Kamijou Touma used to think that with his misfortune the greatest moments of the day were 10 seconds after waking up and 10 seconds before falling asleep. Those moments were times when mind was not bothered with the misfortune surrounding him. However, even those 20 seconds were seemingly gone after meeting Index and getting dragged into whole new world of craziness. Why was that? Because more often than not he already woke up to some trouble.
He awoke in bed. That in itself was amazing. He now had his own bedroom and bed again. Although normally he was already accustomed to living in the bathroom and sleeping in the tub, finding himself in the normal bed again showed just as much his back enjoyed it. Yesterday, it was not long before he fell asleep.
However, it was not the feeling under him that bothered him. His ear was getting hotter and colder in regular intervals. He also detected a sound of soft breathing and nice smell of shampoo.
You would think Touma try to deny reality? You would be correct. However, he already experienced it a few times to know what was happening.
Indeed, when he opened his eyes, he saw two sleeping forms under his blanket. Rikuri was laying parallel to him while embracing him with her arms. Meanwhile Amazora was laying on his belly starfish style, with her arms at each side of his torso. Fortunately for his terrified soul, they were both fully clothed.
Rikuri's warm breath tickled his ear, and Amazora was letting out a strange sound, something between snoring and purring. To many, this would be a favourable situation. But Touma was sweating and shivering.
'How could this happen? If Kaibi-san sees this, I am dead!'
He tried to gently untangle himself. However, Rikuri had another idea as she mumbled something in her sleep, pulled him closer, and pressed his head into her chest.
Touma felt his surrounded by Rikuri's smell, which was like lavender mixed with something sharper, that he didn't recognize. Maybe it was some poison ingredient. He felt incredibly right, surrounded by feeling of warmth, which was firm but also springy and soft at the same time. In rather surreal moment, he remembered a fragment of Komoe sensei's lecture:
"Remember, the common weakness of every esper is oxygen deprivation. Even the strongest espers need oxygen to perform calculations, so removing all oxygen from the area..."
Yes, Kamijou experienced heaven on earth in ways he never thought possible with his bad luck, however it will soon end as he discovered exactly what Komoe lectured about. As fantastic and out of this world as Rikuri's bust was, it didn't provide any opening for air. He needed to breath and it was becoming more and more urgent.
Fortunately (or unfortunately, as it ended the divine moment) his breath caused Rikuri to chuckle from ticklish sensation and release him enough for him to take a breath. He looked at her face. She seemed like she was having a very pleasant dream. Well, good for her.
Rikuri looked even more beautiful up close. Touma was not the most extreme playboy or anything, but was still a teenage boy, and felt his body responded accordingly. He looked down in terror. He could not allow Amazora to be woken up with this natural reaction of healthy young boy. He would definitely traumatize her for life.
'Think of something. Something off putting... like... High Priest in the revealing swimsuit!'
The effect was immediate, almost too strong, as he nearly gagged.
'I can't wait any longer. I need to save me life here!'
Slowly but steadily, he untangled himself from Rikuri's grasp, and moved to trying to do something with Amazora. However, little girl was persistently snuggling into his stomach.
"Ghihihi nii-chwaaan... you are so cool... maybe I will not shoot you with my baby..."
"What kind of dream do you even have..." he tried to gently pulled her head away, in hope she will let go. But, to his surprise, the girl blushed slightly, and smiled cutely, tightening her grasp even more.
"D-Do not touch... we are in public... b-but if you really want... I will feed you some oysters as a reward... if I don't eat them... fir...shht..."
After some thought, Touma gently tickled girls hands, bending his arms behind his back. This finally did the trick, as gattling gun girl fell near her older sister.
Kamijou made few deep breaths and grinned like a mad man.
"I did it... I did it! I..."
A slender arm shot from under the blanket. Touma blinked as his mouth went agape.
"E-Eh?!"
"Gohhh back... ish cold... boyyy..." Rikuri's muffled voice came, as she mumbled sleepily, some of her luscious blond hair sticking to her face.
Was she still asleep? For someone not suited to physical combat, the oldest Gokusai could be really immovable when she was dragging him under covers again.
He would not be deterred. He resisted, pulled and...
There was a knocking on the door, and it made Touma lose his bearings, as he fell onto the bed again.
