A Certain Magical Index - Arc 2

Index continued her chanting as the battle raged on around her, closing her eyes to concentrate she managed to filter out the world around her to focus on unravelling the thread of Vanni's spell. The codes she uttered would interfere with the spell's intended meaning and neutralise it.

Or alternatively, send it out of the caster's control.

The meaning of Vanni's spell reversed itself under Index's intervention. By replacing the motivating fear of the dark with curiosity, what was once an area of exclusion, where regular people were driven away by fear of darkness now became more akin to a beacon that would soon attract more of those same people to the area. They would swarm like moths to a flame, drawn by their curiosity. That at least would make it difficult for the enemy to continue their assault. And would hopefully give Index the cover she needed to escape.

Index spared a glance at the two boys who had come to her aid. This wasn't their fight. And if she could avoid it, she wouldn't let them be dragged into her battles.

It wouldn't be long now.

"Forgive her, father. She's a very outspoken girl."

"It seems she's followed your example."

Mikoto burst into laughter at Stiyl’s dry remark.

“See? Even that delinquent-priest thinks you’re a rather poor example of a teacher!” said Mikoto between her barking laughter.

She smirked quite nastily at Guy. It was really obvious that the Level 5 was in a very good mood now.

“See? Even that delinquent-priest thinks you’re a rather poor example of a teacher!”

Guy laughed, taking the insult in characteristically good spirits.

"I think it's a good thing that you're not afraid to speak your mind. It's one of the reasons I'm so fond of you." He paid her an unexpected compliment in a tone that was only half condescending. "Now if only we could get that temper of yours under control you could pass as a genuine lady."

Stiyl cast them both a disapproving look before he turned to leave.

"Hey father." Guy called out after him. "I hope you find who you're looking for." As he watched Stiyl leave his expression shifted slightly.

"Well I'm glad you're having a good time, but if you've had enough fun at my expense I'm off." He said to Mikoto, already in the process of slipping another cigarette into his mouth as he started in the direction of the city.

He had decided to protect the nun at this spot until she finished, but when the shield of ice shattered into blocks of squarely cut, if slightly uneven, boulders, Trystan broke out into a cold sweat. The man with piercing feathers which illogically had almost as much piercing power as a small firearm, and this swordswoman, just who were they? From the openings in the ice shield that had formed now, Trystan could clearly see that the female companion's stance had changed. It was an obvious, but well-composed sheathing motion; the only conclusion he could draw was that her draw speed was simply so fast that she was able to cut in different places almost simultaneously, or that either she had some method to actually cut in all of these locations simultaneously. As he was thinking this, several small glittering lights caught his attention. In the darkened area, these small specks of light stood out particularly. He squinted as he tried to get a better look. However, as he did so, the specks faded back into the darkness once more.

...must have been seeing things...

However, before he could consider his options, he saw the female draw her blade once more. Almost immediately, the blocks of ice in front of them started splitting before shattering into sharp shrapnel. Trystan cursed under his breath before moving himself in front of the nun, protecting her from the sudden shower. Furrowing his brows, Trystan held his arms out in front of him in a defensive stance. His physical body wouldn't do much good against whatever was cutting up the ice like a hot knife through butter, but he was gambling on the hope that a full-powered defense would be enough to at least protect the nun.

Grunting, Trystan manifested all six of his hansha around himself, forming a roughly umbrella-shaped, slightly glowing, will-o-wisp-like substance. It was not a moment too soon, as the shield , Trystan put forth all his effort in blocking the oncoming barrage. The shield resisted the attack for naught but a moment, before giving way and letting the attack through. However, in that moment, Trystan caught a glimpse of a glint of something metallic slicing through his hansha. Gritting his teeth, Trystan winced as the attack cut into his skin, leaving shallow cuts. The attack had gotten through, but luckily his shield was able to take the brunt of the attack.

Ridiculous, she can attack with her sword from a distance that far away?!

On the other hand, he didn't really know how much more he could take. The timing of this attack had been at the worst possible moment. Not only was he still dehydrated, but it was also right after a session focused on training his stamina. The boy was already defending and attacking, buying them time. There was no doubt about it: Trystan would have to go on the offensive as well if he wanted to get out of this without serious injury.

The explosion caused the ground to shake, blowing away at the two intruders as well as the Crystalline Barrier that Haragi especially created to shield himself and the others behind him. However, not all went as expected after Haragi used his Esper powers. The upbeat individual had drawn out another black feather that he had thrown a distance away, just as he was about to get sucked in by the explosion.

The next moment, Haragi had glimpsed something unnatural, and hard to comprehend. What had been burned by the explosion was the very same black feather he had thrown away, and his opponent was that very same distance away to which he threw the feather towards. Teleportation? No that couldn't be possible. Multiple power usage was impossible for an average esper. Teleportation and Manipulation of Momentum of his feathers was not something related in any way. A esper's power had to have a common base to start off from, both of the abilities this person had shown was not connected.

"It bothers me that it may look like that I need help. I'd rather I take you on alone but I'm glad she's on my side, even I have to admit that it wouldn't be fun to tango with a Saint no matter how fresco it may be, although I can't say the same about you guys. You're pretty unlucky"

Saint? What was he exactly talking about?

