[SS] Unknown Magnitude Serial Catastrophe

[LOCATION: UNKNOWN. TIME: 13:07:88. DATE: AUGUST 16. STATUS: RED...]

The world was swaying.

Squinting, the boy opened his eyes and observed his surroundings. Were the lights simply far too bright for him to see, or was there something wrong with the dilation of his pupils? He had no way of knowing, not as he was now. But the light burned far too fiercely for him to look for more than a fraction of a second. Piercing past his eyes and into his brain, there was a pain as if a knife had been driven into his skull. He grunted in agony, and the resulting vibration of his inner ear generated an identical result. He had propped himself up in an attempt to get up, but now he fell to the floor once more.

The world was swaying.

The floor was cold; featureless concrete rough against his skin. He had glimpsed little in the way of details, but he had seen what was certainly metal bars, extending vertically from ceiling to floor. Though it pained him even to think, it was clear now what sort of place he was in. A prison; a jail cell. He knew what sort of place he was in now. And yet...

How did he get here? The world was swaying.

He thought and thought, dove back into the darkness of his most recent memories. He found nothing. It had been a normal day, normal activities. Nothing that could have led him here. And yet... Here he was. Imprisoned, having been either drugged, attacked, or both. And yet. And yet. And yet.

The world's swaying lulled the boy into slumber once more.

---

[LOCATION: SCHOOL DISTRICT 6, ACADEMY CITY...]

The cool night air had long passed, leaving an air of tragedy in its wake. Students, who should've been enjoying their summer break, found themselves langouring beneath the oppressive heat. The very summer that had brought them precious succor from their studies had now betrayed them. This too was life. The bravest among the young warriors had trekked out, abandoning the asylum of their air-conditioned dorm rooms in search of the days of their youth. No simple betrayal would stop those brave warriors accomplishing their mission, not matter what tragedy might be brought about.

Yet nestled among those youths was one who traveled with a very different destination in mind. With blonde hair and features that can be differentiated from the Japanese with but a glance, was Vita Vesta Caesar, self-proclaimed (for now) empress of Rome, and agent of Necessarius. A magician.

"What's with this city? It feels so gross," she said to herself, not bothering at all to speak in the local tongue. "It's not like Rome with its winding streets, and even compared the more planned cities in America, it's almost disgustingly organized... Is this place really meant for people?!"

It was a somewhat arbitrary sentiment. After all, it was precisely because it was meant for people that it was organized like so, in Academy City's trademark bleedingly efficient manner. Yet to Vita, rather than the usefulness that resulted from the matter, what stuck out to her more was the contrast with the city she called home, which had been built long before any sort of organized city planning had been possible.

"But at any rate, thanks to that I arrived a lot sooner than I'd anticipated. To the place where he was last seen..."

As it was mid-afternoon, students were milling about. But the density of the crowds was somewhat less than other parts of the city. Although it was District 6, known for its entertainment facilities, Vita was actually at the far east, near the border with the declining District 19, and its influence could be seen in the variety of shops scattered about the conditions of the alleyways that could be just barely seen from the main street. Also nearby was District 12, Academy City's theology studies division, but its influence didn't seem to extend quite so far outside of its borders.

Though not all of it was within Vita's field of vision perfectly, if one were to wander about some, they would find a variety of activities to partake in. There were shop owners frustratedly milling about inside their stores with no customers or employees in sight. There was litter scattered about the ground. There were a spare few groups of less-than-savory individuals cloistered away from the main stream of traffic, though they did not appear outright belligerent so much as simply unwelcoming. And if one were to venture beyond the streets and into the deeper alleys, yet more interesting sights were in store...

But for now, Vita remained where she was, waiting in front of a family restaurant. It was not yet time for her to begin her investigation. There was a certain someone she needed to wait for first.

"I know I arrived a bit early, but since they're living here, they still should've gotten here before me. Where are they?"

Though their agent for more under-the-table activities was missing, Necessarius did in fact have other associates within the city. It was precisely their arrival that she was awaiting. Yes: for a silver-haired nun and her spiky-haired protector.

There were times one wished the dress regulations in Tokiwadai weren't so strict. Times like the worst heatwave they had had during this summer for example.

*dee doo*

“Thank you for your patronage.”

"If only we could drop the vest at least..." Haruna thought miserably as she took the reluctant step outside, away from the sanctuary of the air-conditioned store and into the sweltering heat. Usually prim and proper even she had caved in the face of the nature and had the collar of her blouse unbuttoned. Being one of the few customers today she had a plastic bag in one hand, full of different cool beverages she had promised to fetch on the way back to the branch office. Water instantly begun condensing on the bottles almost like mocking the girl on her futile attempt to get the drinks in time when they were still cold.

The streets of the Academy City were unusually silent. Most of the inhabitants had holed themselves inside where air-condition and refreshments were readily available but like always there were no excuses from judgment duties and this was the sole reason Haruna had braved the scorching weather. Today she had to go alone since Yuzu and Lemon had taken one good look out and perched themselves in front of the fan. While irritated at the two for a second she couldn’t blame them. Only real fool would be out without a good reason.

