And here we are.

The final chapter.

This arc was not as long as Uiharu's but in terms of moving parts, there was a lot more to it. We had a date chapter and technically two chapters of actual 'fight' scenes but I hope that as we reach the final chapter of this arc, you have felt it was worth it and up to my usual standards.

There are a lot I want to say here but I guess this can really wait until the chapter is done, right?

We'll start with the usual Q & A:

JCarrasco: Still got a whole lot of chapters to go so here's another one. and thanks for your kind words.

Guest: I think you have mentioned that Touma's PTSD isn't a thing. But then again, neither is an actual confession from a girl so if we stuck to what was a 'thing', would fanfic even exist? But granted on the points about the OCs; we'll see if I can improve them. As well as the characters and trying to make them not OOC! There's a lot to do!

whwsms: I think the point about saying 'Thank God' was more out of relief rather than believing in God…although technically if he did, then that would be blasphemy. I've done that before though I'm pretty sure. But yeah, Touma does need to have someone heal him from the mental wounds that he has accumulated thus far – but I guess that's what Yume is for. As for the downfall of Kamui, I hope you can enjoy what that ultimate evil has in store for it.

Ravenala: If I had an illustrator, I'm sure that I would have made that scene be the illustration. As for Misaki…I hope you can look forward to what is to come in this chapter! As for the nanomachine side of things, I'm sort of the fence about explaining the concept in my head and how it works because it's pseudo-science at best and probably will stay that way no matter how much I spin it – although the 3D imagery seems pretty interesting. We shall see what happens going forward though.

akitousen: Thanks so much for your kind words – hopefully I can try and make the wait lesser and more worth it, but the only thing that I can do is hope you enjoy this chapter and what I have to provide you!

Levolutioner: It's been noted to me that what happened in the last chapter was a bit like Shirou and Heaven's Feel (I can't see it), but having Touma be presented with the choice where his inaction saves someone was something that I wanted to cover because of how Touma would naturally want to reject that choice initially so I'm glad that the overall scene struck a chord with you. But I'm also glad that you can think of Touma's actions as somewhat immature; he is a child after all, but also an amateur so I'm also glad you can respect it all the same. But no problem for writing out your thoughts; I love reading them. There's always the next time if you want to edit your thoughts though! I HOPE that the payoff in this chapter is good for the Misaki bit… With this series being full of mechs, isn't Index part Metal Gear anyway? I'M GLAD THAT YOU'RE A MAN OF CULTURE AS WELL EVEN THOUGH OUR PATHS DIFFER. I hope that this chapter is one you can enjoy; although most of us are at quarantine, I'm working at home so even less chances to write with the workload expected of me.

Aminadab Brulle: I hope you can look forward to this chapter…! Good point to note about the inconsistency; it's there on purpose mainly because Touma is still uncertain about how Misaki TRULY feels about him – she can say one ting but if she means another, Touma wouldn't know and hence his doubts when he effectively knows nothing. I'm sur even Mikoto was reflecting in her own way…! I think you're sort of misinterpreting the sentient grimoire; the only reason that it was stopped was because the self-defence mechanism within Index restored Index's consciousness – had things continued, I'm sure that the grimoire inside her mind would have made things go a LOT worse. The grimoire for Index is a bit of a wildcard at this moment so we'll have to see where things go from here. I sort of noted that Otohime was neglected like crazy and put her in ACUL0 for that reason alone so I'm glad that I can finally do things with her! And your essay on Otohime is definitely interesting to say the least. I have to agree with you on most points; her overconfidence, her lack of training and her unable to move out of the bubble world she lives in has meant that she is gradually turning into a monster of her own making. The worst thing is is that she's creating the situation she is putting herself in as well; it's got nothing to do with others and she's slowly succumbing to her own special form of madness. In her own way, another Otohime focused arc here would look incredibly different and because of this, I hope you can look forward to what I plan to do with her. …How does giving Otohime a spell cause one to have world domination though?! You'd definitely profit as a side note however… But why would want a fully fledged torture scene!? Is my usual sadism not enough?!

Guest00: Yeah, using nanomachines here is sort of pseudo-science but it's only ever been mentioned once in the series and I sort of wanted to go along with it. I hope you can accept it all the same going forward.

Anime-ted Life116: Goddamn, that little comment you made had me laughing. As for the possibilities that open themselves up because of the nanomachines in his left arm, I hope you enjoy whatever it is that they give you. Getting a wife will generally only cause more psychological issues though… I hope you can look forward to whatever is happening with the Kamijou Faction in the background. As for future arcs, you will definitely have to see…!

BlueJack22: Interesting predictions…although only I know whether they are correct or not!

Animan10: I think Touma was already broke for before I did any of this to him. I'm just…nudging him further and further along towards the edge. As for the nanomachines; I'm using them because they really are an underused science function type of element. I mean, in Academy City, we have kids with superpowers, big ass mechs, thought beings, angels, cyborgs…but very little mention of nanomachines or androids?! I sort of wanted to have both so while I have nanomachines, all I need are the androids… Although I doubt Touma is suddenly going to become Inspector Gadget or anything…

MeowMyaMiao: I'm glad that you're finding the path Otohime is going down terrifying; the things she is going to do from now on are definitely going to make or break her character. Thanks for the kind words. As for Railgun T; I've been enjoying it a lot. Seeing everything animated feels top notch and they really nailed a lot when it came to the Daihaseisai arc, for sure. Hahahaha, good thing to note about the connection between Kamui and Yume. While there is misdirection though, are you sure you're not thinking too much into things? Or is that misdirection on my part? Is it a bluff? Or a double bluff? You'll have to see so maybe Yume knows Kamui more than she is letting on…or not…!?

Master Knight Trolling: Thanks for the kind words. As for your questions I think the Church, given that they have Necessarius would be able to just take Otohime away if she was causing enough magical chaos: they've killed and stopped complete strangers before so I didn't see why they would not do so with Otohime was my reasoning there. I think it would be a situation of "She's going down a crazy path, better 'deal' with her before it's too late". As for the second question, I sort of wanted to have Touma have the consequences of his left arm going missing be shown a bit more, so I have to agree with you there. However, at the same time, keeping it gone would be a bit of shock value only and given that the nanomachines themselves aren't exactly 'the same as always', I think there's enough room here to allow for 'change'. Initially though, I have to agree with you that fixing it almost immediately feels a bit weak but I didn't want to have to write new chapters of content that would effectively mean nothing.

onilink500: Jajajaja, ¿no es Index Metal Gear de alguna manera todos los FIVE_Overs y mechs? Gracias por sus amables palabras y espero que esperen con ansias lo que sucede con Otohime en el futuro.

HegemonyWalker: Yeah, Touma goes through a LOT in this fic. But because of that, instead of just walking it away like he usually does, I wanted to give him more depth and added this extra layer to him to make Touma seem more human. I'm glad that it's been noted and that it's making an impact in some way.

DNWorks: Touma needs a break in this fic for sure… I'm just as glad as you are that Touma is finally getting some down time and managing to unwind after everything that happened to him during the arc. And basically, you're right: Touma's only real option now is to seek help from only girls from now on… I'm sure I've made the right decision there.

Newbie Guest 99: Hahahaha, it's happened before in the canon but having the open line here makes me smile. The point of Touma asking someone for help from someone he doesn't know I felt made the "Of course" line even more powerful: it's a reflection of what Touma has done to strangers and I wanted to give the impression that Touma's not the only hero who can help complete strangers: Yume can as well among others. Ohohoho, I'm glad you noted that getting a date for Yume is difficult…

Bestest: Personally, in the last chapter, I made Yume and Itsuwa supreme waifus so I have no regrets. I have to agree with you that Touma got his arm back too quickly in hindsight. But at the same time, I didn't want to linger on 'consequence' too much here because there is definitely going to be consequence of him easily taking the nanomachines into himself which I hope you are keen to see. I hope you're doing safe too – there are Mugino scenes incoming so rest assured!

ArmoredCoreNineBall: I'm glad that you've noticed that Touma, when looking at himself, sort of realises how broken he really is. Just as you noted, the only person he's 'killed' for the purpose of ending their life was 'himself' so I wanted to have him really reflect on this and ask for help given how he is. Even though he ended up talking to a stranger about it, him finding the time to do so really shows some growth on his part. I hope that you're focusing on Yume as a character though…cause I'm sure not.

Suspicious User: I'm glad you noted this; in the end, Touma is a child and sort of running away from his own problems without thinking of solving them. But then again, as a child, I wanted to give him that chance to be selfish every once in a while.

WwEpsilonwW: Hahahaha, I wanted him to note that he had been tortured before, but that would have made the chapter REALLY heavy. Yeah, I saw the fic that you had been penning; even though you're relying on the canon, it feels like you're penning your own sadism fic in a way, hahaha. I only hope you don't take too much out of my book because then it'll be a bloodfest.

Sergio644: I think what people find cute about Index is everything about her that isn't a freeloading nun. At least, that's how it is to me.

Sirius962: Thanks and I hope the wait here was worth it! I'm glad that you felt what I wanted you to feel when you felt it, so all god on the short review. And no problem writing through a translator – I understood everything that you had to give.

Chris: Good god, imagine Touma with a flamethrower…

Agent Nine: I'm glad that you're happy Touma opened up to someone and especially given the things that he's been through and willing to do to others at the cost of himself. You've given me a new life mission to have "Oh my, my, my" happen within Yume's next appearance (the equivalent of "Ara, ara").

wildarms13: Glad to have you on board with the descriptions of things, even if they only related to sadism. Let's see what happens with those nanomachines though… And although I've finished the Remake (only the first playthrough though), I hope you can look forward to what comes next.

ShadowBloodedge9396: Okaeri! Good to see to someone 'felt' on the same page as Touma when it came to his arm – given his childishness and stubborn pride, I wanted to have a reason that objectively is totally weird but at the same time, one where you can see where he is coming from. You shall see what happens with the Tetris Nanomachines even if the name leaves something to be desired… Touma sort of asked for 'help' in this way in GT1 but this has been one of the few occasions where he's actually outright asked for it. I hope you can look forward to what happens with everyone going forward, whether it be Itsuwa, Index or Otohime.

KareNoMusuko00: Good to hear!

Guest (another one): As much as I love Othinus, other girls can try and protect Touma's smile as well. Although I have to agree; no matter what would happen, Othinus would always manage to accept Touma given that they are Understanders.

maxpaynefan1: Good grief, you're trying to turn Touma into Neo, aren't you? Seeing what you asked me to look at, there's a monster a-brewing.

Geust's Account: Since when did Touma's life become a dating sim in the real sense of the word?!

Someoneluck: I think having a chapter or an arc focused on that would mean that a lot of characters would have a LOT to unpack.

MT99: The underlying plot is strictly chronological but if you're looking for just actions and interactions with nothing else, then I think you can get away with reading out of order? I wouldn't suggest it though.

Formboy1: Glad to hear you enjoyed it, kouhai. For some reason though, your reactions reveal to me just how serious a lo of the girls were last chapter. But even if it was short, I loved seeing your reactions and your thoughts all the same! I did see the dragons thoughl who do you think I am?!

Kami: I think that if the series ever focused on Touma not saving people, then the angst levels would end up being pretty high. Although I wouldn't mind a series where it's just Otohime and Index being magical girls. Touma going bullet time would be the worst thing for him though, because then it would meant that he's gotten into THAT much trouble that he can do something like that! As for your question about Touma punching someone so hard he bleeds, I can see it happening. Splitting the knuckles on your fist is quite easy actually.

Chroma: Touma's 'spider sense' has been put through its paces as of late, so maybe you're in for a treat when it comes to properly analysing it! Although I think it'll be hard trying to 'enhance' it because the only thing that you can do to enhance it would be to literally be able to tell the future… This is the first time that I heard that Touma's preferences were a joke though, especially since I try and stay on top of those interviews. Are you sure it's the case? But if it is true, then probably Mikoto has a chance - although if she wasn't the end game, I know the entire Chinese fanbase would explode.

Kenny Galt: I want to believe that Touma can have a break! One that is going to come soon! Although I don't want to have Yume suffer in any way, shape or form…

And finally, the thanks. Firstly, to my beta reader PokeRescue18. Seriously man, each chapter seems to be more and more convoluted but I hope that as I slowly endeavour into making each of them shorter (with some success) that you can continue supporting me the entire time. Truly, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you for everything you have done.

And to you too, the reader! I mean, where would I be without you!? I think probably doing something else with my time but for whatever I have to say to that, the fact that you are here supporting me is the only thing I really need. Thanks so much for everything you have done and as we reach the finale of this arc, I hope you come to really know how much I want to thank you for everything you have done.

But how about Railgun T Episode 14? Man, those dragons were worth the wait. Not to mention we're getting GT 2 in July?! I always know that Index content is coming our way in some shape or form but knowing the exact date really makes things that more exciting when it comes to the wait, doesn't it? Here's to the future of the story where Science and Magic cross paths!

