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Chapter Text

Kamijou Touma, a boy whose name can either be interpreted as “Above God”, and "Invisible Demon”, or as “The One who Purifies God and Slays Demons” was a fairly average teenager…

Well… except for the part where he wields the power of a special right hand, fittingly named as Imagine Breaker. A mysterious power that resides within Touma's right arm that can be used to nullify any supernatural phenomena, whether magical or scientific.

It also negates the blessings from God, which includes fortune and good luck.. Thus, Kamijou Touma is forever cursed with Rotten Misfortune. Though, that didn't deter him from doing what he can as a person, He saved the world on numerous occasions, And fought beings much more powerful than him. He suffered more than anyone else.. Yet he still kept a smile on his face no matter how hard the pain was eating him from the inside.. Perhaps the “pain” doesn't exist, or perhaps he chooses to ignore it.

Countless deaths, countless lives.. He was once a hero of the world, he was once the enemy of the world.. Kamijou Touma has done it all, and he still insists that he's just a normal Highschool boy.

But perhaps that's what makes him charming, He does not boast about his efforts and triumphs. He does not ask for rewards for his endeavors, He simply wants to make the people suffering in front of him.. To smile, and it was enough.

Or is it just an illusion?

“W-where.. The hell am i?”

The aforementioned boy spoke in a surprised tone, He tried to piece together what just happened.. Because just a few moments ago, He was fighting a god, A Magic God.

All so that he could return back to his original world. The last thing he remembered was striking down the divine spear the god held.

He broke Gungnir with his illusion destroying hand, The sacred weapon of the Magic God, Othinus.. Yet, when he was about to destroy the golden spear, Othinus was in the midst of conjuring another phase into existence. That seemingly caused it to malfunction, yet.. Did it work? Did he manage to return to his beloved world?

Kamijou Touma looked around, his head turning to different angles, and his eyes were gazing at the numerous details infront of him.

While the place was not familiar.. The infrastructure and buildings were, as a result of this, He breathed a sigh of release in the urban alleyway he was in.

“(Hah.. Im finally back, Academy Ci-)”

He cut off his own thoughts halfway before they could even form a proper sentence. As if he suddenly remembered something, He once again scanned the empty alleyway but this time, he was more frantic and panicked than before.

“(Wait..! Where is she?! Where's Othinus..!?)”

He realized it. To him, this may just be another phase materialized by the blonde-haired Nordic goddess. He couldn't take any more chances, this should just be another phase of existence meant to break him once more.

Rustle.. Rustle..

Touma heard the noise of fabric moving around seemingly behind him. He has heard that sound a few too many times, To a normal human, those sounds couldn't be less mundane.. But to Kamijou, he heard that specific rustle for far too many times now. The sounds of a cloak fluttering in the cold wind, with each swing of the spear it would emit a sound that the boy seemingly ignored, yet would always be reminded of it.

The spiky haired teen turned around, with a face full of confidence and defiance. He was sure that he would battle the War Goddess once again.

He slowly turned, halfway he was already preparing to unleash a right(eous) fist towards the golden-haired one-eyed Othinus.

As he finally fully turned around. His raised fist turned slowly turned limp. Not out of pain, nor out of external agony.. But because he was not expecting to see such a sight before him.

The blonde haired god wasn't standing upright, Her Golden Lance was not held up high, there wasn't a speartip that was prepared to pierce the monotheistic heavens above. There wasn't a proud figure who was once called a supreme god. Right now, it was just her.. It was just Othinus with her knees on the ground. She still appeared the same as before, but to Kamijou, she didn't exude the aura of a “god” anymore.

The boy looked at her with a confused expression upon realizing that something was wrong.. Something was missing from the god.

(“What happened? Did I win?”)

“O-Othinus! Is this another phase you've created!? Like i said, I'll endure any type of hell you'll throw at me—”

“No.”

Her once commanding voice was replaced with a paradoxical tone. She sounded confused yet confident at the same time. She probably knew what just happened, but she also didn't expect it to happen.

“Rejoice, Human, You succeeded in stopping me.. But that does not mean you won perfectly.” She slowly stood up, her legs were slightly trembling.

“H-huh..? What do you mean?!” Kamijou questioned her cryptic words.

“As I said, I lost, you have prevented me from gaining my triumph. But you didn't absolutely succeed in your wish.”

Kamijou Touma tilted his head in confusion. Was this another trick? Was this some new kind of deception Othinus concocted? Was it another way for the boy Kamijou Touma to let his guard down? What did she mean?

“Uhm.. Can you explain it in a less mysterious way?” He replied in a less pressuring way as he scratched his left cheek with his hand.

“Fine, To put it in simple words.. We didn't get our wishes. I haven't gotten my original world, and you haven't gotten yours either.”

The sounds of cars passing by could be heard outside of the alleyway they were in. The world right now seemed normal.. There wasn't a universal shift or anything. If anything, it was too normal.

“Okay.. Then what phase are we in right now..?” The boy questioned.

“We're not in a phase. Right now, the two of us are currently in a completely different universe.”

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“Huh..?”

“Dont make me repeat myself once more, We are in a different universe”

The boy finally understood it. He finally realized the situation they were in.. After shattering Gungnir a fraction of a millisecond before she could create a new phase, the magic needed to do such a thing might have malfunctioned. By pure chance instead of creating a new layer of reality, Othinus and Kamijou Touma were transported into another reality. Was it by luck? Or was it by misfortune?

“How did- No! That doesn't matter.. W-What happened to our world! What happened to my world?!”

The moment he realized it. He cried out. What happened to the universe he belonged to? What of it? Did it return back into the phase he dearly loved? Did it stay as the phase that the magic god created? He doesn't have the wisdom to answer his own dire questions. He didn't possess the knowledge of a Magic God, all he was, was just a boy with a special right hand. Even so, he still tried to find the answers he dearly sought after. Even if it meant shouting at a woman who couldn't even stand up properly without trembling.

But, her legs weren't weak because of the boy's sudden outburst, because it seemed like the travel between universes stripped her of her strength. It may also have tampered with the Fairy Spell that once embedded inside her, it might even have removed it completely.. But Kamijou Touma did not know that, He didn't care for the trivial questions.. He mostly focused on a single thought that was rapidly eating at this mind.

What happened to the world that i belonged to?

“What happ-”

“It's safe.”

“...?”

“The world you fought for is safe. The people who you care for are safe. You lost consciousness after you shattered Gungnir, but I'm not like you, Human.”

“What do you.. Mean?”

“Before we were properly transported into this alternate world, I saw your original world flashing before my very own eyes. Like I said, You didn't perfectly win, the clear reason why. It's because you're not with them right now.”

So.. It's like the phase where everyone had perfect lives.. Except, their lives aren't soo perfect now…

“Is there a way to get back?”

Touma's tone of voice was more calm. Unlike the sudden outburst earlier, He was currently asking for information at a less urgent speed.

Though, the answer that the goddess provided left a sour look on his face.

“No. I don't possess the power, nor knowledge to do such a thing. The instance that occurred earlier was out of pure chance.”

The spiky haired Highschooler clenched his hardened fists. While it was not the worst possible ending he could envision.. He still cared for the people in his original world..

“And I may have been separated from them, but I can always rebuild those connections. Several of those relationships started out with mutual hatred and a lack of understanding, but we made it to a point where we could smile at each other. Those bonds are much, much stronger than you think they are. Just because 'Kamijou Touma' has stolen those bonds from me doesn't mean I will never have a chance to create new bonds with them.”

The people of this world may still be the same as before. But it still feels wrong.. They're the same.. Yet also they were not the individuals of the world he belonged to.. He may never reunite with the loved ones he bonded with.

Atleast they're safe..

He steeled his resolve and spirit so that he could accept the fact that there may be no chance that he'll ever return. All he could do right now.. Is to accept it.. Even if it hurts to leave the people he fought for.. He had to accept it for now, but if there's ever a chance to return back to his loved ones.. He'll be sure to raise his fist to break through any barrier that separate him and them.

His clenched fists began to open up slowly. Out of habit, he gazed at his right hand before shifting his eyes towards the blonde war god.

Even if it was too sudden. He decided that he'll accept that fact for now. He'll trust it as the truth, but he had a slight feeling that “truth” will change in the future. For now, He'll keep on moving, In a Familiar yet Unfamiliar world.

Before he could say something to Othinus, the norse goddess suddenly toppled over. Her legs gave up, as all her strength was drained for unknown reasons. Was it because of the irregular event caused by the shattering of the spear? Perhaps.

Though, to Touma, that wasn't important right now. He saw someone who needed help.. So as usual, he rushed to her and carefully supported her by the shoulder.

Othinus was surprised, even if it was a mundane way of helping others, The boy helped her. Kamijou Touma helped the individual who exposed him to uncountable deaths and immeasurable agony. Was it out of pity? A pity that stemmed from the human instinct of helping frail-looking people? That was not it.. No normal human would do the same towards the goddess.

Yet thankfully, the self-proclaimed “normal highschool boy” was not exactly a normal human. Whether he liked it or not, he wasn't normal in any sense.

Othinus was about to utter words of hesitant curiosity over the unexplainable actions of the boy, but she was cut off before she could spit them out.

“So, what are your plans now?”

“H-huh?”

“Uhm.. I was asking about your plans? I know a realistic villain shouldn't explain their convoluted evil plans.. But what are you gonna do now..?”

Should she even be shocked? She personally saw this boy enduring the innumerable hells she procured specifically for him. She should have known that this boy wasn't right in the head to be asking that kind of stuff soo casually.

“The fairy spell Ollerus hit me with has dissipated due to unknown reasons. Also, Unhand me, I didn't allow you to assist me in standing.”

“But you'll fall.”

“Then so be it.”

“Then, i dont want you to fall.”

Touma insisted. He helped her to have a stable footing on the cold concrete ground. If it was any other person, Othinus would have been left on the floor. In an ironic twist, the individual she tortured for countless eons, was currently supporting her physical body.

“You're a foolish human..” She meekly muttered with a frail version of her usual tone.

To be frank, even if Othinus was straight up brutalizing Touma before all of this.. Right now, She's the only one who suffered the same present fate as him. They were both otherworldly strangers in a familiar yet uncertain world. In other words.. They were akin.

Othinus had no other choice but to accept the fact that Touma just accepted a few moments earlier. Even if she managed to reach the phase she wished for in this world.. She could not be certain that it'd be the same phase as the one in her original universe. There were too many unknown variables. And even then.. Even if it was still the same.. Even if it did all work out.. Is it still the same place she could call home?

“Actually.. I'll just ask you later.. First, we have to know what type of world we are dealing with. We can't just expect it to be all the same right?” He was too casual. He was too calm..

Othinus slightly nodded. She couldn't admit it, but right now.. He's the only pillar she could rely on.

Out of nowhere, she could feel the sensation of warm cloth wrapping around her upper body.

It was Touma. He took off his black blazer that he wore above his white sweater and made the goddess wear it below her cloak.

“I can't have you running around in the city dressed like that..” Touma awkwardly commented on Othinus’ bold choice of outfits.

Her giant witch hat and cape were already things that looked out of place in a city full of uniforms and work clothes.. Yet the ‘clothes’ she wears on her body just dials it up to an eleven.

“Normally, I would have ended you for your ignorance of my personal space, Human, but just this once, I'll allow it.” She acted strong, as if her strength as a Magic God did not even disappear in the first place.

But. She felt as if she was comfortable in his presence, perhaps it was a deep sentiment that this boy was the only symbol that remains of the universe she was planning to turn into her home. Or perhaps was it their shared time? Even if that time amounted to Touma's suffering, and his defiance against her.. It was still a time that she spent with him.

All Touma could do in the face of her comment though was to smile with an awkward expression.

With Othinus now less revealing than before. Touma led her away from the gloomy alleyway they were in.

The two of them were met with a fairly familiar image of a certain urban setting. With its futuristic tall-standing buildings, Academy City's landscape is always recognizable to the long-time local spiky haired boy.

Othinus was not a resident of this city, what's more, She attacked this city before.. But the spiky haired boy who was currently helping her to stand up straight, was.

A small smile crept up on Touma's face.. Even if this wasn't his universe. He still felt like this was his home.