Pushing forward sluggishly Haruna paid little attention to the delinquents loitering around. Even they seemed to be affected by the heat and didn’t have the energy to cause trouble but just to be sure she adjusted her Judgment armband in case some of them got some funny ideas.

The litter on the ground reminded her what their next duty today would most like be and she felt her shoulders drop a bit. Any other time it wouldn’t be a problem but today she just wished for office day and good old paperwork instead of patrol duty.

"Sigh, note to self: litter on ground near the border of districts 6 and 19. Must report this once back at the office. If only this was the biggest thing happening today..."

A certain Aero Hand found himself walking on the sidewalk of District 6. Apparently, the young delinquent was asked to turn in certain documents to a certain high school, before he may be resubmitted into the education system for the next semester. However..he didn't make it there, as on was there, his phone lost battery as the wire to charge it was chewed up by a rat overnight. So he was stuck wandering around the district, debating whether or not to go home, or completely succumb to the heat, trying to find the location.

"...What a drag.."

Sweat glistened off the grey haired boy's face, with only a collared white shirt on his chest and simple jeans. He did have a small backpack, with a single strap around his left shoulder, as he looked around. Being outside truly sucked, though there was an easy fix to his predicament. Simply changing the temperature around his skin would make things feel more refreshing. Unfortunately, the boy had a raging headache from all the trouble he's been having finding the school in question.

"I feel like I'm going in damn circles...Every time someone gives me directions, I almost immediately get lost after the third turn...I really have grown too dependent on GPS satellites."

The boy would come to a stop, seeing the local cafe seemed to have a surprisingly short line. While his money was in his phone, he did just so happen to have enough cash to warrant a large icy beverage. With optimism creeping into his mind, he went over, and a few minutes later, Damion Koyoko finally had something to keep his motivation up! A refreshing passion tea with a lemon. How lucky. With his tired eyes, he looked at the partly clear, violet drink and took a few sips on it. Those few sips were heaven in the summer heat.

"Haaaa~. That's much better. I'm sure I can go a few more hours with thi-"

Unfortunately for the young man, luck was a cruel mistress.

(MUSIC)

BONK!!!

The sound of two people colliding as Koyoko was turning the nearby corner. The delinquent was not paying attention, and perhaps neither did the person he collided with, being none other than Kirishima Haruna, everyone's(?) favorite judgement officer!

"....."

Koyoko was currently on the filthy floor, with his hands slightly behind his back, having caught his fall, but more notably...

Drip..drip...drip...

His beverage on his head, making his grey hair look slightly purple, more so then before, as it dropped onto the pavement and clothes. He could feel a few ice cubes had gotten under his shirt, and felt a torturing chill run through his body, but he did not move. After all, a piece of him really died inside with that crash.

"...This is too cruel.."

District 7, 8:00 A.M.

«No! Not again!»

A girl’s voice screaming in utter panic was echoing throughout a certain dormitory in District 7. Shortly after the sound of hectic steps would follow by a dull impact after someone had obviously toppled over. Then there was moaning. Then panic again.

That was your usual morning at the Kamijou residence. Or something like that.

A letter had arrived, pushed through the crack between door and floor. It had been sealed with some sort of red wax – the kind you would occasionally see in overly dramatic movies or animation. There was no need for her to open it, had she already done it twice or thrice with exact copies of the same letter. And that’s why she’d throw it into the trash right away. But each time she did, another letter would find its way through that crack, replacing its predecessor. So each time she’d panic, run across her apartment, stumble over an uneven spot in her floor’s structure and land flat on her jaw. It was a miracle she hadn’t sustained any lasting injury yet.

However, even more of a miracle was the amount of physical spam mail she kept receiving and receiving.

The worst about this, though, was that she was already running late for her makeup lessons once again. That heavy smoking and drinking teacher in the body of an elementary student wouldn’t be pleased at all. Especially not given that Kamijou had missed out on two consecutive days of lessons now. One because she had ended up stuck in the trunk of a shitty car in an even shittier school district for an entire night and then been chased around by some band of idiots, the other simply because she had been hospitalised after all that.

And now these letters had come, asking her to jump into another of these crazy messes.

District 7, 9:00 A.M.

The letters were still coming. Now, however, on top of even that pigeons had begun to drop them even on the balcony, meaning the merciless attack was now two sided.

«Index! Help me! We need to get rid of these ones as well!»

District 7, 10:00 A.M.

The letter spam had developed into a flood. The balcony had been entirely overrun by a wave of couverts. Behind the door a large pile akin to a mountain had formed. A mountain so tall it had actually breached into the middle of the hallway, even spreading into the kitchen. Throwing any of these into the trash or even out of the window was no longer an option.

District 7, 12:30 P.M.

The house had been overtaken entirely. An armada of pigeons had gathered on the balcony, throning atop the pile of infinite letters. The insides of the apartment itself had become an aquarium of paper. Transitioning anywhere was as impossible was finding a spot where there weren’t letters anymore.