But in terms of this story ad its newest chapter, I only hope you do what you always do:

Enjoy.

Mr Question Mark.

A lull had come over Kamijou Touma as he walked through the hospital hallway.

Kongou Mitsuko's incident had ended.

As had the aftermath as well.

There was naturally a lot to think about.

Itsuwa from the Amakusa Church had betrayed the Anglican Church for Kamijou by not reporting the chaos and the potentially broken path Index and Tatsugami Otohime were taking in the future. Given Index had had her mind overtaken by the sentient grimoire and had killed numerous people and how Otohime had failed in accomplishing the newly chosen Magic Name, it was clear the thin ice both stood on was on the verge of breaking.

And yet, to prevent Kamijou from having to make a hard choice and to prevent both Index and Otohime being suppressed by the Church, Itsuwa had not reported to them what had happened.

The thanks and the gratitude Kamijou had for that single girl went beyond what he could measure. Although that was a weak way of putting it, she had done something for him just so he could keep smiling. Kamijou felt he would not be able to repay that debt, even if he had a million lives. The gratitude he had for her was overwhelming and it was with that gratitude that he viewed the kindness in that girl's heart.

And yet, it was not the only kindness he had seen today.

In both Heaven Canceller and the scientist Yume, he had seen the kindness of the adults that surrounded him.

It was the latter who had promised she would do whatever it took to investigate the dangerous projects run by Kihara Kamui, the FIVE_Object and the cyborg he was building with the parts bought from Kongou Airlines, and to understand how dangerous they were. This was the first steps Kamijou was going to take in the underground war between Magic and Science and while he was lacking in information with respect to those two projects, it was something else he had a firm grip on that gave him hope.

And that was the Personality Swipe counter he held.

Yume had discovered a single flaw within the project that overwrote the minds of men and replaced them with the personality of Kihara Kamui. Namely it did not entirely reproduce the quirks of Kamui within his personality. The small idiosyncrasy held within the Original Kamui was that of his inability to sometimes make proper sentences, his thoughts moving so fast he was unable to properly form them.

In the two 'Kamuis' Kamijou had seen, the old man in the incident with Mugino Shizuri and Aaron Gracestone in the recent incident with Kongou, neither of them had demonstrated that same quirk. That was because their minds were rejecting the personality implanted into them and were fighting against it by not completely assimilating into it.

If that was the case then although the method was unknown, it was possible to truly save those infected with Personality Swipe.

Although that made Kamijou happy, it brought on a somewhat bitter feeling. After all, even though it was possible for those people to be saved, Aaron Gracestone who had been killed during that incident. The fact he could have been saved was a heavy thing to bear and it was with that thought that Kamijou stared at the stump where his left arm had been.

The sight brought knowledge that served to slowly cast away the darkness of his heart. A smile formed on his face.

There was the chance he could get his original arm back. Today, even.

The technology coined as 'Tetris Nanomachines' was technology yet to be tested on humans, however, had favourable results. With the nanomachines implanted into the body assimilating and 'becoming' the missing areas of the body, it was possible the original left arm of Kamijou would be returned to him in an almost perfect state.

By becoming and reconnecting the missing nerves, skin and muscle along with everything else, it was possible Kamijou would be able to get his arm back. The mere thought of it, the mere thought he would recover his lost limb, brought hope once extinguished.

It was going to be arriving later today.

Heaven Canceller and Yume had said they had managed to organise things such that the transportation of the Tetris Nanomachines did not cross any male hands and as such reduced the risk they were going to be exposed to any people infected with the personality of Kihara Kamui. The operation to restore Kamijou's left arm would happen within hours and it was this time tomorrow that the arm Kamijou had so missed would be returned to his body.

But although that was the physical state of him, the mental state was something else entirely.

Kamijou Touma, because of his PTSD and the torture at the hands of Kamui through Aaron, had become desensitised to his own death and injuries. The fear that desensitisation was going to cross a line and cause him to lose something he could never afford to lose terrified him and it had been with a heavy and terrified heart that Kamijou had spoken to the only woman who knew of the pain he was experiencing because of his PTSD even if she did not know what it was.

Kamijou had only asked Yume for one thing.

Help me.

And through the kindness of that adult, she had agreed without hesitation.

There was much that had to be done. Although Kamijou had no idea how she was going to sensitise him to his own death and injuries once more (and potentially deal with the issues around his PTSD), the card she had given him once more with her office written on the back was one he held onto tight.

Kamijou Touma was going to see a counsellor to deal with the things that had happened to him. Although an appointment had yet to be set up, it was with that knowledge that he stared down at the card in his hand.

(…Where do I even start? So much stuff has happened to me you could make a light novel series about it.)

Kamijou suddenly realising the things he had been put through thought about how exactly he was going to, if he was going to, explain things to Yume when they finally had their first appointment. As that reality sank in, it was belatedly that Kamijou realised something extraordinary.

(Wait a minute.)

He blinked a few times, staring at the card and suddenly feeling a certain piece of information shoot through his brain.

(I-I've basically gotten the number of an older woman. And I'm going to be spending some time in the future with her, just the two of us, in a single room. I'm going to be spending time, in a room alone, with an older woman onee-san!? N-Not only that but the care she is providing me feels along the lines of a dorm manager, even though she's a scientist!? Have I…)

Kamijou gaped, trembling as he held the card.

(HAVE I BASICALLY JUST GIVEN MYSELF EVERYTHING I'VE EVER WANTED!? A-A mature older woman with a killer body focused entirely on me, seeking to heal me who has a dorm manager aura around her!? The only thing she is missing is the actual position!)

There was something rolling down his eye as he stopped, sniffling and rising his right hand to the tear starting to roll down his cheek.

(…I could die happy. With just this knowledge, I could die happy! A-Ah, no! If I die, then I'm never going to be spending time alone with Yume-sensei in that single room on a hot summer's night where the two of us are focused entirely on me! Don't raise flags like that! Don't raise flags like that, Kamijou Touma!)

There was something truly wrong with his brain if he was simulating a summer's night rendezvous but as a normal high school boy with limited intelligence there was not much that could be done. Suddenly growing paranoid that something was going to happen to him, it was with a trembling body that feared everything that Kamijou made his way to his room.

Knowing his misfortune, something terrible was going to happen in the near future that was going to prevent him from having any steamy summer night sessions with Yume-sensei inside a sauna where no one else was around.

Oh dear.

Kamijou Touma's idiocy had infected the narration too.

However, it was with that trembling body after just showing extreme weakness in front of that older woman that Kamijou stopped near his hospital room, staring with wide eyes at the person standing opposite his room. Although he had felt as though misfortune was going to strike in the worst possible way given he now had a private rendezvous with a woman who was seriously trying to address a problem within his head, it was the sight in front of him that made him realise this was no time to be joking.

A single figure was standing in front of Kamijou's room.

He wore the same type of Western suit as Yume, however, no one was going to think of him or look at him in the same way as the woman scientist. His clothes were further overlaid with a black trench coat, but it was in a terrible state: rips in the fabric and frayed edges making it seem more like an antique than actual clothes. A sword with a green hilt and red scabbard was attached to his hip but given this was Japan, the serious image he was going for came out as more lax because it looked like cosplay than anything else.

His black hair had a single bang draped over his left eye and it was with his right that he spotted Kamijou, turning his body to face the spiky haired high schooler. Looking to be the same age as Kanzaki Kaori, the visible skin of the boy was covered in bandages save for everything north of his neck.

Kamijou knew the boy, having spoken with him, but it was now he was spotted that caution and awareness surged through him.

This was Orion Phoenix, the boy mercenary who had kidnaped him and caused everything that had happened to him. Not only that but from what Itsuwa and the others had told him, it was this boy who had threatened Index after she had managed to take back control of her body from whatever sentient grimoire had controlled her and Otohime after she had attacked him.

If not for Itsuwa holding Orion back in the case of Index and Otohime's SCALE spell protecting her in the case of Otohime, there was no doubt in Kamijou's mind that both would have perished. It was with that caution that Kamijou stood frozen in silence in the hallway. There was truly no escape.

Even at the distance Orion was at, it was clear that his preferred weapon of choice, a gun, would be able to have a bullet cross the distance between Kamijou and Orion and kill him instantly. That simple threat from his mere presence put Kamijou on guard, frantically staring at any avenue of escape if Orion pulled a gun on him.

However, misfortune seemed to have been kind to Kamijou now.

And that was seen in how Orion rose both hands above his head.

"?"

The action confused Kamijou but the meaning behind it was clear: the mercenary meant no harm. Even so though, it was cautiously that Kamijou approached the boy, staring at him as he got closer until they were close enough to have a conversation.

"…Orion."

That the only thing Kamijou said, the boy nodding his head and slowly putting down his hands.

"Mr. Kamijou. …As you might surmise, the reason I am here is not to do you any harm. My client perished in the same chaos everyone else did and hence, my contract with him has been terminated. You could say it is by the whims of the living that I am here with you."

Kamijou had numerous questions but the first one that came to mind was the one that left his mouth.

"How exactly did you get past the front desk dressed like that?"

Orion's trench coat clattered as he walked, indicating the guns he kept inside were indeed still there. Even though it seemed to break every single provision in the Swords and Firearms Control Law, here was this idiot dressed in the same over-the-top clothes as always.

If he felt irritated, he did not say or show it. Instead, he just answered honestly.

"They thought it was cosplay."

"Yeah, that explains a lot."

"Just for reference, this is not cosplay. Those who have hired me within my industry have formulated an annoying image around me. If I don't wear these over the top clothes, no one seems to take me seriously."

"I see, I see. Y-You clearly want to talk to me, so shall we speak inside?"

"I don't think you're getting it, Mr. Kamijou. It's not cosplay."

"I never said it was so stop jumping to conclusions all by yourself!"

Kamijou retorted back and reached out with his right arm (his only one) towards the door, however Orion moved first. He pushed back Kamijou's arm with his own and reached for the doorhandle, opening the door himself in a rare move of generosity that seemed out of character. The boy stood there stunned for a moment as Orion gestured towards the door with his free hand.

"It is the obligation of the healthy to treat the sick, Mr. Kamijou. Like you said, shall we talk inside?"

It seemed rather old fashioned given Kamijou was perfectly fine as well, but he gave it no other thought, nodding in somewhat thanks and heading inside his room. Orion followed after and closed the door, Kamijou turning in the middle of the room and intending to ask Orion exactly what the hell he wanted.

However, he froze in mid turn.

Something was sitting on his bed.

Or rather, someone.

The girl grinned, sitting cross legged and without a care for how she looked, even though the clothes she wore could have easily fit on a boy as easily as a girl. Her unimpressive chest was not her main selling point but rather her hair was.

Long, grey hair with white streaks and black tips, it seemed as though the girl wanted to try numerous styles no matter what anyone else thought of her. While last time Kamijou had seen her it had been let loose, it was now tied into two twintails. But even then, the one thing constant with that hair stuck out the same as always: the grey ahoge with white streaks and black tip which swayed from side to side as she grinned.

Kamijou stared at her, unable to say anything.

That was impossible.

He had seen this girl die: shot in the head and seen her body collapse over a desk. He had seen and remembered the blood and yet, here she was, unharmed and looking as energetic as ever.

Faith Townsend, the girl who should have died, rose a hand as she sat on Kamijou's bed and gave a small wave.

"Hiya Kamicchan."

"K – "

Kamijou though had other ideas for whatever it was Faith said to him.

"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!? A ghoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooost!?"

Kamijou screamed out something rather embarrassing for someone on the Science side but as he trembled in fear, his eyes widened and he turned. He thrust a finger before the mercenary in front of him in an accusatory fashion that made one question whether he had been tortured the day before.

"You bastard! You killed me, didn't you!? I'm dead and this is the afterlife, isn't it!? Do you know how close I was to having a dorm manager onee-san in my life?! THIS. CLOSE! I knew it. I know my misfortune bites me in the ass whenever I get something good but taking my life because I had something I wanted is going too far, you asshole!"

"Mr. Kamijou, I think you'll find there is a great misunderstanding you are making here…"

"You get no right to say that when there's a dead girl sitting on my bed! What kind of misunderstanding is there that could possibly be made at this point!?"

"Please…you're ruining my suit if you hold my collar like that…"

Orion seemed to look at Kamijou, who had grabbed him by the collar, with indifference but the way he spoke clearly indicated he was bothered by what Kamijou was doing. The boy pressed his face closer towards the mercenary, their foreheads touching but a rose-coloured scene was the last thing formed here.

"I'm dead, aren't I? I'm dead. So I see dead people. W-Wait a minute. The High Priest died too. N-No, the last thing I want to see in the afterlife is some pain in the ass old man who caused me nothing but trouble! Where are the sexy demons in skimpy outfits?! Or the angels in loose fitting tunics!? I don't care which one I get, but at least let me have one!"

Kamijou seemed to have reached a great misunderstanding as he let go of Orion and yelled at the world for being unfair to him. However, the dead girl on the bed (who was awfully lively) spoke up.