“Human, what's your plan? I assume someone like you doesn't even know what to do in such a situation.”

“Well.. You're right.. I'm honestly still baffled with what just happened. I wonder if I still have my cellphone..”

Touma used his free hand to search his pockets on whether or not he still possessed such a device. But it seemed like misfortune struck him once more as the only thing he could feel was his wallet.

“Such misfortune…” he mutters with a defeated voice.

Othinus couldn't help with stare at the boy with a look that basically expressed the words; “Tough luck”

Touma then lifted his head up, looking directly at Academy City's blue skies. By sheer chance the usual airships seen on the skies were in his sights. Scanning the screen on the side of the blimp, he saw the daily news. Along with the date plastered on the top right of the screen.

July 19th..

The day before it all happened..

Not only were they transported into another universe, it seemed like they were also transported into the past. Coincidentally the day before Kamijou Touma met the nun, Index Librorum Prohibitorum which also marks the day where he took his first step into the world of magic.

He gave out a slight and solemn smile.

Othinus only looked at the boy, nothing really crossed her mind at this moment.

“Alright, I know what to do..”

With Touma now having a hold on Othinus’ left hand with his right. He led her on the sidewalks of the city. Seemingly planning to go somewhere important.

Touma passed by a few familiar places and establishments while on their trek. The two of them couldn't really just commute towards their destination as Touma supposedly wanted to save his remaining funds for more important things, and Othinus was not the kind of person to have cash on hand.. I mean, where will she even put her money? She has no pockets! Even if it wasn't the most efficient way, walking was their only means of travel right now.

They walked for multiple minutes, while also gaining some curious glances from the residents of the city due to the goddess's eccentric outfit.

Upon arriving at School District 7. Touma led Othinus to a certain building.. Or rather, a Certain Men's Dormitory.

The two individuals entered the dormitory's elevator, with Touma taking on the lead. He pushed his index finger on a button that led up to the seventh story of the building.

The elevator was slowly going up…

“Human, why did you bring me here?”

She asked him a reasonable question. Why did he exactly allow Othinus to accompany him? What's more, he insisted on taking her with him, he was the one who held her hand and led him to this building. But why? He could have just abandoned her in the alleyway a few moments earlier, It would have been more convenient for him to not bring her along.

She for once, did not deserve such a treatment from the person she brutalized and exposed to utter madness.

But..

“Why not? I can't just leave you lying in an alleyway.”

He responded quickly, as if he already held an answer long before she even thought of questioning his current actions.

“Look, I'm still trying to recover from all the suffering you've dealt me. But, those past thoughts are nothing in front of the present I have to face.”

Othinus was slightly baffled. Was he naive? Was he stubborn? Or was he just like this? How could someone even forgive a person like her. How could someone be this…. Forgiving?

She caused many people pain and tragedy. She never hesitated to unleash suffering to others just so she could reach her goal. So something like this.. Just made her think…

The two unlikely companions stood in silence in the elevator for roughly 10 to 30 seconds before they both heard a small “𝗗𝗶𝗻𝗴!!” Along with the elevator's doors opening.

Stepping outside the elevator, Touma then began to lead Othinus deeper into the dormitory. As they passed a few dormrooms by.. They eventually reached the destination the boy desired for.

“Well here goes nothing..”

He knocked on a door that belonged to a certain someone.

If his calculations were right. Considering it was an early morning, soo early in fact that most of the students are still getting ready for school.. That man would already be awake by now.

Othinus looked a bit curious about whose room was this.. Before she could read the name plaque, a voice came beyond the door.

“Who's knocking on my door at this time of the day..? I hope it's not Ka-chi.. Nyaah~”

(Ka-chi..? Who's that?) Touma was a bit confused on who was just mentioned..

The door infront of the two opened. It revealed Tsuchimikado Motoharu, The Only successful Magician-Esper Hybrid in Academy City, A rather untrustworthy spy, and one of Touma's closest friends and allies.

Tsuchimikado looked at the two with.. A perplexed expression. He first took a glance at Touma, his eyes narrowed a bit upon seeing his spiky hair, but his stare began to change the moment he looked at the rest of Kamijou Touma's frame.

The blonde haired magician esper then shifted his gaze towards Othinus who was currently behind Touma. He looked at them for a few seconds without saying a word.. Untill..

“Huh, never knew Ka-chi liked to crossdress and pick up girls..”

“What..?”

(“Who the hell is Ka-chi?!”)

“Hey human.. Are you sure this is the guy you're looking for?” Othinus commented on the current confusing situation.

Touma turned his head to Othinus for a moment so that he could reply. “Yeah! Just wait for a sec.. This is probably just another of his antics..!”

He then turned back towards Tsuchimikado.

“Uhm.. Tsuchimikado! I need your help—”

Though, he was immediately cut off as a fist flew straight towards his face. He dodged to the left and took Othinus along with him to make sure she wasn't hit by the attacks that he dodged.

“What the hell!?” He reasonably blurted out.

“Are you certain that this is the right guy, Human?” She raised an eyebrow while questioning Touma's ‘methods’

“Yes I am!”

Touma's supposed “one of his closest allies” then walked out of his dorm room and gave out a smirk towards the duo.

“You're not Ka-chi, You have a rougher voice and more masculine face.. Who are you exactly.. Doppelganger?”

(“Doppelganger..? Does the Kamijou Touma of this world look more different than me??”)

Othinus stayed silent, simply observing the situation while hiding behind the boy.

“Considering you know my name, and you oddly look similar to a certain classmate of mine.. I'm guessing you're some kind of assassin sent here to eliminate me right? Now, are you guys from the Irrational, or the Rational, nyah~?”

Irrational… Rational…

(“This boy must be referring to the Magic and the Science side of things..”) Othinus thought to herself as she continued to observe the unexpected confrontation between the two high school students.

Touma was hesitant to fight his own friend during this time of day.. Well he was also considering the fact he needs to gather information as fast as he could.

What could he do? What could he say? If the Kamijou Touma of this world were different from him in terms of appearance.. What could he do to earn this world's Tsuchimikado’s trust..?

Before the blonde spiky haired Highschooler was about to rush towards him with another hardened fist. Touma put his two hands in front of him, gesturing “STOP!” or…………

“𝗪𝗔𝗜𝗧!!!”

Touma cried out. His sudden outburst also made Othinus jump a bit due to their close proximity.

“What..? You tryin to make me let my guard down or something..?” The Magic-Esper who was still in a fighting stance questioned the Illusion breaking boy.

“Before you beat my ass to the ground.. Who the hell is Ka-chi!?!”

“Oi, Human.. What are you asking right now?! You're about to get beaten and this is your only question!?”

The girl, known as a god, snapped at the boy's rather blunt and stupid decisions. Even if she was a Magic God, She still expressed human emotions.. Such as frustration over a rather dull boy. Touma on the other hand just gave out his usual dumb smile upon Othinus’ comment.

(“Why do I get irked when this guy gets scolded by a cute girl..!?”) Tsuchimikado had a frustrating thought pop out inside his head for some unexplainable reason..

“Thought you'd know who the person you're barely impersonating as.”

“Sorry but this Kamijou—”

Before he could even utter his first name Tsuchimikado’s left fist lunged towards his face.

Touma instinctively put his right arm up, blocking the attack with his forearm.

“Damn! I forgot how heavy your punches are..!”

The boy was pushed back by a few centimeters. Touma made sure that Othinus was not getting in the way of their scuffle.

“Are you sure you aren't bullshitting nyah~? Since you just mentioned ‘Kamijou’ just now, that means you do know who you're trying to impersonate.”

Tsuchimikado’s wry smirk began to form. At this point, Touma began to speculate what his next move was.

Is he gonna use his magic? Or is he still prompting for a hand to hand brawl.. Either way, our foreign hero doesn't want to fight in the first place.

He needed to pull out the big guns—

“TSUCHIMIKADO MOTOHARU!!!”

Out of nowhere, Touma screamed out his name. This sudden action made Othinus let out a surprised voice, while on the other hand, Tsukimikado was a bit surprised too…

(“Just what is this guy trying to do–”)

“SIS-CON SERGEANT, HAS A STEP-SISTER WHOM HE REAALLY REALLLY REALLYY LOVES!!!, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, HE'S A PERVERTED, DEGENERATE, BACKSTABBING BASTAR— KUU-!AHK!? What the hell was that for Othi-chan!?”

He was cut off as a fist crashed down at his cranium. The blonde haired girl known as Othinus was clearly frustrated at this current antics.

“I can't believe.. You'd be this stupid…! And don't call me Othi-chan!! You sound like an old Uncle!!”

Tsukimikado on the other hand only had one thought inside his head right now.

(“He knows too much.. He mentioned my beloved Maika!!! I need to kill him!!”)

As he was about to give Touma the greatest ass beating with his Muay Thai. He saw that Touma was already on the floor, prostrating himself towards Tsuchimikado.

“Please!! Please, please!! Just hear me out just this once!!!”

God, he looked soo pathetic right now.

Just earlier, He was fighting with a Magic God, and now he's on the ground begging his supposed closest friend to hear him out.

Without context, this scene could mean something very differently, this fact is supported by the Almost half-naked blonde haired girl behind him.

Tsuchimikado had every reason to be suspicious of the two individuals. The spiky haired boy mysteriously looks like someone he personally knows, and the girl behind him looked awfully similar to how magicians dressed.

Yet, Tsuchimikado Motoharu felt something towards the boy.. It was as if he trusted his words. To him, Touma's expressions and overall appearance did not reek of malice and lies. There was also this unexplainable sensation that made him feel that Touma was someone very familiar.

“Fine, dont get me wrong, you two are still very suspicious~” the Magician-Esper gave out his answer, but he did not drop his guard, as he was still cautious of the duo.

“Huh? Really!?”

“Now, who even are you two? And why do you awfully look like Ka-chi?” Tschiimikado pointed at the spiky black haired boy.

Touma stood up before replying. Othinus herself still stayed silent, simply allowing the boy to handle their current situation.

(“How do I explain this properly without sounding like a drug addict..”)

“Well uhm.. Do you know someone with the name Kamijou?” Touma replied with dumb chuckle.

Othinus was a bit curious on what the boy was implying.. Perhaps he's trying to find out if this world even has a Kamijou Touma?

“You're in luck~! I do know someone by that name..” He replied in a sarcastic way, Touma should have really gotten the memo since the blondie did mention “Kamijou” a few moments before.

Touma finally confirmed a few things that have been pestering his mind ever since they arrived in this alternate universe. Upon Tsukimikado’s numerous mentions and lines, Touma has gotten quite a grasp of their current predicament.

First, who was this world's Kamijou Touma?

Were they even called Kamijou Touma in this world? From the looks of it, Tsukimikado did mentioned he knew a “Kamijou”

(“Yet.. He also mentions this.. Ka-chi..)”

“Now.. Let me repeat my question, who are you two?” Tsukimikado insisted.

Othinus was waiting for the boy to make his next move.

“I'm uh.. Maybe a relative of this person you're talking about”

Tsukimikado looked at the spiky haired boy with a curious yet doubtful expression.

“Oh really? How can you prove it nyah~? And that doesn't answer my question.. Who are you two supposed to be?”

“I'm Kamijou Touma.. And the one behind me is.. Othi.. Just Othi.”

Touma introduced Othinus without the “nus” part of her name. To him, it was a way of disguising the weakened magic god, as her proper name may raise suspicion, even if they traveled back to the past.

Though that move still earned him a menacing stare from Othinus.

(“Kamijou..? Is he perhaps a relative of her?)

“Someone can just proclaim themselves as someone else without any evidence nyah~ There's a chance you've checked my background and assumed a name that would be familair.. I still can't believe you, along with the fact that you know certain aspects of me that i only show to my close friends.”

His words were reasonable. Touma suddenly shouting Motoharu's aspects in his personal life was a blunder, it just made him more suspicious towards him.

“Alright.. If that won't convince you..”

The boy tried to recount the past events he had gone through. From the first time he'd gaze at Index on his balcony, to the day he lost his memories, and to the time he saved the world from Fiamma of the Right. He truly had gone through the ringer, and that's not even including the things Othinus has done to him.

What's more, there may be a chance he'll go through all of it once again.

