what she had was fake or not.

/Scene:

Location: School District 7; Park

Ruiko sat on a bench as she watched Akemi concentrate on Mako, sweat dripping down her face. And that's when it happened. Mako flew straight up into the air, as if suspended on invisible wires. Ruiko and Muu looked on in awe, and perhaps a bit of anger on Ruiko's part. Akemi smiled brightly and dropped her hands, inadvertently dropped Mako.

"Haha, wow! It really works!" She turned around and faced Ruiko. "Did you see that, Ruiko!?" The black haired girl nodded solemnly. "Ruiko?"

"Akemi!" Mako's eyes flashed as she latched onto the newly psychic's back. "What's the big idea dropping me like that!?"

"Ah, hey!"

Ruiko clenched her fists.

This wasn't fair.

Why did it work on Akemi but not her?

She'd heard it first.

She was the one who found it and showed it to them.

She put her own arms out in front of her, closed her eyes, and concentrated. She didn't know what she was trying to do but she just concentrated. She felt something swell up within her, something different from how she usually felt.

"A-Ah! R-Ruiko, is this you!?" She heard Akemi shout and she instantly opened her eyes. Not only was Akemi suspended in mid-air, but so were Mako and Muu.

"H-How'd you get this good!?" Mako shouted. "I bet you used it before you gave it to us, huh!?" Ruiko dropped them. "Again!?"

Despite the light brown haired girl's apparent anger, Ruiko smiled.

She did it. She had a power.

She'd become an Esper.

She nearly cried.

/Scene:

Location: School District 7; Judgment Branch 177 Office

"This might sting a little." Uiharu Kazari warned as she dabbed a wad of cotton, which had some type of alcohol soaked in, to Shirai Kuroko's wounds. "Jeez, you're getting more and more scraps every day."

"I can't help it. The number of Level Upper users keep increasing." She turned her head to face the Level 1. "Whining also won't get us anywhere. Especially not to our three goals."

"Preventing the spread of Level Upper users," Kazari started for her. "Recovery of the comatose users."

"And finding out who created Level Upper, placed it on the Internet and for what intentions." Shirai finished as Kazari placed a bandage on her arm.

"Put your arms up." The flower-headband girl instructed and Shirai did. "We'll finish tending your wounds first, of course." Shirai nodded as she wrapped more bandages around her chest. "Wouldn't you prefer it if Misaka-san was the one bandaging you?"

"No. I would never allow Onee-sama to see me in such a state."

"That's fine, nobody wants to see." She said, almost too innocently. Kuroko's face instantly tensed, she'd fallen for one of Uiharu's traps yet again. Standing up and grabbing ahold of Kazari's shirt, Kuroko began to shake her.

"Now you listen here…"

"Heya!" They both heard Mikoto speak up right before she opened the door. "Is there anything I can do-?"

Shirai panicked and did the first thing she could think of. She teleported the shaken Uiharu directly above her Onee-sama. Both their heads knocked against each other as they yelled and fell while Kuroko quickly grabbed her undershirt and put it on.

"G-Good day, Onee-sama!" She greeted with a smile on her face, acting completely oblivious to the two near unconscious girls.

/Scene:

Now sporting a bandage on her forehead, Mikoto sat on a chair and faced the two Judgment. "So are you two getting anywhere in your investigation?"

"Well…" Uiharu played with her hands and looked down.

"According to Kiyama-sensei, there's a special apparatus for inputting large amounts of data into the brain in a short time period called a Testament." Kuroko crossed her arms. "But it does so by acting on all five senses. It's impossible for Level Upper to work like that."

"Right. Level Upper is music software, so it only acts on hearing…" Mikoto recalled.

"When we searched the comatose victim's rooms, we didn't find anything but the music…" Kazari turned her head when she heard the tea pot, which she had set up a while ago, hiss. "Oh, excuse me."

"This is only a guess." Misaka looked down. "But is there the possibility that the music itself could be having an effect on the other senses?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Remember that conversation we had yesterday?" She questioned while Kuroko thought back.

"Synesthesia!" They both yelled as Kazari walked back into the room, tea on a tray, and looking rather confused.

"What?"

"Synesthesia." Kuroko explained. "It's a phenomenon where multiple senses are stimulated using a single stimulus."

"By acting on one sense in a certain way, you can also stimulate the others."

"So you think the music works by acting on all five senses to get the same effect of a Testament?" Kazari summarized. She was quick to call Kiyama and tell her what they'd discovered. While she was at it, she also arranged to visit Kiyama since there was the possibility of Tree Diagram being used to calculate if using music with synesthesia could give an effect similar to Testament.

/Scene:

Location: School District 7; Komoe's Apartment

Date: July 22nd

Saten Ruiko rang the doorbell and waited patiently, for perhaps only a full 30 seconds. She slammed her foot into the door, immediately cringing and grabbing ahold of the now injured appendix.