"You weren't told?"

"Don't start with that! Are you going to tell me some kind of bullshit excuse that belongs to some kind of isekai novel!?"

"Hahahaha, there's no Truck-kun here to take you away, so don't worry about that!"

Faith rose a hand and placed it against her head, tongue sticking out.

"You see, the thing is, I did, in fact, die. But even then, Kamicchan, that's not going to be enough to kill me. I'd give some kind of super complicated explanation, but Orion said to me that last time you guys met, you knew about Magic. So, at the very least, I don't need to explain to you there are some things that might seem impossible but are not in this world, right?"

Kamijou stared at the girl who smiled all the same. She hopped off the bed and smoothed out the creases in the sheet, the boy turning to the mercenary she was handling but finding he had moved against the wall and crossed his arms. He seemed disinterested but the fact he seemed such made Kamijou realise this was a conversation he had heard many times before.

And as such, this was entirely normal for Orion.

Yes.

It was entirely normal for Faith Townsend to have survived something that would have killed any normal human.

The conditions that explained that exact phenomenon with what Faith herself had said caused one word and position to come to the spiky haired boy's mind. His eyes went wide as he turned to her, whispering out the words.

"You're…a magician?"

"Bzzt. Wrong answer! Would you like to try again or phone a friend?"

Faith formed an 'X' with her arms before grinning and dancing over to Kamijou, placing an arm over his shoulder.

"If you know of magic, then you know how it all started, don't you? A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…?" she asked with a cheeky grin, Kamijou forcing whatever was in his mind to operate on all cylinders despite the obscure movie reference. Words and phrases Index had once told him came to mind but whether they were from the 'knowledge' left over from the past Kamijou or something he had gained himself; he couldn't entirely remember. Whatever the case, he made words.

"The powerless…wanting to emulate those with power, right?"

"Ding ding! Absolutely correct. And to that, you could say I am one of those original people with power. What was it we were called again?"

"…A Gemstone?"

"Yeah," Faith said as she slapped Kamijou on the back. "That's it! I was going to say something pretty cool sounding like 'Originals' but Gemstones works as well."

Kamijou only felt the impact hit his back roughly but there was nothing there but a linking of the terms within his head. From what he knew of the world, Gemstones were those with powers who had been given them at birth and did not exist within the Power Curriculum Program. Separate from the world of Magic and different from the espers produced by Academy City, they were a third category that existed in the world.

Kamijou himself knew and had seen some Gemstones: Himegami Aisa and Claire from the Kamisato Faction but the fact that the girl in front of him was basically confirming she was one and said it was how she had survived threw his mind for a loop.

"H-Hang on…are you basically saying the reason you survived being shot in the head is because of…?"

"My power? Yeah, basically. You have to remember, Kamicchan, that we Gemstones were the originals. So, any rare power, anything that Magic tries to do, you can think of it as having its origins in the powers of us Gemstones. In a way, you can think of us as being the origin of Magic: where the ideas came from. At least, that's how I like to think about it. …Do you think I could file a plagiarism case for it?"

Faith asked, her ahoge forming a question mark as she seemed to put serious thought into the idea, but the arrogance and the narcissism in that statement was also pretty large. Kamijou did not remark on it, his head turning as he tried to figure out what that power was and how it worked, but instead turned his head towards the silent Orion.

Faith seemed to know his question immediately and shook her head, her ahoge dancing in front of her and Kamijou's face.

"Ah, no. Orion is a normal human despite having similar survival abilities to me."

"Wait? So, he's a Gemstone too!?"

"No, no. You heard from Pretty Boy, didn't you? That Orion can't have his heart destroyed? Well, in a way, that's true. But it's got nothing to do with Magic or Science or Gemstones. He's just a normal human…although that in turn has brought on its own version of misfortune."

Faith made reference to something the now dead Kisaragi Maeda had said but it was lost on the spiky haired boy. Kamijou stared at the mercenary leaning against the wall but the influx of information he had a hard time adjusting to. As such, his mouth moved before his mind did.

"Normal humans can have their hearts destroyed though."

"Hmm…well there is that. But despite others trying to make it happen to Orion, here we are! You're like a cockroach, aren't you, Orion? Roachy roach."

Orion said nothing but the sharp glare he gave his handler showed he was not amused. Faith waved a hand in the air and turned back to Kamijou.

"Whatever the case, we're not here to give you explanations into our lives or anything like that, Kamicchan," Faith said as she once more slapped Kamijou on the back before releasing herself from his shoulder and facing him. She placed both hands on his shoulders, looking entirely serious. "What we're here to do is repay a debt."

Kamijou, slowly finding words he could understand, frowned at that.

"A debt? What are you talking about?"

"This."

Faith did not even need to explain as she tapped Kamijou's left shoulder. Kamijou's expression soured as she slapped the stump that was his left arm before looking at it with melancholy. Although the arm was going to be replaced with Tetris Nanomachines soon, the fact it had been cut off in the first place was a heavy load to bear. Even so though, what exactly did that have to do with the mercenary and his handler?

"What about it?"

Faith smiled a tiny bit.

"I made a promise to you, Kamicchan. Do you remember what it was? I don't know if you do, but the value Orion and I place on promises isn't one we can easily discard. I said no harm would come to you when you were in my care. Do you…remember?"

It felt distant, but Kamijou did indeed remember such a promise being made, although the failure to keep it was obvious. Now that Kamijou looked back on it, it was the time he had been kidnapped and he was being held by these two that was the calm before the storm if anything.

No matter what they had done or why they had done it, Faith had treated him well. She had given him a pillow for his left arm to sit on, when she saw it was broken. She had been friendly, trying to break the ice and give Kamijou some comfort and when he was going to move out into danger, she had stopped him because of that very same promise which she had broken of no fault of her own.

And yet, here they were, trying to make things right for the promise they had broken and the debt that had to be repaid because of it.

"You were the one who gave me that pillow when I was kidnapped, weren't you?"

"Your safety was the biggest thing we had to make sure to maintain. So, it was only natural we would do whatever it took to protect you, our hostage."

"Even though I don't approve of making promises one can't keep," Orion put in. "And even if it was made in my name without my explicit permission, Faith did promise something on my behalf. And as much as it annoys me to go through with it when I agreed to nothing, I do have to pay my debts when they fall due. Even if they were made in ignorance."

"What the Wannabe Cosplaying Black Swordsman Edgelord Weeb wants to say," said Faith with a thumb pointing back to Orion. "Is that he's sorry things turned out this way and that he wants to make things right. Hence, he and I, the ones who made the broken promise, are here to repay a debt."

"In what way…and I any of the things you just said?" Orion, seeming to want to protect whatever image he had left in the eyes of Kamijou spoke up. Faith only sighed, turning to him with her arms on her hips.

"In what way? Are you serious? I mean, look at those crossed arms. That trench coat. That scowl. That hairstyle. Do I need to go on?!"

Orion didn't unfold his arms, just staring at Faith with no change of expression or amusement. She didn't say anything either before turning back to Kamijou.

"Although it does nothing to get back your left arm…this is the only thing we can give you. One from the both of us."

"F-Faith-san, to be honest, going this far just for me is a bit much. To be honest, there was nothing you could have done and the only person who is at fault is dead. I don't need anything like redemption or anything like that."

"San? Faith-san?! After facing certain death together, I would think you would have dropped the honorific! You're breaking my heart here!"

Faith did not even bother listening to the words of Kamijou, reaching into the pocket of her jeans and bringing out a small object. It glittered in the light of the hospital room, Kamijou staring at it with fascination.

It was a silver bullet, engraved with the letter 'F'. It sparkled within Faith's hand and she held it up to Kamijou's eye level.

"This," Faith started. "Is basically a free contract from me. Open up the casing inside, there is a small piece of paper. It's useless as a bullet as there is no gunpowder but the small piece of paper inside is what has value."

To demonstrate, Faith undid the bottom of the bullet, twisting it until the bottom was easily removed. She pulled it out, the inside of the bullet being a rolled up piece of paper. She took it out but with the paper being rolled up, Kamijou could not see what was on it.

"On it is my number and an alphanumeric string. Text that to the number and it serves as an identification code for us so we know who is sending the message. And then we will call you. Although it is not much, like I said, this is a free contract. Text the number, we will call you and you tell us anything, and I mean that literally, and we will do it. One from the both of us."

Faith placed the piece of paper within the bullet again and screwed back on the bottom, turning to Orion. She held out a hand and whistled, Orion bringing out another silver bullet from his suit's inner pocket and tossed it to her.

Kamijou was left stunned as he was handed the two silver bullets.

"No matter what it is, text us that string and we will call you. No matter the request, we'll do it free of charge. If ever you need a hand with anything at all, then we will do it no matter what. Whether it be your homework, cleaning, killing, dating or merely a sexual favour. That is the way that we resolve debts. Although if you're going to do sexual favours, I'd prefer it if you call me."

Kamijou stared down the bullet in his hand, ignoring the joke given by Faith (at least, he hoped it was a joke) before shaking his head, thrusting them back with a frown on his face.

"I can't…accept this. You've done nothing to have this kind of burden put on you, Faith-san."

"Faith-san!? You're killing me here!" Faith complained before pushing the hand back to the boy.

"But if you can't accept it, then don't use it. If you truly think you can't accept it, then I am not one to stop you. Whatever you do with the bullets is up to you: you can melt them down, turn them into a trinket or fill them with gunpowder and use them as actual bullets. I don't care. Or you can use them in the way they are meant to be used. Again, whether you choose to do so is entirely up to you."

Faith nodded to herself, pleased and patted Kamijou on the left shoulder once again. She had an expression on her face that suggested the words she was going to say were ones she truly meant from the bottom of her heart.

"And I'm sorry. Seriously. I mean…for a kid like you to have to have that happen to you? It's not right. There was something we could have done and yet, there was nothing we even tried to do. Seriously, Kamicchan, I won't forget this. I won't forget this debt for as long as I live. …Which is going to be a pretty long time with my power, hahaha!"

She nodded to herself, giving a chuckle at her own joke, seeming to have confirmed something before taking a step back and spinning around.

"Well, that's our business! It was a bit tricky getting out of District 10 and finding you here, but I guess you can never underestimate an information network!" Faith, despite the seriousness she had just displayed seemed cheery enough, walking up to Orion and pushing him on the shoulder.

Kamijou stared at the bullets in the palm of his hand. One belonging to the Gemstone Faith Townsend and the other the normal human Orion Phoenix who could not have his heart destroyed (which seriously made Kamijou doubt the normal human part). The two bullets allowed Kamijou two wishes, no matter what they were. One would be fulfilled by Faith and the other by Orion but at their heart, they were cards he could use however and whenever he wished.

But even so…the weight attached to them felt heavier than he thought. The bullets themselves clinked together as they rolled in his palm and he knew why they felt heavy.

They were bullets.

Weapons meant to be used to take lives.

The fact his free contracts and wishes were contained within such a thing suggested to Kamijou what exactly the type of wish he would make with them and that thought alone made him shiver. Although it was perhaps their own version of kindness, one well founded, this type of kindness Kamijou felt he did not want to be a part of. There was something wrong with it, being contained within a tool used for killing and it was because of that that Kamijou did not think as though he could accept this type of kindness so unilaterally.

Not because he did not think he was worthy of it.

But rather because of the way it was presented and was given.

The world in which those two lived in was entirely different from his and while he was glad the two of them had survived (despite Faith using a somewhat unfair method when Kamijou had lost his arm), he was not entirely sure the meetings they would have in the future, if any, would be entirely good, even if he had come to like Faith's energy. The bullets they had given to him as 'kindness' were reflective of that

Were they good people? Were they bad people? Kamijou could not judge just from the kindness they had given him in the form of bullets. Perhaps from his own stance, this was something twisted but from the stance of someone else, this would be the greatest thing that there ever was.

It was somehow confusing as thoughts conflicted within Kamijou but it was one thing in the bullets he held and the people who had given them to him that he recognised.

And that was the world those people lived in.

Everything had been sorted out and everything was fine. In truth, there was no point in holding a grudge against Kihara Kamui for having tortured him anymore as the incident was over. Nor was there one to be held for Orion Phoenix who had threatened Index and Otohime; his contract was terminated with his employer. Neither was there a reason to hate Kongou Mitsuko who was an innocent in all this.

For Kamijou Touma, there was no one to blame, no one to hate and no one to resent for everything that had happened.

But even then, the world those two lived in was entirely different to the one Kamijou lived in. The things they saw and the things they did were different and it had changed them and turned them into the people they were today.

For instance, between the choices Kamijou and Orion made. For Kamijou, the unfairness of the world and presenting someone with two options when it was a case of the lesser of two evils was something he could not stand and because of it, he sought to create a third option which rejected those other two and gave someone else the chance to stand on their own two feet.

However, for Orion, it had nothing to do with unfairness. He merely was placed on a singular path, decided by someone else and went along with it, no matter what happened to him or what he thought.