“But first.. We should probably go inside your room..” Touma casually pointed towards the other doors of the dormitory that were beginning to open.

The three of them couldn't just stand in front of a hallway afterall.

“You're right about that.”

The blonde haired boy nodded in agreement.

“But don't go thinking that I'll let my guard down. If you try to do any funny business, I'll gladly turn my own room into a battefield nyah~” Even if his tone was familiar and sarcastic, it still held a certain weight that gave Touma a slight chill.

“Right..”

Tsukimikado was the first one who to back inside his own dorm room. Touma was about to follow him but he felt a slight tap on his shoulder before he could even take a single step.

He turned his head towards Othinus who was the perpetrator of the action.

“Huh?”

“Human, I'll be frank. Have you thought of a plan after this whole ordeal? You cannot just tread upon an environment that you don't know, there's no guarantee this world's laws and rules will be the same as ours. It would be simply foo—”

“None.”

“........................?”

“I have a current plan right now, but if you're talking about what I'm looking forward to do in this world.. I have none. I'm still Kamijou Touma no matter what, I showed that resolve during one of the phases right? Even if I'm not the Kamijou Touma of this world, I'll still be a Kamijou Touma to myself. I'll try to live like how I lived before. Just because there's a chance this world will be vastly different from mine won't deter me from doing what I was trying to do before. Technically speaking, my only plan is to act the way that Kamijou Touma acts like.”

His eyes looked unwavered, His expression was unchanging, and his right hand clenched. He selfishly sacrificed a perfect paradise so that he could return to his comfortable world.. Yet now, even if he saved the world he wanted to save. At the current moment, he wasn't a part of it.

“That's a bit foolish isn't it? Judging from the clues your blonde ‘friend’ gave, you can easily confirm that there is a Kamijou Touma of this world. This is your only chance to live a peaceful and normal life you've dreamt of. You can essentially just leave it to the ‘Kamijou’ of this universe to manage it all—”

Othinus was cut off by Touma at the last moment of her speech.

“I cannot do that. I cannot just sit back and relax as ‘another me’ deals with all the problems. There are other incidents that happened in the background that I didn't know about. There were deaths that I couldn't even be informed of. I'll lend another hand to this other Kamijou, I'll save the ones that I couldn't save before.”

He still held the same conviction. He still wanted to fight for what he believes to be “right”

Even when there's a chance for peace. He still chose to tread back into the depths of hell. Should he break, nothing will be lost… because of course, He's just an intruder into this world. Losing another Kamijou would mean nothing. If you looked at this world as a sheet of test papers, He was just a Bonus Point.

“So, you'll gladly rush head first into a world of agony?”

“Yes.”

“Even when you selfishly rejected the idea of a perfect utopia, just so you could bring back the world you belong to?”

“Yes, I know that my actions are contradictory to my selfish decision at that moment.. This Kamijou cannot just change soo easily”

“I see. Is that why you're me bringing along? Is that why you haven't abandoned me in that alleyway?”

Kamijou Touma didn't even need to verbally communicate to express his absolute answer.

He merely nodded.

“Such foolishness..” Othinus couldn't even bring herself to properly insult him. She smiled slightly while having her head down, covering her face with the witch hat she wore from Touma's gaze.

Kamijou Touma still held a semblance of his own delusion. An illusion that he earnestly believes, but during the Infinite Hells, it was supposedly quelled. Yet, due to unforeseen fates, such an illusion returned to the spiky haired boy.

“Oi, suspicious dude and dudette. Are you still making up a plan to assassinate me or something? You better be quick cuz I got a remedial class I've got to attend, nyah~!”

Tsuchimikado called over to the two individuals who were still outside of the dorm room they were supposed to enter.

“We're not planning any murder! I was just talking to her about something.”

The boy with black spiky hair immediately began to move towards the door. The tension from before already dissipated from the Magic-Esper's sudden intervention.

Othinus stood still for a few moments, gazing deep into Touma's back as he entered the dorm room.

(“Hmph.. I guess you're my only anchor to our original world.. Don't die, Human”)

She then followed behind his retreating figure. Entering the dorm room a few seconds after the Average Highschool boy.

【 — † — 】

“So.. Can you help me?”

Kamijou Touma chuckled awkwardly as he sat on the floor. With a small table between them, Tsukimikado Motoharu sat on the other side with his arms crossed over his chest. Othinus on the other hand was standing near Touma, she was occasionally taking glances at the details of the room they were in.

“Hold on, Let me clarify.. So.. You're telling me that you're a long lost relative of my classmate, and due to her father collecting occult souvenirs which caught your interests, you apparently managed to stumble into a rabbit hole of esoteric magic and eventually was hunted down by a mysterious Japanese magic cabal.. Which made you stumble into Academy City so that you could find shelter?”

Touma nodded with sweat trickling down his face. Othinus on the other hand was resisting the urge to facepalm due to the authenticity of the story the boy just made up. There's no way this story is believable.

“....... So, can i ask a question?”

“Y-yeah.”

“Give me the full name of this ‘classmate’ of mine.”

(“Fuck.”)

This was it. Even if he manages to guess it correctly, there's no guarantee that Touma's story would be bought. The black haired boy quickly began to think of all the clues that Tsukimikado gave before.

First, apparently Tsuchimikado mentioned that he awfully looked like someone he knew. It could mean that Touma wasn't a direct one to one copy of the person Tsukimikado knows, but he at least slightly similar to them. This clue is supported by the fact that the blonde haired boy did not see Touma as that person.

Lastly, the classmate Tsuchimikado mentioned can be this world's Kamijou Touma. But, since he refers to them as “Ka-chi” there must be a difference in name. Along with that, As mentioned before, Touma only looked similar to this “Ka-chi” which meant that there was also a slight difference in appearance.

There's a small chance they might be still named Kamijou Touma, but considering Tsuchimikado did not react that much when he introduced himself and Othinus, that is out of the equation. Now, by using the name “Ka-chi” as a reference, our Kamijou Touma finally settled on a name..

“Uhm.. Kamijou Touka?”

(“Isn't that a girl's name though—”)

“Correct.”

Touma was about to let out a sigh of relief, but Tsuchimikado interrupted him.

“But that doesn't mean I'll believe your story, to be frank, it's honestly soo bad.. To the point that your companion over there was about to facepalm during the whole session.”

He then sighed before staring at Touma. His arms were still crossed but for some reason he looked more relaxed.

“So does that mean..”

Touma was at a loss, Tschimikado wasn't his only choice when it came to trying to get information about what things changed, to be honest it would have been wiser to visit Komoe over the Magic-esper. Even then the boy still felt like he failed to at least convince one of his closest friends back at his original world.

But…

“No, what I meant is that I didn't believe your inconsistent origin story.. But I didn't say that I won't help you.”

“?!”

The blonde-haired magic-esper gave a rather unexpected second answer. He felt compelled to accept to help Touma due to some sort of familiar presence the boy exuded.

“Don't ask why, I just wanted to reach out my hand towards my classmate's relative nyah~ Maybe i could use it to ask them some favors~!”

Of course.. He was still Tsuchimikado Motoharu afterall..

“So.. What do you need help with?”

【 — † — 】

“I must say, these clothes are comfortable, Human.”

Touma and Othinus were currently right outside of an entrance to a local mall. The former was carrying a few paper bags that were either full of groceries or clothes, while the latter was drinking on some sort of milkshake.

“I still don't understand how you keep warm in those types of clothes..” Touma eyed the current attire of Othinus.

The blonde goddess of war and treachery was wearing a black baseball cap with gray accents, she still wore her signature eyepatch along with it. On her torso, She wore a black crop top with a waist-long black jacket with a red underside and gray accents over it. And finally, she wore black shorts to complete the look. Her witch hat was hanging on her back via a string that wrapped around her neck, and her usual cloak was nowhere to be found as it was currently folded neatly inside one of the paper bags Touma was currently carrying. She would have preferred to wear her previous “clothes” but considering they're both in a heavily populated urban city such as Academy City.. It could not be helped.

It was an understatement to call Othinus “stunning”, She looked like some famous actress in casual clothes. Her rather bold style of fashion and natural beauty gained her some stares from the nearby students who passed by.

Touma on the other hand ditched his white jacket for a more suitable attire for the summer. Right now, he was rocking a Hawaiian T-shirt similar to a certain backstabber but in light grey. But he still kept his black slacks as the boy didn't really prefer shorts over them.

Touma looked at the debit card Tschimikado handed to him. He raised an eyebrow while trying to get over the fact that his best-friend had this type of funds along with the fact that Touma managed to borrow this with relative ease.

“I didn't know Tsuchimikado would have this amount of cash.. But, considering he's a quadruple-agent for numerous organizations, I guess this makes enough sense..”

Touma then felt a slight poke on his shoulder. Of course the boy looked over his shoulder after storing the debit card into his wallet and pocketing it and gave a questioning expression towards the individual who caught his attention.

“Hm?”

It was Othinus. She was still holding the milkshake she was drinking before, but it was seemingly empty.

“What's next? We have acquired a temporary source of funds but that doesn't guarantee we'll have a consistent source of it. Which means we can't exactly rent out an apartment and expect it to last..”

She was right. While Tsuchimikado gave them his debit card, that doesn't mean Touma will get to just use it as his own, eventually he'll have to return it to its rightful owner. Which meant renting out an apartment would just be a waste of money and time, they should only do such a thing when they have a stable source of income.

“Do you have any other choices for our temporary shelter, Human?” Said Othinus in a questioning tone of voice that still carried an air of her god-like demeanor.

Touma thought for a moment. He has a small number of choices to look through, which is burdened with the fact that these choices would be meaningless since Touma didn't exist in this world until earlier. No one knew him aside from Tsukimikado, so he can't exactly just ask someone he knew from his original universe on whether or not they'll allow him and Othinus to freeload..

Who was kind and sincere enough to shelter two strangers who appeared as teenagers…..?

Right…

(“Right! The only person who's kind, generous and caring enough to let a student or two live with them temporarily..!!”)

“Actually… I do have someone in mind.” He scratched his cheek while letting out a nervous chuckle.

Though there was someone else who was taking a good chunk of his mind as space.

(“Kamijou Touka huh..?”)

【 — † — 】

“It might be repetitive for me to ask this a second time. But are you sure this is the right place?”

The two were currently standing in front of an old-style apartment door that was seemingly reinforced for some reasons.

“Yeah, this is the right place! Considering Tsukimikado still acts the same, I hope she does too!”

They were right outside the apartment room of Kamijou Touma's rather miniature homeroom teacher. Tsukiyome Komoe.

If Touma was a bit wiser before, he could have just gone straight to Komoe rather than taking a risky visit to Tsuchimikado. But there's no time to stay on that topic considering it went unexpectedly well.

Komoe was a person Kamijou Touma could trust. As a teacher of his, she was always considerate of the boy, but that kindness wasn't only directed at him. The mini-sensei usually harbored a few stray students once in a while in her apartment room. Kamijou remembered that she once had allowed Himegami Aisa to stay with her for a while.

In simple terms, She was their best chance in getting a roof above their head for now.

Though, Kamijou Touma's last memory of her was when.. She stabbed him with a knife during one of his countless personalized hells.

The boy then pressed on the doorbell a couple of times. It rang out multiple chimes, yet no one answered. Maybe she was still teaching remedial classes?

“Are you sure that she's present in her abode?” the one-eyed girl commented.

“Maybe.. I'll test this out just to be sure.”

Touma reeled in his right foot, before slamming it into the door.

Which.. It was a bad idea considering what happened the last time he did such a thing.

Of course, he quickly regretted it.

The foot he used to kick the reinforced door was hit with a sharp pain, similar to stubbing your toe on a doorframe.

“Knghk—!!”

He cried out with a tone full of pain.. Seems like there wasn't a hell that made him suffer a agonizing death in the form of toe stubbing during Othinus's whole endless torture of the poor teenager, or maybe there was, but it just seemed like the boy wasn't used to other ways of suffering~

“Yes, Yes, Yes! My door is rather sturdy.”

A familiar and cute voice called out from beyond the door.

“It's built to counter paper carriers, I'm opening it right now!”

The voice belonged to none other than the person Kamijou Touma mentioned before.