"Oi, have you seen my..." Kaibi opened the door slightly, and went silent afterwards, as she took in sight of Touma laying over both of her sisters. As mentioned before, both were fortunately fully clothed. But Touma knew it would not be enough...
"Kaibi-san..."
Girl in the dress looked at him with blank icy stare, and slowly reached under her clothes.
"Please, I can really give you an explanation... wait, don't be hasty..."
A gun shone in Kaibi's hand. The aim was suspiciously low...
"KAIBI-SAN, W-WAIT!..."
A shot was heard.
(HALF AN HOUR LATER)
Touma was slowly one walking, dragging one leg after the other.
"Damn her..." he muttered.
It turned out that the gun shot blanks. Or rather, rubber projectiles. But given that the aim was between legs, it took over 30 minutes for him to recover, and even after that, the pain was very intense.
In the meanwhile, Rikuri and Amazora fully woke up and were shameless enough to look confused. It turned out that Amazora "lost her way" to the toilet and Rikuri "sleepwalked". Well, maybe so, but did it still have to hurt so much?
Well, Kaibi gave a satisfied smirk and left the room without tormenting him further, so he guessed it was over.
Finally, he got to the breakfast table. Rikuri was occupied styling Amazora's hair, while Kaibi was checking something on her phone.
This time, meal was prepared without any fanfare and they all sat down to eat. It was relatively peaceful. Except...
"Rikuri nee-san, I already punished him, but I can't be unjust here. It's not like you. Were you and Amazora really asleep?" Kaibi sighed, giving her siblings questioning glare.
Amazora made one of her terrible attempts at whistling, while gorgeous oldest sibling put a finger to her lips.
"No comment. Besides, did you really have to shoot this rubber bullet in THAT place? I would like it to work... for my and Kamijou-san's children, that is."
Touma spat out nearly all of hot milk he was consuming, and entered a violent coughing fit. Kaibi became pale, but Rikuri quickly waved her hand.
"Kidding, kidding. Also, I know you would like to claim the first time, so of course I wouldn't make it a problem for you"
Now it was Kaibi's time to choke on her salad.
"I REFUSE FOR YOU TO MAKE THAT ASSOCIATION BETWEEN US!"
Amazora was too engrossed in her breakfast to engage in the discussion. However, she became much more active while it was time to go out into their daily routine. Touma soon understood why.
Apparently, while not on the missions and dark side affairs, each of the 3 Gokusai sisters had their own schedule to follow. Amazora attended last years of primary school, Kaibi first year of high school, while Rikuri tried her strength in both art college and side job in chemical lab. Naturally, Touma also had school to attend to, so each of the 4 parted ways. Touma, Kaibi, and Rikuri all had the electronic keys to the flat, while Amazora was not given one. This made smaller girl go into a little bit of a fit, until Touma offered to walk her to bus stop. Kaibi and Rikuri glanced at each other, but allowed it without a word, as it was probably slightly convenient for them. And so, Touma and Amazora parted ways with elder Gokusai siblings, planning to met them in the evening.
Just like that, Touma was on his way with cheerfully walking Amazora. Honestly, he did not mind it that much. In fact he was happy to help. That being said, he did not feel truly comfortable. On one hand, he was genuinely happy that he could walk Amazora to the bus. It seemed that their schools, despite being on different levels of education, were relatively nearby, yet Amazora's school provided bus for preschoolers to arrive safely to the destination.
But on the other hand, Touma did not really have any experience with smaller kids. Not that it was that big of a deal, he had faith that they will be able to get along. But the memory of his younger cousin, Otohime, was destroyed alongside all the others from his previous life, and vast majority of younger girls he got to know weren't exactly normal girls.
"Look onii-chan, what a pretty bird." Amazora pointed to the other end of the street. Touma smiled at her, but the follow up nearly made him double over "It is in a perfect angle for a great and straight shot"
To think about it, there was almost nothing normal in Amazora either.
Touma furrowed his brow. No, that did not matter at all. Deep inside his soul, he knew that previous Kamijou Touma encountered Amazora and her sisters. This connection was not deep, but he did not want to fully discard it. He wanted to truly get to know those sisters, to be the judge of his own bonds, and to save them if necessary. He wanted to know and experience all the connections he lost before.
Then Touma glimpsed a sight of a bus stop. He turned to Amazora.
"Looks like the stop is right there. You will manage from-"
He felt the tugging from blond girl.