They were too different.

And the worlds they lived in had formed what they did and how they acted. For one, kindness and debts were repaid with everything they had and without any reason to abandon someone else. For another, kindness and debts were repaid in the same way, although done so using the medium of the tool for killing.

Kamijou had seen so many different worlds in the things he had been through. Magic vs. Science or even the singular incidents of such had created so many battlefields and even war. But it was those war battlefields which were so distant to him that were probably commonplace for those two.

Maybe it was because of that fact.

Maybe it was because they lived in such different worlds to Kamijou which were not exactly Darkness and not exactly Light that he opened his mouth and asked his question.

Kamijou himself did not know entirely why, but the question he asked was one he could not take back.

"Have…"

Faith stopped pushing Orion and turned her head, Orion stopping as well. He only slightly tilted it and stared at the boy. He felt their stares, the stares of two people who lived in a different world than him, where there was no separation between conflict and 'normal'. Where peace was the outlier and smiles were constantly destroyed.

But even as those stares and that different world looked at him, Kamijou Touma still asked his question.

"Have you ever seen an ending where everyone is saved?"

There was silence, Faith staring at him with wide eyes and Orion staring at Kamijou without expression on his face. Nobody said anything, but it was perhaps the question Kamijou asked that was the greatest taboo for the people standing in front of him. After all, given the world they lived in, was it unusual for death to appear? Was it unusual for everyone to be saved?

Perhaps he was naïve.

Perhaps it was wish fulfilment.

But he still asked.

Nobody said anything in the silence, but the first instance of a response came from Orion.

"Does it matter?"

"Eh?"

Kamijou, if he had been expecting anything, responded with that. Faith, pushing on Orion slowly let him pass as he stood in front of Kamijou.

"Let's say I say 'yes' to your question, Mr. Kamijou. What does it matter?"

"What does it – I-It does matter! Doesn't that mean you've seen a battlefield where everyone has been saved? Doesn't that mean there is the possibility where everyone can go home smiling and safe?" Kamijou asked, finding his voice was rising but not really understanding why. Was it because of the worlds they lived in were so different? He could not say entirely.

"And what if I said 'no'? Again, what does it matter? You're judging the things we have faced in a different spectrum, Mr. Kamijou."

"Different…spectrum?"

"The battles we have faced…while some of them have been about saving others, not all of them have been. And I can definitely say the ones that were not can be categorised into the term 'war'."

Orion said the words smoothly but Faith behind him turned her head away from that and stayed silent.

"In 'war', do you know what makes people happy? Do you know what allows people to go home smiling? The answer is 'surviving'. And for a soldier, for someone on a battlefield, you do that at any cost. And I mean that literally, Mr. Kamijou. When the chips are down and there is nothing around you but pure insanity, you can't learn to care about other people. You can't care about their smiles, their lives, their families or anything like that. When it comes to 'war', there is only you. And the enemy. One of you gets the chance to go home and not the other. There is no diplomacy, forgiveness, hatred or even the chance to surrender sometimes. It's your smile against someone else's. And that's all there is to it."

It was never about saving people.

It was about saving oneself: survival.

That was what 'war' was. Without judgment, without fear of repercussions, without fear of anything else, it was never about choosing to save someone else or anything like that. Maybe there was a choice or mission to do that, but at the end of the day, the ultimate choice to make was survival.

Nothing else.

Kamijou had felt as though looking at their battles through the spectrum of people saved was the difference in their worlds. But, if he was to look at Orion's worlds through that spectrum, would he be able to handle it?

This was war he was talking about.

But how much would those lost exceed those saved?

Just thinking about it through history was enough to make Kamijou sick and the difference presented to him through Orion was one further enforced with the words said next.

"However, if you are asking me if I have seen a 'war', a battlefield in which everyone is saved, then my honest answer is 'yes'. In fact, this battlefield and this incident achieved such."

And that difference made Kamijou stare at Orion in shock and horror.

Everyone…was saved in this incident? The idea of the dead bodies, the death and what had happened filled Kamijou with so much dread he could not think this was an incident where everyone was saved and yet, this soldier was making that audacious claim?

"…What?"

"I'll repeat myself again. Mr. Kamijou, I believe on this battlefield and in this incident, there is a way you can think of everyone as being 'saved' if you so desire it."

"What the hell are you saying, you bastard?" Kamijou's voice was so cold even he felt something go down his spine. There was something in there, in the words Orion was saying that he had to deny with everything he had. "How…How can you think of everyone as being saved?! People died! They were slaughtered and for no good reason!"

"People die every day Mr. Kamijou. It's what they do. They are very good at it and it's one of the few things human beings get right 100% of the time unless you're an irregularity like Faith."

"Hey!"

"But no, I'm not going to enter into a debate where you can view this through the spectrum of death. Instead, Mr. Kamijou, I ask of you, who is 'everyone'?"

"I-It's everyone. How do I even need to explain that?!" Kamijou frowned and interjected, although in his words he felt desperation come out. Was he that intent on rejecting what was said?

"'Everyone' who can be saved? Well then, by that definition, everyone that could have been saved, was."

"P-People died, you son of a bitch! And yet you call that being saved!?"

"You can't save a corpse."

The hollow and sharp reality stabbed into Kamijou as he stared at the mercenary, unable to say anything, the distance between them and their worlds growing further and further away as Orion spoke.

"No matter what you do, bringing back the dead is impossible. I don't know anyone who can do that and even despite the cheating Faith does with her power, I'm sure there is no one out there who knows how to fully bring back the dead. Hell, even Necromancers can't perfectly do it. A corpse can't be saved. So, if that is the case, then what is left? The answer is 'everyone'. Everyone alive managed to survive. And they all have their smiles. So, in a way, you can think of this incident as being one where 'everyone' is saved."

"That…"

Kamijou grit his teeth and lowered his head, clenching his right fist harder than he ever had before.

"That isn't the everyone I wanted to have saved…"

He knew the words he was saying were cheap. He knew that there was no way someone like him could achieve an ending where everyone was saved and he had never once felt the need to go that far. For Kamijou Touma, saving one person was enough out of thousands and the grand scale of 'everyone' was impossible for him to fit into the palm of his hand.

But with how different Orion's world was, was there the chance the type of ending where 'everyone' was saved existed?

The answer was both yes and no.

Yes, in the sense everyone was saved if they were alive.

And no, in the sense that it was never that type of 'everyone' Kamijou was looking for.

"No matter the battlefield you face, Mr. Kamijou, the moment someone dies, your 'everyone' becomes the tiny bit smaller. A corpse is a corpse. And you can't save a corpse."

"…But you didn't save the person who that corpse used to be." Kamijou's voice was weak, barely a whisper even though he realised he could not save everyone himself. He felt disgusting, getting angry at someone for something that not even he could do and the anger he was feeling within him felt as though it was directed more at himself than anyone else.

And yet, as always, the twisted world that mercenary belonged to had an answer for that query as well.

"War and battlefields aren't always about saving, Mr. Kamijou. Sometimes they are about survival and nothing else. At least, from where I stand, that is what matters. Have I seen an ending 'everyone' is saved? I have. Everyone though? I have not. I mean…to think you can apply such thinking to fucking war of all things…who exactly do you think you are, you brat?"

Orion spat out those bitter words, Kamijou hanging his head and saying nothing in response. There was a small silence as Orion huffed, shaking his head and speaking once more.

"But that is just the difference in our worlds. A difference I think we can both accept to deny."

"You…deny my definition? My wish for everyone to be saved?" Kamijou did not bother saying he denied Orion's definition. After all, thinking that deaths were justified because everything was about survival and you could accept those deaths struck a deep chord within Kamijou. Who the hell was Kamijou to say anything about the nature of war and what saving people meant when it was about survival? The fact Kamijou could so arrogantly think otherwise was simply a mark on him, but Orion did not say anything on the matter.

"Yes. I do."

"Why? Why do you deny it!?"

"Because," Orion paused for a single moment, as if biting something back but speaking anyway. "You can't save everyone in war. Hell, you can barely save people. You take the people you save and you count them on one fucking hand because sometimes that's the only thing you have left. You accept the losses for what they are and never look back on them. Everyone? …What the fuck does that even mean?"

Orion spat out those words and turned back around, silence in the air as the difference between the worlds of the spiky haired boy and the flat haired mercenary was carved between them. But even then, as silence reigned, it was the words of the mercenary that filled the air once more.

"You treasure life. Because no matter what you do on a battlefield like this, you can't save it. I'm not saying you are wrong, Mr. Kamijou. In fact, you are more than right. But I believe I am too. There is no right or wrong answer here."

Kamijou felt something rise within him but forced it down.

Orion was right.

There was no right or wrong answer here. It could not be termed in the phrases of good and evil or those simple categories. Kamijou had asked a question that was unfair and had had it answered. There was nothing for him to get mad at or anything else and yet the differences between the worlds presented between him and Orion felt so large it was unable to be crossed.

But even then, if that was enough to sway Kamijou Touma, then he never would have reached this far.

If this was enough to really make him waver, then he was never fit to save anyone from the beginning.

(Calm down…)

Kamijou forced that thought into his head, took a deep breath and stared right at the back of the mercenary.

"Shall we agree to disagree, then?" Kamijou asked, finding a fierce smile on his face all the same. "Even if war means not everyone can be saved, that's not the same here. It might not be everyone…but there is the chance I can save someone all the same. And even in the face of your goddamn war, I'm going to do that, even if you can't. Kamijou Touma…isn't going to let something like reality get in the way of the smiles he wants to protect."

Orion stopped, not saying anything before turning his head around and looking Kamijou right in the face.

"Agree to disagree, then?"

"Agree to disagree."

Kamijou Touma and Orion Phoenix.

They lived in twisted worlds of their own making and it had turned them into different people.

They were not enemies.

They were not nemeses.

They were not archenemies either.

They were simply different, living in different worlds and doing things in different ways. There was no reason to hate the other and no reason to think the other was wrong or right. The only thing there was was the differences between them.

Kamijou Touma held up his right fist and Orion Phoenix said nothing, only walking away. Who was the victor? Kamijou, who had kept to his ideals all the same? Or Orion, who had been unable to convince Kamijou of a reality he was a part of? There was no answer.

Only difference.

That did not mean they were not willing to understand the other. It was simply life, simply difference that divided them and caused the cause of them to walk away from the other without resentment or hatred within them.

The only thing they held were those worlds and the ideals within them.

Those worlds of those two boys walked apart, separate and yet connected.

And the only thing left for them was to live within those worlds they called their own.

"…You went a bit harsh on him, don't you think?"

"He asked. I answered."

"Holy crap, this edgelord shit of yours is getting annoying."

"Why do you feel the need to bully me 24/7, Faith?!"

"You're so bulliable though!"

The response from Faith was followed by a cheeky grin as the two of them walked through the hallways of the District 7 hospital. Faith's grin fell and she sighed, shaking her head as she walked by his side, putting her hands behind her head.

"Still, it was unusual for you to get so involved in that with Kamicchan."

"Was it?"

"Yeah. Just saying not everyone lives in war would have been enough. You didn't have to go as far as you did. I think he got what you were saying and I do too, but…yeah." Faith shrugged, eyeing her partner with a concerned gaze but the boy continued walking, staring into the distance without saying anything for a small while.

But eventually, words left his mouth.

"…He was strong."

"?"

"Mr. Kamijou. He was…is strong. I could see it in his eyes. The things I was saying…he accepted them, but he never once thought to waver. There was doubt but at the same time certainty in the things he was saying and feeling. No matter what I said, I could tell nothing was going to change his mind on the things he was feeling and asking. He accepted that maybe not everyone could be saved…but that did not give him reason to abandon others. Even despite what I was telling him, I could tell he still would try and save someone, even if there was a war going on around him and everyone going happy only happens through survival."

Faith said nothing, only staring in front of her and nodding her head slowly.

"He…tried to save Short Stack."

"…Who?"

"You know, the kid who died?"

"Mr. Gracestone?"

"Yeah, him."

"Why can't you use fucking names once in a while, Faith?"

"Yeah, despite the fact that Short Stack killed Pretty Boy and ordered his soldiers to kill everyone else, Kamicchan still tried to save Short Stack in his own way." Faith entirely ignored the mercenary, leaving the boy with a frown but he still nodded.

"See what I mean?" Orion said, sighing slightly. "Even if there was a war and even if he recognises he could not save everyone, that kid won't waver. Even if what he says is hopeless, childish and naïve, he won't waver. Even if what he says it can't happen in reality and is nothing but a pipedream, he won't waver. Mr. Kamijou…is stronger than you or I could ever hope to be, Faith. Much stronger."

"…Are you jealous?"

"I don't know. The idea you can try and save an enemy during war is ridiculous. And yet, Mr. Kamijou is not going to merely forsake someone in the same way we do during battles. Am I jealous of that type of idea where truly everyone can go home smiling? I don't know. After all, I can't remember if I have ever seen that type of ending. If I have, it's buried underneath all the bodies I've seen."