Somewhere a spiky haired idiot’s head would stick out from the mass of paper and wax, crying in vein over their defeat. There was no hope any longer. No spirit to fight back against it. The makeup lessons had died and so had her spirits of running away from that obligation she had never asked for.

«Fine…we’re going…!»

District 7, 13:00 P.M.

Thus half an hour later, Kamijou Touko and the Index Librorum Prohibitorum would have finally boarded one of Academy City’s automatic buses, headed from District 7 to District 6.

Groaning under the pain of a broken will that spiky haired idiot was not at all looking forward to another day of unasked for problems.

«Such misfortune…»

“...Tou...ko…”

Index looked up with tearful eyes as she slowly approached a certain unfortunate girl with her arms outstretched. To the random bystander who did not know better, it almost seemed like the young silver-haired girl was asking for a hug, but for the spiky-haired idiot, she was perfectly aware of the precarious position that she had put herself in.

“Y-you were gone for two days…”
The nun continued with her lament as she reached out and grasped Touko by the bottom of her T-shirt. Unable to back away further, the spiky haired girl would attempt to calm down the ticking time bomb with some soothing words but before she could open her mouth -
“AND THERE WAS NO FOOD IN THE FRIDGE!”
Index bared her teeth and pulled Touko towards her.

Now panicked, Touko barely managed to free herself from Index’s grasp before making a break for it down the corridor.
“YOU CANNOT ESCAPE! DO YOU KNOW HOW LOUD MY TUMMY WAS RUMBLING?!”

Hurried footsteps, a dull impact, and then the inevitable screams began.

Not long after the biting had ceased, the distinctive sound of a letter being pushed underneath the door could be heard in the tiny apartment. The apartment was getting an unusual amount of letters, perhaps it was due to Touko’s mid-week getaway? Whatever the reason was, Index paid it no mind as she was busy attacking the food laid out in front of her by one particularly sore Touko.

«Index! Help me! We need to get rid of these ones as well!»

Index’s ignorance was short-lived, however, as more and more letters began, quite literally, flooding the room. In the span of a few hours, the normal scenery of the apartment was turned into a tempst of paper, wax, and pigeons (?) Under the threat of being crushed by the letters, Index was forced to join Touko in throwing the letters back through the windows and doorway, whilst fending off any additional avarian reinforcements.

“Touko Touko, this is hopeless! There are just too many of them!” Index shouted before being hit by yet another wave of letters.

«Fine…we’re going…!»

Still half-dazed by the paper onslaught,Index was dragged out of the apartment by Touko, going off on another adventure with the unfortunate girl.

Having gone through that hell of a morning consisting of continuous garbage disposal after being chewed upon that monstrous nun jaw after having survived two days of another hell, Kamijou Touko had been reduced to just an empty husk of a human, resting on these not really comfortable last row bus benches as though they were the beddings of a coffin’s inside.

Yes, to say she was in bad shape was a bold understatement.

And as things are with people sucked off all their energy their perception of the world is just a hollow fragment of reality. In this state many things could slip their mind. Minuscule ones like the name of the person they were supposed to meet – especially given that it is a foreign one –, the meeting time, the actual calendar date or the idea of carefully listening to the announcement of the respective next bus stops.

Yet, when these things reoccur to one, they can sometimes be just a tad too late.

«Next stop is Majima Boulevard. This is the last stop.»

«Mhm…last…stop?»

Slowly catching up to the distant reality of that warped voice, the spiky haired husk would awaken from its slumber.

«Hold on…Majima Boulevard…?»

The gears were slowly coming into place.

And as they were, the engine would start up once more.

«We missed our stop!! Index wake up! Wake up!!»

Shaking the white nun next to her while empowered by her sudden panic, Kamijou would hastily launch an attempt at recovery. However, – unknowingly – to absolutely no avail. The bus was about to stop and the stop they had actually been supposed to take had been six ago. And – as if that wasn’t enough – another announcement followed shortly after.

«Due to a technical malfunction all buses on this line will be put to halt for the next hour. We hope for your understanding.»

District 19, 13:37 P.M.

Thus, another by foot journey would commence.

Index opened her eyes. Still a bit disorientated, the silver-haired nun tried to make sense of her surroundings. Her skin felt cold, and she could sense the wind tugging at her clothes; she was laying on something soft, grey, and… blobish. Index let out a yawn as the world around her slowly came into focus. The shifting grey-ish blob which she was sitting on revealed itself to be a giant pigeon, and beneath that, was several thousand meters of air.

“Uwah! What is this! Where am I! How did I get here!” Index shouted as she flailed her arms around.

“Yo Index!”

A familiar voice came from behind her, as Index turned around to look for its owner, the sight of Touko (holding hotdogs and riding on a similarly upsized envelope like a surfboard) greeted her.

“Ehhhh?! Touko! What is that thing you are riding on? Why are you here? Why am I here?” Index continued with her barrage of questions.

