A Certain Magical Index - Arc 2 (Epilogue)

The fancy clock resonated consistent ticks from the nearest wall. It was 11:57 pm. Two certain students of Academy City sat near the Window tables, waiting for their meal. One was a certain spiky haired tomboyish girl and the other being a certain spiky haired expressionless boy.

The family restaurant they both resided in was surprisingly open at this hour. Though the restaurant was barely empty, where the only thing you could hear is the faint argument between employees in the back room for either screwing up their tasks or being scolded for laziness. Either way, the whole area was like a ghost town. Haragi sat across from Touko, busy checking his phone suspiciously every second. They're were two reasons: First, his sister hadn't called or text back after he text her numerous times. Second, his mission to capture those three magicians was still active, so the dark side could very well call up to provide any information they could get.

Not too long ago, they were both discharged from the hospital after an intense event that Haragi still has yet to fully grasp. It didn't end quite completely happy like a child's ideal fairy tale. There were still some corners yet to check, which is the exact reason why both of them were sitting in a sketchy "Family" restaurant, waiting for food that could very well contain poison, and not going about their daily lives. Earlier, Touko brought up the fact that they both needed to figure out their current situation, and how to go about what's next. Haragi suggested that they move to an a more refined location for safe measures.

While Haragi kept glancing at his cellphone, like some sort of cheetah keeping its eyes on its prey, he finally spoke out after the long awkward silence,

"Touko... I don't think I got any leads this time... They managed to take Index... even after what we been through... I'm outta ideas... at the same time, I have other problems drilling into my back by the second..."

That had been it

Leaning on a telephone pole just across the street from Misawa Cram School, Vanni held a bundle of fries covered in ketchup. It may not have seemed like it at first, but to Vanni, ketchup was one of the greatest creations that God had brought forth. If he had been a bit more of a loony character, Vanni would have suggested there be a religion dedicated to ketchup. Just imagine the spells that would be made.

It would be totally fresco

Anyways, although Vanni stood in front of this place that was a battle ground, he had no intention of going into battle. Especially since the battle had already been over already. There was no sulking about 'messing on the action', actually, this is what Vanni had wanted.

Just some time ago, Vanni had been hunting after the human magical library known as Index, gotten into a battle over that one girl and then disappeared.

After that, he had not been with Necessarius Magicians Stiyl and Kanzaki and went into a chaotic battle against the Alchemist.

It was as if he had only been there to capture the Index and nothing else. By not further helping Stiyl and Kanzaki, Vanni had shown that his affiliation was complicated.

That was the boy's purpose, after all, Vanni's true mission by the Anglican Church was to be seen as another rogue Magician that infiltrated Academy City. He had been in Academy City in order to take care of affairs that had not been allowed by the Higher-Ups of this city. Although the Anglican Church had been in good terms with Academy City, that didn't mean they totally trusted each other.

Vanni was an example of that wavering trust but at the same time he was a scapegoat. Even if he was working with the Anglicans, he was only a Magician that they had captured and told him if they did not do as they say, he would be killed. So, they had placed this Lucifearan Magician in Academy City to do their unofficial dirty work. Even if Vanni had been killed, it didn't matter, he was of no value to them. Even if he had been captured and tortured for information, it didn't matter because Vanni didn't know much about what was going on with Necessarius

And telling them that he worked with them would be only seen as a lie to protect himself.

So Vanni wanted to be seen as ''just another Magician hiding in Academy City who caught on the trail the Index, then left after knowing his efforts had been futile''

thought, the fact that he was being controlled, still pissed him off greatly

But that doesn't change the fact that several things had happened today
for instance....
"the Index is still in this city, seemingly easy to take off with...however there' no doubt she's being watched over. With the power of that girl I can get a lot of power and more power means that I can control even greater things....the question is....

do I really want to take that gamble and make an enemy of of Academy City and the Anglican Church?"

"Touko... I don't think I got any leads this time... They managed to take Index... even after what we been through... I'm outta ideas... at the same time, I have other problems drilling into my back by the second..."

"I understand." Touko said, sitting with her back straight and rigid despite the fatigue that weighed her body as though the weight of an ocean pressed down on her. She tried to tell herself that she was seeing this matter through to the end, but it had seemed that the boy, Haragi Faye was in the dark as well.