The words hung in the air for a single moment, but Orion shook his head.

"I don't know what I am missing out on in that line of thinking…but maybe because I don't know, I can only look at it with a cynical gaze. Is that jealousy, Faith? I'm a mercenary so I can't afford to think like that. I only have to do what I have to do to survive and complete the job I have been given. No matter the bodies that pile up along the way."

The worlds they lived in were just too different.

But even then, the want for the type of ending where everyone was saved was truly an ending anyone could look at with their head held high. The type of ending where everyone could go home smiling was a powerful one and for those two, the fact Kamijou stuck to it and advocated it even after what he had seen was something that left unknown emotions within their hearts.

Even though they were different, there was still the chance to look at the path where someone was saved and think it was alright and that they could be happy with that ending.

Faith was silent, the differences between the two boys being made obvious in their outlook on endings and their worlds.

"(You're… You're not as bad as you make yourself out to be.)"

"What was that?"

"Nothing." Faith smiled. "You've survived, Orion. I think you can have pride in that. Since you recognise that life is precious because it can be taken so easily, I think you can have pride in the fact you are alive."

"But is there anything else I can have pride in?"

The question hung in the air for the smallest of moments but the fact there was no immediate answer pressed down on the two of them, making them fully realise the type of world they lived in. Was there was possibility for a change after all they had seen? No one knew and yet, even reaching for it was a foolish thing to do given the type of battlefields the two of them lived in and fought on.

"It bothers you still, doesn't it?" Faith asked, her eyes showing concern for the boy. "The fact that you couldn't save our client."

"…"

"There's nothing you could have done. We were up against the entirety of the Circuits and Chips forces."

"That doesn't excuse me from the failure I made. …It was my job to protect him. And I failed. …That's all there is to it and I have to live with that. Even if I did survive, as you said."

Did he wish their positions were reversed if it would protect the man he was supposed to protect? The girl by his side felt a chill up her spine but moved her mouth, forcing out words to get her mind moving.

"E-Even so. I do think you could have rephrased things a bit better with Kamicchan. And not gone as far."

"…"

"He probably thinks of you as the edgelord you are."

"I'm getting close to 'accidentally' shooting you."

"I won't die, even if it happened!" Faith grinned and stuck out her tongue, her ahoge waving in the air with an aspect of glee although she paused for a moment, putting her finger to her chin. "But all things cosplay and edgelord aside…"

"Really fucking close, Faith."

"I think you might have given off the wrong impression. I mean…you were the one who gave Kamijou that pillow for his arm when we tied him up. Not me. Not to mention the message you gave in that not everyone can survive in war also suggests you have to treasure life because you don't know what tomorrow will bring."

Again, there was silence but any response from the mercenary was one where he looked away from the girl smiling at him. Was that because of an aspect of annoyance or embarrassment? Faith grinned all the same, shaking her head and bringing out her phone.

"You can be pointlessly soft hearted at times, Orion. Oh wait, since your heart can't be destroyed, it's just soft. … But forget that!" Faith puffed out her small chest, bringing out her phone and shoving it into Orion's face. "We have another job~!"

"Another one?"

"Yep! From someone called…goddamn kanji, I wish they would use simpler letters. Hey, what does this say?"

Faith showed Orion the phone and he looked at the letters in the texted request.

"Hayashida Mari?"

"Knew that was what it said." Faith grinned before frowning. "I get the feeling that sounds familiar somehow. Whatever. As for the job request…"

Faith started talking but the mercenary was not listening.

No.

Something was wrong.

And he knew what it was.

He turned his head around and looked down the hallway.

It was empty.

And for that alone, the battle instincts refined within that boy went on full alert.

He wasn't sure if he had imagined it, but the voice he heard around him was unmistakeable.

"Found yooooooooooooooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu~."

Beep.

Orion felt something crawl up his skin, listening to the echo of the voice within the hallway. The silence when there should have been people around was disconcerting and it was slowly that he reached for his trench coat, lifting it up to grip one of the small pistols inside.

There was nothing in this hallway.

No people.

No sound.

No…sound?

Even though Faith had been talking mere seconds before?

Orion turned to face the girl who was always with him –

But by then it was too late.

Without even having the chance to react, Faith's left hand reached up and grabbed Orion's neck and, with an unbelievable amount of force, threw him against the wall of the hospital hallway. He gagged, Faith's hand gripping his neck tightly as the boy stared down at his handler.

But the instincts within him were ones that resulted in a single action.

He brought out the pistol from within his battered trench coat, but Faith used her other hand, pinning the wrist to the wall. She changed position, using her elbow to hold Orion's neck against the wall and lifted him up, other hand still on the boy's wrist.

He tried to breathe but the colour slowly draining from his face made it clear he was finding difficulty to. The pressure on his hand was building, but he still made sure to grip the pistol and not let go. It was his only weapon in this position and if he relinquished it, it was the same as –

Faith's grip was just too powerful and a small 'snap' resounded through the air as Faith broke Orion's wrist using nothing but sheer grip. Orion's face contorted and with the broken wrist, there was no support for the hand that now dropped the pistol, the item falling to the ground.

Orion stared at the girl who called herself his handler, the blue eyes of the girl that stared back at him being different in a particular way he noticed immediately.

They had stars in them.

"It was hard finding you. But then again, I suppose trash such as yourself does have decent hiding ability. Never did I think you would make a beeline for here though. Are you even a mercenary? Where is your caution ability?"

That sing-song voice resounded through the air and it was in the limited movement that Orion turned his head, staring at the girl heading straight for him with a remote in her hand.

Honey blonde hair, stars in her eyes and wearing the Tokiwadai Middle School uniform over an overdeveloped yet killer body, the boy choked out the name of the girl heading his way with a whitening face.

"Ms. …Shokuhou."

"At your service~! Although it worries me that you know my name on sight. Maybe I really do have that much popularity ability?"

Shokuhou Misaki winked and put a sideways peace sign up to her eye, poking her tongue out at the same time. However, she dropped it, maintaining the same smile on her face but even then, the way in which it was so obviously fake would have brought a chill to anyone. The malice within that smile was obvious for anyone to see.

"What…do you want? Gmfgkgkhjgfkn!?"

Orion asked that question but Shokuhou shook her finger in front of her face, Faith pressing up against Orion's throat even harder. The strength behind it was going to crush his throat, much like his wrist, but the message behind the action was clear.

"Now, now. No talking from you. In fact, just listen. As a mercenary, you should be good at that, right?" Shokuhou approached from her position of safety, her eyes dancing with the same malice. Orion said nothing but his silence was all that was needed for Faith, who was being controlled by Mental Out, to lessen the strength she used to hold Orion in place but still held him against the wall, elbow against neck and hand against broken wrist.

"You see…a lot has happened since yesterday. Never did I think this incident would have spiralled out of control in the way it did or would I learn the things I did either. That his misfortune was something I could not merely ignore and had to accept as being terrible if I was to accept him or the hate he would elicit from someone such as Kongou-san. She changed, for the better, and that is good. And she has learned her lesson too, so there is no point in holding her responsible for the actions of someone else. She has been through enough."

Shokuhou nodded, playing with her gloves as she spoke.

"Everyone in this incident has had their punishment. Even those who did nothing wrong. And yet…I think we have all ignored something very important, don't you?"

Shokuhou smiled once more but the raw hate contained within her eyes and that smile would never once fade.

"And that is this would have never have happened if not for you kidnapping Kamijou-san. He lost his left arm because of this. He had to endure torture and the fact people died because of him. I have no idea what he is feeling but I know for a fact that right now, he's only smiling to avoid himself falling apart. And the person who is at fault for that is you. The one who kidnapped him. If you had never done that then…"

Shokuhou bit back her words, the memory of the sight of Kamijou in his tortured state with his left arm in the state it was sickening her to her core. Yet, she bit back whatever she had to say, trembling all the same and licking her dry lips.

She trembled, unable to form words for a single instant but opened her mouth.

"You brought him into your twisted world. He never belonged there and yet, you placed your filthy and stained hands on him to bring him down to your level. I saw using my power. I saw how you kidnapped him. And what it led to. And in my eyes, the punishment ability you received is by no means adequate for what you deserve. So here I am. Ready to balance the scales."

Orion said nothing, staring at the girl as she spoke. Shokuhou looked back at the one eye staring back at her, the anger at this boy surging through her but even then, there was also the aspect of guilt. After all, no matter what she said, she had yet to visit Kamijou Touma in the state he was in.

It did not matter that he could not remember her. That did not matter at all. Shokuhou would not visit him for the purposes of hoping for another miracle or anything like that.

Instead, she would visit him because she had failed to protect him. Even after everything he had done for others and for her, she had failed to protect him and the sight of the boy bloodied and bleeding as he was missing his left arm was a sight that had haunted her and was probably going to haunt her for the rest of her life. She had grieved and beyond anything else, she recognised her failure and had berated herself for it.

And yet, amidst that failure, she had found the person responsible. She had realised the person who had kidnapped Kamijou was the one who still had yet the feel the same thing that Kamijou did and the anger and the desire for pure and absolute revenge had coursed throughout her entire body.

Shokuhou Misaki, right now, did not care this emotion coursing through her was unlike her. She did not care it was terrifying that someone on her level was capable of such strong feelings and yet, the only thing that possessed her now was the raw anger and the desire to make the boy she was choking hurt.

She wanted to see him hurt beyond anything. For the things he had caused to happen to her Prince, she wanted him to scream for his worth. She wanted him to feel pain and suffer as much as Kamijou did, who deserved none of it.

Orion said nothing, staring at her and the blank expression he was making caused the girl to feel more anger course through her once more.

"Nothing to say? If you beg and grovel on your knees I will consider not harming you. If you do the most to put yourself through the greatest humiliation ability you have ever known, I will consider the scales balanced."

"Are you going to kill me?"

That question stabbed into Shokuhou's heart. She stared at the boy who asked that so easily and so readily that, even if for an instant, she had felt her heart waver.

She had been so caught up in her anger that she had not really decided what she was going to do. The only thing she knew was that she wanted this bastard to hurt. She had been unable to hurt Aaron Gracestone and thus, the only person left as an outlet for her emotions was the bastard who had placed Kamijou Touma in this hospital in the first place.

But would she cross that line? Were her emotions such that she was going to stain her hands?

Shokuhou Misaki had not even planned this far; the emotions within her causing so much turmoil that she had trouble sorting out rational thought from the desire to cause pain. But even then, as the weight of the words being asked filled her, she shook her head.

"No…but you're going to wish I did. That is the only way I can see to balance the scales. After all, you survived being shot in the heart. I have no idea how you are up and about after that, but I suppose cockroaches such as you have that type of survival ability."

"I simply had a good doctor. The person you are controlling actually."

"Does it look like I care, you trash?"

"No. And rightly so."

Orion, still being held by the neck let out those words and then choked out some more.

"Hurry up and get it over with."

Orion spat out those words, staring Shokuhou right in the face. Her eyes went wide, the challenge provided making her sneer in response.

"You don't think I'll do it? You hurt someone precious to me. You hurt someone who has done so much good in the world and you brought him into a hell you should have kept to yourself. Just because I am a young girl, you don't think I'll do it? You don't think I am going to make this right?!"

Shokuhou screamed out the words as her spit flew but he never once wavered or said anything. The only thing he did was stare right at her, not even changing expression but only looking deep into her eyes as if searching for the answer to the questions through her face instead of her words. Shokuhou, in the face of that unchanging eye, trembled, gritting her teeth and spotting something on the ground.

"You deserve this. I don't care what anyone else thinks of me or whatever anyone else says. I don't care that this might be unlike me. Kamijou Touma went through pain. Through sheer pain. Because of you. Because. Of. You!"

Shokuhou wasted no time, snatching up the pistol on the floor and holding it in front of her. She aimed it at Orion's chest from the side as the boy stared at her all the same, not moving and not saying anything. Shokuhou's anger, beyond anything else she had ever felt before, felt out of control, felt unbelievable and felt as though she was on a high.

But even she noticed it.

The shaking in the hand holding the gun.

"I'll…do it. What…What did he deserve to be put through this? What did he do to deserve this in the first place? He did nothing. And yet, you are the one who kidnapped him. You are the one who served him up to put him in the place he is in now. None of this would have happened if not for you. None of it! I don't want excuses; I don't want anything else coming from that disgusting mouth of yours. Any excuses, begs or anything else you can drop. I'm…I'm going to do it. I'm going to bring the pain so undeserved to someone precious to me and push it all onto you. Because that is what you deserve."

Shokuhou trembled, saying the words that flew from her mouth over and over again but in the end, even she knew. Despite the trembling, despite her words, she was doing nothing but repeating herself. All she was doing was endlessly repeating herself, saying she was going to do something and losing herself in her emotions without even thinking about the person on the other end.

But she did not care about him at all.

The only thing she cared about was the person who he had hurt.

She was going to do it.