"Don't go..." she muttered quietly.
Touma sighed and scratched his head.
"You know, I have school too..."
"Uugh..."
"No. No puppy eyes. No..."
"UUUUGH..."
"Okay, okay, fine! I will-"
"ONII-CHAN, THE BUS!" Amazora screamed. Touma turned around, only to see a school bus pass by the stop.
"HUH? WHAT THE HELL? We are at the bus stop!"
"It's on demand" Amazora decided to enlighten him.
"How the hell was I supposed to know that?!"
"I tried to get you to notice the whole time!"
Touma and Amazora looked at each other eye to eye, or at least the closest they could manage given their height difference.
"So all those noises were not to get me to stay, but to alert me about the bus?"
"Well, I was sure that onii-chan would stay with me..." Amazora batted her eyes, while "massaging herself" in a swaying motion "who would deny the stay with such a cute lay-... ita!
Touma performed a slight karate-chop on Amazora's small blond hair and she winced in pain.
"You are definitely a sister of those two. I am not planning to have Anti-Skill knocking on my door. Your future boyfriend will have a lot to take care of"
He looked at the bus, fading in the distance. Then he checked the time and gritted his teeth.
"Hey, there isn't another one before the school starts, right?"
"N-No..."
"Then hop on and hold on tight!" Touma picked her up in one swift motion and started running, following the bus's track..
"What... whaaaaa?!" Amazora squealed as she grabbed Touma tightly as he quickened his pace "Y-You can't catch him!"
"Don't underestimate... someone... who was chased in this city... for nearly 10 years... day after day..." Touma did not hold memories to confirm that fact, but with his luck, he was certain that was the case "Besides, I don't need to catch it, merely follow it. If we arrive in roughly similar time, you won't be late"
"Onii-chan you are craaaaazy..." Amazora's voice was trembling from the speed at which Touma was running.
Touma smirked slightly.
"I usually hear about... being reckless... but that's also not new..."
"But" Amazora's small lips formed a happy grin, different from the one she had while using her weapon" in an awesome way!"
(SOME TIME LATER...)
They made it. Barely, yet Touma managed to arrive at gates of Amazora's school not so long after the bus. Catching his breath, he lowered the girl down and examined her closely.
"Okay, you seem to have everything. Oh, you have bits of sauce on your mouth. And remember to wash your hands before eating the bento!"
"Right, right! I am not a child anymore" Amazora responded, puffing her cheeks, and stepping through the school gates. She looked rather cute in the school uniform. No one would suspect this girl to be a cold blooded gattling gun killer.
Touma thought he noticed a bit of hesitation in her steps as she approached the building and people in front of it. Amazora turned around, doing a wink that seemed rather comical, given her age
"See ya around in the afternoon!"
"Yeah. Take care" Touma waved to her as she entered the school. He still had some bad feeling about the way Amazora walked just now. It was miniscule change, but it was there. He could not place it, but it bothered him for some reason.
However, this all dissipated into panic and frenzy when he checked the time on the phone.
"Oh crap! I am going to be late now. Fukou da!" he yelled as he had to run yet again, this time in the direction of a Certain High School.
Later hours were spent in a rather regular pattern. He arrived to the school covered in sweat, where he was greeted by his friends Tsuchimikado and Aogami Pierce. Aogami bluntly accused him of that his shirt smelled of a girl (how deep exactly did his perversion run for him to identify girl type by the smell?) and that he was fooling around before school while they, regular mortals, could only dream of it. Touma of course denied every accusation, and it escalated into shouting match. Tsuchimikado stated that unless Touma was with maid or a sister, it was not worth arguing. That actually riled both Touma and Aogami up, and it became their regular discussion of "Dorm Manager Onee-Sans vs Sister + Maids vs Every Possible Perversion". Finally, Aogami deduced (again, how?) that Touma was in fact with little sister- type, to which Tsuchimikado got extremely paranoid that it was Maika, and it all ended up in a giant fistfight.
Of course, it ended in a predictable fashion, as swift and powerful punches of their busty classmate Fukiyose knocked the argument out of their heads. From then on, classes resumed in a rather peaceful way, aside from their little yet not so young teacher Tsukuyomi Komoe screaming in horror when she found all of them laying on the floor.