The woman who stood idle, from the very beginning, began to show a glimpse of her true colours. She had gotten into a defensive stance with her hand on her katana she had sheathed revealed her as a swordswoman. Within the second, she had been able to travel at the very edges of the radius of his own explosion, only to catch a clear sight of the womans intimidating stare. Suddenly multiple flashes of light had created a path through the explosion, making its way towards Haragi at a hastening rate. How is that possible? She hadn't moved or even at the least budge her arm at all, while being able to cut through the explosion which is mind boggling itself. But the speed at which she had executed such a attack was nearly impossible.

"She's pretty fast.... There's no way I'll be able to keep track of her from a distance..."

It was then Haragi had realized that his pure logic was not to aid him in this battle. That was his mistake from his last fight with his previous opponent. His only option now is to keep ignorant of how the process of their attack works, while focusing on the results of the process. If he could pick out the obvious from the results, his logic will then be able to help him.

Meaning that he could only observe the attacks, and make counterattacks right afterwards. But flashes of light, that were able to cut through his explosion, was no easy thing to observe. Haragi had only knew one thing, if that attack was able to swiftly blow through his explosion, his crystal lattice barrier would be instantaneously shattered. Just what exactly was heading directly towards him?

The Level 4 had no choice now. He had to move his position fast, but the girl behind him needed to be safe at the same time. Right now he could only trust that the Judgement member would be able to protect her. His full attention was towards the incoming attack otherwise.

That was when he stepped on <Thin Air>. A series of thin crystallized OFRs had propelled the Esper diagonally upwards while the attack had already bypassed his barrier. This was another frrequent way of expending his Esper Ability, which was through travelling on <Thin Air>. Crystallized OFRs allowed him to skid on Air, similar to travelling on a skateboard but through any direction.

From the closing distance, this light had shined something metallic for a mere moment before several of the streams of this light had reached through him and cut the surface of his legs right before he barely managed to escape the barrage. It felt as though knives had cut the outer edges of his skin, which left the boy gritting his teeth trying to hold in the pain. The Judgement figure seemed to have tanked against the brunt of the attack, meaning the young nun was alright.

Blood had now started to drip down from his recieved wounds, only to irritate the esper even more. But at this point, Haragi reached 30 meters in height where he had eagle eye's view over his opponents, while standing on thin air. Triggering explosions from this view would be convenient but his distance factored in when creating OFRs to explode. But Haragi had a plan to at least weaken the woman.

This was where his assassination type ability played in. A volume of area where Air molecules ceased to exist. A specific method to reduce one's ability to fight properly through lack of breathing. Haragi was creating a <No Air Space> within the area both the woman and the upbeat individual were placed in. Through his own ability to break down millions of Air Molecules and produce only OFRs within an area, breathing would be instable. However a small amount of time was required to be able to perform such a thing. Being only 30 meters above them, it would take at least 3 seconds for his calculations to process. In the next few moments, troubled breathing would kick in providing opportunities for both Haragi and that Judgement person.

But there had been something odd about the curent state of the area. Innocent Bystanders had started to reappear for some odd reason. Was the illusion gone? If other people had noticed a battle occuring, they would surely come to watch out of curiosity. This meant creating high scale explosions wouldn't be safe and thus restricting Haragi's usage of his Esper ability.

As the certain idiotic teacher took the insults with a laugh, Mikoto felt some of her good mood being sucked away, replaced by frustration.

Why couldn’t he ever be the one left feeling mocked and insulted?

It just wasn't fair.

"I think it's a good thing that you're not afraid to speak your mind. It's one of the reasons I'm so fond of you. Now if only we could get that temper of yours under control you could pass as a genuine lady."

The bright red flush on her cheeks returned at his strange compliment, and she became unusually silent as Guy called after Stiyl.

"Hey father. I hope you find who you're looking for."

Then he slipped another cigarette in his mouth casually.

"Well I'm glad you're having a good time, but if you've had enough fun at my expense I'm off." He said to Mikoto and he started in the direction of the city.

Mikoto stared after him with an expression that made her look as if she would burst into tears any moment. But she only sniffed once, and then rudely shouted after him:

“Stop smoking, you idiot!”

Mikoto flopped onto the bench Guy had been occupying earlier, looking completely defeated with the world.

And this time, it had nothing to do with the heat from the Sun.

The first of the returning people emerged into view.

"Thank you." Index uttered to the two young boys who had come to her aid. For now her pursuers would be occupied at least long enough for her to get away. Though she hated leaveing them to fight her battles she hoped that the magicians would take after her once they realised she was getting away.

She ran in the direction of the crowds. Her body, already exhausted from the heat and her long pursuit was starting to give way but she pushed on, closing her eyes tight to shut out the pain. She barged through a couple who shot her odd looks before continuing their peaceful stroll in the direction of the heated battle.

“Stop smoking, you idiot!”

He heard her sniff back her tears and glanced back to the girl who now stood with a mortified expression before slumping onto the bench, defeated. The sight twisted a knot in his stomach. Had he gone too far? He sighed, running a hand through his hair. He wondered if he'd come to regret this...