“Don’t worry Index, we are on our way to Majima Boulevard!” Touko said with an oddly cheerful voice, "So now is the time to-

<<Wake up Index, we missed out stop! Index wake up! Wake up!>>

“Uwahhhhhhh...”

Index once more opened her eyes, and the silver-haired nun tried again to make sense of her surroundings. To her relief, instead of a giant pigeon, the familiar sight of a bus was what greeted her this time.

The initial wave of gratefulness for the familiar was quickly dispelled, however, when Index absorbed the content of Touko’s wake up call.

“Ehhhh?!”

---

“Touko Touko, Do you even remember who we are going to meet?” Index said whilst munching on a sandwich wrapped in a paper bag which Touko bought in order pacify her after finding out they have to walk all the way across district 6.

“Well well, it is important to know that. A warm and welcoming greeting makes for a good impression you know?” Index said sagely whilst crossing her arms, ignoring the fact that they were well past the arranged time as well as the fact that the identity.

[From the Point of View of Kirishima Haruna]

"Owww... What was that for?"

Sprawled on the ground, hands and legs thankfully free of scrapes but rear aching painfully from the unceremonious impact with the concrete, Haruna unconsciously voiced a complaint towards her present circumstances. First she had to be out on patrol in this vicious heat, and now she had to suffer this disgrace - she couldn't prevent her dissatisfaction from leaking out. But when she recovered from her shock and directed her eyes ahead of her, she immediately felt a surge of regret for her unthinking response.

"...This is too cruel.."

Well-bred girl that she was, she couldn't help but feel pity at the sight of the boy in his current state of affairs. She could see the purple drink staining his (dyed?) silver-ish hair, dripping onto the concrete, and she immediately understood what he must be feeling having lost his salvation in this dreadful heat. Even then she wasn't truly certain whether or not she ought to respond or make an excuse to hurry and go on her way, the obvious delinquency of his delinquent features standing out delinquentishly to her well-mannered eyes, but in the end her upbringing won out and she approached him as one might a frightened animal.

It'll be okay, Haruna. He may look scary, but that doesn't mean he's a bad person! And you were partially at fault, too, not paying attention to where you were going!

Her resolution decided upon, she stood herself up and offered a hand to help the boy up, other hand holding down the hem of her skirt so as to prevent any unfortunate accidents. A sense of timidity was plain on her expression, but the fact that she was reaching a hand out said as much and more about her personality.

"U-Um... Excuse me, but are you alright?"

"U-Um... Excuse me, but are you alright?"

A somewhat concerned, hesitant, but delightful voice rang in the delinquent's ears for a moment, as he slowly raised his head. He would see a judgement officer, with glistening blonde hair, almost reflective off the sun's glamorous rays. This must of been the person who he inadvertently bumped into...and who's empty cup was currently sitting atop his head. At least, there was some good news. He didn't feel as hot anymore. But now he had...whatever was spilled on him staining his clothes...it was probably going to get sticky too.

"...No, but I'll survive."

Koyoko slowly got up, grabbing the cup off his head and made a hefty sigh. He'd raise his hand a little pointing to the sky for a mere moment, as a sudden gust of air suddenly lashed at his buddy. Tugging his hair and clothes upwards. An esper ability. Level 2 Aerohand. What was he doing? Air drying! He at least wanted to get most of the juice out of his hair without touching it and getting it all over his hands. So just having a quick wind pull most of the droplets out real quick was helpful...though it did make his hair a bit messier.

"I need to really watch where I'm going...Aaah, crap! Even the registration forms were stained..Gaaaaaaaah! I screwed up! I went out into this stupid heat for nothing!!..."

The boy then began to ruffle his own hair in frustration as he dropped the papers on the ground. His plan was foiled by a meddling kid! Though after this small tantrum, he forgot that he had something else he should probably do.

"Ah...Ahem. S-sorry about earlier. Bumping into you that is. You're not hurt or anything are you..?"

Walking back towards his dorm from taking care of a light grocery shopping from District 6, Unimato was somehow not sweating to death in this summer heat, considering he was wearing his hoodie as well as long pants. This was his sort of 'casual clothing', of course and was quite simply what he was used to wearing. While dully swinging the bag in his right hand, his cell phone went off, causing him to jump, slightly. He sighed in annoyance as he swapped the bag to his left hand in order to remove his phone from the non-corresponding, pants pocket. He opened it placing it against his ear, and to his surprise, once more, the polite voice of a girl spoke through it.

'Wait, what?!'

  He thought as he started to mentally panic.

'Why in the world would a girl be calling me?! Ok, calm down, Uni, it's probably just a wrong number.'

  He thought, as well, in attempt to calm his nerves.

  Taking a deep breath, Unimato finally responded, asking if there was a reason for calling him. And to yet another shock to his system, he was told that apparently he dropped his PDA at some point while in District 6. As calmly as he could, he listened and agreed to the plan to meet up in a bakery back at said district. After making a mental note of the persons appearance, he closes the phone, standing in a daze whilst staring out into the distance. His left arm involuntarily phases for a couple of seconds, followed by the dull 'thud' of his groceries becoming victim to gravity.