"Hello?" The petite teacher greeted her upon opening the door, apparently oblivious to the pain her door had caused. It was more likely that she knew full well what had happened and yet choose to ignore it though.

"Huh? Uh, is your mom home?" She wasn't aware that Touma's teacher had children but apparently she did.

"My mom?" She tilted her head to side. "I'm afraid my mother doesn't live in Academy City."

"What? This is the residence of Tsukuyomi Komoe, correct?"

"Present." She smiled.

"Wait… You're Touma-kun's teacher!?" The pink haired girl, no, woman nodded.

"Yes." She seemed grim despite her smiling face and the air around them seemed to reflect that. "You wouldn't have happened to think that I was a child, would you?"

"I-I can feel how loaded that question is!" Ruiko thought as she fumbled for words. "Of course not, I just thought that you were too sma-" The air grew more intense. "-cute to be a teacher."

"Oh, don't say things like that. You'll make sensei blush." She giggled, the tense atmosphere lost. "But you must be the friend Index-san talked about if you're here to see Kamijou-chan. Come in." Ruiko still had a hard time believing she was over 12, much less a high school teacher. Nevertheless, Ruiko followed her inside.

"Ruiko!" Index waved at her from the bedroom, the door was open. If she was paying attention to it, Ruiko would've noticed that Index was wearing some on Komoe's clothes. They were a kind of tight fit, to Komoe's eternal embarrassment, but they were sufficient enough.

"Index, hey." She waved back while looking around the, admittedly, small apartment. "Where's Touma-kun?" The foreigner's face dropped.

"He's…" She mumbled then turned back to the unconscious boy. It had been about three days now. He was still alive, that much was for certain, but he wouldn't wake up for more than a couple minutes at a time. At the very least, they'd treated his wounds.

"Asleep?" She finished for her. "That sounds like him." Ruiko gave a fake laugh as she walked in and sat down next to Index. There was only room to do so because Komoe had long since made her room presentable, since she had guests.

"It's been days…"

"Days!?" She whipped her head to face Index.

"He'll wake up every now and then but it won't be long before he loses consciousness again." She explained. "He really… doesn't seem awake when he is up though. He says some really strange things…"

"Strange things?"

"Hey now, don't crowd around Kamijou-chan." The teacher warned. "He'll feel really awkward if he wakes up to two girls sitting in front of him."

"Why would he feel awkward?" Index asked, honestly. "It's not like I don't feed him or clean him or change his bandages." Ruiko suppressed her laughter.

"Touma would die if he woke up when she was doing that."

"Ah, yes that's true but Kamijou is a nice boy." She reminded her. "And he's not very well versed in girl's matters. Though, I will admit, the situation would be worse if he woke up when you were doing any of those things…"

"I wouldn't take you for someone well versed in taking care of other people, though, Index." Ruiko muttered, Index puffed her cheeks out.

"I am a Sister, you know!"

"Right, right, I forgot." She stuck her tongue out.

"Well, can you two watch the house? Sensei's about to go out grocery shopping." She smiled at the two as she walked to the door.

"Okay, Sensei. Me and Index'll take care of it!" Ruiko shot her a thumbs up as she opened the door.

"Huh? What are you two doing in front of my house?" They heard her say. Both of them stood and went to the door way, Index paled.

The Magicians, Stiyl Magnus and Kanzaki Kaori, were standing behind Komoe-sensei.

"Oh? Do you two know them?" She turned her head back to them, apparently not noticing the look of fear on Index's face, then looked forward. "I won't intrude then. I'll be back in a little while." She pushed past the two Magicians effortlessly, it seemed like they didn't want anyone else involved either.

"You." Ruiko growled, remembering the swordswoman as the one who slashed her back two days ago. Stiyl stepped into the house a little and smirked, tilting his head to the side to take a glance into Komoe's room.

"Ah, you can't run away with the boy like that, can you?" He chuckled.

"Just go away!" Index yelled as she stood up. She walked through the doorway, and stood between them and Ruiko. "I beg you! I'll go anywhere, do anything. Just don't hurt Touma anymore!"

"Index…" Ruiko wanted to reach out to the girl but couldn't. There wasn't anything physical or Magical like an invisible wall. She just felt like she couldn't. The Flame Magician's smile seemed to vanish, baring a sad, sad look before it was covered up with a bigger smile.

"I just wanted to check and see if things were going well." He turned around. "But it seemed I had no reason to. The anchor's working better than expected." He walked out as Ruiko paled. They were using Touma's injuries to their advantage. Index wouldn't run without him, not if they knew who and where he was. She clenched her fist and stood up.

"There are two days." The swordswoman spoke up, still standing in front of the door. "When Kamijou wakes up, tell him there are only two days left." She followed Stiyl. Index took a deep breath and Ruiko snapped. She ran past Index, ignoring her cry for her afterwards, and jumped over the railing.