"Hey." He called back to her. "Are you hungry?" He asked. "It's my treat..." He offered with a disarming smile. It was hard to think that the offer was anything more than an honest gesture. He felt the weight of his wallet in his pocket. The pathetic looking thing had barely seen money in this last month. Between the gambling debts he had racked up with Komoe and Aiho and the trios all too frequent drinking sessions he had little in the way of spare change. Only his part time jobs and Touko's generosity had saved him from starvation.

***
Index was running again.

Kaori was already regretting her decision not to place her own 'Kinshi Kekkai' around this area. However, the sudden nature of their encounter had prevented her from taking the required precautions. And now, because of her haste they were not only about to lose their quarry, but also bring unwanted attention upon themselves.

She watched coolly as both boys withstood her attack. One escaped into the air using some ability of his own. That was good. It meant she no longer needed to concern herself with him. Now the only thing standing between Kaori and the object of her attention was the muscular looking boy in strange clothing.

As far as she could tell he possessed some ability that had allowed him to parry her 'Nanasen'. However, be it a forcefield, some invisible weapon or even telekinesis she doubted it would be able to withstand the full brunt of a point blank attack. Still, even if he did, that didn't matter to her.

She gripped the hilt of her Nodachi. For a brief moment a peculiar stillness descended on the battlefield before another series of flashes erupted along the ground, spraying clods of earth skywards and obscuring her movement. She charged for Trystan, her sword held back in a battoujutsu stance.

With speed and force that could only be described as 'superhuman', the Saint made her attack, drawing the blade in a fraction of a second. Her feet didn't stop moving as she sprinted past Trystan, her sword replaced in its scabbard in the blink of an eye. A feint designed to occupy his mind while she reached for her true goal.

Index.

"Hey. Are you hungry? It's my treat..."

Mikoto looked up at Guy, momentarily dazzled by his smile. She blinked at him stupidly before fully registering what he had said and who he was.

Her first reaction was anger.

“What, so you could have more chances to mock me again?”

But then she truly considered his offer… Truly considered it… And decided that it wasn’t so terrible after all…

“Fine,” Mikoto said suddenly in a meeker voice, a slight blush creeping up her face as she averted her eyes. “L- Let’s go then.”

She was hungry after all, Mikoto viciously reasoned herself. And an air-conditioned place sounded nice.

“What, so you could have more chances to mock me again?"

His shoulders dropped. One way or another he'd end up paying for this.

"Fine. L- Let’s go then.”

His smile widened at her reply. No one else could make such a seemingly simple gesture look so devious and so unassuming at the same time. He waited for her to catch up before resuming his lazy stroll into the city.

A short while later they were talking idly as they made their way through the busy district's main streets.

"To tell you the truth I didn't expect to see anyone I knew today. I was hoping for a peaceful start to the Summer." He said, his gaze wandering absent mindedly across the crowds, lingering occasionally when he spotted a particularly attractive girl. "But I'm glad you turned up. I was beginning to get bored." He squinted in the harsh sun and lowered a pair of sunglasses onto his nose.

"So what do you want to eat? I don't know many places around here." He admitted.

Mikoto’s brilliant flush continued as they made their way into the city. Unknown to Guy, there was an internal battle occurring within the Tokiwadai girl.

If he’s buying me food, does that mean it’s a date?

No way! No way! That’s not it!

But he asked first and he said it was his treat~

Urgh, what? That doesn’t mean it’s a date! That’s stupid!

She almost jumped when he began to talk to her.

"To tell you the truth I didn't expect to see anyone I knew today. I was hoping for a peaceful start to the Summer. But I'm glad you turned up. I was beginning to get bored."

Her flush deepened, and she scowled to hide it. What he had said bothered her for some reason as her mind twisted it.

Oh so I’m just your source of entertainment, am I?

But Mikoto never got to say her scathing remark for what Guy asked next quickly distracted her,

"So what do you want to eat? I don't know many places around here."

“Well…” Mikoto thought for a moment, “There’s a place called Joseph’s Coffee and Restaurant where I go often with my friends… Or we could go to Seventh Mist. There are some nice places there.”

She folded her arms across her chest, eyeing the teacher testily.

"Since you're the one who offered to treat me, shouldn't you take some responsibility and make the decisions?"

"Thank you."

Huh? What was that?

Trystan turned around, confused by the words that the nun behind him had uttered to them. So she was leaving the area; that was good. They would be hopefully be able to buy a bit more time to allow her to escape these two dangerous individuals. However, the extremely regretful expression on her face told more than the words she spoke ever could. She was doing this out of concern for the two of them. She wasn't running to keep herself safe - she was running to keep them safe. What's with that? It's not as if the victors of this skirmish had been decided yet! However, as he formed this rather rebellious thought in his mind, he was suddenly struck with a wave of intense bloodlust.

He turned back sharply towards the man's female companion. As his eyes set upon her form, he shivered, for the first time since that time in the forest, feeling a cold grip over his body. This wasn't caused by fatigue. What was this that he was feeling in his bones? It was suffocating, and it was a terrible, terrible silence. A cold sweat broke over his back. The sweat that clung to his clothes felt incredibly heavy. No, it wasn't just the sweat. His entire body was heavy. The world was crumbling around him. Everything was disappearing into a mind-numbing darkness. In this state of mind, he had missed completely that people were coming back into the area, and that the surrounding darkness was slowly returning to light. What was coming? The woman's cold eyes continued to bore themselves into him. She wasn't even looking at the boy, who had somehow gone airborne, anymore.