"I am at a complete loss of words, right now..."

  He mutters to himself before bending over to pick his groceries back up and turning around towards the very district he left not even twenty minutes ago.
                                                                                             

   Just about that amount of time, later, he arrives at the place that appears to match the description as well as the very person who called him, sitting by the window. He takes a step towards the door before freezing.

'Maybe I could live without it, there's no need to be in this nerve racking situation, right?'

  He takes a breath and sighs

'No, that's just borderline rude, they went through the trouble to give it back, which is much quicker than going through Judgment. I should be grateful I don't need to deal with that nonsense... better get it over with, now'

  After readying himself, mentally, he entered the bakery and walked over to the table. As he sits down across from them, he puts his bag under the table

"H-hey, um, thank you for finding it."

  He manages to stutter, whilst his pale green eyes looks down at the table. Much too nervous to make eye contact. Already mentally beating himself up for not thinking of anything better than just a generic 'thank you.'

District 19 had a bad reputation throughout all of Academy City. Unlike the rest of the flourishing city this area had been quite behind on the development side of things. Truth be spoken, the area had been mostly abandoned and stood far behind on the scientific advances you’d find anywhere else in the city. It had become so bad that shady characters had begun to gather over here while the presence of the law enforcement agencies like Anti-Skill and Judgement had reached a low zero. As such all you could find were bashed in windows, oddly dark looking corners (even during daytime) or litter on the streets.

Walking through a neighbourhood this uninviting wasn’t how Kamijou had wanted to spend her day. In fact, these rundown surroundings were exactly the kind of place she’d gladly avoid. But for some reason life had decided to always drag her right back there.

There was no reason to oppose those things any longer. Her body and mind had been too tired from all the chaos surrounding her anyway. She she’d just take it and do it. Of course, trying to stick out of trouble as much as the could, therefore attempting to keep a very low profile.

«Touko Touko, Do you even remember who we are going to meet?»

However, how to keep a low profile in the presence of a teacup nun who by nature spoke that loudly.

«Index! Not so loud…!»

«Well well, it is important to know that. A warm and welcoming greeting makes for a good impression you know?»

«Index! Don’t! Keep your voice low!!»

Shouting while hectically attempting to silence the girl with her hands, the spiky haired girl’s contribution to their safety was even less than the nun’s.

But once the panic one naturally felt in an run-down neighbourhood like this finally wore off, more trouble occurred before dead tired Kamijou.

She had forgotten the name.

«Uuuh. Shouldn’t it be Stiyl or Kanzaki? No, I would remember that.»

Deep pondering on a tired mind was quite a challenge. However, ultimately a light would shine in the darkness.

«Vita…Vitali! I think their name was Vitali!»

Having dug up something from her memory, her joy over that made her overly convinced she had gotten it perfectly right. At the same time, this also invoked a very specific image of the person they were supposed to meet. Vitali left the impression of a tall grown man with thick beard and tattoos on his cannon like arms. Clearly, that sounded like someone exciting to meet!

After taking the device, he couldn't help but feeling even more nervous then he already was, as well as rude, afraid he might've taken the seat a little prematurely. Flipping the device over in his shaking hand, checking for damage, the idea comes to mind that perhaps he should offer to pay for her as thanks, considering how long she was probably waiting. However, he dismisses the idea immediately, having no idea how much he might have to pay, plus his wallet was already quite light after his grocery shopping. After mindlessly turning the device over in his hand a few times, his shoulders jerk slightly as he realizes the person across from him was talking the whole time, while he was immersed in his own thoughts. Due to this, he only heard the second half of the sentence:

"...I don't know how far you were but considering the weather outside is simply crazy hot, it wouldn't hurt to enjoy the wonders of conditional cooling. Order a glass of orange juice, they're quite tasty."

"oh, uh..."

    Is all he could manage. Upon giving what little he heard some thought, he hasn't actually eaten a thing, all day. And though this would probably contradict his previous thoughts, he might as well get something while he's there. Of course, he would probably have to pay, at least it felt wrong if he didn't. Still looking down at the table he says:

"I-I guess it wouldn't hurt to get something"

   Taking out his wallet to take a quick inventory of his current funds, still careful not to make eye contact.

"Yeah... I could probably afford... a drink"

  He laughs nervously as he counts up his money, in his head.

'150, 160, 175, I'm starting to remember why I didn't take the bus in the first place. Darn it, Uni, how did you end up spending so much on so little?!'

   By this point, he was afraid what he thought was just a mental panic might be showing on his face as he started to feel himself going a little red.

Looking down, dejectedly at his rather low funds Unimato decides to give up on his efforts and put his wallet away. As he did do so, he jolted as he realized the person across from started talking, again. He could feel his wallet slip from grasp ever so slightly, his had still around it in his pocket. A rather unpleasant feeling overcame him, realizing that he might've just phased for the slightest of moments due to his heightened nervousness. Hoping the other person didn't notice, he tried to join in with the conversation, looking out the window in a feeble attempt to keep his position of zero eye contact.