But even as her hands trembled as she held the gun, she found herself unable to keep it straight. She lowered it but something within her refused to entirely put it to the side and she moved her other hand, using it to support the gun she was holding.

Her lip quivered, words and emotions shooting through her mind as she felt something within her tremble but even then, the emotions that coursed within her that prevented that small voice of reason from coming forth and making itself known. Orion still said nothing, staring at Shokuhou all the same and it was that expressionless look on his face that Shokuhou found to be silently mocking her, tormenting her and telling her she had failed.

She had lost.

She had failed to protect Kamijou Touma.

It was her fault this had all happened.

"…No…"

Shokuhou shook her head as she trembled, the voice of reason becoming louder and louder within her mind.

"It's not… Not my fault. It's yours. Yours! What did he deserve!? For the good in his life, for the good he has done, what exactly has he done that he deserved that!? Tell me. Tell meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

Shokuhou screamed but that was enough.

The emotions coursing within her; anger, guilt, sadness, confusion and absolute hatred accumulated and resulted in one action.

Shokuhou Misaki pulled the trigger.

And with the barrel pointing at the mercenary's chest, there was only one place for the bullet to reach.

No, it was not just pointing at the boy's chest.

More accurately, it was pointing at the left side of his chest; where his heart was.

Blood flew, splattering against Faith's face as she stood in front of Orion. Although most of the blood was contained within the material of his shirts and jacket, Orion's face still contorted. He coughed, blood leaking from and down his mouth and splattering onto Faith. His body trembling as it was held by neck and he grit his teeth as if trying to bear with the pain.

Yes.

He tried to bear with the pain.

Despite being shot in the heart, he was still alive.

Even if he had been shot in the heart though, even if that should have been enough to kill him, it was the person who had fired the gun that took more damage than anything else.

The pistol dropped from her hands, Shokuhou panting and looking down at them. She watched them tremble, feeling panting coursing through her and her heart seemed to race at a billion times a second. She felt sick. She felt like she had violated some part of the world that should never be violated, turned her anger towards someone and physically had it rip into someone.

She had done this.

Shokuhou Misaki had hurt someone of her own choice and her own volition.

And her hands were stained because of it.

No, she was lucky that Orion had not died.

If this was anyone else…

Shokuhou Misaki would have surely taken a life with her own actions.

Something seemed to want to force itself from her throat and she placed a hand onto her mouth to prevent it from ripping through. Panting from both parties, the one who had been shot and the one who had done the shooting, Shokuhou trembled, the only thing that came through being the pained voice of the person who had been shot.

"Do…Do you feel it? Do you feel it...coursing through you yet?"

Shokuhou trembled as she looked up, seeing that the pain filled expression on Orion's face was one staring right at her.

He looked like a monster, like a ghost, after he was shot in the heart and speaking to her.

At least, that was how it felt to the girl who could do nothing but watch one who should have died speak to her.

"The feeling of...shooting someone. There's nothing like the sick…that comes through you…the first time. But I can tell…Y-You and Mr. Kamijou belong…in the same world. Which means…you won't have the stomach for a second shot, bitch. Nor…will I let you make it. You want to step into this hell? Pick up that…fucking gun and make another shot. But Ms. Shokuhou, if you are of proper sense of mind, then turn and…run. Run and escape before the world I am a part of rips into you like it did…with Mr. Kamijou. He…He made it out. But if you take another step forward…you will not be the same. Don't cross this line."

The words came out in fragments, but Orion stared at the girl, gritting his teeth and speaking.

The fact he was not screaming in pain was what made it more terrifying.

Instead of showing human emotions, he was speaking to her with a coldness that Shokuhou didn't think she had heard from anyone else before.

"Run. Run…you stupid bitch. Run before you make a choice that puts you further into this world…where you can't be at the side of that boy…you care for so much. Run before you go so down into this…abyss that you can't get out. Run…you stupid bitch…"

In the fragments of the words, in their broken form, Shokuhou Misaki felt a truer fear than she had ever felt before.

She had yet to cross the line.

But she was edging towards it. She was so close towards doing something she would not be able to take back and for that alone, she would be throwing out everything she had built up and wanted to maintain. If she made this choice and went through with this any further, then a single question had to be asked.

Did she even have the right to stand by the side of the spiky haired boy she so longed for anymore?

For a single instant, she had let her emotions control her. And they had turned her into a monster of her own making. She was on the line of completely transforming and while her emotions were coursing through, the consequences of what she was doing and what it would cause within her made her realise the mistake she was going to make.

So, she had to run.

Run away from her mistake and cast it deep inside her mind such that she never once let it take control of her again.

She had yet to cross the line.

So she had to run to make sure she did not do so and lose everything she held dear to her.

Shokuhou Misaki did not even need to reconsider.

The only thing she wanted to do was escape and run away: to flee from her choice and to cast it deep into her mind such that she never once made it again. To learn from the things she had done when her emotions had clouded her judgment and made her do an unspeakable thing to someone who she had cast into the scapegoat role because of her own failure.

She was not perfect.

By no means did Shokuhou Misaki truly think of herself as such.

But never before had this twisted nature of hers come into play so horribly and disgustingly.

So she had to run.

Run before that poisonous side of her truly possessed her and caused her to transform into something else entirely.

With trembling filling her legs, there was nothing else Shokuhou Misaki could do.

She fled.

She ran and ran and ran.

All from the poisonous things her poisonous self had created.

"Huh?"

Faith blinked once, Orion dropping her from grasp as she held him against the wall. He fell roughly and he forced the resulting pain down. He breathed heavily, the girl above him staring and looking around herself in confusion. Other people who now filled the hallway did the same, whispers filling the air as they wondered why they had avoided this hallway in the first place.

"What…What was I doing? O-Orion!?"

Faith cried out as she saw the red of blood coming from his mouth, seeing red stain his shirt…where his heart was.

He wasn't going to die from that but that didn't stop the girl from reaching down and staring at the wounds she had no idea had formed or even how.

"Wh-What the hell!? What happened?" Faith looked up, spotting the pistol that Shokuhou had dropped in the hallway.

She felt something roll down her cheek, reaching up with her hands and wiping it away, seeing the red that came back. She stared at it for a moment before closing her fist around the blood on her hand, which had come from her face, before turning to Orion.

Her eyes sharpened, gaining an edge to them that held the utmost anger and rage.

"Who did this to you?"

The words were ice cold but Orion shook his head.

"Fucking…leave it be. Just some stupid bitch girl who felt as though moving into our world was going to be an easy thing to escape from. It's…It's not her fault." The things he said at the end held a weight to them that probably only he realised but there was nothing Faith could do if he said that. The answer he gave was enough to tell her what she needed to know and despite the anger coursing within her (her ahoge was pointed straight up), she clicked her tongue, moving fast and grabbing the dropped pistol and the bullet casing.

She ran back, the anger on her face still there but she slowly opened her mouth, cooling her mind and forcing out the question she had to ask.

"…Do I need the get the bullet as well?"

"N-No point. The cleaning robots in this City are more efficient than you or I…think. Dealing with evidence in this way helps a lot. Sh-Shit." Orion swore, leaning back as he panted, slowly catching his breath as Faith came to his side.

"What is it?"

"I lost to a middle schooler. A fucking middle schooler. Again."

Faith blinked once, looking at the boy leaning against the wall with blood coming from his mouth and chest but even then, the comment he made brought a slight smile to her face. The anger coursing through her subsided, her ahoge dropping once more and swaying back and forth.

"Why are your specs so low?"

"Fuck off."

"Yeah, well…" Faith said as she inspected his chest with a frown. She poked at the wound, Orion's eye going wide as she stuck her finger right into it. "You were shot clean through feels like. And I don't think you or I want to trust the doctors here. Looks like you're going to getting another round of healing from Faith-tan."

"Stop calling yourself that…"

"We could go back to calling them Faith-fulls."

"Please…no… Anything but the Faith-fulls…"

"Grow some balls."

Faith did not even bother hearing Orion's complaints as she reached underneath his arm and lifted him up while grinning. He winced and it was with weak legs that he managed to stand upright but that was more because of Faith lifting him than anything else.

"You good?"

"F-Forget about me," Orion spat out. "The job. You were telling me about the next job."

"Huh? Was I?" Faith frowned, but it seemed as though she was distracted by the fact that she was dragging Orion through the hospital with blood coming from his chest and mouth. With the shirt material and the bandages on his chest absorbing most of the blood, there was hardly a trail but it was still suspicious enough that Faith wanted to get out as quickly as possible.

"You were."

"O-OK." Faith said as she moved Orion, grabbing her phone with her other hand and slowly reading over the details. "Our client's is Hayashida Mari, like you said. I'll need to find a nickname for her. And it seems as though the project is related to something known as Dual Skill."

"Duel Skill?"

"No, you idiot. Why are you mixing up the two? They're clearly different. U-Unless you want the skill to d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-duel?!"

"…"

"O-Oh come on! That was funny! Tell me at least you got the reference!" [1]

"To what?"

"You're breaking character. You're supposed to be a weeb, so you have to know that type of reference."

"I fucking hate this country…"

"Well, the only thing I can think of that would fit your established character that references Dual Skill would be Dual Wielding."

"I have no idea what you're spitting out now but you and I both know the only sword I can ever use is this one by my side. So I can't dual wield."

"You could try with a sword and a gun."

"Why would I do that when I can just use a gun for everything?"

"Again, can you remind me why your specs are so low?"

"Do you only exist to bully me?!" Orion spat out those words as he was dragged along, staring at the girl next to him and once more spitting once more words. "And you know I don't want to hear shit like our client first. The target. Who is the target!?"

"Well, it's an individual this time…" Faith Townsend spoke up, her finger scrolling through her phone as she looked at the information sent to it before eventually finding it. "Ah, there is it! And without any kanji!"

Orion Phoenix next to her frowned as she spoke an unfamiliar name.

"One Shutaura Sequenzia. That's our next target."

Never before had she dreaded this moment more than right now.

But for the life of her, Shokuhou Misaki knew she could not turn away from this one moment and this one room. There was something she had resolved to do and despite the crime that now lay on her hands, she knew she had to make it up and resolve this debt.

She would not accept anything else.

But never before had she felt as though the emotions coursing through her now would be the ones to do so.

Guilt, shame, anxiety, frustration, sadness; the only thing that came through her were negative emotions and despite realising Kamijou Touma was still safe, never before had she felt more shame in her life for who she was and what she had done.

She had always considered herself level headed and calm and yet moments ago, she had done something so unspeakable she struggled to even say it out loud. She had done something that almost crossed a line and had run away from it all the same but the guilt of what she had done stabbed into her.

She knew she had only used Orion Phoenix as an excuse for her own failure. She had turned to him, blamed him for something only partially his fault and never thought about anything else. The fact she had done that sickened her to her very core.

Shokuhou, in a way, was the same as Mitsuari Ayu: a mental esper who had turned against someone and blamed them for the pain they had been feeling when they were also partially at fault. It made her sick she had even fallen down to the level of that girl who had redeemed herself but while that was the case, an obvious truth came to mind.

Shokuhou Misaki was only human.

She would do things she would regret, fail at times and even do things 'out of character' simply because she was that human. There were parts of her that were good and parts that were bad and it was accepting them all that made herself who she was.

But right now, she hated that part of her which was so bad she had been unable to hold herself back from shooting Orion in the heart. Even if he had survived, and Shokuhou was thankful it was the case, as it meant she had been spared from a life on her hands, had it been an accident? Or on purpose? Shokuhou did not know but she did not think that looking into this any further would do her any good.

It was just that serious.

Kamijou Touma had had his arm removed. He had been tortured and something had changed. Something had to be done desperately to balance the scales and it had been with her own hands that Shokuhou had almost done that herself.

But she had failed to go through with it.

She had failed to cross that line.

Part of her screamed that was the wrong answer.

But another part realised just how important it was that she did not do that.

After all, who had she been using as an excuse for her actions? Who had she said she was acting in the name of and using as the basis for what she was doing?

It had been Kamijou Touma.

She had used his name to hurt someone else and the guilt and the audacity at doing that struck her harder than she had ever felt before. She had almost crossed a line in the name of someone else, by misunderstanding what they would do and having her emotions cloud her judgment.

Shokuhou had wanted to balance the scales, remove the unfairness and had used Kamijou Touma as the excuse for her poisonous actions.

In this sense, what was different from her and MINUS?

The guilt and the shame that came with her actions was bitter but as she stood in front of the hospital room and knocked, she realised her imperfect nature as a human was one she could not easily throw away. And it was because of that imperfect nature she was standing here and now, ready to be the one to receive whatever punishment she was going to receive.

"Come in."

She did, but slowly. The running she had done as she had escaped the world of Orion and prevented herself from crossing a line had been tiring but more than anything, the weight of what she was going to do pressed down on her heart more than anything else.

But she had to do it.

She knew that above anything else.