Him.

No, she was looking through him.

The nun? No, he was sure that the her gaze was on him. And yet, she was looking through him. He was going to be cut. She was going to cut him. Cleave through him.

...Damn it all!

He wasn't going to let himself get slashed up without putting up any semblance of resistance. And those eyes. They didn't even register his existence as something that needed to be concerned with. As he steeled himself for the next attack, the ground in front of him suddenly erupted, clods chunks and entire sections of the area flying alarmingly fast towards him. In that moment, he saw her switch into an obvious stance before charging towards him; she was going to go for a quick-draw. His eyes narrowed as he concentrated, the focus causing the area around them to reappear from the crumbling narrowed vision he had earlier, and slowing to a crawl. He was going to bet his life on this gamble; he wasn't going to let her pass so easily.

In the hands of a master, once the blade was out, there wasn't much that anyone could do to dodge but to simply not be there when the strike came out. However, if one could prevent that blade from coming out to begin with, then it was another matter entirely. It was part of the reason why the sword was held from behind when preparing to perform such a strike to begin with. However, at this distance, it didn't matter where she held the blade - he would be able to seal her movements! Materializing two hansha over the hilt of her sword, Trystan prepared himself to take advantage of the opening that would inevitably appear when her stance was broken from a failed draw.

At least, that had been the plan. As he waited and waited, something felt wrong. What was going on? How come the opening never came? Trystan felt an indescribable chill as he felt her simply ripping through the two hansha he had set on her sword with brute force. The sword's edge flashed from its scabbard, the draw coming out as smoothly as if nothing had ever impeded it in the first place. Even with the slowed perception, all of a sudden, she was already in his face. This was it. He, Yamato Trystan, would be slain here. There would be no regrets and no grudges - a greater Justice had simply overtaken his own. However, what was this frustration that he felt? He brought his hands up and manifested all of his hansha onto them, reinforcing their toughness and stiffened his body. Even if he was going to be cut, he wasn't going to allow himself to be torn apart easily. No, this wasn't what was bothering him.

Just what was this frustration that he was feeling?

It was definitely that thirsty nun. He, a man who prided himself on his physical prowess, had grown so conceited as to think that with his current level of skill, he could manage to protect someone. The last time he had been driven into a corner, he had resorted to the type of combat that would make his Master scoff. This time, he had been crushed like the useless trash he was. Ah, this was frustrating. Why couldn't he even protect a single nun from her enemies. Why couldn't he protect this one innocent girl who would go so far as to use herself as bait to keep her enemies from attacking other people?

Shit. Why must my Justice be so weak? Shitshit Shit!

His brows furrowed into an angry, frustrated expression as the blade finally neared his arms. This was it - it was all going to end here.

At least, that had been his expectation. The slash never came. Instead, the sword was sheathed as suddenly as it had been drawn. The man's female companion simply dashed by him, her eyes fixed only on the nun. He'd been had. Spectacularly had. Those eyes were never looking through him because she was going to cut him. They had simply never been focused on him to begin with. Her goal all this time had been that nun. The speed that she was going at was one which he would never have been able to catch up with. He twisted his torso around in an attempt to keep up with her with his eyes. Her bounds were superhumanly fast, but nowhere near either the speed of light or the speed at which a single, simple thought would travel through the mind.

Stop!

The hansha that had been on his hands instantly re-manifested near her ankles. The highly general nature of the calculations used to manifest them caused the six to continuously appear in various different locations, constantly switching coordinates after a single attempt at trapping was made but missed; if any one of them successfully made contact around the ankle, the other five would instantly and simultaneously converge onto the same coordinates, applying their full strength. Unwittingly, the simple nature of the command and the current single-track state of mind he was in had made them nigh-invisible once more. It was his last-ditch effort to keep her in the area. If this still failed, then this was simply the limit of his Justice.

Vanni clicked his teeth as people started to return to the battlefield. This place had no longer become an area that one would ignore subconsciously. At the next moment, the nun had dashed off. So this was it, she would use these people, knowing that they couldn't continue the battle with them around.

It's true that they had been limited when it came to offense, but the fight wasn't over yet. Vanni mentally smirked as he noticed Kanzaki had already made her move. It was obvious that she would go for the Index, and with her speed she didn't have to worry about the young man in red stopping her.

Actually before he could finish that thought, she had already passed him. The Magician had hardly seen her start to move. Well as a Saint she could easily catch that nun, the only thing left to do was hold off these two Espers.

The one in the air wouldn't be a problem, he couldn't attack with these people around and there's definitely attention directed at him since he's in the air. Not only that but the damage that he had created from the explosion had alot of eyes on it. Anti-Skill or Judgment will probably be here soon

As the street started to become crowded, Vanni walked aimless before releasing 10 feathers from his palms. Because his spell created a link between the color he wore and the color of the feathers, he was able to mentally control the feathers.

He knows that they haven't seen him control the feathers, only throw them. As such, he would use that fact as a blind spot. The Esper with black hair would be coming down soon. Vanni could judge the general area of where he would land, sending 5 feathers to that position, hiding amongst the crowd easily.

Once that guy landed, he would be stabbed and cut apart by the feathers that had been empowered his bis Spirit of Wrath.