"Y-you've got a point... the weather fluctuations are one thing, but windmills spinning and producing sparks without wind does seem very strange. Though, most would probably just dismiss it as a high level electromaster's involuntary electromagnetic field"

He eventually reapplied, rather sheepishly.

It looked as if he was just mindlessly looking out the window, as well. However, he was having quite the mental struggle as every fiber of his being was telling him to just jump out the window and run. Regardless if he could phase properly by this point or not. He shook his head in attempt to push the silly notion out, since all it would accomplish was an angry store owner chasing him and a girl thinking he was some crazed lunatic, on something or other that he couldn't think of. He eventually stops this bizarre chain of thoughts since it really wasn't helping his well being in the slightest.

'Well, I got what I came here for, maybe I should just leave...'

Though, that thought didn't quite sit right, either.

'No, no... I can't, I still feel bad I can't give anything in return, 'least I can do is gave my name, at this point'

He breaths in before finally turning his head to look at her

"I d-don't think I introduced myself yet, I'm Narakiki Unimato"

He gave a quick bow of his head, feeling his heart skip a beat as he did so.

"I could pay for a snack or two, if you don't mind."

From behind Unimato, a sudden voice spoke up. The cafe was quiet and in a relatively quiet part of town, but for all it lacked in through traffic it wasn't completely deserted either. Seated a distance away from them was a man who, at a glance, might be judged as clearly into his late twenties at least, but also no older than his early thirties. He was obviously a foreigner, which was relatively rare in Academy City, but when people are sitting and minding their own business they're easy to overlook.

He had been minding his own business at his table until now, but overhearing their conversation, he had stood up and walked over at some point. With Caucasian features, he stood taller than either of the pair, wore his black hair long to his mid-back, and was dressed casually. There wasn't anything particularly that might point towards one profession or another. He had the features of a sly schemer, but his genial smile didn't seem especially faked in any way, and there was a softness to his voice that seemed kind.

"It's not often nowadays that you see people doing good deeds out of the kindness of their heart, especially people as young as you. Seeing things like this just puts me in a good mood, and I've gotta make sure what goes around comes around, you know?"

---

Touko had been wary. In this neighborhood with the poorest of reputations, with her young charge under her care, she knew she had to take the utmost care to avoid trouble. Of course, there was only so much one could do when one was accompanying a silver-haired 12-13 year old nun, but she had made the effort. Staying relatively quiet, remaining inconspicuous, and being aware of the surroundings.

And yet, it was not enough.

Danger came from below. Precisely as Kamijou Touko was stepping over a manhole cover, a manhole cover which littered the streets and sidewalks of Academy City without ever receiving more than the barest of passing notices from its citizens as they stepped over them, when it happened.

There was an instant of warning, when there was a sudden pressure upon her feet, as if the ground was pushing up against her. But a moment later, a much greater force was used. The earth she stood upon rose up beneath her and took her footing away, and emerging from the newly open passageway was a boy with candy red-dyed hair.


"Yo."

After a short moment of staring at Touko from his position with just his head and arms sticking out of the manhole, cover being held aloft in the air, he gave a disarmingly cheeky smile and a disarmingly cheekier greeting. He had a well-featured face that one would find themselves calling pretty before they called it handsome, and he might in fact have been prettier than Touko herself, but he was still nonetheless a he, and that was certain.

It was certain, absolutely. After all...

"Pretty nee-san, get~"

...He was hitting on her.

Unimato breaths a sigh of relief after shaking Yukihime's hand, mumbling something along the lines of 'Nice to meet you, too.' Glad that at the very least, they got introductions out of the way. Though regardless of this, he still couldn't help feeling very uneasy, being the nervous wreck that he is. In an attempt to keep his mind off of it, he tries to formulate another topic to talk about, since it still didn't feel right just up and leaving.

'Maybe an easy topic to bring up would be the latest news on the blimps... that is if I actually bothered reading them.'

He never really took much of a look at them since a lot of the information seemed extremely unbelievable, even being in Academy City, he would remain skeptical about it.  Not only that, but most seem to broadcast stuff about recently successful experiments, in which he also didn't particularly care for, already feeling like a lab rat, as is. His train of thought is shortly interrupted by some strange man, causing him to nearly jump out of his skin.

'Wait, when did someone else enter here?!'

While having yet another mental panic, he vaguely hears the new stranger and Yuki exchange some words.

"It's not often nowadays that you see people doing good deeds out of the kindness of their heart, especially people as young as you. Seeing things like this just puts me in a good mood, and I've gotta make sure what goes around comes around, you know?"

— It was nothing, I'm sure any reasonable human being would probably do they same given the circumstances. But still, it is very kind of you to pay for our meals, mister.....? Sorry, I didn't exactly catch your name in the middle of our silly rambling.