"Stop!" She spread her hands out and looked at the two Magicians.

"Eh? Who're you?" Stiyl raised an eyebrow then turned to Kanzaki.

"Is that?"

"Yes. It's the girl who was with Index that time." She nodded.

"Why're you here?" He faced her again. Ruiko pushed her hands towards them and tried to use her power again, just like she had on Akemi, Muu and Mako. She wouldn't just sit around and let this happen. Her power wasn't developed to the point where it was useful in battle, she wasn't sure if her ability was useful period actually, but she had to do something.

She figured if she showed off any amount of power that it would make them reconsider.

If they were facing two people with super natural abilities, then perhaps they would let it go.

But nothing happened. Her power didn't activate.

Before she could even question why, she gasped as all the air was knocked from her lungs. She grabbed her stomach and collapsed to her knees in pain, as she looked up and saw Kaori.

"Stay out of this. You have no power, you cannot affect the outcome." She said, emotionless. "I would prefer it if no more people got hurt in this situation." She turned her back to the black haired girl and walked away.

"You're too kind, Kanzaki." She heard the priest mutter.

"Ruiko!" Index yelled from the railing, having watched the whole thing. Ruiko just stayed here and cried. Again, her power didn't work.

Why didn't it?

Especially when she needed it most.

Was she just doomed to be this useless?

To have a meaningless existence?

"You cannot affect the outcome." That's what the swordswoman had said. She couldn't take it. She stood up and ran in the other direction, away from the Magicians, away from Index, away from Touma, away from everything.

"Ruiko!" Index yelled again. "Where are you going!?"

She didn't look back.

/Scene:

Location: School District 7; Park

She had to take a break, eventually, however. She was out of breath and her wound had begun aching again. She stopped in the same park she first used her power. She sat down on the bench she watched Akemi use her ability and took deep breaths. Closing her eyes and putting her head against the top of the bench, she watched the sky.

"Why didn't it work…?" She asked herself again. More than anything, she wanted her power to work. So she could fight those Magicians and save Touma and Index. So she could actually do something for once.

"Ruiko!" The same voice from yesterday knocked her out of her thoughts.

"Akemi?" Ruiko brought her head back and almost jumped. Akemi's face was right in front of her own.

"Did you have the same idea we had?" The other girl tilted her head at her.

"Huh?"

"We're here to practice again!" She smiled and stepped back.

"Oh. I'll just watch then." Saten muttered.

"Oh you're no fun." She put her hands on her hips. "Didn't you enjoy lifting us all up yesterday?" She had, truth be told. But what if she couldn't get her power to work again? Would Akemi and the others laugh at her or pity her? She didn't want either of those things, honestly.

"I'm fine." Ruiko assured her. With a shrug, Akemi went to join Muu and Mako, who were already lifting random things with their abilities. In the meanwhile, Ruiko took another look at her phone. "I wonder if I should tell Uiharu… She'll probably be mad at me but…"

Bump.

She quickly looked up and spotted Akemi, now on the ground.

"Akemi!"

"Akemi-chan!" Muu and Mako quickly raced over to her. Ruiko stood up, in disbelief.

"What's going…?"

"Level Upper…" She suddenly remembered Uiharu telling her about a lot of students falling comatose recently. "Akemi!" She ran over to her too.

/Scene:

Location: School District 7

Uiharu Kazari was sitting at a bus stop, about to go meet with Kiyama Harumi. The research into Level Upper hadn't gone all that well, though Kiyama had said that they might be onto something since they discovered that you could use synesthesia to simulate a Testament. This was a major breakthrough, of course, and could open up the way to awaken those who had fallen comatose.

She was so caught up in the possibilities that she was alarmed when her phone rang. She checked her caller ID and a smile found its way on her face as she saw it was Saten Ruiko.

"Saten-san! I was worried about you!" She said, cheerily. "You're not talking much in school and you aren't answering my calls!"

"…collapsed…"

"Huh?"

"Akemi-chan suddenly collapsed."

"What? W-What happened?" It dawned on her. "R-Ruiko, did she-?"

"I… I didn't know that's what happened to Level Upper users…"

"Saten-san…"

"Why did it come to this…?" Ruiko sounded like she was on the verge of crying. "I didn't mean to… I just wanted to…"

"Saten-san." She held the phone with both her hands. "Please tell me everything from the beginning, slowly."

"I got a hold of Level Upper… I didn't tell you guys because I wanted it to be a surprise, that I got powers." She began. "But I couldn't do anything. But when Akemi and the others said they wanted it…"

"Saten-san!" Kazari screamed. "Tell me where you are right now!"

"Am I going to collapse too?" Kazari started running. "Will I wake up again?"

"Saten-san!"

"I didn't like being so powerless." She whimpered. "But I couldn't give up on my dreams. I wanted to do things, help people."

"Saten-san, please! Tell me where you are!"

"Are Level 0s defective, I wonder…?"