The same for the more muscular Esper. The other 5 feathers would be coming to attack him aswell, their position hard to be seen because of the people around. Speaking of them, they wouldn't such an attempt since the weapons were simply feathers, easily overlooked.

<No Air Space>

An enclosed area comprising of only OFR molecules. To be able to create such a abnormal field, the breakdown of Air Molecules had to take place. If that had occurred, the method of consuming air would be utterly hopeless. Having the height of thirty meters above his opponents, three seconds were needed to cause the break down of hundreds of thousands of Air Molecules within a thirty meter radius from his position. Anyone within this radius would not be able to breath in air, altering their concentration in battle.

During these 3 seconds, the swordswoman had directly charged at the Judgement member. This wouldn't end well for that Judgement member if that woman manages to repeat her previous attack once more. Having seen him nearly exhausted from barely managing to tank through her last attack, that muscular individual wouldn't be able to survive a direct hit from her weapon. Haragi had to do something, but the creation of his <No Air Space> would be his trump card if he set his priorities straight.


There was something amiss though. The young nun's presence had vanished. But looking closer, that girl had chose to run through the curious crowds of people watching the ongoing battle. Was she planning on running away? It would have been wise from the start but why now? Was her intentions of drawing these intruders away from the two? Questions about her actions had filled his mind, though Haragi had to focus on creating his space.

If he could expend some of his Personal Reality towards shielding the Judgement member, he have to be able to create a variable thickness of a crystallized layer that would absorb whatever incoming attack the woman had planned. However there would not be enough time create such a barrier in time. The Level 4 clenched his teeth as he was about to break focus of the creation of his <No Air Space> only to provide aid for that Judgement member, but the woman had not even attempted to make an attack as she passed through him.

As odd as it was, Haragi didn't take time to think about why this happened, and returned to processing his calculations. This Judgement member had the opportunity to attack her. But even that would be unnecessary due to the Level 4's completion of his processed calculations. Haragi had redirected his attention towards his other enemy, attempting to hide within the crowd of people.

"Pathetic..."

As he travelled directly above him with his calculations complete, <No Air Space> was created around Vanni's general area. An area completely filled with nothing but OFRs along with each OFR's position already implanted within Haragi's brain. This had meant the constraint of distance vs time was gone. As long as each OFR was already known, there was no problem of manipulating their stability within the seconds. In addition to that, a clean layer of Crystallized OFR's were forming on the outer skirts of the radius of the space. A dome-like structure was created engulfing only Haragi and Vanni inside, and the reasoning was to separate the crowd of people from their fight. This also had meant with the woman away from her companion, originally intending to capture her inside as well, the Level 4 trusted the Judgement member to stall the woman for the time being.

The 3 minute timer had begun. Haragi had been able to hold his breath for that time, and function normally until then. Right now, his original opponent would be at a disadvantage with the lack of air in the area. Since Haragi is experienced operating normally within a space with non-existent Air molecules, he would be at the advantage. With this, Haragi's intention was to disable his opponent from inside out just like his opponent from his last assignment. In order to due that, close quarters combat was required.

His mind shouted,

"3 minutes... I'll knock him unconscious before that times up..."

Standing on a thin sheet of crystallized OFRs 30 meters above ground, Haragi narrowed his eyes towards his target below and rapidly charged directly towards him. Skidding on thin 'ice', continuously forming a pathway towards his target, Haragi raised his right arm to the side about to produce what he needed to aid him. An object was taking shape while gripped tightly onto it by his hand. Just as Haragi had approached near his testy opponent, the aforementioned object took the form of a sharp sword made completely out of an structured array of crystal lattice OFRs. With his new sword in hand, the first strike was made as the crystalline blade had lunged towards his opponent's chest.

Index continued to weave through the ever thickening crowds that filled the park before finally making it to the streets beyond. She looked back, praying that the two boys had managed to get to safety. Behind her she could see the sword wielding woman in hot pursuit.

So she pressed on despite all the pain that enveloped her body. Diving into the thick of the crowd, Index kept low and kept moving, soon becoming lost in the shifting sea of bodies.

Some time later and Index was all but certain she'd managed to evade her pursuers once again. But the encounters were getting more numerous and far closer than she'd like. They were catching up to her too quickly. It was almost as if they'd been playing a game with her up until now and had only just decided to show their true strength.

They must be getting desperate, she thought, glancing back over her shoulder as she ran. She turned back just in time to see the young man, bumping into him and falling backwards onto her rear.

"Ow..." Index mumbled to herself, wincing. She looked up at the boy and the girl next to him, blinking with surprise.

Kaori was already well past Trystan and had disregarded him completely when she felt something trap her ankle. She nearly tripped, catching herself by lunging into a long stance and instinctively the swordswoman unsheathed her blade, striking out behind her at whatever it was that held her in place. But her leg didn't budge. In fact there was nothing for her blade to cut.

She watched with visible dismay as the young girl outpaced her, vanishing into the crowds like a grain of sand in a desert.

***

“Well… There’s a place called Joseph’s Coffee and Restaurant where I go often with my friends… Or we could go to Seventh Mist. There are some nice places there. Since you're the one who offered to treat me, shouldn't you take some responsibility and make the decisions?"

Guy shrugged.