He could not focus though. Touma really appreciated effort Komoe put into education so he was not actively tuning her out. It was just he found himself bored during classroom about AIM development and strengthening. Unlike all the other students in the city, even other level 0s, Touma's Imagine Breaker made him have no AIM field, and in consequence negated all the other abilities had could potentially develop. So in the end, all the knowledge about how to develop other abilities was pretty pointless, maybe outside of exploiting enemy's weaknesses in combat.
Finally, the lunchtime arrived. And right on cue, new problem manifested itself.
'This... this isn't my bento. It's the one I made for Amazora' Touma lowered his head in frustration ' Really? A bento swap? It's like some cheap cliché. I don't know how did even happened. But that's not important here. I can eat this one, but I know the type those girls are. She probably won't touch things she doesn't like and ends up eating nothing in the end. Then Kaibi learns of this and I will get another rubber bullet between the legs! Besides, it just doesn't sit right with me to leave a girl without food, assuming she won't eat what she has now'
He exited the class and took off running.
"Hello Kamijou-san... would you mind eating this with..." Himegami Aisa tried to defy her curse of background invisibility, yet the spiky haired object of her affection zoomed past her before the quiet words were spoken. Miko girl sighed in melancholy.
Meanwhile, the unfortunate Kamijou collided with someone else, that someone being Komoe-sensei. Luckily, they both manage to regain balance.
"Oh, I am sorry sensei. Are you hurt?"
"No but... Kamijou-chan, what are you doing? The class will start in 10 minutes..." Komoe protested, but Touma suddenly lowered his eyes to her eye level, by bending his right leg.
"Sensei, I have to help a girl who will probably go hungry without my assistance. It is an important matter." Touma explained with serious expression.
"T-This is still not a reason to skip the class! Who is this girl to you then?" Komoe crossed her arms. Touma blinked in surprise, but then smiled and shook his head.
"It does not matter. All that's important is that there is a girl who needs my help. I will try to make it quick. As for the reason, do I really need one? It does not matter if it's someone I know or not. I'll just help them cause I want to. Besides, sensei, I would never skip your class if it was not for a good reason"
That was not actually a lie. Touma would probably be a normal student with regular attendance if he wasn't involved in misfortunate circumstances all the time.
W-Well..." Komoe's face grew a bit hot, and she smiled somewhat shyly" It's nice to know you enjoy my lessons so much that it pains you to leave them... well, fine. But I expect you to appear on a makeup lesson for this."
Touma sighed but gave a thumb up, and after saying goodbye, took off running again.
(20 MINUTES LATER)
With the amount of running back and forth he did today, Touma could seriously consider signing up for the marathon. Then again, his daily life provided him with plenty of adrenaline already.
He was not allowed into the school, so he needed to think of an alternative way. But when he was wandering around, thinking about just leaving it with the janitor lady with request to deliver it to Amazora, he heard something in one of the back alleys, still relatively close to the school, but far enough to be away from prying eyes... that is, if someone wasn't Kamijou Touma, who would always walk into mess happening in the darkness.
He had a bad feeling but still ventured into the alley. Soon enough, he noticed 4 silhouettes. Out of them, 3 were standing and 1 was leaning against the wall.
Touma did not recognize three standing students. They were young, no more than 12 or 13 years old, all girls. One of them had long blond hair and green eyes, second had blue eyes and wavy shoulder length black hair, while the last one had brown haired bobcut and golden brown irises. Touma recognized the look in the blond girl's eyes: it was the picture perfect bullying archetype. Those girls were evidently laughing and taunting the fourth figure, also a girl by Touma's reckoning.
His eyes widened when he recognized the leaning girl. Amazora was slightly dirty and shielded herself with her hand. Besides that, she didn't seem hurt... yet. And Touma did not want it to progress any further.
As he thought that, he noticed that one of the girls said something to Amazora. And even though the youngest Gokusai seemed passive before, she turned her head with anger flashing in her eyes. In the next moment, the girl was thrown into the air as if she received an uppercut to her jaw. The remaining girls grabbed Amazora by the arms and pinned her into the wall.
Touma's eyes darkened as he slowly emerged from the shadows. The girls holding Amazora and one that just got off the ground were too preoccupied to notice him. However, Amazora's eyes widened with recognition and surprise.