"What?" She stopped.

"And because a zero like me tried to get power by cheating… Is this my punishment…?" Kazari could hear Ruiko start crying. "I was so jealous… I even dragged other people into it. I…"

"It's alright!" She nearly yelled in her cheerful tone. "Even if you fall asleep, I'll wake you right back up." Her smile nearly faltered but she continued. "Saten-san and Akemi-san and everyone else." She raised up her fist. "So just leave it all to me! I bet you'll be like 'just 5 more minutes,' like normal, right?"

People began to stare at her as she screamed but disregarded it afterwards, she didn't particularly mind anyway.

"Uiharu…"

"You are not defective! Whether or not you had powers, you were always there to help me." She wasn't sure when she started but she was crying now too. "So no matter what, you are you! Because you're my friend!" She wiped away her tears but they just kept coming. "So don't… so don't… say such sad things…"

"Hearing you say 'leave it to me' is just a little bit…" Ruiko laughed.

"A-Ah, it's not just me!" Uiharu yelled back, her face red. "It's Misaka-san and Shirai-san and lots of other amazing people!"

"Yeah… I know. Thank you, Uiharu." She paused. "I'm sorry for always causing you trouble… I'll leave the rest to you."

Ruiko hung up and Kazari began running again. She ran and she ran and she ran until she eventually came to Saten's dormitory. Nearly stumbling and falling down the stairs didn't deter her and she quickly made it to, and opened, Ruiko's door, she had long since gotten a spare key for it.

She nearly started crying again as she spotted Ruiko passed out, her lucky charm in her hand.

/Scene:

Location: School District 7; Hospital

"To think that Saten-san…" Misaka didn't let herself finish as she sat outside one of the rooms of District 7's hospital.

"Yeah. Uiharu said that she'd analyze the data to save her and then rushed off." Kuroko told her, sitting next to her. "She intends to meet with Kiyama-sensei as soon as possible."

"I see." Mikoto muttered. "You have a sec?" Kuroko tilted her head in response but Mikoto led her up to the roof anyway.

"Onee-sama?" She questioned at the Railgun simply looked off the building's side, past the large fence that prevented anyone from jumping off.

"You know, Saten-san probably had a lot she wanted to talk about." She said aloud as she intertwined her fingers in the fence. "But even with my Level 5 powers, I could do nothing for her."

"Onee-sama… You can't…"

"Whenever I've faced hurdles in my life, I stopped at nothing to overcome them. I guess that's why I'm a Level 5." Her gaze hardened. "I never thought of it as anything special. Never thought of the people who were unable to climb over those hurdles while I never even considered the possibility." She turned her head to face her. "Your level doesn't mean a thing, huh? Thinking back on that, it was really insensitive of me to say." She was quiet.

"I want to participate in the investigation." She eventually said. "I want to help save Saten-san."

"Got it." Kuroko could only smile.

"Thanks." She placed a hand on Kuroko's shoulder and raised an eyebrow when she winced. "Huh?"

"It's nothing, nothing!" So Misaka shrugged it off as they headed back downstairs, to leave.

"Hey, you two have a minute?" Someone interrupted them. Upon turning around, Mikoto's face took on a… complex expression, to say the least.

"Real Gekota!?" She muttered out loud, probably not on purpose.

"Ah, no, Onee-sama…" The doctor who'd stopped them could only raise his eyebrows in amusement.

"Gekota? That's a first."

/Scene:

He brought them to a dark room, the name plaque near the door seemed to say that it was his office, and showed them the computer he had set up. He cycled through several charts.

"These are the brain waves of the Level Upper users." He told them. "As I'm sure you two know, every individual has a different brainwave. So it's impossible for two to be the same, right?"

"Of course." Mikoto crossed her arms, a bit bummed out that it wasn't a real Gekota. Not that she would let anyone know.

"However, I'm noticing a common brainwave pattern on the users of Level Upper."

"What do you mean?" Kuroko asked.

"If brainwaves are forcibly altered, it would strongly influence the body, right?"

"So you're saying Level Upper is changing their brainwaves and rendering them unconscious?"

"Who would do this…? And why?"

"I'm a doctor." He responded, turning around in his chair. "Finding that out is your job, right?"

/Scene:

Location: School District 7; Judgment Branch 177 Office

The two of them quickly went back to the branch office and informed Konori of the situation.

"I see." She nodded. "If that's the case, we'll most likely get Bank access."

"That's assuming it's a student, right?" Mikoto brought up. "What if it's not there?"

"Don't worry," Kuroko assured her. "It's not just students. It also includes data from adults who've been at the hospital or worked in Academy City."

"But why would Level Upper be used to cause people's brainwaves to become identical?"

"Not to mention, raise their Esper Levels…" Kuroko rubbed the back of her head. "I really don't understand this."