"OK. If you're sure. I just wasn't sure if my choices would meet your standards." He clicked his fingers suddenly with a look of realisation. "Wait. I know just the place." He looked rather pleased with himself.

Bump.

He felt something hit him in the stomach, bouncing off softly and he looked down at the ground where a young girl around Mikoto's age sat, stunned.

"Umm..." Guy lifted his sunglasses, looking down at the peculiarly dressed girl who looked to be wearing some sort of halloween costume made of bed sheets and safety pins. "Are you OK?" He offered, shooting Mikoto a bemused look as if to say 'I'm as confused as you'. He extended his hand to Index.

"OK. If you're sure. I just wasn't sure if my choices would meet your standards. Wait. I know just the place."

“Surely, your standards couldn’t be that bad.” Mikoto raised an eyebrow, an amused glint entering her eyes.

Suddenly, someone bumped into the teacher, bouncing off and falling to the ground in a heap of white. Mikoto stared at the girl, noticing the weird clothing made of white sheets held chaotically together by safety pins.

What was with everyone wearing weird costumes today? There must be some show going on nearby after all…

"Umm... Are you OK?" Guy offered, shooting Mikoto a bemused look which she also returned.

As he extended his hand to the fallen girl, Mikoto watched on curiously, wondering who the strange person was.

"OK. If you're sure. I just wasn't sure if my choices would meet your standards. Wait. I know just the place."

“Surely, your standards couldn’t be that bad.” Mikoto raised an eyebrow, an amused glint entering her eyes.

Suddenly, someone bumped into the teacher, bouncing off and falling to the ground in a heap of white. Mikoto stared at the girl, noticing the weird clothing made of white sheets held chaotically together by safety pins.

What was with everyone wearing weird costumes today? There must be some show going on nearby after all…

"Umm... Are you OK?" Guy offered, shooting Mikoto a bemused look which she also returned.

As he extended his hand to the fallen girl, Mikoto watched on curiously, wondering who the strange person was.

A short while later and the three sat in a small restaurant facing the street. It looked to be family run, judging by the way the staff spoke. The waitress, a short girl with a long ponytail of wavy brown hair smiled happily as she approached them holding menus.

"Good morning, Guy-kun." She chirped, obviously familiar with the boy. "Would you like the usual?"

"Not today." He shook his head. With two more mouths to feed he doubted he'd be able to afford his usual without taking out a loan. The waitress nodded, handing menus to the two girls at the table.

That was right. Two mouths to feed. He eyed the silver haired girl sat across from him. She had claimed her name was Index and that she was on the run from someone, but failed to mention exactly who or why.

That had only made him more nervous.

He had humoured her for some reason, perhaps convinced that the girl was suffering from some sort of delirium brought about by heat stroke. Though hadn't that priest earlier described this exact girl?

All in all the atmosphere at the table was somewhat surreal. A little voice in the back of Guy's head urged him to search for hidden cameras. How else could he explain the insane coincidence of meeting that priest and then, mere moments later running into the very person that same priest had been searching for? It had to be some sort of prank.

The rapid turning motion, coupled with the fatigue in his body, had caused him to lose his balance and fall over. Unwittingly, this chance action had saved him from being pierced by the dagger-like feathers from behind, causing them to miss their intended target. Two had scratched him, one dangerously close to the artery on his neck and the other on the inner side of his upper arm. However, in his current hazy state of mind, none of this even registered. All he had left now was the blurry image of the woman, waving her sword around trying to cut the hansha that were restraining her. A rather unfitting, gloating smile came slowly to his lips as he saw the sword cut through the air.

Ha! Take that!

But was that enough?

The situation dawned upon him gradually in his still-altered, adrenaline-fueled sense of time. This was the opening that he had been waiting for that entire time. She had carelessly left herself open. That impenetrable aura was gone. Her sword was awkwardly placed from an empty cut, and she was restrained. It was entirely possible; he could do this. But his body was heavy, so heavy. The world was dimming around him. There were people around. Had there always been so many people around them while they had been fighting? Was anyone hurt? His head hurt too. His thoughts were wandering. What could he do in this situation? He couldn't move, his consciousness was fading out. Once he passed out, the restraints on her would be gone as well; she'd be free to pursue that nun again. Where was she now? He couldn't see her, so she probably already ran a fair way's off. Good on her. His Justice wasn't so weak after all. However, this single thought jolted him back to mental clarity.

Was this really all his Justice amounted to? A desperate cling before his inevitable fall?

No, he had to pay back the favor of the attacks he had taken from her earlier. He would at least land a critical hit on her before he completely passed out. This was the least he could do as a pitiful weakling who had conceitedly promised to protect a girl. As he shakily propped himself back up on one knee, a glint of furious concentration came to his eyes. He knew that the clarity he felt now was merely a psychological trickery; he had spent almost all of his remaining energy stopping her to begin with. However, there was enough left in him for one last attack.

Massages generally consist of controlled rubbing and kneading of the target muscles. However, it wasn't enough to rub and knead them any which way; to achieve maximal effect, one must apply the massage according to the natural lines and directions the muscles were already aligned in. However, in the same vein, by going against these natural directions, it was possible to cause great harm to the musculature. It wasn't possible for him to outright rip anything at this distance, but the lunging position she was in at the moment had already perfectly stretched out the muscle he was aiming for. Furthermore, if the attempt succeeded, her mobility would be severely hindered, if not outright physiologically making one leg unable to be used to walk until it got treated. A major hospital in the City would probably be able to heal it soon enough, but any moment gained was another moment the nun could be heading somewhere safer.