The girl with blond hair, the one that was attacked by burst of telekinesis and thrown into the air, was now approaching Amazora
"Well, what now, Gokusai? Maybe you will finally learn who is the best around here. I will now educate you. It will not hurt... much."
"Come on, ask your sister for help. I bet she has all the money in the world. She dresses like someone who gets all the money from all those helpful guys~" added bobcut girl.
Anger flashed in Amazora's eyes yet again.
"You can beg and cry all you want. It's the middle of the day, everyone is busy right now and we are far away." the blond raised her hand up with a smile" No one will save you here-"
Her wrist was caught in a strong grip.
"Oi..."
She froze. Two other girls gasped, noticing a presence behind them.
Blond girl twisted her head. Behind her, a teen with black spiky hair was piercing her with a cold gaze of a greyish-blue eyes.
"What exactly are you doing?" Touma finished his question, without breaking the eye contact.
"What the hell... let me go!" the blond shrieked. Touma complied, and she fell forward, before regaining her bearings "Who are you?"
"Just an ordinary guy who came to help" Touma spoke without missing a beat "Now, let her go and leave"
"Tch, I won't let go so easily when we finally have a chance to show her where is her place. Girls!" she yelled and two other girls came to her side, the black haired one sporting a look of unease on her face.
"Atsuki-san, maybe we shouldn't do this..."she asked her companion. However, the blond, called Atsuki, gave her a cold glare that made the girl go silent. She then faced Touma. She did not seem overly confident, but was not backing down either. Touma eyed her silently.
"So, do you really want to go against girls a few years younger than you? Does not seem very fair" she asked mockingly
"Going 3 on 1 also isn't fair. I don't know what kind of business you have with Amazora, but if you think you can just gang on her following your own whims..." Touma clenched his fist slightly" then I am going to shatter that illusion!"
Atsuki giggled.
""Shatter my illusion"? What are you mister, a hero or a chunnibyou?"
Touma shrugged slightly, without changing his expression.
"Call it as you wish. But I won't hesitate to defend her. Girls or boys, that does not matter. If this crappy life of misfortune taught me something, it is not to trust appearances. Looks like 10, can be ancient reality manipulator. Heck, I once fought a fetus controlling a pregnant woman."
The girls, including Amazora, looked at him as if he just grow a second head.
"This guy is just plain crazy. Just ignore him" Atsuki waved her hand. Suddenly Touma rushed past her and simply pulled Amazora towards himself with little to no struggle from the girls holding her.
"Wouldn't recommend that. I am not looking for trouble. So maybe we can all just go our ways?" Touma spoke calmly to the bullying trio.
Atsuki bit her lip, but didn't reply anything. Unfortunately, Amazora chose this moment to say, as she took Touma's lack of desire to fight as fear:
"Do not worry onii-chan. You are going to crush them. After all..." she smirked, in a way that bore great resemblance to her sister Kaibi "They are weak"
Touma facepalmed, while Atsuki got red from anger.
"GO-KU-SAIIIIII! Stop looking at us from above damn it! Yume!"
The black haired girl looked at Touma somewhat fearfully, but raised her hand, and in the next moment, all the girls, including Amazora standing behind Touma, vanished from sight.
Touma looked around, assessing the situation
"They disappeared? Teleportation? No, that's not it. It's more like..."
He reached forward with his right hand, and what followed was truly beautiful to look at. 1 meter away from his body his hand touched something, and it made glowing a spider-web of white cracks spread throughout the air filling the alley. Then it all shattered, revealing girls standing agape, while trying to sneak past him.
The bobcut girl screamed, and put her hands forwards. The air in the alley swirled and in the next moment, a wall of pressurized wind was moving in his direction.
Suddenly, Kamijou noticed that the girl with black hair, the one named Yume, tripped while trying to escape. And since wall of pressure was taking maximum surface area, there was almost certain she wouldn't be able to evade.
"LOOK OUT!" Touma jumped over the girl, and punched the wall of pressure with his right hand. With the sound of shattering glass, it exploded in all directions. Touma was too far from Amazora to protect her, however he stepped in front of Yume and shielded her from the wind.
"That's it! You could have seriously harm her with this!" he looked angrily at Atsuki and bobcut girl.
Touma took on running towards Atsuki, who stood unfazed, until he was just few meters away. Her eyes widened.