"Th-There is isn't any need for that, r-really, if anything I should get going."

He says waving his hands around in front of him, frantically. Though the person didn't seem exactly frightening, Unimato decided he had one too many chance encounters, for today. He hurriedly tries to grab for his bag, under the table, however failing to realize his bag was leaning against Yuki's leg, he felt his hand brush against something that clearly wasn't his bag. His face going completely red, he finally grabs a hold of his groceries whilst trying to bolt out of the seat in one clear move. In this rushed maneuver, his foot immediately got caught on a table leg, causing him to fall forward, face planting on the ground. Laying there, he flickers a few times in and out of sight, pathetically. Almost like a twitching bug that was stepped on, continuously.

"uuuuuuugggh..."

Was all he could manage, wondering to himself if his rash thinking was due to not eating anything today or if he was just that bad at interacting with others.

There was a limit to things Kamijou Touko could take in. All her life, misfortune had been a relentless plague to her, leading her into the most absurd kind of situations, but she still had a limit. A surprisingly low scale limit.

And that limit had been met when suddenly she lost balance upon stepping onto a manhole cover and was thrown into the air, landing on flat on her even flatter butt.

«Such misfortune…»

Spouting her signature line, like some cartoon character the spiky haired girl would sit there, facing what was another harbinger of problems. Hell, they had already brought those problems upon her!

But when she actually checked for the bad guy in this comedy gone wrong, she found a pretty face, stylish getup and candy like red hair. Obviously dyed, but still doing its job. He was good looking. Really good looking. Exactly the type many simple minded teenage girls would adore as they starred in some strange kind of dance, theatre or host group pretending to be a character jumping from some boys love manga or bishoujo gacha game.

«Pretty nee-san, get~»

And he had set his eyes upon her.

Kamijou Touko.

A spiky haired tomboy.

The epitome of a tomboy.

Flat chested. Flat assed. Not even groomed. Just messy.

By nature there was no place to be flattered. No, with her experience in life, scepticism was the only adequate reaction.

Thus, eyeing the candy hair boy with utmost wary the girl would get back onto her feet, ensuring for an invisible line to remain in place. Not even offering her hand to his…stuck…situation.

«I’m sorry. But as you can clearly see I don’t have any money on me! And I don’t have a bank account, a secret collectible stash or any type of jewellery gifted to me by my rich parents! In fact, I don’t even have any time for this, Mr…?…!»

Declaring her absolute and wholehearted disinterest in continuing, no, even allowing for a situation to happen in the first place, street-smart sceptic Kamijou Touko would decide to turn her back to the human obstacle and instead look for the right path in another – clearly wrong – direction.

«Come Index, let’s go find this Vitali guy!»

"Ah, pardon my manners. I go by Astal Lott. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Yuki."

Once more, a genial smile paired with a polite greeting. He was the image of the perfect gentleman, and as such found himself standing in a rather contrast compared to the girly shrieking of the Unimato as he inadvertently brushed against Yukihime's leg and then subsequently found himself smashing his face into the floor. As befitting of the image he had displayed thus far, he laughed good-naturedly, wryly mentioned something about puberty, and gripped the boy's hand to pull him up off the floor.

And as Astal relinquished his grip on the boy's hand after helping him up, Unimato would notice something. There had been something in Astal's hand; hard and metallic. Quick as he'd been pulled up - for as tall and thin as Astal looked, he was evidently far from spindly - he wouldn't have a had any chance to consider it, but as he removed his hand, the identity of the strange metallic objects became clear.

Some 2500 yen in 500-yen coins, cleanly transferred from Astal's hand to Unimato's.

"No take-backs. It's quite disheartening to have a favor refused like that, you know. Running away from everything might keep you safe, but it also means you won't earn the things you deserve to earn, Unimato-kun."

This time, rather than the polite smile, it was a wry grin like you'd find on someone who had just pulled a particularly funny prank.

"So you two should just go ahead and enjoy yourselves."

Index watched as the inconspicuous manhole Touko stepped on spawned one very conspicuous boy.

«Pretty nee-san, get~»

“Touko, why is this strange boy greeting you like he knows you?”

Index gave the newcomer a scrutinising stare, his face was pretty, and his clothes were fashionable, adding those two points with his playful greeting, there was only one conclusion the silver-haired nun could have come to.

Index turned her attention back to the fallen girl as she was picking herself up.

“Touko are you going out and doing shameless things again?”

However, Touko, being desperate to avoid any possible flags being raised by interacting with the red boy, was too busy backing out of this encounter to pay any attention to Index’s question.

«Come Index, let’s go find this Vitali guy!»

“Naaaaaaaa! Index will not allow you to associate yourself with strange boys!”

Unimato mutters something sounding like a 'thanks' after he was helped up by the kind stranger and gives a quick bow of the head. He freezes midway realizing there was something cold and smooth feeling in his hand, he slowly brings his hand up to eye level, expecting this to be some kind of prank. However, to his surprise, it was actually yen, and upon closer examination, it was roughly 2500 worth. He looks back up at Astal (at least, he recalls vaguely hearing him introduce himself as such) at a loss for words.