The door was half-way opened from the other side. A little girl with pink hair peeked from the moderately sized slit.

“Hm? Ah, When did delinquents work as paper carriers?” Said Komoe with a curious tone of voice.

By all intent and purposes, The two of them did look like delinquents in some shape or form. Touma wasn't exactly what you'd picture a well-kept and clean high school boy to look like, and Othinus gave off the vibe of a punk with her current choice of outfits. One could easily mistake them as a thuggish and troublesome power couple in a Highschool Martial Arts Manga.

(“Delinquents..?! Do Othinus and I look like delinquents right now?!”)

(Being called a delinquent by someone who looks like a child is quite new..”)

“Oh uhm.. Komoe-sensei right?” Said Touma with a hesitant or forced voice. He tried to come off like he didn't know the pink-haired teacher in the first place.

“You know about me? You don't seem like a student of mine.. Though you look awfully similar to one of them.” She tilted her head upon commenting on the resemblance Touma gave off.

“Ah right, I actually heard about you from a friend of mine who's probably in your class.. I'm sorry if we're bothering you but can we please stay here for a few days!”

The boy clasped his hands in a prayer sign while simultaneously bowing his head in front of his former teacher.

Komoe yelped as she was surprised with the sudden actions of the boy's plea for shelter.

“Ah! You don't need to bow your head! You could have just asked me properly! I'm always willing to lend my hand when it comes to assisting stray children!” She said it with a hand hovering above her chest expressing a semblance of pride and pure kindness.

The boy quickly reverted back to his normal pose.

Just as Touma thought.. She was always someone he could count on when it comes to his struggles as a student in Academy City. It seemed like in this universe, Komoe was still the kind teacher Touma looked up to, and hopefully everyone he cherished was still the same as ever.

Othinus could notice the formation of a small smile on the boy's face upon the teacher's willingness to help the two of them.

(“So.. These are the people he treasured to the point he'd cast aside a paradise just to stand besides them..”)

She should clearly see how Touma valued the bonds he held with these people. She could obviously see how happy he was upon the revelation that his kind teacher was still the caring person he listened to in class.

She felt a slight tinge of guilt… To think she created a phase where she forced a teacher to kill her precious student..

An action that a supposed instructor of the youth never ever once imagined doing.

“Now, what are your names, little ones?” She smiled at them while fully opening the previously half-way opened door.

“Isn't she the little—”

Othinus felt the palm of the boy's hand rapidly covering her mouth before she could finish her sentence.

Komoe, who didn't clearly hear what Othinus was about to say, gave a curious title to her head wondering why Touma swiftly blocked the blonde girl's mouth with his right hand.

The spiky-haired teenager on the other hand was sweating bullets..

“Ah-uh! I'm Kamijou Touma and the girl beside me is my classmate, Othi! Ahahahaha…”

He replied in a nervous tone, He felt like after he takes his hand away from the goddess’ lips, he'll be struck down with a hell of a scolding.

He could already feel Othinus radiating an miasma of malice and ice cold contempt.

Thankfully when he separated his palm from her mouth, She apparently managed to keep herself from verbally abusing the boy who was named Kamijou Touma.

“Kamijou Touma and Othi… Huh? Kamijou? Are you perhaps a relative of one of Kamijou-chan?”

Right.. There was still the original Kamijou of this world. He'll have to consider this question every time he introduces himself to someone who is familiar with the person named ‘Kamijou Touka’

“Yes, but I'm like her long lost relative, she probably doesn't even know me.”

“I see.. Well, it seems like it's about to get dark, why don't you two come inside? I assume your hands are getting tired from carrying those paper bags all day.”

“Right, by the way, thank you Komoe-sensei!” Touma gave another quick bow of his head, expressing his gratitude in his actions and tone of voice.

Othinus on the other hand just gave the teacher a slight nod of the head and a swift and low-pitched “Thank you..”

It was the least she could do, considering how she treated the boy and his loved ones.

【 — † — 】

July 19

To the current Touma, it was a day that he did not remember.

But if he could recall some clues, It was the day before he apparently met Index in the balcony of his apartment.

Speaking of Apartments, it seemed like the individual who is referred to as “Kamijou Touka” does not live in the same dorm room where Touma's humble abode was.

The boy managed to piece this information together after taking a glance at the name plaque that was supposedly his room back in his original world just right after his fiasco with Tsuchimikado . The plaque that he vividly remembered to bear the letters that formed “Kamijou” had another person's familial name on it.

Does that mean Index is gonna fall into the same balcony as before? Just with a different person in the room? Or perhaps.. She'll fall into any dorm room's balcony that belonged to this “Kamijou Touka”

Touma hoped for the latter to happen. It would make things less confusing and more predictable if so.

Speaking of predictable.. Apparently, it seems like misfortune still follows him in this universe.

“Such Misfortune…”

The spiky-haired boy muttered with despair as he held a rather beaten up carton of eggs.

Komoe asked him to buy some groceries a few minutes after Him and Othinus finished settling in her apartment room, which involved them finding places in the room where they can comfortably sleep, along with cleaning up the whole place which was highly important due to the fact Komoe's childish appearance didn't really relate well to her grown-up activities she partakes in her apartment. Safe to say, they had to throw out alot of empty beer cans and cigarette buds.

Back to the present, A nostalgic and pitiful scene was seen on the sidewalk.

Kamijou Touma was mourning the loss of his newly bought eggs.

Oh how unfortunate.

Surely he must have just bought a faulty carton of eggs that he didn't notice?

That would have been less troublesome.

Yet as usual with his abhorrent distortion of luck, or lack there of.. The boy's situation wasn't that simple.

Apparently, a few seconds before this whole scene happened, some child who was playing in the nearby playground managed to kick a football right under where Touma's foot was gonna land. As expected, the spiky-haired teenager slipped and fell with his back facing the ground with his groceries landing right beside him on the hard concrete pavement.

The impact shattered the hopes and dreams of a well-balanced and fulfilling meal for dinner. Any cheapstake similar to the boy would have expressed the same grief as he did after he realized the oval-shaped shells that hid a substance of enriching protein were destroyed upon experiencing an unlucky accident. Thankfully the eggs he bought were the only fragile products he had in the plastic bag, the other ingredients were safe and sound.

Back to the present

“Shit.. I left my wallet at the apartment.” Touma muttered as he stood up from a kneeling position.

He concluded that he needed to return back to Komoe's apartment because the cash he bought along in his grocery trip was exactly the same amount he spent on everything. Which meant he didn't have enough cash on hand to go back to the grocery store and grab another carton of eggs.

(“I could have just brought the wallet in the first place.. Though, I might run the risk of it being affected by my misfortune again..)”

He looked at the direction where the ball went after he slipped on it. There he saw a group of kids playfully running towards it without even noticing Touma's badluck made the 15 year old lose his precious batch of eggs.

Taking away his focus from the group of children, Touma then gazed towards the amber-hued sky. The sun was beginning to go down and the stars were eventually gonna appear in a few more minutes.

He took in a deep breath before exhaling heavily. One would expect him to mutter another “Fukou dah”, but right now, the only expression he showed was a face with a relaxed smile.

He had to adapt to his new situation. A situation that he chose for himself. A path that he intends to carve as a stranger of this new world. Not only does he need to experience the pain he suffered before, he must be prepared to experience new and different kinds of agony.

Not only that.

He currently has someone to protect.

The golden-haired goddess, who supposedly lost her divine power.

Othinus.

She is the only person Touma currently has that can remind him of his original home. It didn't even matter if she tortured him for eons, and intended to distort the world he cherished, because as of right now.. He didn't intend to abandon her in a world where they don't belong, especially when she didn't even have the strength to fend for herself. Along with the fact that she wouldn't even be given the chance to ask for help from her allies.. If Touma wasn't here, she would be alone.

So, he wanted to be by her side in this world. Until the both of them could find a way back to their beloved universe, Touma decided that he'll try to protect her and the alternate versions of the people he cares about. He'll lend a hand to everyone, even if it wasn't his business to go around and help others in a dimension he wasn't even born in.. He wanted to do it.

But he himself wasn't even sure if he'll ever leave. What if there wasn't any magical spell or scientific technique that allowed them to travel back? What if it wasn't possible? Would Kamijou Touma just accept that he's in a world where he and Othinus exist as glitches and errors in its natural system? Technically, they might just come across their counterparts, and on Othinus’ part that would surely bring alot of problems in the future, and that wasn't even including the off-chance the two of them might encounter this world's GREMLIN.

There were soo many problems and possible crises that they might face just because they weren't even meant to be here. And that's not even including the fact that Othinus was technically one of the causes of his otherworldly-trip.

Even so.

Kamijou Touma decided that he would just step in, and try to solve any type of problems that may come their way. It didn't matter if those problems were meant for him, Othinus, or anyone else, as those problems will cause people to constantly suffer, and the boy wouldn't just stand back and watch as it devours the poor victims that are affected by it.

Even in another world.. He'll just raise his right fist and destroy any illusions that he'll encounter.

But first, He'll have to stabilize his current living conditions, since by all accounts, He and Othinus are “nobodies” in this world, They dont have IDs, Legal Papers, nor any sort identification that would help them. They were lucky enough to be conveniently transported inside Academy City, otherwise they would have had a harder time getting in if they landed somewhere else due to all of the security Academy City employs into their borders and entrances… but for some reason, Touma always felt that after a few hours of being transmigrated.. There was this odd feeling of paranoia that made him feel like every nook and crevices in the City was watching them. He even felt as if the air itself did not give him any privacy. Though for the most part, he just ignored it entirely.

He has a long day ahead for him when the sun rises back up.. As it will mark the day where it all began.. The day where Magic and Science finally collided.

But for now, he can relax for a few hours in Komoe's apartment with Othinus. A growing Highschool boy needs his fair share of rest afterall.. And an undisturbed rest is what Kamijou Touma desperately needs after all the things he went through. Honestly it's nothing short of a miracle his body didn't break down from the amount of strain he puts himself through, it's as if his misfortune won't let him escape his constant spiral of agony with a death caused by an extreme case of exhaustion.

It's no wonder why he was fairly built for “an average high school boy”. Constantly running around and punching magicians and espers alike weren't effortless and easy feats even if the teenager possessed the infamous Imagine Breaker. He at least had built a great tolerance towards pain and stress.

He carefully tread upon the paths on the side of the streets. He had just thrown away the broken batch of eggs inside a nearby trashcan a few minutes earlier. The last thing he wanted right now is to be ruthlessly chased by the cleaner robots for illegally littering.

(“I should have bought a phone during my shopping trip with Othinus.. I'll head over to the mall tomorrow to grab one, maybe for Othinus too.”)

He sighed upon the thought of not acquiring such a convenient device earlier. Surely the blonde-haired spy wouldn't mind if a few thousand yen was suddenly gone from his funds, right?

Just as Touma thought he was gonna have a quiet walk back to his teacher's apartment. He was suddenly surprised by an ear screeching scream that was accompanied by a very… very… VERY familiar phrase.

“SUCH MISFORTUNE!!!”

"Huh..?"

Chapter Text

Chapter One

“THUS_THE_OTHER”

Kamijou Touma, one of the two individuals who doesn't belong in their current world, was breathing heavily while he ran away from a small group of thugs in a rather comical manner under the night sky. But that wasn't all.. He wasn't the only one fleeing from the agitated and wrathful gaggle of gangsters, and he wasn't the only “Kamijou” who was running away from the aforementioned group of angry delinquents. 

“SUCH MISFORTUNE!!”

“SUCH MISFORTUNE!!”

If anyone from Touma's original universe saw this particular scene, they would have confusingly scratched their heads and throughly rubbed their eyes to confirm if what they're seeing wasn't some kind of fucked up illusion that was meant to mess with their mental psyche. They'd be either ecstatic or absolutely shocked that the sight in front of them is one hundred percent real.

It wasn't a damned illusion! 

Oh it was completely authentic.

A certain silver star would be either dead to rights maniacally smiling or be frowning with an extremely cold expression that rivals the tundras of Russia upon taking a glance at this single scene. 

As they say. 

Never a dull moment in Academy City.