Shokuhou Misaki entered the hospital room, staring at its only occupant and seeing him jump slightly in surprise. That was by no means unexpected: after all, to him, the person inside the room now was nothing but a stranger. But even then, to Shokuhou Misaki, it was this boy she owed her life to and yet had almost sullied with her disgusting actions.

It was time for her own punishment of sorts. Of that, she deserved it and it was with the aspect of shame for what she had done that Shokuhou held her head down but even then, saw the boy staring at her all the same.

Kamijou Touma.

Her Prince.

His left arm was missing and the fact it was such revealed to Shokuhou what she had seen yesterday was not a dream and was real. The images and the sight from yesterday filled her head, but she shook it. She held her breath, unable to say anything and the silence pressed down on them both.

Neither party said anything. Shokuhou understood why it was not the case with her but the actions of Kamijou confused her. Why was he not asking who she was or whether she had the wrong room? It did not matter. She did not come here to analyse him or anything like that.

She had come to receive her punishment.

And for the parts of her that had been so twisted, she knew this was what she deserved.

"Kamijou-san," Shokuhou was the one who started off, rising her head and seeing the boy lightly jump. "I realise you might not know who I am. But I want you to know I know who you are. And I have come here to confess. Confess to crimes I have committed in relation to you."

The words were harsh and bitter and Kamijou went wide eyed at them, rightfully so. His face seemed to twist with guilt and bitterness, much like Shokuhou's and the fact he was making that face because of her was something Shokuhou could barely stand. But she endured it, knowing her emotions had wronged her once before and that she would see this through to the end.

This was her confession.

And there was nothing she was going to let stop it.

"I…I was there yesterday. Although you might not remember me, I was definitely there yesterday. I…saw the state you were in and I saw the things done to you and your left…arm." Shokuhou felt something rise in her throat, but she forced it down. Instead, what came up to her eyes were the traces of tears, but she refused to let herself cry. This was her strength and her pride and she had made mistakes: ones she had to correct. She was not going to let anything stop her.

The memory of Kamijou looking so entirely broken was one she did not want to remember but even then, she continued.

"And it was in that moment I committed two crimes, Kamijou-san. Two crimes I felt were appropriate but were nothing more than myself being unable to face the facts of what happened and being unable to see the truth," Shokuhou trembled as she spoke but forced her voice out all the same.

"I…Initially, when I saw the state you were in, I was possessed by so much anger I did not know what to do with it. The only thing I felt was a strong rage ability at the person who had done this to you and, while leaving you on the ground, I turned to that person and focused entirely on him. I…I ignored you and the state you were in and focused only on the anger coursing within me."

Shokuhou felt something rise to her eyes now, the tears she wanted to stop, but she found nothing she could do would hold them back. She did not care as they rolled down her cheeks, speaking all the same.

"I ignored you. I was only focused entirely on righting a wrong, on justice ability, when there was someone else who deserved that more than anything else. While you lay there bleeding on the ground, hurt and in pain, I did nothing. I stood there and focused entirely on the one who had harmed you. And I wanted to hurt him. I wanted to do that. I can still feel that desire, that poisonous wish flowing through my veins even now. I thought that after Aaron Gracestone was killed it would pass but it did not. The only thing I focused on was hurting someone else, focused on hurting someone to right the wrong done to you…"

"Shokuhou…"

"And it wasn't merely a hypothetical ability. I…I did it. I really did hurt someone. I took and I shot Orion Phoenix, the mercenary who kidnapped you. That was all I did but…" There was silence but Shokuhou did not even bother looking at Kamijou's face when she said those words. Instead, the only thing she did was let her body shake as she let the tears roll down her face and onto the ground. "It was then I committed my second crime against you."

The horror of what Shokuhou had done still filled her as she opened her mouth. She felt something almost choke itself out but for what it was, she trembled in the face of it. This was her confession and she felt shame at how she was unable to go through with it, but she forced herself, throwing out whatever shame and pride she had and speaking once more.

"I hurt someone. And I used you as an excuse to do it. I used the person you are, the person who would never harm anyone in his own name and I used it as a weapon ability against someone else. It does not matter I didn't cross the line at the end of the day. I used you, your name and what happened to you to justify something you would never do. My crimes cannot be forgiven nor do I expect them to. But I committed them anyway."

"S-Shokuhou…"

"I did not seek to save you when you were in pain. And I felt dealing out pain in your name when it was so unjustified was the right thing to do. I committed those two crimes and I will never be able to get rid of them no matter what I do. They are a stain on my heart but more than anything, they taint the image I have of you. I stained it. I did not care you were hurt and only cared about dealing out pain. While you were lying there bleeding, the only thing that I thought of doing was…"

Shokuhou felt something rise in her throat and she could not manage to force it back down anymore. The sob came from her throat and she placed a hand to her mouth, letting the tears flow out but even then, still speaking all the same.

"After all you have done for me, after all you have sought to correct and after everything, I did not think to go by your side. I did not think to heal you or comfort you: I only thought of the harm ability I could dish out to the person who harmed you. I could only think of something as dark as revenge when the person who was harmed the most lay by the side! I took that caring side of you and took it entirely for granted! I…I wronged you in a way I can never even once begin to think to repent for!"

The cries were the only things that leaped from her throat as Shokuhou trembled while speaking out words.

"And I'm sorry! I'm sorry I did not care for you, that I did not go by your side. You will never remember this, but I will never forget. I will never forget these crimes I committed against you and for the things you have done for me. But I have tainted the things you stand for and represent. And I am here to receive my punishment. I am here…"

Shokuhou felt herself unable to speak, unable to say the punishment she had decided for herself. It was so wrong in her mind, so basically and inherently evil that her heart sought to deny it but she would not allow that. She had not been by this boy's side as he had lay harmed and had only thought of harming other people in his name when that was the last thing he would have wanted. For those crimes, the punishment Shokuhou Misaki had decided for herself tore her apart on her inside.

But she had decided.

In order to balance the scales…

The poisonous human called Shokuhou Misaki, driving by her twisted emotions, needed to be dealt with.

"To cut my ties with you."

But even then, the speaking of the punishment she had decided for herself was overwhelming. She knew she had made a mistake but the way her heart ached made it seem as though this was the mistake. But it was because that was her reaction that she knew for the things she had done, this was the only right answer.

"I am here to say…goodbye. I am here to accept my punishment for the things I did in your name. I am here…"

Shokuhou could not even finish her sentence, breaking down in front of the boy without even once holding back. This was her heart, her decision and it was the fact she had done such unspeakable things she knew she needed to remember this moment, this pain and this heartbreak. She needed to carve it into her heart and remember it for all it was worth.

Shokuhou Misaki could not be saved.

That was the only reality she knew and she carved it deep into herself as she cried tears of her decision, no matter how much it hurt.

But it was because it hurt that it had meaning and made things right.

"Punishment?"

The words came from the boy she could not face and it was because of the emotions she was feeling that she did not look up. But even then, they continued.

And they did so with words she had never expected.

"There's no way you deserve such. At all, Shokuhou Misaki. The one who needs to be punished…is me."

Shokuhou opened her mouth, however, it had been her ears that caught onto something Kamijou had said.

Her name.

He had said her name.

But…

Had she ever introduced herself when she had walked in?

No, come to think of it, this was not the first time he had said her name. But now he was saying it, it meant more than anything to her.

Shokuhou felt something within her tremble, something beyond the emotions coursing within her and looked up, seeing the boy's face for the first time since she had confessed.

And yet it was as if the one who had been confessing had been that boy himself.

Shokuhou opened her mouth but it was the words from Kamijou that stabbed into them both.

"Because I…I remember you."

The tears stopped flowing from Shokuhou's face as she stood there, unable to even speak or move. And yet that seemed to be the only thing that gave Kamijou the strength to keep on speaking.

"I remember you. For the past two days, I have been able to remember you. Ever since you and Kongou came over to my apartment, I have had the ability to remember you. And yet…and yet, I kept it to myself! I felt the important issue I had to deal with and had to focus on was Kongou's and yet, I never once thought to think to solve your issue. For two days. For two days, I let you suffer. I did not resolve that and I did not come to you and tell you I remembered you. I focused on something else entirely and I…"

Kamijou gripped the blanket that covered him and forced out the words that revealed his own poisonous heart.

"I did not save you."

The words themselves seemed to stab into him but he still spoke all the same.

"I justified it. I said I did not know you and you were looking at the previous Kamijou Touma. I was scared of what your reaction would be and how the past and the present would interact with each other. I was scared of finding and creating another connection tied to me in the past but I did not understand. Your crimes? The fact you ignored me and thought to use my name to deal harm? What punishment is that? For what I did to…that is the least I deserve!"

Kamijou slammed his fist down onto the bed, gritting his teeth so hard it looked as though he was going to break them. Water formed on the edges of his own eyes as he let out a controlled sob, biting his lip and trying to force out words all the same.

"I hurt you. I justified hurting you because I was scared. Scared of what I would discover and find what happened between us. That something would change. And yet, here you are thinking of punishing yourself for something you did because of me. Even after I kept on forgetting you, you still felt the need to hold onto the relationship you had with me all this time. Even after I hurt you, even after this endless time of me forgetting you, you still felt there was worth in wanting to stand by my side! H-How could I forget someone like that!?"

Nothing made sense.

What the conditions were for this miracle to happen were lost on Shokuhou but as she stood there, the tears that found themselves flowing down her face were ones entirely different to the ones that came from her eyes before.

"What crimes?! What punishment? You deserve to have that, Shokuhou. For the pains I gave you, you deserve to commit whatever crimes you want against me. Take something from me. Treat my name as dirt. Cast me aside. For the things I put you through and the things you endured all this time, there is nothing I can't give you anymore! But even still, I have this selfish wish. I have this one thought in my disgusting mind that let you suffer. I don't care what you do to me and I will forgive anything because of my crimes. …But even still…even still!"

Kamijou Touma did not even bother hiding anything as he stared at her. There were slight tears in his eyes, rolling down his face but there was nothing else he had to say right now.

"I want to save you. I want to stand with you! I don't you to suffer anymore! I…just want to see you smile, remembering it and letting it last in my mind eternally! I don't have any right to say that. I don't have any right to ask that after the things I put you through. But even then, I have that wish! I don't want to endure the misfortune anymore. I just…I just want you to smile!"

Kamijou screamed his heart out, unleashing the crime he had committed against Shokuhou. The crime that meant Shokuhou's crimes meant nothing and the crime that meant she would always be forgiven no matter what she did to him.

But even then, it was the wish Kamijou held in his heart that caused Shokuhou to tremble.

She did not understand.

She knew nothing.

But even so, she felt the words and the tears come from her.

"You…want to stand by me? Even after the things I did? Even after I left you and hurt in your name?"

"I don't know anything. I don't know the connection you and I had. But for the life of me, I don't want this to fade. I don't want this to disappear! I have no right to have you stand by my side after everything I did to you. So, the only thing I can do now I remember you is to beg on my knees for the opportunity to let me stand by your side! I can't ask for forgiveness. But I will selfishly ask for this one thing!"

Kamijou Touma remembered Shokuhou Misaki.

The crimes she had said she had done against him and how they were eating away at her even after he had forgotten her were nothing but the trigger to release the crime Kamijou had committed from his own mouth, the crime that meant Shokuhou had done nothing wrong in his eyes. The crimes he had done against her so evil in his eyes that he could not ask for forgiveness, only the chance to stand by her side for the things he had done.

He would save Shokuhou Misaki.

But whether salvation was given to him was up to her.

Even then though, the words and the reality happening in front of Shokuhou Misaki right now were so overwhelming she could not find the words.

The tears overflowed from her eyes and the pain Kamijou was feeling for how he had wronged Shokuhou caused tears to leap from his eyes. There was nothing for Kamijou to forgive, no crimes Shokuhou had done in his eyes and only his own crime that remained.

But even then, how that crime had formed was nothing short of a miracle.

Those simple words, the simple fact Shokuhou Misaki could have this conversation without being forgotten was more to move her heart than anything.

There was only one thing she had to do if she were to accept the selfish wish of Kamijou Touma and for this everlasting peace and miracle to last.

With shaking hands, Shokuhou reached into her purse and pulled out a small single object.

"If all it will take for this to happen, if all it will take for you to stand with me and for you to remember me once again is for you to save me…"

That object only had meaning to the girl holding it, but she pushed it up to her shaking mouth filled the tears of joy and put her lips around it.

"Then please…"

And she blew on the silver whistle that was the reminder of their time together.

"Save me."

The sound it made resounded within the hospital but it was not the boy who moved, but rather, the girl. The whistle that had been a reminder of their time together that he had given her to allow himself more chances to save her had been something she rarely used but it was the effects it had now that seemed more powerful than anything.

Shokuhou Misaki wasted no time, throwing her arms around Kamijou Touma, the two of them locked into a tight embrace as tears ran down both their faces, the two of them trembling as they held each so tight that neither of them was going to let go.

But even then, Kamijou Touma spoke all the same.