In other words, they'd hit a dead end.

"There's nothing more either of us can do right now." She admitted. Without a trace of Stiyl or Kaori they stood no chance of finding the girl named Index.

"There's nothing more either of us can do right now."

His eyes loosened, with a dull expression. Thinking they would be able to save Index now would just have them running in circles like headless chickens. They had no clue of where those magicians taken her. In response, Haragi sighed in disappointment.

"I see..."

The waiter had soon come with their food. Both of them discussed each other's plans of action after today while eating, mostly going back to their own lives. After finishing their food, Haragi stood up placing some yen on the table covering for both of Touko's and his own expenses. He also placed a sheet of paper on the table beside the scattered amounts of yen. The sheet of paper contained his phone number.

"Touko... if you get any leads on Index... don't be afraid to call me for help... because I don't like the feeling of leaving things unfinished... I'll do the same if its the other way around too... I know we'll meet again... so goodbye for now..."

The spiky haired boy left, bidding his farewell. While walking towards his home through the night of the city streets, Haragi kept eyeing his phone. His phone started buzzing, and the caller ID was slated as unknown. Haragi eyed the name for a moment, thinking of who it might be. He answered the call,

"Hello...?"

The rough voice replied from the other end. It was someone from the higher ups controlling the Espers in the Dark Side. It was the same man who gave him the mission to capture the intruders a few days ago. He explained that he was taken off the mission of capturing the three intruders since they determined to prove no threat. Because of Haragi, they were able confirm Misawa Cram School's recent suspicions.

Haragi asked if he knew where Index or any of the magicians were. But as expected, they were out of the Dark Side's reach.

"I see... well then... I guess that's it for now..."

The boy hung up, sighing in annoyance. Another buzzing noise was made from his phone. He averted his eyes towards the phone he was about to slide back into his pocket.

"Again?... are they assigning me a new mission already?... What a fucking pain..."

However the caller ID actually had a name. It was a call made from the hospital he was recently released from. Alot of possibilities popped up in his head of who might be calling due to the many situations he had been in tonight. Answering the call, he heard a woman on the other end. She sounded as if she was in a hurry to tell him something.

As she stated her reasons for calling, Haragi went silent halfway through the call, in shock. His eyes widened in grief as his whole body started shaking in fear. He didn't expect this to happen. He couldn't even ask for something much worse than what he had heard. The only word muttered out of his mouth were,

"A-aneki?..."

"I see... Touko... if you get any leads on Index... don't be afraid to call me for help... because I don't like the feeling of leaving things unfinished... I'll do the same if its the other way around too... I know we'll meet again... so goodbye for now..."

"Hello...?"

Touko nodded, fishing for change in her pockets when she couldn't miss the abrupt change in Haragi's attitude.

"A-aneki?..."

She barely heard the whisper and watched him for a moment, saw the shift in his expression as the concern spread.

"It's OK." She said, rising to her feet. "You sound like you have something you need to take care of." Their eyes met and again they shared an unspoken understanding. I'll take care of Index. She seemed to be saying.

"Oh dear, giving up so soon?" A cheerful voice greeted them from across the restaurant. "I thought you had vowed to save that girl, no matter what?" Koizumi Itsuki smiled over at the two.

Touko glanced sidelong at Haragi, maintaining a guarded expression as Itsuki continued and she approached his table.

"Poor girl. She-"

"Get to the point!" Touko slammed her hand down on Itsuki's table. Itsuki shuffled back into the corner of his booth, cowering from the intimidating duo.

"So scary..." Itsuki maintained the dumb smile on his face. His voice didn't tremble despite his apparent fear. In fact he seemed to be mocking them.

"What do you know about Index!?" Touko yanked Itsuki's collar upwards, lifting the boy from his seat.

"Only that she's still in Academy City! They're probably still figuring out what to do with her."

***

"Nice night, eh?" The voice that spoke to Vanni belonged to none other than Tsuchimikado Motoharu. The blonde teenager sauntered towards the Luciferean mage with a carefree whistle. "What was the big idea, taking off like that?" He frowned for a moment before bursting into laughter. "Not that it makes any difference to me, I guess. But I think the Archbishop is going to be mad that you disobeyed a direct order like that." Motoharu continued to prattle on as though he were discussing something as trivial as a missed homework assignment.