Kamijou Touka. A 15 year old female student in a Certain Highschool. She stands about five foot and three inches tall and often wears her uniform even after school hours. Her long yet spiky hair dons the common color of black, and is styled with her long hair being tied in a folded up topknot with the end part sticking up top, visibly adding another layer of spikyness. She wasn't drop-dead gorgeous, but she was fairly pretty along with the fact she gives off a “tomboyish” look.

Her friends call her “Ka-chi” which is derived from the Two “Ka” in her full name. On the topic of her name, the Kanji of Touka can be translated to “Invisible Calamity” while her surname, Kamijou can be translated to “Above God” and if you pair them together with the surname being read first, it can be interpreted as “The One who purifies God and slays Calamities” Which sounds strange for such a dramatic name to be given to seemingly normal highschool girl.

Though, by coincidence or not, her name pairs quite nicely with the mysterious power she possesses…

Imagine Breaker.

A right hand that can nullify, negate and erase all supernatural phenomena, it is the ultimate shield against the iconic superpowers that espers pride themselves in. This sort of power is seemingly one of a kind…

Well.. Until now that is… 

As you guessed, the two Kamijous were currently running away from the group of thugs. 

Touma has already experienced this exact scenario back in his original world. But he doesn't have a single memory of it due to his misfortunate circumstances. 

Of course, the reason for this rather deadly chase sequence was the same as before, except in this case, it was for the female version of the spiky-haired boy. 

Bar for bar, and word for word. The cause of this whole scene of an imminent case of gang violence was because of a certain Level 5 being hit on by a random ruffian, and a certain Level 0 interfering between them.. 

Though, in Touma's current case, his reason for also being chased down by the group of thugs was a bit different from before..

【 𝙰 𝚏𝚎𝚠 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚞𝚝𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚐𝚘 】

Touma was exhaustingly trying to enjoy his walk back to his teacher's apartment. The cause of his forced demeanor was the fact he forgot to bring his wallet which housed the debit card he needed to pay for another batch of eggs. To add to that, he had just recently purchased the eggs he needed, but his misfortune struck and everything went to shit as usual. 

After throwing a broken carton of eggs on a nearby trashcan, the boy opened up the plastic bag he was carrying to check if the other products he bought were undamaged. 

(“The milk is fine.. The cans of beer are fine too.. I still wonder how I managed to buy them with only Komoe-sensei's ID.. But oh well.. Seems like everything is alright.. Except for the eggs..”)

After assessing their current state, he saw that they were all thankfully safe except for a few dents on the packages. Though his mood took a step down upon being reminded of his recent accident.

He continued onwards in his hopefully peaceful walk along the pathways of District 7. 

Right now, Kamijou Touma was thinking on the off-chance that everything was some sort of dream.. Or an illusion.. It felt soo surreal to just end up in a parallel universe that was seemingly a 1:1 of your own after fighting a god that could essentially rewrite reality.

Now, that very same divine entity was now your current companion in a universe where you dont belong. 

But, at the same time, he couldn't deny the reality infront of him. Whether or not he liked it, he was in such a situation nonetheless seemingly with no escape. 

This was still Academy City. 

This was still Earth.

From his short experience, the people of this world are still the same. 

He could still reform the bonds he created with them.

Though..

The only deviation was the fact that specifically, “Kamijou Touma” did not exist here until this morning. And the one who is apparently the “Kamijou Touma” of this world, is a girl that goes by “Kamijou Touka” 

Which meant he's intruding into the life and world of a person who's supposed to be him. 

He's an imposter. 

He's a pretender.

He's a usurper. 

By all means, he technically does not have the rights to take away the experiences Kamijou Touka should go through in this world. He should not interfere with the natural laws and balance of this universe.

He's a glitch in the system.

A bug that needed to be removed, lest the world be corrupted.

It might not matter if Kamijou Touma had good intentions. 

He and Othinus were security breaches in the natural system of the world.

Yet, he was more of a problem than the latter. 

The fact that he presumably still holds the power of his right hand. 

It is unnatural. 

Imagine Breaker is a one of a kind phenomena in the world, only one should exist in each universe parallel to his. 

But here he is.. still rocking his right arm like it's nothing. 

In fact, it was just casually carrying a plastic bag full of groceries between his index and middle fingers. 

The bag was slightly swaying back and forth as Touma continued on his trek back to his temporary home. 

It's as if he's not even bothered by the fact this world is not his…

.

.

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“SUCH MISFORTUNE!!” 

“Huh?” 

He heard the loud scream of a feminine voice shouting a familiar catchphrase. It came from his left side in which he turned his head towards the direction of the voice and saw a rather mindboggling scene.

Rather.. It was mind boggling for specifically the boy named, Kamijou Touma. 

“HEY! GET BACK HERE!”

“THIS FUCKING SKANK! HOW LONG ARE YOU GONNA RUN FOR!?” 

“Like I'll fight a group of men without any weapons!!! I'll keep running until you guys give up on trying to kill me!”

“WE AREN'T MURDERERS! WE'LL JUST BEAT YOU UP!”

“THAT'S STILL NOT AN OUTCOME THAT I PREFER!!!”

Behind him, in the distance he saw a single girl in a rather familiar Highschool uniform, being chased by a sizable gang of rage-filled thugs. 

Though what left Touma in such a shock wasn't the fact that there was just a random teenage girl being chased by a group of rowdy men in the middle of the street.. 

No, it was the fact that the girl looked a bit too familiar.. It was like staring into a mirror without taking your eyes off of it for a couple of minutes. 

(“What the—!”)

Though the boy immediately snapped out of his momentary trance the moment the chase scene was gradually moving closer to him. He ignored the prior thoughts as he formed new ones inside his head. 

He could either just ignore it and leave a helpless girl to defend herself against a group of young-adults during the dark of the night.

Or he could brandish his fist and interfere in a situation he does not have any business with.

The choice was obvious to our hero. 

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“Uuaaahh!! Such misfortune!!”

Kamijou Touka was running with all of her leg power as she tried to escape from the clear numbers disadvantage called a “Jumping”. 

Although, she was doing a great job at keeping her distance away from her pursuers. If this keeps up, she could essentially just have them waste their stamina and tire them out. That way, she could safely and easily escape from such a problematic situation. 

Right.. That's if nothing interferes with her plan…

Right…?

As if her thoughts were read by the world and got laughed at for having such ideas in the first place. 

An unknown variable made itself present and complicated the whole procedure in the first place.

It was like a blur. 

Even if she could perceive it without any super-human senses. She was completely taken aback by what had just happened. 

A figure swiftly and effortlessly passed by her and went straight towards the group of thugs. 

The previous sounds of loud shouts of anger and the screams of rotten luck were quickly shut down as a third party made itself clear. 

With the sound of a fist making an impact on soft flesh. The reverberating noise of a single punch could be heard after everything that had just happened. 

It was then accompanied by a body being launched from a few meters away from the ground. 

Thud!

The body of one of the gangsters was laying down on the ground while writhing in pain. The man was visibly clutching his face that was just recently struck. Small streaks of blood trickled down from his nose as he tried to process what had just happened. 

His companions were on the same thought. They first looked at the fallen body of their ally with absolute shock and confusion, before slowly looking over to the culprit of the sudden attack. 

There he was.

Black spiky Hair, grey-blueish eyes, a grey Hawaiian t-shirt, a plastic bag full of grocery, and a raised right fist.

A striking resemblance to the girl they were just chasing. They looked similar to the point they could be mistaken as siblings or twins. 

On the other side of the scene. Touka was utterly perplexed. She could only see the newcomer's broad back, but upon looking at his hair.. She could definitely feel something familiar.. But she also felt that there was something wrong.. 

(“Who..? Is this guy some sort of battle-frenzied Delinquent!? I gotta get away…! But.. He's outnumbered.. I think he'll do fine if he's confident enough to attack them first in the first place— w-wait.. WAIT WAIT WHY IS HE RUNNING TOWARDS ME! WHY ARE THERE TEARS IN HIS EYES!?!”)

The girl wasn't seeing things wrong. The boy who had just sucker punched one of the men into the air was currently hightailing away from the currently a gasped group of thugs as if his life depended on it. 

The group of thugs snapped out of their trance of pure confusion the moment they realized the culprit of one of their member's physical humiliation was now making a run for it. 

Oh they were mad.

They were very mad. 

The whole group's anger was now directed towards the intruder. With a loud uproar, the gang of thugs and delinquents had another unfortunate target on their list now. 

With one of the abled-bodied thugs being left alone to help out the one who had their face reconstructed by a fist, They began to chase down the boy, along with the girl. 

(“Shit shit shit…!! I'll be tossed onto the ground and stomped on! I dont wanna be curbstomped!!”)

“Get his ass!! He just decked Yama in the face!!”

“Dont let him get away!! You cowardly bastard!!”

“Cowardly!? You guys were just chasing down a lone girl in the middle of the streets!”

Touma cried out as he gradually approached Touka's position with a wrathful group of very angry thugs following 5 meters behind him. 

“H-huh..? HUH!? Hey! Wait! Why are you bringing them towards me!” 

“I have no choice! Knowing my luck I'll probably turn towards an alleyway with a deadend if i try to go somewhere else!”

The moment Touma was about 1 meter away from the spiky-haired girl, Touka decided that it would be best to continue running away, lest she wanted to be the first victim.

The two Kamijous were now running side by side, all because they managed to catch the anger of a whole gang of thugs and delinquents. Such an utterly unfortunate sight to see… 

“Why did you even do that!?” 

“Do what!!?”

“Giving one of them an uppercut!!” 

As the two similar individuals continued their frantic escape from the angry mob behind them, Touka questioned the boy's insane actions with a loud and perplexed tone. 

“It was just the right thing to do! Wouldn't everyone do the same thing if they saw a girl being chased down like that!?”

“You heroic bastard! You just ruined my plans! I was going to do it without any of them getting hurt!” 

Touma then turned his head towards Touka. He gave a small tilt indicating his confusion. 

“What do you mean…?” He questioned the girl while the both of them were still running along the street in a panic.

“I'll clarify it to you after they lose sight of us!” 

The two spiky-haired teenagers sped up their pace as they began to gain a rather sizable distance away from their pursuers. 

After running for two whole kilometers, they eventually managed to escape the rage-filled flock of gangsters. It seemed like the group just gave up on chasing them after a few minutes of constant running. 

They both arrived at a steel suspension bridge above a river of water. The darkness of rhe nighr enveloped their environment as there was an absence of any streetlights or man-made light sources to illuminate the bridge. 

Touma was the first one to stop, he slowly decreased his speed before stopping completely, He turned around to check the confirmation of their presumed escape.

Touma was breathing heavily as sweat poured from his forehead. He wiped it off with the back of his hand. He then turned towards Touka who had already stopped running after noticing that the boy halted his sprint. 

The girl was also in the same state as him. Her heavy breathing and sweat drenched hair was in sync to Touma's current conditions. It was uncanny.

Touma let out a sigh of relief upon the realization that the group of delinquents weren't chasing them anymore. Though that relief was cut short as the girl in front of him was rapidly closing the distance between them. 

Touka stood about a meter away from him, but that distance was easily covered by the fact she leaned her whole upper body towards him, before pointing a finger at his face.

“Hey, what were you thinking when you decked one of them in the face!? If it weren't for the fact you run as fast as me, you'd be beaten up by now!”

She scolded him…?

“Hey! I was just trying to help you. You were clearly shouting some desperate cries during the whole chase scene!” He replied. 

“Well! I was trying to solve that problem without punching someone!” 

She then lets out a sigh before assuming a more proper postion with her arms crossed. 

“Anywho… What are you standing there for? Shouldn't you get going now that I'm safe and all?” 

“My legs right now are comparable to wet noodles.. I think if I walk for a few more kilometers I'll probably drop dead!” He exaggerated.

While he did not express it that well. The signs of exhaustion was present, with his slightly heavy breaths and his legs shivering ever so slightly. One could easily tell that he's tired at some level. 

But that wasn't his only reason for why he's still not leaving the girl behind.. 

(“If.. I had to guess.. This is probably her..”)

He was right. The average, yet moderately pretty girl in front of him is the “Kamijou” of this world. Or more specifically, She is the current wielder of the Imagine Breaker of this universe.

And, his counterpart.