"Wait... do you see me... as me?! But my power-"
"I don't care!" Touma halted, with his fist raised above her " GO. NOW!"
"Now I remember. My brother told me about some demon guy who beats up the criminals with his right fist and steals the hearts of all the girls around him! N-No... don't come closer!"
With those words, the bobcut girl run away. Touma looked flabbergasted.
"T-This seems really a stretch..." he whispered sheepishly "demon guy"? And what was this bit about stealing girls? This Kamijou is still miserably single, you know~"
Atsuki stumbled backwards.
"T-This time I let you go, Gokusai! It's a tactical retreat!" and with this, she dashed to alley's entrance.
Touma walked over to Amazora, and helped her to get off the ground.
"Are you hurt?"
"As if they ever could hurt-" Amazora smiled cockily, but winced when Touma touched her arm.
"You scraped it. Well, there should be a pharmacy nearby anyway. Well, let's go now. I think you owe me some explanation what happened here." Touma turned around, but then someone tugged on his shoulder.
"Umm..." it was Yume, who was the only person remaining beside them. Her sapphire eyes could not fully look at Touma. "Th... Thank you for protecting me... and Gokusai-san... I am sorry that I..."
Touma looked at her and lifted his hand again. The girl winced, expecting a punch. But instead, she felt a hand stroking her hair.
"It's alright" Touma smiled" I was watching you and it was obvious that you were forced to do this in some form or way. You also didn't do anything to Amazora. Am I right?"
Yume blinked and then nodded with energy.
"Atsuki-san actually... blackmailed me into doing this. But after actually participating in this... I really hate it. So I am sorry" tears appeared in Yume's eyes, and rolled down her cheeks. Touma looked at Amazora, who sighed.
"If onii-chan thinks this is okay, I forgive you" she said with a pompous tone of gracious lady from wealthy family. Touma rolled his eyes and addressed Yume again.
"The most important thing is that you regret it and you don't want to do it anymore. There is no reason to dwell in the past"
Yume smiled slightly, wiping her face.
"Thank you so much. May I... ask what's your name?"
Touma extended his head.
"Kamijou Touma."
Girl mirrored the gesture
"Asashima Yume. But please, call me Yume. I am in 1st year of middle school. "
"Well, Yume-san, what you did with your power was really impressive. You have a light bending ability, right?. You managed to curve it around me and envelop all the alley in the illusion."
Yume blushed slightly and lowered her gaze.
"Y-You are correct. I am at level 3, but I am trying my best. B-But what did you do while fighting Atsuki-san? Her power alters images in the mind, and she switches positions of people in opponent's eyes. Thanks to this, people always knock each other out while trying to fight her. Yet you seemed as if you actually saw her as... well... her."
"Oh, right..." Touma scratched his head. He did not really want to explain Imagine Breaker to her right now.
"EKHM!" Amazora faked a cough, evidently annoyed at the prolonging conversation between the two "Onii-chan, you said you wanted to go. So come on!"
"Right, right. But just before I go..." he crouched down to the eye level of shorter girls " Please, rely on your senpai in something like this. You too, Yume-san. If she blackmails you again, feel free to ask for help. I will try to resolve this in any way I can"
Yume was stunned as Touma and Amazora exited the alley, but then shouted
"Thank you! Thank you so much!" as she and Touma waved to each other.
(20 MINUTES LATER)
"So, what happened out there?
Touma and Amazora were currently sitting at the café, with the girl stuffing herself with ice cream. Her scrapped arm had a small band-aid on it.
"She did not appreciate that my special talent is shooting. She called me a freak. I didn't even bring my baby to school!" Amazora grumbled "She just started to pick a fight and I was innocent!"
"That may be so" Touma looked at her with suspicion" but you didn't happen to argue with her or boast about anything, do you?"
Amazora looked away slightly.
"..."
Touma narrowed his eyes, as she took another spoon of ice cream.
"Maybe... a little" Amazora mumbled with her mouth full.
"I knew it" Touma karate chopped Amazora's head second time that day, causing her to yelp in surprise and pain " Why did I expect anything else... listen, when you can avoid fighting, you should avoid it. What's the point in provoking them? "
"I wasn't doing it on purpose. And I was telling the truth!" Amazora tried to defend herself "Also, I would not lose to someone like them. If I could only shoot them..."