"Am…Am I allowed this? Am I allowed the chance to stand by your side after all this time? Despite the crimes I committed against you?"

"That's my line."

Shokuhou parted with the boy who could now remember her, grinning and placing her forehead against his. Her tears rolled down her from her eyes as she held her forehead against Kamijou's, the boy crying as well but with the grin on her face, her tears held a different meaning they usually would.

"The fact you can remember me is enough. But, my Prince, will you accept me the way I am? Will you accept the Shokuhou Misaki before you who committed crimes against you anyway?"

The tightening of the right arm around her was the only answer Shokuhou needed.

She was not going to confess her feelings for this boy now. After all, for him, the person Shokuhou had spent her time with was the 'previous' Kamijou Touma. Telling him her feelings would mean he would never be able to be the 'current' Kamijou as her eyes were entirely set on the person he once was. Even if Shokuhou tried to explain herself, it would do no such thing: the person Kamijou always felt she would be looking at would be the person who he once was and not the current one.

The relationship that had formed and connected the two of them now was a fresh start.

It was nothing more than the story between a boy and a girl who had been apart for so long and had now been reconnected.

They would have to start their relationship and connection from scratch.

No more would Shokuhou have to lose herself in the memories she had. Nor did she have to constantly live out her 'first meetings' over and over again no matter how much it pressed at her heart.

The person she would be spending time with and making new memories of would be the 'current' Kamijou Touma. The things and differences that existed between him and the 'past' version were differences she was going to discover in the new relationship and it was through nothing more than this one connection that she had been given a miracle.

Likewise, Kamijou was forming a relationship with Shokuhou. The girl who had once been with his past self who he could not remember he now did and it was in their embrace that they held each other, forgiven and connected.

Shokuhou Misaki held tight the whistle she had been given so long ago, only realising it effects had worked.

She had blown on it and she had truly been saved.

The happiness that coursed through her as she held her forehead against Kamijou's, losing herself in the warmth only he possessed and tightening her grip around him all the same. There was no way she was going to lose this one miracle she had prayed for for so long.

She had been saved.

And the feelings of pure happiness, of salvation and the liberation she had been given from her pain was like nothing she had ever felt before. The tears from her face were ones she had reserved right for this moment and she smiled, losing herself in the connection she had right now and was experiencing.

She had been forgiven.

She had been saved.

There was nothing else to do.

"Shokuhou…"

"Shh. Now, now, Kamijou-san. Is there is anything I want you to focus on now, it's the selfish wish I have for myself. Can you do that for me?"

"Anything. I'll do anything."

The simple fact they had forgiven each other for their crimes and their failures, Shokuhou for ignoring Kamijou and for hurting others in his name and Kamijou, for having remembered her but not saying anything, was all they needed to wipe the slate clean and hold each other.

Kamijou had been accepted and forgiven. He had been given the chance to stand by the side of this girl after so long and after causing her so much pain, having properly saved her this time. The desire to make this right, the desire to hold onto this for all it was worth was the only thing that existed within him.

So he would do anything.

Anything for the girl who had been saved merely by being with him.

The fact that was all that was needed was enough to make the boy burst into tears for the forgiveness she gave him and he sobbed, crying in the connection he was being given as the girl smiled.

It was time to start anew.

She had been saved.

He had managed to overturn anything the adults had thought and moved past the expectations they had set of him.

Shokuhou Misaki did not even miss a beat as she held Kamijou Touma, her Prince, in close and spoke words through her tears and her smile. Nothing could ruin this moment for her and her words verbalised the wish she had in her heart.

"Then you and I are owed a talk. A very, very sweet, kind and important talk."

[1] Naturally I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! in any way or form. Didn't even collect the cards much but at least I know this reference…

And there we have it.

WELL, THERE IS AN EPILOGUE AFTER THIS SO SCROLL DOWN FURTHER FOR MORE!

So, what did you think?

As you can probably imagine, this was the sort of 'happy' ending I can imagine for Misaki. Being done through tears, heartbreak, forgiveness and crime, ultimately the entire scene sort came full circle with the ending there. But again, I'll sort of focus on this as I get to it and not do it right now: after all, there are other types of things to discuss within the chapter that happened thus far.

First, we'll get into the starting bit with Orion and Faith. The main thing with both these characters is that while I want to feel as though they belong in the Index world, I want you to get the feeling they are not suited for the type of story usually told within Index, or at least would sit well in the Darkness and not with the constant contact they have had with Touma thus far. For the both of them, with the way they act, hold themselves and react with the things they do, the sense of disconnect I want you to get from them is one that really feels out of place. In maybe a different type of setting, Faith and Orion would be a killer dream team but in this sense, with the fact they operate on violence and have their 'peace' as being that violence, I really wanted to give the sense they just don't 'belong'. The kindness they give in the form of bullets, the point of view they hold and just how they operate on the average basis needs to be something I want you to look at. And yet, here they are. These sort of uncertain elements are ones I want you look at with a kind of strange position: the enemies they can be aren't ones that are going to change the world, they are merely those who pop in when asked to and do a simple job. The sense they are like that really makes them a bit different to other OCs who have clearly chosen a side one way or another and work with the characters or against them.

And yet, I had these characters challenged with the reference to whether everyone can be saved in the term 'war'. This arc was really different in that people actually died on screen or were outright murdered for no good reason. The type of things that happened here I wanted to have weigh on Touma in its own way and to ask him sorts of questions usually not asked and him putting forward the things he does to Orion and Faith in whether they have seen an ending where everyone is saved should have been seen as the worst type of question.

After all, in war, you can't always think about saving. Sometimes, no matter what happens, it's about survival and I really wanted to show how the perspectives of the characters here differ from each other in what 'everyone going home smiling' really means. Again, the fact there is that difference needs to illustrate how important Touma's views are and I really think it becomes important you guys looked at the differences and felt their respective worlds can allow that sort of answer but ultimately, they don't mix.

That line between Orion and Touma where they say "Agree to disagree" really says a lot: neither of them gives in and neither of them gives up but they recognise their own worlds are different from one another. Questions that should not have been asked this time around were asked and I hope that as you looked at them, you found them interesting and somewhat provoking for Touma as a character.

Both Faith and Orion here are to represent a different side of the world and their characters need to match such but at the same time, I wanted to give this sense that they can still operate in the Index world, even if the method in which this is done is bullying the hell out of Orion. He's the type of character you can sort of understand why he became that way with what he has seen but you can't help but not bully because of how he is. I hope that you can look forward to more edgelord cosplay wannabe weeb bullying in the future!

But Shokuhou's choice. This was a hard one. I was of two minds: thinking she would not shoot or she would but as my mind sort of went towards the former given the nature of her character and the series, I felt that the latter would have had more impact because of how out of character it is and how unbelievably horrible the choice Misaki makes is. She chooses to shoot someone not by weighing up the options but simply because she wanted revenge. In a way, you can think of her as being more Ayu-like than anything but the fact she reflects on what she does as a crime reveals she does still have that heart and it was only because she was so twisted by her emotions that she has a human that resulted in the choice she made being what it was. It was OOC for her but I felt humans can be unreasonably cruel sometimes when it comes to their emotions and hence, I hope the choice Misaki made felt in character for that reasoning.

Then again, it might have just been that I wanted Orion shot this time around. …Like I said, bullying.

Shokuhou running away from her choice is perhaps a powerful moment for me in that it was her running away that was the right thing to do. She stuffed up and she made a choice that was spitting on Touma's name but in her refusal to accept it and to not face up to it, she had to run away from it and away from the world she was being dragged into. I truly think that if Misaki had fired a second time, the idea that 'something changed' would have been driven home fully, don't you think?

The players for the next arc have been revealed though! I hope you can look forward to what happens here.

And finally, the final scene.

I've been hinting at it since Part 4 of this arc, but what did you think? Was it worth it? This was perhaps the hardest scene to write out of the entire chapter because of what had to be involved and the guilt that would have been involved in such. Also because of the standards I had set for myself. Both Touma and Misaki here made mistakes and it was really important to get that across although it was because the two of them wanted to be accepted by the other that they did not think those mistakes and the resulting punishment would have been worth it. Just writing the line where Misaki thinks her best punishment is to cut ties with Touma was one that sort of made me scream…

But it was the fact that they both wanted to be by the side of the other that really made this important. Touma could not forgive himself for what he had done and Misaki was the same but it was because they could not that made their connection and the acceptance of the other all the more powerful. They knew they stuffed up, but they still sought the other in their own way. And they were ultimately accepted. The simple line and the simple miracle that the fact Touma can remember Misaki alone makes this entire scene powerful but I hope you felt I did the scene justice. The tears, the final embrace and the fact that both allowed the other into their lives was something I really felt had the mark of an 'Index' ending which has been avoided to Misaki for so long.

I went full circle this time. Touma saving Misaki happened as soon as she blew on the whistle and they accepted each other (Touma was saved here too as well) and the end of the chapter above referenced the line from NT 11 where she wanted that kind and important talk with Touma. Just ending the chapter like that really struck a chord with me and I hope you felt the same. Misaki herself might seem aggressive but she really is a maiden at heart and having her suddenly confess doesn't exactly seem right to me given how Touma has so cynically viewed himself with reference to his past self here. As I said in this chapter, the only way for anything to come of it is to start from scratch, build up what was lost once more and once more allow Touma and Misaki the chance to become happy with each other.

But with that, the only thing that is left is the Epilogue. I really hoped you enjoyed this chapter and felt it was worth the wait after all the teasing I did for the one scene above.

Who's waiting for Misaki slice of life with Touma now?!

And thank you as the Kongou arc finally comes to a close.

The Tetris Nanomachines.

The only way Kamijou Touma was going to getting his left arm back was through those machines which would slot into the missing gaps in his left arm, take their place and essentially restore it to what it had once been. However, it was the fact Kihara Kamui had Personality Swipe and the ability to infect any male with his personality that meant contacting any male about the technology and having them participate in moving it to the District 7 hospital for its first human use on Kamijou Touma was not going to end well.

That much was certain given it was Kihara Kamui and his personality which had caused that left arm to be cut off in the first place.

Yume and Heaven Canceller had made their calls and it was using them that they had discovered and formulated a way to get the Tetris Nanomachines into District 7 without exchanging male hands.

And that was simply using electronics more than people.

The ground delivery drone used a motor and had gyros in the wheels much like the Acrobike, allowing it to lift heavy packages to and from destinations. For usage to overcome the failings of aerial drones, the ground delivery drone moved through the streets of Academy City, the precautions taken to ensure no male hands came into contact and distorted the Tetris Nanomachines in any way being shown in the usage of that technology.

However, those adults had failed to consider one thing.

The website they had used to even send out the delivery drone and make the delivery had been constructed by human hands. The maintenance done on it, even if it was automated, had to have some kind of human element, to some extent.

It was possible to avoid human contact with the Tetris Nanomachines to some extent.

But to a total extent?

That simply was not possible.

And all it would take was one infected mind to pick up on the change and to conduct actions in character for the personality that had infected them to throw everything those adults had built up out of control.

Kamijou Touma was the one who should have noticed something was strange.

After all, his life was surrounded by misfortune.

So, would there truly be no repercussions when such an easy solution as the one that had been handed to him fell into his lap? Failing to consider that had truly been the naïve thing to do.

What was needed was not even any carefully laid plan or anything else like that.

The only thing needed was an impact to the side of the ground delivery drone moving with the Tetris Nanomachines, knocking it to the ground.

The men in the car who had knocked it down moved frantically, the people watching when it happened not even bothering to look twice. After all, it had been an accident and the frantic actions of the men to solve the problem seemed genuine enough as they righted the drone and looked it over.

But even then, the change had happened.

Of the projects Kihara Kamui was running there were three that were known:

Personality Swipe.

The FIVE_Object.

And the cyborg project currently being undertaken.

However, that did not consider that it had been four projects which had been approved by the Board Chairman of Academy City.

And it was that fourth project which was now being utilised to transform Kamijou Touma's life into a living hell.

No one saw it happen.

No one saw the small item placed inside the package containing the Tetris Nanomachines.

Nor how it split apart and joined with the Tetris Nanomachines, no one being any the wiser of the extra nanomachines that had been placed inside the package with the Tetris Nanomachines. They were barely visible to the naked eye but if you were to look hard enough, one would be able to notice the small writing on the edge of the nanomachines that had now become a part of the Tetris Nanomachines.

ZERO_Over Modelcase_"IMAGINE_BREAKER".

The ZERO_Over was now a part of the nanomachines that would be used to heal Kamijou Touma's amputated left arm, ready to be implanted into his body without anyone realising it was the case.

The men in the car who had righted the drone and placed the ZERO_Over nanomachines inside the package drove away after their work was done and the drone was sent on its merry way, no one the wiser.

The adults had said that they would win.

But, like the children who had failed, sometimes even the adults had no power over the shitty result they would achieve despite the good intentions.

And as always,
Review if you please.

And I'll see you when I see you and I won't if I don't.

How long with this happy ending last?