What's more, the girl infront of him still hasn't gone through the complete memory erasure he suffered, so by some technicality, she's a different person. Right now, the person that just scolded him for his recklessness, Kamijou Touka was a more “authentic” version of him. 

This is the “Kamijou” he decided to imitate after his memory loss.

This is the “Kamijou” that suffered through her childhood. 

This is the “Kamijou” that was stabbed when they were a child. 

This is the “Kamijou” that risked their life to save Index in the first place. 

And…..

This is supposed to be the “Kamijou” thats supposed to perish in the next couple of days from now.

Touma was resisting the urge to clench his fist in response to the fact that He knows what she'll have to suffer through. His nails may just dig into his palms if he didn't resist his own feelings

Was it pity?

Was it fear?

He held back the desire to tell everything he endured through including the complete obliteration of his own memories to the spiky-haired girl. He was conflicted if he should even interfere in her life or not. He didn't know if she should even know what her future held. 

Even if he did think that Touka was essentially a different person. By all means, She's the person that's eventually gonna mirror him after the memory loss. But…

Should he stop her from losing her memories?

A literal life changing moment. It was the most impactful moment in Kamijou Touma's life. It changed the course of his prior path via completely removing the path he carved out before. It was more or less a “Restart Character” option in a RPG game, but in his case, the player must have accidentally clicked on it. 

But right now, he had the power to change that very moment. He had the choice to protect her from the agonizing path he went through. 

If it was any other person, Kamijou Touma would try to prevent those things from ever happening in the first place. He would do it in a heartbeat. 

But she isn't just ‘any other person’ 

She's Kamijou Touka. 

(“I-i wanna think over this back at Komoe.. I can't just do this on a whim.. Just this once… I'll have to think…”)

He closed his eyes before letting out a sigh. 

Touka raised an eyebrow upon seeing the sudden shift in his expression. 

(“But for now, I'll protect her.. Like any other.. If i can't save myself.. I'll atleast do the next best thing.”)

He then held his right hand out towards her, gesturing for a handshake.

“I'm Touma. Touma Ka—” 

𝗭𝗛𝗛𝗔𝗔𝗠𝗠!!

Before he could even utter his full name. A stray bolt of pure electricity came out of nowhere and almost struck the poor boy. 

The bridge was momentarily illuminated by the sudden attack, but, as if it was muscle memory, The right hand he was about to use to shake Touka's hand intercepted the javelin of lightning, which resulted in his palm absolutely nullifying it with a glass-shattering shriek, though for some reason the sound was louder than before..

(“Dont tell me…”) 

Thought, Touma as he slowly turned towards the direction where the bolt of lightning came from. 

In the distance, a familiar individual appeared from the shadows of the night. With a electrifying presence, and a thunderous attitude.. It was someone who Kamijou Touma knows a bit too well… She was someone whom he considers a great ally and a friend, but she's also someone who he unfortunately meets in compromising circumstances. It was safe to say that the spiky-haired boy was perhaps one of the prone victims of occasional electrocution in this city, maybe even in the entire world. 

With her brown-colored shoulder length hair, and iconic school uniform, the Ace of Tokiwadai finally revealed herself. 

“Man, what are you doing trying to protect that thug? What are you, some kind of overzealous teacher?”

She stood about 5 meters away from the two, in the direction from which they came from. 

And there she was. 

Misaka Mikoto

Or more popularly known by the city as the #3 Level 5, “Railgun”. 

The strongest “Electromaster” esper in Academy City. 

But her words weren't directed to Touma. To her, he was just mistaken to be one of the thugs that were chasing them a few minutes earlier. She didn't even notice that he was the one who nullified her attack. 

She recognized someone else. Her eyes solely gazed towards the girl besides him. In other words, She thought that Touka was the one who just negated the zap of electricity she unleashed towards the mistaken delinquent. Which was purely justified due to the fact that Touma wasn't the only one who held out their right hand to stop the attack.

Touma only noticed now that Touka also used her own right hand to erase the supernatural attack directed towards the boy. She was protecting him. 

She had a serious look on her face, her eyes completely directed towards the esper known as Railgun.

Though, the moment she tried to check up on the person she's trying to protect. She was perplexed at his current pose. 

“For your record, I electrocuted those guys into oblivi—”

“EEEEHHHH!!!????!!!”

Before the person known as Misaka Mikoto could continue. She was cut off by a loud noise that erupted from the Average Highschool girl's mouth. 

“Huh??”

Even Touma jumped in surprise due to the sudden sound and the close proximity to the source of it. 

“Y-you… you! Did you also negate that!?”

Her eyes lit up in pure curiosity. She was quite jumpy as she moved closer towards the boy before grabbing this right arm with her right hand. She shook it a bit before slowly touching the palm of his hand. 

The scene was more like a Biologist suddenly finding a formerly extinct species of an organism, or a Geologist unexpectedly unearthing the rarest and largest piece of gemstone they've found in their entire career. Kamijou Touka was utterly amazed, confused and curious about the fact that theres something similar to her special power. Normally if she discovered this in a more normal way, she would have acted less estatic, yet it was shown to her in full demonstration. 

Her deep blue eyes sparkled as she examined his right hand, to some Touma's right arm was nothing special at first glance, even if you analyzed it to the microscopic level, there wouldn't be any abnormalities that would be seen. But only in a clear demonstration against supernatural phenomenas, the arm known as Imagine Breaker would be recognized. 

“Y-yeah..” Touma replied awkwardly as he didn't know what to feel to the fact that his female counterpart is currently being a bit too touchy with his dominant arm. 

“What do you call it?” Her eagerness to know more about a special right hand oddly similar to her's was rising higher and higher. 

“Uh…” Touma was a bit conflicted if he should proclaim his arm as Imagine Breaker, knowing full well that the girl who's currently asking him these questions also refers to her right arm as Imagine Breaker. Though, to not cause any confusion in the near future, he decided to rename his trusty Anti-Supernatural hand. 

“Well.. I usually call it as ‘Illusion Killer’” He scratched his cheek as he diverted his gaze away from her eyes, looking towards the side while a single drop of sweat trickled down his forehead. He felt a bit of unease since he's straight up lying to a female version of himself.

“Ah! That's cool…?”

(“That sounds like something made by some dude with Sixth grader syndrome…”) Touka thought, She felt like she discovered someone who surpassed her in terms of making the most edgiest name for their right hand. 

“Hey! What's wrong with that name?” 

“I dont know.. It's a bit too overkill.”

“Then what do you call your right hand?” Frustrated, Touma forgot the obvious fact that she most definitely calls it Imagine Breaker. 

There's no one who can make you more angry than yourself.

“Well.. I usually call it Imagine Breaker!”

“It's just as corny as Illusion Killer!”

“It is not!”

(“Wow! I hate this guy already!”)

(Wow, i hate myself already!”)

It felt like the two bantering spiky-haired individuals were forgetting something. They were too immersed in their interactions that they ignored the fact that there still a lingering danger in the dimly lit bridge they were in. 

They would only realize the danger they were in the moment they noticed a white plastic bag passing by the bridge getting vaporized into ashes by a certain someone. 

Oh right. 

They forgot about her…

“Shit.”

“Shit.”

“What.. The hell do you think you're doing!! Just ignoring me like that!? You two got alot of nerve to just brush me away!”

With her bangs shockingly appearing like antennae, they sparked in an electrifying way as Misaka Mikoto was honest to god frustrated that she was just ignored by the two. The once dimly lit bridge was now a thunderous light show as the esper began to increase the power of her electromagnetic field. 

Under the supposedly eerie and quiet night, a azure spark erupted out of a certain bridge. 

The source of the uproar of electricity was a single middle-school girl who was carelessly ignored by a duo of spiky-haired highschoolers. 

“Hey, you two, do you know what a Railgun is?” the Level 5 spoke with a casual, yet dangerous tone. 

“Hm?” Touka titled her head, wondering why a question like that was important right now. 

Touma on the other hand was on guard. Compared to his female counterpart, He has run into this particular Level 5 for far too many times, and most of them ended up in him getting electrocuted one way or another. He knew of her power.. So it was natural for him to subconsciously answer the following—

“Uhm.. It's some sort of weapon on a battleship that uses electromagnetism to launch projectiles at high speeds right…?” 

“Oh, i didn't expect for a random thug to get it semi-correctly. But, i think a demonstration would be more fitting.”

(“Second time this day that I've got mistaken for a delinquent…”)

Tink!

The esper known as “Railgun” flipped a coin into the air before making it land on the back of her thumb. 

“Hey, Level Zero girl… try to catch this.”

After giving out a wry warning. She launched the coin out of her hand at supersonic speeds. It appeared as a bright orange beam of pure electrical energy.

 She intended for it to miss the girl's head, but instead of it soundlessly passing by her and striking the bridge's pavements, it was suddenly blocked by something she was familiar with. 

But there was something wrong…

The person who she expected to negate her signature Railgun, was not the Highschool girl dressed in a blueish-black uniform, to her utter shock and confusion, the one who shattered her psychic attack was none other than the boy in a grey hawaiian shirt that she had mistaken for the average thug, Hewas the one who had raised his right hand to deny her personal reality to manifest it's damage into the physical world. 

“H-huh…? What…? That's… not fair..” 

“Hey! That might have destroyed the bridge..!” Touma replied as he quickly threw the slightly molten token to the side. 

She was in disbelief, she thought that only one person held the anomalous power of having their right hand be some sort of esper-negating weapon was the highschool girl named Kamijou Touka. 

But seems like that wasn't a case. Out of nowhere another abomination who had the same power that irritated the pride of a Level 5 like her had appeared from god knows where. Except, in this case, it was a Highschool boy!

(“Tsk… dont tell me that the city found a way to manufacture Anti-esper students…”) 

If only one individual had the power to erase psychic abilities, they would just be treated as an anomaly. But if another one showed up out of nowhere, there had to be some sort of background ploy in the darkness of the city that involved the creation of individuals who possess the same anomalous power. Of course, unbeknownst to the #3 Level 5 esper, that wasn't the case.. Instead this was the effects of something irrationally unbelievable to the people of science. 

“Not only i have to deal with someone with a mysterious hand that supposedly dispells any of my attacks, but i have to deal with two!? These things aren't even recorded in the database, so are these things some kind of well-kept secret contingency protocol against any rogue esper!?!” 

She ranted about her current predicaments with a voice full of resentment. She couldn't accept the fact that there were now TWO random highschoolers with the same exact abnormal power that acts as the antithesis to the powers that makes Academy City special. 

The two Kamijous did not know what to reply to such allegations. Protocols? Contingencies? Against rogue espers? What is this zappy middleschooler spouting about? Touka was more confused than Touma, she didn't possess any further knowledge about the city and the other side of the world, which meant that she did not possess the clarification for her mysterious power. All she knew was the fact that she was born with the ability named “Imagine Breaker” which confirms that she wasn't the product of the numerous secretive experiments the city conducts. 

Touma on the other hand was bit perplexed on how did she come into a conclusion like that. Though he just brushed it off as some yappings of a student who didn't quite realize the world beyond science.

“Uh.. What do you mean by ‘deal’?! You're the one who's always trying to zap me into ashes everytime i encounter you!” Touka replied as she went infront of Touma to face the ace of Tokiwadai. “Though, you always lost to me.”

Misaka Mikoto's reply was in the form of launching a lance made out of electricity towards Touka.

As expected, the spiky-haired girl caught the high-voltage spear with her right hand which made it shatter and dissipate into thin air. 

(“Yikes… was this Kamijou that cocky before i lost my memories?”) 

(“Damn! I thought i was gonna die!”) Touka panicked internally as she tried to keep up a nonchalant expression on the surface.

“Fine, this is a good time to test something anyways.. So.. Let's try it out, let's see if the power of the other is the same as the former.” 

With another sparking shock coursing throughout the surface of her body, She glared at the two individuals who held the same special right hand. She was ready to try and use them as some sort of punching bag but for electricity, which was troubling news to the average highschoolers. 

Before the day of July 19 could properly come to a shocking end. Our two star-crossed heroes gave their closing statements. 

“Man, we're soo unlucky..”

“Yeah.. Such rotten luck!”

【 — † — 】

“Kamijou-kun..! Kamijou-kun……!’

Touma could barely hear a faint voice in the empty darkness he currently was in. 