"But you can't. Those girls have their lives, something they cherish, just like you and your sisters" Touma stated firmly" Violence should not be violence for the sake of it. You should protect someone or something you hold dear."
Amazora finished her pudding, and suddenly jabbed Touma's right hand, resting on the table, with a spoon.
"That's unfair, onii-chan! You punch people yet ask for me to be all goody-goody!"
Touma flinched. A bad memory of a conflict with Kamisato Kakeru who also accused him of similar hypocrisy resurfaced in his mind. Still, he decided to take a step back.
"I won't preach to you about not using your shooting talent at all. Personally, I wouldn't use guns, but I am not you. I will not quench Gokusai Amazora and try to meld you into someone you clearly are not."
Amazora's lips opened in awe.
"However..." Touma continued, rising a finger" That does not mean you can use your abilities to harm others. If you are a gattling gun specialist, there are many ways that you can use it without killing. You can create smokescreens by hitting pipes, destabilize the ground, create escape routes. Also, isn't it a greater pride for gun user to aim precisely at certain points? I mean, it's easy to just shoot blindly and kill somebody. But you are not really all for that now, are you?"
Amazora was silent for a while, and then she bit her lip.
"I was... but with onii-chan and onee-chans with me... I guess I can try. I won't stop using my baby... but is this really possible, like you say?"
"I know it is" Touma reassured her" You saved me and methane guy from being crushed. And you know what? I was very proud of you, Amazora-san."
Young girl's cheeks went slightly red as she smiled and kicked her feet under the table.
"By the way" Touma asked something that he was curious about" I know you a little bit now. You are not really a super cautious type. Why didn't you defend yourself?"
"Ah, that..." Amazora proudly puffed out her small chest "Riku nee-chan always tells me that a true lady does not go fist fighting. And didn't want to satisfy them, so I didn't attack back."
"That's surprisingly mature, although you also had satisfaction out of their frustration" Touma commented, staring at the busy street of district 7. But then he frowned, as he realized something.
"But... when I got to this alley, you clearly attacked her, even if you were completely passive before"
Amazora stayed silent for a moment, and then shyly whispered:
"Because she badmouthed you, onii-chan... so I got mad... that's all..."
Touma looked at her with bewilderment, but before he could ask anything more...
"Oi, you idiot, what are you doing?" sounded a familiar voice. Touma moved his gaze towards its source which, surely enough, turned out to be a middle school girl with short brown hair, currently sparking with electricity.
'Which answer does not lead me to getting electrocuted?' Touma thought exasperated. He could of course negate it with ease, but it was still annoying to do so.
"H-Hey, Biri Biri..."
A first strike flew at him already, and he quickly cancelled it out with his right hand.
"Don't call me that! Who is this little girl?" Mikoto inquired, pointing at Amazora.
Gattling gun user eyed Mikoto suspiciously and finally turned around
"You are rude. You are interrupting me and onii-chan" she replied in an annoyed tone " I am sure onii-chan would rather prefer to spend time with a lady rather than arrogant brute"
"I don't know which side of you is lady-like, but you really need to respect your senpai!"
"STOP!" Touma stepped between the girls before any serious conflict could escalate" No fighting. Misaka, if you want to join us, go ahead. Just don't go biri biri around the place"
Mikoto frowned at that. She touched her index fingers together.
"She... she called you onii-chan... so does it mean you are into younger girls now?"
"Eh, where did that come from? This Kamijou is vehement defender of onee-san superma- OUCH!"
He received two kicks, one from Mikoto, and, surprisingly, from Amazora as well.
(SOME TIME LATER)
"So you are saying you are watching her for your friends?" Mikoto and Touma were now sitting at a bench near their regular meeting spot by the vending machine.
"Her sisters, to be precise. And are more of acquaintances that got stuck in the same... situation."
Mikoto narrowed her eyes, but he quickly changed the subject.
"She actually got impressed by your shooting skill after she challenged you, didn't she?."
Turned out that only after a while did Amazora recognize Mikoto as Railgun. Her attitude changed slightly, because she challenged Mikoto to aiming and shooting contest. Touma was dragged to oversee them go toe to toe in darts and paintball. It turned out that Amazora's gattling gun and Mikoto's railgun-honed aiming skills were almost equal.
"Amazora, come to think of it, when did you hear of Misaka?" Touma asked back at the sport center.