"Just using software isn't going to give any great performance gains, for a computer anyway." Konori suddenly spoke up, still looking through the databank. She began to tell them about how when you networked computers, while each individual computation performance didn't increase, the overall performance did.

"I see… So someone could've created a brainwave network using Level Upper? But how would they connect the brains together?"

"The only thing I can think of is AIM Fields…"Konori admitted. "Espers are always subconsciously admitting power. If you could connect that…"

"But that's only subconsciously. Our brains are like separate OS's, in computer terms, you can't link them together." Her eyes widened. "Unless…!"

"Yes. Computers are the same way. While the OS, and even the languages, they use are different, they can connect through common protocols."

"You're saying that that specific person's brainwaves serve as the common protocol then?" Kuroko interjected.

"It's just a possibility but that's exactly what I'm thinking."

"And if you link up brains like that, you'd have massive computational power." Mikoto figured out, putting her hand to her chin. Konori nodded.

"Even if a person with weak power joined the group, their overall processing power would go up."

"On top of that, Espers with the same abilities would link up their cognitive patterns and even use that power more efficiently."

"Most likely, the brain power of all the victims is being utilized in the network." She clicked one last key. "Found it! A match for that brainwave percent is… 99%" Both Kuroko and Mikoto leaned in and their eyes widened.

"Wait…"

"Isn't that…?"

"Kiyama Harumi!" They looked at each other.

"Uiharu!"

Location: School District 7; Komoe's Apartment

Touma sat straight up, his face filled with sweat. He'd had that dream again. It only took him a moment to recognize the place he was in as Komoe's apartment.

"Touma?" He turned his head and saw Index sitting at his side. "You're awake!" She smiled. He looked out the window and noticed it was still dark out.

He thought about the last thing that he could remember. He lost to Kanzaki, yes he counted that as a loss even though she ran away, and made it here to allow Komoe-sensei to heal Index. Speaking of Komoe, it didn't appear that she was inside at the time. Perhaps she had gone out for something.

He laid back down.

"Jeez, it's still night time?" He muttered. "I thought I'd, at least, get a day's worth of sleep." He didn't question why he was a lot more awake than usual, even though he only slept a few hours.

"You did."

"Huh?"

"It's been about 3 days, Touma."

"EH!? How did I manage to sleep for 3 days!?" He tried to move. "Ow, ow!"

"Touma, calm down, please."

"Don't you think you went a little overboard with these bandages, jeez!?"

"It would've been better if we could've used Magic…" She muttered.

"That may be so but I'd rather not use anything like Magic."

"Anything like? Do you still somehow not believe in Magic!?" She crossed her arms. "You're as stubborn as someone with an unrequited love."

"No, no, I believe in Magic. It'd be hard not to after everything that's happened." He began to explain. "It's just that… I don't like the face you make when you talk about Magic." Her empty face and cold eyes flashed across his memory and almost made him shudder.

"Do you not like explanations?"

"Don't you remember? You helped me during the fight against that swordswoman's wires, and you told me to take you to someone who could perform the healing Spell." He recalled. "It really wasn't nice… You were almost… like a puppet."

"Oh, I see. I awakened…"

"Awakened?" He didn't like how that made it seem like that cold, puppet-like form was the real her.

"Yes but please don't tell me about what I'm like when I awake." She paused, perhaps waiting for him to ask why but he never did. "It's embarrassing, like talking in your sleep. Also… I feel like I'm becoming more and more of a machine when I do and it scares me." She smiled, as if not to worry him.

"…I'm sorry."

"It's okay, idiot." She stood up. "I'll be out of your hair soon, anyway." She said rather quickly then said. "Are you hungry?"

"Wait, what did you say?"

"Hm?" She put on an innocent face. She should've known not to say that in front of him. She knew he wouldn't let it go. So why had she? Did she still want him to save her, despite the pain it would bring? She didn't want to think she was that selfish.

"Don't act stupid." He said, plainly. "What happened while I was asleep?"

"…The Magicians came…"

"What!?" He sat up again, pain be damned. "Are you okay!? Is Sensei okay!?"

"Yes, everyone's fine. I think…" She looked off to the side. "Ruiko ran out afterwards and I haven't seen her since." He let that settle in. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, he was happy to see that he could still move without feeling immediate pain, and checked it.

"S-So many!?" He went down the list. There were numerous messages from both Tsuchimikado and Aogami, even a couple from Mikoto (And they weren't fight requests, from what he could see, which surprised him greatly). In the end, however, he had a single message from Ruiko that almost seemed to mimic the one he'd sent her.

-Saten Ruiko

I'm okay! In Uiharu's care. Get better soon!

He sighed in relief.

"What happened?" Index asked.

"Ruiko's fine." He smiled at her and she smiled too.

"Thank goodness." She rubbed her eyes. "I don't know what I wouldn't done if something happened to her." She turned to Touma again. "Also… I think I should tell you…"

"What?"