He could feel two small hands gently pushing on his right shoulder. His whole body was continuously shaken by the small hands. 

“Kamijou-kuuuuun….! You've got to wake up quickly..! I have remedial classes to teach at!” 

Ah…

Kamijou Touma groggily opened his previously shut eyes. In which, the first scene he saw for the day involved his precious teacher looming over his face while her hands were gently shaking his body by the shoulder.

“Ah… Sensei…. What time is it…?” The boy questioned with a sleepy tone of voice. 

He slowly assumed a sitting position while rubbing his eyes as Komoe got off him. Since last night, the pink-haired girl (?) provided the (supposedly) homeless high school boy and his blonde companion a place in her apartment to sleep in. Touma was given a spot on the floor to sleep with a futon he borrowed, while the blonde war goddess, Othinus, was also given one of the extra futons the small teacher kept in one of her storage spaces. 

Everything went mostly well last night…. Except for the fact that there was currently a power outage, that essentially turned the peaceful summer humid morning into a sweltering skin-boiling wake-up call. Kamijou managed to endure the heat which allowed him to get a few hours of sleep, yet he was immediately reminded of the intense summer heat the moment he was woken up. 

(“Tsk… I should have used Imagine Breaker to negate that lightning!! Oh right.. This Kamijou renamed it to Illusion Killer haven't i?”)

Kamijou Touma woke up to the realization of why other people prefer winter over summer.. Mere seconds after waking up he was already sweating in the futon. 

Though on the other hand, Komoe did not show any signs of being severely affected by the summer heat. Was it because of her body having less surface area? Was it because she might have gained a resistance to situations like these after teaching in this city for who knows how long? Safe to say… Tsukiyome Komoe was by all means someone that is “built different”

“Hm? I think right now it's somewhere between 6:30 and 7:00.. Anyways! I have to teach a few of my students in remedial class right now! So, I'm entrusting the apartment to you two for the time being.”

The scientifically unusual adult known as Tsukiyome Komoe was acting like a mother telling her children what to do when she left the house. 

“I already told Othi-chan where I hid the spare key, but just in case, it's right under the doormat.”

(“Isn't that a bit too obvious of a hiding spot..?”) 

Speaking of Othinus. She was currently sitting on the floor right infront of the circular wooden table, eating a moderately sized breakfast meal prepared by Komoe. She still wore the rather flashy outfit she adorned yesterday, which was honestly a smart move considering it was well suited for the current heat wave. Of course she was unaffected by the intense temperatures, if she was able to resist the cold while wearing a glorified bikini, she should be able to resist the heat while wearing clothes suited for the season of summer. 

She noticed Touma waking up, but upon seeing the suffering expression plastered on his sweat drenched face, her first response was giving him a smug face that essentially presented the difference in their resistance against the elements. 

“Well then, I'll be leaving now! Take care, you two!” The pink-haired teacher was a bit too eager on giving out remedial classes.. Is she perhaps a sadist towards the academically struggling students? 

After the door closed behind her small silhouette, the otherworldy duo were now left alone once more. 

“Human, fill up your stomach, the loss of fat from the hot weather should be remedied with a meal.” Said Othinus as she took a slice out of a plate of fried egg that came from a batch of eggs that Komoe bought after noticing Touma returned with a burnt bag of groceries without any poultry products in sight. 

“Tch, how come you're looking quite alright? Are you perhaps one of those people who hit the Mega jackpot when it came to getting the best genes!?” Wiping off the sweat from his forehead, Touma stood up and began to stumble slowly towards the table.

“Such nonsense, I still possess the body of a god, these trivial weaknesses for the mortal body are merely nothing.” She replied before munching on a piece of toasted bread. 

“Thank you for the food…….” The boy said as he prepared a plate of food for himself. 

Thankfully, the half of the groceries he bought were still edible after getting hit with at least 1, 000,000 volts of electricity, credits to ‘Illusion Killer’ for saving some of them from the wrath of a Level 5. Stuff like the carton of milk and a pack of cereal were still intact after the shocking ordeal that happened yesterday, so right now, Touma could at least enjoy a bowl of bland cereal and room temperature milk.

“Hah… today's the day..” He muttered as he fished out a spoonful of cereal and milk. 

“You better be ready. Like the Butterfly effect, any small actions you commit later might eventually turn into a hurricane of problems in the future.” The norse god of war spoke of her wisdom before resuming in her morning feast of toast and eggs. 

“I know.. And I'm prepared to take on any consequences that happens because of me.” Kamijou Touma replied with a serious tone as he continued to chow down on his bowl of cereal. 

【 — † — 】

The spiky-haired girl known as Kamijou Touka stared at the ceiling of her own dorm room, sweat drenched her whole body as a heat wave swept through the whole area, which was made worse due to the current power outage, along with the fact that last night's lightning had more or less short-circuited most of her appliances.

“Aaaaghhhh… So…. hot….” 

She groaned as she stood up from her bed. She stretched her body to prepare for the day, after that she slowly walked towards the kitchen. 

(“Last night was.. Something else… who was that guy anyway?”)

She crouched down, opening the refrigerator's door to check up on anything edible. But alas, due to the power outage and her own misfortune, everything has gone bad. Which was confirmed as she gagged upon trying to smell the remaining Yakisoba bread in the fridge. 

Though, as a small ray of hope, she remembered she still had one yakisoba noodle cup around that she kept as emergency rations. She closed the fridge before checking the cupboards, eventually finding the only thing edible right now. 

“Yes! Thank god I managed to keep atleast one..” 

….

…..

Yeah no. 

That plan immediately failed the moment she accidentally dumped all of the Yakisoba noodles into the sink. Her misfortunate morning did not stop there, her other option to getting food was metaphorically and literally crushed when she accidentally stepped on her credit card when she was looking for it. Then a certain phone call just added more reasons why other (usually dimwitted) students despair over academics even during vacation seasons such as summer breaks. 

Upon realizing that fate itself might be against her in terms of getting a proper breakfast, she just decided to tidy up her room before heading out to attend the remedial classes she was assigned to. 

“Well.. It seems nice today outside so.. I guess I'll just air out my futon.”

She proceeded to fold up her white mattress, intending to hang it up outside on her own balcony. So that, after her remedial classes, her beddings would be almost as good as new when she got back.

“Oh, did I already put one out yesterday…?” 

She muttered when she opened the sliding glass door to her balcony, there she saw a white mass of cloth just hanging on the railings, seemingly imitating the white mattress she was currently carrying over her forearm.

(“Ah… that's not.. A mattress..”)

She realized it wasn't just some piece of white cloth that managed to slip into her balcony. Upon having a closer inspection, the white cloth was adorned with golden ornate accents that were styled in an almost regal-kind of look. What's more, she noticed that there were locks of hair hidden underneath the supposed futon. 

“Huh…?!”

She dropped the futon she was holding onto the floor upon realizing that there was in fact a person just dangling off the railings of her dorm's balcony. 

【 — † — 】

While the story of magic and science was beginning to collide. On the other side of the district, the boy identified as Kamijou Touma was currently having trouble with something… 

“Y'know, the fact you even tried to do this, speaks volumes of your intelligence.”

Othinus stood behind him while watching the situation he was currently dealing with. 

“It was worth a try…” 

He sighed with a tired tone as he maneuvered a computer mouse on a pad. The two otherworldly individuals were currently chilling inside one of the rooms in a nearby Internet Cafe in District 7. Touma suggested going there so that they could escape the summer heat and gather some important information by using a computer to access the internet. 

The boy tried to search for his student profile out of pure curiosity, but obviously, he was not included in the present database of the city. The only result he got was none other than his counterpart in this world. He thought that he should get a student ID as soon as possible to avoid any troubles that might be the effects of being an unregistered student. The thought of enrolling back into his previous Highschool was currently on his mind, he thought of all the pros and cons he might gain if he did decide to try and return to his high school life. For the pros, he could be able to improve his academics and to enjoy any semblance of a normal life he yearned for, but for the cons, it might interfere with his constant ordeals that he comes across every now and then. 

But there were more serious issues on-hand so it would be best if he sets these trivial problems to the side for the time being. Fortunately Tsukiyome Komoe was always there to ask for help for anything that is school-related, perhaps building up your social connections is one of the most important aspects in a world where you didn't exist. 

“How do you even get an ID without having any birth certificates.. I wonder if Komoe-sensei can pull a few strings.” 

“Perish the thought, I doubt a teacher of a fairly ordinary high school would have the authority to fabricate school IDs for an individual who does not even possess the bare minimum of documents to consider them an actual person.”

“Eh.. Who knows? Maybe Komoe-sensei is part of a super secret organization of teachers equal to the board of directors!”

“You and your fantasies…” Othinus facepalmed to the boy's far-fetched delusions. 

Touma nervously chuckled at the goddess before turning his gaze towards the web-page that showed a list of highschool students that live within the premises of the city. The search bar had the word “Kamijou” typed into it, but as mentioned before, the only result that showed up was Kamijou Touka. There was no online-document or file for the person named “Kamijou Touma” 

With a loud audible sigh, he tried to close the web-page by clicking on the “X” mark on the top right of the digital window…. 

“Ah—!”

Yet he was interrupted by Othinus who had her hands that were pushing on the back of the chair suddenly slip due to the leather covering being unusually slippery, which made her whole body crash into the back of the chair, in a panic, she flailed her hands as a response to the sudden slip-up, with one of them accidentally hitting the back of Touma's head, slamming his forehead down into the keyboard. 

“KUAGHK—!”

Othinus immediately recovered from her unfortunate accident. 

“Cough.. Cough… Twas not my fault, it's the mistake of this faulty chair. “

“You were the one pushing the chair… but fine, I only have to say ‘Such Misfortune!’ and everything will be forgiven!” 

He rubbed his aching forehead while trying to see if the keyboard was still okay, as it would be really awkward to go to the front desk and report that one of their keyboards were crushed into bits, the receptionist may just assume the two were raging because they had bad teammates at a video-game. 

It seemed like it was okay for the most part, there were some keys jammed but it was hardly recognizable, surely the next user of this computer won't even realize it, right? 

He lets out a relieved sigh before lifting his head to gaze at the computer screen— though there was something that he didnt quite expect.

His hand apparently clicked on the refresh button instead of closing the tab during when he got smacked in the back of his head by a certain goddess. This made it so the web-page where he had searched up on the Academy City student list for someone with the name “Kamijou” updated and refreshed it's previous state. Though that wasn't the main reason on why the boy was surprised—

“H-huh!? That's me!” Shocked, Touma exclaimed loudly.

“Pardon? Hold on— are you sure that's you?”

Right under the student document for Kamijou Touka, there was a new profile that visibly had the name “Kamijou Touma” 

When he clicked on his own student file, it was obviously just the same as Touka's document with just changes to such things like their gender, physical statistics, height, and weight, while the Esper Levels and date of birth were all the same. 

The black and blonde duo were obviously surprised that Touma was just given a student document out of nowhere even though he's more or less a person who legally does not exist, along with the sheer coincidence that it was published during their search was suspicious. Touma was more focused on how did the city know of his existence, while Othinus had a chilling feeling that there was something very wrong within the place called “Academy City” 

“Well.. I guess that's convenient..?”

“It's suspiciously convenient— Human, I suggest you observe this not as a gift.. But as a warning.” Her tone was absolutely serious. There was no sarcasm or mocking tone, She was warning him about another warning. 

“Well when you put it that way.. It seems like someone is sending us a message.” 

Yes.

A message. 

From a certain someone.

And the message they sent basically uttered the words—

“𝗜 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂”

【 — ♦ — 】

Misaka Mikoto was walking down a street within the premises of District 7. Last night was something that she didn't quite expect, and it pretty much left her with more unanswered questions than before. 

“Haaah… another weirdo just popped from somewhere— why do i have a feeling that everything will just get stranger from now on..” 

With a audible sigh, she clenched her tight grip on her school bag upon thinking about the sudden apperance of the spiky-haired boy during last night's incident. Having to encounter someone with a hand that negates any attack derived from your Esper ability was mindboggling enough, but having to meet another one with the same power was suspicious. The explanation of this mysterious set of individuals are endless, anything from— The City developing a squad of AIM negators, to series of gemstones coincidentally having the conventient esper ability to completely disrupt AIM energies.. There was no way to exactly pin-point the source. 