His reality shattered as the devastating news came to light. Haragi couldn't simply believe what he had heard. He vowed that he wouldn't let anything like this happen. But that blind pretense only broke down his state of mind. Haragi went silent as he kept the phone beside his ear. His whole body shivered in fear. The woman on the phone was a receptionist from the hospital, who had just informed Haragi of his sister's current condition. She was on death's edge, but the cause of it was unknown.

Who could have done this? Was he too careless and let the darkness get to her? Then he realized that his sister acting strangely these past few days. Randomly inviting Misaka Mikoto over for lunch, Working overtime, and her depression. It didn't simply add up. Was she hiding something from her life?

Haragi ended the call before the woman could speak anymore, but still kept the phone by his ear. He couldn't move but stay still in shock.

"It's OK. You sound like you have something you need to take care of."

Touko understood Haragi's resolve. She was the only person who had overcame his own, so it was expected. He had realized he wasn't the only one in this world who strongly believed in one's own priorities. Another voice interrupted the two,

"Oh dear, giving up so soon? I thought you had vowed to save that girl, no matter what?"

The abrupt development brought Touko's attention. The mysterious boy known as Koizumi Itsuki stood across from the restaurant smiling devilishly at the two. Though Haragi was set still as stone, he didn't move an inch. Touko demanded to know more about Index's whereabouts, but he teased Touko by prolonging the discussion. Haragi was speechless at this point, deeply in thought.

"Only that she's still in Academy City! They're probably still figuring out what to do with her."

It was clear this mysterious girl had known something about Index's whereabouts, however Haragi felt lost in what he had to do. His decision was to choose between two of his priorities both of which were of crucial concern. He clenched his teeth as he found his way back to reality. His original intention was to leave Touko to her own matter. But...

Haragi swiftly grabbed Itsuki's neck with his one hand while thrusting him onto the restaurant floor. He knelt down looking coldly into his eyes while his fingers were digging deep into him neck. The eyes of a murderer was shown off of the Level 4's.

"Don't... expect us to take you lightly after what you said... and just simply ignore it... If you know where Index is... then don't waste our time.. and say it!... Because right now after hearing my sister badly injured in the hospital... I can't tell the difference between who I should kill and who I shouldn't... So... before I do anything drastic... Tell me what you know about Index's whereabouts...."

He tightened his grasp around his neck to the extents of actually breaking it infused with the anger of his sister's near death condition.

"Don't... expect us to take you lightly after what you said... and just simply ignore it... If you know where Index is... then don't waste our time.. and say it!... Because right now after hearing my sister badly injured in the hospital... I can't tell the difference between who I should kill and who I shouldn't... So... before I do anything drastic... Tell me what you know about Index's whereabouts...."

"Hey, hey, hey." Itsuki coughed. His arms held out to the side the boy had frozen in a position of total surrender. "I would tell you if I knew. Really I would." He wheezed through Haragi's vice-like grip. "Besides, it's a little hard to talk like this, eh?"

Haragi felt Touko's hand on his wrist as she removed his hand from Itsuki, allowing the boy to lift himself in an undignified way off the floor. He dusted off his blazer.

"To think I had you pegged as the calmer of the pair." He said with a dry chuckle. "Ah, thank you. Kamijou, was it?" He held out his hand to Touko where it hung in the air awkwardly for some time while the girl glared sternly at him. He coughed and withdrew his hand. "Well I'll get to the point then. As I was saying..." He glanced at Haragi for just a second too long. "The Index is still here in Academy City. No doubt the higher-ups are negotiating their terms as we speak."

"What will happen to her?" Touko asked.

"They'll return her to England eventually. But now the cat is out the bag about her memory loss the Church will be more desperate than ever to secure her. Who knows what they'll agree to? The situation's really changed, huh?" He nodded to himself, stroking his chin. "Well, in any case I wouldn't worry for her safety. She's far too valuable to dispose of even after all this mess." He continued at length. "Or perhaps I should say, she's become impossible to dispose of because of this mess." He smiled, but it wasn't a smile of amusement, it was a calculating, knowing smile.