"The Magicians. They said that there are only 2 days left." She frowned. "I suspect they mean 2 days until they come for me but why would they wait?" Touma was speechless.

2 days left?

"That's why we have to erase them every year."

Index did tell him that she had been running for the better part of a year. Did that mean that the cutoff date was approaching? Were they going to stupidly erase her memories yet again, even though Touma told them that it was a lie? He clenched his fist.

"Touma?" She rubbed her eyes again. Touma was interrupted from his thoughts.

"Are you tired?"

"No." She yawned. "…Yes." She admitted, sheepishly. Though she'd never tell Touma, she didn't sleep much since she was busy watching and taking care of him.

"You should sleep then. I'm up so it's fine." He managed to stand up and sat himself down near the table, gesturing for her to sleep on the futon.

"Well… okay…" She laid down and in moments, he could hear her breathing lighten. He sighed.

"There has to be some other reason. Has to be."

"She isn't close enough to the cutoff point, is she!? You haven't seen her suffer when her brain gets too full! She gets a fever and cries! And yet, you can do nothing but erase that which gave her happiness!"

But if her memory wasn't the issue, what was causing her pain? But then he remembered who'd made the lie about her perfect memory in the first place. The Church.

"Could it be a Spell?" He said, aloud, and looked over to the sleeping girl.

They'd put a Spell on her so she would have to rely on them.

Even if she somehow figured out their plan and escaped, she'd need to go back to them otherwise she would die.

And her comrades would agree with the plan to wipe her memories in order to save her.

Would kind of group would think of such a plan?

No, that didn't matter. He had to save Index first.

If it was a Spell, then his right hand could negate it. But he'd touched her before and nothing happened, aside from when she was wearing the Walking Church, and the Spell couldn't be self-regenerating like Innocentius.

At least he hoped it couldn't be.

So perhaps it was placed on a part of Index he had never touched before?

"Gah…!" He screamed in his head as his mind immediately went to the worst possible places. He pushed those thoughts out of his head, not even a group who would think of this plan would place the Spell there.

Perhaps it was on her head since it was close to the brain?

But if it was inside her skull or something like that, he'd have to give up.

But as he looked at her face, his eyes settled on her lips. They were giving him a strange feeling and so, rather reluctantly mind you, slipped his thumb and forefinger between her lips and forced them open. He looked inside and saw some sort of eerie, pure black symbol etched into the back of her throat. He felt incredibly uncomfortable, especially because she was asleep.

"You're kidding…" He forced himself to smile. "Do I really have to…?" He did. He narrowed his eyes, gathered his resolve and shoved a finger into the girls' mouth. He really hoped Komoe-sensei didn't walk in on this. He pushed forward until he tapped the back of her mouth and Index's body jumped, he assumed it was a gag reflex but his hand was shot out of her mouth by some strange force. Feeling immense pain, he looked at his hand and saw that the wounds dealt by Kanzaki had reopened.

Her eyes opened wide and glowed red, though it was more specific to say the blood red magic circles that had appeared in her eyes glowed.

The eyes looked at him and, before he could raise his right hand up, something exploded and he was blown into a bookcase.

"Warning: Chapter 3, Verse 2. All barriers for Index Librorum Prohibitorum's collar from first to third have been breached. Preparing to regenerate… failed. The collar cannot self-regenerate. Switching priority to eliminating the intruder in order to protect the 103,000 archived Grimoires."

The eyes pierced into Touma, as he stood back up, the pieces of the bookshelf falling off of him.

"Magic!? I thought she couldn't use Magic!?" He screamed in his head. "Was that another lie by the Church? Or… was all her Magic power going into this defense mode…" He shuddered to think of the amount of power she must have now, the Magical energy having built up for who knows how long.

He shuddered again when he realized he had to fight Index.

"Using the 103,000 archived Grimoires to determine the magic spell used to damage the barrier… failed. The specified magic cannot be determined. Putting together an anti-intruder local weapon to expose the composition of the spell." Index tilted her head like she was a corpse being controlled via strings. "The magic expected to be most effective on the specific intruder has been put together. Proceeding to activate the special magic known as St. George's Sanctuary to destroy the intruder."

Index began to chant something beyond human comprehension as the magic circles in her eyes grew, though the center remained her eyes.

And then they exploded.

Well, that's what it looked like. Pure black electricity stemmed out, looking as if they had formed cracks in space itself. The cracks spread, more and more as Touma clenched his fist.

This was it.

All he had to do was touch her once more and it would all be over.

But as he ran forward, a pillar of light erupted from the girl. He narrowly avoided it by rolling to the left, it had done it on pure instinct. He didn't run then, he stood in awe of the destructive power of that single attack. It had burned its way along the floor, destroyed everything in its path, leaving a large hole where Komoe's door should've been.

She fired it again but Touma was quick enough to throw up his right hand. Imagine Breaker met St. George's Sanctuary but it did not disperse, not all at once. Streams of light were scattered in every direction but the way blocked by his hand yet it did not disappear.