“What's the matter Onee-sama? Is there something wrong?” 

A petite girl with twin-tails also who wore the same uniform as the Level 5 expressed her concern towards the strange mutterings of her beloved roommate and idol. 

“Huh? It's nothing… on the other hand— when will you stop trying to get a feel of my chest!” 

She just had another reason to increase the pressure on her clenched fist as the Level 4 Teleporter known as Shirai Kuroko had her hands inches away from her Sissy's average sized breasts. 

“Hm? How can you say that, Onee-sama! My love for you is eternal and everlasting! Every part of your body is a masterpiece that I need to feel~!” 

By uttering those… passionate words, she had earned herself one of the greatest rewards from the one known as “Railgun” which was—

A shocking zap of electricity… 

Misaka heavily sighed once more while one of Academy City's elite perverts was lying on the pavement with smoke coming out of her burnt clothes. 

【 — † — 】

“I honestly don't feel safe anymore!” 

Touma grumbled out a few words while he was going on a walk with Othinus.  

“Be vigilant, but don't be paranoid. I assume that our observer doesn't have the intention to eliminate or dispose of us. If they did, we would have been dead since yesterday, so just act normal.”

The two had just recently left the internet cafe. At first, the two thought it would have just been a fruitless endeavor or just a way to kill some time. But the two were now left with a dreadful feeling that they weren't well hidden in the steel cage called ‘Academy City’

“You're right… well, I have the proper documents now— this probably saved me a lot of time.”

The boy reminded himself of the suspicious “reward” that he had been given during their time in the internet cafe. Even though he was a bit disturbed that someone— presumably a higher up within the city had already spotted them in less than a week, He was still thankful that he got the necessary papers for his legal identity and admission into the city, which relieved most of his worries over such things like attending school or applying for a bank account. 

“Well then, we should make haste. As our preparations for the upcoming incidents aren't finished yet.”

“Yeah, We still need to locate my counterpart's dorm building. If I can guess correctly, something other than our meeting must have happened there.” 

Touma gritted his teeth, he felt lost as he couldn't rely on the knowledge of the future due to the fact that all of this happened before losing his memories. The only thing he could rely on right now is assumptions and clues… unless you count his knack for getting into trouble, or in other words, his Misfortune. But he can't depend on the slight chance that he'll randomly stumble across people like the Chain-smoking priest and Odachi-wielding saint just so he could convince them. 

“I'm gonna ask Tsukimikado where her dorm room is. I have a feeling that that siscon perfectly memorized her addres—”

𝗕𝗔𝗔𝗔𝗔𝗠!!! 

Before Touma could even finish his sentence, He and Othinus were alerted by an earth-shaking noise that erupted somewhere within their area. It sounded similar to a bomb explosion— and it most likely was. The people around the area were also visibly shaken and shocked upon the sudden noise, some slowly began to move away from the direction of the sound, while others were curious where it came from. 

“H-huh..? What just happened?” 

Touma tried to pinpoint where the explosion came from. 

“Presumably, it came from there.”

Othinus pointed towards a building down the street where a large cloud of dark smoke emanated from. 

It appeared to be a bank that had its wall shattered by some sort of explosive. It seemed like some of the people inside the building managed to come out of the smoke and escape the attack, they probably acted quick as the smoke concealed their presence making it easier to avoid the robbers.. But the same couldn't be said for people who didn't have the guts to act swiftly, as of right now, they might be held as hostage inside the bank. 

Without uttering a single word, Kamijou Touma immediately braced himself to rush into the dire situation. He could still use the smoke as a cover to enter the building without being detected, but he wouldn't be able to assess the current state of things before engaging with the enemy. 

Though, before he could take a step, Othinus put her left hand on his right shoulder. 

“Are you sure? You're risking your life and time for an unrelated incident that could be easily handled by the multiple police forces within this city. If you leave it to them, you'll have more time to prepare for the future events you desire to change.”

She questioned his current motivation with a serious tone. 

“I-i want to lessen the suffering Index went through before I saved her, and I want to help the Kamijou Touma of this world… but i can't just leave the people who are currently suffering in front of me.. And even if I don't arrive on time, I have faith that she'll save her nonetheless— because she's the me that saved Index, She's the me that gave her a permanent chance of having a life where she could remember the smile of every single person she cherishes, and a life where she can remember the reason why she cherishes those people. I can't bear to know that she and the person she'll eventually love will suffer.. So, I'll just have to pull my weight and try harder- even if I run the risk of breaking my own body, I'll make it in time for everyone.”

He took a deep breath before exhaling heavily. 

“Time wont be 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥.”

With that, he gently removed Othinus’ hand from his shoulder before suddenly bolting towards the crime scene. 

Of course, he didn't really intend to rush into the building full of smoke just to be surprised that every robber inside was locked and loaded with enough firepower to gun him down like a firing squad executing a man on death row. 

He needed to find a quick and efficient way to get into the building and catch the aggressors inside by surprise. 

Assuming the backdoor is supposedly locked to prevent unauthorized individuals from entering the bank without passing through the front. The only way inside was by the front, with the door and walls turned to rubble, there was a large opening of entry, but it also meant there was a large risk of being spotted before he could launch a surprise attack. 

The smoke covering the opening was an advantage and a disadvantage for Kamijou Touma. It provided him with a chance to go inside while being hidden from the sights of the robbers inside the establishment, but it also prevents him from knowing how many enemies, and what are their positions within the building, this also includes the status of the possible hostages. 

Since it was the only way… he just needed to react faster than the enemy the moment he steps inside. He also needed to act now, otherwise his only chance of entering with the element of surprise would fade away with the smoke.

Jumping into the veil of blackened smoke. He braced himself to take on anyone who was on the other side. 

With a simple landing, he entered the dimly lit interior. In quick succession he assessed the situation inside.

5 masked and armed men in black overalls were guarding at least 10 or more hostages that had their bodies laying on the ground with their heads down, they were visibly trembling and shaking. Excluding the fact that there may be more robbers inside the bank that are currently trying to get into the vault, Kamijou Touma has to fight and defeat five grown men armed with firearms. 

The first few seconds he entered, one of them already noticed the highschool boy. They were about to alert his preoccupied allies but the boy who held the Illusion Killer moved swiftly. 

“H-hey—! KUGHAK!!”

Before he could lift up his handgun to shoot down the intruder, his chest was struck by a heavy fist. Unfortunately for him, they weren't provided with any kind of ballistic vests to cushion any type of damage, so— Touma’s nasty right hook pushed the air out of him which made his hands drop the gun. 

One down. 

Touma then grabbed the robber that he had just struck with his own two hands. His fingers gripping onto the fabric of his shirt, before putting him down on the floor. 

The accomplices of the man had just noticed the boy. After witnessing their ally having their whole existence being reduced to a punching bag, they panicked upon the sight of the culprit. 

“D-damnit! Where did this brat come from?!” One of the robbers grunted before pulling out their handgun. 

Their hands were trembling as they couldn't process how a single teenager leapt into the building, and knocked one of them out with supposed ease. 

The robber closest to the boy managed to aim his gun properly towards where Touma was. 

But the moment he tried to look through the ironsight, he realized that Touma wasn't there anymore, he could only see a bundle of hostages and the unconscious body of one of his teammates.

“H-huh!?”

He saw the teenager in the corner of his eyes, but his reaction time was too slow to respond, as Touma hurled a piece of rubble at his hand.

As the fragment of the building struck his hands— he dropped his firearm in pain. 

“ARGHK! This little shit!”

The moment the pistol made impact with the ground, it accidentally misfired which startled everyone in the bank. It made the other two bank robbers panic as they tried to shot wildly at the general direction of Touma.

He managed to avoid the bullets as he had already moved before the misfire. Just right after the rock struck the hand of one of them, he charged towards the unarmed robber and followed up his previous attack with a punch towards the chest, coincidentally hitting the solar plexus. 

Another one down. 

He pushed the body of the second robber he knocked out onto the ground so that the man wouldn't be accidentally shot at by his own peers. 

He then turned to the remaining opponents. 

“𝚂𝚑𝚒𝚏𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚎𝚏𝚝.”

A rough and distorted voice rang inside his head. Touma couldn't have the chance to question whose voice it was as he followed the sudden instructions. 

He shifted his head to the right as the voice ordered him to do so. A bullet grazed by his cheek, leaving a small cut on the side of his face. 

If he was a second too late, the side of his head would have been blown off. 

𝘊𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘊𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬!

The robber that shot at him tried to pull the trigger once again, but he was soon struck by the revelation that the magazine of his pistol was empty. 

“Shit—! Dude, hand me another clip!” He then turned towards the only ally of his who wasn't currently knocked out cold on the floor. 

“I don't have a spare! I'm also on my last bullet!” 

𝘛𝘢𝘱… 𝘵𝘢𝘱… 𝘵𝘢𝘱… 𝘵𝘢𝘱 𝘵𝘢𝘱 𝘵𝘢𝘱!

The robber turned back to see the intruder rushing his way towards the two. His partner couldn't find the right time to find an angle to shoot at as the smoke suddenly went back into the building, it could have been a stray gust of wind blowing back the smoke. 

𝘉𝘈𝘔!

With another sound of a hardened fist coming into contact with the face of a person. The second to the last criminal went down into the floor with a visible bruise on his face. The smoke dissipated with the room becoming much clearer as the light outside shined through.

“Hey you, drop that weapon.. You don't wanna make this situation worse” 

Touma spoke with a coarse and exhausted voice. It was obvious that he put on quite a sweat just attempting to counterattack in time against people with firearms, it wasn't as simple as negating esper powers or magic, his right hand can't block the obviously natural bullets from his face. 

“N-no! You bastard..! D-don't come any closer or I'll blow their fucking brains off!” 

The last standing robber desperately pointed his handgun towards the back of the head of one of the hostages. Their grip was visibly shaking as he realized that he was either wasting his bullet on the boy, or on the hostages.. He had two choices and a single bullet and he wanted to pick the one where he could bargain. 

“Tch! Hey man, just drop the gun— Judgement and Anti-Skill will be coming here any minute now.. It's too late for you unless you book it right now. Just don't harm anyone.”

He needed to deescalate the situation. He obviously wasn't faster than a bullet, much less when the barrel is point blank towards someone. The only weapon the boy had was his own tongue, Touma needed to choose every word he uttered out of his mouth. At that very moment, the life of a stranger was in his hands, Kamijou Touma had to tread carefully in a field of thin ice.

But before the two could act. A moderately long metal rod flew into the building and slammed with its tip into the hand of the final robber. It first broke the gun into pieces of metal and iron, before shattering every bone within the appendage that held it. 

The metal rod then fell to the ground with a loud clang. Upon closer inspection, it was actually some sort of small lamppost that was unearthed. 

“ARGAAAAAH!!” 

The man cried out in pain while his broken hand dangled off his wrist. 

Touma, who was shocked upon the sudden intervention, looked at the large opening in the building to see who threw the makeshift javelin from the outside. 

Of course, it was none other than the Spear-wielding Norse god. Even after losing most of her magical prowess for the time being, she still possessed the wisdom and skills during her time as a Magic God. That included her exceptional handling of a spear, or any polearm that substituted one. It was embedded into her very being, countless legends erupted from her usage of the divine lance— one cannot just separate the god of war from her most famous weapon. 

Touma saw Othinus in a throwing pose on the sidewalk outside. She locked eyes with him before reverting back to a more casual stature. 

Though she was quickly covered from the boy's vision as a Anti-skill vehicle rushed into the scene, along with a few members of Judgement showing up just right outside the bank. 

“This is Anti-Skill and Judgement! Raise your arms up, unless you want us to use force!” A voice called out from a speaker. 

Touma, who didn't want any of the smoke, immediately raised his arms towards the ceiling to avoid being considered as a hostile. 

As for the last robber, he was on the ground writhing in pain as he held onto the wrist of his broken hand. 

The average highschooler then sighed as multiple officers of both Anti-Ski and Judgement came pouring into the building. Some of them passed by him and headed towards the vault to search for the other robbers, while two Judgement members began to walk towards the boy himself. 

“𝗦𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗲…”