De-activating two of the hansha that were currently ensnaring the woman's foot, Trystan reformed them, targeting the hamstring of the stretched out hind leg. Placing the hansha on opposite ends, he pushed them down towards each other as hard as he could, attempting to trap the muscle in between the two, and, for the lack of a better term, made a scrubbing motion while twisting and pulling outwards.

Mikoto flicked through the menu, a bored expression persisting on her face. Her brown eyes occasionally flickered towards the strange girl sitting next to her who was eagerly reading the menu. She was drooling slightly at a picture of a steak, her green eyes wide and keen. Mikoto quickly looked away again, feeling a little disgusted.

The unexpected addition annoyed her, although the level 5 could not quite put a finger on why. Why the heck had Guy invited the weirdo along? It was obvious he didn’t know who she was either, and the girl looked like a complete foreigner. She said she was on the run as well; didn’t that make her suspicious? And just what kind of name was “Index”?

Mikoto flicked a page, hardly seeing any of the words or the pictures.

The situation was just ridiculous.

The awkward silence that only continued to grow in the space between them made Mikoto feel restless and fidgety. Another sidelong look revealed Index staring goggle eyed at a picture of some Grilled Pork Chops. The silver-haired girl wiped off some drool with the tattered sleeves of her bizarre costume and gulped furiously. Her green eyes never left the picture.

Mikoto decided she had had enough.

The Electromaster slammed down the menu with more force than necessary, causing some people nearby to look her way. Then with an aggressive edge to her tone, she declared loudly,

“I’m ready to order.”

The waitress hurriedly came, perhaps noticing the irritated glint in Mikoto’s eyes.

“I would like the Gourmet Salmon Panini please and a large Apple-Berry Cider.”

It did not occur to the Tokiwadai girl to even glance at the price of what she had just ordered.

The waitress quickly wrote it down, turning to Index and Guy with a smile.

"Are you also ready to order?"

"Are you also ready to order?"

Index looked over to Mikoto, frowning at the obvious hostility the girl projected.

"I'll have the 10oz Sirloin steak." The nun said immediately. "And the Grilled pork chops." She continued to reel off several menu items. "And a glass of water." She finished before sitting up in her seat. She was a small girl in most ways, with a slim figure that made Mikoto look voluptuous in comparison.

"Bless you for helping me." She said demurely to Guy, closing her eyes with her hands clasped as though offering a prayer. "It's been so long since I've had a proper meal." She looked serene and pure, the very model of a woman of the cloth. "This city is full of such kind people." She shot a sly glance over at Mikoto. "Well, most of them, anyway."

For the briefest of moments Kaori had allowed herself to be distracted. But now she felt the force seizing her shift and move as it prepared to shred her leg apart. But Kaori was no ordinary human. Her body was one that could only be called superhuman, with reactions to match.

Without hesitation she switched her grip on the nodachi and let loose with another 'invisible strike'. The dazzling spark of her wires sheared through the air towards Trystan's neck in a killing strike. Kaori would not let him stand in her way this close to her goal. She couldn't let him stand in her way. She made the choice in an instant. A calculated decision based on what little she knew of her opponent.

Either he would be forced to redirect whatever power he was using to protect himself, or he would die.

One way or another the attack would free her to pursue Index, who had already been lost from sight.

***
“I’m ready to order. I would like the Gourmet Salmon Panini please and a large Apple-Berry Cider.”

Guy looked on wearing a fractured smile as he tried to put on a brave face. But that was one of the most expensive items on the menu.

"Are you also ready to order?"

"I'll have the 10oz Sirloin steak. And the Grilled pork chops."

His resolve was faltering, the smile cracking as Guy twitched uncomfortably.

'I'll be bankrupt', he thought.

"And a glass of water."

'At least that' s a small mercy.'

"On second thought, I'll have my usual." He was already going to be spending this much. Why fight it? "And a glass of scotch." He added unashamedly.

"Bless you for helping me. It's been so long since I've had a proper meal. This city is full of such kind people. Well, most of them, anyway."

"It's OK. Really. I mean, I couldn't just leave you there." He looked aside. The first words out of the girl's mouth had been how hungry she was feeling. Once again it seemed his altruistic side had gotten the better of him. He had never been able to resist a crying girl. "After all, you looked like you needed help."

Some would have called him a fool for always playing the hero. But in the end it all came down to one thing.

"Everyone wants to be saved sometime, right?" It was an overly simple rationalisation, but he still believed it was true.

The young Esper landed closer to Vanni than he thought, not only that but he had been surrounded in some sort of sphere that separated himself and the Esper away from the bystanders. The intention was obvious to have a close-quarters battle that will decide this quickly.

The dark-haired boy before the Magician had formed some sort of sharp clear weapon in his hand. It was of course, a blade. Maybe this guy thought Vanni was defenseless in this range of battle.