"No take-backs. It's quite disheartening to have a favor refused like that, you know. Running away from everything might keep you safe, but it also means you won't earn the things you deserve to earn, Unimato-kun."

Unimato then blankly looks back at the money.

'I can't take this, for one I was the one getting my PDA back, which caused Yuki to waste time and probably money waiting here for me. And two, regardless of how nice he looks, something tells me he can throw this back in my face later if I decline a favor.'

He thinks to himself, not quite sure what to do with it. Plus, as Astal said, there was no giving it back, so it would indeed be rude if he tried to decline it, now. In the end, he just sighed in defeat and decided to pocket the money, thinking he could give it to Yuki later, when Astal was not looking or something, since he still feels he doesn't personally deserve it. He takes a half step back to make some distance realizing he was still rather close and before he could give another 'thanks' for the money, he notices what appears to be more of a mischievous grin on the stranger's face, almost like he just pulled a practical joke on him.

"So you two should just go ahead and enjoy yourselves."

At this point, feeling that his attempt at escape was thoroughly thwarted, he decides to sit back down. After setting his bag aside, once more, he waves over the story owner and asks for a cup of green tea, hoping it would calm his nerves, though somewhat worried he seemed quite weird asking for hot tea on a day like this, on top of wearing the hoodie.

After aforementioned store owner walked away, Unimato took another glance at Astal, feeling like there was something off about him...

"P-pardon my assumption... but you're not from Academy City, are you?"

He asks Astal rather sheepishly, thinking he might have come off as rude, if he didn't appear so already from his previous set of actions.

"P-pardon my assumption... but you're not from Academy City, are you?"

— However, he did just ask what I was thinking. Any reason why you’re here? I realize that this is probably the most scientifically advanced place that exists on this side of the planet, but something tells me you don’t exactly resemble an average tourist….

"Now, those are some fine questions you two are asking!"

Astal's smile was something the two were sure to recognize, being students. It was the expression of a teacher pleased with the progress of his students. One who had been posed a very good question, and was now pondering how best to answer it.

"I'm definitely not from around here, and I'm certainly not a tourist. My job description is a little iffy, though." He furrowed his brow for a bit before answering. "I'm something similar to a priest, I suppose? Ah, to be clear, I'm not Christian or Buddhist. And strictly speaking, I'm not a priest either. I just do something similar."

The more he spoke, the less coherent his explanation became. All that seemed clear was that he was someone of a professionally religious persuasion, which was more than odd to find here in the heart of science that was Academy City. Even its rare churches were research institutes rather than places of worship, after all.

"Ah! I suppose 'what I'm here for' would clear up the confusion decently enough."

With a start of realization, he seemed to have solved the problem on his own, and re-focused his attention on the two students. There was something different about his gaze now, compared to before. It was something of a substance completely foreign to the values of Academy City. There was a pressure, a steadiness there. It was determination. It was faith.

It was a certain 'something' that might be potentially confused for the devotion of a religious man by a layman, but was fundamentally different.

"I'm here to save people."

---

"I'm Itami Kagaya. You two are?"

Completely unabashed by Touko's rejection and Index's defensive reaction, the candy-haired boy simply pulled himself out of the sewer main and replaced the cover and continued the conversation. From the smoothness of his motions and complete nonchalance regarding the process, it seemed that it was a process he was used to doing regularly.

He gave a sweet, harmless-seeming smile and followed after Touko as she power-walked away in the opposite direction of the one she had been heading before being interrupted.

"Hey, hey. So what are you doing here? You seem a bit turned-around? I guess you don't hang out around here much? Are you on an errand? Searching for something? You know, I spend most of my time around these parts, so I could show you around, yeah? Accept now, get a little something something from my secret stash for free~!"

This rapid-fire sweet talk was a staple of pick-up artists everywhere. By speaking first and speaking quickly, one could dominate the flow of the conversation, and if the other party was timid enough, there was a chance they'd cave in and just follow along then and there. The offer to act as a guide was a classic as well; it being an act of good will, it gave the other party less justification to refuse, and allowed one to present oneself as a good, helpful person. And when Kagaya pulled out the candy - a collection of lollipops and chocolates - from his pockets with an almost obnoxiously goofy smile it should have all but cemented his Suspicious Person Level as Class S.

But. But! When the boy, who at a glance seemed a year or two younger than Touko, was the one was doing it, it somehow seemed innocently adorable instead of ridiculously sleazy. It was truly mysterious.

Furthermore, though it was uncertain whether Touko, in her drive to flee the situation, would notice, there was one more mysterious factor about the situation. It was a universally known fact that chocolate ought not to be kept in one's pockets, else one's body heat would cause them to melt. Academy City's uselessly advanced confectionery techniques meant this could be avoided to a agree, but in this hellish summer heat, there was no method for them to avoid falling victim to a gooey fate.

And yet, every bar he had produced seemed mysteriously solid...