"Is it like Innocentius!?" He thought, fearfully. He used his left hand to support the right, which had begun stinging from the pain. The attack was actually beginning to dig into his hand! "No. This is worse! Every individual piece of light is different!"

"Kamijou!" He heard a woman yelled and he reluctantly turned his back to see Kanzaki, with Stiyl following behind. Had they been watching the house so they could arrive quickly in case something happened? "What is…?"

"That's Index!" He yelled at the two as he looked at 'Index' again. "And this is Magic! Can't you see that the Churched lied!?" He was being pushed back as the attack's strength seemed to multiply, it was actually overwhelming Imagine Breaker. Kamijou could hardly believe it.

"You-!" Stiyl began.

"Why would the Church let low level members like you know the truth!? They put this thing in Index so they could control her! Control the 103,000 Grimoires!" He grit his teeth as his right hand almost gave way. "Look at the reality in front of you, face the facts, ask Index if you must! But this is the chance you've been waiting for! The chance to become main characters and save this one girl you wish to protect with your lives!"

Stiyl grit his teeth for a second.

"Fortis931!" He threw up his hand as an uncountable amount of rune cards flew from his sleeves and pasted themselves against the wall. He walked up behind Touma and placed a hand on his back. "I don't need vague possibilities. Erasing her memories will save her life for now and I vowed to kill anyone that got in my way."

"For now!? To hell with that!" Touma grit his teeth, his hand was nearly at its limit. "Can't you see the ending you've always wanted, the perfect ending with everyone happy and smiling!? It's right in front of you! Just stretch out your hand and reach it! Just do it already, Magicians!" His hand gave out and was blasted back, the light pillar moved forward and was about to hit Touma.

"…Salvere000." Kanzaki yelled. She swung her sword through the air as Nanasen sped towards Index, though it was not aiming for her. The wires tore through the mats at her feet, causing her to lose her footing and stumble backwards. The light pillar that was oh so close to killing Kamijou instead sliced through the roof, like a large sword, and shot into the night sky. It sliced through the clouds and in fact, may have even sliced through a satellite in space.

The portions of the wall and ceiling that had been destroyed floated back down to the ground, now white feathers. Touma looked at the feathers strangely.

"Dragon's Breath… The attack of St. George's Dragon." Kanzaki muttered. "Don't let them touch you. If you do, you will surely be destroyed." Before Touma could even acknowledge that he'd heard, Index's body stood back up. While I say stood, I believe floated by into place would've been more appropriate.

Once again, the pillar of light headed straight for Touma.

"Innocentius!" The Flame Magician yelled as the flame god formed in front of the boy. The once enemy was now the only thing separating him from instant death. "Go, Esper! But should this not work, know that I will kill you before her time has come!"

With a nod, Touma ran past the fiery man and directly towards Index.

"Warning: Chapter 6, Verse 13. New enemy confirmed. Changing combat considerations. Beginning scan of the battlefield… done. Focusing on the destruction of the most difficult enemy, Kamijou Touma." Index moved her head, the beam of light followed but so did Innocentius, the battle between regeneration and destruction continuing.

But Touma ran. And he got closer.

And closer.

And closer.

"No! Above you!" Kaori cried out and Touma looked up, the feathers were getting dangerously close to the both of them but…

He could swing his right hand and negate them.

"Warning: Chapter 22, Verse 1. Analysis of the flame magic spell has succeeded. It is confirmed to be a distorted Christian motif described with runes. Adding in anti-Christian spells… Spell 1, Spell 2, and Spell 3. Twelve seconds until the complete activation of the spell named Eli Eli Lema Sabachthani."

The beam of white light turned into one of crimson and began to tear through Innocentius, whose regeneration speed seemed to have slowed.

"Innocentius!" Stiyl yelled.

Innocentius wouldn't last long enough for him to destroy the feathers and touch Index.

So it was one or the other.

Either save himself from the feathers or free Index's mind.

The answer was pretty easy to figure out.

"God, if this world, this story, is moving ahead according to the system you created!"

After all, who had he been fighting so hard for?

"…Then I'll destroy that illusion first!"

He slammed his hand down on Index's forehead, the magic circles instantly faded away. He almost laughed at how simple this seemed.

"…Warning: Final…Chapter, Verse Zero… The collar has received fatal… damage… Regeneration… impossible… gone." Her voice gradually shifted back to normal, feeling returned to her eyes. "…Touma?" She whimpered as her feet touched the ground once more. He heard the Magicians say something but he wasn't paying attention, something he would come to regret.

Before he could even reply to her, her eyes widened and she pushed him aside. He hit the ground and looked back at her.

Only to see her body go limp as the white feather touched her head.

He shuffled over to her quickly.

"Index!" He slightly lifted her body up with his left hand, his right was too busy waving around manically and destroying any remaining white feathers that came near them.