"How do you know all of this?" Touko asked, sensing a growing unease around this strange boy.

"Saying anymore will spoil all the fun!" He slipped a handful of cash onto the table and waved goodbye. Touko held out her arm to stop Haragi from following.

"She's safe. For now that's what matters." Touko said, feeling a sense of weight lifting from her shoulders. She turned to Haragi. "You go. Your sister needs you."

***

Stepping out onto the street, Touko struck off in the direction of her dormitory, offering Haragi a brief smile as they parted ways.

"Well looks like I've gotta go. See ya 'round, 'Adversor'."

"Hey, Kami-yan!" Motoharu called out. Touko greeted her friend with a warm yet weary smile as they made their way back to the dormitory together.

London


What will happen to her?

The question wasn’t just limited to the residents of Academy City who had involved themselves with Index Librorum Prohibitum, it was a question asked by many more who lived outside of Academy City. Magic Cabals from all over the world that kept their eyes on the events watched carefully and kept their ears open for any details regarding the walking library of grimoires and her fate. It’s been revealed that the Church was lying to their subordinates and now that the lies have been revealed there should have been no way for the Church to keep up with their necessary evil deeds of wiping out her memories.

Grimoires, forbidden books of knowledge which cannot be burned or destroyed by any means. At best they could only be sealed away and as the carrier of such books it was near impossible to destroy the carrier. The most logical answer would have been to seal away Index along with the Grimoires she carried within her memories.

Some hypothesized the Church would have severed her limbs and chained her body down in the forbidden library of St.George’s Cathedral. Others believed the best method of securing Index would be to remove her brain from her skull and preserve it much like the Ancient Egyptian method of mummification. There were many different methods and ideas proposed and thought over millions of brilliant minds across various Magic Cabals who pondered over the current situation within the English Puritan Church, all ideas of which gave a good laugh for the beautiful teenage girl as she walked down the streets browsing through these ideas to pass the time.

The intensity of the sunlight was uncharacteristic of typical London weather yet it shone brightly against the long golden hair that reached up to her ankles as she skipped towards her favorite pastry shop. In one hand she carried a parasol while on the other she held a piece of technology she clearly wasn’t too accustomed to using. A communication talisman created through bits of wires, a circuit board and buttons. Academy City sold them for roughly 90,000 yen and they seemed to call these portable communication devices the iPhone 18Z.  

“Ahahaha they sure think of some really violent ideas!”

She giggled as she read over her parchment, to others it seemed like an ordinary parchment with scribbles but what other people couldn’t tell was the fact that the letters appeared simultaneously as though it was being written by an invisible hand. Outwardly she just looked like a cheerful teenager who was reading over some funny jokes that was passed through a note during afternoon class, yet what was written on it was intelligence gathered by her eyes and ears, posted in various places of the world.

At the same time as she was reading over these notes she was on the phone with someone across oceans away discussing about the trial that was to be held within Academy City as they spoke. Every once in awhile she would turn the piece of scribbles upside down and spoke into it through her mind as the representative of the Anglican Church, standing in trial without actually being there but if it wasn’t her turn to speak she would continue browsing through what the leaders of the world had to think or share about their ideas regarding the trials and laugh at their folly.

“Worries? Not at all, even without them there’s no problem for her to remain unguarded!”

Though most of the world remained oblivious to what truly happened on the night of Index’s true form, those who were present at the scene was more than aware that Index was far from being a damsel in distress. Everything about her from her seemingly fragile appearance was a cruel deception hiding the abyssal monster on the other side of the mask.

“Uu! It’s not like I’ve assigned them because I was worried in the first place you know!”

Afterall Index never needed to be guarded in the first place. The act of protecting her from potential threat was simply just an act which was in the best interest of the Anglican Church. She had other ways to have Index under her control with or without placing her guardians… could it possibly be meant that she placed them as her guardians for the sake of keeping up with their selfish interests? Both were exceedingly capable field agents, keeping them as her guardian was just a rouse to have them pledge unwavering loyalty towards the Anglican Church.

As she stepped inside the pastry shop she put away her note and promptly ended her overseas call.
“Now then… Things are only just starting to get more interesting, General Superintendent Aleister.”