"Kaibi onee-chan told me. The angel guy told her something about those below him... oh, but he mainly was talking about white haired guy."
"Angel... guy?" Mikoto tilted her head in confusion.
"I think his name was..." Amazora put a finger to her cheek in concentration " Kaneki... Tiktoku?"
Touma and Misaka looked at each other, and the realization hit them.
"As in... Kakine Teitoku?!" they both shouted. Amazora just shrugged.
Back in the present, Mikoto leaned forward with the can freshly kicked out of the machine.
"Hmm... I wonder who is her sister if she knows #2. I didn't meet him personally, but I heard he was in some shady stuff"
"Who knows" Touma sighed. He was actually curious as well, but decided to cover for Kaibi until he would make sure what exactly was going on. It seemed like a sort of affair that was important but extremely easy to misunderstand" Maybe he met her, and that's it. I mean, I am a level 0 and I know you."
Misaka looked at him and smiled a little.
"Yeah... that's right. Still rather strange" she took a sip of her drink.
Touma nodded. He decided to place a connection between Gokusai Kaibi and Kakine Teitoku on hold for now. Instead, he looked at playing Amazora and smiled.
"You know, it's like watching a mini-you. You are quite alike"
Mikoto almost spat her drink and coughed a few times before choking out.
"Is that an insult?! Where am I similar to her?"
"Shooting skill, sharp tongue, little bit of a tomboy, loves competition, fla-"
A lone spark shot from Railgun's temple.
"... fla-flashy smile... there are many things..." Touma ended quickly and chuckled nervously " You know, with me and you watching over her, it almost feels like a family..."
Mikoto was about to snap at him again, but after realizing what Touma said, her brain short circuited. Literally.
"Wha...what..."
A vision of older version of herself appeared and her mind. She was watching a small child playing in front of her. She felt a touch of warm hand on her own and looked at the muscular man with spiky hair that could not be mistaken.
"I am so happy to be here, Mikoto~..." he whispered as he leaned for a kiss.
POOF! Imagination went away as Misaka Mikoto got so red that it almost made her face look like a crimson neon sign.
"WHAT ARE YOU SAYING, YOU IDIOT?!" she screamed, dashing off to the distance with amazing speed.
Touma blinked, baffled beyond belief.
"Wow, I never known the fact I would picturing ourselves as older siblings to Amazora would bother her so much".
(15 MINUTES LATER)
"Ugh..."
"Really? As far as I remember, there was nothing wrong with your legs..."
"Ugh-Ugh!"
"Oh, fine" with a sigh, he gave Amazora piggyback ride as they both returned home to reunite with Kaibi and Rikuri. The girl smiled with glee.
"Onii-chan... did you really mean it?... Would you save me or Yume? Or Rikuri and Kaibi nee-chans? We were your enemies. I can't understand" Amazora asked after a while, as they were going down the street.
Touma smiled, and answered:
"I saw many people being tainted by the darkness, and returning to light. One of my friends was a killer in pursuit of ultimate power, and other a leader of a gang. I would save anyone. You, your sisters, anyone. It does not matter, if someone needs help, I will do my best to create best possible future where everyone is saved"
Amazora listened to him, her face becoming serious.
"You really say the weirdest things, onii-chan. On dark side, you would not survive on that logic"
"Yeah, I was told that many times. But I still won't change my mind." Touma
"You are crazy. But... even if it's stupid, I think I like onii-chan's way" she rested her chin on his shoulder as they walked forth.
After some time, she broke the silence again
"Onii-chan... pretty please, don't tell tell onee-chans about the fight. That's... really important..."
"But..."Touma tried to speak, but then relented.
It was the same feeling as certain cases connected with Kaibi. He was basically a stranger to most of their connections and traits. Each of the 3 sisters had their own secrets. Touma would not want to pry into them if it wasn't needed. But if any of the secrets could endanger the sisters, he would surely step in. That was just who he was.
For now, he would try to gather information. For his past self and for the sisters too. But that aside, why was Amazora reluctant to tell the others about her problems?
"Sure..." Touma stopped, twisting his arm to reach behind himself "But only if you promise to rely on me when something goes wrong. Can I have your faith in me?"
Amazora snorted in amusement and slowly shook his hand.
"Cross my heart, hope to fly, shoot a bullet in your eye!"
"I think... you messed it up just a little..."