"Touma… Touma… I think… I might be in love…" She closed her eyes.

"Index!" He shook her, "Index, open your eyes! Index! INDEX!"

Despite Kamijou's best efforts, Index Librorum Prohibitorum had, once again, died.

/Scene:

Location: School District 7; Hospital

"This is the strangest thing." The frog faced doctor looked at Touma from his seat. It was now morning, Touma hadn't slept in the slightest. "Something happened in her brain but I can't be sure of what it is."

Touma moved his hands from his face. "Is that good or bad?"

"Either or." He admittedly, plainly. "It means that anything could happen. But having three people without an ID, and bringing one into my hospital, you're getting really bold, Kamijou-kun."

"Ah, sorry." He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to play off his nervousness. "You were able to keep this as shush shush as possible, right?"

"Yes. I was the only one who looked at her and everyone else thinks it's you." He seemed to chuckle before continuing. "I even put her in your room."

"That's good. Wait, my room?"

"Well, no one can deny that you occupy my hospital a shockingly high percent of your life, especially for someone without a terminal illness." He explained. "And if you hadn't noticed, I've always given you the same room."

"EH!? I wasn't imagining that then!?"

"Afraid not. We've even thought about putting a 'Kamijou' plaque near the door."

"…That's not funny!" He sighed. "Can I see her?"

"Go ahead." He motioned towards his office's door. "You should know the way. It's your room, after all." Touma's face told him that he was not amused.

/Scene:

He entered the room slowly, looking at the girl sitting on the white bed. She was looking out of the window with a smile on her face.

"Index…?"

"Yes? Oh, hello." She smiled at him. It was the same smile but… lacking, he supposed. He didn't know why.

"Hi. Do, uh, do you remember me?" Her smile immediately fell. "I… see."

He should be happy.

Index was alive after all. And she was free from whatever Magic the Church had put on her.

But the fact that she didn't remember him, not the fact that she didn't remember him saving her but that she didn't recognize him at all, upset him.

"I'm sorry." She looked down.

"No worries." He put on his best smile and stood there, silently; awkwardly.

The door opened again.

"Oh, it's you." Stiyl Magnus walked past him, sitting down in a chair next to Index. "Hello."

"Hello, Stiyl." She smiled at him, though it lacked remembrance just as her smile to Kamijou had, so he supposed that Stiyl had talked to her earlier today. He supposed that Stiyl was still happy, however. He got to start over with an Index that wasn't afraid of him.

He cursed himself for thinking such a thought.

"I wanted to show you to your escort but it seems like he showed up first."

"Huh?" Touma faced the Magician with a look of bewilderment.

"We talked to the Church. At first, they demanded that we return with Index." He puffed out air, as if he was smoking. "But when we asked them why they lied to us, they reconsidered. And then they had the audacity to request that we leave her in Academy city. With you."

"M-Me? Why?"

"How should I know?" He shrugged. "The fact of the matter is, you're her caretaker once again. For now." Touma let that sink in for a moment. "Though, personally, I can't stand any second you're around her."

"Does she… even remember the Grimoires?"

"Of course. Those memories are protected by Spells." He explained. "It's so we could not erase them as opposed to that year's memories." Touma crossed his arms. "Wipe that look off your face."

"Huh?" He wasn't aware he was making a face.

"Weren't you the one who told Kanzaki that even if her memories were gone, we should just make her next set even more precious?" He puffed out air again.

It was true. Touma had said that.

So why was he, now, being so depressed because he had to do the same thing?

This pain that he was feeling now. It was nothing compared to the pain Stiyl and Kaori went through. They had to experience this multiple times.

So Kamijou figured that he could manage.

"Right. Thanks." He actually smiled at the Magician, who frowned in response.

"I didn't do that to help you."

"What's with that tsundere response!?"

"I did it so you would stop looking so pitiful."

"Sorry…?" Touma didn't know what else to say. Stiyl rolled his eyes and stood up.

"Have fun, Kamijou." He left the room, leaving him speechless.

"Um, I didn't completely comprehend what he was talking about." Index began. "But if I'm going to be staying with you, then it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance! You already know my name, right?" Touma nodded. "What's yours?"

"Kamijou Touma."

"Touma… Touma…" She said the name a few more times and brought her hands to her chest. "I don't know why… but I feel like that name is special."

Touma couldn't fight the smile that tugged at his lips.

/Scene: Ending Phase: 「Oración」

Author's Note: I'm sad. No, really, I am. I'm not sure when I first decided that Index would lose her memories instead. Perhaps it was when I realized that, according to my chain of events, it would happen around the same day Ruiko fell into a coma and I just felt like being a dick to Touma.

But yeah. This was a lot harder to write than I gave it credit for. I wonder if I surprised any of you.

Also, wow, I can't believe the arc's over next chapter… The next one will be an original one, by the way, and will certainly add something that hasn't happened in canon.