But he was wrong, Vanni wasn't the best but he wasn't bad at it either. Two feathers came out, each between the slits of his fingers. Like a mantra, he said to himself

Spirit of Gluttony

Spirit of Wrath

The spell was activated, evil spirits created by Vanni had possessed feathers and a reaction came out of it. The feathers not only became sharper but also grew in size. With some extra mental effort the feathers grew mostly in length instead on width, to the height of his own arms.

Vanni pushed off the asphalt, sending himself flying after the enemy. A clash happened, Vanni pulled his arm back and swung his weapons diagonally, colliding with with the sword that seemed to be crystal. Because of this, one of his feathers had snapped in half, not being able to withstand the crystal-like weapon, while the other feather cracked. The collision had caused Vanni to be pushed back, like a ball bouncing off a wall

' Hmm, I want to keep this going but I'm still(regretfully) on a mission here. Not only that but the chance of me being found out is dangerous because of the many people here. It's time to bring an end to this. But first I need to think of a spell..................................................................yeah that'll work'

He spoke to himself as he came up with a simple spell in mind.

Like before, he had removed two black feathers out of the darkness of his fist. He nonchalantly tossed the feather towards his opponent.

"Here, catch. Don't worry it's not a trap"

After that

Spirit of Envy

A spirit had possessed one of the feathers on the outside. Immediately after, Vanni vanished and reappeared near the more muscular Esper outside, replacing the feather with himself and vice-verse. His appearance could easily been seen as a teleportation Esper from the predestination point of view After taking a few steps away from the Esper in red, he tossed the other feather towards him.

"Nothing wrong with it. Just take it."

Right away, he made another feather and tossed it towards Kanzaki so she could join in if she wanted. After everything was set, Vanni established the new but simple spell in his mind.

Many negative thoughts crossed throughout Vanni's mind, while also thinking of the feathers he had given to the other members in this battle. With the black shirt he wore, he mentally established himself as Lucifer.

Then Vanni imagined a line connected to himself and the many dark thoughts that he created in his mind. Like that the spell was created

"Can everyone hear me?"

He spoke mentally to the people that held the black feathers.
This spell had been created out of the common idea that darkness is in everyone's mind. Being also a symbol of darkness, that meant Lucifer resided in everyone's minds which connected everyone in some form of way.

The feathers were like cellphones, while the darkness in their minds could be considered the reception.

"All right you two Esper boys that tried to play hero, listen up. This place is becoming more and more populated so it's that we can't continue this skirmish. Big guy, I can tell you're a Judgment member but I'm sure you know that you've crossed into some new territory and that's exactly it. Although it's true that this is Academy City, this incident is our world, not yours. Since you don't want to mind your own business, I'll tell you now what's going on behind backs....it could be said as....a situation where war is very likely between two opposing sides. There are two sides in this world,

One is the Science Side, the side you reside in..

The other..is the Magic Side, the one me and that young lady over there belong to.

By Magic, YES, I mean actual Magic, like the kind you see in anime and RPGs, but real Magic isn't so simple. Like how your Esper abilities work through Science, our Magic work through Religion. Most of the Magic Side happen to be religious, unlike you scientific atheist. So you see, our powers work by different rules.

The Magic Side isn't so connected so much like the Science Side. We have many organizations and sectors, but the sector that me and her belongs to happens to be a certain Christian Church that I won't be giving the name of. That girl is a member of our sector, she belongs to us. She is the 'Index Librorum Prohibitorum', or shortened as 'Index'. She's a valuable treasure to not just the Church but all of the Magic Side! She's very dangerous and many dangerous people want her to make them even more powerful, so we have to recapture her. However, if we don't capture her, things will get terrible.

Not only is somthing so powerful out on the loss but it's being held by the enemy? Do you know what that means? Do you know what will happen because you two decided to interfere with our side?

War

If The Church doesn't get what they want, things will break out into a war. Many tragedies and deaths will happen, and it'll be all because of you two

Knowing the politics between The Church and Academy City, I'm sure the higher-ups know about our objective.

So now that you understand, back off Espers. This is a problem for us Magicians. Stay out of our way and it'll be very fresco for everybody. Make no mistake, it's not like I felt I was pushed into a corner"

Vanni finished, expecting them to back down. Who the hell would even continue to fight after hearing?

Mikoto stared at Index disbelievingly as the nun ran a list of dishes. Could that little midget seriously eat all that? Her eyebrows twitched. The green-eyed midget was doing a terrible job of pretending to be a nun if she was this greedy…

"Bless you for helping me." The silver-haired girl turned to Guy. Mikoto felt her irritation grow at being completely ignored by this stranger who just randomly blew into their meal.

"It's been so long since I've had a proper meal. This city is full of such kind people."

A vein in Mikoto’s head throbbed as the girl shot a sly glanced towards her direction. “Well, most of them, anyway.”

What the hell was her problem?!

Her impending explosion was stopped by Guy’s quick reply.

"It's OK. Really. I mean, I couldn't just leave you there. After all, you looked like you needed help. Everyone wants to be saved sometime, right?"

“He has a hero complex,” Mikoto drawled loudly, her voice cutting through Guy’s sincere speech in a crude manner. She felt a strange malicious desire to torture Guy as much as possible in front of this pretend-to-be-a-nun girl. She cupped her chin with a hand, leaning on the table as if the subject at hand bored her endlessly.

“The idiot also has problems minding his own business.”